BloggerCon IV: Jay Rosen – CitJourn

Jay Rosen’s Citizen Journalism session – intro here. Doc Searls’ notes here

[ed: Just like an educator, Jay's on-screen notes ask, as the session begins, for people to move up to the front of the room]

[10:53] Doc’s notes are going to be invaluable here. Marc Glaser made some fantastic comments about how he does his job on a regular basis, and is sourcing things.

[10:58] Doc Searls: “Open your archives” to newspapers.

[11:10] The “citizen journalism”-ness of this discussion seems to be going in and out quite a bit, IMHO.

[11:27] Jeremy Pepper discussing how Wal-mart and much of the right “gets” it with regard to working with bloggers, while some on the left are more about control. I’d have to agree with a lot of that.

[11:43] Buzz makes a fantastic comment about the “real-time” issue that goes on with contribution and the value of what is contributed. People want to see the completed work asap.

BloggerCon IV: PT on Tools

[9:05] Phillip Torrone is talking about using various tools that can be used online to do different things, and he points out that Flickr is, unfortunately, one of the best tools online to show a how-to. He talks about how he used it to show us a few pictures from some how-tos from back-in-the-day.

[9:10] Chris Pirillo discussing how he has made a screencast, Torrone called it “complainware” based on that usage. Lots of discussion about screencasting software, including one package for $300. Interesting to hear a groan about that cost.

[9:20] Some comments about how devices and tools aren’t created with the option for teaching people how to use them, they’re just to bring people in and get them interested, and then wanting to buy the next product.

[9:28] Great comments about how people who aren’t really technical people use the Web, not necessarily through the way those of us in the room use them, but they’re all over many of the tools we use, too.

[9:33] Buzz Bruggeman making some great comments about speaking with 800 lawyers (someone said “Sorry!”) about using wikis, and that they were saying they didn’t use them, as many were scared of losing the information that they held in their heads if they permanently wrote it down and shared it.

[9:38] PT commenting on how especially when podcasts started, it was like AM radio.

[9:42] Chris Pirillo: “wikis are just unusable”

[9:52] Rex Hammock makes us all aware that Doc Searls‘ notes on the sessions are available here – this one’s specifically for the Tools session.

[10:05] Jay Rosen wants an “automatic link embedding device,” a comment system that he can do more “movement” within.

BloggerCon IV: Getting the ball rolling

All times Pacific!

[8:18] Dave Winer is opening up BloggerCon IV this morning, and is giving the rundown on how the conferences started, and what it’s all about. He had a fun time mentioning previous events, including BlogNashville from 2005, which he mentioned as being unfortunate for him, if you had been there.

[8:22] Niall Kennedy mentioning how blogging has changed in the last 18 months. Interesting note that the people holding the microphones here are “monitors,” and that you “don’t get to hold the mic.

[ed] Looking for more BloggerCon stuff? Check Technorati for more.

[8:25] Lots of great credits going out from Dave, Jake Luddington, Limelight Networks, Sylvia Paul, Dan Farber, and others.

[8:37] Dave’s talking about making sure people aren’t commercial, and that he doesn’t want to be a “hardass.” Thilk notices that his RSS Feed for the Onion Radio News had a great item entitled “Shark Whisperer Missing At Sea.” Nice.

Congress wants to dictate religion to military personnel

That’s the only explanation for this move by the body to require military chaplains invoke the name of Jesus Christ during public prayer.

Look, not everyone believes in Christ. I wish it were otherwise but that’s not the case. Requiring an arm of the government to use his name during prayers is a move toward theocracy and that’s not something that’s going to turn out well. Because as winds shift the people behind that theocracy could change. Best to remember that this country was founded on the idea of religious freedom and make sure that’s secure rather than cowtowing to a conservative base that will likely turn on you when things go south.

Diatribes

That’s what this blog will mostly be filled with. I’m tired of hearing that Christianity is the sole province of the Republican party and that if you’re a liberal you’ve forsaken God. That’s bullshit and everyone with a brain knows it. Hopefully this blog will show the falsehoods behind that and counter some of the ranting that goes on in God’s name. I don’t presume to speak for God, the Bible does that. But I’m both a liberal and a Christian and am out to prove the two aren’t mutually exclusive.