Media Shift Idea lab

From the About Idea Lab page:

MediaShift Idea Lab is a group weblog by innovators who are reinventing community news for the Digital Age. Each author won a grant in the Knight News Challenge to help fund a startup idea or to blog on a topic related to reshaping community news. The authors will use Idea Lab to explain their projects, share intelligence and interact with the new-media community online. If you're interested in joining them, and getting a grant from the Knight News Challenge, you can apply here. To see biographies of all Idea Lab bloggers, go to this page.

Idea Lab elements include:

Best of the Lab: Four of the most interesting recent blog posts from authors on the Lab, as chosen by the Idea Lab editors.

Readers' Faves: A running list of blog posts that readers have recommended the most.

Popular Tags: Each Idea Lab blogger will tag their post according to subject matter. You can find the most popular tags listed on the home page or a full tag cloud on this page.

Idea Lab is produced by MediaShift and hosted by PBS. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation provided a grant to MediaShift to produce Idea Lab and to upgrade MediaShift with audio, video and citizen journalism projects. Idea Lab bloggers post directly to the blog, with MediaShift and PBS providing editorial oversight. The Knight Foundation will be choosing future Idea Lab bloggers based on who wins the Knight News Challenge in future years.

An interesting site, I'll need to do some more exploring.

A Like Affair With Words

From the Billy Collins trail we find Rachel writing at A Like Affair with Words

Plenty of blogs claim they will help improve your writing.
Plenty of blogs are dedicated to helping you make money as a freelancer.
Still others review books, report on the world of journalism, or monitor trends in literature. No blog does it all--except A Like Affair With Words.
Tips, tools, and information every weekday, with a healthy leaven of trivia and fun thrown in for kicks.
Welcome to A Like Affair With Words.

In her About page, she says:

I’m Rachel. I’ve lived in a bunch of different places (Minnesota, New York, England, Pennsylvania), visited a bunch more, and would like to live in and visit even more. I’ve recently graduated from Adelphi University, which no longer has a money-embezzling president and is, really, quite a good small school.

Recent posts:

• Nanowrimo part 2
• This is an awful idea.
• Always carry a pencil
• Tuesday’s Tools: “Write the Perfect Book Proposal”
• Quickie: The origin of “to 86″ and other diner numbers

5 for Friday

This is a special bunch, not just any old 5 for Friday, but 5 for Friday times 20!

If you are into user experience this is the listing for you to explore. Some of these sites have already been "hiked" here but so many more have not. Rather than wait for the hikers to make their way, let's just share them all at once and let you go do the exploring.

Pick one to start with and have fun!

Internet Evolution

At Internet Evolution we believe that the next huge leap forward in the history of the Internet is happening now – and the goal of our site is to gauge its likely impact on every aspect of life as we know it.

It's obvious that something big is happening in terms of Internet usage: More than 1.1 billion people around the world now use the Internet... Usage is growing at 18 percent per year*... And in 2006 total digital content exceeded 160 exabytes – enough to fill 161 billion iPod shuffles.**

But the Internet is at a tipping point, not just in terms of the number of people using it, but also in terms of how they use it.

Over the last 30 or so years the communications industry has collaborated, often unwittingly, in developing the Internet that we have today – a low-cost, ubiquitous, multimedia network capable of carrying any type of traffic (voice, video, or data) anywhere, anytime. And that network is here, now.

So the BIG questions now are not about the network itself (been there, built that) but about how the network will be used.

Click through to see for yourself. There are a host of contributors and some posts are generating good conversations.

(Not) Your Average Joe

From Joe Weissbard writing at (Not) Your Average Joe

Even when I go out and run alone, I have a goal in mind before I even start. It may be a certain time or a certain terrain I want to conquer, but only I know what that is. When I achieve this goal, I am internally victorious and glorious.

I think you distance runners know exactly what I am talking about. Most people would not understand what I speak of. It is a self assurance that one can only get from not giving into the pain, from overcoming severe muscle aches, cramps and the feeling of your stomach and lungs collapsing.

Just know for the rest of your lives, you will take this work ethic with you. Every part of your life will be like a run. Sometimes you will feel like you are going to die and you cannot get over the hump. Other days you will be in the zone.

Read the remainder of the posting on Why do we run?

Joe writes on more than running from his base in El Paso, TX.

• Basketball
• Cross Country
• Food and Drink
• Football
• Track
• Weblogs

Consider adding this site to your RSS Reader.

Wen McNally - Photographer with a passion

Every once in a while one comes across an artist that is just stops you in your tracks.

Wen McNally is such a photographer.

She focuses on high school portraits but doesn't let that hold her from doing other photos.

Oh, that she were in your area. Someone would jump to have her photos.

Check out her portfolio and her blog.

Enjoy!

5 for Friday - PodCamp Boston 2

on the 5 for Friday PodCamp Boston 2 trail, with more folks to review before coming to meet and greet at PodCamp!


Daniel Steinberg, Producer Dim Sum Thinking http://dimsumthinking.com

Daphne Gould, Artist Daphne’s Designs http://www.daphnesdesigns.com

Dave Kawalec http://www.daveandmattshow.com

Dave Lamorte http://www.teachingforthefuture.com

David Cutler http://www.eatmedia.com


Visit their site.
See what and how they do what they do.
Prepare to meet them somewhere at PodCamp Boston

Political Game

Tara writes:

I am a student at Idaho State University, an intern responsible for the processing and preservation of the Stallings Congressional Collection, a member of Pocatello's Historic Preservation Commission, an avid reader, a lifelong fan of baseball, and a Democrat.

A blogger since 2004, this is one site to put on the list for continuity!

Check out the Political Game!

Glass Still Half Full

Do you like Dogs?

Interested in finding out what it is like to be a recent graduate?

Then the Glass Still Half Full is the site for you.

Click through and find out what Megan is up to.

Weber State - Weekly Poem Project

Not sure what this is other than a good poem published once a week.

Maybe a center point for a class discussion?

What do you think?

Pynchon List

Short term attention span disorder? Yes, that sounds reasonable.

See how Victoria begins to find her way with poetry!