As Halloween approaches, I long for the autumn colors that paint the Northeast landscape. Strange how distance and time changes perception. On Oct. 30, 2005, I started shooting with the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM […]
Author: Joe Wilcox
In Praise of Washington Post Editors
In September, my wife and I received emails offering a year’s digital subscription to the Washington Post—that’s web and mobile devices—for $29. I signed up without hesitation and am now a regular reader.
As an editor and journalist, I am fascinated watching how the Post presents stories in the iPad app and on the web. The photo of Abe, from a superb story on selfies in Washington, is attention grabbing. The one above is from the app, but the web version below has the more compelling headline, which would move me to click over the other.
Viral Before There was Viral: 'The Blair Witch Project'
As Halloween approaches, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences takes a long look down memory lane—eh, scary forest paths—with a short documentary about “The Blair Witch Project“. Before there was Facebook and Flickr […]
The Underemployment Crisis
When I worked as an analyst for Jupiter Research a decade ago, the editorial philosophy was “data-driven analysis”. But sometimes single stories—one or a few individuals—define a trend. That’s my renewed feeling today meeting Tim in the alley behind our apartment.
I measure San Diego’s economy, and in some respects that of America, by the people who dumpster dive our alley. We moved to the city seven years ago yesterday and were taken aback by the number of people who pull redeemable bottles and cans from recycle and trash bins. But the collectors’ character changed in 2009, following the financial crisis of late 2008. No longer did we see just clearly weather-worn homeless, but paler and better-dressed folks not long laid off from office jobs. Professionals.
Use Drones to Fight Ebola
The world is at war. Ebola is the enemy. Not Islamic State. Not Russia, Israel, Palestine, the United States, or any other nation or peoples you would like to insert here. No country—pardon the word choice—is immune to Ebola. The disease doesn’t care about cultural, political, racial, or religious differences that divide people. The disease indiscriminately attacks everyone.
Ebola should unite us—a global community rallying against a common enemy. But the disease can, already does, divide us. Fear, not infection, is Ebola’s great weapon of mass destruction. In parts of West Africa, farmers abandon crops for fear of infection; yesterday, I heard a BBC radio report claiming as many as 40 percent of farms in some countries. Fear. Fear of infection will divide us unless we unite first.
San Diego Sunset
Taken with iPhone 6. Unedited. not cropped.
Newsroom and Masthead Matters
I normally pan top-10 lists, but this one sings, eh, zings: “10 Top Tips For PRs Considering Whether To Phone The Register. Dek: “You’ll Read These And LOL Even Though They’re Serious”. Read `em and believe `em, if public relations is your fame and contacting Joe Wilcox is your game.
The Reg gives great guidance, and I needn’t really add to the list but will a tinsy-bit. I read and file most PR emails sent directly to me. I just likely won’t respond, or will forward the message to someone else on the team. So if you don’t hear from me, despair not.
Robert Scoble and I Turn in Opposite Directions But Share Destination
While checking Robert Scoble’s website for a link, I came across something quite unexpected: “I have completely moved to social media“. Bwahaha! He goes one way, while I head another. I’m in the process of pulling back my online posts to my personal blog, which will act as the hub for social media as the spokes.
There is nothing original about the idea. Lots of bloggers put social services second. I have long waffled between the two approaches, with the majority of my personal posting going to Google+ since summer 2011. Main reason: Large audience of followers and lots of interaction with them.
Journalism and the Corporate Blog Problem
Blame—or perhaps credit, depending on viewpoint—for corporate blogging’s impact on news reporting belongs to Vic Gundotra, Len Pryor, and Robert Scoble. (Robert claims to “have completely moved to social media“; he’ll be back, so I link to his blog.) These three people played pivotal roles bringing to life Microsoft’s Channel 9 blogsite, which launched a decade ago.
I am in process of restoring my blog posts made to TypePad during the last decade, starting with 2004. The process is manual, rather than automatic, so that I can check links and also get some sense of who I was then as filter for better understanding who I am now. This morning I reposted, unchanged, “Corporate Blogsite: Marketing Veiled as News“, from April of that year. A week earlier, Channel 9, which is that post’s focus, went live.
This Is Me Then and Now
The photo left greatly embarrasses me, but I feel compelled to contrast it with the other. The heavyset me weighed 95 kilos (210 pounds), in September 2004. The other is from August 2014, when I weighed 70 kilos (152 pounds). I’ve lost another 2.5 kilos since my wife snapped the pic of me holding our cat, Neko. The change is dramatic.
Moving to California seven years ago on October 15 precipitated initial weight loss, which with increased activity occurred gradually to 82.6 kilos (182 pounds) early last year. The other 15 kilos (33 pounds) is result of massive dietary change, which is topic of my forthcoming book How I Beat Diabetes. Simply stated: I cut carbs and portions, switching to a diet high in protein, berries, nuts, and leafy veggies.
San Diego Morning
The view from my balcony this AM.