Communicators & Communications

CNN uses “word cloud” to analyze President Obama News Conference

Posted on March 24, 2009 by Howard R. Debs

This post will prove the point that one picture is worth a 1000 (or whatever number) of words. Jonathan Feinberg, a senior software engineer at IBM developed the “Wordle” as he calls it, as a “toy” as he describes it. In fact the “Wordle” is a unique communication analysis tool which is perfectly suited for the contemporary environment. Most every savvy internet user knows about “tag clouds” – there is one associated with this blog. It provides a visual explication of the global content of this blog by establishing the emphasis of the blog in terms of topics covered, shown by the varying size of keywords used. As I understand the Feinberg invention, “Wordle” takes this a step further, by graphically distributing a word array of any text feed into it.

Tonight, with CNN using what I assume was “Wordle” technology to analyze President Obama’s nationally televised News Conference, in my opinion, “Wordle” comes of age – and in fact – changed its age; it’s now appropriate for use by those of any age desirous of “seeing” what someone is saying, writing, etc. In the process of using such an evaluative tool, we come to “see” what the communicator is trying to communicate. Pretty neat and a pretty significant advance for the field of communications Mr. Feinberg. We thank you.

If you want to “see” for yourself go to: http://www.wordle.net/ and also visit the Wordle Blog at: http://blog.wordle.net/

➡ https://communicatorsandcommunications.com/2009/03/24/cnn-uses-word-cloud-to-analyze-president-obama-news-conference/

Filed under: ICT | Tagged: Barack Obama, CNN, information technology, keywords, tag clouds | Leave a comment »

The Gypsy Kings and Dr. Seuss

Posted on March 23, 2009 by Howard R. Debs

The Gypsy Kings is one of my favorite musical groups. They perform rumba flamenco, a musical form indigenous to the Catalan region of northeastern Spain and southwestern France. Never heard of them you say? Well, they have a wide audience alright, (selling over 18 million albums) but in a sea of such expanse as THE GLOBAL ECONOMY how does one define “wide”? One definition, “Large in scope” (from the Wiktionary entry: “wide”), leads on to another – what do they mean by “large”, and so on ad infinitum.

Which brings me to Dr. Seuss, who used a pseudonym by the way, just like some in the online new media of today. His real name of course, Theodor Seuss Geisel. Of his many wonderful children’s books, the one on point for this occasion is: Horton Hears a Who! For those unfamiliar with the story, I refer you to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horton_Hears_a_Who!

Basically, Horton, an endearing elephant in the jungle, seems the only one capable of hearing the inhabitants of the city “Who-ville” who live on a tiny planet comprised of a speck of dust. For the purpose of this post the important point to note is that: “In the end it is a ‘very small shirker named JoJo’ whose final addition to the volume creates enough lift for the jungle to hear the sound, thus reinforcing the moral of ‘a person’s a person, no matter how small’.”

So now, let’s cite some stats. Technorati, the be all – end all for blog info tracks around 112 million blogs at this point (from “The History of Blogs” in The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging)! So how can any blog ever hope to have an impact, let alone an audience? Which brings us to audience profiling. Who in “Who-ville” is the blog really trying to reach? That answer defines the “universe” (size, total number) of the intended audience, which may very well turn out to be only a handful. So evaluating effectiveness of “reach” (a media advertising term which in essence tries to quantify by numbers and/or percentage how many readers/visitors from the intended audience any particular blog in this case is actually attracting) is the important consideration.

The Complete Guide to Blogging states: “There may be 112 million blogs in the blogosphere, but only 7.4 million, Technorati tells us, have been updated in the last ninety days.” So close to 94% of the blogs out there are essentially dormant. That narrows things a bit!

Thus, the moral to this story is “an intended audience, effectively reached, signals success – no matter how small”.

➡ https://communicatorsandcommunications.com/2009/03/23/the-gypsy-kings-and-dr-seuss/

Filed under: Essentials, new media | Tagged: blogging, blogs, marketing, Technorati, Theodor Geisel | Leave a comment »

Culture and communications

Posted on March 22, 2009 by Howard R. Debs

It has occurred to me that some visitors to this site may ask why there are posts covering the news of the day, matters involving politics, popular culture, etc? What is the relevance to a blog dedicated to communicators and communications? Before plunging ahead, let me assure you that this post is about as technical as this blog gets. One of the guiding principles for this blog is that: it shall be generally understandable to all who seek to gain from its information. This is carved in stone. So bear with me on this one, because in order to make the point, I have to get “technical”. Here goes.

There is, first of all a hint in the name of the blog itself. “Communicators” are individuals who have messages to transmit in some way, through media, public speaking, and so forth. By and large I am using the term to refer to those who have a public presence in this regard, for example say, President Obama or Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner (more to come on Mr. Geithner in a separate post).

Now one of the accepted definitions of “culture” is: “an integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for symbolic thought and social learning” (taken from Wikipedia, keyword: “culture”). So “culture” and “communication” are inextricably connected.

In fact, the basic premise of the bestselling text MediaMaking: Mass Media in a Popular Culture is that: “mass communication cannot be studied apart from the other institutions in society and the other dimensions of social life – each is shaping and defining the other.” (quoted from the Amazon.com editorial review of the book). My position is that this applies to communications in general, and this theory, if you will, is paramount to a basic understanding of communications overall. In every post, I endeavor to address the matter undertaken from a communications perspective. That’s as it should be with a blog named “Communicators & Communications”. We now adjourn sine die.

➡https://communicatorsandcommunications.com/2009/03/22/culture-and-communications/

Filed under: communication theory, Essentials | Tagged: Barack Obama, media, pop culture, social media, Timothy Geithner | Leave a comment »

President Obama on late night TV

Posted on March 20, 2009 by Howard R. Debs

I raised this issue in a previous post: https://communicatorsandcommunications.com/2009/03/12/franklin-roosevelt-invents-the-fireside-chat/

namely, what is the most effective means President Barack Obama can use to communicate with and to the American public in this present crisis environment? I’m not talking here about the usual and customary. These are not usual and customary circumstances we face as a nation. What’s needed is a creative solution to the urgent requirement for the President, as “Communicator in Chief” as I have previously referred to the role, to garner the confidence of the citizenry that we will prevail against the economic travail we have encountered; granting the content of the message is of utmost importance, the “packaging” of that message, is almost equally important as every Marshall Mcluhan fan knows, for indeed the medium is the message. (See previous relevant post ) https://communicatorsandcommunications.com/2009/03/07/marshall-mcluhan-revisited/

So what’s the right setting? We have the townhall meeting format – that’s been tried; we have the primetime televised press conference – that’s been tried; and now we have the late night talk show – chalk up that one.

Last night’s “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” featured President Obama, and there were a number of “firsts”: First time a sitting president has appeared on a TV Program like The Tonight Show, first time as a sitting president Barack Obama makes an unseemly comment about “special olympics” (more about that later). This is all very serious. What the President’s team is obviously doing is experimenting. I don’t believe this is trial and error – not for a minute. Each “media decision” is carefully considered beforehand and carefully analyzed afterwards.

I reject the notion suggested by some that putting President Obama on late night television is primarily an attempt to pump up poll numbers.

I think ultimately, a combination of “outlets” will emerge that serve the communications strategy at hand.

Is it beneath the dignity of the office of president to appear on a late night talk show, and joke around at that? This is a Twitter and Facebook absorbed society. It is important to put a “human face” on the person who holds the highest office in the land. In fact, because we live in a Twitter and Facebook culture, President Obama needs to establish this kind of closer personal connection with his fellow Americans in order to communicate convincingly – an essential goal in order to move us forward as a nation. In an earlier post I wrote: “What is needed is to re-invent the “fireside chat” circa 2009.” That is what I believe the Obama communications team is attempting to concoct.

On the matter of the gaffe involving “special olympics”, now apologized for, I have personally spent a great deal of energy in community service on behalf of those with disabilities over the years, and I was indeed truly disappointed by the President’s remark. Let’s hope that errant comment will be turned into an opportunity to advance the cause of those with special needs. In any case, we need to move on with this larger “experiment” which is, advancing the State of the Union.

➡https://communicatorsandcommunications.com/2009/03/20/president-obama-on-late-night-tv/

Filed under: public figures | Tagged: Barack Obama, economy, fireside chat, media, politics, social media | Leave a comment »

Blogs as today’s communication bargain

Posted on March 19, 2009 by Howard R. Debs

Over the past weekend a number of media sources – online and off – picked up on a story which I think may have originated in Chicago, my hometown, on Friday the thirteenth no less. We won’t call it “Black Friday” in this instance, instead we’ll call it “Red Hot” Friday. The basic point of all these pieces was that the hot dog is making a comeback in these hard times; it is construed as the “perfect recession food” Hot dog sales are “red hot” according to the site “Serious Eats” http://www.seriouseats.com/2009/03/the-hot-dog-as-perfect-recession-food.html#comments

Now I am a serious hot dog lover myself; the Mii on my Wii is “hotdogman” for goodness sakes. The buzz about the dog reminded me that this is the time of the little guy, the bargain. I pass up the fancy car wash with the waiting room sporting a flat panel TV in favor of one tied in with a gas station where I get pretty much the same hand wash for about half the price.

Blogs are in a way the bargains of today’s world of communications. The “hot dog article” posted at Chicago Public Radio http://www.wbez.org/Content.aspx?audioID=32792

references the opinion of Darren Tristano an executive vice president at Technomic Incorporated, a food industry research firm: “He says hotdog stands are set to capitalize on food trends-they’re cheap, the food is fresh, customizable, portable, and he says Chicago hot dogs taste really good. All of which makes them a strong contender for a great recession meal.” Just exchange the words “Chicago hot dogs” for the words “well prepared blogs” and I think you’ll see the attributes listed are comparable. The recipe for “well prepared blogs” will be given in a later post.

➡https://communicatorsandcommunications.com/2009/03/19/back-at-the-same-old-stand/

Filed under: communication vehicles, new media | Tagged: blogging, blogs, communication vehicles, economy, pop culture | Leave a comment »

Jurors, a new hope for the new Information Age

Posted on March 18, 2009 by Howard R. Debs

Today’s New York Times article by John Schwartz http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/18/us/18juries.html?_r=1

raises a number of important questions regarding for example the seeming dichotomy between traditional jurisprudence and contemporary information technology which is really the thrust of the story. But then there is, as Paul Harvey always said (may he rest in peace, see my previous post on Harvey) “the rest of the story”.

What I want to focus on here is the quest for enlightenment beyond the confines of the courtroom for which the as many as nine jurors reported about clearly thirsted.

“…conducting Google searches on the lawyers and the defendant, looking up news articles about the case, checking definitions on Wikipedia and searching for evidence that had been specifically excluded by the judge. One juror, asked by the judge about the research, said, “Well, I was curious,” according to Mr. Raben.”

Peter Raben is the defense attorney for the case in question. “It was a heartbreak,” Mr. Raben added.

Au contraire, mon amie. (caution: accumulating French flourishes ahead in this post) In a recent post I cited the book True Enough by Farhad Manjoo. In his book Manjoo points to a concerning trend that people are accepting as gospel any pronouncements made by those they “follow” to use the Twitter idiom. This is great for the Russ Limbaughs of the world who actually laud this characteristic by giving it credence through the use of such terms as “dittohead”.

But in terms of our future as a society, I would much rather the Socratic Method be extolled.

Well, lo and behold, these nine jurors are practicing intellectual curiosity don’t you know. Wow, what a concept! Yes there needs to be a rapprochement between the justice system and the new ways of accessing and sharing information and from some of the article’s content it seems we are groping our way in that direction, but I must say: la curiosité, c’est magnifique!

➡https://communicatorsandcommunications.com/2009/03/18/jurors-a-new-hope-for-the-new-information-age/

Filed under: information technology | Tagged: information technology, internet, social media, Socratic Method, truthiness | Leave a comment »

A Jurassic Park kind of world

Posted on March 16, 2009 by Howard R. Debs

In many of today’s opinion pages, be they online or in print, readers were treated to a very insightful article by Kathleen Parker, titled “Weird new media world” in which, it seemed abundantly apparent to me, she was putting forth the premise that newspapers are a core communications vehicle of American society and conducted appropriately constitute the bedrock on which a free society is maintained. So granting necessary reshaping to conform to technological and cultural changes (I advisedly here avoid the term “advances” to describe such changes) the medium is important to retain. In her own words:

“Whatever business models emerge…newspapers have to focus on their traditional core of fact-based, serious reporting. We might add to that formula the need for a serious populace informed about the fragile thread that connects a free press to a free future. “

A number of considerations emerge from careful reading of her piece. Yes, I don’t have much need for the TV guide section of my local paper now that I have a TV guide accessible on my TV; so newspapers need to define themselves based on their “root” purpose to borrow a term from the computer age. A “root” directory in computer file systems is the first or top-most directory in a hierarchy. It can be likened to the root of a tree – the starting point where all branches originate. (Paraphrased from Wikipedia). This is basic Marketing 101 of course. Amtrak isn’t in the business of running trains, they’re in the business of transportation. Find the “root” and stick to it she seems to be urging, and keep a first amendment bulwark in place in the bargain.

What is fascinating, is the “spin” this gets in the “comment room”; I just checked out one: http://townhall.com/columnists/KathleenParker/2009/03/15/weird_new_media_world?page=2 and the majority of comments at this site are made by fire breathing persons who seem to have read only one word of her article, that word appearing as the last word of the article’s third paragraph and spelled b-i-a-s, “bias”. But the real bias, as I see it, is on the part of the commenters; which leads me to the book True Enough by Farhad Manjoo. The Publishers Weekly review of the book puts it this way: “Salon blogger Manjoo…in his perceptive analysis of the status of truth in the digital age, critiquing a Rashomon-like world in which competing versions of truth vie for our attention.” The book deserves more attention in a separate post, and the book deserves our attention in general because it presents a pretty disquieting picture of our future as a society of many different groups of “Dittoheads” as referenced in paragraph two of Parker’s article!

➡ https://communicatorsandcommunications.com/2009/03/16/a-jurassic-park-kind-of-world/

Filed under: communication vehicles, traditional media | Tagged: first amendment, pop culture, social media, truthiness | Leave a comment »

Girl Scouts ban use of internet to sell cookies

Posted on March 15, 2009 by Howard R. Debs

A seemingly innocuous AP piece is being picked up by a number of newspapers around the country. It hit me like a ton of bricks. So I did a little further checking online, and sure enough it is true. Newsweek is my source and I have no reason to doubt the authenticity of its report. http://www.newsweek.com/id/188714?from=rss

Girl Scouts of the USA does not allow the use of the internet to sell its “got-to-have-them” cookies! This exposé comes on the heels of the welcome news that the Vatican has awakened to the value of the internet (See my recent post on this matter). Kurt Soller’s article states the key point to be made about this whole imbroglio:

“…the group’s digital strategy seems confused and behind the times.”

The Girl Scouts organization purports to offer the largest program to teach entrepreneurship to young girls and yet it eschews e-commerce. Seems kind of like an oxymoron to me (ox-y-mo-ron) with emphasis on the last two syllables!

➡ https://communicatorsandcommunications.com/2009/03/15/girl-scouts-ban-use-of-internet-to-sell-cookies/

Filed under: new media | Tagged: e-commerce, economy, Girl Scouts of the USA, internet, marketing, new media, web | Leave a comment »

Vatican gets prodded into New Media age

Posted on March 13, 2009 by Howard R. Debs

An interesting piece in the traditional media – namely the New York Times – appeared today: Rachel Donadio’s aptly titled article, “Pope Admits Online News Can Provide Infallible Aid”. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/13/world/europe/13pope.html?_r=1

The report contains quotes from the Vatican’s letter regarding the very controversial matter of the decision to revoke the excommunication of four bishops, including this excerpt:

“I have been told that consulting the information available on the Internet would have made it possible to perceive the problem early on,” Benedict wrote. “I have learned the lesson that in the future in the Holy See we will have to pay greater attention to that source of news.”

➡https://communicatorsandcommunications.com/2009/03/13/vatican-gets-prodded-into-new-media-age/

Filed under: new media | Tagged: internet, new media, news, Pope Benedict XVI, web | Leave a comment »

Franklin Roosevelt invents the “fireside chat”

Posted on March 12, 2009 by Howard R. Debs

76 years ago today Franklin Roosevelt sat in front of a radio microphone and literally created a new communications “environment”. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fireside_chats

What I want to point out about the concept of the “fireside chat” as a communications vehicle is directly related to President Obama and the current situation we face as a nation. As “Communicator in Chief” president Obama has to ensure that for the duration of this national morass we are going through, that in all his communication efforts to the general public he essentially utilizes what I will call the “Roosevelt Approach”, so well crafted by FDR, and therefore Obama’s communications advisors – who were seemingly so astute on the campaign trail – need to revisit the rationale for the success of the fireside chat format. In this regard, as important as the content was, the character of the presentation within the framework of the media involved is what needs to be assessed from a communications standpoint. Keep in mind that this took place during the “Golden Age of Radio”; we now are in the “New Age of the Internet”, and I am not so sure that a talking head in front of a camera albeit, a Presidential talking head – translates that well on a computer screen for the purpose intended, that being hopefully injecting confidence about the future. What is needed is to re-invent the “fireside chat” circa 2009.

➡https://communicatorsandcommunications.com/2009/03/12/franklin-roosevelt-invents-the-fireside-chat/