Web Finds: Dirty Makeup, Annoying Email Signatures, and Do-It-Yourself Penance

Do you know how many chemicals are in your makeup? I’ve been fascinated with this video from The Story of Stuff, an advocacy video series that exposes some of America’s inner-workings in an effort to improve our daily lives. If you’ve ever needed convincing to throw out that old crusty makeup, this will do the trick. And maybe you will demand healthier products for your skin.  

Email signatures: You can love ‘em and hate ‘em. This post from Gigaom goes back to the basics. What do people really need to know every time they receive an email from you? Bottom line: less is more. You don’t need to brag about every social network you signed up for.

Moderating online comments have come a long way – even since I moderated comments for NPR.org a year ago as an intern (NPR has since outsourced this task). Disqus is one solution I've read about that tracks a person’s comments across the web, which I think is vital to transparency and holds netizens responsible for their words.

While we’re talking about transparency, you need to know @DigiDave, the creator of crowd-funded news model, Spot.us. In his blog post and slideshare presentation, Dave argues for the ethics of journalism transparency. He says we need transparency in order for journalism to become more participatory. 

In college, Cassie Dull and I wrote for Dawgnet News, the online news site (which later merged with the print paper, The Butler Collegian). She now leads online communications for a private school in Indianapolis. In her post for Ed Social Media, Cassie explains how students, parents, and the community can be the “unofficial” voice of the school. But the first step is for the traditional messengers is to be okay with it. Yes, this means turning PR on its head (sorry, traditionalists...).

I’m obsessed with how technology is impacting one of the oldest institutions: religion. But what about an app for do-it-yourself confessions? The blogosphere’s been blowing up about these latest apps: Penance, Confessions, Bible Shaker, or the Ultimate Buddhist Library. The Mercury News, and the Religion Dispatches report on the growing trend of religion apps. It raises questions about the need for clergy - or even God - in the equation. (UPDATE 3/6/11 at 10 PM: I should underscore that an anonymous commenter, who is likely connected to the Confessions app, clarified that this app in no way replaces Reconciliation, but merely prepares a person for confession.)

By the way, the Pope is on Facebook. He wants to be your friend. (Maybe he’ll forgive you for not going to Ash Wednesday this week…) 

All Religion Considered

NPR's All Things Considered does a weekly tech segment. This week I was fascinated to learn that it had a religious topic: "Religion finds home on iPhones, social networks." (You can also listen to the three-minute piece).

Reporter Jessica Alpert gave additional commentary on NPR's All Tech Considered blog (which I was able to contribute to throughout my semester at NPR's Social Media Desk).

According to Alpert, there are over 200 bible iPhone apps. And one devoted couple created the iRosary. Another app reminds Muslims of the daily call to prayer.

One of my Twitter friends, Matt Lipan, is a United Methodist pastor in Indianapolis. He's a great example of someone who's engaging people online. He has an active Twitter account, blogs about his sermons, and is launching a video/chat forum called "Outside the Walls."

Can technology bring people closer to faith (and each other) - or does it distract? On the other hand, maybe using technology and social networks can work together to bring believers (and non-believers) into more intimate conversations. That's one topic I'm interested in exploring further.

PubCamp Weekend

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vincentgallegos/ / CC BY-NC 2.0

What does it look like when public broadcasters and social media rockstars come together? It looks like PubCamp - short for "Public Media Camp."

Folks from NPR, PBS, their affiliates (and a those from a multitude of other organizations) gathered last weekend at American University to discuss how to strengthen relationships with the public through collaborative projects.

The Format

It wasn't a conference, it was actually an "unconference" (no joke, that is what it's called). There is no committee that pre-plans every session. Participants come ready to lead a session. During the first hour, leaders plot out sessions on a large chart - based on suggestions from peers. Participants are free to move about the unconference and attend whichever sessions they like. Radical, huh? It was modeled after events like CongressCamp and PrivacyCampDC.

My Role: "I Am Sponge"

On my first day at NPR, my supervisor, Andy Carvin asked me: "Can you help me at Public Media Camp?" (Have I not had "intern" stamped across my forehead for the last 18 months?) Of course I could volunteer, I said. After all, my supervisor Andy Carvin was one of the main collaborators of the first ever PubCamp. Not to mention I find this whole idea of "unconference" plus public media absolutely thrilling!

This was going to be epic.

Following the spontaneous style of unconference, as a volunteer, I showed up - coffee in hand - to help with registration. I sat in on sessions mostly as a sponge - then as a notetaker to contribute to the Wiki.

The Sessions

Getting Seniors and the Underserved Online - This one intrigued me, simply because my family is always trying to understand what it is I do online - and why I think it's so important. Mark Ryan from a Fort Wayne station discussed his experiences helping senior citizens navigate technology. The second half featured folks from PBS Kids, who talked about interactivity for the Web's youngest audience and participants.

Using Social Media for Story Ideas - This session was led by Maria Carter of KCUR (PBS affiliate in Kansas City). I volunteered to be the official note-taker for the discussion, and my notes are on the Wiki.

iPhone Apps Contest - This highlighted the results of a contest done through iStrategy Labs called Apps for Democracy. The session highlighted the successes of that contest and asked, "How can public media harness that to help their audiences?"

Some cool apps that came out the original contest: Stumble Safely. It points out all the watering holes in town so you can have a safer bar crawl. For those looking for something more civic-minded, Are You Safe? organizes demographic information into a user-friendly format. Moving to a new town? Use the app to find out the safest neighborhoods.

I - along with nearly 300 participants tweeted all day Sunday with hashtag #pubcamp. If you follow the tag, you can see the conversations that started this weekend.

The People / Follow PubCampers!

Finally, it was great to meet people with similar interests, and fascinating jobs. Here's a few noteworthy people who were in attendance (they're famous in my book):

Craig Newmark, of Craig's List (@craignewmark)

Jonathan Coffman, PBS social media guy (@jdcoffman)

Aaron Ginoza, NPR Business Affairs Coordinator (@ninjaclectic)

Jeri Eckdahl, with NYU's School of International Affairs (@misspolitica)

Andy Carvin, NPR social media guy (@acarvin)

...Not to mention folks from the Center for Public Broadcasting, The Sunlight Foundation and neat stations like WNYC and WBUR.

Follow Up

So what happens next? What resulted from these spontaneous discussions? At the end of the unconference, the large group reported back with pros and cons. The idea is that many people from this group will take what they've learned and head up a PubCamp in their area. There are already five planned for the near future. I'm not sure of exact details, but I know several PubCampers plan to continue discussions that will result in concrete projects. For example, @misspolitica hopes to spearhead a singles group in New York City.

Since participants are so active online, there are several great reflections posted to personal blogs. "Jessie X" wrote an excellent post on her "take-away" that was "retweeted" several times on Twitter - I think, because of her great analysis of conflict between traditional jouranlists and Gen X'ers.

Bloggers from We Love DC, a local blog, gave an excellent overview of the experience on their site.

On my first day at NPR, Andy asked me, "Can you volunteer?"

Of course, I said.

Thus begins my journey into public media...

Science & God

I'm in the middle of reading a book called "Fingerprints of God: The Search for the Science of Spirituality."

Since when did science and spirituality mix? Or did they?

I was intrigued.

Luckily, the author works at NPR. So last week I emailed Barbara Bradley Hagerty and asked to meet with her. So we met in the cafe for some coffee talk.

Hagerty is NPR's religion correspondent and has spent about 10 years with the organization. She previously worked at The Christian Science Monitor.

It's funny meeting with another journalist; we like to ask questions so much that there never seems to be enough time in the day to finish talking.

Hagerty's spiritual exploration stemmed from an early upbringing as a Christian Scientist (Not to be confused with Scientology). But in her early thirties she began her own exploratation into the world of faith.

She began asking questions like “Is there a God gene?” and "Are there spiritual virtuosos?” It’s these questions and more that she explores in her 285-page book. Her adventures took her to a variety of places - including a Peyote ceremony and a meditation ceremony in Wisconsin.

Hagerty reminded me about the Religion Communicators Council chapter in Washington, D.C. (I attended the annual conference last spring in Boston - an event that kick-started this blog.)

Fast forward a week. Hagerty and I took a cab over to the the Baha'i office near DuPont circle. Hagerty was the guest speaker for the RCC (DC chapter) meeting. She explained to other religion communicators her adventures in researching the Divine. I was able to reconnect with a few folks I had met in Boston, while Hagerty signed books.

The book has been a really great read for me (I have to admit, I haven't finished it yet, but I've listened to the podcasts on NPR's website).

Hagerty's advice to me - which she wrote in my book - "To Meg: May the search bring great answers - and more questions."

SOS: The Internet is "Down"!

On Wednesday morning I woke up to discover the Internet was down. The service provider wouldn't be able to come out to the house for at least 24 hours. My mom snickered and said, "Are you going to be okay?"

Regaining my composure, I said yes, of course I'd be fine. It was only 24 hours. Surely I wouldn't miss anything vital. But while waiting in the doctor's office that afternoon, I realized: I didn't need the Internet -- I could text my Twitter update. (Thank goodness the 'rents caved into an unlimited texting plan). So I did just that.

Throughout the day, though, I felt disconnected. I couldn't see my home page (NPR), nor could I read up on what my peers in the Twitterverse were doing. And when I wanted to find out who that actor was on that particular TV-show....I could not search the Internet Movie Database. While this all seems very trivial, I had to wonder: what would life be like without the Internet?

What are your thoughts? How could you handle 24 hours without the Internet? What would you do with your "free time"? Serious, trivial, ironic - I'd love to hear it all!

Image credit

Too Much Girl Talk

Excuse me while I stand on my media literacy soapbox for a moment.

I can't tell you how many times I seen the same plot line delivered over and over again. You know exactly what I mean:

Boy meets girl.
Girl is high-strung and works as a [fill in glamorous career].
Boy must "tame" her to win her over.
Girl realizes error of her ways and falls madly in love with boy.
The end.

Here are a few variations on that plot: 27 Dresses, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, 10 Things I Hate About You, When Harry Met Sally, The Wedding Planner, You've Got Mail, 50 First Dates, The Holiday, Made of Honor, The Devil Wears Prada ...you catch my drift.

I will openly admit I own several of these movies. But what do they offer? A brief escape of reality. Unrealistic expectations about men. Guidelines on how men and women should behave in a relationship.

If I took anything away from MDA245 - Media Literacy it is this: movie companies will continue to write the same "formula" of movies because it sells. Not because it is original.

The chick flick/romantic comedy is one such formula.

I fault myself for not being more adventurous in my movie screenings. But when you gather with a group of gal pals, it's so easy to choose the classic "chick flick" because it seems like something "everyone" would like.

Watching a chick flick is equivalent to making Easy Mac. You're too lazy to try anything that might be too challenging or might not taste the same.

A series of events emboldened me to write this particular post:

1. "Confessions of a Shopaholic." At a dinner party, the entertainment was "Shopaholic," a movie based a popular novel. I had vaguely recalled seeing previews and thinking: "We're in a recession. What a time to promote credit card debt." The movie appeared to portray women as ditzy and focused only on shopping endeavors. The movie did have a good message in the end, but went about it all the wrong ways.

2. "The Proposal." At the invitation of a friend, I agreed to see one of this summer's chick flicks. Was I expecting too much because I'm a fan of Sandra Bullock? Yes. Same plot line, different actors. Must a woman always be type-A, control freak and devoid of any romantic history in order to find her one true love?

3. This movie review. This put the nail in the coffin. NPR called "The Ugly Truth," very simply, "not a pretty picture." I couldn't agree more. I haven't seen the Katherine Heigl movie, and I certainly don't plan to.

So why must I stand by and accept the movies advertised to me? While movies - and entertainment in general - are essentially a form of escapism, this does not mean we have to be fed the same story over and over again. I know I won't.

Carolyn McCulley wrote in the webzine Boundless: "The tool or the medium is not the problem. The content or the message — and the way our hearts respond — is the problem."

Consider Proverbs 4:20-27

My son, be attentive to my words;
incline your ear to my sayings.
Let them not escape from your sight;
keep them within your heart.
For they are life to those who find them,
and healing to all their flesh.
Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life.
Put away from you crooked speech,
and put devious talk far from you.
Let your eyes look directly forward,
and your gaze be straight before you.
Ponder the path of your feet;
then all your ways will be sure.
Do not swerve to the right or to the left;
turn your foot away from evil. (Proverbs 4:20-27 ESV)

So how about going for something different the next time around? Try an independent film, foreign film or just a different genre altogether. Fireproof does a great job of demonstrating the real "work" (read: romance) that goes into a relationship.

I'm going to bet it will taste better than the Easy Mac.

Interns Spur Discussion

"What is the future of journalism?"

The summer interns at National Public Radio wanted to know.

And after three years of journalism and media arts classes - including law, ethics and literacy - I felt like I had a lot to say. So yesterday I submitted an essay in an attempt to answer this question.

To my delight, the essay was published this morning at the "NPR: Intern Edition" blog under the section "Consider This Journal".

But I'm not the only who had something to say. As of today, almost twenty aspiring journalists have posted their thoughts. They have posted theories, business models and rationale for attending graduate-level journalism programs.

The NPR interns also post their experiences on the blog site, and produce an entire multimedia show that is set to 'go live' in about a week. Want to keep up with these cool kids? You can also follow them on Twitter (You have an account now, ever since you read my last post, right?), @NPRinterns.

And while we're talking about NPR, check out their Web site on Sunday. That's when they reveal their new redesign.

NPR: Trailblazer of Journalism

In my rapidly growing affinity for NPR, I've discovered some pretty neat people.

Barbara Bradley Hagerty is vital in the field of religion reporting. She recently published a book, "The Fingerprints of God," in which she recounts her experiences abroad with different faith groups. USA Today profiles her and others who are making an impact on religion reporting these days.

Andy Carvin is the "social media guy" for NPR. Props to him - Mashable (THE online social media guide) cited him as one of the reasons NPR is at the forefront of social media (among the top 25 followed accounts on Twitter). The article applauded NPR for increasing its listenership/readership in a time when most news outlets are being forced to change. That's something to be proud of.

According to the article, NPR has embraced changing media platforms using a three-pronged system:

1. A focus on local. Experts have predicted that the future of journalism is in hyperlocal news.
2. A focus on social media. They are on top of this. Everytime I visit my Facebook home page, NPR has a new story posted with a video or podcast link. My most recent favorite was a story with amateur video footage of the beatboxing champions. That's what I call entertainment.
3. News on "my" terms. With the "me" focus of social media, NPR has created its platform in a way that allows news consumers to build their news consumption. You can create playlists and channels based on your interests.

Either way, NPR is blazing the trail for what lies ahead in journalism. Snaps to NPR!