One of the best ways to approach a big project is to just start working on it. I’ve done a huge chunk of work for a client on metric for hyperlocal news sites and after getting the initial work done, put it aside for six weeks.  Next week, I am giving a webinar on the… Continue Reading

In about ten days,editor Steve Fainru is leaving the Bay Citizen, just around the same time their CEO, Lisa Frazier, is departing. Has there ever been an organization whose benefactor–the recently deceased Warren Hellman–made sure there was millions in the bank–but whose entire leadership team has departed? (Original EIC Jon Weber left several months ago).… Continue Reading

OMFG, this is so funny–and so true. Well done, folks! Tom Conrad/Kaie Imbach, more, more!

I had a blast reading The Raid on AOL: How Vox Pillaged Engadget And Founded An Empire by Kevin Lincoln. As a former AOLer who worked closely with Jim Bankoff back in the day, this account rings true on so many levels. But I was also thrilled to learn that SB Nation, Bankoff’s company, has… Continue Reading

The fine and often cloudy line between big corporate media and grassroots community media came into sharp focus this week in Oakland, when the Bay Area News Group, now managed by Digital First and promising a new focus on all things community, issued a cease and desist letter to The Occupied Oakland Tribune, a volunteer… Continue Reading

My friend Steve Spiker was at a Code for America announcement in San Francisco today that triggered some strong feelings on his part. And he’s right on.  Not only is Oakland–our town–right across the bridge from SF, we have tons of the CFA people living here. And yet…we’re not, as a city, doing half of… Continue Reading

“What is the personal genesis of self-empowerment? Are there invariable, atomic elements common among these experiences? If so, what is the most effective way to infuse the largest number of people with these positive experiences in a way that successfully engenders autonomous power for each given individual?  “May May, maybemaimed.com, http://bit.ly/vPBkDP Great post by May… Continue Reading

I’m blogging again.Or, I’m resolving to blog again, but actually meaning to do it.Or, I’m just blogging again, dammnit. Back in 2002/2003, when I started to blog, it was the coolest thing possible.Two years ago, I was in the throes of a start-up (Oakland Local), and blogging seemed redundant with all the Twitter, Facebook, social… Continue Reading