#newsfoo 2012 highlights captured from afar

NewsFoo just wrapped up its third event. I haven’t been since 2010, but I followed along on Twitter again this year. Below are some good bits from the unconference (in chronological order).

#newsfoo 2012 highlights

I wasn’t there, but I followed along on Twitter. Here were some awesome bits from the event (in chronological order).

Storified by Greg Linch · Sun, Dec 02 2012 19:56:35

How do revolutions report on themselves? @BaghdadBrian on Small World News on reporting from Libya, at #newsfoo Ignite talks.Ethan Zuckerman
Turns out revolutionaries aren’t always psyched about uncensored, critical journalism. @BaghdadBrian at #newsfooEthan Zuckerman
Does immersion narcotize or tranquilize us? Potential is feeling he joy and excitement of change. @samgregory at #newsfooEthan Zuckerman
#ignitenewsfoo @samgregory asks what might feelies for human rights look like. #newsfoo http://pic.twitter.com/BdOWKuwYBrian Conley
Awesome talk from Witness’ Sam Gregory about how turn towards immersion media will change our perception of human rights crises. #newsfooMaha
Namely, does it make it easier for us to understand and care, does it tranquilize us, or does it bring on ‘compassion fatigue’? #newsfooMaha
.@chasedavis’s ignite repository: https://github.com/cirlabs/data-journalism-ignite #newsfooTed Han
#newsfoo is tech skeptic vs tech enthusiast this yearAdriano Farano
looking at my mom’s memories as a lens on the “miracle” of electricity: http://bit.ly/U73IBl #newsfoo #nuala #irelandSean Carlson
At #newsfoo Ignite, @chasedavis using data to describe the evolution of data journalism http://pic.twitter.com/6e1LLW7SPeter Skomoroch
When writing news for social media "your primary audience isn’t your reader, it’s your reader’s contacts" @SaraCritchfield #newsfooTim O’Reilly
Werewolf and tough decisions. #newsfoo @ Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel http://instagr.am/p/SsAifCrhQ7/rachelsklar
O’Reilly animal keychains = awesome start to NewsFoo Day Two. http://instagr.am/p/Ss4GtRF3u4/Molly Sauter
Kicking off #newsfoo discussion on sensors, data & society with @javaun @seanbonner. Context: http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/3634 http://pic.twitter.com/DvEWHsjBAlex Howard
.@safecast has published 4 million data points on radiation post-tsunami compared to 20,000 from Japanese govt #newsfoo Sensors & JournalismRaju Narisetti
At #newsfoo, @nadavaha talks about data, smartphones & the "social MRI." Context: http://radar.oreilly.com/2012/07/social-mri-smartphone-data.html http://pic.twitter.com/2EpgjY94Alex Howard
Top 10 fun math books for kids – a list by @suevanhattum at Nerdy Book Club http://wp.me/p21t9O-MC via @CBethMSteven Strogatz
Good yardstick: On Data Privacy, watch when a company says it won’t sell your data but says it buys others’ data via @timoreilly #newsfooRaju Narisetti
Sensors at #newsfoo: gas leak scanning in Boston: http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2012/11/20/boston-riddled-with-mostly-small-natural-gas-leaks-boston-university-study-finds/m1LvyBqHhdVhCQEZM60mwJ/story.htmlrekha6
Early take on #newsfoo: The future of journalism has a lot of facial hair.Jim Brady
Overheard at #newsfoo on the perils of of getting high-quality, professional grade crowd-sourcing: "Volunteers don’t build highways."Jim Frederick
Stop worrying about Big Brother and look around you for Little Brother #newsfooHiginio O. Maycotte
80% "infographics" subtract from world’s knowledge, because they are more about themselves than content, and are contemptuous of audience.Edward Tufte
Love that @waldojaquith uses https://github.com/unitedstates to share public data sets and code related to US laws #newsfoo #opengovTim O’Reilly
Listening to @ethanZ talk about Asthmapolis. Uses sensors to detect where volunteers use asthma inhalers, geolocating pollution. #newsfooAndy Carvin
Pets as sensors: @theoatmeal on cats and murder http://theoatmeal.com/comics/cats_actually_kill #newsfooJavaun Moradi
@timoreilly Well, @derekwillis and @JoshData use http://github.com/unitedstates/ to share US gov data—I’m just an observer at this point! #NewsFooWaldo Jaquith
Starting to think that the 1st q at every #newsfoo session should be: "Does Google have an algorithm for that?"Derek Willis
Given how I work on Twitter I feel like I’m a beneficiary of an incredible form of serendipity – yours. You know what interests me. #newsfooAndy Carvin
Given the type of work we do online, I think ppl lke @xeni, @brainpicker and I live a serendipitous life from your generosity. #newsfooAndy Carvin
@OldCrowNest @ethanz if u can determine what pollutants you’re searching for, you might be able to create low-cost sensors for it. #newsfooAndy Carvin
Waldo Jaquith arguing that true serendipity must be random. I think there’s a middle ground of curated randomness that leads to it. #newsfooAndy Carvin
.@ethanz: achieving serendipity at an event like #newsfoo is higher than some gatherings because the attendee list is curated. #newsfooAndy Carvin
To believers in serendipity (faith), the idea of “engineering serendipity” on a website (science) is heretical. #newsfooWaldo Jaquith
Overheard at #newsfoo about the Filter Bubble: "Do people want to be informed or do they want to be reassured?"Jim Frederick
"There is no real public space on the Internet" #newsfoo #TheInternetWillDestroyHumanityDan Schultz
Is the filter buble a falacy, #newsfooMariano Blejman
The Internet is NOT a public space, but is subject to legal frameworks #newsfooHiginio O. Maycotte
"We don’t want paternalism as the model for how we get our information and our news." – @katecrawford #newsfooLibby Brittain
Has anyone done studies of how different demographic groups value serendipity when it comes to news/info consumption? #newsfooAndy Carvin
"The only business mentioned in the constitution is the press. Bc it talks to the communal, it acts as the coagulant for society" #newsfooKam Lasater
Listening to @lara talking about trust and serendipity. The more you trust a curator, the more likely you’ll go along for the ride. #newsfooAndy Carvin
EthanZ: "You get really upset about Neda Agha Soltane and all you can do is amplify it, b/c you don’t have any influence in Iran." #newsfooAndy Carvin
EthanZ: "Andy’s a bad example because he amplifies too much." LOL #iamaOutlier #newsfooAndy Carvin
Want to engineer serendipity? Look to urban planning, specifically New Urbanism. #NewsFooWaldo Jaquith
also, elusive RT @seanbonner: “perfect is a trap” – @EthanZ #newsfooSean Carlson
Do algorithmic news sites have a responsibility to show authoritative sources in addition to what user wants to see? #newsfoo #filterbubbleRenee DiResta
"I wish the women would talk more and the men would interrupt less." – someone to me just now at #NewsFoorachelsklar
Should the average web/internet searcher/newsconsumer know more about what filter bubble they live in or do they really care? #newsfooHilary Hoeber
…spend a lot of time on WebMD? #newsfoo http://instagr.am/p/StIsteLha0/rachelsklar
The 7 story archetypes may be more important than the specific news itself in deciding what to recommend to a reader. #newsfooRenee DiResta
Instagram filters "reopened a space in which people could maneuver" – @libbybrittain quoting someone from Flickr, realizing. #newsfoorachelsklar
In @glichfield’s session on redefining beats. A lot of important topics go uncovered bc they fall between cracks in existing beats. #newsfooMaha
My own biz/econ/FP work is such a topic. Most of the pitches we get at @publicbusiness are for stories that cut across beats… #newsfooMaha
But, lesson of both my own and PubBiz’ experience is that there’s a workflow challenge to managing interdisciplinary coverage. #newsfooMaha
Beats evolved, as @jayrosen_nyu notes, bc they fit the structure, workflow of producing news predictably in an unpredictable world. #newsfooMaha
@mattcutts a book about social movements driving policy change: http://books.google.com/books/about/Parting_the_Waters.html?id=U8ExdUHjzkMC #newsfooJohn S. Bracken
Mentioned at #newsfoo: get alerts on legislation in DC: https://scout.sunlightfoundation.com/ & check out @RegulationsGov API: http://gov20.govfresh.com/regulations-gov-relaunches-with-apis-integrates-social-media-hopes-for-public-participation/ #opengovAlex Howard
Ha. #newsfoo RT @flashboy: @MahaRafiAtal "Redefining Beats" is the name of my difficult third album.Maha
Overhead at #newsfoo session on technology vs government: "If you are exponential enough, they can’t catch up fast enough to regulate you."Jim Frederick
Myth of the solitary genius very appropriate when discussing open source communities & startups ("what would Ben Franklin do?") #newsfooShannon Dosemagen
@acarvin serendipity is unexpected relevance. #newsfooJeff Jarvis
great question & discussion, re: how to define the end of an obsession (journalistically speaking) sparked by @elisewho #newsfooSean Carlson
Seen this way, serendipity speaks to emergence @jeffjarvis: @acarvin serendipity is unexpected relevance. #newsfooTim Hannigan
"Listen to me with your eyes" A totally sensible suggestion for this digital diversionary era h/t @richardgingras #newsfooRaju Narisetti
@acarvin serendipity is one of the keys to most good ideas – that and hard work… #newsfooTracy Wahl
@seancarlson Thanks, Sean and thanks @jayrosen_nyu for simplifying my Q: When is the end point (of an obsession)? #newsfooElise Hu
For those about to enter the #newsfoo credibility session: lessons learned from Truth Goggles http://slifty.com/2012/05/achievement-unlocked-thesis/ http://slifty.com/2012/06/truth-goggles-study-results/Dan Schultz
Hey #newsfoo, a few of you have asked, so I created a @Branch Group for us. If you’re here, ask to join: News Foo 2012 http://branch.com/g/news-foo-2012.Libby Brittain
Talking with @tasneemraja about women, sexism & tech: http://m.motherjones.com/media/2012/04/silicon-valley-brogrammer-culture-sexist-sxsw – I’m proud @OReillyMedia did this: http://adainitiative.org/2011/07/oreilly-announces-anti-harassment-code-of-conduct/ #newsfooAlex Howard
Learned a new term at #newsfoo: ACCESS BIAS. #yesyesyesrachelsklar
@nabomita_smiles keeping the long tail reader’s context of your news upfront will drive engagement deeper than your first reader #newsfooRaju Narisetti
How to build a more diverse speaker roster for your conference, for @tasneemraja’s great #newsfoo panel http://www.racialicious.com/2012/11/30/solving-the-pipeline-problem/Joe Germuska
Had a fantastic time leading my first #NewsFoo session on depictions of science in police procedural dramas on TV. Great conversation!Molly Sauter
Obama campaign CTO @Harper Reed asked "What advice would you give to journalists?" he says, "Fucking do math." #newsfooKing Kaufman
Right now #newsfoo: Right now: demo of Poetica, cool collaborative editing platform: upgrade of track changes/diff for writersScott Rosenberg
#newsfoo demo of human.io http://pic.twitter.com/N0rnh47HBrian Conley
Imagining the day when push notifications on a phone have evolved into contextually relevant popovers on Google Glass #newsfoo #wearablenewsRenee DiResta
Neat #search tip from @mattcutts: drag an image onto the logo on http://google.com to @google it. #newsfooAlex Howard
Passionate about aligning money & meaning? Mission-driven + profitable session in 444! #newsfoo w/ @peterkoechleyJesse Shapins
.@Lara: 52% of Americans say they "closely follow" overseas news. Lack of background #1 reason not consuming > http://huff.to/RdHdjx #newsfooAlex Howard
Re: topic pages & “living stories,” @krishnabharat notes @googlenews links to @Wikipedia from news clusters. #newsfoo http://pic.twitter.com/BwVMJOYFAlex Howard
In which @timoreilly turns down a #newsfoo invitation from the fake Jeff Jarvis https://twitter.com/timoreilly/status/275046704045236224Steve Myers
.@oddletters unpacks the hacker identity in Ignite talks at #newsfoo. W00t!Ethan Zuckerman
"Hackers" has become an overdetermined term – includes activists, artists and criminals all in the same term. @oddletters at #newsfooEthan Zuckerman
Newspapers must stop thinking of tech as ‘support’ and recognise it as a product in itself – @slifty #newsfooLaurie Penny
Some context: http://gov20.govfresh.com/think-different-about-hacking/ RT @EthanZ: .@oddletters unpacks the hacker identity in @Ignite talks at #newsfoo. W00t!Alex Howard
.@slifty looks at his time at the Boston Globe as a Mozilla Fellow to explain how to be a productive and effective troublemaker. #newsfooEthan Zuckerman
.@mirandamulligan honors her ancestors’ history as milliners and dressmakers to explain her work as a news designer. #newsfooEthan Zuckerman
#newsfoo #ignitenewsfoo http://pic.twitter.com/KApLttlhBrian Conley
"We’re good at covering things that happen. We need to get better at covering [expected] things that don’t."- @derekwillis #newsfooElise Hu
"I’m not Nate Silver, and so can you" nytimes @derekwillis Ignite at #newsfoo http://pic.twitter.com/N8iCsUjgPeter Skomoroch
Journalists need to plan for and report on what *doesn’t* happen as much as what does, says @derekwillis in great #newsfoo ignite talk.Christopher Sopher
Graphic design was the single most formative experience in becoming a good communicator. Couldn’t agree more with @mirandamulligan #newsfooSara Critchfield
Interesting talk by @derekwillis on how we can use forward planning to be prepared to report when an expected event doesn’t happen. #newsfooMaha
RR: Great #newsfoo ignite by @derekwillis. He finds stories in campaign finance data http://blog.thescoop.org/ http://instagr.am/p/SuBeh_pyF4/Alex Howard
Biz press does it. If firm always pays dividend, beat reporters notice the year they don’t, report it as harbinger of $ trouble. #newsfooMaha
@rachelsklar shares what she learned while on crutches and how it relates to our biased ‘default settings’ #newsfoo http://pic.twitter.com/is9ZWplvElise Hu
Just watched @rachelsklar Crutch the Ratio. Suddenly aware of all my default settings. #NewsFooLara Setrakian
Some sites/tools at @Newsfoo: http://bit.ly/newsfoo12 #newsfooRyan Osborn
Great ignite talk quote: "Our economy has tanked but our diaspora has grown" @mediamurray on Ireland’s silver lining #newsfooRuth Spencer
http://openir.media.mit.edu/main/ RT @EthanZ: .@arlduc showing some of her OpenIR work, and talking about the emotional import of visual data at #newsfooAlex Howard
Chris Altchek kicks ass. @caltchek talking about how to make comment work, based on his experience with http://policymic.com/ #newsfooEthan Zuckerman
If you go to a dinner part & everyone is wearing a mask it will probably get "pretty weird, pretty fast" Comments need real names #newsfooConor White-Sullivan
Related to @mirandamulligan’s #NewsFoo talk, @ario’s notes on @MrAlanCooper’s talk Ending the Software Death March: http://interimlover.livejournal.com/381340.htmlNoah Iliinsky
RR: I agree with @caltchek: comments are worth getting right http://digiphile.wordpress.com/2012/01/04/on-the-va http://instagr.am/p/SuHLlbJyND/ #newsfooAlex Howard
A crowd is a group of people NOT in mutual communication "Alan Watts" interesting insight at #newsfooConor White-Sullivan
Overheard at #newsfoo telling old-media to get over their anxiety about changing content consumption habits: "New behaviors are awesome."Jim Frederick
.@marksluckie uses his #newsfoo talk to explain why Ru Paul is better at social media than you are. Plus. she’s taller and has better legs.Ethan Zuckerman
"there’s a comment thread in our brains" scariest thought in recent memory #newsfooSam Bailey
Dan Grech on learnings from improv for news. "Make your partner perfect." #newsfoo http://pic.twitter.com/wS76gDfYChristopher Sopher
Accept and Build (Yes, And). Always be listening. Find the Game. Make your Partner Perfect. Dare to Fail Gloriously. Improv rules 4 #newsfooConor White-Sullivan
dgretch is the Unicorniest improvver at #newsfoo http://instagr.am/p/SuKvJnLhXm/rachelsklar
"We were going to have a fail meet to discuss failures but I failed to organize it." #newsfoopeterkoechley
Graphically-challenged slides from Ignite talk last night: The Calendar of Events That Don’t Happen. https://docs.google.com/presentation/pub?id=1TymeiU7a2dK_PqI-SB6ty_AfJuEJtkBfaSprnXUaCzQ&start=false&loop=false&delayms=5000 #newsfooDerek Willis
So @harper told us his secrets, but a white board NDA is a binding contract, and I suspect he knows all of the lawyers. #newsfooRob Malda
@derekwillis I wish you were about to imperiously lead this boardroom in a musical theater showtune extravaganza #newsfoo #smashrachelsklar
"Information is not scarce anymore, but expertise is still scarce" – @sarawinge #newsfoo #TawkersBlake Ian
"the grammar of graphics" … #newsfooEmily Jacobi
Will have more on #newsfoo, but was great to be with passionate, smart ppl. we should give our reporters/editors/devs better opps for that.Derek Willis
This book http://books.google.com/books/about/The_Grammar_of_Graphics.html?id=iI1kcgAACAAJ RT @emjacobi: "the grammar of graphics" … #newsfooNoah Iliinsky

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