Susan Mernit's Blog

Don Dodge:Laid off? Welcome to the next chapter

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:18:40 -0800

I found out today that Microsoft's evangelist Don Dodge was among the 800+ in the latest round of layoffs. If you're in tech, you probably know Don, but if you're not, you'd want to--in a business filled with lots of arrogant assholes whose skills don't match their public self-esteem Don stands out as smart, refreshingly low key and tireless when it comes to supporting entrepreneurs and excellence. When Lisa and I were at TechStars, interacting with Don and getting his support was a bright spot.

So, the big company laid the guy off. And he says he didn't see it coming. And that's he's looking forward to the next big thing. Don, I went through a similar layoff myself, about 18 months ago, and, in truth, it was one of the best things that ever happened to me. Giving up mu corporate title and salary was a small trade off for the chance to turn my passions into projects and to work on amazing things--a kick in the ass that transformed everything.

Don, you are a quality person, and the world is lucky to have a chance to get more of you. I can't wait to see what this next chapter is for you, and if I can be of help in any way, I'd be honored.

Oakland Local hits 1,000 FB fans in under 2 weeks of operation

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:24:22 -0800

It's been intense. We launched Oakland Local not quite two weeks ago and the site is humming. Lots of content, lots of page views, lots of uniques. We're going to implement Facebook Connect so the more casual user can comment more easily, and move the Get Involved link up to the top of the page.
Am I exhausted? Right now, Friday night at 7:26 PM, Hell yeah!
But I'm also thrilled--Oakland Local hit 1,000 fans on Facebook today, And it just kinda happened.
Yeah, we did our social media magic mojo when we launched, and we tweet and post, but this FB thing has a viral quality I am trying to figure out. What percentage of the fans are friends of mine and cheerers-on (which I totally will take and applaud), and which are local folk excited at a new vision for diverse voices and community in Oakland, CA?
Will I look back at the Facebook group as a bright spot in a very hard slog (which doing a local site can easily be), or as one note in a series that continued to go higher?
Classically, there is no way to tell, but I am heading into the weekend exhausted, overworked and happy.

Ouote of the Day: Bay Bridge Closing division

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 07:33:57 -0800

"@larfo, did not expect a photo of my hand to be viewed by 15,000+ people tonight... wow. i was just trying to block the sun"--Twitter user Joe Mitchelle, who took a photo of the Bay Bridge roadway as a cable snapped and fell and posted it.

Oct 28, heading to Digital Media Conference West in the am

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:18:18 -0800

I am excited about being on a panel at the Digital Media Contest West tomorrow from 11:20-12:05 --Breaking Down Social Media: Opportunities & Challenges for Content Owners, Brands & Marketers
This panel of industry experts will discuss the future of social media, with a focus on consumer trends, marketing programs and content development. As a brand, marketer or content owner, how can social media improve your current marketing and customer acquisition initiatives? What is the opportunity for brands and marketers to target and reach potential consumers through social networks? How are social networks evolving to incorporate advertising programs and licensed content while addressing privacy and piracy concerns? This panel of experts will get under the hood and provide answers to the questions people are asking about the future of social media.

Panelists
Tom Burke, Partner, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
Aria Finger, CMO, Do Something
Shawn Gold, CEO, Cocodot
Susan Mernit, Founder, Oakland Local
Tim O'Shaughnessy, CEO & Co-Founder, LivingSocial
Moderator: Mark Fischer, Principal, Fish & Richardson P.C

This is such a full panel I don't really expect to say much, but I am excited about the session and talking with my fellow panelists. Come say hi if you are there.

Quote of the Day

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 12:28:33 -0800

"Last night a friend was telling me that I was arrogant, in a nice way -- which I took as a compliment. I really think I'm audacious. I learned early in life that the hard part of doing something big is deciding to do it. From there it's often a lot easier than people think it is."
--Berkeley resident Dave Winer, writing about whether Berkeley is the blogging capital of the world and who else might want to chip in a few thousand dollars with him to launch a blogging newsroom in his town.

Update: Oakland Local reports 182+ active blogs in Oakland, think Dave would chip in to support a blogging newsroom down the road in Oaktown? Kinda doubt it.

Where's Susan? (why she was gone and how she's now back)

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 10:58:51 -0800

Sorry about that. Took two weeks off without saying anything (blush). But you, know I kinda was busy having a baby. Not the flesh and blood kind, the web kind--We launched Oakland Local last Monday, October 19th and dove into a week of making our project live.
If I've been quiet about OL here, it's because I was sensitive to the pain of shutting down People's Software last fall, and didn't want to say too much this time before we actually happened. But here's the dish: Oakland Local is a hyperlocal site for news and community for Oakland, CA.
The deets:

Oakland Local is an independent, nonprofit community news and information hub, connecting community and news. Our site combines original investigative and feature reporting with community news and information Oakland non-profit organizations, community groups and engaged citizen. We are a voice of independent journalism and community service for a city where too many people go unheard, too many issues uncovered.

The concept of Oakland Local is that amazing work is being done in our city on critical issues that is currently not seen by a wide enough range of people. One goal of Oakland Local is to surface the work being done so that organizations and individuals can connect to share information and work together for the common good.

Centered on topics including environmental justice, food distribution, transportation, development & housing, and gender & identity, Oakland Local aggregates information and news from local non-profits and community organizations working on these topics within a range of Oakland neighborhoods. We present that information in combination with daily quality reporting, blogging and analysis from a diverse range of community members and organizations.

We seek to create a unique local forum for sharing information, building community, speaking truth to power and working together for positive social change. We are committed to diverse voices, reader engagement, deep issue coverage and local commentary.

So, now we're live, updating daily, and the baby is born. Read more about OL in the attached PDF--and come visit!

1025 what is oakland local .pdf

Tara Hunt: Wise words on shoes, relationships and self-esteem

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 20:11:20 -0800

Tara Hunt has a moving post written in relationship to the essays in the NYTimes on womens' love of uncomfortable fetishistic high fashion shoes. A bit of Tara's essay is this:

"Which brings me to these shoes. A good step back (so to speak) would reveal to us that wearing 12″ heels or pointy toes or strappy sandals that we can't walk in more than 1 block and cut our feet to shreds is the unsexiest thing we can possibly ever do. I was at drinks with some friends of mine the other night and they showed me a photo of a male friend who is single and who makes his dates fill out a test before he'll go out with them. I looked at the photo and thought, "This man is bald, overweight and not particularly handsome, how does he have the power to administer a test to women who desire to date him? Would an overweight, unattractive woman be able to do the same?" And when I read the article on the shoes, I thought, "Oh geez, I balked at the test, but that's what these shoes are." Another test. A way to seek external validation that we are worthy...to be looked at...to be desired...to have someone with comfortable shoes and way more power ask us out on a date."

But the whole thing is so worth a read, so please, go read it.

LIsa Williams on Journalists and Startups

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 09:59:28 -0800

My friend Lisa Williams did a preso on journalism and startups that got favorited on SlideShare. It's good, so here it is:

Startups For Journalists

View more documents from lisawilliams.

Reflections on ONA09: Re-engaging

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 22:56:21 -0800

This was an amazing ONA conference for me for so many reasons. For one thing, I'd spent the year working with Liz Lufkin & Katherine Fong and others on the ONA conference program; for another, as I'd suspected when I went to ONA09 with Gary Kebbel, Jose Zamora and the Knight News Challenge, team, this was the year I'd get re-involved with online news and helping ONA plan a SF conference would be relevant.

At the ONA conference this year, I felt like my work had a long shadow--there were the three keynoters, Ev Williams, Lisa Stone and Leo LaPorte, all of whom were kind enough to say yes to my requests (and each of whom did a superb job). Then there was the hard work Mark Briggs and I put into 6 in 60, an ignite-style pitch session for media entrepreneurs, and the keynote I gave at career day (Yes, I am proving to be a reinvention princess), and the talk at Jan Schaffer's all-day workshop about the work I've done starting Oakland Local from scratch this summer (and hopefully, launching it later this week).

But what was really stirring for me (besides the relief at doing a good job while on the hot seat with Ev) was the degree of connection I felt, and the delight and interest in so many of the people I talked to. You see, online news and I have had a love-hate relationship for many years, and ONA has borne the brunt of it. I sulked out of an ONA conference a few years ago (2004?) vowing never to return because of the bitter, whiny voices I heard, and when I volunteered last year, it was really as an experiment.

But I have to echo Jay Rosen and others that this ONA was full of an energy and verve that was very engaging. For me, it was a real welcome back. a re-absorption into a world I'd (frankly) almost written off a couple of years ago and that now I find myself passionately engaged with.

Confession: it's not only that I am an unrepentant news junkie, it's that I believe that the ability to be heard, to engage in discourse and tell stories in a through and accurate way is the basis for civic engagement. As great as the stories are, its our ability to inform people, or to showcase their data, so that they can be informed enough to take action, should they care to.

At the end of the day, what I care most about with news is not only the information, but the way new sites can engage the community, help make their voices heard, and build capacity for creating positive social change.

My ONA09 was all about connections--with the great students I've gotten to know, like @suzannayada and @annabloom, the recent grads including @pickoffwhite and @rhyencoombs, the news vets including Neil Chase, Rich Jaroslovsky , Jennifer Carroll and David Westphal, and the friends and colleagues including Ryan Sholin, Dan Pacheco, Leslie Walker, Amy Gahran, Lisa Stone, Robert Rosenthal, Mark Katches,Scott Rosenberg, David Cohn , Scott Lewis and Louis Freedberg.

And all the new people I connected with and got to know, including my Montclair Goddess, Debbie Galant--the excitement I feel about what so many of these folks are doing, and working on made me feel great to be a part of ONA, and to be at the conference.

Yep, I am re-engaged for sure.

@ev interview at ONA09: video on demand

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 22:46:00 -0800

Over 1,000 people were at the ONA09 keynote, probably the largest group I've presented before. Sitting on stage with Ev Williams of Twitter was very exciting, but my biggest focus was making sure I stayed calm, connected with him, and asked the questions I'd crowdsourced. I think the interview went really well; I am now a lot more interested in doing more video interviews.

My favorite moment: Ev talking about handling uncertainty and listening to himself, not others.

2nd favorite moment: Liz Lufkin telling me she thought this would inspire lots of people in the room to start their own ventures.

Reinvention=Survival, ONA, Oct 1, 2009

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:37:07 -0800

Just posted the talk I did as the keynote for the ONA 09 career day to Slideshare. I had a great time talking about reinvention, rebranding and finding your way workwise--here's the talk:
1001 ONA Career Day Preso

Come to California Data Camp, SF, Nov 7th

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:08:58 -0800

The Center for Investigative Reporting's California Watch project, Spot.Us, MAPLight.org, Craigslist founder Craig Newmark, and the Sunlight Foundation have teamed up to sponsor the first California Data Camp & DataSF App Contest on November 7, 2009.

The one day gathering is open to developers, journalists, community organizers, policy wonks, students and others interested in working with government data to provide insights and information into California and its communities. A variety of issues will be tackled including computer-assisted reporting, data visualization, data access, data transparency, and data management.

You can read the CIR take here, the Spot.us take, here, and get the deets here.

I am superexcited about putting this together; data transparency and data visualization/reporting are all very vital issues and this event should bring some wonderful people together to teach and learn.

The event will be held at Citizen Space, 425 Second Street, San Francisco and runs from 9:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner. To register, visit http://datacamp.eventbrite.com/. The cost is $10.

Labor: Oakland Local

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 07:42:29 -0800

@agahran and I sat at the dining room/home office table last night, uploading content into Oakland Local. There is nothing like trying to use software as a means to debug it. We found problems with various aspects of the CMS as we started to add stories and photos; each one got posted to our Basecamp bug list. I also worked with our feeds and our local non-profit directory; alot gtot done, but...more bug reports.

Finetuning software for prime time is an exercise in patience.Try, report, fix, check, try, succeed--or report, fix, check. This is the stage I always find to be a "growth experience", ie I wish the damn thing was perfect and we could whip the cover off. Not to be. Not yet.

On the other hand, we are so close! I can't wait to get this puppy up and going.

Will Warren Hellman, KQED & UCB crush local journalism--or help it?

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:48:16 -0800

The SF Guardian is running a story saying that entrepreneur Warren Hellman is partnering with KQED, UCBerkeley, others to launch $5MM Bay area nonprofit newsroom that will have 24 journalists.The operating budget for this small, scrappy enterprise will be roughly $5 a year (!!). The service will ask for money from foundations, government and anyone else willing to pony up.

I like the idea of not letting there be a news monopoly in the Bay area, but I hate the idea that big entities can suck the air--and perhaps the funding--from smaller more grassroots efforts.
The SFAppeal should not suffer a loss in support because of Hellman's largess; and neither should the soon to be launched Oakland Local or other less well-funded non corporate efforts.

On the other hand, Hellman's big, expensive effort may just be another proof point that there isn't enough money in advertising to float $5MM annual budgets for news online beyond the year or two that a benefactor shells out, and that well-funded newsrooms don't equal community or civic engagement.

And yet, I have to believe that this is a good thing for Bay area news, not a bad one. As much as I worry that Hellman's project will suck $$ from my own little project and other wonderful smaller sites I see emerging, the Hellman project feels ,more like a replacement for something we've lost--the big (bloated?) newsrooms of the corporate papers--not the local sites that are close to their community. But truth, we don't really yet know.

Social Media for Social Action, Oct 23, register now

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 07:14:04 -0800

We're going to have a great group teaching--and attending --the PMC social media for social action one day event in Oakland, Sign up here. Only $10 for a full day with materials, workshops, meals. Hashtag #PMC

Links for 2009-08-20 [del.icio.us]

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Maps From Scratch
tutorial on mapping

Links for 2009-08-16 [del.icio.us]

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Census 2010 Boot Camp
must read for CAR

Links for 2009-08-11 [del.icio.us]

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Greg Linch (greglinch) on Twitter
"our goal should be to use as few (ideally, no) automatic settings as possible (go manual with exposure, white balance, sound and focus) once you’re comfortable with the gear (h/t Jim). I want you to say, “This is my camera. There are many like it, but this one is mine.” You need to explore all the buttons and menus and settings. You need to be able to troubleshoot any problem that you could possibly troubleshoot. When you’re a professional, you can’t make excuses (h/t Jim Virga). No one will want to work with you. If it’s really beyond your control, then it might not be your fault, but you still don’t have what you need. (This is more a problem on deadline.)"
Videojournalism brain dump: Some advice I’ve picked up over the past few years
our goal should be to use as few (ideally, no) automatic settings as possible (go manual with exposure, white balance, sound and focus) once you’re comfortable with the gear (h/t Jim). I want you to say, “This is my camera. There are many like it, but this one is mine.” You need to explore all the buttons and menus and settings. You need to be able to troubleshoot any problem that you could possibly troubleshoot. When you’re a professional, you can’t make excuses (h/t Jim Virga). No one will want to work with you. If it’s really beyond your control, then it might not be your fault, but you still don’t have what you need. (This is more a problem on deadline.)
10 Golden Rules for Video Journalists | Ricochet by Chrys Wu
" At yesterday’s “Creating Video Narratives” workshop at Beyond Bootcamp, Washington Post video journalist Travis Fox shared his 10 guidelines for making video reports."

Links for 2009-07-17 [del.icio.us]

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Links for 2009-07-16 [del.icio.us]

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Alameda County Public Health - Health and Social Equity
Just cause and health issues
Foreclosures take health along with homes, report says - Inside Bay Area
just cause report
Beyond Bread: Food Deserts Lower Life Expectancy
report on food deserts and health
New report documents "food deserts" in US cities
usda reort

Links for 2009-06-29 [del.icio.us]

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off - The Atlantic (July/August 2009)
"And yet at the end of the day—literally during a five o’clock counseling appointment, as the golden late-afternoon sunlight spilled over the wall of Balinese masks—when given the final choice by our longtime family therapist, who stands in as our shaman, mother, or priest, I realized … no. Heart-shattering as this moment was—a gravestone sunk down on two decades of history—I would not be able to replace the romantic memory of my fellow transgressor with the more suitable image of my husband, which is what it would take in modern-therapy terms to knit our family’s domestic construct back together."

Links for 2009-06-28 [del.icio.us]

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Reddit - Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About It | 10e20 Blog
excellent article on using reddit