I know it’s hard to remember this time before the Internet. Even before chat-rooms – YES, even before “You’ve Got Mail.” Before the socialized Internet, your community was just your physical social environment: Your mailman, your grocer, friends, family, roommates and the physical places where you would see these people. The emergence of social Web was astounding. Suddenly we were part of a global community and you could find web content from South Africa and chat with people in Belize. Now that the Web is mobile, there is this new fascination with socializing our location. Mobile services like Foursquare, Brightkite and even Tumblr allow users to tell all of their networks where they are and what they’re doing.

You Are Your Own Paparazzi
This rings in a new phase in online social interaction – bringing your physical locale online – not just the people, but the shops, restaurants, gas stations, post offices, parks, churches. They all inhabit real-estate on the Web within these applications. Checking in on Brightkite gives you the option of cross-streets or nearby listings that include businesses and landmarks. Take a picture and include it in your check-in – then send it to Twitter and Facebook. Now, when you check in, you can easily connect with several people who are in close proximity to your activity who are also socializing their activities.

Social Historians Tag As We Go
Blogging is no exception for the digital local yokel. Devote an Tumblr entire post to a photo and tag it to a location that shows up on a built-in Google Map on your site so that your followers can know exactly where you were when you posted. It’s crazy! And speaking of Google Maps – also crazy: Do a Google Maps search for Shake Shack NYC’s and not only will you find the street view, but you’ll also find relevant photos tagged to exact locations that were submitted by users like your GPS-powered social self. We’re literally uploading our neighborhoods onto the Internet.

Digital Town Criers
You find the same thing with local news. Sometimes, if the train is ever delayed – which happens often here in San Francisco – I’ll check Twitter for updates from @NJudah to see if there’s anything holding up the system somewhere. We find out news and alerts from our online social networks, but it’s not always organized, relevant, so targeted to you and where YOU are–Hence the idea of Fwix. It combs the best of the Web–blogs, local news, even user-submitted news stories, breaking them down to the most relevant bits of information, in real time, in your city. Plus, it lets you shape your own local newswire–got an iPhone? Break the story to Fwix, and share it with your social network. Know that your news is filtered to the most important parts.

Meaningful Meetups
Forget, though, about being “nearby” and “checking in” and “running into”. As your two local communities merge, there still exist physical, premeditated gatherings – events, if you will. And services that digitize them, namely, Eventbrite, have the challenge of re-socializing an innately social idea – a gathering of people at a venue for an event. As a location-centric, web-based service they have the option to integrate with these increasingly popular mobile services while still owning the digital social future – the planned get-together, so different from the random, cheap check-in. Eventbrite, and the like, are the best of both worlds. Their site, while listing planned events, has elements of surprise and the larger sense of community (fancy a Fusion Fight night in Billings?) while catering to needs of local communities – they are a valuable entity to the growing story of the location-obsessed and the new digitized local community.

*Image courtesy of art.com.

The post was a response to the New York Post’s revelation that Steve Phillips, a high-profile ESPN baseball analyst, had been suspended for having an affair with an ESPN production assistant. Daulerio had been sitting on the story for a couple weeks and felt he had been lied to by ESPN’s communications arm, and thus, scooped by the Post. Needless to say, Daulerio wasn’t happy about it and retaliated by unloading his inbox of rumors about the indiscretions of ESPN executives under the … well, hilarious tag “ESPNhorndoggery.”

Reactions since from both the traditional media and the sports blogosphere have been, for the most part, critical of what Daulerio did. Right or wrong, this is a fascinating story because it tiptoes so close to that imaginary ethical line that the traditional media always hysterically yell about about when talking about the blogosphere. But nobody has actually ever attempted to define exactly what that line is. Is it legal? Is it ethical? Is it based on long-standing journalistic standards?

I’d say it’s purely legal, because, well, that’s the ultimate measure of right or wrong here. Obviously, Gawker boss Nick Denton has Daulerio and Deadspin’s back here, and Daulerio was a trained, professional journalist for years before joining Deadspin, so it’s his call as to where the ethical line is drawn and if he cares about the long-standing journalist mores. Absent restraint from his bosses and from himself, defamation law is the only check on Daulerio. Clay Travis, a former lawyer and former Deadspin writer, has a pretty thorough run down of the legal issues involved and concludes that Deadspin and Gawker are pretty much in the clear, legally.

That really is the final word here. If, in the eyes of the law, Deadspin’s war against ESPN is legal, than so be it. ESPN can call it “despicable behavior,” Daulerio’s sports blogging brethren can complain and members of the traditional media can hold their noses at the messy kerfuffle that’s so obviously beneath them, but the law is the final call on legal or not, and Daulerio and Gawker have the final say on right or wrong.

And something that’s been missing from the discussion as well, is that Deadspin might have exposed a pattern of sexual misdeeds that point to a widespread institutional rot within ESPN. Not to suggest that Daulerio is today’s Upton Sinclair, or his “Horndoggery” posts an update to The Jungle, but in a sense it’s akin to modern day muckraking, just on a smaller scale. ESPN though, might argue it’s more like yellow journalism. But this is the new media environment, and these issues need to be worked out. Who knows, if ESPN files suit against Gawker, this case could establish future precedent.

Under its founder and editor emeritus Will Leitch, Deadspin basically founded what is now a thriving, interesting and exciting sports blogosphere. Under Daulerio, Deadspin might also pioneer less comfortable, but massively important new territory around standards, ethics and exactly what the new journalism is. It’ll be exciting to see.

Panos Panoy, Sonicbids founder/CEO, recently wrote a very interesting post on the changing guard of the music industry. His post “Are Consumer Brands the New Record Labels?” analyzes the stream of deals that major brands are increasingly offering to independent musicians via Sonicbids. Panos notes, “major (and niche) consumer brands have figured out that music can help them sell whatever product they produce,” and thus have started to work directly with unsigned artists to provide them with music for a variety of promotional campaigns. One can certainly see how this scares record labels - if bands can produce high quality, professionally recorded music on their own dime, completely own their publishing rights and then make a profit on their music through licensing songs to Coca-Cola directly through the Sonicbids online platform, why would artists ever want to sign on to a record label who will take the lion’s share of the profits from their music?

Similarly, game developers are now releasing games online that people would normally have to pay to play, but large brands are starting to come in to sponsor the games to make them free, here’s an example. Online game network and LaunchSquad client, Mochi Media, has steadily seen more game developers leave big distribution companies to start their own production companies, allowing them to create their own games, retain all rights to their intellectual property and distribute their games to the world via the Web and mobile platforms like the iPhone. A good example is the wildly popular game catalog created by Sean Cooper, a former game developer for EA Sports.

Even in film you are starting to see some similar trends. Though distribution to theaters will always be a big money game, increasing bandwidth speeds and HD quality video players are making the Web a real platform for film distribution. An interesting example is the recent short by Director, Barry Jenkins, who is known for directing the indie film hit ‘Medicine for Melancholy.’ Jenkins created a short film called Tall Enough, which was funded by Bloomingdales of all companies, and now streams on the company’s site.

Is this direct consumer brand/artist relationship the future of the creative economy? And if so, will artist development suffer as a result of the lack of artist rep firms like record labels who (supposedly) nurture the talents of the artists on their roster? If nothing else, it does seem that if this type of consumer brand/artist relationship increasingly becomes the norm that the modern artist will need to have the somewhat rare combination of very strong creative and entrepreneurial skills to reap the rewards of this new system. But maybe that is what the digital generation is all about – only an Internet connection needed.

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So, Clive Thompson’s piece in Wired, “Clive Thompson on the New Literacy” was a breath of fresh air. In it, Thompson analyzes a study done by a Stanford professor that claims that we in general, and kids specifically, are writing more now than ever, and amazingly, 38 percent of that writing is so-called “life writing,” or personal writing.

This is remarkable if you think back to the pre-Internet and e-mail proliferated 1990s. People simply didn’t write back then unless it was for class or work. I remember when I got my e-mail account in 1997 during college, I used this mysterious new creature primarily for sending assignments and occasionally writing cute little notes to my girlfriend, which still felt oddly impersonal. But think how much that has changed. We now use the written word for interpersonal communication more than any time in history. Yes, some of those conversations are, “OMG, u r the gr8est person I no. LMFAO!!1!” – but it’s still transmission of thought through the written word, something that was dying in the pre-Internet era.

That idea of the Internet killing off writing is beyond irritating and is simply not true. For all the “LOL” and trite abbreviations we see online, there is also a ton of useful stuff that kids – and adults – read and write. People simple read and write a ton more than they did 10-15 years ago. And to all the fuddy duddies who complain about the “death of prose” – please, shut up. More reading and writing is a good thing, be it in the long-winded, haughty pages of the New Yorker, or the adolescent ramblings of MySpace.

Online publishers, Spanefeller says, are hindering the growth of the industry by adopting the remnant pricing strategies established by the ever-struggling airline industry. Yet, when it comes to pricing reform, is Spanfeller’s characterization of remnant ad units, and the ad networks that sell them, as the major problem facing the industry an oversimplification of the problem?

Fundamentally, Spanfeller’s argument is rooted in the assumption that by offering unsold advertising units to ad networks, who in turn make this inventory available to advertisers at a significant discount, online publishers have created massive price erosion in the market. After all, why buy ads at rate card prices when you get the same or comparable inventory for a song through a network?

Following this logic, Spanfeller suggests that by eschewing the remnant model, publishers will sustain higher prices for their ad inventory and increase revenue at higher profit margins, thus driving the industry to new heights. Mission accomplished? Yes and No.

Truth be told, there are properties that have gone the DIY-only ad sales route. ESPN, for example, announced that it would no longer work with ad networks in May of 2008. As a top online sports property, ESPN made the decision that it would rather lose revenue from unsold ads than face pricing pressure from ad networks. Advantage Spanfeller.

However, for a much larger segment of online publishers that don’t have deep relationships with advertisers, large sales forces and premium content, casting off ad networks is simply not an option. Even NBC Universal’s iVillage unit admits that while some sections drive lots of traffic, they don’t appeal to endemic advertisers, making ad networks a viable way to drive revenue that would otherwise be lost.

The bigger question – one which Spanfeller doesn’t address – is which approach will drive more ad dollars into the market and create a bigger opportunity for publishers long term?

In a recent quarterly report, LaunchSquad client BrightRoll reported that while CPMs across its video ad network were flat between Q1 and Q2 ‘09, overall revenue generated during the same period was up more than 200 percent. BrightRoll’s report illustrates that affordable prices are attracting more dollars into the video advertising segment. A rising tide floats all boats right?

Former client Adify, which delivers a platform for building vertical ad networks, allows media properties to offer reach to customers across their premium content and that of longer tail publishers by aggregating the ad units into a single, easy-to-buy network that streamlines the ad buying process.

Both examples signify that the real problem facing online publishers is not remnant inventory and ad networks, it’s moving more dollars into the medium and providing an easy way for media buyers to spend them at a time when reach, cost-effectiveness and efficiency are king.

Only time will tell if online publishers will embrace the model proposed by Spanfeller. What’s true is that the customer – in this case the media buyers, planners and strategists – is always right and the winning model will be born from an understanding of the unique challenges they face, not the desire to preserve old media pricing strategies.

More specifically, the absence of filter has allowed the, ahem, eccentricities of some athletes to shine through. This isn’t always a good thing, but it’s certainly entertaining. Some highlights that range from hilarious to genuinely sad.

Chad Ochocinco: A Bit Crazy, But Hilarious

By just reading him name, it’s pretty easy to see that Cincinnati Bengals WR Chad Ochocinco is a bit different. The former Chad Johnson (he had his name legally changed) has embraced both Twitter and UStream with a passion. Since joining Twitter on May 16 of this year – 102 days ago – Ochocinco has Tweeted 6,679 times. That’s an average of 65.5 Tweets per day, which is … just mind blowing. He’s called out reporters, the NFL and updated us on every mundane detail of his life. He even mourns the inability of Jennifer Aniston to keep a steady boyfriend. “The Chad Ocho Cinco Show” on UStream is pretty much the same thing – hours and hours of Ochocinco’s life: Leading a locker room tour at the New England Patriots’ stadium before a game, sitting at his Web cam talking to fans for literally hours on end, or watching football with friends.

Stephon Marbury: Star Wreck

Anyone who has followed Marbury’s NBA career can tell you the storyline: An immensely talented athlete storms the league for a year or two, then starts to fade as doubts about his commitment and discipline surface. Time passes and he becomes an overpaid bench warmer until he stops playing, or even suiting up, at all. Then he gets a huge star tattooed on his bald head. Now out of the NBA and assumedly unsure of what to do next, Marbury decided to live stream his life for a weekend in late July. The result was an outlandish 72 hours in which Marbury claimed to see Jesus in his shower, got angry at … something, broke down crying while listening to a Kirk Franklin song, and, best of all, got into what seemed like a hit-and-run accident while streaming live in his car:

Michael Beasley: An Actual Sad Story

While Ochocinco is just a weird guy having fun, and Marbury is dancing around the edges of sanity while somehow not stepping outside the lines, Michael Beasley, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft, started a three-day spiral last weekend that ended with him checking into rehab, by posting a picture of his new tattoo to his Twitter account. In the bottom corner of the picture was what looked like a rolled up bag of marijuana. Sports blogs quickly pointed out the potential indiscretion and, as the news gained momentum, Beasley posted a couple more updates to (now shut down) Twitter account:

“Y do I feel like the whole world is against me!!!!!!! . . . I can’t win for losin!!!!!!!!!!”

“Feelin like it’s not worth livin!!!!!!! I’m done”

“not feelin this at all!!!!!”

The next day, he checked into rehab and his father announced that he was going to get treatment for depression.

There are countless athletes who use the Web and use it well: Shaq’s Twitter feed is a goldmine of hilarity, and Washington Redskins’ tight end Chris Cooley is a social media machine. But there seems to be something about social media that enhances that special brand of crazy that can only come from being handed millions of dollars and unlimited fame at age 20.

Add “filmmaker” to the lengthy list of things the iPhone can do. In a stroke of DIY genius, Seattle hip-hop group Dyme Def recorded a video for its song “I’m Gone” entirely on the iPhone 3Gs, using the phone’s new video capabilities. The video obviously has that homemade feel and a little of the shaky, bendy quality you get from camera phones, but it’s safe to say that’s what Dyme Def was going for. The whole thing has a very fun, spontaneous feel to it, as the group – obviously having a good time – walks through Westlake Center in downtown, while getting stared at by passing pedestrians, picking up stragglers to march with them, and ultimately ending in a breakdance session.

It’ll be cool to see the proliferation of spontaneous, DYI video that will be an obvious byproduct of finally having a credible, widely used video platform for phones. The iPhone 3GS isn’t the first phone to do video, but it’s the first really popular phone to do it well. It’s not going to be too long until we send video around the same as we do text now.

Also, very cool to see hip-hop leading the way on this. Dyme Def is heading up a resurgent and extremely creative Seattle rap scene, so this type guerrilla film making utilizing new tech isn’t surprising. Seattle is a major tech hub beyond the Bay Area and the hip-hop scene in the Northwest, though not always as vibrant as it is now, has a history of progressive thinking and music making.

Social grace is a dying art. While the practices of manners and etiquette are seemingly lost on the digi-generates of this world – looking at you Hannah Montana fans – those of us that can recall our parents telling us to chew with our mouths closed and to use “please” and “thank you,” should figure something out in order to fight off this trend that threatens our last few shreds of civility. Our increasingly mobile selves, egged on by our much-beloved mobile devices, need to remember our manners.

In a panicked effort to reverse what I see as an impending doom of a lack of interpersonal connection and epidemic of self-involvement, I asked an expert for some guidelines here.

Mindy Lockard is an etiquette consultant based in Eugene, Oregon who runs a business, blog and a brand around all things manners and gentility and wouldn’t know you it, her pet peeve is “cell phones ringing in pubic.” Her online magazine, ManneroftheMonth.com, is an interactive publication that teaches manners and etiquette to everyday users as well as industry professionals. Mindy will take us beyond the norms of expectations, and to the polished heights of social graces. These are her words of wisdom.

Using Intelligence When Using Your Smart Phone

When I teach my “Cell Phone 101″ class to teens new to the mobile phone world, I often reflect – like my grandparents telling the story of walking up hill to school in 5 feet of snow – about the first cellular phone my mother had. This cellular relic would not be recognizable today since it came with its own case, was the size of a small piece of luggage, and had to be plugged into the cigarette lighter. Much has changed in the world of technology since those days in the early nineties, but while the jumbo models of the early nineties have slimmed down to tiny all-in-one devices, the value of those we are talking to or around hasn’t changed.

Occasions and events when it’s inappropriate

“Can you hear me now … ?” This infamous line from a commercial has become synonymous with the cellular phone industry, and the answer from those standing around us while we talk on our phones is, “YES. WE CAN HEAR YOU!” Keeping our smart phone conversations to a minimum in public places is the minimal amount of respect toward those near us. Even if we are surrounded by strangers, we should be mindful of their personal ear space. Step outside if you must take a call. In an airport or other setting where you can’t go outside, do your best to get away and take the call in an area that isn’t densely populated.

Texting, checking e-mail, Tweeting or updating status…

Public spaces are the best place to text because texting allows us to communicate without disrupting those around us. Of course, texting during a presentation or performance is inappropriate and disrespectful – it communicates to the performers or speakers that you aren’t interested in their efforts. During a movie, the lights on a phone and the clicking of buttons can be very distracting to fellow moviegoers. If you have to text, remove yourself from the performance and take care of your communication. Or, even better, save your communication until the end when you can go outside and return the call.

Texting, checking e-mail, Tweeting or updating status in front of other’s faces

Typing into our phones in front of others is just as disrespectful as talking on the phone in front of them. Even checking your phone to read the message should be avoided. Don’t try to hide your communication under the table or out of sight. Even if the phone isn’t visible, the top of your head while you text is, and the person in front of you will not be fooled. Just because the technology is easy and accessible doesn’t mean it should not be used with respect and discretion.

Making calls

When making a call, be prepared! Using smart phones makes it easier to conduct business in situations when you are not entirely focused because you are driving or out in public. Think before you make a call. Have all necessary information available. The sound of shuffling paper or delayed speech because you have lost focus will give the impression that you are disorganized or don’t care.

Remember to always ask at the beginning of the phone conversation, “Is this a good time?” or “Do you have 5 minutes to answer a couple of questions?” Asking about time or giving the amount of time you need will help you and the caller accomplish the tasks at hand.

Taking calls

If you are in the company of another person or in a situation where you can’t easily focus or don’t have the necessary materials available, ask the caller if you can call them back. Schedule a time that works well for both of you, then call when you say you will call.

When you take a call, stop and focus on the person calling. Always have paper and pen available to take notes, so when you return to the office, you will have the necessary documentation.

Should it be allowed at meals?

When dining or meeting face-to-face with another individual, turn your smart phone off unless you are expecting an emergency phone call. (By the way, your afternoon plans are not an emergency.) If you know you have an appointment at one o’clock and are leaving a message for a friend, tell the friend that you will be unavailable between one and two o’clock. Putting those in our presence “on hold” by taking a call non-verbally communicates that they are not as important as the person on the phone. Even if you ask the person in your presence if they mind and that person politely says, “It’s fine,” chances are they do mind and are merely trying to be polite.

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Please regard these with a “one step at a time” kind of attitude. It’s worth it – manners and etiquette are very becoming on you.

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