tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19158246857114034882024-03-13T11:15:51.560-04:00Design AgitatorJournalism technology + information designJohn Keefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15793836689575392374noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915824685711403488.post-70508375062221988752011-01-03T21:26:00.000-05:002011-01-03T21:26:08.305-05:00He Went ThatawayHello!<br />
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With the new year, I've moved my blog to a new service. The story <a href="http://johnkeefe.net/">continues over here</a>.<br />
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If you happen to be following me via RSS (cool), please recalibrate your reader to <a href="http://johnkeefe.net/rss.xml">http://johnkeefe.net/rss.xml</a><br />
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See you there.John Keefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15793836689575392374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915824685711403488.post-56668645238909644012010-11-17T20:48:00.003-05:002010-11-17T22:46:45.577-05:00Weaving a Patchwork Map ... in Real TimeWe did something a little creative and unique at WNYC this past election night: We <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/articles/its-free-country/2010/oct/25/new-yorks-patchwork-election/">mapped the vote</a> by "community type."<br />
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<a href="http://www.wnyc.org/articles/its-free-country/2010/oct/25/new-yorks-patchwork-election/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh98qL5SWg-Ht2G3WERRfORDJwgzqWVkr87M9VRaT8cQv3qC-TQ-XHYC2GrPQZ7Fsws0bHOwRUSNqOY_W-8Afk0GR8bnMgyCYDcgsMsPc0uQ_-yKV-CvwHSA9REXQZbLBxZzRnmryTxewM/s400/Screen+shot+2010-11-17+at+8.31.51+PM.jpg" width="400" /></a>This revealed the diversity of the vote across New York State -- from the cities to the suburbs, boom towns and "service worker" centers -- in real time, on the air and on the WNYC home page. <br />
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And the diversity is striking. Despite Democratic wins in every statewide race, the Republicans running for state attorney general and comptroller "won" every community type outside "Industrial Metropolis" and "Campus & Careers" counties.<br />
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<a href="http://patchworknation.org/">Patchwork Nation</a>'s <a href="http://twitter.com/dchinni">Dante Chinni</a> talked about this on air during WNYC's coverage election night, and has <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/articles/its-free-country/2010/nov/05/where-dems-lost/">written more about it</a> since.<br />
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The live map was a mashup of Patchwork Nation's unique take on the nation and the Associated Press's live vote totals. At the request of WNYC, Patchwork Nation programmers dove into the AP test results and quickly wove them into a new map based on PN's existing county maps -- customizing them for the event and adding real-time percentages by community type.<br />
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<b>Bringing the Threads Together</b><br />
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In the months before the election, I had wondered how we might better understand the early returns -- those that come in typically between 9 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. -- which often don't match the final results. I wanted more clarity.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBAPJDFQ8j3U7qK9KyfDGPs8FUefOynuQUwOQ-kAXEQeAuNuq5MpJJcARGk6cq7ebfPAuYooQfXGrQ6DOfbo_Wlw5PB7BJguDy2vy45LbxfDtzed7d8zoNT_kLbmnIP7rDtGZ65WSY7I0/s1600/Screen+shot+2010-11-02+at+11.35.28+PMb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBAPJDFQ8j3U7qK9KyfDGPs8FUefOynuQUwOQ-kAXEQeAuNuq5MpJJcARGk6cq7ebfPAuYooQfXGrQ6DOfbo_Wlw5PB7BJguDy2vy45LbxfDtzed7d8zoNT_kLbmnIP7rDtGZ65WSY7I0/s400/Screen+shot+2010-11-02+at+11.35.28+PMb.jpg" width="400" /></a>At a Hacks/Hackers <a href="http://hackshackers.com/2010/10/02/opensource-athon-in-nyc-kicks-off/">Open-Source-a-Thon</a>, I started playing with the election data with help from <a href="http://twitter.com/A_L">Al Shaw</a> (then at TalkingPointsMemo, now at ProPublica) and <a href="http://twitter.com/macdivaona">Chrys Wu</a> (of Hacks/Hackers and ONA fame). <br />
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That evolved into a little program I wrote in Sinatra that generated vote-total map at the left, shading counties darker as more of their precincts reported. It also helped me better understand how the data were structured, how to retrieve the numbers and what it might take to make a live map.<br />
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So when Chinni asked if WNYC had any county-level data sets we'd like to put through the Patchwork Nation treatment, I had the perfect candidate.John Keefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15793836689575392374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915824685711403488.post-83880427789201876802010-11-08T00:44:00.003-05:002010-11-08T09:44:47.187-05:00Open All Night: The Great Urban Hack NYC<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://hackshackers.com/2010/11/08/open-all-night-the-great-urban-hack-nyc/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijBSmFiPmsxx7_Zu5UsGdC0tETtlPcdMjkvVNp4PaEy2hEJFNo6_R_yJeh1PXz18ill6Zn2Lag8CH3w93sqhoNy1uwwSS2uCHWQ3G7kuFTn0ttabrzmE9qeOowWeqVVR7toELGht6CTW0/s320/great-urban-hack-logo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>For 26 hours this weekend, a bunch of journalists and coders got together to make lots of great things designed to help the citizens of New York City.<br />
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<a href="http://hackshackers.com/2010/11/08/open-all-night-the-great-urban-hack-nyc/">My blog post</a> summarizing the event and all of the resulting projects is upon <a href="http://hackshackers.com/">Hacks/Hackers</a>.<br />
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I helped <a href="http://twitter.com/jenny8lee">Jenny 8. Lee</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/MacDivaONA">Chrys Wu</a> and <a href="http://eyebeam.org/people/stephanie-pereira">Stephanie Pereira</a> organize the event. Then I joined a team working with digital heaps of NYC taxi trip data to make <a href="http://faresharenyc.com/data-analysis/">data visualizations</a> and start some other projects. My favorite one is <a href="http://faresharenyc.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Saturday_screenshot.jpg">here</a> (with a detail below), which is a representation of taxi usage for 24 hours, set around a clock. Beautiful. It was built by <a href="http://www.binaryspark.com/">Zoe Fraade-Blanar</a> using Processing and data crunched by the other teammates.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9b1TUFXdNO_5EvcE29gyK7N_SucxAkaWwzVAOQ2axohShmnjP5KfhrJSEQ96b-OWUoCp3Fh6b6uIKmJyyAV47eqxlG87YmWwx_oQRtlAwOfANyXOy1cnWTlFo1vYeeJsHi7AlWWFIsds/s1600/taxi-viz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg59Q_3eGvEnWndr8n1KCxYI__9thAisFwXw0HN5UfkeOCQX52QAJRFZrzYY9WxiVTTFaQ3VWK_XJUqTT43ZBm1kE-0YljiiSTQsfLCvlwC3CsuR6Qlg8KHNM3Wp7Fsi-KYBtSCXlZNdh8/s320/taxi-viz-detal.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click image for full view</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I came away from the event with many new connections, excitement about learning Processing, some more skills in Sinatra and a note to check out <a href="http://blog.apps.chicagotribune.com/2010/07/08/bees-with-machine-guns/">Bees with Machine Guns</a>(!)John Keefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15793836689575392374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915824685711403488.post-91674477675126439552010-10-04T01:01:00.002-04:002010-10-04T01:07:39.536-04:00Open Ideas at the Open Source-athon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://hackshackers.org" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMSfwzuOcemOoWzoF9jWzbz-oEgsRT7rF-lbwxYf4R4E9YMvb_q00WvdC8goJAgi1zHW7DmZ011067m6LtnzPfZkm_ncXYWEUw5DNBaStCWKYp1d4LYqYyYYWBVGP4YGgKBr5OamGyPIU/s1600/hacks-hackers-sm.jpg" /></a></div>Wow: I learned a ton at the Hacks/Hackers <a href="http://hackshackers.com/2010/10/03/opensourceathonprojects/">Open(source).athon</a> this weekend.<br />
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Check out the <a href="http://hackshackers.com/2010/10/03/opensourceathonprojects/">great writeup</a> of the day for a summary of the event. Personally, I worked on recrafting some Associated Press Election data for a project we're working on at WNYC. I also had conversations that could lead to several collaborations, and even got some tips for programming in Ruby and Sinatra.<br />
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The day also gave me a great frame for my next hackathon, which is being run November 8 and 9 by <a href="http://hackshackers.com/">Hacks/Hackers</a> and <a href="http://eyebeam.org/">Eyebeam</a>, with support from <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/">WNYC</a> and The <a href="http://www.knightfoundation.org/">Knight Foundation</a>.John Keefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15793836689575392374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915824685711403488.post-15182634526784971222010-09-13T13:26:00.005-04:002010-09-23T14:08:18.649-04:00Creatively Covering NY's New BallotNew York switches to a new paper tomorrow -- Primary Day -- and ballot designers say voters likely will be confused.<br />
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At WNYC, we're covering this story in <a href="http://beta.wnyc.org/articles/its-free-country/2010/sep/07/new-nyc-ballot-could-cause-confusion/">several ways</a> that go beyond audio and written text.<br />
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<b>Ballot Markup</b><br />
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For one, we had ballot designers help us <a href="http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/8143-nyc-demo-ballot-with-detail.html">annotate a ballot</a> using <a href="http://www.documentcloud.org/">DocumentCloud</a>. <br />
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<b>Sourcing Through Texting</b><br />
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For two, we're welcoming voters to <a href="http://beta.wnyc.org/articles/its-free-country/2010/sep/13/primary-day-here-we-need-your-help/">share their experiences</a> with the ballot via text. They (or you!) sign up by<b><span style="color: purple;"> texting BALLOT to 30644</span></b>.<br />
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<b>Video Fun</b><br />
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The whole thing started when our host Brian Lehrer and reporter Azi Paybarah actually tried the sample ballot and made several mistakes. Which leads me to the third component: A video about using the new ballot:<br />
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<object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZBKZFKHa9KY&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xd0d0d0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZBKZFKHa9KY&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xd0d0d0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>John Keefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15793836689575392374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915824685711403488.post-56388025242045443422010-08-25T21:16:00.005-04:002010-08-31T23:07:31.806-04:00Hacking Journalism with Sidewalk Chalk<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/timesopen/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQrv3bY5586zmL502f8_xS0vrWlDi9r-dW2NZvOjsG5_9USBpirZbYbF4wK63khq89Pgc4s4yE5CziilSLZckszP_WA8WxU43UYzUIVQHHUE_a468f-xzXkmzAu1YUF9AaCOlyUOwXF70/s320/TimesOpenGrab.jpg" /></a>My presentation before a room full of talented programmers <strike>next week</strike> Thursday will include hair salons, semi-trailer trucks and sidewalk chalk.<br />
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It's <a href="http://open.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/27/timesopen-mobilegeolocation-speaker-lineup/">TimesOpen 2.0</a>, where digital tinkerers gather to talk about online data from the New York Times and the latest trends in information technology.<br />
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Next Thursday is <a href="http://open.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/27/timesopen-mobilegeolocation-speaker-lineup/">Mobile/Geolocation</a> night (which is <a href="http://timesopengeo.eventbrite.com/">free</a>). Presenters will include <a href="http://twitter.com/manomarks">Mano Marks</a> from Google, <a href="http://twitter.com/johndbritton"><span class="bio">John Britton</span></a> from Twilio, <a href="http://twitter.com/mattwkelly">Matt Kelly</a> from Facebook and me. I'll be talking about The Takeaway's <a href="http://www.thetakeaway.org/blogs/takeaway/2010/jun/30/sourcetexting-summit-wandering-streets-ideas/">Sourcing Through Texting</a> project.<br />
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My preso will likely be the lowest-tech of the bunch. Our aim was, and is, to connect journalists and citizen-sources using basic text messages, and our method was brainstorming, learning and prototyping in two neighborhoods -- Southwest Detroit and Miami's Little Haiti. We absorbed a ton. (And we sparked an <a href="http://www.thetakeaway.org/2010/jul/06/detroit-txt-mightier-sword/">investigative series</a> on illegal truck traffic.)<br />
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There are certainly opportunities here to mash up APIs and build on some nifty platforms. I'll talk about that, too. But as we continue working toward connecting with sources via texting, some of our best insights have come from coffee shop conversations, church bulletin announcements and short-codes scrawled on sidewalks.John Keefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15793836689575392374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915824685711403488.post-43269330618862744682010-07-20T12:56:00.012-04:002010-07-20T15:08:30.626-04:00An Experimental HonorWhat's so exceptional about the <a href="http://www.j-lab.org/awards/category/2010kb_winners">journalism innovation award</a> The Takeaway won yesterday is that it's not for a broadcast, a series or a blog post.<br />
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It's for an experiment.<br />
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"Sourcing Through Texting" has been a process of immersion, exploration and rapid prototyping. Journalists and community leaders spend time in a neighborhood focusing on a simple question: How might reporters and citizen-sources make better connections through texting?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object height="344" style="background-image: url("http://i2.ytimg.com/vi/I0B0vws5WaI/hqdefault.jpg");" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/I0B0vws5WaI&hl=en_US&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/I0B0vws5WaI&hl=en_US&fs=1" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="344" width="425"></embed></object></div><br />
The answers are still emerging. We're still <a href="http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pri+%22source+texting+summit%22&aq=f">making prototypes</a>. Yet, yesterday the concept won a <a href="http://www.j-lab.org/about/press_releases/2010_knight_batten_winners/">Knight-Batten Special Distinction Award</a> for innovation in journalism. <br />
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Since the award application went in, we've gone to Miami to run <a href="http://www.thetakeaway.org/blogs/takeaway/2010/jun/30/sourcetexting-summit-wandering-streets-ideas/">another experiment</a> in Little Haiti, and Detroit's WDET aired a <a href="http://www.wdet.org/publicinsight/trucks.php">week-long series</a> that evolved from the project.<br />
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That the award effectively predates those happenings is a huge jolt of support for experimentation, <a href="http://dschool.stanford.edu/big_picture/design_thinking.php">design thinking</a> in journalism and everyone who contributed to this unique collaboration.<br />
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That includes folks from <a href="http://www.thetakeaway.org/">The Takeaway</a>, <a href="http://www.pri.org/">Public Radio International</a>, <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/">WNYC Radio</a>, <a href="http://www.wdet.org/">WDET Detroit</a>, <a href="http://www.wlrn.org/">WLRN Miami</a>, <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/">The Miami Herald</a>, <a href="http://americanpublicmedia.publicradio.org/">American Public Media</a>'s <a href="http://americanpublicmedia.publicradio.org/publicinsightjournalism/">Public Insight Network</a>, <a href="http://www.mobilecommons.com/">Mobile Commons</a>, the <a href="http://dschool.stanford.edu/">Institute of Design at Stanford</a> and the residents of Southwest Detroit and Miami's Little Haiti.<br />
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---<br />
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<i>Sourcing Through Texting is a project of <a href="http://www.thetakeaway.org/">The Takeaway</a>, which is produced by <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/">WNYC Radio</a> and <a href="http://www.pri.org/">Public Radio International</a>. It was made possible by a grant from the <a href="http://www.knightfoundation.org/">John S. and James L. Knight Foundation</a>.</i><i> </i><br />
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<i>Disclosure and disclaimer: I helped develop and produce this project. As always, the words here are my own and not those of my employer or any of the entities mentioned.</i>John Keefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15793836689575392374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915824685711403488.post-22673940136254586682010-04-03T13:52:00.003-04:002010-04-03T22:17:57.785-04:00NYC Taxi Visualizations: The Pulse of the City<div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/04/02/nyregion/taxi-map.html?ref=nyregion"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU6mDJxzbClYiQYLbAA42psDGWh-AWZM-j_BUMePcsLoqn9mqyVgv1f1sCJK4fJISoVG0rYgp0y1_BShnJdLo_Pp_Xwx47e7AxS-kVfoUx1eOdLQwpN2LW7uCyz1NbpAyJnK9n-1AKDlI/s320/Screen+shot+2010-04-03+at+1.48.49+PM.jpg" /></a></div>Fantastic presentation of GPS data from New York City Taxis in the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/04/02/nyregion/taxi-map.html?ref=nyregion">New York Times</a> today. So many stories embedded here, giving a wonderful sense of the city.<br />
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The ability to "play" the data is especially key. And the treatment itself hits all of <a href="http://designagitator.blogspot.com/2009/06/paint-sticky-data-please.html">my buttons</a>. You just get it.<br />
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Beautiful.John Keefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15793836689575392374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915824685711403488.post-44218790441387002222010-03-11T18:51:00.002-05:002010-03-11T18:52:36.412-05:00This Is Not A Bag<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfKnCe8ss_UjFu6At01j7udEOkq1vD6lSCfgFjYjRPoNn9mfANe5h-UHaafEapiFT9uYQi350cOmPIXGfN1lS4zw-adqJepO8pyXm-GrLK7t846Oo497Y8woa9QqnFlm1FwCF0sa8I7ls/s1600-h/IMG_4722.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfKnCe8ss_UjFu6At01j7udEOkq1vD6lSCfgFjYjRPoNn9mfANe5h-UHaafEapiFT9uYQi350cOmPIXGfN1lS4zw-adqJepO8pyXm-GrLK7t846Oo497Y8woa9QqnFlm1FwCF0sa8I7ls/s200/IMG_4722.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9KF3oa8DPZ82rWlwB8Rc3Qe4xBjyuSeY_MugKi8P8MBl1zSabt2D768_r5De-U4CZj_eAiLpm61XbDqeYcJp7VfTsaWeEEDcf3tMjSOI2ZfDvLCjnqZ0P-2STxBoTB8C5ToekXQ-y0wM/s1600-h/IMG_4723.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9KF3oa8DPZ82rWlwB8Rc3Qe4xBjyuSeY_MugKi8P8MBl1zSabt2D768_r5De-U4CZj_eAiLpm61XbDqeYcJp7VfTsaWeEEDcf3tMjSOI2ZfDvLCjnqZ0P-2STxBoTB8C5ToekXQ-y0wM/s320/IMG_4723.JPG" /></a>So says the bag my new Timbuk2 bag came in.<br />
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No, it's actually a durable, waterproof San Francisco bike map! <br />
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Reduce, reuse, reuse. Nice.John Keefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15793836689575392374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915824685711403488.post-49887905670346980412010-03-11T18:42:00.007-05:002010-03-11T18:45:42.682-05:00Excellent Elevator ArtThe elevators in this atrium beautifully blend the digital and the physical ... and celebrate books in the process.<br />
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They're in downtown Minneapolis at the Hennepin County Central Library.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object height="344" style="clear: left; float: left;" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/BhqHJrUzcrE&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/BhqHJrUzcrE&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></div>John Keefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15793836689575392374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915824685711403488.post-45779590777569799782010-02-02T00:41:00.002-05:002010-02-02T00:55:31.249-05:00The Secret Decoder Ring<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC8uCIsfC0e3eRp7QLnfUY2g1aVnF0_-zNhYdwfPS9Ygc0PAbndRT2iQ-hkGTkk3yFHr8iLOGuou7E7H3DHs67AXo8_BcbqayP5JZtOP6RhnJB-hKiOFebpmnvISyDypViYtC32VEcIVA/s1600-h/nyc-schools-logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC8uCIsfC0e3eRp7QLnfUY2g1aVnF0_-zNhYdwfPS9Ygc0PAbndRT2iQ-hkGTkk3yFHr8iLOGuou7E7H3DHs67AXo8_BcbqayP5JZtOP6RhnJB-hKiOFebpmnvISyDypViYtC32VEcIVA/s320/nyc-schools-logo.jpg" /></a></div>Today our education reporter had a bunch of data from New York State she was trying to match to schools in New York City. But the school codes used by the two governments look radically different.<br />
<br />
For example, <a href="http://schools.nyc.gov/SchoolPortals/01/M015/default.htm">PS 15</a> on the Lower East Side is known to the state as 310100010015; the city calls it 01M015.<br />
<br />
I once made a nifty formula to make the conversion(!), but a more straightforward and official approach involves the Excel spreadsheet found <a href="http://schools.nyc.gov/Offices/EnterpriseOperations/DIIT/OOD/default.htm">here</a>. It lists all of the city schools, along with their addresses, various codes, and more. For a data cruncher, that's a secret decoder ring.<br />
<br />
What made me smile was that the only reason I knew this document even existed was because of a little <a href="http://designagitator.blogspot.com/2009/05/rapid-news-visualiations-prototype-1.html">prototype I tried</a> during the first swine flu outbreak. That experiment wasn't robust enough to make it beyond this blog, but it taught me a lot ... including where to find this ring!John Keefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15793836689575392374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915824685711403488.post-53637892021090749182010-01-11T12:53:00.005-05:002010-01-11T16:23:18.144-05:00Movies & Demographics<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/01/10/nyregion/20100110-netflix-map.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRQsRDBJaPluNNvVMbwMb3LZZ5hUeaNb5vubSEquGt5f5e9YbDIaIphxfSUbNCwqmFtNyN2hnLLCewBQxbJ2VV92r3lzUHGjq6AJLtoYmcOAwGhT1SQTxs-ghGeqpdtMaOWGrYtmjkNIs/s400/nyt-netflix.jpg" /></a>What a great visualization of Netflix movie-rental data from the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/01/10/nyregion/20100110-netflix-map.html">New York Times</a>! Love how you can see how different movies play across the city.<br />
<br />
It's even more interesting when you know something about the demographic makeup of the zip codes. Look how the Harlem River between upper Manhattan and the South Bronx is a bright dividing line for almost every movie.<br />
<br />
How about a mashup that would reflect this info <b>and</b> demographic data simultaneously?<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>(tip via Nate Westheimer <a href="http://twitter.com/innonate">@innonate</a>)</i>John Keefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15793836689575392374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915824685711403488.post-66611590965306860472010-01-03T22:14:00.003-05:002010-01-03T22:23:13.665-05:00Connecting Journalists and Technologists<a href="http://www.meetup.com/ny-tech/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi89-4NiQGH5cRKKooybZGAbXqfcVsDfRk1sYt3BG4SrZrtvHRX1cS96FR2TaOdSbwmjCJgqkDWFvZtNtvMMjb-WWFRVD3wAAwoP15KRQ9Yk6mqGWrJOG8KAd2iGY9OSuLg0n3kranqmrg/s320/ny-tech-meetup" /></a>Tuesday night I'll have the fantastic privilege of making a quick presentation at the <a href="http://www.meetup.com/ny-tech/">NY Tech Meetup</a> about our news-technology efforts at <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/">WNYC</a>. I'll also invite folks to <a href="https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEhxQUJtdEJQblY2Ukd0WUpMZDB2QXc6MA">connect with us</a> in the interest of, well, the public good.<br />
<br />
Huge thanks to <a href="http://www.meetup.com/ny-tech/members/3626321/">Nate Westheimer</a> for his interest in our work and the opportunity to say a few words.<br />
<br />
<i>Acknowledgment where due: WNYC's public radio news-tech projects, including the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJu6XtSFPBQ">Super Simple Mapping tool</a>, are supported by the <a href="http://www.knightfoundation.org/">John S. and James L. Knight Foundation</a> and the <a href="http://cpb.org/">Corporation for Public Broadcasting</a>.</i>John Keefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15793836689575392374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915824685711403488.post-61274902958915035922009-12-14T15:39:00.006-05:002009-12-14T18:22:48.809-05:00Code For Good (and Money)<a href="http://www.wnyc.org/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Va8YhRalbHZ_p0wvS2cgJRHt8m3uDSHuX77vqQ2sYViQEYsXx8imG2pHb84tyrrzOvZosWjtKlp-WkTAQA52PXFIUvxtQkStY6A5aKdz5uc0WDqxLkp5tuVBjR-Hd6kNC13utRqJrp8/s320/wnyc-logo-small-red-white.jpg" /></a>WNYC is looking for news technologists who want to code with a purpose -- helping public radio stations cover the news and connect with listeners. These projects are funded in part by support from the Knight Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Here's the posting:<br />
<b><br />
WNYC Seeks Programmers with a Passion for News for Contract Project Work</b><br />
<br />
WNYC Radio is working on several news application projects for public radio stations (including ours), and we're looking for more people to join our team to experiment, play and code. We're driven by a culture of prototyping, a bias toward action, a principle of show over tell, and a commitment to journalism. <br />
<br />
Requirements:<br />
<br />
* A passion for the news<br />
* An understanding of the inner workings of the web<br />
* Attention to detail, fairness and accuracy<br />
* A genuine sense of collaboration, innovation, creativity and quality<br />
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And, of courseā¦<br />
<br />
* Fantastic programming skills and a love for the craft of making software in the public interest.<br />
<br />
In particular, we're looking for people who have strong skills with the following:<br />
<br />
* HTML/CSS<br />
* Python<br />
* Django<br />
* PostgreSQL<br />
* Ubuntu Linux + Amazon EC2<br />
<br />
If you know PostGIS and GeoDjango, that's great, too.<br />
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Right now we're signing up people on short-term contracts keyed to specific projects we're starting or building. You don't have to be in NYC to take part (though it's great if you are). <br />
<br />
If this sounds like you or someone you know, drop us a note and a sense of your work at <a href="mailto:jobs@wnyc.org">jobs@wnyc.org</a> with "Contract ProgNews" and your last name in the subject line. We want to hear from you as soon as possible, but no later than January 15, 2010.<br />
<br />
WNYC makes decisions to contract services without regard to race, creed, sex, color, religion, gender, national origin, ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, citizenship status, or any other basis protected by applicable law.<br />
<br />
<i>(Credit where due: This description was inspired by and built from one <a href="http://apps.chicagotribune.com/2009/09/hacker-wanted-code-in-the-public-interest-save-journalism-in-sunny-chicago-illinois/">posted by the Chicago Tribune news apps team</a>, a group for which I have heaps of respect and admiration!)</i>John Keefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15793836689575392374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915824685711403488.post-86367482554118753932009-11-11T21:03:00.003-05:002009-11-11T21:09:29.368-05:00Super Simple Mapping ToolMaking collaborative maps is easier than ever. But maybe not quite easy enough.<br /><br />One of the projects I'm working on at the moment is a super-duper-simple tool to help public radio and television stations (and pretty much anyone else) collect and map local information from their audience.<br /><br />We're in the design phase right now, and we've mocked it up for feedback. The video is below.<br /><br />Whaddya think? Let us know!<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZJu6XtSFPBQ&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZJu6XtSFPBQ&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>John Keefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15793836689575392374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915824685711403488.post-1967922889271546912009-10-30T14:04:00.005-04:002009-12-14T15:49:29.691-05:00Got Django?I'm working on a few fun projects, all of which would fit nicely into the themes of this blog. And I need some help.<br />
<br />
If you know if a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Django</span> coder who is energetic, collaborative, open-minded, innovative, creative, iterative and is <strike>based in NYC</strike> good at collaborating from afar, please let me know. This is paid work with possibilities for more if the match is right.<br />
<br />
Think more prototype-tinker-try-repeat than requirements-to-results.<br />
<br />
<i>UPDATED: Check out our more detailed call for programmers <a href="http://designagitator.blogspot.com/2009/12/code-for-good-and-money.html">here</a>.</i>John Keefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15793836689575392374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915824685711403488.post-38801070169797908702009-09-16T11:18:00.015-04:002009-09-16T12:18:59.575-04:00Presenter's Notes<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdf5hcpDLuaBCxKFx_8lnn88o4BGs3ahsyaODAxH5q0F_lT6Z4sht1fJSgA0nTFmIKFxMGLSumk0YntZXgkEF69cdDRkNUkLiD7GCKyI5lv-13V7QhAX8UChZsHJC-m-KFfpcXTI5VlGM/s1600-h/PRPDlogo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 106px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdf5hcpDLuaBCxKFx_8lnn88o4BGs3ahsyaODAxH5q0F_lT6Z4sht1fJSgA0nTFmIKFxMGLSumk0YntZXgkEF69cdDRkNUkLiD7GCKyI5lv-13V7QhAX8UChZsHJC-m-KFfpcXTI5VlGM/s400/PRPDlogo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382099787648989538" border="0" /></a>The person crafting the overall sound and content of your local public radio station usually is the program director, and I have the honor of speaking at an <a href="http://www.prpd.org/training/Conference/conference_general.aspx">annual gathering of PD's</a> from across the nation this week.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Uncommon Indicators</span><br /><br />My first talk is about a WNYC community crowdsourcing project called <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/shows/bl/economic_indicators/">Your Uncommon Economic Indicators</a>, which began just about a year ago when the economy collapsed. It focuses on getting people to contribute insights about the economy from their neighborhoods.<br /><br />It has grown to include some special side projects. One is <a href="http://blogs.wnyc.org/lehrer/2009/07/15/halted-development/">Halted Development</a>, a look at unfinished or vacant housing in New York City (link to big map <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=102520626049988660817.00046e3703b8126b12edb&ie=UTF8&ll=40.700422,-73.970947&spn=0.057262,0.077248&z=13&source=embed">is here</a>). Another is a <a href="http://blogs.wnyc.org/lehrer/2009/07/10/vote-for-your-favorite-uncommon-economic-indicators-video/">video contest</a>, in which <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnyyIOjTCAw">this video</a> took first place.<br /><br />The slides I used in my presentation are available as zipped <a href="http://drop.io/designAgitator/asset/prpd-uncommonpreso-ppt-zip">PowerPoint</a> and <a href="http://drop.io/designAgitator/asset/prpd-uncommonpreso-key-zip">Keynote</a> files (both about 30MB) and <a href="http://drop.io/designAgitator/asset/prpd-uncommonpreso-pdf-pdf">as a pdf</a> (3.5MB).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Collaboration as Dating</span><br /><br />The second presentation is with <a href="http://www.propublica.org/site/author/tom_detzel/">Tom Detzel</a> of <a href="http://www.propublica.org/">ProPublica</a> about the great partnership WNYC has had with ProPublica, including how it came to be and how we've make some great journalism together.<br /><br />Part of my discussion is stolen from my <a href="http://designagitator.blogspot.com/2008/11/lets-date.html">earlier blog post</a> using dating as a guide to successful collaborations. The handout I'm giving to people in the room is <a href="http://drop.io/designAgitator/asset/collaboration-as-dating-pdf">here as a pdf</a>.<br /><br />I'll update this post if/when audio or video of the talks are made available.John Keefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15793836689575392374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915824685711403488.post-50866624242577791232009-06-22T21:30:00.020-04:002010-04-03T13:52:05.152-04:00Paint Sticky Data (Please)<a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2216238/" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350342185234727570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJt3AbrZRiKq2Q1k1y682iKYs8Ik5GOtUZ_ehKB6V9WdQcfuXhr-eVQQOZ8mIWsfmq4d347gz0k-5YcwO3xEiDwU1Ml7te-EngXr4uokEjJpg4fOVrlEtqB_tcuLD8oV8dCgt0YBdyuZ8/s400/MapDetail.gif" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 214px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 305px;" /></a>I'm into info. I want it accurate, relevant and clear.<br />
<br />
On the radio, we try to paint clear, understandable, and journalistically-sound images of the mind -- the vivid mental pictures you see while listening to good storytelling.<br />
<br />
Actual images can tell rich stories, too. The best photojournalism certainly does. Some pictures hit you in the chest.<br />
<br />
But images drawn from data -- infographics, or visualizations -- rarely tell a story so well.<br />
<br />
And they almost never hit me in the chest.<br />
<br />
Why not? With all of the technology available, why can't we create <span style="font-style: italic;">really good</span> visualizations that project understanding, timeliness, utility and ... dare I say ... stories?<br />
<br />
I'm on the lookout. And I'm defining what I want to see.<br />
<br />
For that definition, I've made a checklist based on one of my all-time favorite books, <a href="http://www.madetostick.com/" style="font-style: italic;">Made to Stick</a>, by Chip Heath & Dan Heath (Random House, 2007). The initial words come from their Six Principles of Sticky Ideas; the rest is my application of their concepts.<br />
<br />
For me, the best information images are ...<br />
<blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">Simple</span>: Non-geeks can absorb it within a few seconds<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Unexpected</span>: It fills a gap in our knowledge<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Concrete</span>: It takes advantage of our senses and understandings<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Credible</span>: It is journalistically sound, from a trusted source, without bias<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Emotional</span>: It hits you in the chest, you feel the data<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Story</span>: It tells one</blockquote>And I'll add one more:<br />
<blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">Relevant</span>: It is timely, current and useful</blockquote>Got examples that ring all seven bells? Maybe even four? Share them in the comments here or email me: john (at) designAgitator.com.<br />
<br />
-----<br />
<br />
The map detail above is from <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2216238/">my favorite example at the moment</a>, which is on Slate. Jump over there, take a look, and then run it through the checklist:<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br />
<blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">Simple? </span>Once you know that blue is jobs gained and red is jobs lost, you're set. Just press play.<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Unexpected?</span> Seriously so. The speed of change is amazing.<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Concrete?</span> The familiar map orients me at a glance; I respond quickly to the circle sizes, colors and densities.<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Credible?</span> Bureau of Labor Statistics, Slate.<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Emotional?</span> Oh yeah. I saw someone actually <span style="font-style: italic;">shiver</span> while watching it.<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Story?</span> Definitely.<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Relevant?</span> Yup.</blockquote>Rings my bell.John Keefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15793836689575392374noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915824685711403488.post-36353104817872394352009-06-16T15:41:00.013-04:002009-06-22T22:45:30.408-04:00The Man Behind The Zipper<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjo1WeN_UUhkNox9xvfy-LtoY5TGnXcqgdA0g0LxU1IyXky5dIIQvJnIl8Qmqee-YX6XftTRbxsXLN4nn6yXuZGRKzvJb1XV61tfpm1DEAuzbS67HUO7_wnnM4cQA5pVmV68GgL8eiOu8/s1600-h/zipper.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 231px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjo1WeN_UUhkNox9xvfy-LtoY5TGnXcqgdA0g0LxU1IyXky5dIIQvJnIl8Qmqee-YX6XftTRbxsXLN4nn6yXuZGRKzvJb1XV61tfpm1DEAuzbS67HUO7_wnnM4cQA5pVmV68GgL8eiOu8/s320/zipper.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348014964981337474" border="0" /></a>I've joined an exclusive club of New York City microbloggers.<br /><br />Twitter? Ha. Facebook? Kidstuff. We're talking bricks and mortar, baby.<br /><br />Quite literally.<br /><br />My missives scroll across the facade of WNYC's building in west SoHo, zipping into your field of view as a parade of little red lights. It's the WNYC News Zipper.<br /><br />As you walk to work or sit in traffic on Varick Street, I've got your eyeballs.<br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">NY terror-plot suspects indicted</blockquote>None of this 140-character stuff. Better to use just five words; seven max. (I used a nonessential adjective clause once. Lost everyone by the second comma.)<br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Media banned from covering Iran protests</blockquote>And I know where you are, no fancy GPS required.<br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Building collapse on Reade Street, up ahead<br /></blockquote>Even if it's partly cloudy in the Bronx, I am absolutely certain you're in a downpour.<br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">This rain ends by evening</blockquote>User customization? Easy. I can sense you're in line for the Holland Tunnel on your evening commute home. So how about a little news about your governor and his chief rival?<br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Corzine, Christie speak to biz group tonite</blockquote>It's tempting to simply repurpose our tweets or web headlines, feeding them automatically to the sign. But it's also clear that wouldn't be as special. Or impactful. Or memorable. So I've been recrafting our material specifically for my particular version of a hyperlocal, mobile user.<br /><br />I've been doing this for a few weeks as a prototype, and soon WNYC's editors, producers and hosts will feed lines to the sign. What I've learned by writing -- and watching -- those little red words will help our staff craft the phrases that catch your eye as you zip by.John Keefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15793836689575392374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915824685711403488.post-23729924557843235292009-05-27T00:04:00.009-04:002009-05-27T00:51:44.583-04:00Rapid News Visualizations: Prototype 1<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.prototypecloud.com/maps/attendance-map.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 270px; height: 223px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzYArem7YbU4PwEbpTUGGSSxe-NJsAJRFToTCm4HsjoM1-q2qcF63n3Tezu6kSiZPIG4mZ4SrYo9ZhUM94ejtgkLoethzji1NSUup3YthcAM2OUpvikdHz7QqP9x_QH9WTlNAYLcD4kSI/s320/snippet.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340357613062856194" border="0" /></a>In my quest for timely, interesting, understandable info-graphics, I've set up a prototyping challenge for myself: Upon finding news data, turn it into something visual, compelling and useful ... as fast as possible.<br /><br />I'm prepared to fail quickly and often.<br /><br />In this case, "as fast as possible" was three days to make, another two to find time to post it. The result is not wholly useful. And you can't absorb it quickly. And it's a little misleading.<br /><br />But it's a start.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.prototypecloud.com/maps/attendance-map.gif">Here</a> is what I made. It's a visual representation of the attendance rates for every public school in New York City on Thursday, May 21, 2009. The New York City Department of Education started posting this data the previous day as the Swine Flu/H1N1 outbreak was causing kids to stay home.<br /><br />It tells me two things off the bat:<br /><blockquote>1) Queens and Brooklyn schools had much lower attendance rates than Manhattan and Staten Island schools.<br /><br />2) Teens skip school on nice May days.<br /></blockquote>No. 2 is apparent because almost every red square is a high school, which have notoriously low rates this time of year. For a better indication of potentially flu-related absences, I'd chart the difference between these absentee rates and a typical May day at each school ... which is info I don't have. Yet.<br /><br />Initially I published this in Google Maps, which was interactive and allowed you to click on schools for specific info. But Google Maps only plotted about 100 or so schools, and there are more than 1,000 here. Instead, I did it in Google Earth on my own computer and took a snapshot. <a href="http://www.prototypecloud.com/maps/schools-in-earth.jpg">Here's another</a>.<br /><br />Kinda cool. Was fun to do.<br /><br />Next!<br /><br />----------<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Anatomy of the process:</span><br /><br />Daily absentee data from the school system is <a href="http://schools.nyc.gov/Home/Spotlight/closures.htm">here</a>.<br />An Excel spreadsheet with general data on each school is <a href="http://schools.nyc.gov/Offices/FinanceandAdministration/DIIT/OOD/default.htm">here</a>.<br />I crossed these two data sets in Access to match school numbers with addresses.<br />I got the latitude and longitude for each address, in 500-line batches, <a href="http://www.batchgeocode.com/">here</a>.<br />I spent a lot of time learning about KML files, writing them, failing, trying again.<br />I made colored icons in Photoshop, and used Excel to assign each school the correct icon.<br />I put all of the relevant data into one spreadsheet and fed it to <a href="http://www.earthpoint.us/ExcelToKml.aspx">this little helper</a> ...<br />Which gave me <a href="http://www.prototypecloud.com/maps/EarthPointExcel2.kml">this KML</a><a href="http://www.prototypecloud.com/maps/EarthPointExcel2.kml"> file</a> ...<br />Which I fed to Google Earth, running on my Mac.John Keefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15793836689575392374noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915824685711403488.post-74723910904726496382009-03-26T22:11:00.004-04:002009-07-13T16:02:48.527-04:00Feeling InformationInformation and raw data are piling up faster than our ability to absorb it. And the tools available to access, understand, visualize and feel that information are woefully inadequate.<br /><br />I believe journalism, design thinking and information technology can be wielded to express these stories in ways never before considered. And I'm part of a small posse poised to do just that.<br /><br />If this interests you, or if you'd like to join our rag-tag group, write me: john (at) designAgitator.com.<br /><br />In the meantime, assume some of the gaps in designAgitator postings mean we're hard at work helping to explain the world(!)John Keefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15793836689575392374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915824685711403488.post-88422889579468863872009-02-18T19:38:00.017-05:002009-02-19T14:34:20.547-05:00Rethinking Internships and Enchancing a Staff (In Turn)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdL6SQkw3F1-3PjLXORiyMiaeURhiBmHH3m2PmLDwojJgjcYO_LfSP4Ty8MkxNHlXfkWA5OFE4yBA8qDSh2gQQBopwCbgy2xKHYkD67hSYfhX1dT0CuVxJUmYYGfwrJVnIqDfHayLt0z8/s1600-h/7614563_13b3108d26.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdL6SQkw3F1-3PjLXORiyMiaeURhiBmHH3m2PmLDwojJgjcYO_LfSP4Ty8MkxNHlXfkWA5OFE4yBA8qDSh2gQQBopwCbgy2xKHYkD67hSYfhX1dT0CuVxJUmYYGfwrJVnIqDfHayLt0z8/s320/7614563_13b3108d26.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304318066901161730" border="0" /></a>The newsroom intern. Bright, eager, ambitious. Ready to learn. Ready to help.<br /><br />And, all too often, working for free. An intern's compensation, the story goes, is experience, a resume entry, nearness to greatness ... and maybe, just maybe, a byline.<br /><br />That's all wonderful except for two things:<br /><br /> 1) You can't buy groceries with a byline.<br /> 2) It's bad for journalism.<br /><br />Let me grab a sticky. Okaaay ... a quick tally reveals that roughly half of our newsroom and talk show staff started out as interns, fill-ins or temporary workers.<br /><br />That means that if we are working to cover one of the most diverse, complex, and interesting cities in the world, we would be remiss in our hiring -- and our journalism -- if we drew interns only from the pool of people with enough cash to work full time for free.<br /><br />Instead, we have a robust and successful internship program and a staff with a variety of backgrounds and skills.<br /><br />(And, um, we don't pay our interns.)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Crafting a Successful Internship Program</span><br /><br />So here are some key concepts I've collected from different programs at different companies in different cities.* They're based mainly on newsroom and media work, but could apply to pretty much any workplace. Mix and match as you see fit; adjust for altitude as necessary.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">Pay your interns</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">If you can't pay your interns</span>, design the internship so they can earn money elsewhere. This may mean having two or three interns working two or three days a week, and being open to nontraditional start and end times. This is what we do in our newsroom. Covering basic transportation and meal costs helps, too, even if just $10 per day.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Build a process.</span> Write a notice that welcomes applications and explains your intern program. Set application deadlines, selection dates, start dates and end dates. Pull this together into something schools and institutions can post, either online or on a wall.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Seek outside the box.</span> Not enough Spanish speakers in your organization? Post in communities were people are fluent. Lacking in general math talent? Contact the university math department for prospects. Need more local expertise? Try a community college instead of the world-renowned graduate program. If your intern program becomes a good feeder for your staff (even years later), expose it to people with skills you lack.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Prototype prototype prototype. </span>Ever wonder whether an epidemiologist would be a good reporter? I do!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Be clear on the responsibilities.</span> Have an established list of intern duties. If they can change during the term, set out a schedule. Be sure to leave room for individual skills and talent.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Be clear on the future. </span>In most cases, an internship does not a job become. Don't assume interns know this. Actually <span style="font-style: italic;">tell </span>them there is no guarantee of a job afterward. Oh, and don't use the chance of a job to inspire good work. If you need that carrot, you've picked the wrong intern.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Be clear on the term. </span>Confirm the start and end dates at the outset. When the end date arrives, thank them for their work and help and say goodbye. Thirteen weeks is a good length, and often corresponds with academic work.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Set limits.</span> There are some things you probably don't want your interns doing, including representing your operation as staff when they are not. Be clear about those situations. At our shop, interns are not used on air and don't interview major newsmakers.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Don't use interns as substitutes. </span>Or, rather, <span style="font-style: italic;">do</span> use them if they're qualified, but only if you actually hire them for the gig. If they're doing the work of a fill-in, pay them as a fill-in.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Have interns write a letter to the next intern.</span> Keep these in a folder, real or virtual, and let interns read them when they first arrive. It'll give them another sense of your place, and their place in it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Keep in touch. </span>This is super important. When an intern finishes their term, be sure you have a current email address and phone number, and implore them to keep you posted on their whereabouts. Put their information in a file or database with details on their performance, strengths and interests. Check in with them occasionally. And when a job opens or project develops, call them up. I've hired interns <span style="font-style: italic;">years</span> later, even after they've landed other jobs.</blockquote>I welcome input, thoughts and experiences you've had as an intern or as an intern manager. Just post a comment below.<br /><br />[Photo by <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/fredarmitage/7614563/in/set-190101/">FredArmitage</a> (cc)]<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">*As with everything on this site, these are my thoughts alone. They may or may not reflect the opinions or practices of my employers, except where explicitly noted. </span>John Keefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15793836689575392374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915824685711403488.post-58979072239554718382009-01-05T21:21:00.010-05:002009-06-22T22:49:16.308-04:00Break Glass Now<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9UDTKFcZRwF_mzsnSjKZMYymjHya8FiSEeWoYygsXoAmxdlYE8RZ50jpn1uajJn2EW0qYMKRwvUd5zXo3BB5lT-l__yJh-896MaEpkhAn7laMzd6JY9UWrD-gT-O0GZJf4N1SZGV4XXo/s1600-h/2268141370_94e7472cb4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9UDTKFcZRwF_mzsnSjKZMYymjHya8FiSEeWoYygsXoAmxdlYE8RZ50jpn1uajJn2EW0qYMKRwvUd5zXo3BB5lT-l__yJh-896MaEpkhAn7laMzd6JY9UWrD-gT-O0GZJf4N1SZGV4XXo/s320/2268141370_94e7472cb4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288024499568914290" border="0" /></a>Consider, for a moment, the location of your nearest fire extinguisher.<br /><br />And just how well did you use it last time?<br /><br />Right. Chances are you're not prepared to skillfully put out a fire where you are sitting. At least you're not practiced.<br /><br />But what if you had a non-emergency reason to use a fire extinguisher every once in a while? Maybe to clean your desk. Or a spill. (Nearest paper towel, anyone?) Using it occasionally would help insure that in case of a fire, you would both a) actually <span style="font-style: italic;">use</span> it and b) use it well.<br /><br />To better prepare our on-air and online operations for major breaking news, I've been promoting a point of view that says we shouldn't put our emergency tools, systems and skills "behind glass." Instead, we should incorporate those efforts into our everyday work. (I even believe we shouldn't put our energy into efforts that can't be used on a regular basis because in a crisis, we won't use them anyway.)<br /><br />The best example of this is the daily production of our national morning program, <a href="http://www.thetakeaway.org/">The Takeaway with John Hockenberry and Adaora Udoji</a>. The show's staff may just be the best breaking-news response team in public radio -- because they make the show in real-time every day, incorporating fresh news as they go. When the news happens to be really big, they're not just prepared ... they're already there.<br /><br />A few other examples:<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">Map maker, map maker</span><br />In case of a <a href="http://designagitator.blogspot.com/2008/12/prototyping-terror-mumbai-in-ny.html">civil emergency</a> in New York, we'd want to quickly map shelters, closed roads, danger zones, escape routes. Even locate our staff. But we weren't prepared to whip together those kinds of maps in mere minutes. Now we're honing those skills by incorporating such work into everyday projects.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Information integration</span><br />When news hits the fan, information flies everywhere. Consolidating that data is key ... and also happens to be handy in everyday work. In the course of discussing a Mumbai-like terror attack in NYC, we discovered that our news-editing software can also check a listener email box. That's one less window to watch.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Nobody move</span><br />We designed our newsroom so that in a crisis <a href="http://designagitator.blogspot.com/2008/10/nobody-move.html">nobody needs to change seats</a>, which would move them away from familiar surroundings. As a byproduct, when something doesn't flow quite right during daily work, I try to make sure we address it now so we don't get caught off guard later.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Expected events as prototypes</span><br />In planning for election night, and now for the inauguration, we developed tools and techniques that will serve us again in a major <span style="font-style: italic;">unexpected</span> event. We now know how to quickly rip up our station's home page to focus on a single topic. And in order to provide real-time election-night returns, we found new ways to clear the information path between the editors and the home page.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Share and share again</span><br />We share a statehouse reporter with stations across our region. So when former governor Eliot Spitzer imploded in a prostitution scandal, we didn't have to think twice about how to move information and audio between stations. We just used the FTP site and email list we use every day.<br /></blockquote> I've long been a fan of <a href="http://designagitator.blogspot.com/2007/07/prototyping-disasters.html">drills</a>, and there are many more of those in our future. But by incorporating a little drill into our regular routine, we're better prepared for situations that are anything but.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">[Photo by </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://flickr.com/photos/scelera/2268141370/">IamSAM</a><span style="font-style: italic;">. Some rights </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/deed.en">reserved</a><span style="font-style: italic;">.]</span></span>John Keefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15793836689575392374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915824685711403488.post-83238887893342395292008-12-16T22:10:00.005-05:002009-01-05T23:10:21.640-05:00Prototyping Terror: Mumbai in NY<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEins09_JczcfILt3gazZuji2vpDIkkWJrBLL0OBdyT2UbzVw3wm3EuQz5raOnkI3gOf6bbvyY6ioQbKvsmec17yHCM9qQ0Mj2KUsyz_m1CQpxV_CGanK9-v9a07Kf8Eng5pySzGcmzti9s/s1600-h/275085205_6a93466ba2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEins09_JczcfILt3gazZuji2vpDIkkWJrBLL0OBdyT2UbzVw3wm3EuQz5raOnkI3gOf6bbvyY6ioQbKvsmec17yHCM9qQ0Mj2KUsyz_m1CQpxV_CGanK9-v9a07Kf8Eng5pySzGcmzti9s/s400/275085205_6a93466ba2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280591619371658194" border="0" /></a>Two hours before our company holiday party, several of us were contemplating mass murder in Manhattan.<br /><br />Not exactly Christmas cheer. But some good certainly came of it.<br /><br />Really.<br /><br />Several top thinkers and decision-makers reviewed the horrible events in Mumbai last month and considered how our news department would respond to a low-tech, coordinated attack on multiple locations in New York.<br /><br />Here are some of our points of discussion, which could apply to any organization, journalistic or otherwise:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Visioning Thing.</span> We didn't do a full-scale drill, we simply took time to really visualize how things might happen. It was pretty powerful.<br /><br />First we tried to think like terrorists and, as a group, picked three targets -- a transportation hub, a hotel and a shopping center. No sense naming them here; suffice it to say, we all knew each of them well and could picture the devastation and chaos.<br /><br />Then we carefully imagined where each of our key people would be on a weeknight at 9:30, when <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Mumbai's</span> night of hell began. Who lives where? Who's still at work? Who could get in fastest? What route would they take? Where would the first available reporters go? How would they stay safe? Think.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Our Civic Duty.</span> We're journalists. It's second nature to pursue the facts and try to present them quickly, accurately in context. But as a broadcaster in a city under siege, our public service mission takes on new qualities, and raises questions. What do we do for people still in or near danger? Can we be better oriented to provide public warnings, safety and health info, comfort, maps, conversation, rumor control ... help? The conversation has started to adjust our operating Point of View, and could make a huge difference in how we serve our city (lowercase <span style="font-style: italic;">c</span>) in those first few hours.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Information Overload.</span> Phone calls, reporters, sources, Tweets, network audio, news wires, emails, web comments, TVs ... we easily came up with more than 20 distinct streams of audio, text, and visual information key to covering the story. In an era when all of this information is <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">available</span> to everyone on our staff, are we ready to monitor them all in a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">sophisticated</span>, organized way? (Ah, no.)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Online, Under Pressure.</span> Our methods for broadcasting have changed since 9/11 and The Northeast Blackout. We now use web alerts, social media, maps, and other tools to convey information. But when the adrenaline pumps, and minutes matter, we have to be ready to take advantage of all of these channels while maintaining our standards of accuracy and context.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bias Toward Action.</span> It's been 7 days since this meeting, and we're far better prepared than we were 8 days ago. What we've done, and are doing, is the subject of my next post, <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://designagitator.blogspot.com/2009/01/break-glass-now.html">Break Glass Now</a></span>.<br /><br />[Photo by <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/andyeakin/275085205/">Andy <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Eakin</span></a>]John Keefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15793836689575392374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915824685711403488.post-10856931636131270052008-11-30T09:55:00.010-05:002008-11-30T13:52:41.096-05:00Let's Date!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBHMj6i92NoTwyO86aq8fyMuscRE1BEIPgoYFDfIrvtAG8obT1GmfvEhnccBmTJ862mJx0GUOvtgSWHEbVi19ALqglbULUVXSYQGPlcX0L4_jG1K3VzSVcekxlGHL4w364MmeCYlxsxgQ/s1600-h/dinnerdate.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBHMj6i92NoTwyO86aq8fyMuscRE1BEIPgoYFDfIrvtAG8obT1GmfvEhnccBmTJ862mJx0GUOvtgSWHEbVi19ALqglbULUVXSYQGPlcX0L4_jG1K3VzSVcekxlGHL4w364MmeCYlxsxgQ/s320/dinnerdate.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274479598897312242" border="0" /></a>On your first date, you wouldn't plan your wedding. Or sign a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">prenup</span>. Or name your baby.<br /><br />So why do so many collaborations start that way?<br /><br />Companies and organizations clearly need to learn how to date. See if you click. Get to know each other. Play.<br /><br />Prototype, really.<br /><br />Recent discussions I've had with a large company about collaborating quickly turned to who was going to walk the unborn child to preschool and pay for her clothes. It reminded me that people and organizations almost compulsively skip the playful exploring time. And the fun.<br /><br />So let's take lessons from the millions of partnership prototypes that happen over dinner every Friday night:<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">Start with dinner. </span>Get together. Talk. Dream. Learn. Over food, of course.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Don't be self-centered.</span> You'll kill a relationship quickly if you spend all evening talking about yourself, <span style="font-style: italic;">your</span> needs, <span style="font-style: italic;">your</span> wants. Instead, find out about your potential partner. Learn about their hopes and dreams. Think about how they may enhance or build on yours.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Don't name the baby.</span> Put off the discussion of branding, naming the project, how credit is bestowed. This gets emotional fast, and quickly moves you out of the realm of low-risk prototyping.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Put off the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">prenup</span>. </span>In fact, I'd avoid writing anything down at first -- especially anything regarding goals, directions, duties, etc. This starts to define the relationship from the outset instead of allowing for open innovation and low-risk experimentation.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Respect each other.</span> Be nice. Be giving. Be open. And if that costs a little, consider it an investment in the potential of the partnership. Pick up the check here and there.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Meet up again. And again.</span> Make a plan -- and put it in your calendar -- for the key people to meet regularly, preferably over a meal, to check in on how <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">everyone's</span> doing. That's the time to make sure nobody feels disrespected, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">over-committed</span>, or unhappy. Then adjust accordingly.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Break up gracefully.</span> If the partnership just doesn't click, part ways, remain friends, and be sure your team gets together to learn from, and record, what parts worked. </blockquote>I won't kiss-and-tell about our newest collaboration, but I will say this is the approach <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">WNYC</span> took when we approached Iowa Public Radio back before the Iowa caucuses. We made a concerted effort to learn about <span style="font-style: italic;">them</span> and focus on <span style="font-style: italic;">their</span> needs. We talked a lot. We shared info and a common effort. And we didn't name the baby. The result was an amazing <a href="http://blogs.wnyc.org/vote2008/2008/01/04/listen-to-iowa-caucus-coverage-from-wnyc-in-new-york-and-iowa-public-radio/">night of radio</a>, and <a href="http://toddmundt.com/blog/2008/01/08/our-mini-election-collaborations/">smiles all around</a> (scroll to the bottom). It's also how we've approached a lasting relationship with the wonderful folks over at the <a href="http://www.cpbn.org/">Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network</a>, where we first prototyped this kind of coverage.<br /><br />Happy dating!<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">[Photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hypertypos/2640586095/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">hypertypos</span></a>]</span>John Keefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15793836689575392374noreply@blogger.com2