September 2011

Google's nagging media problem

Since Google's early rise, this question has consumed hordes of those watching it: Is Google a technology company or a media company? Paradoxically, Google has continuously defied the dichotomy, seeming to succeed in media precisely by maintaining that it is solely a technology company. Can Google keep defying (or denying) reality?

Today's Web is very different than yesterday. When Google was born, the basic technologies of devices, browsers, protocols, sites and apps were still in development. Now the Web is much more meaningful and mature: it links real people to the other people and things they care about in a socially connected environment. The question is, where and how does Google fit in to this new digital eco-system? It's important to note that Google's world view is dominated by a utilitarian ethos, as though its product is mere software created just to provide the quickest route from point A to point B, or, in the case of search, from Q to A. For Google's flagship, search, this made for a perfect match with an ideal user experience. It also provided a competitive advantage over other products, which forced people to enter simple questions into complicated experiences. In this way, Google became an accidental media company, answering queries with utilitarian search results and basic classified ads. But the DNA that has made Google successful in search has made it more difficult for the company to excel in the next, more social, phase of digital media. (Aug 24)

ONC Wants Comment on Health I.T. Disparities

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology is seeking public comment on a draft plan to provide equal access for all Americans to the benefits of health information technology.

Worried of a new type of "digital divide," then-national coordinator David Blumenthal, M.D., in October 2010 called on electronic health records vendors to ensure their sales and marketing activities include providers serving minority communities. Under the draft plan now soliciting comment, "the government will endeavor to assure that underserved and at-risk individuals enjoy these benefits to the same extent as all other citizens."

Among other initiatives, the draft plan includes such proposals as:

Ensure federal health I.T. grant programs emphasize the importance of equal access,
Use the state health information exchange programs to identify HIE disparities,
Better use I.T. to track and analyze stratification of quality measures by race and ethnicity data,
Include medically underserved areas in future government health I.T. pilots and demonstrations, and
Hold an annual federal conference on use of health I.T. in underserved communities.

(Aug 25)

North Carolina lawmakers KO municipal broadband

North Carolina's legislature has killed a key state agency and passed a law that makes it nearly impossible for cities in the state to operate their own broadband networks. The law follows restrictions on broadband in 19 other states, and came after years of lobbying by big cable and telecom companies. The state legislature also killed North Carolina's broadband authority, which had a national reputation for its statewide planning and technical assistance work. (Aug 24)

The death of the text message

The smartphone boom is a mixed blessing for wireless companies. While the devices have boosted data plan sales considerably, they are threatening to kill another revenue stream dead in its tracks: text messaging.

Dozens of smartphone applications offer "free" text messaging services, which allow wireless customers to send and receive texts by piggybacking on their existing data plans. That means people who download those apps -- such as GroupMe, Google Voice, Disco, Beluga, Kik and WhatsApp -- are able to bypass the expensive texting plans offered by wireless companies. What's more, an increasing number of free text messaging services are being baked into the smartphones themselves. (Aug 22)

Study: Teen users of Facebook, Myspace more likely to drink, use drugs

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University in New York found that teens who spend time on the social networks are likely to see images of their peers drinking or using drugs — images that could help to convince them that substance abuse is a normal, acceptable activity.

"We're not saying (social media) causes it," said Joseph Califano, the center's chairman. "But we are saying that this is a characteristic that should signal to (parents) that, well, you ought to be watching." The findings are in keeping with a new wave of research into how social networks might affect teen decision-making. Several studies have suggested that Facebook, Myspace and other sites have created a new form of peer pressure, exposing young people to risky behaviors they could be tempted to emulate. That conclusion rings true to some teens and parents.

Too Much TV May Take Years Off Your Life

Spending your days in front of the television may contribute to a shortened lifespan, a new study suggests.

Researchers in Australia found that people who averaged six hours a day of TV lived, on average, nearly five years less than people who watched no TV.
For every hour of television watched after age 25, lifespan fell by 22 minutes, according to the research led by Dr. J. Lennert Veerman of the University of Queensland.

But other experts cautioned that the study did not show that TV watching caused people to die sooner, only that there was an association between watching lots of TV and a shorter lifespan. Though a direct link between watching TV and a shortened lifespan is highly provocative, the harms of TV are almost certainly indirect, said Dr. David L. Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine. (Aug 16)

Update: Public Inspection File Inquiry Arrives at OMB

We have movement on the local public inspection file front!

The proceeding the FCC kicked off last April – inquiring into (among other things) whether there really is any need for the public inspection file requirements of Sections 73.3526 and 73.3527 – has now been bucked over to the Office of Management and Budget. This opens up one final 30-day period during which comments on the requirements may be submitted (to OMB). The deadline for comments is September 15, 2011.

Why another round of comments? It’s all part of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) process. In PRA parlance, the public file requirements constitute “information collections”. Because of that, the FCC can't impose those rules without approval from OMB, which approval can extend for no more than three years. Once the three-year clock tolls, the FCC’s got to go back to OMB and request an extension of the previously-issued approval if the FCC wants to keep the requirements in place. As part of that extension process, the FCC must: (a) give everybody a 60-day opportunity to submit comments to the Commission; (b) review those comments and prepare a “supporting statement” addressing the comments; and (c) ship the comments and its supporting statement to OMB. Then OMB must provide a 30-day comment opportunity of its own. That’s where we are right now.

(Aug 17)

Obama and Perry Drive the Week's News

The economy and presidential election led the news agenda last week as two men vying for the same job played a dominant role in those narratives — President Barack Obama and Texas Governor Rick Perry. From August 15-21, the economy was the top story, accounting for 25% of the newshole according to the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism.

That marked the ninth straight week the subject has topped the news even as the level of economic coverage dropped for the third consecutive week. Continued volatility in the stock market accounted for some of the economic stories last week. But the leading storylines involved Obama’s Midwest bus tour focusing on the jobs and the economy as well as news that the president will deliver a major economic address next month. Obama largely had the economic stage to himself, where he registered as a dominant newsmaker in 37% of all the economic stories from August 15-21. No other figure accounted for more than 1%. (To be a dominant newsmaker, someone must be featured in at least 50% of a story.) The 2012 presidential campaign was the No. 2 story at 13%, down slightly from 15% the previous week when the Iowa GOP debate and subsequent straw poll — won by Congresswoman Michele Bachman — dominated coverage. Last week, campaign coverage focused on the buzz around newly minted candidate Rick Perry, who made news with some tough and controversial remarks about Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. (Aug 23)

Google-Motorola and Warren Buffet Drive Online Conversations

During a week that featured volatility in the stock market, chaos in the Middle East, and an increase in attention paid to the presidential campaign, Google's $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola drew excitement in social media. For the week of August 15-19, the sale was the most discussed subject on Twitter and the No. 3 story on blogs, according to the New Media Index from the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. Many Twitter users offered some humor as the passed along news of the deal.

(Aug 22)

Twitter Users Blast London Rioters

Twitter users overwhelmingly focused on the U.K. riots last week, and many of them were highly angered by and critical of the chaos. While much of the mainstream news coverage involved an exploration of the causes of the anger behind the riots, social media users were much more intent on denouncing the destruction that left five people dead, more than 3,100 arrested and an estimated £200 million worth of property damage.

For the week of August 8-12, the British riots were by far the most discussed subject on Twitter, according to the New Media Index from the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. The subject was so dominant that it was among the top five stories each day last week and appeared on the top story lists six times more often than the next largest subject, Twitter itself. In addition, the five most popular news-related videos on YouTube last week were all related to the riots.