Israeli Defense Bollywood

What's more newsworthy: a) for the first time I have embedded video
b) this Bollywood-style video by an Israeli Defense contractor trying to impress an Indian client.

Either way, enjoy the film, as I enjoy my new embedding triumph.

MishMashup

Now this is a mashup; a strange combination of old and new, sweetness and sorrow, past and present.  Fourteen years ago, I had a miscarriage.   I wrote a piece about it that appeared in newspapers (old media).  It then appeared in a book  (more old media.)   Life went on. Technology went on.  I went on to have a healthy child and other writing.

Today it came crashing back in new media; the loss, the memories, the old sorrow, the old life writing for old media; in Spanish, no less.  Someone kept that book alive.  It was translated, marketed, posted, tagged, search engine optimized.    And today, after trolling for my name with Google blog search, I switched back to web search, and there I was, along with Pipik, in the middle of a Spanish url.   

Pipik is another story, for another day.  I don't even know if he exists in new media in English.   But I remember.  Aveces se gana, aveces se pierde.

New Media for Customer Service

And how not to use it.

If I were a marketer, a brand manager, or a CEO, I'd want to know when my product or service fell short. And I'd be grateful that I'm living in times like these when I can get instant feedback.

But no. Not at Qwest or ExpressScripts. No way to reach'em.

No twitter account. No e-mail. Nada.

I could twitter. I could complain on this blog and post on my Facebook wall. But I'm no Chris Brogan, with hundreds of followers.

What a missed opportunity for these companies! There are real glitches in their customer service systems costing them time and money. But they won't hear about from me. And they won't keep me as a customer.

Obama Presser: New and Old Media React

Never has the case for real journalism, new or old,  been so clear.

Last night the newly elected President of the United States, charged with steering the country through its most dangerous economic crisis since the Great Depression, gave us critical news: without stimulus, crisis would become catastrophe.   And new media guy MNHEADHUNTER twittered  to his 1300 followers, "find annoying the tennis match he always has between teleprompters".    Meanwhile, old media's Chuck Todd , political director and chief White House correspondent for NBC News, showed his ignorance by asking the President how the stimulus will work when customer spending got us in the mess in the first place.  

MNHEADHUNTER is an expert on using social media for recruiting.  Chuck Todd is an expert on U.S. politics.  Neither is an economist.  Neither is a journalist with an understanding of economics.  And so once again we see the need for real journalism; sourced, edited, vetted reporting by knowledgeable experts.  Put it in print.  Put it online.  Just do it right.  

 

Big Day in New Mediaville

Go to the head of the new media class!  Today this auto-didact figured out so many things. I learned where to post code for widgets, meaning I could move various widgets out of my title bar and into their proper place.   Then (drumroll!) I used html and posted "Add this" buttons to my blog template.  It's the first time I've gone deep into html.  This is only fun and exciting if  you don't know what I'm talking about.  Kind of like me,  two months ago.  

What did you learn today?