Tag Archives: media

infophile blog + Christiane Amanpour: How to seek truth in the era of fake news | TED Talk + IFLA Infographic #fakenews #ethics #librarianship #journalism #info #media #facts #IFLA

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A pointed and realistic viewpoint on the state of journalism today.

One of my responsibilities as Research & Strategy Librarian at Calgary Economic Development is fact-checking data points and verifying statements. At times I have explained (repeatedly) why specific information can or cannot be used. Statements in the media or elsewhere are often misleading and taken out of context to suit specific purposes including marketing, messaging and promotion. Using critical judgement, objective analysis and interpretation of data, reviewing methodology and investigating sources are essential and routine activities when sourcing information. I have developed a categorized inventory of verified statements and data points for staff to use when creating content and marketing collateral. The inventory is updated on an ongoing basis. I am available on request to fact-check any content before publication, ensuring all statements are verified and sourced. I highly recommend all organizations develop such a resource.

True story: The Government of Alberta recently issued a news release with an incorrect statement and source for an important factual statement about the provincial film industry. I contacted the media representative twice to request a change to the statement and the source. Thankfully, the news release has now been revised. How do I know the statement source was incorrect??? My organization is the source…and I completed the analysis to develop the statement. Lesson learned: Consider the source.

This great How to Spot Fake News infographic from IFLA outlines the questions we should be asking when viewing media. Be critical!

Tristan Harris: The manipulative tricks tech companies use to capture your attention | TED.com #media #tech #design #UX #engagement #attention

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Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales launches Wikitribune, a large-scale attempt to combat fake news » Nieman Lab #news #fakenews #librarianship #factcheck #crowdsourced #journalism #media

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Feeling more skeptical than hopeful about the launch of this new service…unless that is the crowdsourced fact checks are completed by only volunteer librarians!

The crowd-funded news platform aims to combat fake news by combining professional journalism with volunteer fact checking: “news by the people and for the people.” READ MORE: Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales launches Wikitribune, a large-scale attempt to combat fake news » Nieman Journalism Lab

5 Lessons #Library #Websites Can Learn from @Buzzfeed | Weave #digital #content #marketing #webdesign #socialmedia #user #engagement #UX

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Since its 2006 launch, Buzzfeed has become an Internet institution by recognizing and capitalizing on the insatiable life-cycle of viral media. The idea behind the website is relatively simple: bring together trending content (e.g., news, celebrity gossip, entertainment, quizzes) from around the web and organize it into a format that is short and eye-catching…

…Buzzfeed’s business model relies on shareability, something it has in common with today’s library, which is why library website designers have the opportunity to learn from Buzzfeed’s overwhelming success. Here are the top lessons library website designers can learn from Buzzfeed… READ MORE: 5 Lessons Library Websites Can Learn from Buzzfeed | Weave

How To #Scan 50 Miles of #Historical Documents Into an #Online #Archive | Gizmodo #VeniceTimeMachine #tech #digital #preservation #digitization

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Tracking the lightning quick development of modern cities is easy with Google Street View, but the [Venice Time Machine] project aims to provide context for the past 1,000 years of urban evolution in Venice, Italy. The Venice Time Machine will digitize and catalog a staggering amount of historical documents—a combined 50 miles worth of shelves!—then turn the data into an internet archive and adaptable 3D model. READ MORE: How To Scan 50 Miles of Historical Documents Into an Online Archive | Gizmodo

Microsoft’s Dope New Tool Is Like #Autocomplete for #Drawing | WIRED #digital #animation #interactive #media #tech #software #design #art

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CREATING EVEN A few seconds of a hand-drawn animation—think old-school Looney Tunes, or earlier Disney films like Snow White—is a painstaking process that requires artists to draw hundreds, if not thousands, of frames. Over the years, advances in digital animation tools have streamlined that process and, in doing so, created a new aesthetic best seen in the faces of Pixar’s canon of characters.

Microsoft Research, along with the University of Hong Kong and the University of Tokyo, just unveiled a proof-of-concept technology that could bring back the charm of older, hand-drawn cartoons, with the speed and fluidity of today’s animation software. “Autocomplete hand-drawn animations” debuted at the Siggraph Asia conference, and it’s an interactive system that watches what the artist draws and then predicts what frame or line might come next. READ MORE: Microsoft’s Dope New Tool Is Like Autocomplete for Drawing | WIRED

The First Great Works of #Digital #Literature are Already Being Written | The Guardian #gaming #video #storytelling #art #tech

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Video games could be the greatest storytelling medium of our age – if only the worlds of art and technology would stop arguing and take notice…READ MORE: The first great works of digital literature are already being written | Technology | The Guardian

Will #Digital #Books Ever Replace Print? | Aeon #eBooks #reading #tech

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Digital books stagnate in closed, dull systems, while printed books are shareable, lovely and enduring. What comes next? READ MORE: Will digital books ever replace print? – Craig Mod – Aeon

The Only Metric That Matters For #Content #Marketing | TechCrunch #digital #metrics #engagement

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At Pixable, we — like almost every digital property — are in the eyeball game. We are one of thousands of media companies competing for attention, and, in our case, we seek the attention of young, highly social readers with seemingly infinite interests. It goes without saying that attention grabbing begins with a catchy headline (in fact, we tested three headlines for this article alone), but the real challenge is this: After getting the audience’s attention, how do you keep it? READ: The Only Metric That Matters For Content Marketing | TechCrunch

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Here Are 5 Contenders For A New, #Female #MacGyver – Will One Help Drive #Girls To Engineering? | Co.Create #STEM

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Awesome on so many levels!!

Could television be the secret weapon that gets more girls into science There is no shortage of initiatives that aim to get girls interested in STEM careers from an early age. From GoldieBlox’s building kits and storybooks to the 8-week summer camp Girls Who Code teaching teens the fundamentals of robotics and web development. That’s because in order to right the lopsided gender balance in science, engineering, and math, research indicates that it’s important to engage girls while they are young and encourage them to continue to pursue STEM careers. And we all know how important diversity is to business, particularly as it becomes more globally connected.

Yet engineering toys and school programs can’t necessarily stem the tide of media images that continue to push the idea the typical scientist, programmer, or engineer is a white guy working alone. That’s why the USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering and the National Academy of Engineering pooled their resources in partnership with the MacGyver Foundation and together they’re crowdsourcing a concept for a new television show starring a strong female scientist —the next MacGyver. READ MORE: Here Are 5 Contenders For A New, Female MacGyver–Will One Help Drive Girls To Engineering? | Co.Create | creativity + culture + commerce.