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It’s 2008. We’ve (still) got the Beat.

/ Susan Scrupski / Leave a comment

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Living in Austin has its advantages. I was able to see the Go-Gos last night at Antones downtown. The club was sold out and the band did not disappoint. They’re still hot and they can still rock. Period. The crowd was wild with affection for the veteran new wave pop stars. Of course, it was mostly filled with middle-aged old punks like me who were reliving a bit of the energy of their youth, but hey– just like old times. Very fun.

The Go-Gos broke down barriers in their day. They were the first “girl band” to top the Billboard charts, and they wrote and played their own instruments. Tonight, as Hillary is cleaning up on Super Tuesday– looking strong heading toward the Democratic nomination, I’m really proud of the women who have inspired me over the years. That would include these raucous chicks from the Go-Gos who proved that chromosomes have nothing to do with achievement and raw energy.

For my part, I’m taking a more focused look at how I can promote women– women in tech, in particular– who deserve to be recognized for their contributions in an industry that outnumbers them nearly 5:1. For instance, I’m planning a panel for the Enterprise 2.0 conference in Boston on mashups. Mashups are probably the most sophisticated technology in the Enterprise 2.0 bag of tricks. I’m filling this panel and its moderator with all women. I actually got this comment from someone I really like who, of course, happens to be male: “Can it [the panel] really be successful with just women?” I replied to him, “Can a panel really be successful with just men?” So, Hillary could be the next President of the most powerful nation on earth; the Go-Gos are as edgy and accomplished as ever, and a cadre of smart women will lead an industry discussion on mashups.

It’s 2008 and the beat goes on.

Update: Okay, Hillary didn’t exactly “clean up,” but the girl took NJ, NY, Massachusetts, California, and Florida… after those I stopped paying attention. 🙂

Hug a journalist today; he/she’s no blog-ebrity.

/ Susan Scrupski / Leave a comment

 

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RichardatDell, posited a few things today in general about blogging. One of which was the difference between bloggers and journalists.

Richard’s post inspired Chris Brogan to ask tonight on Twitter, “Do you make much of the difference between bloggers and journalists? http://tinyurl.com/2dv5xw” This is an area I feel particularly passionate about and felt compelled to blog about tonight.

You see, I matured professionally surrounded by ace journalists in the 90s. My journalist “friends” were all reporters at the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Businessweek, Newsweek, USAToday, etc. All mainstream print media. For the longest time, I subscribed to the Columbia Journalism Review. Because I was a writer myself, I had a healthy respect for the tenets of journalism, although I had never been fortunate enough to have been schooled properly in journalism fundamentals.

Technically, I started blogging in 1999 by posting daily tidbits and scoops on the tech sector I was tracking. My private access “blog” was widely read by financial analysts, execs, and industry insiders. I remember having a long lunch conversation with a veteran New York Times reporter and friend about how the Internet was going to turn his world upside down. We had a great chat that day; I will never forget it. I told him he couldn’t beat me on “fast” or “free.” But, the 1.0 Internet was an arrogant era; I would have a much different conversation with him today.

A few months ago I was IM-chatting with my friend Anne Zelenka about this blogger-journalist conundrum. Ironically, I had mentioned to her that Jeff Jarvis, the blogger, is self-described as an “American journalist” on Wikipedia, but even Richard would agree (I hope) that once a journalist becomes part of a story, it sort of invalidates their objectivity and credibility as Jarvis did with the Dell Hell spectacle. So, Jarvis is a blogger, but not a journalist, IMO. As we were chatting, Anne told me she had published a scoop for GigaOm on the Teqlo demise, but felt sad all day when one of the founders commented on the story.

Reporting the news (with its instantaneous results) is changing our worldview overnight, but I firmly believe we need both bloggers and journalists to keep us informed. In short, the difference between bloggers and journalists is, well, vanity as far as I can see. You won’t find many journalists checking their stats on tweeterboard or racking up friends on Facebook. They’re comfortable to be invisible, maybe a little surly. But mon Dieu! We need them more now than we ever have. Who is going to get to the truth of the greatest issues of our day, stripped of ego, self-aggrandizement and promotion?

 

 

Davos, Loic, and Hey… are we changing the world, yet?

/ Susan Scrupski / Leave a comment

I’ve been extremely moved by the work Loic Le Meur has been doing with his Johnny on-the-spot reporting, beaming his smile and insights to us out here in Twitterland, Seesmicland, and on the Net in general. Just wanted to acknowledge how game-changing this effort is. It’s like I’ve written before– that great ditty from New Guinea: “the truth that everyone knows that no one talks about.” The real truth is instantaneous, realtime (yes, redundant) access to information and people, places, and things is changing our world in weird and wonderful ways.Thank you, Loic. You may have your sexist tendencies, but I am happy and eager to overlook that in the face of all you are achieving with your heroic efforts. Soldier on, mon ami. Peace out.