Anxiety disorders. Green wax statues. Facebook introducing videos. Digital Journal is the only place you’ll find such fascinating topics co-existing like a surreal family. These are the highlights of a busy week of citizen journalism and breaking news.
Digital Journal — Beginning with technology news, we were ecstatic to read articles covering the peaks and valleys of digital culture. One of the citizen journalism forefathers, OhMyNews, was profiled by Steve in the UK in a post describing the difficulties the site faces with a Japan offshoot. Although more than 26,000 members have registered on OhMyNewsJapan, the site only publishes 30 new articles per day. Where’s the love? Oh right, the Japanese are too busy creating mind-blowing technology for North American citizen journalists to review.
Following up his TopJournalism week with another stellar post, saran81kid91 reported on new features destined to ripple through Facebook. He gave us the quick n’ dirty on video features, donation services and file-sharing tools the social-networking giant will implement. As always, saran covered each section thoroughly, throwing in his educated opinion. He deserves many Facebook pokes for being on top of such a key overhaul for a burgeoning technology.
“If the GOP wants to make an impact in the 2008 election it must master the Web.” So wrote Left-Handed Elephant in an intriguing post about Republicans losing the Web war. We learned how the Dems have raised twice as much funding online as the Republicans, prompting Left to conclude, “Talk radio’s not going to cut it anymore.” As expected, MichaelJWagner threw in his two cents about Ron Paul’s online efforts. Yes, we get it Michael, Ron is awesome.
Turning to the hardware side of tech, cgull alerted us to PC World’s top 100 products of 2007. We learned why the RIM Blackberry 4400 is an all-in-one powerhouse, and how Nintendo Wii blows away the competition. Good find, cgull.
Science stories peppered DigitalJournal.com this week, giving us a wealth of info to analyze in our mental microscope: permafrog reported on climate change causing an increase in allergies and malaria (will there be an Al Gore-endorsed bug spray?); unicorn5 wrote about 30 European mammals now facing extinction (oh, how I’ll miss the Iberian lynx); and unusualsuspect found a buried story on a new superglue being developed to give manufacturers a breakthrough solution to, “Hmm, why can’t these two things stick together?” Forget Crazy Glue, this is Insanity Glue.
Touching on environmental issues, Digital Journalists gave us a taste of some quirky stories making headlines this week. A wax figure of Prince Charles at Madame Tussauds in London is the first “green” figure at the museum, according to momentsintime. Artists conserved electricity by only sculpting during the day, and the body was made from recycled wax and organic beeswax, among other materials. “Wow, Ma, it’s so environmentally friendly, it looks real!”
And earlier this week, malan told us about the New York cab fleet going green by introducing hybrid cars. The plan is to turn all 13,000 cabs into energy efficient vehicles by 2013. malan did a thorough job of reporting on the costs versus cost savings, giving readers an extensive look at a contentious issue bound to ripple through every major urban centre.
Closely linked to science is health, and two articles stood out for dishing out tasty tidbits on improving our physical well-being: jaguar reported on a study proving the benefit of drinking beer in moderation. Beer has five times more antioxidants than white wine, which is already making me itch for a six-pack of Red Stripe (my fave). And kylalynn posted a bookmark-worthy piece on signs you may be at risk of getting heart disease. skyangel5402 was so impressed she said she’d put the article in her “health file.” Um, should I have a health file?
Politics, primarily U.S.-based, got its fair share of coverage this week. rob13 — always on top of political news — reported on a memo suggesting Hillary Clinton should ignore Iowa caucuses next year ; Amaranth gave us a glimpse into the conflict surrounding New York Governor Elliot Spitzer’s tax grab from members of the Seneca tribe; and BoVandy summed up his article with a pithy headline — Cheney Wants More War.
Politics and religion are intrinsically linked, so it only makes sense to segue to Brandigal‘s eye-opening post on Muslims saying they’ve prospered in the U.S. The article touched upon many relevant issues — Islamic extremism, age differences between Muslims, overall Muslim population — and it also signalled some nice range from Brandigal, who tends to focus on crime issues. Kudos to any citizen journalist who wants to show some flexibility in the topics they cover, since that only strengthens the content on the site.
It looks like sports isn’t a top priority for Digital Journalists but new user n8itude gave us a breaking story that’s on the mind of every hockey nut: Nashville Predators Selling to Blackberry Boss detailed the deal between Canadian businessman Jim Balsillie and the 10-year-old hockey franchise. The question n8 raises — where will the Preds move to if the deal goes through? — is one that hockey fans in Winnipeg and Hamilton are asking themselves every day.
On to some lighter news, Planet Janet gave us a smashing overview of Britain’s obsession with reality TV. Actually, what started as a reality-TV analysis extended into an explanation of how Britain is regarded across the world. Personally, it’s more than Coronation Street and Brit-pop to me; I’m well acquainted about the U.K. smoking ban, British naval ships, overseas private education — all thanks to a certain accented British correspondent giving us the goods on DJ.
Some articles are too strange to fit into any category, but they deserve a second mention nonetheless: bluecharlie reported on a convicted bigamist who married eight women; unicorn5 discovered a CBC.ca story on an Ontario man losing citizenship for lying about his Nazi past; and MDee treated us to a story about a couple engaged in some naughty bondage play, later realizing they didn’t have the key to free themselves from chains. I admit, I envy the cop who had to respond to that emergency call — what a great story at the water cooler!
Now it’s time for the Emmys of citizen journalism, the Pulitzers of grassroots media — get ready for this week’s TopFinds Awards.
For too long we’ve neglected the TopVideo Award, but this week there was a post we couldn’t pass up: Dubai Puts a New Spin on Skyscrapers came from the busy pen of cgull, who supplemented his post on an awe-inspiring rotating building with video showing the unique twisting-floor system. As Ringwraith exclaimed, “It sure looks like something from another world.” Congrats to cgull for embedding a fantastic video to accompany an already newsworthy post.
There were many great contenders for TopOpEd but this week the award goes to a user who loves “swimming through the digital ocean” (as his profile professes): squidny penned an exceptional piece on natural selection, exploring the ethical swamp humans wander into when we interfere with the balance between various animal species. Complete with quotes and an intelligent question posed at the end, the article deserves recognition for its originality and fresh ideas. Welcome to the Hall of Digital Journal Fame, squidny!
When we scour the week’s posts to select the most intriguing and well-researched articles, we’re often faced with so much goodness to just choose one. Well, this week we’re giving the TopJournalism Award to two worthy writers: franklin and gohomelaker. First, franklin posted a powerful and emotionally charged post on generalized anxiety disorder, an ailment she knows too well — and a topic not many of us understand. Filled with personal experience and touching anecdotes, the article illustrated the frustration sufferers feel when they deal with psychologists who don’t empathize with their disorder. This must’ve been a difficult piece for franklin to write, and I’ll be bold enough to say we’re all lucky this courageous citizen journalist had the emotional strength to bare her soul to us on Digital Journal.
The second TopJournalim Award goes to gohomelaker for her fact-filled post on air quality and emissions. Contrary to popular belief, gohome stated, U.S. emissions are decreasing, especially when it comes to pollutants like carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide. The article offered some startling conclusions, while also firing up a healthy debate on how GDP affects the issue. When these kinds of articles descend on our community, it’s another plus in the corner of citizen journalism; no longer do the mainstream media have to be our sole source of info, especially with citizen journalists like gohome and franklin on our side.
Finally, a quick mention about the article No Phree Speech on Digital Journal. Guess who wrote it? Yep, you got it, phree posted a comment-heavy post on free speech on the site, prompting a discussion on what constitutes right or wrong statements on DigitalJournal.com. The article was ridiculous and we will most definitely delete anything like this in the future. (Just kidding).
And so ends another exciting week on Digital Journal. Thanks to everyone who earned a spot on TopFinds, and to every citizen journalist posting articles that are both thoughtful and newsworthy. See you next week.
Do you have a fave article? What staff article did you like most? Give us your two cents on the good finds this week.
