citizen

Does 'Second Life' need CNN's resident journalists?

On my way to work this morning, I came across an item in MediaWeek talking about how CNN is planning to inaugurate a substantial citizen journalism project in the virtual world Second Life.

The idea is that CNN will distribute kits to Second Life residents that will make it possible for them to "transmit copy and photos" back to the network, which could, presumably, run the stories or images on its Web site.

Further, CNN journalists will hold weekly "news meetings" geared toward helping these would-be reporters learn what makes a good story: how to write, … Read more

Check the time--and the next earthquake

A few weeks back we thought we'd stumbled across the ultimate gadget for the seismically obsessed with the "GraGraph" personal Richter scale. But already there's another on the drawing board that does it one better--it's portable.

If it ever becomes a reality, Citizen's "Seismic Watch" concept may be the first earthquake detector that can be strapped to the wrist, according to OhGizmo. Yet given the nerve-wracking way it works, it might do more harm than good by causing a heart attack: Once a quake has been predicted, the watch automatically switches to … Read more

Citizen's robot army

CHIBA, Japan--Citizen's micro robots come in peace.

The watch company, which also makes a wide variety of industrial-grade precision components, has come up with a couple of robot kits designed to get kids interested in the field.

The Eco-drive robots--the three robots with faces and watches on top in that first picture--are powered by gears and mechanisms in the watch. Although the watch is turning the gears of the robot, it continues to function normally. The whole thing is powered by a solar panel.

The system will work "as long as there is light or until breaking," … Read more

MSNBC buys social news site Newsvine

Normally we don't report acquisition news, but this one is pretty interesting. MSNBC has scooped up social news service Newsvine for an undisclosed amount. Both services are based out of Seattle and have been in talks for the last five months. Newsvine will continue to operate independently and serve up a mix of professionally produced and user-generated content, remaining a separate brand and entity from MSNBC.com. But content from Newsvine users could be making its way onto MSNBC.com in the near future.

This is a really solid deal for both parties. Newsvine and its users get a … Read more

NowPublic is now funded

NowPublic emerged onto the Web proclaiming, "The news is Now Public." Two years later they've embraced the tagline "Crowd powered media" and managed to secure significant funding in the process. According to VentureBeat NowPublic has raised $10.6 million in capital from Rho Ventures and Rho Canada with additional capital from Brightspark and Working Opportunity Fund. VentureBeat reports:

Chief executive Leonard Brody said it was the largest first round funding for any citizen journalist site. OhmyNews, a site based in Korea but which is now international, raised $11 million in a second round of financing. … Read more

A green watch that looks good too

Lithium-powered watches have been around for ages, but many versions have tended to look like something produced a former Soviet Union factory: basic block numbers in black and white. Citizen is remaking that image, however, allowing shamelessly capitalistic pigs like ourselves to enjoy fashion jewelry while assuaging our environmentalist guilt.

The watchmaker's "Eco-Drive" line features timepieces with jewels and dials that absorb natural and artificial light for their internal energy supply. Their rechargeable batteries last eons longer than earlier generations, with "enough juice to keep you ticking for up to five years, even in the dark,&… Read more

Citizen journalism takes a step forward with Topix.com

Topix, a news aggregation service that's been around for several years, launched a new site today, at Topix.com (previously the site was Topix.net). The service continues to pull local news from a variety of local sources, but with today's release, citizen editors can have a much stronger hand in the site.

On the new Topix.com, users apply for the job of editor for a topic or a community and once approved (as with Citizendium, it's not automatic), they can add stories, move stories around on the page, and remove the stories that the Topix &… Read more

Crime-fighting phone hits streets of China

Every once in awhile, a product comes along that makes us sad because it reflects some form of societal decay. Case in point: Even though we were initially interested in the Tianyu B832 for its attractive black-lacquer design, it turns out that the phone's most distinguishing feature may be its crime-fighting capabilities.

If the handset is stolen and the thief tries to make calls using a different SIM card, for example, it will automatically send a text message to your old number (which you'll presumably want to keep with your new phone). Mobile Magazine says the message will … Read more

Reuters offers tech to trust citizen journos' photos

News organization Reuters is working with photo editing powerhouse Adobe and camera maker Canon so changes to digital photos can be detected, Reuters CEO Tom Glocer said on his blog last week.

Reuters, the news agency whose image was tarnished earlier this year when a freelance photographer provided doctored photos of bombing in Beirut, wants to ensure such changes can be found.

"I am pleased to announce today that we are working with Adobe and Canon to create a solution that enables photo editors to view an audit trail of changes to a digital image, which is permanently embedded … Read more