Stephen’s Curated Story: Mission Bay Fire (#sffire)

Yesterday evening, a fire broke out in an apartment building under construction in San Francisco’s Mission Bay neighborhood, near AT&T park. The fire eventually escalated to a 6-alarm rating, and nearly half of the city’s firefighters were eventually called in to battle the blaze. Using twXplorer, Keepr, and Storify‘s built-in social media navigator, I found and curated a series of tweets, Vines, and YouTube videos to tell the story:
http://storify.com/s2tephen/mission-bay-fire-sffire

A precarious situation: peace talks with Pakistani Taliban

 

With close ties with Afghan Taliban, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has been engaged in terrorism and insurgency inside Pakistan since 2007. The TTP has been responsible for thousands of deaths in Pakistan. On Jan. 30, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced the initiation of formal peace talks with the TTP, saying Pakistan would pursue peace talks with militants despite terrorist attacks that have hobbled Pakistan’s peace efforts.

Storify link: here

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SXSW: Start-up Hatchery and Battleground

SXSW is a hot word at the Media Lab. So when asked to report on a story we “can’t report on in person,” I took the opportunity to learn more about an event I didn’t know much about, but still wanted to be at.

Like others, I used Storify in this assignment: http://storify.com/kzh/sxsw-startup-hatchery-and-battleground. Storify is a fantastic resource and was surprisingly seamless. SXSW is all over social media also, so finding sources was not a problem.

However, my initial goal of covering all of SXSW was quickly blown to pieces — there is just too much going on. I narrowed down the problem to covering start-ups at SXSW, which still turned out to be a problem in curating content from an ocean of Tweets. Furthermore, I found that it was difficult to find multiple perspectives of the SXSW start-up scene on social media. I’ve heard in person that it encourages a narrow, pitch-able view onto start-ups, and encourages this view through press and awards. But I wasn’t able to find much online sharing this same idea.

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What the World Ate for Breakfast

Screen Shot 2014-03-12 at 1.22.29 AM
http://www.pinterest.com/alex1sh0pe/what-the-world-ate-for-breakfast/

I wanted to do a story on what the world eats for breakfast, pieced together by posts from popular social networking tools in various countries. However, many social networks required in-country mobile phone numbers to join (e.g. Mixi in Japan), or had strict privacy settings to interact with other users (e.g. Line) and so I could not pull content from them.

My process involved finding a colloquial term for breakfast in the language of a variety of locations, and then trying to find a geo-tagged post with a picture of breakfast that I thought might be interesting, surprising, or just tasty looking. I was able to retrieve photos from Weibo, Instagram, Twitter, and Google Plus. I tried to find breakfast photos that looked more-or-less home-cooked, as opposed to photos from restaurants.

Once I found the photos, I put them on a Pinterest map. Take a tour of breakfast!

Fun facts:

Breakfast in German = Frühstück
Portuguese = “pequeno-almoço”
Russian = “завтрак”
Japanese = “朝食”
Turkish = “kahvaltı”

Toronto gets a cat video festival

I was poking around news sites to find events I might want to cover for this assignment. Lo and behold, I found out that Toronto was going to host its first “cat video festival.” What’s more, none other than the Prime Minister’s wife, Laureen Harper, will appear at the event.

I made this short commentary in Zeega about the news and reaction to the news.

I also collected reactions on Twitter using Storify.

Here are some highlights:

twitter rx1 twitter rxn3 twitter rxn2

Notes about process: Both Zeega and Storify were extremely intuitive and easy to use. I do, however, regret the fact that I could not embed cat videos in Zeega.

 

“The Face Behind Bitcoin”: The Internet Responds

Similar to Hiromi, I also chose Bitcoin this week.

Last week, this Newsweek article by Leah McGrath Goodman on the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the secretive creator of Bitcoin generated massive attention. I decided to curate the Internet’s response to the article.

Along with its focus on Bitcoin’s creator, the article was notable in that it was the cover story of Newsweek, which returned to print for the first time in 14 months.

1. Newsweek Posts Article

2. Bitcoin’s Lead Developer Tweets

3. Reddit’s r/bitcoin responds

r/bitcoin

Bitcoin enthusiasts on Reddit generally express skepticism at the article and are upset that Satoshi Nakamoto was “doxed.” Some anger is directed at Goodman, the author of the Newsweek article.

btcmeme

4. Goodman interviewed by IBTimes

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5. Man Denies He’s Bitcoin Founder

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6. The “Real” Satoshi Nakamoto Responds

In a Bitcoin forum where the Bitcoin founder has been active in the past, the following is posted: “I am not Dorian Nakamoto”

Link to Forum

7. NewsGenius Annotation of Newsweek Article Created

NewsGenius Annotation

The annotation argues that the evidence in the article in support of Satoshi Nakamoto’s identity is “extraordinarily thin.” Interestingly, the main annotators are Balaji Srinivasan and Marc Andreessen, two general partners of the well-known Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.

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Where and Who is SATOSHI NAKAMOTO

In the aftermath of Mt.Gox’s bankruptcy in Japan, Newsweek throw another bomb.

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Early in the morning of March 6, Newsweek magazine posted an exclusive article titled “The Face Behind Bitcoin”. The reporter Leah McGrath Goodman claimed in the article that they found the mysterious founder of Bitcoin living in Temple City, California.

newsweek

According to this article, a 64-year-old Japanese-American man whose name really is Satoshi Nakamoto is the founder. He hobby is collecting model trains,and he has done classified work for major corporations and the U.S. military.For the past 40 years, Satoshi Nakamoto has not used his birth name in his daily life. At the age of 23, after graduating from California State Polytechnic University, he changed his name to “Dorian Prentice Satoshi Nakamoto,” according to records filed with the U.S. District Court of Los Angeles in 1973. Since then, he has not used the name Satoshi but instead signs his name “Dorian S. Nakamoto.”

Bitcoinfans and press were thrown into confusion at this. Trying to have interview with Nakamoto, a car chase began.

“We are chasing Satoshi Nakamoto,” wrote Buzzfeed reporter Hunter Schwarz in an article published Wednesday afternoon.

And this news about car chase has spread through twitter and facebook.

 

 

In this “manhunt”, AP seems to have stood out from the others.

In the afternoon of March 7, AP posted the article “Man said to create bitcoin denies it” AP succeeded in interviewing Nakamoto.

Dorian Prentice Satoshi Nakamoto told the reporter that he is not the creator of bitcoin.”I got nothing to do with it,” he said, repeatedly.

nope

“I’m saying I’m no longer in engineering. That’s it,” he told AP. “And even if I was, when we get hired, you have to sign this document, contract saying you will not reveal anything we divulge during and after employment. So that’s what I implied.”

And he continued.

“It sounded like I was involved before with bitcoin and looked like I’m not involved now. That’s not what I meant. I want to clarify that.”

Then on a long-dormant PeerToPeer Foundation site believed to belong to the Satoshi Nakamoto who created Bitcoin suddenly appeared a post denying he was Dorian.

p2psatoshi

Newsweek posted a statement about the story, saying that the research was conducted under the same high editorial and ethical standards that have guided Newsweek for more than 80 years and Newsweek stands strongly behind Ms. Goodman and her article.

 

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Introvert Survival Skills at SXSW

Introvert Survival Skills at SXSW
(As Gleaned Through Twitter)

It’s hard to be an introvert at SXSW, the annual conference/festival held in in Austin, Texas, happening this year March 6-16, 2014. A fusion of music fans, film buffs, tech geeks, and startup entrepreneurs, SXSW is known for its parties, hobnobbing, and creative technology launchesair jordan sneaker.

This annual event can be challenging for attendees with introverted personalities. Carrie Bishop, Director of FutureGov and one of this year’s attendees, writes “SXSW is a weird place to be an introvert.” (1) Another attendee writes “SXSW needs an Introverts Lounge with individual, quiet pods where people can get out of the mobs for a while.” (2) Caleb Gardner, Social/Content Director at Organizing for Action, writes “Second day at SXSW, and the introvert in me is already flaring up. Where in Austin can I go sit somewhere quiet and read a book?” (3)

introverts2This year, one of the SXSW morning panels on March 11th was focused on the topic of introverts, with four professionals presenting a workshop called “Introvert Uprising: When the Silent Strike Back.” (4) The panel featured a range of professionals- from successful technology leaders to clinical counselors- and was attended by around 40 conference participants.

At attendees gathered for the panel, one of the attendees, Greta Arnold, a resident of Washington, DC, observed “a panel on introversion at 9:30 in the morning = no one in the room talking to anyone else.” (5) Kristin Warwick of Dallas, Texas posted a photo of people sitting with empty seats between them throughout the conference room, noting that this was “exactly how I imagined the people would be spread out during the introvert session.” (6)

introvertsThe panel started out by defining introverts as people who recharge and get energy from being alone, as opposed to extroverts, who recharge and get energy from interaction with others (7). The panelists then showed a slide depicting the extrovert-ambivert-introvert spectrum (8). Next, the panelists jolted the audience by showing a Gawker headline stating “Introverts ruin everything” (9). They then went into some mythbusting, including the fact that not all introverts are shy (10). Importantly, they emphasized that “introverts are not broken extroverts” (11), since one of the struggles for introverts is getting extroverts to stop trying to convert them air max sneaker.

Ultimately, the panelists focused on how managers in the workplace can make the work environment more welcoming for introverted employees. For example, attendee Kristin Warwick appreciated the panelists’ advice that “Don’t label introverts as disinterested, lacking passion, or not leaders just because they’re thinkers, listeners, and observers” (12). Moreover, the panelists discussed how introverts are more comfortable with silence than extroverts. As attendee and Texas State grad student Melody Celeste understood it, “Our society is uncomfortable with silence, especially extroverts, but introverts are actually thinking about the question” (13). In fact, the panelists discussed how silence can be used to “take back power in a conversation” (14).

More concretely, Kristin took away that “research states that there are significant benefits to having an office quiet room, nap room, or meditation room” (15). The panelists discussed that drains in the workplace for introverts can include “open work places, others playing music, and happy hour” (16). The takeaway for managers was to be more aware of creating “quiet space” in the workplace: “Research support quiet rooms. There are benefits for managers to create quiet space” (17). By not assuming that everyone works the same way, managers can be more attune to the needs of their employees (18).

SXSW continues, and conference attendees continue to be a mix of extroverts and introverts. As introverts continue to struggle with conference/festival survival skills, it is refreshing to see this issue acknowledged on the official SXSW agenda this year with a well-received panel new balance shoes.

References

1 Bishop tweet: https://twitter.com/carriebish/statuses/443197827951251456
2 Donajo tweet  https://twitter.com/donajo/statuses/443090267369779200
3 Gardner tweet https://twitter.com/calebgardner/statuses/443118535015821312
4 Introvert Uprising http://schedule.sxsw.com/2014/events/event_IAP20662
5 Arnold tweet:https://twitter.com/thelastgoodnite/statuses/443394102571180033
6 Photo Warwick tweet http://twitpic.com/dy0foi
7 Watson tweet https://twitter.com/abcwatson/statuses/443395502155919360
8 Celeste tweet https://twitter.com/melodyceleste/status/443398946786799616/photo/1
9 Watson tweet https://twitter.com/abcwatson/statuses/443394341189328896
10 Springer tweet https://twitter.com/monicaspringer/statuses/44339538422884761
11 Fortune tweet https://twitter.com/Fortunejn/statuses/443397817541738497
12 Warwick tweet https://twitter.com/kristinwarwick/statuses/443402231845371904
13 Celeste tweet #2 https://twitter.com/melodyceleste/statuses/443398515847593984
14 Celeste tweet #3 https://twitter.com/melodyceleste/statuses/443398706327351296
15 Warwick tweet #2 https://twitter.com/kristinwarwick/statuses/443403459346186240
16 Celeste tweet# 4  https://twitter.com/melodyceleste/statuses/443400864854581249
17 Celeste tweet #5 https://twitter.com/melodyceleste/statuses/443402879471083520
18 Celeste tweet #6 https://twitter.com/melodyceleste/statuses/443404454872621056

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