Spew from Logan Molen

My annual CES roundup

2012-01-15T00:46:01Z

Welcome to my annual debrief from a two-day banzai trip to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

As expected there were tons of fantastic devices and trends on display, and a ridiculous number of accessories for those devices. It was as if technology took a break and the only Colorful accessories for phones and tablets from Uniqopening was to design cases and bags to accompany that technology. I think that says a lot about this economy, where buying decisions are tampered by the reality of thin wallets. Where we once may have splurged on something big and bad, we're either passing, waiting for Version 2 or dressing up what we already own.

And, as was the case last year, I didn't see any breakthroughs in battery technology. We're producing technology that outpaces the infrastructure. n that vacuum, many companies are producing portable "juicers," battery packs that can plug not your devices and recharge them much more quickly than standard cables. And there were many charging pads. I even saw luggage touted to charge devices while stowed away. One manufacturer that may be close to a real breakthrough in battery tech is myRata, which showed off its wireless, solar and heat-charging technology.

CES is an adventure, covering six or seven massive halls. What follows is simply a sampling of what caught my attention, good or bad:

Why Apple and the Green Bay Packers are so much alike

2012-01-09T01:38:12Z

My Packers stock certificateThanks to Santa, aka my wife, I'm now the owner of an NFL team. OK, part owner of the Green Bay Packers, courtesy of a recent stock sale the team unveiled to fund stadium improvements. I've been a diehard Packers fanatic since 1971, and this gift may go down as one of the best ever.

For $250, plus shipping and handling, I now own one share in the team, for which I get a nice stock certificate, access to the company's annual shareholder meeting, and discounts at the Packers Hall of Fame. Unlike a publicly traded stock, this certificate cannot be sold or traded and has no direct monetary value.

Critics of the Packers' stock sale/purchase ask, "Why would you pay $250 for something that's not worth anything?" It's a valid question but assumes the stock must have a market value instead of the enormous sentimental value that has driven the sale.

Diehard Packers fans can speak passionately about why being a shareholder is worth $250 or more, but just in case any of them may have forgotten, the Packers have done a masterful job of reminding their fans why they and the organization are special, and not just because Green Bay is the only publicly owned professional sports team in America.

With the stock certificate comes a "brand book" -- a small CD-sized booklet that eloquently reminds the owner of the things -- big and small -- that make the Green Bay Packers different than any other pro sports franchise in the United States.

In 28 easily read pages filled with big pictures and short sentences, the stockholder is quickly reminded why their $250 investment is far more than a piece of paper.

Case in point:

Capture Kern wins EPpy award

2011-12-01T06:26:30Z

Got some good news today: The Bakersfield Californian's Capture Kern County project earned an EPpy award for excellence in journalism.

Capture Kern was among four finalists in the ungainly category of "Best Crowd Sourcing or Citizen Journalism with under 250,000 unique monthly visitors." Other finalists in that category were Fort Wayne Newspapers, Deseret News and the City University of New York School of Journalism's partnership with The New York Times. Here's a complete list of winners in the competition, which is sponsored by Editor & Publisher magazine (hence the EPpy award).

Capture Kern was recognized for its wide reach and celebration of all things Kern County. In short, the project has, to date, enticed more than 1,200 photographers to submit more than 25,000 photos representing life in our county, and then allowing thousands of people to vote and comment on those photos, with the best and most popular being published in a 128-page full-color book.

Screencast of Bakersfield Californian e-edition

2011-11-25T21:46:36Z

Here's a simple screencast I created recently to help explain the features of the desktop version of The Bakersfield Californian e-edition.

I used the free version of Screenr to capture a 5-minute screencast. There are a few sections where audio and video is clipped but those burps don't dilute the overall message. For a free product, the simple Screenr tools deliver pretty good results.

I'd like to do a screencast for our iPad app but I'm unaware of integrated software that captures iPad movements. All I've seen are videos shot from above the screen, an angle that while it captures hand movements, is hard to get right because of screen glare. Please let me know if you're aware of a screencast tool that works on iPad; it seems to be one of those "holy grail" products that no one has been able to produce.

Curiosity separates great journalism and lazy journalism

2011-11-20T08:01:49Z

Journalism is a business where there's always something to do, stories to cover, deadlines to meet.

It's work that can be a grind, particularly when you wait for stories to land in your lap. But journalism can be magic when you dive into the unknown, led only by a single tip that may or may not pan out.

Sadly, I regularly encounter journalists and other professionals who lack one key trait that separates the average from the great: curiosity.

Tim Layden of Sports Illustrated is a great journalist. Case in point is "The Forgotten Hero," an extraordinary tale that started with a solid tip about a long-forgotten small-college athlete but grew into a much larger story about a dying man whose zest for life inspired everyone around him.

"The Forgotten Hero" is Mike Reily, who played football at Williams College in the early 1960s. His life was cut short by Hodgkin's disease, and by all accounts the world lost a great one.

But that's just a small piece of the story.

First reactions to the Kindle Fire

2011-11-17T05:51:29Z

I’ve been playing with the Kindle Fire tablet since it hit stores Tuesday and am generally impressed with a powerful tablet that acts bigger than its $199 price.

Before we dive into the details, let’s get this out of the way quickly: the Kindle Fire is much more than an e-reader but it is not an “iPad killer.” But it’s a very good hand-held computer with lots of upside.

Reading content is at the core of the Kindle brand, but the Fire does so much more. Because of it brings good bang for the buck for mainstream America, expect the Fire to be a big hit this holiday season, giving Amazon a strong foundation in its ongoing battle with Apple, Barnes & Noble, Netflix and who knows else in the battle for consumers’ time and money.

Some quick observations after a few hours of playtime with the Fire:

My appearance on 'Californian Radio'

2011-11-11T08:02:01Z

You can find a podcast of the show in iTunesI appeared on "Californian Radio" on Tuesday to talk about the changing newspaper business and some of the things The Bakersfield Californian is doing to serve its customers in new ways.

Regular Tuesday host Robert Price, The Californian's Opinion section editor, was short on ideas so decided to pull me into the studio for an hourlong talk on a wide variety of topics, including smartphones, tablet computers, our e-edition, people who wear pajamas in public, chain e-mails, and more. (You can listen to the complete episode in iTunes).

Let me know what you think.

Putting the spotlight on The Californian's e-edition

2011-11-09T08:01:48Z

The Bakersfield Californian has kicked off a substantial months-long multimedia campaign to market the iPad and laptop/desktop versions of our e-edition, which is a digital replica of the printed newspaper.

One of four billboard designs promoting The Bakersfield Californian's iPad app features popular regional destination Morro Rock as a backdrop. The campaign features print and online display ads, TV commercials (watch them above and below), digital billboards and bus wraps. The messages promote the idea of escaping with The Californian -- anywhere, anytime. I won't spill the beans on all the creative until it's all ready for prime time, but I will say there's a neat trick we'll be doing with the digital billboard. And the bus wraps will turn heads.

I've written previously about our highly rated iPad app and how it's a perfect match for The Californian's tabloid format. We're finding that our e-edition subscribers are extremely loyal in reading daily and spending a sizable amount of time with each edition.

Terrific 'Capture Kern' book powered by the people

2011-11-04T06:47:46Z

Jonathan Walker photo showing off some of Kern's diverse landscape ended up on the cover of "Capture Kern County." "Capture Kern County" the book was officially released Thursday night and it's as good a portrait our region that's ever been published.

Why?

Because it was shaped through 21,993 submissions from 1,084 amateur and professional photographers sharing their images on CaptureKernCounty.com. The best of those images made the final cut for the book, filling 128 pages with often breath-taking photos on a wide variety of subjects. It's a document as diverse as the county in which we live.

The project, sponsored by The Bakersfield Californian and Tejon Ranch, launched in May and gave amateur and professional photographers a chance to share their visions of Kern in more

'The Tablet Revolution' offers mixed prospects for news organizations

2011-10-25T07:01:00Z

The Pew Research Center tonight released a wonderful study that uncovers all kinds of surprises related to 1,159 tablet users, and more specifically, 894 who read news on their tablets at least weekly.

The study, officially titled "The Tablet Revolution and What It Means for the Future of News," was conducted in conjunction with Pew's Project for Excellence in Journalism and The Economist Group, the British publishers who have been at the vanguard of paid-digital content initiatives. I think they got their money's worth.

Tablet owners represent an affluent, educated demographic (Graphic: Pew Research Center).Some takeaways from tablet users:

11 percent of U.S. adults own "a tablet computer of some kind," this just 18 months after Apple launched the iPad. The study isn't specific on what brands make up tablets but indicates iPads are owned by the large majority of Brand is a factor in generating app downloads, but no necessarily for paying for news (Graphic: Pew Research Center).respondents, and questions how next month's launch of the Amazon Kindle will change usage and behavior by bringing a lower-cost alternative to the masses.
77 percent use their tablets daily, and for an average of 90 minutes. Wow.