Culture

Article — 23 February 2012 — 388 words

Just My Type

My name is Duncan and I am interested in fonts. Against my better judgement, sometimes I blurt out this fact, and people run a mile. But is it becoming acceptable? Simon Garfield’s book, Just My Type, would make it seem like a perfectly normal interest. Though there is a nod and a wink towards the […]

Article — 30 January 2012 — 674 words

Brutalism: Post-War British Architecture

Architecture

I have found myself developing an interest in brutalism, the style of architecture that was predominant in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. I have had a slight interest in modern architecture in the past, but I am finding myself increasingly drawn to brutalist structures and other buildings from this era. It is not just the […]

Article — 11 January 2012 — 325 words

The newfangled apostrophe

Culture — Current affairs

Outrage has broken out among pedants everywhere, as it was revealed that Waterstones has dropped the apostrophe from its name. Waterstones is hardly the first business to make this move. For instance, Woolworths was, up until the 1980s, called Woolworth. But people called it Woolworths, so the company adopted it. Note how many people also […]

Article — 19 May 2011 — 937 words

Exploring the Domesday data

Culture — Digital — Social science

I was pretty excited to learn this week about Domesday Reloaded. The Domesday project aimed to take a snapshot of British life in 1986. 25 years on, the BBC are looking to update it to document the changes that have taken place since then. I have been interested in the Domesday project for a while. […]

Article — 14 August 2009 — 931 words

How charging for online content might work

Business — Economics — Media — Web

In my previous article, I argued that the problems that are hitting journalism are more to do with the quality of the content than with the fact that it’s difficult to charge for content these days. “Why pay to read Telegraph Digg-bait when you can read BBC churnalism for free?”, I asked. I am sure […]

Article — 14 August 2009 — 1,019 words

Are newspapers ready to charge for online content?

Business — Economics — Media — Technology

Rupert Murdoch’s decision to experiment with charging for content has ruffled a few feathers. Fair play to Murdoch for being brave enough to put his head above the parapet. If anyone can take the risk, it’s Murdoch — and the rest of the media will have him to thank if the gamble pays off and […]

Article — 7 August 2009 — 1,155 words

Growing up with the internet

Media — Personal — Society — Technology

It is notoriously hard to get to grips with the youth. Advertisers hate it. The age group of 15–24 — of which, incidentally, I am still part — is notoriously fickle. They define themselves almost in terms of what they are not rather than what they are. That is the explanation being given to the […]

Article — 1 July 2009 — 1,005 words

Newspapers: keep your RSS feeds

Media — Technology

There is a slightly bizarre article today on Online Journalism Blog advocating that newspapers should turn off their RSS feeds and instead push their stories to Twitter (via Cybersoc). Many people have noticed that Twitter has become one of the easiest ways to disseminate content on the internet, leading some to predict the death of […]

Article — 29 April 2009 — 1,105 words

Iain Macwhirter and the relationship between the media and bloggers

Current affairs — Media — Technology

Part one of this article was published yesterday Further evidence that Iain Macwhirter is struggling to see beyond the model of the media comes from the fact that the blogs he cites as “very good and intelligent” are both offerings from the media. Paul Krugman’s blog is funded by the New York Times while Robert […]

Article — 28 April 2009 — 1,253 words

Iain Macwhirter inadvertently criticised the media

Media — Politics — Technology

There was much hand-wringing among bloggers a couple of weeks ago in the wake of an article about blogging written by Iain Macwhirter. I didn’t take much notice of it at the time. After all, it is not exactly surprising that an established media figure would take a swipe at blogging. And if there is […]

Article — 6 April 2009 — 188 words

Web 2.0 and the Scottish Government

Business — Culture — Society — Web

As part of my never-ending quest to find something resembling employment, I recently spent a bit of time shadowing at the Scottish Government. It was a great experience, and reassuring to see that there are people there who really properly get it. It was interesting to see how they are preparing to enter the web […]

Article — 8 March 2009 — 988 words

Blogging and the future of journalism

Current affairs — Media — Personal — Technology

This week I helped out Peter John Meiklem on a story for the Sunday Herald about the future of journalism. Amid all the job losses in the Scottish media, the piece looks at whether bloggers can step up to the plate and begin to supplant traditional media outlets. My view has long been that blogging […]