Category Archives: Tech

Pocket photojournalism

I am preparing a workshop on video storytelling for some of my students — and that brought me to revisit this video I made for a conference I could not attend last year. It’s getting old in the sense that more alternatives are now available but still a pretty good wrap:

[quicktime]http://jimmacmillan.com/wp-content/macmillan-nsc11.m4v[/quicktime]

I produced this video in lieu of appearing on a panel that I was unable to attend at the National Press Photographers Association’s Northern Short Course in in Warwick, RI, in March 2011, considering tech concerns for educators teaching photojournalism students. Related links are below.

Gorillapod - iPhone Tripod Holder - Photojoj iPhone telephoto lens - Eye-Fi cards - Virgin Mobile MiFi hub - Zoomit - Posterous.com

Stuck on Steve: Mourning Jobs at the Philadelphia Apple Store

Admirers of Steve Jobs have been leaving remembrances on sticky notes on the front of the Apple Store on Walnut Street in the Center City section of Philadelphia, seen in these photo take Saturday. Others have left flowers and at least one early Apple computer. ©2011 Photos by Jim MacMillan

Zoomin’ it

I got my new Zoomit SD card reader for the iPhone in the mail yesterday, and opening the package opened a world of possibilities, making it possible to move full-resolution photos online without a laptop, Wifi, or anything else.

It calls for a little set-up: It needed a charge first, from an included USB charger, and when I plugged the charged device into the bottom of my iPhone4, it prompted me to download the free Zoomit app. (There is also a $2.99 Zoomit music app in the store, but I don’t need it and so I didn’t buy it. I’m all about the photos.)

Next, I plugged into the other end of the device with an SD card that had been in my Canon 990 pocket camera, which contained a few pre-dawn photos, like the one above, which I had taken on my way into New York a few days ago. (No, I was not in the driver’s seat. Distracted driving kills.)

After selecting an image on the iPhone screen, Zoomit sharing options include emailing the photo or posting to your existing Facebook or Flickr accounts, for which you will be prompted to log in.

From Flickr, I emailed this photo to my Posterous blog, which then redistributes to several more platforms, including whichever one you are viewing now.

It’s hard to swallow the $60 price tag at a time when USB SD readers cost so little, but when combined with iPhone apps and social sharing platforms, this baby feels like a game-changer, especially now that more professional-quality cameras are coming SD-ready.

I can’t wait to put it to work in the field.

Sent from my iPhone

Meet the PhIJI.org journalism innovation community at Temple University

Feather O. Houstoun, president of the William Penn Foundation, greets new Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com publisher Greg Osberg after his PhIJI.org presentation at Temple University Tuesday night. Thomas Jacobson, Dean of the School of Communications and Theater at Temple, looks on. iPhone photo by Jim MacMillan

I spend most of my time now teaching graduate journalism courses at NYU and advising students at War News Radio at Swarthmore, but when the sun goes down, I also become the program coordinator for the Philadelphia Initiative for Journalistic Innovation, a program of the Department of Journalism at Temple University.

Last night Greg Osberg, new publisher and CEO of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com, came to visit us at PhIJI.

Osberg announced plans to collaborate with journalism schools, new content sharing objectives, a Philly media incubator that will house startups free of charge in the newspaper building, and a journalism innovation competition with cash rewards for employees.

The William Penn Foundation has previously announced a collaborative journalism initiative that will aim to develop strategies to advance public interest journalism in the greater Philadelphia area. This project is meant to be the next step in creating networks for journalists and developing resourcing strategies and innovations in creating a networked community around public affairs issues.

Check in for more news from this and future events at http://phiji.org/

PhIJI is free and open to the public.

In the nick of time

I have only been back in town for a about a week, but long enough to slip under the wire for some sweet new Philly honors.

Thanks to Philly Mag‘s Philly Post – and the Technically Philly team - I found myself in the pack between a Miss Pennsylvania and an Eagles tight end today, all named among Philadelphia’s 10 Most Influential Twitter users.

Next, now that I am beginning to settle back into Center City life, I think it might be time to return to a little more blogging as well, perhaps even when I’m not blowing my own horn. Meanwhile, I have a few more plans in the works, and I am still in pursuit of some others, but hope to have some announcements soon.

Thanks again and congratulations to my fellow honorees.