Kindred criticism

Being a reporter or editor in the news business is one of those careers — like politician, police officer, sports coach or teacher — of which everyone else knows how to do your job better than you.

I came across this passage in Dexter Filkins' book "The Forever War" awhile back and think of it often. It's good for both a light chuckle and a reassuring nod of understanding. Filkins, reporting for the New York Times, was embedded with Bravo Company of the 1st Battalion, 8th Marines during the Second Battle of Fallujah in 2004.

"Once or twice during the battle I used a satellite phone to download my e-mail. Most of the messages came from readers wishing me well. You've got balls the size of melons to be there, wrote Joe from Connecticut. I liked that one. Another note came from a music critic at a newspaper in Florida asking for the name of the AC/DC song the marines had blasted that first night. Some of the readers accused me of insufficient patriotism. Hey crap for brains. You are another reason why I canceled my subscription, wrote someone named Andy."

Great book, by the way. I recommend it highly.

By the Numbers: November 2009

One thing I like to do is keep track of our site analytics: page views, unique vistors and such. I especially like to track the numbers of our staff blogs.

And yes, you read the title of this post correctly: I'm finally getting around to posting our blog traffic for November of 2009. I'll be catching up on December and January's numbers this week, too, in advance of next week's look at February's traffic.

To view past entries in this series, click the "by the numbers" tag below the post.

Let's jump right in and take a look at total monthly page views:

November 2009
1) Andrew Bernstein's Saratoga City Desk: 10,321 (a 13.9 percent increase)
2) Stan Hudy's Diary of a Mad Sportswriter: 2,692 (a 4.5 percent increase)
3) Mareesa Nicosia's In the Biz: 2,484 (a 10.3 percent decrease)
4) TiW: 804 (a 65.8 percent increase!)
5) Barb Lombardo's Fresh Ink: 515 (a 5.5 percent decrease)
6) Saratogian Sports' Extra Points: 730 (a 199.9 percent increase!)

No surprises in these numbers. The City Desk blog pulled in huge numbers from our Election Night live blog; though Stan Hudy narrowly claimed the No. 2 spot from business reporter Mareesa Nicosia, who usually sits there. Of course, those who've been following those blogs know there were some shakeups in the ranks. Were Hudy or Nicosia able to slide into the top spot after Bernstein gave up the city desk chair for the Sports editor position in December?

Stay tuned to find out.

How blogs shape the conversation

I just signed up for a forum about blogging being sponsored by the Times Union at the College of St. Rose in Albany early next month. It's going to be moderated by the TU's Steve Barnes. Featured panelists include the TU's Kristi Gustafson and the former AlbanyEye.

It'll be interesting to see where the discussion goes, and hopefully I'll get some good hints and tips to incorporate into this space.

If you happen to be in attendance, track me down and say hi. I'll be the one that looks like the guy in that photo, above-right.

The Saratogian takes home 9 SNA awards

Congrats to my colleagues for their work that earned The Saratogian nine awards in the Suburban Newspapers of America 2009 Editorial Contest. It's a great testament to their efforts.

Click here for details on the awards and links to some of the award-winning entries.

Dispatches from the field: Social regression in the digital environment

Editor's note: The following passages come from the field journal of Flickinger Dockstader, anthrotechnopologist-at-large, conducting independent research on H. sapiens interconnectus. Dockstader will file occassional dispatches for The Saratogian via this blog.

What is it about this Internet that seemingly reverts full grown adults of the species to the mentality akin to that of a juvenile of same species?

For millions of years of human evolution, the physical environment dictated human actions and responses, from material culture (tools, clothing, weapons, etc.) to concepts such as political organization, social mores and even religious ethos and languages — in short, the cornerstones that eventually become societies and civilizations.

But what of this new digital environment, at times still colloquially referred to as "cyber space"? Can so called "net-iquette" truly replace a society's established behavioral and interactional norms and rein in an individual's more malicious, spiteful or prurient inclinations (those inclinations, in most cases, kept in check by said norms of the non-digital world)?

Does "net-iquette" truly even exist in an environment in which the individual is made prime?

Based on extensive observational research, I find myself, at times, doubtful. In fact, were I to compare it to a readily-identifiable social environment, I would liken it to an American middle school cafeteria. One of the most amusing subsets of the species yet encountered in my studies is the bully quick to tattle when he receives the same as he dishes. (I must make an attempt to begin a cursory analysis of the various subsets to be found in the environment.)

Of course, such behavior is nothing new in the digital realm, but one wonders about the long terms effects on the real world societies of Homo sapiens interconnectus — or, perhaps, the effects as the species migrates from physical bodies to mechanical housing for their digitized being ...

Twit Faced

I can't take credit for the cheeky play on words that is the title of this post.

As many may have discovered already, The Saratogian launched itself onto the social media bandwagon this past week. You can now fan us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. And I urge you to do so.

My own point of view on social networking is known to long-time readers of this blog (or even recent readers), as it was the topic of a post published on the eve of the new year. That first post generated some limited discussion on both sides of the issue, and valid points were raised by each person.

Despite all I wrote in that post, I'm excited by our plunge into social media and the opportunity to use these tools to effectively communicate with our readers. Yes, I still take a critical eye to social networking in general, and in terms of my personal life it's not for me. But here in the newsroom, these tools add much to our sense of immediacy and timeliness (and, dare I say it?) sense of fun.

(Besides, when the new CEO of the company says you should be on both platforms ... well, papa didn't raise no fool!)

What also adds to the sense is the full-steam ahead direction we're receiving from the new leadership and a re-affirmed mission that heartily embraces digital platforms.

So, Horatio, while my reservations still stand and I do agree with many of your points left in the comment under that post, I would encourage you to take heart. While these changes seem small, myopic and gimmicky (also your opinion of our use of Flip cams, I think it's safe to say), they also signal a level of support that we here at 20 Lake Ave. are really optimistic about. And if you know news folk, you know we're generally not an optimistic bunch, so that's saying something. These are small steps, yes, but they're being taken in the right direction.