i USA Online

Malaysia Star
Split life defined alleged Mumbai attack conspirator
Christian Science Monitor
David Coleman Headley lived in two worlds – using a fake name and a fake job to help a terrorist group in Pakistan plan the 2008 Mumbai attack and a potential attack against a Danish newspaper, the FBI says. He pleaded not guilty to conspiracy charges ...
Terror suspect has roots in Pakistan, USCNN
Doubts mount on Pakistan's 26/11 investigationHindu
Man Accused of Aiding Mumbai Attacks Pleads Innocent (Correct)Bloomberg
AFP -The Associated Press -Reuters
all 857 news articles »

CBC.ca
Most of world exposed to deadly tobacco smoke: WHO
Reuters
LONDON (Reuters) - More than 94 percent of the world's people are not protected by laws against smoking, leaving them exposed to the biggest cause of preventable death, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday. In a Global Tobacco Epidemic ...
Smoking bans still rare: WHOCBC.ca
WHO: Smoking kills 5 million every yearThe Associated Press
WHO Report Warns Of Worldwide Secondhand Smoke DeathsOzarks First
abc7news.com -AFP -TheDay.com
all 295 news articles »

Washington Times
George Turner named interim chief for Atlanta police
Atlanta Journal Constitution
George Turner on Wednesday called it an "amazing time" for him to serve as Atlanta's acting police chief and made it clear he wants to keep the job on a full-time basis. Leita Cowart Deputy Chief George Turner is Mayor-elect Kasim Reed's ...
Augusta native to find out if recount gives her mayorshipAugusta Chronicle
Reed Wins Recount In Atlanta Mayoral RaceNews/Talk 750 WSB
Kasim Reed is Atlanta's Next MayorGPB
WXIA-TV -AHN -Los Angeles Times
all 964 news articles »

Back in August, we covered a really cool iPhone app that can dynamically curate and customize your RSS feed called my6sense. The app improves the standard RSS paradigm by filtering and recommending articles in your feeds based on stuff you have read, liked and shared in the past.

Today, the latest version of the app (version 1.11 — update your app if you already have it) is introducing something called mytweetsense, which takes those same technologies and applies them to your Twitter stream.

So much great content is shared through Twitter that many users use the service as their go-to place for information, news and recommendations. The only problem, of course, is that separating relevant content from the mix of other tweets can be a tedious process.

On the desktop, you have apps like HootSuite and Tweet Deck and Seesmic Desktop to help process things more easily. If you want to get a good idea as to what your Twitter content is actually sharing (rather than just text links), sites like Redux can visualize the content.

But what about when you’re on the go and using your mobile device? This is where the mytweetsense addition to my6sense becomes absolutely brilliant.

Using the same “Digital Intuition” technology that was applied to the RSS feed, mytweetsense helps you instantly see what a tweet is linking to. That means that when a link to an article is tweeted, you can read the brief RSS summary, and when a YouTube video or TwitPic image is posted, you can see the image or video right inside my6sense.

Mytweetsense will adjust what it shows you and how it ranks different tweets based on what you view and share. The more you use the service, the more accurate it becomes. You can view your stream by relevance or time. You can also save items to your personal stream or share them with friends via Twitter, Facebook or e-mail.

You can also import your Facebook and LinkedIn streams and interact with them in much the same way as you can your Twitter links.

After playing with the service on my Twitter feed, I was totally impressed with the accuracy and the features. If you use Twitter as your go-to source for information, the mytweetsense aspect of my6sense might just be the best iPhone app around for drilling through tons of content and finding the best info.

You can download my6sense [iTunes link] for free from the app store.

Reviews: Facebook, HootSuite, LinkedIn, Seesmic Desktop, Twitpic, Twitter, YouTube

Tags: aggregation, facebook, iphone, my6sense, mytweetsense, relevance, twitter

Recently, AT&T has been vocally combating Verizon’s ad campaign by using semantics and Luke Wilson to paint their competitor’s 3G network as inferior. Now, Ralph de la Vega, chief executive of AT&T Mobility, is taking on a new opponent: customers.

De la Vega has come out to candidly admit that wireless coverage in Manhattan and San Francisco is, as most customers already know, subpar (but, they’re working on it). However, while discussing efforts to improve the AT&T experience in those cities, de la Vega also insinuated that the carrier could start treating some customers differently, with different pricing plans that financially reward or penalize based on data usage.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that heavy smartphone users only represent about 3 percent of the customer base, but their mobile activities are accounting for 40 percent of data traffic. That imbalance is disconcerting to AT&T, and they’re going to do everything in their power — reportedly inline with net-neutrality and FCC regulations — to, as de la Vega says, “keep those subscribers from hampering the experience for everyone else.”

So what will AT&T do to curtail their users? Apparently de la Vega is considering offering these data hogs (i.e. me) incentives to alter their mobile consumption rates. The incentives sound more like a warning:

“Many customers don’t know how much bandwidth they’re consuming, Mr. de la Vega added. When AT&T conducted a broadband test, customers often reduced their data use. Longer-term, he said, a pricing scheme based on usage is likely, though it will be determined by industry competition and regulatory guidelines.”

Although the details are vague, we can’t imagine iPhone owners, who are the most likely culprits here, will be keen on de la Vega’s “incentives.”

Tags: att, ralph de la vega

Reuters
No 'Pass' for Developing Countries in Next Climate Treaty, Says US Envoy
New York Times
COPENHAGEN -- The top US climate negotiator stressed today that the next international global warming agreement must include major commitments from a suite of fast-growing countries; otherwise, greenhouse gas emissions ...
US sees robust climate talks, no "reparations"Reuters
The Tip of the Climategate IcebergWall Street Journal
Climate policy experts respond to outcry over Danish textguardian.co.uk
The Associated Press -Atlantic Online (blog) -Telegraph.co.uk
all 7,338 news articles »

New York Daily News
Sarah Palin says Barack Obama should boycott Copenhagen climate talks
Los Angeles Times
In the practice of preaching to the choir, Sarah Palin appears to have all but patented the art of saying what a few want to hear. Palin, who was the Republican nominee for vice president, is suggesting that President Obama "boycott'' an international ...
Palin's climate changePolitico
Sarah Palin at the Gridiron Dinner. Excerpts, PhotosChicago Sun-Times
Who Wants to Make Sarah Palin the Leader of the Republican Party?Cato @ Liberty
New York Daily News -Kansas City Star -Anchorage Daily News
all 55 news articles »

National Post
'Public Option' Keeps Toehold in Senate Deal on Health Bill
New York Times
WASHINGTON — The “broad agreement” that Senator Harry Reid announced Tuesday night on the proposed overhaul of the health care system was less a comprehensive accord among Democrats than an effort by the party's leaders to keep ...
Democrats: private Medicare plans waste billionsReuters
Separate But Equal? Insurance, Abortion, And PoliticsNewsweek
Public Option No More? Obama Throws Weight Behind New DealABC News
Wall Street Journal -The Associated Press -New York Daily News
all 5,865 news articles »

guardian.co.uk
EPA chief: U.S. making up for lost time
Washington Post
COPENHAGEN--The United States has been "fighting to make up for lost time" in the fight against global warming since President Obama took office, Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa P. Jackson said Wednesday. ...
Administration Warns of 'Command-and-Control' Regulation Over EmissionsFOXNews
EPA chief: Obama to work with Congress on climateThe Associated Press
UN Summit 'Wasn't Our Impetus' for Endangerment Release on Greenhouse Gases ...New York Times
KGTV, 10News.com -Los Angeles Times -CafeSentido.com
all 2,057 news articles »

As the news industry looks to reconstruct its suffering business model, the journalists of today must reconstruct their skill sets for the growing world of online media. Because of cutbacks at many news organizations, the jobs available are highly competitive. News companies are seeking journalists who are jacks of all trades, yet still masters of one (or more).

2010 will likely be a time of transition as today’s journalists catch up to learn the multimedia, programming, social media, and business skills they’ll need to tell their stories online. These new skills are especially relevant to startups that are looking to hire multi-skilled and social media-savvy journalists. Below we’ve gathered some skills that are quickly becoming basic requirements for the journalist of tomorrow. These skills are presented in no particular order.

1. Entrepreneurial and Business Savvy

As the foundation of the longstanding business model crumbles, both new and experienced journalists are becoming entrepreneurial and starting their own publications. They are creating the “future of journalism today” by starting publications like Cody Brown’s online-only NYULocal, (which covers New York University and has had months that got more Web traffic than the school newspaper Web site) or David Cohn who started the community-funded reporting site Spot.Us.

The journalist of tomorrow will have to understand the value of content and how the business model is changing, said Steve Buttry, C3 innovation coach at Gazette Communications. They will have to understand how to pursue commercial opportunities relating to the content.

2. Programmer

To better transition to online journalism, news organizations are looking for programmer/journalists. These are people whose programming skills can enhance their storytelling or reporting, and typically combine the use of HTML, CSS, PHP, JavaScript, ActionScript3 and Python skills.

This means being able to report and present a quality story using multimedia, and having the skills to build and manage the platforms that present the stories. Creating Flash visualizations and building interactives that clearly display data are all key elements of online journalism.

3. Open-minded Experimenter

The challenge for new journalists will be a shift in mindset from control and content to openness and connectivity with audiences, said Alfred Hermida, Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia Graduate School of Journalism.

Hermida also says that though storytelling across multiple platforms will be important, the key will be to understand the strengths and weaknesses of different media so that the best one may be utilized for each story.

This also means being a learner that can spot trends and understand what new technology can do, according to Michele McLellan, a media consultant who blogs for the Knight Digital Media Center on news innovation. The journalist of tomorrow should be willing to experiment with new tools, not be afraid of them.

4. Multimedia Storyteller

Today, many journalists need to have multimedia skills to tell stories through video, text, graphics, audio and photos. Former photographers and reporters are picking up video cameras and audio recorders to create a multimedia experience for readers. Online video viewing is growing, and news startups like FLYP Media and DNAinfo are building their newsrooms around multimedia journalists. There are many resources out there for journalists to learn these skills, and many of the skills can be self-taught.

One of the best ways to learn is through hands-on experience by starting a video blog. Experiment with free multimedia apps like live streaming from your mobile using Qik, or podcasting with free sites like BlogTalkRadio. If you have some money to invest, buy a camera that takes quality photos and shoots video.

5. The Social Journalist and Community Builder

The new journalist will be a social journalist. This means engaging with your audience, promoting content and building personal brands as a thought leader. Social media increasingly focuses credibility on individual journalists as opposed to the news organization. Mathew Ingram, Communities Editor at the Globe and Mail, said that future journalists will have the ability to find and connect with communities of interest both online and offline.

Though right now, this role is often being filled by specialized community managers and social media editors. Ingram said that in the long term, every reporter should become their own community manager.

Journalists of tomorrow will also have new beats. Typically, this has involved covering a specific subject, topic or community. The new journalist will have what Ingram calls “virtual beats.”

This means building, communicating and engaging with communities online. Kevin Sablan, Web leader at the Orange County Register, said that journalists of tomorrow will spend more time “pounding the pavement” in online social spaces.

Matt Thompson, interim Online Community Manager for the Knight Foundation, said he thinks technological skills are secondary to the core desire to provide community in formats they can connect with.

6. Blogger and Curator

To be a social journalist and one that engages in online communities, journalists will have to practice blogging regularly and serve as curators of other content on the Web.

Journalists of tomorrow will be participating in the link economy by gathering, synthesizing and making sense of other content across the Web. We’ve mentioned this before as a crucial factor in the survival of newspapers. Journalists can curate the Web using tools like Publish2, Twitter, StumbleUpon, and other social bookmarking and sharing tools.

And with 86,000 print publishing workers laid off in the last year, there is some good potential for blogging to increase. But that’s not to say that only unemployed journalists should blog. Blogging should be done within organizations as well. This allows journalists to lend a personal tone to their company and connect with audiences. It will also help them build personal brands that they can carry beyond their current news organization.

Carrie Brown-Smith, Assistant Professor of Journalism at the University of Memphis, said that there is a growing body of research that suggests writing with “voice” — writing that is more analytical and has personality — versus the traditional authoritative style has credibility in online contexts.

“While not necessarily surprising, TV news anchors long had more credibility than newspaper journalists because viewers could see them and felt like they knew them. This is something I think news organizations are not yet grasping and exploring as they should,” Brown-Smith said.

There are many free platforms available to bloggers. Sites like Posterous and Tumblr offer straightforward posting options, while sites like Wordpress and Google’s Blogger are highly customizable and offer various social media integration tools.

7. Multi-skilled

Because of the difficult job market, Robert Quigley, Social Media Editor at the Austin American-Statesman, said that journalists no longer have the luxury of focusing just on one skill set. Journalists will need to have a combination of the skills mentioned, along with the fundamentals that have been taught for years.

“The most valuable journalist will know how to use social media tools, can edit and shoot video, can write a good headline, understands a little about html or programming or databases,” Quigley said. “Ideally, he or she can write a great SEO-friendly headline and understands why that’s important, knows how to write a sharp blog post and understands the value in interaction with the community.”

It sounds overwhelming, but it is becoming truer than ever.

8. Fundamental Journalism Skills

Though journalists are morphing into renaissance men and women with multi-layered skill sets, the fundamental skills of journalism will never be replaced. Skills like good writing, ethics, news judgment, investigation and verification will always be important, Buttry from Gazette Communications said. Brown-Smith said that it will be a marriage between core values and new media skills.

These fundamental skills will be more important than ever as audiences search for credibility on the Web.

What skills do you find to be the most relevant to journalism in the social media age? Please share them in the comments below.

More journalism resources from Mashable:

- 10 Ways Journalism Schools Are Teaching Social Media
- The Journalist’s Guide to Twitter
- Why NPR is the Future of Mainstream Media
- Social Journalism: Past, Present, and Future
- Everything I Need to Know About Twitter I learned in J School
- 10 Must-Haves for Your Social Media Policy

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, jgroup

Reviews: PHP, Posterous, SEO, StumbleUpon, Tumblr, Twitter, WordPress, iStockphoto

Tags: journalism, Journalist, journalists, List, Lists, social journalism

You know how your mother told you never to stand in front of the microwave? Well, pretty soon it will be basically impossible to ignore its siren call.

Apparently, two researchers at Keio University in Japan have developed a super cool food-zapper, the Castoven, that doubles as an entertainment system, streaming a random YouTube video that runs however long it takes to nuke that Lean Cuisine you plan on slurping down tonight.

Although the concept is essentially a thesis project, it does postulate an exciting/terrifying future in which media is integrated into every aspect of our lives. First we got commercials in cabs, then Pandora in our cars and now “The Pink Glove Dance” preceding our oatmeal.

Here’s hoping that this new invention comes with some kind of content filter — I’m not sure that I want to take in vomit ads before consuming my daily veggie burger. Check out the future after the jump.

What do you all think? Would you buy one of these suckers?

Reviews: Pandora, YouTube

Tags: castoven, keio university, pandora, youtube

Numerous Twitter users are reporting a peculiar bug this morning: random SMS messages of tweets from users that they don’t follow.

Some are even saying they don’t have mobile notifications turned on, period, but are receiving the unwanted texts anyway (you can enable SMS alerts for specific users).

While probably just a nuisance to most, keep in mind that unless you have an unlimited text messaging plan, tweets do count against you, so it’s a problem that potentially has at least some minor financial ramifications attached.

The bug has hit our own Jennifer Van Grove, who says she’s been receiving the unwanted tweets since Monday, and Twitter search indicates that it’s been an ongoing issue for others as well. No word yet from Twitter on the cause, but we’ll update when we learn more.

Here, Jenn highlights the tweets she’s receiving via text message from users she doesn’t have notifications turned on for:

If you’re experiencing the issue, let us know what’s happening in the comments.

Update: Jon Burg offers an interesting possibility – that this isn’t necessarily a bug, but rather the new retweet system in play. For example, if someone you have notifications turned on for retweets using the new system, it could appear as a tweet from a stranger via SMS. That still wouldn’t explain why users who claim to have notifications turned off completely are receiving the messages though. More to come …

Update #2: Twitter writes on their status blog that “Some users are seeing tweets (that aren’t retweets) from users they do not follow. We have a Known Issues page with more information and we are working on fixing the underlying cause.”

Reviews: Twitter

Tags: twitter

Reuters
In Bid to Replace Kennedy, Another Prominent Democrat
New York Times
BOSTON — “They said that women don't have much luck in Massachusetts politics,” Martha M. Coakley said in her victory speech Tuesday night. “But we believed it was quite possible that that luck was about to change, and change it did. ...
Kennedy special election puts GOP in spotlightThe Associated Press
Massachusetts' top lawyer poised to replace Ted KennedyChristian Science Monitor
Coakley, Brown winners in DoverDover-Sherborn Press
Ms. Magazine -Wakefield Observer -WBUR
all 847 news articles »

Reuters
Obama Pushes New Stimulus
Wall Street Journal
President Barack Obama pressed forward with an expansion of his $787 billion stimulus plan Tuesday, unveiling job-creation proposals that largely build on the initial package, including a hiring tax credit that his own party ...
Obama still hopes for bipartisan support on jobsThe Associated Press
Cutting taxes and limiting credit are among president's ideasWashington Post
Obama's Jobs speech: Mostly music to business interestsFleet Owner
San Jose Mercury News -NECN -Politico
all 2,821 news articles »

HotIndieNews.com
Explosion Rocks Chemical Plant Near Houston, Texas
Wall Street Journal
An explosion rocked through a chemical plant near Houston, Texas, Wednesday morning shortly before 9:00 am local time. Black smoke could be seen for miles around the Bayport terminal, a container facility and chemical plant near Seabrook, Texas. ...
Crews respond to explosion at Houston area-plantThe Associated Press
Massive blast rocks Seabrook areaABC30.com
Plant Explosion Reported Near Pasadena39online.com
Firefighter Hourly -TVNZ -Post Chronicle
all 179 news articles »

Firefox is one of the biggest players in the desktop browsing space, but when it comes to browsing the Web from a mobile device, Mozilla hasn’t made the leap. That’s all going to change soon, as the first version of Firefox Mobile (previously known by its codename Fennec) is being prepped for release by the end of the year.

Nokia’s new N900 will be the first phone able to run Firefox Mobile. The N900 runs on the Linux-based Maemo operating system, and already ships with a lightweight browser based on Mozilla’s Gecko layout engine.

First Release Candidate Expected Next Week

CNET quotes Mozilla’s VP of Mobile Jay Sullivan as saying: “Our goal is to have a release candidate next week. If things go smoothly, we’ll have a (final) version out in the next few weeks”

Current N900 owners can download the latest version of the beta by visiting Mozilla.com/m on their devices. Nokia doesn’t plan on shipping the N900 with Firefox Mobile, at least right now — but is open to including it in the next version of the Maemo OS, due sometime in Q3 2010.

You can check out Firefox Mobile in action in this video:

Extensions and Other Platforms

Although most latest-generation smartphones are powered by WebKit-based browsers (this includes Safari Mobile on the iPhone and Android’s browser), the big draw that some users might see with Firefox Mobile is its shared codebase with the Firefox desktop browser. Both Firefox Mobile and the upcoming Firefox 3.6 are based on the same underlying code. This means that plug-ins like Mozilla’s Weave can synchronize bookmarks, passwords and open tabs across browsers — both mobile and desktop.

For extension addicts, Firefox Mobile for the N900 can run many of the same extensions as its desktop counterpart. AdBlock Plus is one of about 30 currently available.

The Mozilla and Nokia teams have worked together to create tight integration between Firefox and the N900 platform, but Maemo isn’t the only planned platform.

The Windows Mobile version of Firefox Mobile is in the alpha testing stage, with the final version expected sometime in the first half of 2010. Mozilla is also actively developing an Android version of Firefox Mobile, but the due date for Firefox’s arrival on Android seems pretty far off.

Firefox Mobile has slightly higher hardware requirements than WebKit-based browsers, so we should expect to start seeing it extend to other devices as development — and technology — progresses.

The Future

Mozilla has big plans for Firefox Mobile, including support for JetPack and WebGL.

Firefox Mobile is a project with high aspirations. How well it succeeds will be dependent on how much support it can gather from the community and how many device manufacturers are open to embracing an alternative to WebKit.

For consumers, whether you end up using Firefox Mobile or not, we see this development as a good thing. Innovation is often best spurred by competition, and it’s nice to see WebKit get some mobile push-back.

What do you think about Firefox Mobile?

Reviews: Adblock Plus, Android, Firefox, iPhone, linux

Tags: Fennec, Firefox, firefox for mobile, firefox mobile, mozilla, N900

HootSuite bills itself as a professional client, and in the past year they’ve rolled out a number of features that make it a well-rounded Web application, complete with with Twitter Lists, statistics, multiple user/account management and brand monitoring for Twitter.

Tomorrow, the company’s iPhone app will make its debut in the app store, bringing the features that help consolidate and enhance your Twitter workflow to your mobile phone.

According to the announcement, HootSuite for iPhone will be available at 9 a.m. EST. The application will boast support for Twitter analytics, multiple accounts, scheduling tweets in advance, Twitter Lists, Twitter trends and accompanying explanations, photo sharing and even file sharing.

Since the app isn’t live yet, we can’t say whether the experience will be better than user favorites like Tweetie 2 and TweetDeck. If it’s as fast as it is robust in feature set, however, it could be the next killer iPhone app for Twitter.

Watch this video to see HootSuite for iPhone in action.

Reviews: HootSuite, TweetDeck, Twitter, tweetie

Tags: hootsuite, iphone, iphone application, twitter

As we reported last week, Ben Stiller is out with a new charity campaign called Stillerstrong and is looking to drive awareness to it through social media.

Part of the strategy naturally involves viral videos starring the actor, and today Stiller’s revisiting a past online success and asking the omnipresent Ryan Seacrest to retweet Stillerstrong to his 2.6 million followers.

The result is another amusing video, including a cameo by Robert De Niro and the suggestion of a blockbuster co-starring Stiller and Seacrest. Check it out:

Seacrest is yet to oblige (the video just went up 30 minutes ago), but if you’d like to support Stillerstrong, which is raising money to build schools in Haiti, you can go retweet Stiller yourself.

Tags: ben stiller, charity, ryan seacrest, social media

We’ve known that a major privacy overhaul has been in the works for some time at Facebook, and last week a letter from founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg let everyone know that changes were imminent.

Today, the company plans to start asking all 350 million of its users to review and update their settings as they roll out the new simplified privacy interface.

While Facebook’s spinning the changes largely as being about making things easier for users (which is true; the current privacy settings are enormously complex if you care to dive in), it’s also all about encouraging them to share more stuff publicly by letting them choose an “everyone” option each time they post something.

That will be key for Facebook becoming as valuable as Twitter in the realm of real-time search, where both are now integrated in Google. Although it has many times more users than Twitter, to date, most Facebook data remains private and, hence, inaccessible to search engines. We’ll see how that starts to change after today.

See Also: Facebook’s New Privacy Features – A Complete Guide

Reviews: Facebook, Twitter

Tags: facebook, trending

Yes, it happened: Live video streaming has come to the iPhone courtesy of Ustream.

In a move that many suspected would never happen — surely the carriers would loathe the increased data usage resulting from such apps — Apple has approved the Ustream Live Broadcaster application, bringing live streaming video straight from the iPhone to the uStream Web site and any embedded players posted around the Web.

The app works on 3G and Wi-Fi connections, supports yes/no polling of viewers, displays chatroom messages, serves up a viewer count, can transmit your location via GPS and allows you to adjust the resolution. Oh, and did we mention it’s absolutely free?

Suffice to say, this looks to be a killer app, and it’s worth giving a spin if you’d like to post live video from your iPhone. It’s available in the iTunes store here.

[via Techcrunch]

Tags: iphone, live video, ustream