The ConverStation

Summer Camp Bus Ride, originally uploaded by nyjuls1904.

As I board the bus to Summer Podcast Camp, it will be with some trepidation. The backpack is crammed with all the right gear (and my brown bag lunch), but I worry that none of the cool kids will want to hang with an old public radio hack like myself.

So see that lonely kid alone at the Utterz refreshment table sipping chocolate milk (surely dairy must be among the complimentary beverages)?

He could use a couple of hip friends.

And let me ask you this: As someone in the public radio biz, what should I keep the antenna especially attuned for during camp? What sessions, events, or over-arching themes do you think WBUR should pay particularly close attention to?

I should be more surefooted on my home turf, which you are invited to explore Wednesday, July 23, 2008, at 5ish (details here). Conceived as a Tweet-Up, it, in the interest of fairness, has morphed into more of a generalized social media event as I used sites in addition to Twitter to court participants. Reminder: Please bring your cameras and other electronic appliances to record the 90.9 meet-up. I would love to see the documentary evidence of our get-together splashed all over the Web!

See you tomorrow or Sunday or next Wednesday.

Blogging for Cats, originally uploaded by Vicki’s Pics.

A tip of the hat to that other public broadcasting giant (you know the one that also does TV) for embracing blogs in a big way. More specifically, for one show in particular that has embraced blogs in a big way, and here I refer to the estimable “The World.” Continue Reading »

this sucks at ten15am, originally uploaded by Michael Surtees.

It’s a sad day for fans of “The Bryant Park Project.” Continue Reading »

Those Car Talk Guys Sure Are Animated, originally uploaded by WBUR.

Wow. I am humbled by the response to my call for a “Tweet-Up.”

Based on demand registered here and elsewhere, I’d say there is enough interest to easily justify two sessions: One for the afternoon crowd, and perhaps a morning session for the bagels and coffee set (Be forewarned, Mr. Howard, I fully expect you to reciprocate with a quick Wet Paint tutorial. An account has been created for this very purpose.) Continue Reading »

tweet, originally uploaded by sierraromeo [sarah-ji]

How about a Tweet-up of WBUR listeners?

And lest you think this is simply a callow attempt to burnish my social media credentials, let me emphasize my genuine interest in meeting the folks behind the avatars. It has been very informative and great fun exchanging ideas with you online about WBUR’s humble Web endeavors. It would be even more so live and in person. Continue Reading »

Sleeping off that summer heat, originally uploaded by roddh.

Vacation didn’t sharpen the gray matter. It remains as dull as a butter knife. Continue Reading »

The Passage of Time, originally uploaded by ToniVC.

So now it’s July. Independence Day is just around the corner, Boston is steaming up, and ice cream trucks are back to their predatory creep along quiet city streets. As part of the July switchover ritual I have to flip my wristwatch’s date from “30″ to “1″, as it has no way of knowing that “Thirty days hath September, April, June…..” Continue Reading »

Freecycle kindling, originally uploaded by DrStarbuck.

Last Wednesday, On Point had Amazon founder & CEO Jeff Bezos on to talk about his behemoth Internet retailer. Bezos talked to Tom Ashbrook about the looong list of products Amazon offers (chainsaws? really?) and the various services—online storage, for one—that they’ve gotten into. Continue Reading »

Courtroom One Gavel, originally uploaded by Joe Gratz.

We have spent a lot of our time of late tinkering with 2.0 tools.

Much of our time is spent tearing out of whole chunks of WBUR and scattering the bits before the winds of Web 2.0: Dollops of local news here, a generous slab of On Point there. Snippets of audio, video, and photographs sprinkled here, there, everywhere. Continue Reading »

Sprinkles aka “Jimmies”, originally uploaded by Qfamily.

Hello, my name is Will Roseliep and I’m a summer intern for On Point. They’re keeping me busy over in the Southwest corner of the building, but when I get a free moment Ken George has graciously allowed me to blog for The ConverStation. Ken has done a fantastic job getting The ConverStation off the ground and into the public radio/new media consciousness, so I know the bar is set pretty high for guest bloggers. Let’s hope that if I can’t clear it I’ll at least ably limbo underneath. Continue Reading »