BCE Inc. (Bell) announced its acquisition of leading Canadian left-wing news website rabble.ca.
alternative media
How rabble's 'babblers' helped cover 9/11
As the twin towers were collapsing and millions were seeking more information, rabble's discussion forum, babble, became an integral part of 9/11 coverage.
Related rabble.ca story:
rabble.ca membership and fundraising drive 2011
We're seeking 2,500 members for rabble. Please join us!
Related rabble.ca story:
Media Democracy Day shone a light on triumphs and challenges
When I interned at the Walrus some years ago, then editor Ken Alexander and designer Bruce Mau collaborated on a special issue of the magazine about optimism.
It had a very shiny cover with a very pretty rainbow on it, and was followed by a swank and expensive fundraiser at the Gardiner Museum in Toronto. Ken and Bruce had a dialogue about optimism; Eve Egoyan played the piano. It was delicate and congratulatory, and perhaps made some money for what I still think is a relatively good cause (one that is getting better and more relevant lately, if the recent feature in the magazine about the CBC is any indication).
'Media for the 99 Percent' challenges corporate media with joint coverage of May Day protests
| May 1, 2012Bell Media acquires rabble.ca in bid to woo progressive audience
Editor's Update: noon PST: Wishing rabble readers a Happy April Fool's Day!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BCE Inc. (Bell) Friday announced its acquisition of leading Canadian left-wing news website rabble.ca in order to access the "burgeoning Canadian progressive market."
BCE Inc., whose holdings include Bell Canada, CTVglobemedia and Astral media, outbid Rogers Communications to purchase Canada's most-read online source for progressive news and opinion in an undisclosed deal, which includes all of rabble's ancillary media brands, including rabbletv, rabble radio and babble, its online discussion board.
Giving up on newspapers
I gave up on newspapers years ago. I haven't given up reading them, but I've packed in talking to them about the future.
I remember sitting in the boardroom of the Toronto Star in 2007 doing a presentation about social media, the lost opportunities of classifieds and the paper's unique position to create an open, electronic community hub. The people that could have made a difference in that room, the publisher included, weren't listening.
QR codes
QR (or "quick response") codes are everywhere: on posters, in magazines, even on ads at bus stops. They are the tiny white squares full of black pixels arranged in a pattern.
What are they
They are two dimensional barcodes, originally created in Japan auto manufacturing plants to track factory products. Now these codes are used on any kind of material or object. With just the scan of a smartphone, the QR code opens an offline hyperlink. Anyone with a QR reader in their mobile can scan a code to see videos, pictures, websites and other content. The codes may be small but they can contain a lot of information.
Soundslides
Soundslides is a program that's free in the trial version (which never expires). It takes pictures (jpgs) and an audio file (mp3) and helps you create a compelling audio slide show. This software is simple to download and to use. It can be embedded in your blog or shared as a link.
