Glen Howatt on Data Mapping

Just got done listening to Glenn lecture on data mapping and online tools for journalism. My initial reaction, I must admit, is that I knew how to operate the programs--Excel, Google Maps--he showed. Access was a program I've never made an effort to learn, but at a glance, I feel I could teach myself.

The most interesting trinket he presented was the New York Times Twitter tracker during the 2009 Superbowl. That sort of monitoring is frighteningly awesome. I'm curious to see a reporter utilize that kind of tracker for a story.

Other interesting tools he showed was the Star Tribune's Google Maps feature that searches out stories by the map. My personal interests may lead me to use that feature in the near future.

Overall, Glenn highlighted some familiar points, but also incorporated some fresh research techniques.

Late Out of the Gate

Finally, I am getting around to my first post. No worries, I'll strive to post more frequently from here on out.

I'd like to revisit a story published in the Oct. 13th issue of the Star Tribune, entitled "22-year-old's mayoral bid rests totally on awesomeness," and written by Jon Tevlin.
This one definitely tickled me. Apparently a 22-year-old, unemployed musician found his way onto the ballot under the political party affiliation, "Is Awesome."

I'm curious as to whether this was a blunder, or if he seriously means to go through with the election process.

While we are revisiting past issues of the Star Tribune, I'd like to make note (being a copy desk editor) that a particular issue (date unknown), featuring a collage of the past summer's deceased celebrities, had misspelled Billy Mays' name in the photo cutline.

I'll hopefully address some sports topics next time. After all, sports are fun.