Oh Double Snap, My New Article

Some people (Jessica) never pick up their damn phones; Other people (Lynda) text while people are talking with them; And yet other people (me) noodle way too much on their iPhones.

If this stuff honks you off as much as it does me, you should probably look at (and vote for) my article on MSNBC, 10 smartphone tips for dumb people.

There, now everyone's happy.

I am a slow-ass writer

This weekend has been largely written-off to proper work. A project I was working on sort of as a lark became increasingly important as it evolved, so now I'm working on the weekend to get it ready by Monday.

At the same time, as long as I'm spending a great deal more time close to home than I'd anticipated, I'm also catching up on some writing I owe MSNBC. My clever friend at MSNBC talked about how they pay pretty well for freelance stuff, but I'm starting to think that's because she can write witty stuff in about a tenth the time it takes me. I've been laboring over this piece for ages and I'm still not happy with it.

I guess I'll continue to rely on coding to earn my keep - at least until I can write an interesting piece in 4 hours and be assured of more demand.

Gorillas, gorillas, report to the mist . . .

Sorry if you arrived here looking for an Ice Cube song.

Following on from my last post, my next interactive is going to be about technologies and gadgets that make you look like a d-bag if you use them. This is a call for suggestions. Anyone got any ideas?

I've got blue tooth headsets outside the car, crackberries, and the Apple Airbook so far. Anyone got other ideas?

I'm a writing machine . . .

This chimp is just one underpaid intern in my brain.

. . . though not like a typewriter. More like a room filled with chimps.

Right now I've got my chimps writing some basic "interactives" for MSNBC.com. The first one is something like "Technologies that signal the end of days". It's supposed to be humorous and perhaps thought-provoking. I'll link to it when and if it goes up.

Unfortunately, I've learned that writing for mass media is hard, you've got to write to all layers of reader. I'm reminded of something my dad once opined, that the best writers in England often worked for the tabloids. They were the only ones who could manage to write about intelligent topics intelligently, and not leave behind the, er, less educated members of the audience. It turns out that writing intelligently for the mass market is tough to do well.

Luckily, the web is a good medium for educating as you go. It's possible to drop in links (like the one I used above) to give readers who want it a little background.