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Tutorial: Twitter for Journalists
IntroductionTwitter is many things to many people. For consumers it's a way to connect to friends, interesting people and large brands. For presidential candidates it's a way to make campaign promises or embarrass themselves. For journalists, it's a way to keep a pulse on and engage with communities, locate sources, and to report on the world new and unique ways. Twitter has emerged as a powerful news tool, alerting the world about natural disasters, hostage standoffs and even revolutionary uprisings. At its most basic level, Twitter is a social network focused on interests rather than on friends, where users create brief posts of 140 characters or less. Twitter users can follow and view updates from other users (similar to subscribing to a site's RSS feed), send public or semi-private replies or have private conversations with other users. Users can also search the entire network in real-time for interesting topics or breaking news, organize their streams with "hash tags" and lists, and even add photos or video to their posts. This tutorial provides both a basic introduction to Twitter and highlights the features that makes it a must-have tool for journalists. We'll discuss general concepts, then take a look at specific techniques for increasing engagement, building a quality network of followees, best practices, and share a ton of tips for effective community building.
Why Twitter mattersSome people look at Facebook and Twitter, conclude that Facebook has the larger audience, and decide to focus their efforts there. Yes, Facebook is really important, but there are good reasons to make sure you're engaging on both platforms. First, the audiences are very different. Facebook is organized across "the social graph," which means most people follow people they've met. In contrast, Twitter is organized across "the interest graph," which means people follow accounts that provide valuable information, whether they've met or not. Facebook is mostly about interlocking rings of privacy – walled gardens in which information gets trapped (i.e. Google can't see the vast majority of content on Facebook). But Twitter is fully public, just like the rest of the web. By definition, content on Twitter has a much wider reach – everything you post can potentially be seen by the whole world. While Facebook has a "share" function that lets people repeat things others have said, it's not used nearly as often as Twitter's "retweet" function. One of Twitter's key functions is as a news and information amplifier, which is why news spreads so much more quickly on Twitter than on Facebook. Will Twitter traffic cannibalize traditional web site content? Take a look at this data produced by Twitter the evening the death of Osama Bin Laden was announced: Twitter was tracking 12.4 million tweets per hour (4,000 per second) on this topic. A very large portion of these tweets were pointing back to traditional media sources. Twitter alone wasn't enough for these readers – they were still going to traditional news sites to get the full story. Twitter was amplifying the spread of news, not replacing it. Because of this amplification effect, Twitter has an immediacy that Facebook doesn't have. Many big news stories have broken first on Twitter. For events and crises, nothing can top Twitter's real-time effectiveness. Because it's aligned on the interest graph, Twitter users spend a lot of energy fine-tuning and curating their information streams (Facebook users are often reluctant to unfollow people for fear of being rude). Twitter is an information fire hose in a way that Facebook is not. As a result, many news junkies greatly prefer Twitter over Facebook. They're two very different parties – one consisting of friends and one consisting of information sources. As a journalist, you really want to be at both parties. Since people don't have to follow you just so you can see the content they post, journalists find Twitter a much better way to track down sources, dig up more information on stories, crowdsource content, get questions answered, push out quick news blasts, and to take the pulse of a community or topic. Most sites that have both Tweet This and Facebook Like buttons show more Facebook likes for their stories, but this isn't always true: In most cases, these numbers have more to do with how much energy the journalist or organization puts into the respective platforms. Ignore Twitter and the numbers will skew toward Facebook. And vice versa. If you're primarily a Facebook user and need a hand understanding how and why the Twitter ecosystem can be as rich or richer than Facebook's, see A Guide to Twitter for Facebook Users.
Fastest Way Into Search EnginesFinally, note that Twitter is likely the fastest way to get links to your site's content into Google and other search engines. Because search engines "license" the Twitter stream for their real-time results, links posted via Twitter show up on Google seconds later. Try posting a tweet with a highly unique string, then go immediately to Google and search for that same string. After the results appear, click on More, then Real-Time in the left margin.
Newsroom GuidelinesSocial media is transforming the newsroom. It has the power to connect reporters and sources, as well as readers, like never before. That level of connection also has implications. Jeff Jarvis, the interactive journalism program director at the City University of New York, has evangelized this transformation. "Twitter, blogs, Facebook, etc. also provide the opportunity for reporters and editors to come out from behind the institutional voice of the paper — a voice that is less and less trusted — and to become human. Of course, they should mix business and pleasure." As the blurring of professional and personal lines occur, many organizations have instituted social media policies to determine what is and is not out of bounds for their employees. The AP, for example, requires that employees identify themselves and their affiliation when engaging in any work-related interactions. The Wall Street Journal demands that its staffers consult editors before "connecting" or "friending" potential confidential sources; discourages the explanation of how stories were reported, written, or edited; and prohibits workers from giving away scoops before they're published." Other organizations advocate the exact opposite, arguing that talking about how reporting occurred establishes a level of trust, authority, and intimacy that is otherwise unachievable. Social media advocates also argue that promoting content that has yet to run is a great way to build buzz around stories or packages. Ultimately, it's up to you and/or your publication to decide what the boundaries are. Realize that every post/friend/like counts, and there are compelling arguments for and against varying degrees of transparency on social media. For a comprehensive list of social media policies, SocialMediaGovernance.com has put together a list of nearly 175 different organizations that have defined codes of conduct regarding Twitter and other social networks.
Getting StartedIf you're new to Twitter, sign up for an account at twitter.com. If you want to keep your work life and personal observations separate, create two separate accounts. When choosing a username, keep it short, memorable and relevant – your username will be part of your personal "brand," so avoid picking names like "SoccerFan1" or "MultimediaJournalist," since those won't help distinguish you from hundreds of similar Twitter of users. Avoid very long names, since they'll cut into the 140-character limit in replies. After signing up, Twitter will prompt you to start following people. Following people simply means those users' updates will show up in a feed on your home page. To help you follow people, Twitter offers suggestions broken down over interest categories. If you type "journalism" into the search field at the top of the screen, you'll get a pretty good starting point of results. That list will include users all the way from the Wall Street Journal's main account (@WSJ) to Andrew DeVigal (@drewvigal), the multimedia editor of The New York Times, to the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard (@NiemanLab). Simply click the "Follow" button to the right of each user's name to have their posts added to your stream. Keep in mind that, unlike Facebook, Twitter is not primarily about following friends — it's about finding interesting people and interesting streams (either to you personally or relevant to your beat). The real power of Twitter may not become apparent until you've started following at least 100 interesting people, so spend some time searching for keywords and evaluating streams, adding only the best ones to your feed. If you follow people who aren't interesting, your stream will fill with noise and the appeal of the network will be lost. Curate your list of folowees carefully! Once you're finished finding users through the interest search, you can then find friends and contacts who use Twitter. Click on the "Friends" link at the top of the current page. That will take you to a new page that will allow you to search your Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, LinkedIn and/or AOL accounts for contacts registered with Twitter. Don't worry — Twitter won't share your contact information without your consent (or send you spam). Once you've finished following users, click on the "Finish" button at the bottom of the screen.
Posting BasicsDepending on whether you use Twitter's website or a third-party Twitter client (see the Clients section for more info on this), you'll initiate a post in different ways. On Twitter.com, you'll see a big text field labeled "What's happening?" As you probably know, you only have 140 characters* to work with. That includes spaces, punctuation and numbers, so learn to be direct in what you say. While the character constraint may seem frustrating at first, you'll quickly discover that this weakness is also one of Twitter's great strengths, since it forces everyone to get straight to the point, and makes your information streams easy to scan. The reason for the 140 character limit goes back to Twitter's origins as a text-message-based service. While few people use Twitter via text message anymore, Twitter has maintained the 140 character limit, which has become one of the service's defining features. Updates are great ways to share thoughts, insights, analyses, reactions and links. As you enter text into the field, look for the character counter showing how many characters you have remaining. Unlike Facebook, Twitter is a public medium. Almost all posts are public, and can be seen by followers and non-followers alike. Google and other search engines aggressively index Twitter content — what you say on Twitter will surface in search results almost immediately – more on that later. We'll explore the finer points of mentions, "@" replies, retweets, direct messages, hash tags, lists and more in the following sections. For more, check out Twitter's official glossary.
Twitter clientsThe best way to interact with Facebook is through Facebook.com. The same cannot be said of Twitter! Because Twitter has maintained an open API, dozens of software developers have created their own interfaces onto the service in the form of desktop software, external web sites, or applications written in Adobe Air or Microsoft Silverlight. There are dozens of things you can do with these third-party clients that you can't do with the Twitter web site. For example:
- Work with multiple Twitter accounts simultaneously
- View multiple streams of Twitter information simultaneously
- Schedule tweets for posting when you're away
- Add photos to tweets
- Faster/smoother/more keyboardable performance
- Tracking and analytics
- Better URL shortening
- Integration with other social networks
Mentions, replies, and DMsWhen a tweet includes another person's username prefaced with the "@" symbol, that person will be notified that they've been mentioned. Unlike on Facebook, you do not need to have a follower/followee relatonship to mention another user – it's all public. However, it's important to understand that mentions take two forms. 1) When a tweet starts with the @ symbol, it's called a reply, and will not show up in the streams of other people following you. However, if someone looks directly at your feed, they will see the replies you've made to others. In other words, this form of reply is semi-private. Twitter works this way to increase the quality of everyone's streams – if it didn't, your stream would be filled with fragments of one-side conversations people are having with each other. Example of an "at" reply, which is a semi-private message. The tweet starts with @ symbol, effectively hiding it from other followers unless they view the sender's stream directly. 2) When an @username appears anywhere else in the body of a tweet, the recipient is still notified, but the tweet will show up in the streams of other people who follow you. This is a way to refer/link to another user on the service, as opposed to communicating with them semi-privately.
In other words, if you want to mention someone and have your followers see the tweet, do not start the tweet with an "@" symbol!Example of a "mention" – the tweet doesn't start with an "@" symbol. In this case, PBS will still receive notification that they've been referred to, and other users can easily click to view PBS's Twitter stream. If you want to ensure your tweet is public but still mention a person at the start of the sentence, you can work around this by prefacing the "@" with a ".", e.g.
.@kdmcinfo Thanks, I'm loving this tutorial!
An old-style retweet (see next section) is a type of "mention." Three users are mentioned in this tweet, and all will have received some kind of notification, which may draw them into the conversation.
Direct MessagesAs you would expect, Twitter also provides a way to send a fully private message to another user. However, you cannot send a direct message to a user who does not follow you. This feature prevents Twitter from becoming a massive spam bucket. To send a direct message to user @kdmcinfo, use this syntax: To make it even easier, most Twitter clients provide special buttons or links for sending direct messages, so you won't have to remember to start the tweet with "d". Since direct messages are generally important enough to warrant your immediate attention, you can visit your settings on twitter.com and configure the service to push DMs directly to your phone as SMS messages.
RetweetsOne of the things that makes Twitter such a powerful "news amplification" medium is the concept of the "retweet," which is essentially a way of repeating something someone else said (with or without modification), extending its message out from the originator's network to your own network. Twitter's users – not Twitter itself – invented the retweet and made it part of Twitter culture. A traditional retweet starts with this syntax: An old-style retweet starts with the syntax
RT @username, which of course cuts into the 140-character limit. The text is modifiable before posting.
In this style of retweet, you have the opportunity to modify the text, either to add additional commentary or to shorten so it fits in the 140-character limit. Note that some users will mark a modified retweet with the letters "MT" rather than "RT."
Twitter later embraced the concept of the retweet officially, and baked it into the service. In an "official" retweet, the length of the tweet is not affected by giving credit to the originator. Instead, the Twitter client will mark the retweet, either by overlaying the retweeter's icon on top of the originator's icon, or by referring to the originator below the tweet.
In a new style retweet, the message cannot be modified. Credit is given with text below the tweet, or by overlaying one icon over the other.
In the example above, we do not follow @ericuman, but we do follow @poynter. This tweet still shows up in our stream because @poynter deemed the message worthy of amplification.
Unfortunately, an official-style retweet cannot be modified, and you cannot change the "from" account (i.e. you can't retweet a post that came in through one account out through another).
Both styles have their advantages and disadvantages.
Hash tagsA "hash tag" is a word embedded in a tweet that starts with a "#" sign, as in this example: Virtually all Twitter clients make hash tags clickable automatically. When clicked, an instant search is performed for all tweets that include the same hash tag (not just your followees, but all tweets). In other words, a hash tag is an identifier for a real-time Twitter search that groups tweets according to a certain topic. Hash tags are often agreed upon by a community of people interested in a given topic, providing way for their tweets to hang together. Couldn't you simply search Twitter for whatever interests you? Yes, but hash tags have distinct advantages:
- They ensure that tweets are grouped even if a given tweet doesn't contain the keyword
- They provide a way for readers to discover a larger circle of interest they may not have otherwise searched for
Because a hash tag is essentially a search, it can be saved for quick access just like any other saved search on Twitter. Saved searches and hash tags are very important tools for journalists who cover a community or particular beat regularly.Hash tags are useful in lots of circumstances, but they really shine at conferences and events, where hundreds or thousands of people who don't know each other are suddenly able to find one another's observations and discussions. For example, in Berkeley Advanced Media Institute workshops we advise students to use the hash tag #kdmcworkshop. That stream then becomes an instant "back-channel" tracking their notes and key take-aways from our lectures and discussions. Click a hash tag to view tweets grouped on a given topic. Hash tag results are global, not limited to posts by your followees. Shown: The hash tag for World Press Freedom Day.
Journalists covering public events should make discovering that event's hash tag a priority – it's a fantastic way to keep a pulse on the thoughts of the public, giving a very different perspective than what one reporter alone could assemble.Try not to overuse hash tags – more than two hash tags in a tweet can make it quickly start to look like alphabet soup, and will severely cut into the amount of characters available for real content.
Creating Hash TagsSo what if you arrive at an event (say, a city-wide art festival) and aren't able to discover a hash tag in use? You're the journalist – take the lead and create one! You don't need to do anything special to start using a hash tag – just start including it in posts, and watch to see how quickly it catches on. When creating a hash tag, you need to find the right balance between brevity and specificity. You don't want your hash tags to be too general. For example, if you use the hash tag
#art at a community festival, you'll find that clicking on it leads to thousands of tweets on art in general, not just your local festival. Even
#artinthepark would be too general. However, for the city of Albany, the hash tag
#albanyart might be just right.
#albanyartfestival would work as well, but would be too long. Just remember, your goal is to be specific enough to limit results to your event, and short enough to not cut into tweet length too much. If in doubt, search Twitter for that tag before using the tag!
Too general:
- #art
- #artinthepark
- #albanyart
ListsClay Shirky is famous for having said "There is no such thing as information overload – there's only filter failure." Making sense of an overflowing Twitter stream is an ongoing act of curation – finding ways to follow just the most interesting readers, or to gather tweets that are relevant to your life or job. While saved searches and hash tags provide a way to gather info from across Twitter by keyword, the Lists feature does the opposite – it gathers tweets from across the service by particular users, regardless the content of their tweets. Every Twitter user can create lists, add users to those lists, and can even track lists created by other users. As a journalist, you might create custom lists for:
- Other journalists
- Other publications
- Journalists at your own publication
- Community leaders
- School leaders in your community
- Economists
- Data visualization experts
- Sports reporters covering soccer leagues
- …
Note: You do not need to follow a user to put them on a list!To add someone to a list on Twitter.com, go to their profile page, click the downward arrow next to the profile icon, and select Add to List. You can even add a person to multiple lists! Other Twitter clients will show the list management interface in different ways or places, but the concept is always the same. While surfing another user's Twitter profile, check out their lists – you can "subscribe" to other people's lists and track them as if you had made them (though you can't modify someone else's list). Want a good way to find lists relevant to your community or area of coverage? Try the site Listorious, which can be searched by keyword. However, we think you'll get the most value out of lists you create yourself. Make it a habit: It's really hard to go back and organize all of your followees into lists retroactively. When following a new user, make a habit of adding them to a list right then and there!
Saved SearchesIn addition to hash tags and lists (which are essentially special forms of searches) Twitter provides two different ways of searching by keyword, username, geography, dates and more. Searches can be as complex as you need them to be! For a journalist covering a community or a beat, you'll probably want to craft some custom searches that turn up useful sources and observations. You can save these searches and check them daily, either on twitter.com or in your favorite client. Using Twitter's simple search, click Save this Search to return to it easily in the future. To revisit your saved searches later, just click the Searches tab on your Twitter homepage profile. If you're using a Twitter client, you'll find you'll find your saved searches elsewhere in the interface. If you're using a multi-column client like TweetDeck or Hootsuite, you can set up a saved search to appear in a permanent "column" (caveat for HootSuite users – only searches created from within Hootsuite can be seen – official saved searches are invisible to Hootsuite).
Advanced SearchesYour basic Twitter search is fine, but not nearly specific enough to meet the needs of journalists. What if you want to show all searches that contain the word "revolution" and that were posted near Tripoli? For that you'll need Twitter's strangely hidden Advanced Search. You won't find a link to it anywhere on their web site, so navigate your browser to search.twitter.com/advanced. Try this: In the "All these words" field, type "city council" in quotes. In the Places field, near this place, type in your zip code. Click the search button. If you're covering community government, the power of having this query at your disposal is clear. This is a query you'll want to come back to! Note: As of this writing, the advanced search feature only indexes a few days worth of data – hopefully this limitation will be lifted in the future, but since Twitter is all about real-time, there's still a lot of usefulness here. Let's say you want to find all of the tweets by representative Weiner where he discussed his love of hockey. Type "hockey" into the Words field, and "repweiner" into the From field. Bingo! Explore the other fields in Advanced Search to see what else it can do. Unfortunately, there is no way to save advanced searches as of this writing. Hopefully this will change in the future. However, you can save search results as an RSS feed – just click the "Feed for this Query" link near the top right.
URL ShortenersURL shorteners compress standard web addresses to reduce character length. Because Twitter limits the character length of tweets, shortened URLs have become a requirement in the age of microblogging. While necessary, be aware that there are potential security issues with shortened URLs. Fortunately, all of the big URL shortening providers are very aware of this potential, and do a lot of filtering and screening to keep users out of trouble. You should be aware, but not overly concerned. There are many URL shortening services available, including Bit.ly, is.gd, the Hootsuite-owned ow.ly, goo.gl and the original TinyURL. Twitter also runs its own shortener t.co, and forces all URLs posted through services it owns to go through it (this means that if you post a bit.ly URL through an official Twitter client or twitter.com, it will be re-shortened with a t.co link!) Some services also offer custom URL shortening with your own organization's domain, which is why you sometimes see shortened URLs like abcn.ws, and nyti.ms. As you surf Twitter, you'll come across a wide array of shortners, both generic and custom. Here at Berkeley Advanced Media Institute, we use the bitly Pro service to sometimes shorten URLs with the domain kdmc.us. URLs can be shortened in advanced by going to a common shortening service, or may be compressed by your Twitter client as you post. Twitter.com also has a built-in URL shortener: After pasting a URL into the twitter.com post field, a "Shorten" button will appear. Click it and the URL will be shortened with the t.co domain. You'll see the character counter reflect the change.
Reporting with TwitterTwitter can be a great place to find breaking news. That ranges from the most global of issues (i.e. Middle East uprisings in Spring 2011) to more hyperlocal (such as structure fires on a particular block). TBD used Twitter and Foursquare in late 2010 to get eye-witness accounts of a hostage situation in Washington, D.C., and then began curating those tweets as part of the reporting process. As a news startup in its infancy, TBD was widely praised for dominating coverage of the event.
Reporting CautionsUsing Twitter as a source for breaking news and/or leads must be done with caution. The January, 2011 shooting of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is a prime example of that. In a rush to come out with stories first, several major publications ranging from NPR to CNN to The New York Times all began to rely on Twitter for reports on what occurred. Soon, two narratives emerged — one that stated the Congresswoman was dead, and another that stated she was wounded. Organizations spent the subsequent days issuing corrections after further reporting revealed the actual facts of the shooting.
Engagement and Best PracticesIf you're a journalist on Twitter, remember that you're not here just to post headlines and links. Sure, you'll want to promote your content, but remember that Twitter is a social network. To make it work for your organization, you'll need to be social, and engage with your readership. That means your presence on Twitter is not all about you – it's about being part of a community – either a geographical community or one forged across lines of shared interests (e.g. your beat). In this section, we'll share some tips and best practices for engaging with the Twitter community. Interact! If a parent in your community asks how the roads are, respond by describing what you see (and make sure you frame it as a mention, not an "at" reply – you want your whole readership to be privvy to that particular discussion). If the local natural grocery is having a food event, retweet their post about it, and ask if anyone's going. Move beyond just posting headlines. Replying to posts by your readers makes them feel special, makes them realize there is a human face on your organization. Retweeting or replying to posts by local politicians, decision makers and business owners frames you as part of the community, something more than an ivory tower reporter. You can provide good/useful/interesting content even if it has nothing to do with your publication. In this example, the journalist retweets a community member's post about something related to the community. Readers win, person being retweeted wins, journalist wins. First Impressions In order to make your work on Twitter count, you need to build up a sizable audience (and keep building it). When people are deciding whether to follow you, they've only got three things to go on: 1) Your headshot/icon – Make sure you should have a nice, clear, friendly looking headshot on your Twitter profile. People are much less likely to follow someone who's using the default "egg" icon. Official publication Twitter accounts should use the brand logo, individuals should use headshots (not "art" pieces). 2) Your bio/description – Your bio should describe who you are and what you do, with adequate use of keywords so people can find you through search. If you're covering an area, get that area's name into your bio. If you're covering a beat like "Health and Science" than make sure your bio says so! You can also optionally enable your geographical location in your bio. While you might think twice about doing this on your personal account, it's a great feature for your professional accounts, making you more findable. Finally, whatever you do, don't "protect" your account. Twitter is a public platform, and few people will bother to follow a protected account. Save the "privacy rings" for Facebook. 3) Your most recent few tweets. If you post "noise" to the Twitter stream, people checking you out for the first time will have little incentive to follow you. Keep the signal high and the noise level low. Build a following Cultivating a large collection of followers is imperative – eventually, you want to have thousands of followers. Since approximately 70% of people you follow will follow you back, start by following lots of people. But don't just follow everyone and anyone – follow people if they share your interests or live in your community or can become helpful correspondents. Find someone particularly interesting? Check out who they're following and follow those people as well. So how do you find relevant followees? Start with search (we covered search in depth earlier). Search for keywords related to your beat, or the name of your community. Create advanced searches that combine multiple criteria (e.g. posts about "soccer" within 15 miles of your zipcode). You can use sites like followerwonk.com to search through Twitter bios too – bios are excellent sources because people use them to self-describe their interests. Keep those saved searches handy and check them often – building your following is an ongoing process, not a one-time thing. Remember to follow local businesses too! Followerwonk.com is a great tool for searching through Twitter bios for good people to follow. Remember, 70% of people you follow will follow you back! Note: You can't see a list of your followers from within Hootsuite – you'll need to use Twitter.com or an official Twitter client for that. Make it a habit! Understand that while Twitter is often called a "microblogging platform," it's really more like a stream. The stream goes by quickly and few people read everything posted in their stream. Therefore, it's important to post regularly – several times per day at least, and hopefully more. You also need to read portions of your stream regularly. Make a habit of checking in several times per day, paying special attention to your saved searches and lists. Think of Twitter like your email – important things are happening there and you need to stay on top of them. Good grammar You're a journalist! Just because you're on Twitter doesn't mean you can get away with sloppy sentence structure, spelling or grammar. To make sure you're treated like the pro that you are, uphold your standards of excellence. Just because you're on Twitter doesn't mean you can let your standards slip. Keep an eye on punctuation and grammar, and try to use full sentences. Tweet on the go! Twitter was born on mobile, and it thrives there. Many excellent Twitter clients for iPhone, Android and Blackberry devices are available. Check your Twitter stream (or participate) while in line at the grocery store or DMV, while in the field reporting, or whenever you have a few minutes to spare. One of the advantages to tweeting with a hand-held device is that you can use the integrated camera to attach images to your tweets, which gives them much more life and presence. Post immediately If a story is brewing, don't wait until you've written the whole thing and posted it on your site. Instead, Tweet something as soon as you can be accurate and factual. Let your audience know you'll have full coverage on the site soon. Ask people you meet if they're on Twitter Again, it's critical to develop a large following. But you want to do it organically (don't fall for offers that claim to be able to get you more followers). One of the most effective things you can do is to ask people you meet if they're on Twitter. If they are, follow them right then and there – don't wait to do it later (you might forget). Put your Twitter handle on your business card, and link to it from your email .sig. And if someone mentions you on Twitter, follow that person! Be valuable People are looking for three things on Twitter: Usefulness, humor, and insight. You don't have to be the originator of everything you post – Retweet things that are interesting to your community or beat even if it's not related to your site. See a call for volunteers? Retweet it or pass it along. Come across an interesting observation from community member? Retweet or reply. Take unusual opportunities to either amplify or extend discussions around topics. In this example, we promote a local event, making sure to include the ending time and a link to directions. We also squeeze in a mention (Albany Subaru now feels like a valued community member), and a hash tag. And we still have 19 characters to spare! Crowdsourcing Twitter is a fantastic way to let your audience help you do your job. Try asking readers for leads on breaking stories. "Did anyone witness the train crash this afternoon? Would you be willing to talk for a few minutes?" If you only have time to cover either the PTA meeting or the city council meeting, ask your readers which they would find more interesting. Posing questions in tweets (example: "Are you on food stamps because you lost your job? What do you do creatively to get by?") can elicit very rich material. Questions like this are most effective when users that follow you retweet your question so that many people end up seeing it. Leverage your audience of followers to find leads and contacts in the community. If you have a lot of followers, you'd be amazed how effective this can be. In this example, the journalist engages with a member of the public and solicits contributions to her publication at the same time. Does your site take public contributions (blog posts, photographs)? If so, use Twitter to encourage readers to upload images from an upcoming event. It's pretty amazing what kind of results you can get when you've got a few hundred (or a few thousand) followers. Don't auto-pump tweets to Facebook It's easy to connect your Twitter account to your Facebook account so your Tweets become status updates automatically. Don't do this! The grammar of Twitter doesn't work on Facebook. All of those hashtags and @mentions won't be clickable after being copied to Facebook, and will only confuse readers. Yes, you need to be on both networks, but you'll either need to post to both places separately, or use a client like Hootsuite that can help you post to both places simultaneously while formatting correctly for each site. Another excellent alternative is to use the Selective Twitter Facebook app. With this enabled, simply place the short #fb hash tag at the end of any tweet to have it copied to your Facebook stream. Any tweets lacking that tag will not appear on Facebook. Events Twitter is an incredible resource for breaking news and live events. If you're at a live event, try and learn whether it has a hashtag right away (more on hashtags here). If there isn't one, be the community leader and create one! If there's been a crime or disaster, use Twitter to identify eye-witnesses you can speak to for your story. At almost every event with more than a few dozen people, an active Twitter back-channel will form quickly. Find your way into the discussion to mine the event for more material than you'd be able to dig up just by talking to people. Almost every sizable event will have some Twitter activity happening in the "back channel." Tune in to see a different side of things than what's on stage. Promoting your content Tweeting helps surface your content to search engines faster. Because Google "licenses" Twitter's entire stream, a tweeted link will appear in search results almost immediately (which is another good reason to use unambiguous, meaningful keywords in your tweets). Of course, promoting your content should not be the only (or even the main) thing you do with Twitter, but it is important of course. When posting story URLs, try using something other than just the headline. You want to avoid coming off as a link-posting robot – be a real human to your readers. The journalist manages to promote content on her publication's site without simply posting linked headlines – the reader can "see" that there's a human on the other end. You also may want to post about interesting conversations that are happening in story comments sections. Because Twitter is a stream and not a blog, and few people read everything that gets posted, it's actually acceptable to post the same link a few times over – chances are, few people will notice! Just be judicious and tasteful about it. If you use Hootsuite or Tweetdeck, consider using their "Scheduled tweets" feature to promote your content in the middle of the night, or on the weekend when you're away. U R Doing It Wrong Avoid these practices:
- Just posting headlines (Twitter is so much more than that)
- Talking "at" people (You are a spokesperson, but also a community member)
- Overdoing hashtags (Use them when useful, not just to be clever)
- Barraging readers (Post frequently, but don't flood readers' streams)
- Make it all about you (This should go without saying)


text:
We want you to feel welcome here at Epiphany Anglican Fellowship. Whether this is your first time visiting or you have been coming for a while, we hope that your visit with us will be a blessing to you and that you will encounter the Lord.
Epiphany Anglican Fellowship launched on December 24 2008. We are affiliated with the Anglican Church in North America. God answered our pray for a space that will adequately allow his vision to continue by leading us to Bethlen Home in Ligonier. We hold our services at 9:00AM every Sunday with a wonderful social time after the service. We are looking forward to see what God is writing in the next chapter of our story. Be a part of the new beginning!
Thursday, September 06, 2018
Ladies Scripture, Share & Prayer 7:00AM to 8:00AM at Myriam's Table 221 W Main St, Ligonier, PA 15658.
© 2010 Epiphany Anglican Fellowship
135 Kalassay Drive
Post Office Box 375
Ligonier, PA 15658

subset: commoncrawl


text:
An unidentified assailant shot Rodríguez, 40, a reporter for the local daily El Diario, at least eight times with a 9mm weapon, according to Mexican news reports and CPJ interviews. Rodríguez was sitting in a company-owned Nissan sedan parked inside his garage at about 8 a.m. when he was shot, local authorities told CPJ. His young daughter, Ximena, who was in the car at the time of the attack, was uninjured. According to Jaime Torres Baladez, the local mayor's spokesman, the reporter was pronounced dead at the scene.
"We mourn the death of Armando Rodríguez and offer our
deepest condolences to friends and family," said Carlos Lauría, CPJ's senior
program coordinator for the
The Mexican Congress is considering legislation that would make crimes against free expression a federal offense, a step backed by President Felipe Calderón. "Journalists who cover crime and drug trafficking continue to be killed," Lauría said. "Mexican authorities should make protection of the media a priority by promoting legislation that will better safeguard the constitutional right of all Mexican citizens to express themselves freely."
Alejandro Pariente, spokesman for the deputy state prosecutor, said authorities have recovered evidence from the scene. Pariente told CPJ that investigators have not identified a motive as yet but are looking into Rodríguez's journalism as a possibility.
Pedro Torres, El Diario's deputy editor, said Rodríguez had received a threatening text message in February telling him to "tone it down." Rocío Gallegos, news director at the daily, told CPJ she asked Rodríguez if he wanted to change his beat, but the reporter insisted on continuing to cover crime. For safety reasons, Torres said, El Diario does not conduct in-depth investigations into organized crime or drug trafficking.
Local journalists told CPJ they believed Rodríguez had been targeted for his work, though they could not pinpoint a specific story that would have triggered the killing. Carlos Huerta Múñoz, a crime reporter for the Ciudad Juárez-based daily El Norte, said he and Rodríguez had covered the murder of two local police officers on Wednesday. Huerta said Rodríguez had not mentioned any threats. Colleagues told CPJ that Rodríguez was a well-known and respected reporter, who covered crime for more than a decade.
Ciudad Juárez, a border city across from
Powerful drug cartels and escalating violence associated
with criminal groups have made


text:
Online Mobile Marketing Software provides the means to effectively manage and coordinate your mobile marketing endeavours. Mobile marketing software ranges from providing SMS marketing solutions to advertising within smartphone apps and mobile-optimized web pages. The Mobile Marketing Software here is offered under the SaaS (Software as a Service) model, meaning that the software is web based, hosted on the Cloud and can be accessed when needed through a client or web browser. If you're looking for similar online software like Mobile Marketing Software, consider our Social Media or Marketing Automation Software categories.
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text:
Lately, a group of neighbors has been gathering in the corner of the empty lot at Belmont and Pine to hang out and chat. They'll be there again Friday starting around 3:30 in the afternoon and sitting around until everybody decides to go home.
we've got a card table and some chairs, we're gonna sit there (at least a couple of times a week over the next month), you can stop by and visit, share a thought, have a talk, a rant, write something, maybe draw…or just bring us food
you, we, us (& them) may end up starting something here…and if not, at the very least, you'll have been part of a brief capitol hill moment, mooment? maybe movement?
Organized by a group of neighbors via Facebook, [stories from] the table at the corner of belmont and pine is an experiment in community — but that overstates it. So far, the pictures and comments about the events on Facebook are mostly about the kind of things you do when you hang out with other people with no particular thing to do — except we don't often find ourselves doing that much these days. Especially the no particular thing to do part. From the looks of things, there is no conversation agenda or assignment, etc. It's a coffee klatch kind of thing for the new era where nobody really knows anybody else except for what we can gleen from Twitter. Sadly, I'll probably be too busy to stop by. But if you go, hang out for me, ok?


text:
Who doesn't love to hate a mean boss? They've been great fodder for TV, stage, films and cartoons. They're not always so much fun in real life, though.
Researchers are looking into what makes a bad boss tick, and what they are finding isn't always pretty.
Industrial organizational psychologist Paul Babiak said about 4 percent of the 203 executives he studied were diagnosable psychopaths, compared to about 1 percent of the broader population. A person is considered a psychopath if they score very high on an evaluation that looks at four factors and finds that they are particularly manipulative, without remorse or empathy, live a deviant lifestyle and are antisocial.
(Read more: Sometimes, the boss really is a psycho.)
Published 26 July 2013


text:
Parent Directory | Revision Log
|Links to HEAD:
|(view) (download) (annotate)
Some more cleanup of the autodetection sections.
Some minor code cleanup.
Apparently my foray into using bash internals instead of grep didn't work, though it did when I originally tested it. More research will be required before switching back, and we're too close to release to bother.
Change a few greps to bash built-in after reading Uberlord's blog post.
Added a patch to modify the CPU detection from Joshua Kinard. Also, updated the X detection, in case x-setup isn't on the CD, to fall back to mkxf86config.
Changed active->detected for alpha CPU detection.
Fixed x-setup being called when we used either nox or nodetect. Fixed sound card detection.
Add an unpack_firmware function in case we don't have either the hotplug or coldplug init scripts for udev >=089 compatibility.
Added alpha CPU information to CPU detection output.
Added trivial fix for bug #122367.
Added IBM OP720 thanks to dostrow.
Added PowerMac G5 and PowerBook G4 15" thanks to hansmi.
Added Kurobox and Pegasos 2 thanks to #gentoo-ppc.
Added some more Macintosh models thanks to dostrow and #gentoo-ppc.
Added an initial detect_ppc function, which I hope to improve over time.
Added 2 bug fixes from bug #114561.
Removed ALSA warnings, as it will appear on all minimal InstallCD and will cause bug reports to be filed.
Made x86 matching line more concise.
Fixing bug in alsa volume management.
Updated to use new x86/amd64 machine information and changed if to case.
Added new awk for detecting CPU information for x86, but left it commented. I plan on making this information more machine-specific, as it only seems to work right on x86/amd64, as far as I know.
Added patch from Joshua Kinard <firstname.lastname@example.com> for bug #106990.
Added patch from Joshua Kinard <firstname.lastname@example.com> for bug #106988.
Changing schedule_service_startup -> start_service for bug #104020, also removed extra XDESC for bug #103391.
Added nox functionality to livecd-tools and added a check to start x-setup from within autoconfig.
Hopefully not broken dhcp changes...
Sets volume on all detected sound cards.
Making dhcpcd call use -n to remove any possible errors from dhcpcd being started during hotplug.
Added einfo about volume control.
Added alsasound check before attempting to start the service.
Updated with patch from spock for splash.
Added ALSA detection and nosound boot option.
Change /etc/init.d/service start to schedule_service_startup service for splash.
Added sourcing of /etc/sysconfig/gentoo, as I patched that in the latest hwsetup release. Blame gustavoz, he needs more work.
Add ath/wlan to listed network devices.
Updated to work with newer baselayout versions and also to write configuration to livecd's /etc/conf.d files.
Made Mic muted by default.
Coding style cleanups
Updated to have the same coding style, moved functions from each script into livecd-functions.sh, and cleaned up function names.
Added before net to depend.
Added IDEDMA variable for detection of ide=nodma on the command line and for starting hdparm when it is not present.
Fixed DHCP=no sed lines. Blame Koon.
Fixing broken dhcpcd hostnames.
Added bashlogin and livecd-functions.sh from baselayout. Cleaned up ALSA support in autoconfig. Made x-setup use new opengl-update feature --dst-prefix. Fixed WEP key section in net-setup.
Fixed net-setup and x-setup and also updated headers on all files.
Removed before *, as it causes a warning from checkroot.
Added nogpm call.
Added before * to depend in an effort to try to get it to run first in the runlevel.
Fixed module loading for acpi and fixed syntax errors in gpm config.
Fixing bug in gpm checks.
Updated to work with acpi=force, added some extra checking into the scripts, and cleaned up the alsa section.
Fixing broken nodhcp.
Added updated gpm support to autoconfig. This resolves bug #78595.
Added -h option to dhcpcd so the hostname is sent to DHCP servers that support DDNS. Blame bug #72836.
I need to learn awk, really...
Quieting acpi module loads
Updating for GameCD
Added coldplug check for bug #68840.
Moving amixer settings and making it quiet.
Changed hwsetup check from /usr/bin/hwsetup to /usr/sbin/hwsetup and closing bug #68621.
Only run hwsetup when it exists.
Updated for 1.0.6 and 2004.3.
Updated autoconfig and net-setup for upcoming 1.0.4 livecd-tools.
fixed up autoconfig
new livecd-tools packages
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text:
This is an UNCERTIFIED copy for information/reference. For authentic copy please refer to certified copy only. In case of any mistake, please bring it to the notice of Deputy Registrar(Copying).
?Court No. - 33
Case :- WRIT - A No. - 598 of 2012
Petitioner :- Gautam Kumar Srivastava
Respondent :- State Of U.P. & Others
Petitioner Counsel :- Agnihotri Kumar Tripathi,Anil Singh Bishen
Respondent Counsel :- C.S.C.,C.N. Tripathi,R.A. Akhtar
Hon'ble Sudhir Agarwal,J.
Petitioner has challenged validity of Clause 1(1) (Kha) of Notification dated 23.8.2010 and Clause 1 (1) (Kha) of Notification dated 29.7.2011 whereby it provides that a person, to be eligible for appointment on the post of Teacher in Primary School, will have to undergo a training which shall be conducted by appropriate Government in accordance with guidelines framed by NCTE. It is contended that this part of Regulation is ultra vires of the Basic Education Act, 1972 which confers power upon State Government to permit Basic Education Board for conducting such examination.
The submission is thoroughly misconceived. In exercise of powers under Section 23 of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, National Council of Teachers Education has been named as Authorized Authority to lay down minimum qualification in furtherance thereof it has recognized Teachers Eligibility Test which is conducted by State Government. It cannot be said the said provision in any manner is repugnant to the Provincial Statue and in any case if that is so, the Central Statute has to prevail for the reason that State Act has not been given Presidential consent and therefore under Article 252 of the Constitution it is the Central Act which shall prevail.
Prima facie I am not satisfied that there is any irregularity or illegality in the aforesaid two provisions.
Dt. 11.1.2012


text:
Game On! Sports Schedule for January 31, 2013
There are only two games in the NBA this evening, but one of them is a doozy.
The Oklahoma City Thunder will host the Memphis Grizzlies in a matchup of two teams with eyes on deep playoff runs. The season was barely two weeks old when these foes last met in November, also in Oklahoma City. Rudy Gay paced the Thunder with 28 points in the 10-point victory, but that definitely won't happen this time since Gay was traded on Wednesday.
Here's a look at all of tonight's games. All times Eastern.
Memphis at Oklahoma City 8 p.m. (TNT)
Dallas at Golden State 10:30 p.m. (TNT)
NCAA Men's Basketball Top 25
(7) Gonzaga at Loyola Marymount 11 p.m. (ESPN2)
(8) Arizona at Washington 9 p.m. (ESPN)
(9) Butler at Saint Louis 9 p.m.
Illinois at (13) Michigan State 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Buffalo at Boston 7 p.m.
Washington at Toronto 7 p.m.
New York Islanders at New Jersey 7 p.m.
Pittsburgh at New York Rangers 7 p.m.
St. Louis at Columbus 7 p.m.
Winnipeg at Florida 7:30 p.m.
Colorado at Calgary 9 p.m.
Nashville at Los Angeles 10:30 p.m.
Edmonton at San Jose 10:30 p.m.


text:
Difference between revisions of "Regional Communities/Jordan"
(→Eclipse DemoCamps Galileo 2009)
|Line 18:
|Line 18:

Please consider your sponsorship for this open-source, yet very powerful IDE development environment.

Please consider your sponsorship for this open-source, yet very powerful IDE development environment.

Revision as of 04:48, 9 April 2009
Upcoming Events
Eclipse DemoCamps Galileo 2009
Posted 13-MAR-2009
The Eclipse Foundation is sponsoring a series of Eclipse DemoCamps around the world to celebrate the Galileo release and it is running from 18-May-2009 to 26-Jun-2009.
To sponsor the DemoCamp Galileo 2009, if you are an
- Eclipse committer,
- an employee of an Eclipse member company, or
- or an outside instituition or company that is interested in sponsoring,
If you are an employee of an Eclipse member company who sponsors US $250 or more, your logo will be posted on the DemoCamp's wiki page and you will be acknowledged at the DemoCamp itself.
If you are an outsider institution, company, university, or any kind of organization that is interested in sponsoring, your logo will be posted in the Jordan Eclipse Regional Community with an appropriate link to the DemoCamp Wiki page, and you will be acknowledged at the DemoCamp itself.
Please consider your sponsorship for this open-source, yet very powerful IDE development environment.
The group has several targets starting from the eclipse suit of existing open-source compilers/tools plugins of various programming languages, down for a fully configured IDE for non-existing plugins. The group will adjust, modify, plan, and walk-in any requests based upon its members' approval.
Coming soon
We want to arrange a meeting event to announce and help/support this wonderful, yet open source IDE for developing Java, C/C++, and other supported programming languages and tools. Please show you support by providing food, drinks, or a meeting place for our Jordan local eclipse community. Your business logo will be placed in this place. For more info, please don't hesitate to contact me at firstname.lastname@example.com
Coming soon
Mailing List: firstname.lastname@example.com
Community Member Blogs
Coming soon
If you have questions about the Jordan Eclipse Community, you may contact:
Hasan Sheboul firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Has anyone used any of the Petzlife dental products?
I have seen them at the pet store here but they are pretty $$$.
If this is the liquid and/or gel that is supposed to keep dog's teeth clean, I have seen it and read about it - on the I-Dog forum I think. The lady who boards are Eskie told me about it - was going to check up on it herself - they sell it at Global in Toronto - it is behind the cash so that staff has to get it for you. There are 2 brands - one can be used on humans - and apparently one of the Global owners uses it - doesn't taste good. Apparently the straight dog version doesn't either. From the reviews I read, the company still suggests that you brush the product on to the teeth - and the reviewer had the same problem I do - the dog won't allow the toothbrush in his mouth unless the product tastes good - and if it does, won't let go and if product tastes awful, forget it to begin with. Then there is the gel formulation that isn't supposed to require as much brushing but doesn't taste so hot either. The stuff is pretty strong apparently. I decided to pass and have decided that my dog will most likely need yearly cleanings. He had his 3 year 8 month old teeth cleaned Oct. 17 - excellent teeth, just prone to tartar and breath started to smell bad. On Jan. 5 he had his KC shot and vet said she could see tartar forming again - but also told me that she had her teeth cleaned 3 weeks ago and tartar was back. No matter what our Eskie chews - and Eskies are major chewers he just doesn't "hit" the side top and bottom teeth -no doubt due to face shape. I did buy the poultry toothpaste which he loves but tried to swallow the toothbrush. Then I bought the Dental Kong - he licks the toothpaste from it - no chewing. I smeared some on his favourite chew toy - again just licked it off. I bought dental wipes - he sort of allows me to rub at his teeth but I have to really hold on to the wipe so that he doesn't swallow it - Eskies love anything papery - I also have the rubber finger for toothpaste - what happens is that my finger with the toothpaste is held in his mouth - doesn't bite me but doesn't want to let go in case he doesn't get any more. The "glove" is my last option - vet is getting more in. But bottom line is nothing seems to work. I was given a sample of Wysong - the stuff that looks like parmesan that you sprinkle on food. This left a film on his teeth so he immediately drank a ton of water. I won't add anything to his drinking water. The lady who told me about PetzLife has decided against using it as well. In the meantime, my Eskie has the cleanest tongue in town.
someone on the itchmo forums said that the dental swabs at the above are really good, actually noticed tartar being reduced on their cat and dog when they used them.. i havent tried them myself, and also wanted to check out what neem oil was a bout, best i could find was below..
Neem - One of the best natural or botanical pesticides for controlling bloodfeeding arthropods and other pests is Neem. What is Neem? Neem, a member of the Meliaceae family and a botanical cousin of mahogany, is a tall, fast-growing, evergreen tree which has an attractive crown of deep-green leaves and masses of honey-scented flowers and thrives even in nutrient-poor, dry soil. It tolerates high temperatures, low rainfall, long spells of drought and salinity, and can be propagated by seed. Because of its many benefits, neem has been worshipped as a goddess in India. Neem is bitter in taste. The bitterness is due to the presence of an array of complex compounds called "triterpenes" or more specifically "liminoids". The most important bioactive principle is a terpenoid known as azadirachtin; however, at least 10 other neem limonoids also possess insect growth regulating activity. The tree's scientific name is Azadiractita indica. Neem has been used for centuries primarily against household and storage pests, and to a limited extent against crop pests. Neem trees were the only green thing left standing during a ravaging locust plague in Sudan in 1959. Neem does not kill pests but affects their behavior and physiology and reduces the risk of exposing the pests' natural enemies to poisoned food sources or starvation. Neem derivatives affect more than 200 insect species belonging to Coleoptera, Diptera, Heteroptera, Homoptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Orthoptera, Thysanoptera, several species of mites and nematodes, and even noxious snails and fungi. Although neem oil can be used directly for pest control, semi-purified "bitters" and "neem rich" fractions can easily be standardized for biological properties and could satisfy even stringent quality requirements. Being water soluble, they also can be applied as systemic compounds which render them more photostable and nonphytotoxic. A garlic odor often present in other neem products is absent in "bitters". Neem products are effective and relatively hazard-free. An added benefit of using semi-purified neem fractions, rather than pure compounds, is that pests will be less likely to develop resistance. Neem compounds act together on several different behavioral and physiological processes which also helps prevent insects from evolving resistance to the compound. Their effects include repellence, feeding deterrence, reduced ingestion and digestion of food, poor growth and development, reduced longevity and fecundity, mating disruption, oviposition deterrence, inhibition of egg hatchability, molting failures and direct toxicity. Reports suggest that by paralyzing the muscles in the insects' mandibles neem induces starvation. At lower than lethal dozes, azadirachtin also mimics juvenile hormone, preventing insects from maturing. Neem-based insecticides can be further fortified against dynamic pests by optimizing their use with microbials or other botanicals. Neem fruits, seeds, oil, leaves, bark and roots can be used as general antiseptics, antimicrobials for the treatment of urinary disorders, diarrhea, fever, bronchitis, skin diseases, septic sores, infected burns, hypertension and inflammatory diseases. Neem oil and its isolates - nimbidin, nimbidol and nimbin - inhibit fungal growth on humans and animals. Neem leaf extracts and teas are used to treat malaria; ioquin tablets and injections containing neem extract are currently being formulated for treating chronic malaria. Exposing kissing bugs (Rhodnius prolixus), the major vector of Chagas disease in Latin America, to neem extracts or to azadirachtin "immunizes" them against their internal protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. We are trying it on termites. Cattle leaf supplements containing neem leaf powder are used as worm killers. Creams containing neem oil are used for animal wound dressing and also act as fly and mosquito repellents. Neem oil in human bathing and laundry soap kills lice and neem in dog soaps and shampoos controls ticks and fleas. Neem twigs are used daily by millions in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan as disposable toothbrushes; extracts of neem bark are used in some toothpastes and mouthwashes. Neem plantings also serve as a refuge for honeybees, wasps, spiders, birds, bats and other beneficial organisms, and the litter of falling leaves can improve soil fertility. Neem overall as a relatively safe, natural (botanical) pesticide poison with numerous benefits. Neem nectar does not kill pollinating bees.
Their website says they have a money back guarantee.
I just got the gel today, so I 'll have to wait and see if it makes a difference.
I just brushed it on no problem, but maybe my dogs are just used to me messing with them in a hundred different ways everyday
Pitgrrl, have you noticed any difference yet?
Um yes, but not super dramatic. It certainly is doing as good, if not better, a job than other toothpastes I've used and I certainly would continue to use it if only because the ingredients are far less disgusting that regular dog toothpaste, but I wouldn't say it's a miracle cure or anything.
I'll update after some more time, but I don't consider it a waste of $$ at all.
Does nayone know of somewhere in Canada that I could order this from?
I'm running out and really don't feel like paying more in shipping than the actual product costs.
This is what I found on their website .....
Thanks Rainbow!
Your welcome....anything for your handsome boys.
You could post pics to really show your appreciation.
Get your bf to take a couple of you brushing the boys teeth.
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text:
- Observing System Questions
- What is observing system design, simulation, and demonstration?
- Why are observing systems important?
- What are the benefits for society?
- What observing systems do we currently have in place?
- What are the data gaps?
- What new systems are needed?
- What is NOAA's role?
- Programmatic Information
- Theme Presentations
Observing System Design, Simulation, and Demonstration
Observing systems help us understand and predict the future of our environment.
Part of NOAA's mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment to meet the economic, social and environmental needs of our nation. Observing systems provide information required to make predictions ranging from short-term local weather forecasts to long-term global climate change. Design, simulation, and demonstration are used to optimize new observing systems and improve our predictive ability.
What is Observing System Design, Simulation, and Demonstration?
Data collected by NOAA and its cooperative agencies and programs from space, airborne, cryosphere, land, and ocean systems are processed using models to make predictions (e.g. weather forecasts, ocean circulation changes), to simulate conditions, or to demonstrate their effects (e.g. climate change, energy use practices) for the future, present, or past. Because of the challenges posed with observing the environment, it is often necessary to test, evaluate, and compare different types of instruments to determine which one alone or in combination with others is best suited to meet a particular set of observational requirements.
Why are Observing Systems Important?
In order to forecast the weather using large, fast computers, it is necessary to have global observations of the present environmental state to feed into the programs to produce a forecast of the future environmental state. Observations are also used to improve understanding of the science of how the atmosphere and oceans behave, and to identify changes that are occurring in the environment. The goal is to put the best scientific data and its analysis in front of the decision makers in order to meet the daily agriculture, health, economic, energy, forecasting needs of society.
What are the Benefits for Society?
An improved observing system provides new and innovative ways to observe the environment. The benefits to society are to:
- Improve Weather Forecasting
- Reduce Loss of Life and Property from Disasters
- Protect and Monitor Our Ocean Resource
- Understand, Assess, Predict, Mitigate and Adapt to Climate Variability and Change
- Support Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry and Combat Land Degradation
- Understand the Effect of Environmental Factors on Human Health and Well- Being
- Develop the Capacity to Make Ecological Forecasts
- Protect and Monitor Water Resources
- Monitor and Manage Energy Resources
What Observing Systems do We Currently Have in Place?
The NOAA Observing Systems Architecture web site illustrates the existing observing systems. Some observing systems are designed for daily 'operational' weather forecasting, while others are designed to advance scientific knowledge of the environment. ESRL maintains an arsenal of instrumentation for use in global to regional research field studies devoted to improving our understanding of air quality, meteorology, hydrometeorology, carbon cycle, turbulence, air-sea interaction, climate, and the complex interaction between weather and climate. For example, the Global Monitoring Division has an extensive set of climate stations located worldwide for measuring trace gases, aerosols, and radiation at ground-based, shipboard, and airborne platforms.
The Meteorological Assimilation Data Ingest System (MADIS) developed by the Global Systems Division makes meteorological data from many different sources available to a wide range of users for improving weather and climate services. MADIS has the largest collection of surface meteorological data covering most of the world. Having this much data easily accessible by users makes it easier for researchers to enhance understanding of the atmosphere and how it affects our everyday lives.
What are the Data Gaps?
Observational gaps arise from an insufficient density of instruments, instruments that are not optimized to meet regional demands, and our desire to gain detailed knowledge of how the earth system works. The most notable data gaps occur in the polar regions, the oceans, central Africa, Asia, and South America. This is also a lack of routine vertical profiles of climate parameters (aerosols, trace gases, radiation) over the continental and oceanic regions of the world. The current observing system is not adequate for longer weather forecasts, whether these are monthly or seasonal. Even more importantly, the current observing network is not adequate for the evermore-important problem of analyzing, understanding, and forecasting climate on time scales from years to centuries. For this reason, it is important to pursue research projects aimed at improving our requisite knowledge.
What New Systems are Needed ?
While these satellites have a stellar record in transforming the meteorological view of our planet, they still fall short in resolving the vertical structure of the atmosphere, which is important for weather forecasting and crucial for climate. In order to complement the global, large-scale picture and information from satellites, it is essential to put in place a network of high-resolution local observations of winds, temperature, water vapour, clouds, aerosols and gases.
ESRL scientists and NWS colleagues concluded that in the near future we will need:
- Detection, monitoring, and prediction of mesoscale phenomena over the continental U.S. and coastal zones
- Better observations of the boundary layer and the lower troposphere
- Moisture observations at sub-kilometer vertical resolution, especially within a few kilometers of the ground
- Frequent wind profiles
- Appropriately dense and frequent observations when and where a particular threat arises
ESRL, along with its partners, is working toward developing solutions for these challenges.
What is NOAA's role?
NOAA is the nation's climate, and weather and water agency. Future changes in the environment could affect the other main goals of NOAA: Ecosystem Management, and Commerce and Transportation. NOAA had, has and will have a central role in developing and maintaining observing systems, both nationally, in the form of rawindsondes and weather radar, and globally, by being the major contributor of meteorological satellites, both polar orbiters and geostationary. New developments in observing systems could make people and economies healthier, safer, and better equipped to manage the daily needs and potential crisis. The aim is to make 21st century technology as interrelated as the planet it observes, predicts, and protects, providing the science on which sound policy and decision-making must be built.
Theme Presentations
- Overview (pdf)
- Observation System Simulation Experiments (OSSE) (pdf)
- NOAA and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) (5M pdf)
- Hydrometeorological Testbed (HMT) - The Empirical Approach to Observing System Design and Demonstration (4M pdf)


text: The missing wife of former Bolingbrook, Ill., police sergeant Drew Peterson, Stacy Peterson disappeared in October 2007. No one has been charged in the case, which generated huge media attention, with the focus on Mr. Peterson. Stacy was his fourth wife and he is now in jail on murder charges in the 2004 death of his previous wife, Kathleen Savio. Mr. Peterson has pleaded not guilty. He has not been charged in connection with Stacy's disappearance, but has denied any responsibility there, too.


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text: System security is an important factor. I was reading a blog about this. Nowadays Lot of digital resources are being stolen through botnets, DDoS attacks, etc. So we have to follow a good digital hygiene to keep our digital resources safe. Now let me ask you one question about Malwarebytes. In some situations, Malwarebytes is unable to detect some malware affected files. How can I submit these files to Malwarebytes that are not being detected?


text: First Drive: new Porsche 911 Turbo S What is it?The quickest-accelerating 911 ever, and one of the very fastest cars in the world. The new Turbo S, with its bi-turbo 3.8-litre flat six, sends 553bhp and a ludicrous 700 torques to four very large tyres, The 0-100kph sprint is officially quoted at 3.1 seconds, with top speed standing at 318kph.So it's pretty... quick then?Quick? Not at all. The Turbo S actually feels pedestrian. Lazy. Slow, even.Really?No. That was a lie. This thing is off the scale\: blindingly quick in the most literal sense. Seriously, human eyes cannot cope with the force of the Turbo S's acceleration\: vision blurs, the scenery closes in and small, scared noises emerge involuntarily from the driver. This is acceleration in its rawest sense. Pure, vicious thrust.Yeah, but can the car handle the power?But of course. Porsche, being Porsche, has entirely re-engineered the 911 for Turbo duty. There's a wider rear track, and, like the new 911 GT3, active rear-wheel steer. Clever aero too\: as well as that active rear wing, the Turbo S boasts the world's first variable front spoiler, a four-inch-deep rubber skirt (stop it) that extends from the bottom lip of the front bumper in three sections. At low speeds it remains retracted, its side sections only unfurling as you pass 120kph, or you can have it fully deployed for maximum track attack.All of which means...?Absurd grip and simply ludicrous speed. Everywhere, all of the time. Autobahn, B-road, gravel, rain, whatever\: the Turbo S is the sort of car you step from after a drive - even a short one - thankful to still possess your licence. It's the sort of car I'd be scared to own for fear it might irreversibly rewire my concept of what's physically and socially acceptable on the road. On a circuit, a Huayra or BAC Mono might just edge the Turbo S. On a greasy B-road, I'm not sure there's much in the world that could keep pace with it.Yeah, but does it have a proper manual gearbox for proper manual drivers?No, and it doesn't need one. Porsche's dual-clutch 'PDK' seven-speeder is brilliant here, and a perfect fit for the Turbo S's 'keep it pointing in the right direction and we'll sort out the rest' philosophy. And such is the flat-six's flexibility that on any A or B-road you never need change out of third, a wrecking-ball of a gear that carries you from walking pace into triple figures incurring only minor blindness along the way.So what's the downside?The Turbo doesn't offer much in the way of fingertip feedback, but that's not what it's about\: the rear-drive 911 GT3 is there for those who want to explore slip angles and Nomex outerwear. And then there's the price, which sounds rather a lot for a hopped-up VW Beetle, until you consider the supercars the Turbo S rivals, not least the Ferrari 458 and McLaren 12C that Porsche benchmarked for performance.So should I mention the Nissan GT-R?True, Japan's twin-turbo, four-wheel drive icon is probably the Turbo S's closest rival, and offers similar power for half the money. But the 911 is a finer, more rounded proposition\: arguably the ultimate everyday supercar. It's far, far too fast and far, far too competent. It might eventually destroy you. It'll almost definitely turn you blind. But we love it. Sam Philip 26 August 2013 First Drive: new Porsche 911 Turbo S


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Commercial Locksmith Shop in Bayou Saint John, LA - Bayou Saint John LA Locksmith Store
Bayou Saint John LA Locksmith Store has worked really hard to get where it is today. After ten years of backbreaking work, we have now come to a point where our customers span across residential, automotive and commercial sectors. We provide wide variety of business locksmith services to our clients in Bayou Saint John that includes lock replacement, high security lock installation, advanced locking systems, office lockout assistance and lots more.
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In a decade of our service, Bayou Saint John LA Locksmith Store has become one of the most sought after commercial locksmith service provider in all of Bayou Saint John, LA. What makes our services unique is our eye for detail and our ability to analyze the situation promptly. We also have a fully equipped mobile locksmith unit that reaches anywhere in Bayou Saint John within minutes and provides actionable solutions on-the-spot.
However, what makes us better is our strong team of professional locksmiths who takes their work very seriously and do everything they professionally can to meet all locksmith demands of our commercial clients.
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Lock Replacement/Repair/Installation
Our locks need to be changed from time to time. However, we often overlook that corroded lock until someone breaks it open with malign intentions. Why leave your office space exposed to the risk of vandalism? We, at Bayou Saint John LA Locksmith Store, urge you to call our professional locksmiths who can reconnoiter the area for any weak locks and then replace them, then and there.
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Unlike homes, offices need to be protected inside, just as much on the outside. This is why Bayou Saint John LA Locksmith Store has gained additional proficiency in advanced locks too. We can install these sophisticated locks across your office complex, introduce master key systems to prohibit unauthorized access, reprogram digital locks or even install keyless entries. Our professional locksmiths have profound knowledge of all kinds of locks. So, if you need added layer of security inside your office, Bayou Saint John LA Locksmith Store will be able to handle that for you.
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Jeffery A. Haskins was kept alive by some pretty toxic early HIV med regimens; now he's willing to try any of the several one-pill-a-day regimens available to help keep his viral load undetectable. As a long-term survivor, however, he's interested not only in his own health, but the ways people living with HIV can come together and demand greater health for their community.
Whether it's competition for vital prevention dollars or lifting the federal ban on syringe exchange, he knows the challenges that are real in public health today. In this interview, Jeffery touches upon all of these topics, as well as how his spiritual health has helped see him through it all. And, once his work in HIV is done, expect to see a film about his experiences and the struggles of those like him.
Watch or read part one of this conversation, in which Jeffery talks about the history of black gay HIV activism.
This interview was conducted in October 2012.
How has your health been?
I'm challenged by the medicine. I can't take Atripla [efavirenz/tenofovir/FTC]. You know, some people of color have a reaction to Sustiva [efavirenz, Stocrin]. When I was on that Sustiva, I didn't know if I was awake, asleep; I didn't know what day it was. It was like, am I supposed to lie down? I lie down. Am I asleep? Am I up? I don't know. It was crazy.
I said, "Take me off that." My doctor said, "No. It takes three -" I said, "No, no, no. I can't go another three days with this reaction. Take me off."
And when we did the genotype test, we saw that I should not have been on it -- because I would have a natural reaction from the genotype. Like, why didn't you do that before you prescribed it? Duh. But anyway, the points and arrows of this thing.
Some new one-a-day pills are being reviewed by the FDA [U.S. Food and Drug Administration]. And we need to have those. We need to act up and get them speeded up. Because Complera [rilpivirine/tenofovir/FTC], yes, it is the new one-a-day. But they say you're not supposed to take Complera unless you're newly diagnosed. So, because you've been taking all this other medicine, we know y'all haven't been taking it right; y'all ain't been even 90 percent adherent -- that you're gonna have these different reactions and Complera might not work for you.
I mean, that's the science thought. But I say, try it and see. They tried AZT [Retrovir, zidovudine] on us. And it kept me alive. I'm still here. So give me the Complera, and let's see how I react. It just might be the miracle.
But my doctor's like, "No, just hold on. Keep taking your medicine. The new pill will be out next month." What was that, September? I haven't heard if it's out yet. It's October, right?
The new one-a-day pill Stribild [elvitegravir/cobicistat/FTC/tenofovir] is available, but there are protests over it being so expensive.
Is that from Gilead?
It's also from Gilead, yeah.
Write them down for me, because I need to stay on top of that. And the reason I say that is because, in our advocacy, the same president that's over the head of the FDA was over the head of the New York Department of Health. I'm not going to mention the name. But we had to advocate to get our money from her, which would have kept our organizations open. I had to go in the paper -- I may be the black sheep, but my agency was the first to get the grant, the cap. It's over.
So she's over this now. You know, she's a bureaucrat. And so, she wants every "I" dotted and every "T" crossed. But, girl, take a risk, because people's lives are on the line -- just like there, with that money; you didn't release it when you were supposed to. You know, it was federal; it was CDC money. We had to get them on it.
It's always been this thing with HIV funding in New York and, I must say, some kind of pitting us together, gay men and heterosexual women, that we get the funding, or they do. There's a cycle: When MSMs [men who have sex with men] are the new flavor of the month, we're going to give it all to them. And we don't give it to women. And when the women become the flavor of the month, we stop giving to MSMs. And the MSMs are like, "What happened? How did we not still continue to get money?"
So we have to have those discussions about how we have to work together in partnership so that the money is distributed evenly and equally.
I mean, what are the IV users going to do now that there's a two-year ban on the needle exchange program? Because the needle exchange is the only prevention that is a hundred percent effective for IV drug users. We proved that. And now Congress wants them to be indispensable -- when that worked. You want your bang for the buck? Give the money to them! Give it to needle exchange. You want your bang for the buck, give the money to research. You want your bang for the buck, give the money to prevention education. You want your bang for the buck, give it to treatment, testing and referrals. Come on! It is not rocket science.
So, here we go. We got to fight. We got to fight until we end the HIV epidemic.
Do you think you'll ever stop doing this work?
Yes, I will retire from it. Oh, I'm retiring in nine years. I'm retiring from the pastorate, and I'm retiring from HIV/AIDS. And I'm going back to my arts. I'm going to do films. Because nobody's telling our stories. I'm going to relocate from the East Coast and move to Los Angeles. Get in the film industry. I already did theater in the summer. I already sang in the choirs. I did music. Ain't nothing left to do but film, television and radio. Get the message out around using the arts as social change.
I will be able to retire. Social Security will send that little check every month, and I have my pension. And it won't matter what I do, or what I get paid. It just matters that I have 24 hours every day -- well, 16 hours, because I've got to sleep for eight, or six -- you know, however many -- or four ... so maybe 20 hours a day to get my projects done. You know what I mean? And, just to live.
In my time, I think my work speaks for me. I think I can live my final days knowing that I did good work. And that's important to me. I can be an example for the next generation behind me, and the generations behind me. Because there will be several generations behind me. Because I've been taking care of myself. I'm doing my health. I'm doing my walking.
I'm asking the Lord for 100-plus. I want to be a centenarian. I want to be one -- a centenarian living with HIV, that is gay, that made it past, and will be, 100-plus. And the Maker can take me any day [after that]. He can take me one day after I reach 100, if He would give me that much time. But that's my prayer. I put my prayer request in. I put my prayer request in that my parents live to be 100. And they're 83 and 84. So I'm still counting. I'm still knocking just right. I'm still keeping everything crossed.


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