Combining Professional and Citizen News Photography

Steve Outing on the media's coverage of Hurricane Katrina, on how they have integrated citizen photo contributions with those of their staff journalists - they haven't really, they keep them separate.

"As I've been looking around the Web today for photos of Hurricane Katrina's damage to New Orleans and surrounding areas, I've had to specifically seek out "citizen" photos and those from professional photojournalists. At most news sites, still, the two groups of images are separated.

... Here's a suggestion, from the perspective of the Web reader/viewer: I'd like to see a single gallery of the best images from the storm, whether they be from staff photojournalists, wire-service photojournalists, or citizen photographers. In a story like this, there will be citizen photos that are more powerful than what the pros come up with. So why not mix them up to produce a hurricane-image gallery made up of the best photographs, period?"

Try Samsung Handsets through Online Simulation

According to Telecom's Korea, Samsung Electronics has opened an online 3D Showroom under the company's Anycall Land website to show off its cell phones' designs and features through simulation, the company announced on Wednesday".

"The 3D showroom provides vivid graphic images that only motor companies offered so far so that visitors can feel as if they are watching real handsets, the company emphasized".

It doesn't work for me though, either with Firefox or IE... Maybe it's not online yet.

China: Free porn to boost sales of multimedia phones

According to interfax China, a number of mobile phone retailers in Bengbu, a city in eastern China's Anhui Province, are offering free pornographic video clips in order to boost sales of multimedia mobile handsets.

"Local police said such marketing methods were a new phenomenon and that it was difficult to discover and collect adequate evidence for prosecuting such cases".

[via MobHappy]

Cats In Sinks

Remember Dogs in Cars? Well here's Cats in Sinks. [via J-Walk Blog]

denCity

denCity meshes physical locations in a virtual network of nodes.

The project takes its que from the expanding use of cellphone cameras as barcode readers as users not only read existing barcodes, but place custom encoded barcodes into physical locations. These tagged locations are then store in a database allowing users to play with the territorialisation and re-appropriation of public spaces.

[via Future Feeder]

New IDC survey refutes camera phone myth

A new study from IDC refutes the myth that camera phones will replace digital cameras. This myth is suspect at best, especially since resolutions in camera phones have remained somewhat constant and digital camera pricing has continued to decline.

According to IDC's Mobile Imaging Survey, the camera phone is more of a gateway product in the U.S., and creates, rather than destroys digital camera users.

[via EMSnow]

Mobile TV awards at Cannes

MIPCOM has announced that its 2005 show will include the first Mobile TV Awards, including a showcase of the nominees on October 19 in Cannes, and an award presentation on October 20, both sponsored by Orange, as part of the MIPCOM's Mobile TV Day.

The winning projects will also be promoted on the carrier's Orange World portal. Categories include: Best Made-for-Mobile TV Format, Best Mobile TV Channel/Program Guide, Best Re-purposed Video, Film and Animation Content For Mobile, a Grand Prize for Best Innovation in Mobile TV Content, and a Best of Show Award, voted on during the screenings by SMS text message.

[via shey.net]

Malaysia clamps down on cellphone pornography

According to IOL, Malaysia has authorised police officers to carry out random checks and detain people with pornographic images found on their cellphones, a news report said on Monday.

Cellphone shop operators who provide downloading services for porn could also be charged for its possession, which is illegal in this Southeast Asian country, the New Straits Times newspaper reported.

The offence carries a maximum punishment of five years in prison.

Deputy Internal Security Minister Noh Omar said the decision was in response to an earlier news report in the Malay-language tabloid Harian Metro that teenagers were recording images of mass sex parties and distributing them using their video-enabled cellphones.

The report did not provide further details. Noh's office was not reachable for comment."

Vodafone Netherlands offers Big Brother on mobile phones

According to DMeurope, Vodafone Netherlands' customers will be able to watch what's going on in the Big Brother residence, on their Vodafone live UMTS handset, three days before the first episode can be watched on TV coming Sunday.

It is the first time that mobile customers are able to watch the reality TV show Big Brother via a mobile phone.

And in what could potentially be another first, if the TV show has it's way, a contestant will give birth on the show, according to the BBC.

"A social affairs and labour ministry spokeswoman said inspectors were examining a request for the newborn baby to appear on the show. The pregnant contestant is due to give birth in six weeks.

The show, which has become increasingly controversial, first ran in the Netherlands in 1999 and has since been broadcast by countries around the globe.

Talpa is also behind a new reality TV show which sees a woman search for a sperm donor and is in the running to be made into a full series."

Flickr Fans to Yahoo: Flick Off!

Bugged by changes imposed after the portal's purchase of the hip photo site, some irate Flickr members plan a mass ID suicide to show their disapproval, reports Wired.

"Angered by a new requirement to tie their member profiles with Yahoo accounts, some Flickrites say they plan to kill off their identities before they can be moved into the new family next year.

If Flickr really forces me to join Yahoo in 2006 in order to still use my account, I will quit 24 hours before the deadline," wrote Thomas Müller, a Hamburg, Germany-based artist who shows more than 1,400 photos at the site. On Wednesday, Müller created a protest group, Flick off, that has attracted almost 400 members."

Camera Phone Has Life After Theft

A New York stock clerk who had his camera phone swiped from his car this month says he was able to peer into the life of the gadget's new owner, reports Wired. The thief evidently didn't realize the photos and videos he was taking with the hot phone were accessible through a web account.

Most of the images show the same young man, flexing for the camera in various states of dress, kissing a young woman, posing with apparent friends and family members, and generally having a good time with a new toy.

When Clennan checked the account's e-mail outbox, he found the new owner had forwarded some of the photos to a particular Yahoo e-mail account.

... Contacted by e-mail, the camera phone's new owner told Wired News he didn't steal the device, but merely found it on a street corner. The young man says he's 16 years old, and Wired News has elected not to report his name." [via The Raw Feed]

India rebels 'making porn films' with captured tribal women

This is not specifically related to cell phones, though it's likely that these films will be appearing on the Internet and on videophones, if they haven't already. But it's just so, well upsetting.

Rebels in India's north-eastern state of Tripura are making pornographic films to raise money for their separatist campaign, officials say, reports the BBC.

The information has come from surrendered guerrillas of the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), according to police.

They say the rebels are forcing captured tribal women, and some men, to take part in the films. The DVDs are then dubbed to be sold in India and neighbouring countries.

The former guerrillas of the NLFT have told police their leaders not only sexually abused scores of tribal girls recruited into the rebel army but also used them - and some male guerrillas - to produce scores of porn films, officials say.

... But while forcing tribal women to have sex with them at gunpoint or carrying them away to the rebel camps is not new, using them to produce pornography certainly is."

BBC puts shows on net and mobiles

Interesting insight from Owen Gibson of The Guardian on the BBC'splans to broadcast programmes and entire channels on the internet and on mobile phones, using popular shows such as Dr Who, in a series of pilots designed to assess public demand.

"Ahead of the Media Guardian Edinburgh Television Festival, which begins today, the BBC's director of television, Jana Bennett, said she was asking programme makers, commissioners and schedulers to get to grips more rapidly with the evolution in technology. She said consumers were ahead of broadcasters in their take-up of new technology.

"The wake-up call was also the much anticipated Doctor Who arriving on people's screens over the internet via a leaked DVD from Canada.

... One of the key themes of the festival is expected to be the ways in which new technology, from the acceleration in broadband use to 3G mobile phones to digital switchover, will alter viewing habits and programme making.

Annotating things with the Nokia 3220

This is interesting, a first hand account of an attempt to apply, then read an RFID tag with a cell phone.

On her blog, Ullal-Maaria tries to label her things with stickers that link to the web thanks to a cell phone lent to her by Nokia (3220), that that can read and write RFID tags.

"First I tagged a yellow beanie, which I crocheted from wool that I've dyed with heather, meadowsweet, and lupin. I wanted to label the beanie with a link to my blog...

Read on... some bugs still need ironing out.

PetLive!TV on your (Japanese) cell phone

To help out frustrated pet lovers in Tokyo, where most rental appartments don't allow them in the building, many AM/PM stores hasve set up kiosks with access to the Pet Live! TV's webcam site" where anyone can watch (via a webcam) cute little animals (ferrets, meerkats, chameleons, and hamsters) cavorting about.

An even better, for those who own a AU (KDDI) mobile phone, they can can (for a small fee) view PetLive from their cell phone.

[via Metroblogging Tokyo]

Mobile Phone Sousveillance In Action Again

The idea of mobile sousveillance/coveillance/equiveillance has got legs, reports Mobhappy, referring to a Flickr Post by a woman that says she snapped a picture of a man that exposed himself in front of her on the New York City subway.

She later took the photo to police, hoping it would help them catch the guy, but apparently he's still at large. His face (and moving hands) are all over the Web now, though.

This picture appeared in boingboing, but interestingly, it was also linked in a comment section of French citizen blog I contribute to, Agoravox, related to an article on citizen informants, asking what guarantees are there that such a picture is authentic.

Relevant stories :

-- "dog-sh..-girl" a test of the Internet's Power to Shame

-- Netizen Debate Ensues Over 'Dog Poop Girl'

Elders seek ban on use of camera mobiles in public

Citing that cameraphones were increasingly being used to prey into private lives of people, a private member bill was introduced in Rajya Sabha (India) on Thursday, demanding a ban on use of such phones in public places, according to deepikaglobal.com.

Vanga Geetha (TDP) introduced the bill seeking a ban on use of camera phones in public places. She also wanted the legislation to regulate the use of such phones by children.

Mobile Guardian disables phone features for company security

Jason Langrdige in his Weblog writes about how many in Government, Intellectual Property intensive and other organisations see features such as Bluetooth, Cameras, Infra Red in smart phones as huge security risks.

The problem is that almost every device now has them by default as the large majority of people do want the features. A company called Credant has a solution called Mobile Guardian that enables organizations to control cameras, disable bluetooth and infra-red as well as provide encryption and policy management.

Offices snap off camera phones

The Times of India reports on company polices throughout India with regard to camera phones in the workplace.

"Many companies are taking a dim view of camera phones. They see them as a security threat. While some have begun to monitor the entry of these phones into their campuses, others have banned employees from carrying these gadgets within the office.

Honeywell Technology Solutions Lab (HTSL) recently made it mandatory for employees to shift to basic cellphone, not just in India, but in their companies all over the world.

... In the case of Mphasis and Infosys, monitoring the entry of such phones is a common practice. As these phones amount to carrying a camera inside the campus, an entry is made in a register at the entrance to the campus.

As these phones amount to carrying a camera inside the campus, an entry is made in a register at the entrance to the campus."

And another technique described in a previous post, employees and visitors of the Suwon and Kiheung Research Institutes (South Korea) have to put sealing stickers on their camera phones at the entrance".

Related articles:

-- Mobile Guardian disables phone features for company security

-- Cell phones screened at Apple shareholder meeting

-- Camera phones banned at car plant

-- "Camera-less" cell phone for office workers

-- Sprint puts lens cap on camera phones

-- Camera phone clampdown demanded

-- Camera Phones Making Corporations Photo-Sensitive

-- Red Alert in Companies... "Technology Thieves"

-- Korean gov't wants to make cameraphones noisy

-- Louder Camera Phones?

-- Camera Phone to Require Shutter Sound From Next Year

-- The industry warned against cell phones with cameras

-- Samsung bans camera phones in workplace

Misrepresentation of cameraphone science in CSI Miami

A contributor to CSI forum Talk CSI, complains about an episode of CSI Miami, entitled Under the Influence, where an enhanced image related to a camphone shot was depicted incorrectly. He writes:

"In the latest episode of CSI Miami to air here in the UK, "Under the influence", we have a mobile phone camera taking a picture of a couple, from which they are able to get a decent picture of the suspect from the reflection in someone's eye.

Now my knowledge of mobile phones with cameras may not be that great, but as far as I am aware, they do not have the resolution to take such an image. The information would not be there, just large squares as the image is pixilated."

Hey, it's still the movies or it could have been accurate if they were usaing a Korean 7 meagapixel cameraphone! But what's so interesting, and what has come up before in this column - via Engadget's watchful eye, is how with it, CSI writers are. They have previously worked in episodes, such current fads as "toothing" and flashmobs.

"Pocket Shorts Scotland" at the Edinburgh International Film Fest

Scottish filmmakers are for the first time to be offered funding to make mini-productions just for the mobile phone, according to the New Scotsman.

"The scheme, being announced tonight at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, will provide grants of up to £3,000 each for eight short films of 60 seconds or less in length.

Scottish Screen, Scottish Enterprise and the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts are supporting the initiative, called Pocket Shorts Scotland.

... Tonight's Edinburgh launch will show eight short mobile phone films commissioned in England last November. The final Pocket Shorts Scotland films will be available to download from the internet or sent between mobile phones via video messaging or Bluetooth technology".

Smugmug Combines Photography and Geography: Creates smugMaps

Photo sharing site Smugmug, today announced the launch of smugMaps -- a feature that allows users to combine photos and maps with a click. [via Spatial News].

"If you've been there and done that, smugMaps let you prove it," said Don McAskill, co-founder and Chief Geek, Smugmug Inc. "Bragging rights aside, it's a great way to store your photos by location or let your friends and family experience your travels as though they were actually there."

Microsoft offers RFID system for postal services

Microsoft is marketing an RFID package for postal services at a stamp exhibition in Taiwan, hoping to woo the government's post office and potentially forge a new line of business for the software maker, according to Computerworld.

"The technology Microsoft has on offer here allows a postal service, the package sender and the receiver to view exactly where the package is at all times. It also notifies a receiver when the package will arrive and alerts senders via MSN Messenger or SMS after it has been signed for at its destination.

The RFID tag is about the size of a playing card, with a sticker on one side to hold it to a package. It contains information about the package's contents, the sender and the destination. Aside from tracking, it also helps smooth out the mailing process by telling other electronic devices, like mail sorting machines, where the package needs to go, Shyy said."

TV's Red Dwarf beams onto mobiles

Full episodes of cult TV sci-fi show Red Dwarf are being made available for fans to buy and watch on their mobile phones, according to the BBC.

"The shows will be available on video chips designed for mobile phones.

This is the first time BBC Worldwide has licensed programmes for use on mobile phones, in a deal with technology firm ROK Player.

RFID to track army supplies in Iraq

The Australian Defence Force wants to improve the monitoring and control of its critical distribution network, which provides items like rations and weapons to armed forces, reports ZDNet Asia.

"In order to improve visibility of supplies in the network, pallets and containers in Iraq will be RFID-tagged starting in February.

Defence is also testing 8MB "contact memory buttons" with the tags. These can store larger amounts of information, such as details on how to repair a particular item. Each tag, supplied by U.S.-based Savi Technology, is battery-powered and can transmit data to readers up to 100 meters away."

Mobile Journeys

Mobile Journeys, a national arts initiative dedicated to exploring the creative potential of mobile devices and to fostering the development of Australian mobile culture, has launched an interactive artwork and is calling on the public to participate by sending in an image via MMS.

"Imagine a giant mosaic made from 10,000 'tiles', each one a photo taken and sent ‘into' the artwork using a camera-phone by someone hoping to make a difference."

It's an installation artwork that asks you to think about Despair and Hope. It invites you to interact with it and your input affects how the artwork evolves. Plus, by interacting you're also raising money for Amnesty International Australia.”

[via MocoNews]

Commercials by cell phone

Two U.K. advertisers are transmitting video ads to phone screens. The Wasll Street Journal reports (free access).

"Passengers waiting to board a Virgin Atlantic Airways flight at London Heathrow airport may get an unexpected invitation on their cellphone these days.

Under a new advertising program, transmitters are beaming out text messages to the phones of people walking by to ask them if they would like to watch a video-clip ad on their phone's screen. The commercial, aimed at passengers in Virgin's first-class lounge, touts a new SUV, the Range Rover Sport.

Two London companies are behind the new ad approach -- Maiden Group, which has handled billboard advertising for 80 years in the United Kingdom, and Filter UK Ltd., a small firm specializing in the transmitter technology.

Maiden is installing transmitters on its billboards at 30 U.K. train stations to send video clips related to the billboards' ads over the next 18 months, and says it plans to extend the service to large shopping malls. Filter is working at Heathrow.

The British effort takes the nascent field of cellphone advertising to a new level. Most cellphone ads to date consist of simple text messages, and most go out to a targeted audience of people who have signed up and willingly given over their phone number to marketers. Some U.S. television networks, for example, send text messages to alert fans about new shows.

Here's how it works: When the ad transmitter detects someone has a cellphone with the Bluetooth function turned on within a range of typically 100 yards, it sends out a message offering the promotional clip. The transmitters are about the size of a small car wheel and are installed inside the billboards.

During a recent two-week test, of 87,000 phones discovered by the transmitters at the railway stations, 13,000 people agreed to download clips. That 15% response rate is high by advertising-industry standards."

Citizens' Video Captures Explosion Scene

A woman remains in critically injured after an electrical transformer explosion in downtown San Francisco Friday morning, reports KRON 4 News.

"Citizens with digital cameras and camera phones took many images of the blast and the immediate aftermath. KRON 4 News obtained images from a deliveryman using a disposable camcorder that showed the awning of the Ralph Lauren store on fire."

Defining Citizens' Journalism and Participatory Journalism

Cyberjournalist.net attempts to define and draw a distinction between participatory journalism and citizens' journalism:

"First, there's the move of established newspapers and news sites to solicit and publish material, such as photos or personal accounts, from their readers -- that we'd like to call "participatory journalism." Then there's the creation of blogs and unedited news sites that allow users to write and post their own content. That one we'll call "citizen journalism."

Leaked photo, key to Jean Charles de Menezes death

Leaked documents from the independent investigation into the shooting of a man whom police mistook for one of the London Tube bombers, suggest key differences between the original police and witness version of events and subsequent reports.

Pete Clifton, editor of the BBC News website, answers criticism of a disturbing image published on the site and explains how on this occasion, the image was key to the story. (The source of the leak is not explained - so it's not clear this was a camphone shot by a citizen reporter, a policeman, or anyone else. Further details may emerge as the investigation goes on.)

"A difficult decision this week over the image of the Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes lying dead on the Tube after being mistaken for a suicide bomber by police on 22 July.

Papers leaked to ITV News suggested some of the original information about Mr Menezes, how he behaved and what he was wearing, was incorrect. The picture of his body was also leaked.

We used the picture on the site and a number of you were angered by this decision.

I believe we were right to use the image. We are a grown-up site and we must beware sanitising the news. That said, we don't publish images of bodies lightly, and we are always mindful of how graphic the picture is.

On this occasion, the image was key to the story. It clearly showed Mr Menezes was not wearing the bulky jacket that initial reports said had raised police suspicions. For that reason I felt it was right to publish the picture, a decision mirrored by many other media outlets apart from ITV and the Sun".