The Dirty Dozen

Kevin Z. Smith, deputy director of the Kiplinger Center for Public Affairs Journalism at Ohio State University details the Reporters Dirty Dozen Apps at JournCamp in NYC

 

 

     Ok, I'm going on record right now that I'm not going to use MapAList to create a chart of everyone I send a Christmas card to.

     And, yes, I still send Christmas cards. Not pre-printed even. And, I write notes. In pen. Cursive. Remember cursive?

      But a map? I mean, why?

     Nevertheless, it sounds like a cool app. For work. Not to create a detailed graphic of where my friends live. I know where my friends live. 

     MapAList is one of the Digital Dirty Dozen presented at JournCamp by Kevin Z. Smith, deputy director of the Kiplinger Center for Public Affairs Journalism at Ohio State University. And Smith showed a map of his boss's Christmas card list. Interesting.

     JournCamp features panels and programs for journalists from students to old pros. It is co-sponsored by Kiplinger and the Society of Professional Journalists. The June 13 JournCamp was held in mid-town Manhattan under the auspices of the Deadline Club, the NYC SPJ chapter. 

      New technologies pop up like dandelions and the Digital Dirty Dozen is a list of helpful apps.

And I thought this was high tech. . .

       All of the apps Smith outlined are helpful but not all are useful to everybody and not all of them are simple.

     Data.gov is a clearing house for most of the government's unclassified data. That's 113,000 data sets, or, as Smith quipped, "a black hole." But if you're looking for your grandmother's FBI file.

     Videolicious (I'm a little bit suspicious of apps that sound like they were named by Rachael Ray's dog) is a simple video editing app. Since the only video I've ever shot on my phone is of my friend Rebecca playing Ski-Ball after drinking two Bushwhackers (think a White Russian milkshake), I've not been tempted to use it.

Smith with his trusty laptop handy.

     Voddio is a professional-grade audio and video recorder for use on your phone or tablet. Vericorder even allows you to include background music (which might have been useful when a colleague of mine tried to record a show on Greenwood Lake when the big weed harvester passed right behind him). 

     ProCam8 is a mere $4.99 from iTunes and provides a seamless movement from still to video, allows for screen touch shooting and is shareable immediately. 

    If you need your platforms monitored (and who doesn't), HootSuites is the recommended app.

     Dragon Dictation is a great way to leave yourself a message without typing it. 

   Smith started off JournCamp and his interesting program was just the beginning. I highly recommend taking advantage if one comes your way.