Recently in rtomedia Category

Just a few changes to help make my site look a little more spiffy. I've added a module to the right showing my latest blog posts. It seemed kinda silly to post elsewhere and leave this blog hanging. It's not like I haven't been writing, just not on this blog. Hopefully that'll change soon, but there's a lot of other things I've got to work on. Stay classy.

Hey all - I wanted to share two of the best things to happen today. First off, someone installed those paper towel dispensers that auto-magically whirl paper out when you wave your hand in front of them. Truly, we live in a wondrous age.

Perhaps more importantly, I'm proud to announce that I helped relaunch my newspaper's Web site today at ChicoER.com. The redesign has been a long time coming, and I'm glad to turn our site on its head (esp. with the help of my co-workers). Oh, I also devised a slightly corny slogan to go with it. "The new ChicoER.com - the power of more." One huge reason why I'm not in public relations, although I'm all right with it.
ChicoER.com - It's for real. It's a modest effort compared to the most progressive of the "Web 2.0" sites. I mean, where are the delightful search "clouds," jerky 30-second video clips and user-defined 'news' sections? Still, it's a pretty big step forward for a 30,000-circ. newspaper used to putting out stories just once a day.

I'm happy with this blend of old-fashioned journalism with the best the Web can offer, including multimedia, mashups and some user-contributed material. I hope those interested enjoy it as well. Please let me know what you think. -- Ryan

 - Learn about the redesign -- Including the "power of more." (Just one of the three or four things I've had to write about the redesign).
- Watch Editor David Little discuss the new site.

I might have gone a little overboard on the blogs lately. I've got:

• my.rtomedia.com
• rtomedia.com/pro
• MySpace
• rtomedia.com/unity (or something)
• TVGuide.com
• norcalblogs.com
• TextAmerica

Unfortunately, many of them are languishing from a lack of attention (that and TextAmerica has broken my heart). That's something I probably should've known going in.

While there are some really cool ways to display a news feed that displays everything I write (from FeedBurner), it's probably just easier in the long run to simplify -- especially when I want to try new features like chicopedia.com. That's why I'm thinking about merging my personal and "pro" RTOmedia.com sites together.

When I started the site in 2004, I was worried about keeping my personal "life" separate from my professional. To some extent, that's still true, but I've realized that I should always act in a respectful and professional fashion. It's 2007.

Many journalists with Web sites combine their personal and professional pursuits. Employers look to a job candidate's MySpace profile for information. Heck, newspapers have MySpace pages, for cryin' out loud. Regardless if it's under my own domain or under MySpace, people will probably be able to find me and I should be prepared for that.

A merger has additional benefits. My professional work could still be profiled (and marked differently from non-pro stuff), but I can update it more quickly. Who would've known that my photo pages would have languished while I've expanded dramatically into the realm of video and audio?

I don't know when the merger will take place. I've got a pretty wide open week after the craziness of preparing coverage of fairs, fires and summer pools. However, I may want to work on Chicopedia or create that uberfeed I've been meaning to. Nonetheless, the times are a-changin'.

Testing new stuff. I'm looking at different ways to combine multiple RSS feeds into one. Hopefully, there's a simple and snazzy way to do it.

FeedBlendr is pretty easy to work with, but the feed I created was too big to work with on some other services I'm currently using (like FeedBurner. Yahoo! has a beta of a new service called Pipes, but it looks like it uses AJAX. Oh well, I'll figure it out in the morning, I'm sure.

And look at the Enterprise-Record's newish public safety section, featuring a map of where property crimes happen in Chico and the most wanted.

Starting tomorrow, I'm going to begin my likely futile effort to write a novel before the end of November. It's all part of National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo for those in the know.

There's 26 days left in the month to write 50,000 words. I really don't know how I'm going to be pull it together, but I've got a title all ready to go.

It's going to be called "Mr. Mediocre" and chances are its protagonist will likely be a fictional version of me. As I develop the story, I'll determine what wacky situations my character will get into.

All I can say now is, "Prepare to be whelmed by Mr. Mediocre!" ;-)

As I go about looking at different aspects of my life, I've thought about considering a different perspective. I don't really know what the significance of it all means, but I made a map showing a considerable number of places I've been to over my life.

I had some time on my hands and I was curious. Here it is.. Many of the locations indicated on the map aren't specific, but some have a unique twist to them.

Every Monday, National Public Radio airs the latest in the ongoing series This I Believe where a member of the public reads an essay about the ideals and beliefs that guide their lives. Some of the essay readers detail poignant examples of faith and personal expression.

I'm not always by my radio to listen to the essays but every time I do, the underlying question always nags me. What do _I_ believe? Not that I will come up with some fantastical essay that will win me the prominence of being on NPR, but what are the core beliefs I stand by?

For a while, I didn't have a good answer. There are some ideals I will definitely stand by, but do they strike the core of my essence? Last week, my discovery about a former classmate's big step forward in life prompted some introspection. None of my thoughts truly define who I am or what I stand for in total, but it cleared some things up although I don't know for how long.

My mind drifted back to simple playground that I visited often when I lived in Georgia. I was too old to really play on the playground, but the wooden structure was frequently vacant and it gave me a quiet space to capture my thoughts.

My thoughts often reflected on the type of person I was and the type of person I wanted to be. It wasn't necessary what career path I would want to travel, but more what I would need to do to consider my efforts a success.

For a while, I settled on some words from Garrison Keillor from his "A Prairie Home Companion" radio program -- "We are who we are, make the best of it." One part of my mind views the words as possibly limiting, but in the tenth grade I viewed it as an opportunity.

It worked for a time. I boosted my grades to the best level in years and focused on core activities. I needed some more emotional development, but things were looking up as I focused on being myself.

Anyway, since then, things drifted slightly as the structured environs of high school gave way to college and then life. Distractions increased while I fell to the lure of the Internet and other pastimes. I haven't gone out of my way to find a new place to focus.

Today as my world spins in a dozen different directions, it would be instrumental for me to find a place for contemplation and reflection. Is this the path on what I want to be one? Perhaps I can determine the things that I truly believe in.

Maybe I've uncovered an element of what I believe in -- at least at work. Over the weekend, I looked upon humanity as a giant gem with as many facets as there are people. Just as some view humanity as a tapestry, this giant gem relies on each facet to be complete.

As a writer, I can view each side individually or collectively in my duty to describe the jewel's elements. Some sides sparkle, casting off twinkles of light and creating awe. Others are shaded and fractured with cracks. The vast majority lie somewhere in between.

As a journalist, I believe it's my duty to discover, describe and detail these facets accurately.

It might be a little hokey, but a spiraling gem of humanity shimmering in the light is an interesting image for me to behold in my mind. The joy of seeking out and discovering new dimensions is something I can definitely get behind.

Back when I was a senior in college, I went to a job fair in Orange County seeking a lead on my first job in the newsroom.

As I was going through the rounds, it becomes obvious there are some things that I just didn't have -- an internship at a daily newspaper, fresh clips, etc.

After some so-so interviews, I come to a table where the editor reads over my resume and some clips. He noticed my Internet experience -- interim online editor at the Guardian, working for SMART Marketing Technologies, etc. He pointed to it and said, "You should really emphasize this" noting that newsrooms will need more and more people with that type of experience.

Since then, I was more focused on other aspects of the newsroom -- reporting, copy editing and pagination. The Internet was still on my plate at The Daily Mining Gazette when I helped produce the Web edition and provided assistance to the other reporters in the newsroom.

That brings me to 2006 and the realization that the editor was correct. Since starting at the Enterprise-Record in Chico, it became pretty apparent that there was a lot of work that could be done to improve the Web site and the paper's online efforts.

After helping with some parts of the Web site, including launching occasional blogs to cover news events, I was promoted in September to the newly created position of online content editor.

With just over a month under my belt, the new position is presenting new opportunities and challenges to the newsroom and myself. Moving ahead, I hope to help further bridge the gap between newsprint and the Internet.

Considering that the commercial Internet over 10 years old, the window to make a strong impression has never seemed more tantalized and urgent. In any given market, newspapers have the deepest staff to go forth and seek the news. Newspapers are often in the best position to be a dominant player in the online market in certain categories, like providing local news to readers.

We've already revamped our photo galleries, launched podcasts and increased the amount of breaking news on the site. This week, we launched the newspaper's most comprehensive election coverage ever -- with candidate video clips and full audio interviews with candidates.

These are exciting times. I hope to help move the Enterprise-Record forward so we can keep the public informed.

Online video

Candidates forum -- Butte County Supervisor:

Candidates forum -- Chico City Council: