Tag: death

The internet, the news industry, and the art of the obituary

Posted on February 2, 2016 by Ewan Spence

With January taking its toll on the list of famous people that many people love, Dave Lee’s look at the heady mix of celebrity death and�how the internet changes the reporting of notable deaths is very much relevant (even if it was posted late last year): Most conventions in journalism have been dragged kicking and screaming into the modern era. Many an old-timer�s heart has been broken when traffic analysis shows that a three-month long investigation (3,000 words) has been completely overlooked by readers in favour of a numbered list of something far less important.�The trick, of course, is to

Every time Bono clicks his fingers…

Posted on April 24, 2013April 24, 2013 by Ewan Spence

Worldometers is a rolling count of statistics from the Earth. There’s something sobering about watching the ‘Deaths Today’ counter continue to rise…

Never name a comet after Ian McShane

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Ewan Spence

It’s all wonderful that we can watch a comet do a death dive into the sun, and it might be seen by the naked eye as it approached the nuclear furnace… but did they have to call it Lovejoy?

SXSW gets a new babysitter as 2011 event approaches

Posted on February 3, 2011 by Ewan Spence

In six weeks time, South by Southwest 2011 will start, and as usual I’ll be there on the ground, but this year with a slight difference. In previous years the daily podcast from Austin has been co-hosted on the SXSW Baby blog (www.sxswbaby.com), and this arrangement is going ahead in 2011 again – if you’re in Austin with a great story, get in touch to arrange an interview – but after Brad Graham’s sudden death last year, the Baby was left without a sitter. Those of us still there had our logins, but it turns out there were no other

Nokia failed the N-Gage vision, but is it a portent for Ovi?

Posted on November 10, 2009 by Ewan Spence

The announcement from Finland that the N-Gage service will be canned at the end of September 2010, with no more effort placed into the ecosystem by Nokia, gave some tech blogs an open goal for some humour, but also points out a big problem that Nokia have. N-Gage, both in it’s hardware iteration and it’s Software and Services iteration have been great ideas. It’s fair to say that the original mobile gaming vision in 2003 was a good four or five years ahead of the pack, with online gaming, connected community and software downloaded over the internet (although perhaps that

Montalban and McGoohan

Posted on January 15, 2009 by Ewan Spence

“We are gathered here today to pay final respects to our honoured dead. But it should be noted that this death takes place in the shadow of new life, the sunrise of a new world; a world that our beloved comrade gave his life to protect and nourish. He did not feel this sacrifice a vain or empty one, and we will not debate his profound wisdom at these proceedings. Of my friends, I can only say this… “ “You still have a choice. You can still salvage your right to be individuals. Your rights to truth and free thought!”