Tuesday, January 31, 2012

I've been "Hacked:" When Tweets sting

It came as an innocent "direct message" Tweet from my reporter friend in Iowa.

Had his picture on it and everything.

It said something to the effect that they thought "You would want to know about all the bad things people are saying about you," and then offered a link.

I'm not immune to people saying bad things about me, so I figured it was semi-legit.

I tend to get busy during the day and sometimes my fingers move across a keyboard faster than my mind can catch up to good judgment.

I clicked on the link. Nothing. Still, having my brain in neutral, I clicked again, because we all know if that darn computer doesn't work right the first time we hit the key, we just keep hitting it again and again until it succumbs.

Thinking nothing of it, I moved on. Then I checked my Droid smartphone at night and saw like seven direct messages from some of my Twitter followers.

They all knew more than me. They had been sent the same message I got from my Iowa friend, who actually knew nothing about it. Many of them knew it was spam and my Twitter account had been hacked.

Hopefully I did not cause too much headache for my 278 Twitter followers. Some were very understanding except for the one who said "Mr. Spear has clicked on the spam and infected all of us" or something to that effect.

Sorry about that chief.

Of course, some of them had this happen to them and were able to give me the fix. Simply change my Twitter password, which I did.

But the perils of flight in the world of Social Media are likely no less dangerous than perils of flight for birds in the woods, only they are likely to be quicker thinking than me.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Celebrity, Dakota War, St. Peter psychiatrists

"That's a newsy little town you got down there."

That's often the comment I hear when I go to the "Big City" in Minneapolis and St. Paul and they find out I'm a newspaper editor from Mankato.

Well, I must admit, they are right. More so now that in the past 10 years or so.

I recently chronicled the major stories of the 2011 for the Downtown Mankato Kiwanis Club in a slideshow that  always provides an eye-opening experience for people who review one year's worth of news in 15 minutes.

Top news of  2011 included worldwide events such as the first attempted assassination of a member of Congress or the president in 30 years, the first worldwide Tsunami hitting a major industrial power, the crumbling of various Middle Eastern regimes, coupled with another short war and military actions. Oh yeah, and we killed bin Laden.

More locally we had a tragic accident where a public worker lost their life, a local soldier was killed in Iraq, a state government shutdown, numerous political meltdowns, and the bizarre instances of girls stealing a goat and an TV anchor appearing drunk on the air.

2012 is heating up as well.

Clearly, the 150th anniversary of the Dakota War will be in the news this year. It has already sparked some controversy. A Minneapolis Star Tribune story recently detailed the dispute over what artifacts from the war should be displayed as historical exhibits.

One noose from the hanging of the 38 Dakota in Mankato is under the control of the Minnesota Historical Society and they have vowed to not allow it be part of the exhibits. Some Dakota want it returned to them, while other historians believe it should be displayed.

As I said, the controversy has only started.

On the lighter side of the news we have locals connected to national television shows in varying forms of notoriety with West High School student Shelby Tweten scheduled to appear on American Idol and Nadine Reibeling, formerly of Janesville, likely to be the next "Greatest Baker" on the cable television show of the same name, run by the famous "Cake Boss" of Jersey.

Not to be outdone, the folks in St. Peter have offered their own kind of big news story in that turmoil surrounding the St. Peter Security Hospital. Seems all the psychiatrists have left in a dispute with a new director.

Stay tuned. We've got a nice newsy little town here.

Monday, January 16, 2012

MLK Jr. Day event inspires again

For years, you might have taken the attitude toward Martin Luther King Jr. Day like I did.

It's great to recognize King like we recognize Lincoln and Washington, and by God yes, we should've voted for the federal holiday way before 1983, but I didn't think you had to go to an event to show respect for the principles of King.

And you don't. You still don't.

But I would say you would be missing a huge opportunity for some inspiration to find a way to live like King by taking the day off and just feeling good about it.

MLK events like the one in Mankato Monday night and the one in St. Peter Monday during the day offer the inspiration that is sometimes not present in our daily routine.

The Mankato event is noteworthy for a number of reasons. It's in its 28th year, meaning it was celebrated two years or so before the federal holiday was approved by Congress and Ronald Reagan.

I've come full circle on this event. As a college student and editor of the MSU student newspaper in the 1980s, I believed I attended the first or second MLK Day event.

Last year, The Free Press was recognized at the event with the Business Pathfinder Award for our efforts to embrace the diverse community in Mankato in a way that helped them interact with that American institution known as the media.

But Monday's event was terrific in a number of ways. The award recipients for the Pathfinder, Young Pathfinder and Business Pathfinder couldn't have offered more inspiration or a better narrative.

Wilbur Neuschwander-Frink was recognized for her work on what she calls the "self advocacy movement" of people with disabilities. She has long worked with the disabled communities in a variety of ways and through the stories she has heard from families over the years, she was inspired to write and direct plays that these folks put on and participate in.

And, by all accounts, these plays are emotional for the audience and for the actors who demonstrate the "hurt of words" for people with mental disabilities by shredding them on stage.

Zeynab Omar, a senior at Mankato East, works taking care of elderly in an assisted living center, and engages her colleagues daily at school about issues of equal rights and ethnicity and "communicated with them without causing arguments, disagreements or misunderstandings," according to her teachers.

Pretty solid assessment for someone around their 18th birthday.

Lloyd Management Inc. was recognized for the Business Pathfinder Award for their program that helps new refugees learn how to navigate American laws, customs and cultures in housing and daily life.

When Lloyd Management's Julie Hawker got up to accept the award, she detailed a narrative of the program that involved other companies, other agencies, and most importantly the handful of refugee mentors who will help the next wave of immigrants with the same issues.

Many were in attendance as Hawker asked that they stand up and be recognized. They were with audience applause.

She was brought to tears thinking about the impact the program has had on families that are new to America.

But inspiration for the night did not end there.

Dakota Storyteller Colin Wesaw provided an outstanding, spontaneous Native American story about two Eagles raised by chickens who continued to think they were chickens until inspired by another Eagle.

He mentioned King and his legacy and the 38 Dakota hanged in Mankato, "the day after Christmas" 150 years ago. His story wasn't about that, however.

After 20 minutes of drama and humor and emotion, he brought the conclusion of the story down to one thing that related to everyone in the room who might be sitting "on a limb" with regard to really righting the injustices that still pervade America today.

"Get out there and help some people who need it. Get out there."

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Forget Iowa, New Hampshire. Kato could decide president

    Let’s just say I know a good headline like the one above will get people to read this analysis, or depending on your point of view — drivel.
But I believe it is not out of the realm of possibility that voters in the Mankato region, or the 1st Congressional District could determine the outcome of the presidential election.
Why? Because we have a history of being so called “swing voters.” We vote for the person, generally, not the party, and we have a big, big independent streak.
Going back to the 1992 presidential election, the Mankato region and 1st District had one of the highest percentages if not the highest percentage of people voting for the independent candidate — Ross Perot. Remember him?
Then take the gubernatorial race. We had a very  high turnout for independents including Jesse Ventura and Tim Penny and Tom Horner.
Take the 1st Congressional District. We for decades elected solidly Republican candidates until Tim Penny won the surprise race in the 1980s. Penny’s conservative/Democratic leanings kept him in office for years. Then we switched back to Republican Gil Gutknecht. Now we’re back to Democrat Tim Walz.
Given that this year the presidential election looks to be very, very close again, it could be a few thousand votes, and yes, it could be the independent-minded, unpredictable Mankato region that decides the whole thing.
So this year, more than ever, your vote will definitely count.
Joe Spear’s blog is regularly updated at katojoe.blogspot.com

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Comics can be serious business


    
I learned quickly as a rookie newspaper editor that you don’t just go messing with two things very often: comics and Dear Abby.

But once in a while, with the right cover, you need to change up the offerings on the comic pages. It keeps the newspaper fresh and offers readers a different perspective, if they’re all ready for that.

Some are, some aren’t.


So I usually go about changing things slowly. I believe we have received one or two calls so far from the switching out of the daily comic “Get Fuzzy” and replacing it with “Pickles.”


Let’s just say I bought the pitch of the Washington Post Writer’s Group salesperson who convinced me more readeo

rs would enjoy “Pickles” over “Get Fuzzy.” But before I made the move, I conducted a comic poll on our website and had readers compare “Get Fuzzy” and “Pickles” as well as “Red and Rover” and “Pearls Before Swine.”


“Get Fuzzy” had the lowest score, and “Pickles” is in 400 newspapers nationwide.


We also consider comics in terms of who they are supposed to appeal to demographically, and we try to offer some comics for every demographic. “Lola” is designed for an older female m family demographic. “Family Circus” is designed for a younger family demographic. “Baldo” is designed for a Hispanic demographic, and “Between Friends” is aimed at a young to middle -aged female demographic.


“Beetle Baily,” is the classic older white guy’s comic, and “Peanuts” is pretty universal.


“Pickles” is aimed at another family demographic, one that is getting older. It also has an intergenerational feel which is focused on an older couple’s relationship with their 30-something daughter, her second hubby and grandson.


Then there are comics that don’t fit into any real demographic but are just out there, and quirky. In this category, I consider “Pearls Before Swine,” “F-Minus,” “Mother Goose and Grim,” “Dilbert” and possibly “Non Sequitur.”

"Get Fuzzy" was in the quirky category, so it was competing with others for the same audience. The comic salesperson selling “Pickles” was down on the comic saying “Get Fuzzy had lost its focus.”


That’s the best line I’ve ever heard from a comic salesperson suggesting we jettison her competitor.


Comics have become pretty big business. Most cost us between $7 to $10 per week. An additional $7 to $10 for the Sunday version. It’s a bit of a oxymoron that the comic business can be cutthroat, but that’s kind of the truth.


Overall on the comics page, I find many comics aren’t inherently funny, at least not as much as it seems they were in the past. Many are mini-dramas played out on the comics pages, with the aim to, it seems, get readers to relate to everyday situations.


There are three I will go to every day and be sure to get a chuckle, usually “Dilbert,” “Mother Goose and Grim” and “F-Minus,” so you know where my comic tastes lie.

 

Joe Spear is editor of The Free Press. Contact him at jspear@mankatofreepress.com or 344-6382.

Monday, January 2, 2012

Latest perspective on news that impacts you

What the government gave, it took away...then the lawyers got involved

An interesting story in StarTribune on Medtronic's adventures in Puerto Rico offers insight into what has become a trendy idea for raising government revenue: closing tax loopholes.

The story, by Bloomberg business news, basically  shows how the government created tax breaks to encourage businesses to move some operations to Puerto Rico to help the impoverished country create jobs.

Many companies made hug investments and saved billions in taxes. But then a few years ago, the government decided it needed the money and removed the tax breaks.

Not wanting to lose billions in sales and million in taxes, the companies moved addresses of those business to tax havens like Grand Caymen and Switzerland.

Now they're all in tax court fighting what is sure to be a long battle.

The lesson here for the government is that if you're going to take away tax breaks that can cost companies millions, they're going to see if they can't stop you, or at the very least, involve the government in a very long and costly court battle.

It's not "consume, consumer, consume, it's "investment, investment, investment"

My friend Louis Johnston, economics professor at St. Ben's and St. John's, directs his Twitter followers to a chart by Wharton School economic Michael Mandel with this important point. We may be wanting to create jobs, but net private investment in the economy is still very low.

Here's Mandel's chart.

Mandel argues government investment  is at a 40 year low and now is not the time to be halting it especially since private investment is down as well.

Interesting topic, and one that doesn't get much play in mainstream media.