First, we have the live stream ready to go.

Of course Twitter is down so I can't send it out that way.

Update: Twitter seems to be back up.

My plan: First thank the great people at NYU who helped put this together. And Bernadine and Hong the mike monitors. Arikia.

Then introduce each of the panelists, name and affiliation.

Show Sources Go Direct diagram and explain this is how it used to work, but things have changed. The goal of our discussion is to share views on how things have changed.

As Fred a question about how blogging is different from the way he used to work with the press.

Ask Nick a question about sources at Gawker.

Ask Rachel how they organize sources at Groundreport.

Questions: Who inspires you?

What will journalism look like in 20 years?

 6/9/2010; 9:19:21 AM.   .

If you're at the event today, this is how you get on wifi:

 6/9/2010; 8:07:12 AM.   .

I'm really excited to be doing this panel, and it's doubly exciting cause I have a new editing tool that works (in some ways) much better than the old one. So when I want to take notes, it's easier and faster.

One of the reasons I'm doing this post is to see if I can write using my laptop. This is another chance to shakeout bugs in the new software. Let's see if it works.

Yup it worked. And it was really fast!

Update: I think I just fixed the calendar generating code.

 6/9/2010; 6:06:47 AM.   .

This diagram helps illustrate what Sources Go Direct is about.

Back in the old days an idea had to run a gauntlet of middlemen and profiteers before it could reach "targets."

The PR people introduced execs to reporters. The PR people briefed the analysts who were then interviewed by reporters to provide "objective" insights. The users were consulted for their perspective. It was a nice orderly world. Money flowed from the companies to the PR people to the analysts. The users got raises and bonuses for being leaders in their industry. Eyeballs watched. Targets were influenced. Dollars flowed. It was a business. But often the ideas got lost on their way through all the middlemen.

Have new flows developed? Yes. The question is are they more efficient than the old ones? Do ideas (facts or perspectives) stand a chance or are we still mired in the same muddle as before?

This is the question Sources Go Direct asks. (Gosh this sounds like a seder!)

 6/9/2010; 5:16:34 AM.   .

Yesterday I wrote a post counseling the NY Times to find a plane, get on board, and when it reached cruising altitude, jump out. No parachute.

I had just spent the last two weeks rebuilding the software for Scripting News from top to bottom. When I started, I was adapting code I already had, stuff that dated back to the last century (seriously!). But somewhere in the middle I saw how it could become much simpler, yet do more. I went for it.

After writing the piece, I took my own advice re parachutes.

I could have been more careful about the transition, and it might have taken a week or two more. Or I could save the time and just flip the switch and trust that I would be able to pick up the pieces quickly enough so that readers of the site would hardly notice a glitch. I opted for the latter approach. It seems to have worked. (Caveat: It'll still be a couple of weeks before all the pieces are put back together, it takes longer than you might think.)

I'm editing this post entirely in the new system. When I hit Save it will flow to the server, be published through its templates. When you load the page, your browser will get my style sheet and render (I hope) without too many glitches. When you click on the little plus signs in the right margin, I hope you emit a little gasp, as I did when I first used it. Then a stream of expletives came out of my mouth, mostly beginning with the letter F, like the famous McNulty and Bunk scene in The Wire where they're investigating a murder in a Baltimore apartment. Click on the link if you don't know what I'm talking about (or if you do) but be advised it is very NSFW. ">

Later today I'm moderating what I expect will be a fantastic panel with Rachel, Fred and Nick. What incredible power will be on that stage. Such intelligence, and one thing I admire about all these people is that they seem to like nothing more than free-fall without a parachute. There's really nothing like it, assuming you can find a way to glide safely to earth. ">

PS: Doing these massive risky rewrites makes me smarter. Not kidding.

 6/9/2010; 3:17:12 AM.   .