Tech Talk

A new website has the potential to change the way folks look at America’s cities.

Hottblock.com, launched last week

Paul Mansour launched hottblock.com, a self-funded website out of Austin, Texas, last Tuesday. Masour created the innovative site after becoming frustrated while considering the pros and cons of job offers in different cities. He did not know anything about the communities, and his web research only provided him with statistical data — and not a feel for the culture.

After hearing that many of his friends suffered the same concerns, he launched the site that offers reviews and ratings of many medium and large cities across the country. It will give folks the opportunity to share the benefits and drawbacks of each community.

Among the communities locally listed:

• Ansonia
• Bridgeport
• Danbury
• Derby
• Milford
• New Haven
• Norwalk
• Shelton
• Stamford
• Waterbury
• West Haven

However, none of the aforementioned communities have been reviewed as of this posting. But you can change that. In fact, the founder told Tech Talk that he is depending on members of the community to help populate the pages.

“Contemplating a new job in a new city is hard enough already without the added difficulties of weighing the pros and cons of a particular city and its many neighborhoods,” Mansour told Tech Talk. ”Unless you know someone in your prospective town, it’s difficult to find the best neighborhood or part of town. I’ve had many friends over the past few years who have encountered this issue and not been satisfied with the resources currently available online.”

He said there are many sites that offer housing statistics, restaurant reviews and opinions on destinations from the perspective of a visitor — but not any that tie it all together.

“You can scour the Web for articles or posts with similar information, but hottblock.com gives visitors a chance to learn about a city from long-time residents in once place,” Mansour said. ”Though larger cities comprise most of the reviews, visitors have the option to explore reviews for any city or town in the country with a population over 5,000.”

He told Tech Talk that he is considering expanding the site to offer multimedia opportunities. It currently only allows text to be posted.

Hottblock.com has a lot of potential. Its success, however, will depend on how involved he could make the numerous communities in which he has launched portals. Currently, Mansour is depending on the site to grow through word-of-mouth. He may need to do a little more than that to be successful.

The Connecticut State Police is warning residents to be wary of graphic e-mails.

Officers in Troop E in Montville are investigating a graphic e-mail sent to e-mail accounts throughout southeastern Connecticut. The public is asked to delete any e-mail with the subject of: ” We are the world, we are the children……..enjoy.”

The contents of the e-mail are graphic and may contain a virus that will further spread the virus to infected users’ contacts, police warn.

The State Police has e-mailed known users who have received the e-mail with a note containing the subject: “STATE POLICE ***WARNING****”

Tech Talk advises residents across Connecticut and throughout the United States to be on the lookout given the apparent ease at which the virus could spread.

As always, Tech Talk warns users to be wary of any e-mails that are not from known recipients; appear to be SPAM or have offers seemingly too good to be true — even if they are from the accounts of trusted individuals. As this case highlights, it is not difficult for accounts to be compromised.

It is also a good idea to update anti-virus software.

Readers of Hearst Connecticut’s four daily and six weekly newspapers have never had as much of an influence in the final product – or ability to reach the reporters and editors with such ease.

“Never in any other era of journalism have we had the ability to get instant, dynamic, deep feedback from readers on any aspect of our report,” David McCumber, editor of The Advocate and Greenwich Time and editorial director of Hearst Connecticut’s newspaper group, which includes the Connecticut Post and Danbury News-Times, recently told Tech Talk. “I remember when tagging our print stories with reporters’ e-mail addresses suddenly opened up dialogues with readers. Before that, somebody really had to work hard – leave a phone message, write a snail mail letter. That was the start of the change. Of course now, between online commenting, sharing, rating on social media, online forums, etc., we have a better idea than ever.”

Readers of Hearst Connecticut’s print and digital entities want largely the same basic product they have always wanted, McCumber, who was previously managing editor of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize at the Arizona Daily Star, said.

“They want the news, quickly, with fairness and clarity,” he said. “They want the story behind the story – the kind of depth reporting that newspaper staffs do better than any other journalists. In these markets, they want a lot of local and enough national and world news to give them context and a baseline so they can seek more depth in the areas they want elsewhere. Of course, technology advances mean the method of delivery has to change to keep up with readers’ new abilities to ingest news in different ways. But the basic value of news is a constant.”

However, there is some evolution in what readers want, McCumber said.

“Readers appreciate the right approach at the right time,” he said. “They want straight-ahead breaking news reporting but they don’t mind analysis or even a little attitude in more in-depth work. And as the Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert generation grows in number, they even appreciate a little snark.”

However, McCumber said want Hearst Connecticut’s readers do not want is to be deceived.

“What they don’t want is bias disguised as ‘fair and balanced’ – the old-style ‘objectivity’ that divides the world into two sides,” he said. “The whole ‘tell both sides’ when that means reporting ‘X said Y is a jerk. Reached for comment, Y said X doesn’t know what he’s talking about.’ Today’s more sophisticated reader, I believe, wants more nuanced, sophisticated, authoritative reportage.”

Knowing what its readers want benefits everyone, McCumber said.

“We can reach new readers and non-readers and expand our universe if we do this right,” he said. “It’s game-changing from a standpoint of audience.”

In many cases, readers of the Hearst Connecticut Newspaper Group are similar to readers across America – except in their strong identification to their town.

“Readers here not only don’t want news from the next town over, sometimes they are actively offended if you give it to them,” he said.

Hearst Connecticut’s digital properties are of enormous value to the company, McCumber said.

“They represent the future, and a very good chunk of the present,” McCumber said. “Online revenues are a very significant part of our overall revenue picture these days – in Connecticut because we’re farther along than some other news sites, to a larger degree than almost anywhere else in the country.”

Knowing what its readers want offers the Hearst Connecticut group a major advantage.

“It gives us a chance to get qualitative, in-depth feedback from our customers that would literally cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars if we didn’t have the built-in mechanisms our online platforms give us,” McCumber said. “It gives us hope for the future.”

The information helps the editors make decisions about what is covered and where resources are allotted, McCumber said.

“I’m particularly interested in seeing how our enterprise packages are received online,” McCumber said. “Also, I find it fascinating to watch the differences between print audience and Web audience. I think we are foolish to ignore those differences.”

Together, Hearst Connecticut is working with its readers to move into the future.

“This close connection with our readership will help us correctly redefine and reshape what we do to meet the needs of emerging audience,” McCumber said.

Social media often shines the brightest during the darkest times — particularly in terms of Twitter.

Of course, it’s always nice to use the network to learn the latest sports scores, headlines, menu options and weather patterns, but that information could be easily gathered in other places.

The place Twitter really stands out is in terms of breaking news and, as some exceptional Connecticut journalists are demonstrating this week, riveting trials. Tech Talk highlighted another moment of social media triumph last year during the violence following the Iranian presidential election.

Reporters from across the state converged Tuesday in New Haven Superior Court to hear Dr. William Petit’s heart-wrenching testimony of his family’s final hours together and what it was like during and following the brutal attacks that would leave his wife and two young daughters dead.

Among the tweeters of note:

• Diana Perez, of NBC Connecticut
• Helen Ubinas, of the Hartford Courant
• The New Haven Register
• News 8, Connecticut
• Alaine Griffin deserves credit for feverishly updating the Courant’s story more quickly than any other known outlet.

Tech Talk encourages you to follow these talented journalists, but know that some of the details being shared may be difficult to read given the nature of the brutality of the slayings.

Steven Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky are charged with murder, sexual assault and other crimes stemming from the July 2007 killings of Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 17-year-old Hayley and 11-year-old Michaela. Hayes is currently on trial. Both men face the possibility of being executed, if convicted.

A century ago, the public would have to wait for the next day’s newspaper to learn what was said in court.Three quarters of a century ago, the public could hear a news update on the radio — after the reporter was able to leave the courthouse during breaks in testimony. Even as recently as a decade ago, the majority of the public would have to wait for the evening news to learn the latest. Today that has all changed.

Now, thanks to our forward-thinking state press, anyone could follow the trial in real time — and read what they have missed by simply scrolling down. It’s as incredible as it is heart-breaking. The press ought to be commended for their efforts.

Of course, wired justice isn’t blind. The judge must make clear that jurors must sign off of social networks, like Twitter, until the conclusion of their service. Avoiding traditional media is no longer enough, as Tech Talk stressed late last year.

Craiglist’s decision to drop its adult services section is being hailed as a victory — but is it really?

The popular classifieds site replaced the link to its section with the word “censored” this weekend. The site has been facing mounting legal and public pressure to kill the section and has been the subject of wide-spread criticism for its promotion of prostitution, child trafficking and erotic massages. It was not immediately clear as to why it made the decision to pull the content when it did.

Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., scheduled a House Judiciary Committee hearing later this month to probe how sites like Craigslist are used to “facilitate criminal activity,” the San Francisco Chronicle, a sister publication of Tech Talk, reported.

“Craigslist’s decision demonstrates a commitment to seeing these horrific abuses end, and I commend them for taking this step,” she said in a statement released Saturday.

Perhaps the decision demonstrates a commitment to seeing the abuses end, Rep. Speier; but it also represents a great threat to our First Amendment rights and marks a dangerous precedent that the congresswoman seems too ignorant to recognize. However, Tech Talk does also commend Craigslist on one point – for choosing to state things as they really are. Craigslist was indeed censored. It must be a proud day for you, Congresswoman. You successfully limited free speech and commerce on a U.S.-based website. Bravo.

Jim Buckmaster, chief executive of Craigslist, defended the site last month in an interview with The Chronicle.

“Is moving advertising around our best hope for addressing these harms?” he asked the newspaper. “Then the ads fall under personals, and how long before the demand is that we shut down personals? And where do those ads go next? What other sections of our site would they like us to shut down?”

Buckmaster is correct. It’s clear that the problem will not go away with the death of a section. The individuals publishing the advertisements will simply go elsewhere to find what they are seeking — both on Craigslist and on other websites. Driving this problem underground will not help anyone, but will rather cause more problems.

HOW WE GOT HERE

When the attorneys general from more than 40 states demanded changes to the way Craigslist does business two years ago, the site began requiring posters to provide verification information in a good-faith effort to encourage compliance with its regulations. And for the past year, according to The Chronicle, Craigslist has manually screened every ad — yes, every single ad — submitted to the adult section prior to publication. Further, whenever advertisements indicating involvement of an underage person was detected, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was notified, Buckmaster told the newspaper.

Just over a week ago, a group of state attorneys general said there were not enough protections against blocking potentially illegal ads promoting prostitution, the Connecticut Post reported.

LOCAL TIES

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is one of 18 misguided attorneys general who pressed for the change.

“I’m very pleased that Craigslist has taken this significant step toward eliminating … ads for prostitution that were so flagrant and blatant, and my hope is that it will set a model for other sites,” he said. “Craigslist is voluntarily doing the right thing.”

Does Blumenthal really believe that will solve the problem? At least Craigslist was doing something about the disheartening posts.

Now, the ads will be posted without any regulation elsewhere on the site. Tech Talk hopes Blumenthal can sleep tonight knowing that he just accomplished the complete opposite of what he vowed to do. Doubt that? Don’t. He acknowledges it.

“These ads will migrate elsewhere and we’re going to continue to monitor and scrutinize this site and others to pursue similar prostitution ads,” he said.

Good luck with that, Mr. Blumenthal. And sleep tight.

And what model is the attorney general hoping other sites will follow? One that restricts user freedoms?

CREATING A GREATER PROBLEM

Now the posters will likely simply post their advertisements elsewhere on Craigslist — or on other sites — as Connecticut’s attorney general predicted. Looking for a new apartment, home or blender? Here’s hoping there aren’t any impressionable young children around.

All of the progress Craigslist has made in screening the advertisements in the adult section will be impossible to duplicate throughout its expansive site — and you may never know for sure what will pop up. Be sure to send Mr. Blumenthal and Congresswoman Speier notes of appreciation when you get the not-so-pleasant surprise.

Just because a few people do not want to see something does mean it should removed from an entire site — or the entire Internet.

BRAVE NEW WORLD

In terms of civil liberties, it is always better to air on allowing a few potentially inappropriate things to be said or posted than cut speech to everyone — which is exactly what this ruling does. Tech Talk hopes Rep. Speier and Mr. Blumenthal is happy.

Tech Talk hopes they don’t have any young relatives who post inappropriate photos to Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr or the pleathora of other sites out there — because their freedoms to do so may be cut. Do yhry really believe other sites will want to face the backlash Craigslist did? And who gets to determine what is inappropriate anyway? Perhaps it’s a minor with alcohol? Perhaps it’s one’s belly button? Perhaps it’s cleavage? Perhaps it’s any skin on any female? Perhaps one’s arms are too risque. We’re entering very dangerous territory.

Craigslist demonstrated that they were working to solve the problem, and should have been commended for that. Sure the system was not perfect, but most are not. Have you ever surfed through the comments section of many websites? Bad stuff appears, it’s a problem but certainly not a reason to censor.

In this 21st century world, anyone could track weather patterns and anticipate their next move — with many of the same tools as our favorite meteorologists.

Monitoring Hurricane Earl is no different.

Among the most effective tools is Hearst Connecticut Newspapers’ Hurricane Earl blog, which offers up-to-the-minute data, analysis and perspective on the approaching storm. It also allows readers to submit memories of previous storms, multimedia and observations to share with the community. Of course the information submitted is carefully vetted, unlike some other news organizations in the region, before going live our sites.

There is a dynamic live map available to develop a better perspective of where Earl is and where it is headed. You can check out Earl’s latest wind speeds and path here. The latest satellite imagery and water temperatures are available here. There is also a nice live national radar loop here.

And speaking of where Earl is headed, astronauts are tweeting photos of what Earl looks like from space. It really puts Earl’s size into perspective.

There is also information on preparing for the storm — to ensure you’re ready to weather whatever Earl throws our way.

Be safe, and happy tracking.