Peter Aranyi

I'm a writer and publisher based in Auckland, New Zealand. My background is in news and political journalism, psychology and education (my own). I run a training company called Empower Education and I'm proud to publish through Empower Leaders Publishing. My posts here are MY personal opinion — Peter Aranyi's blog. I am not perfect or lily white and try never to claim to be. Like everyone else on the planet, I am growing. Your feedback and comments are welcome.

Apple has published some guidelines for software developers — telling them (broadly) how it decides which Apps/programmes can be sold in its App Store. Among them, this:

In the guidelines, Apple draws a line between broader expressions of freedom of speech and the App Store.
“We view Apps different than books or songs, which we do not curate. If you want to criticize a religion, write a book. If you want to describe sex, write a book or a song, or create a medical app,” the guidelines say.
Apple also says it will block applications that don’t do “something useful or provide some lasting entertainment.”
“We don’t need any more Fart apps,” Apple said, referring to prank programs that let off noise. — AP story at NZ Herald

I don’t have a problem with any of that. They’re not running a kids’ talent show. Even then, they’d have limits.

What am I missing?

–

PS I read the writer’s perspective paragraph: “The move follows more than two years of complaints from developers about the company’s secret and seemingly capricious rules, which block some programs from the store and hence Apple’s popular iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices.” and laughed.

Yes, some complaints, but a truckload (like, millions) of Apps developed, marketed and SOLD through a marketplace that even didn’t EXIST 3 years ago. I call that an injection of life. He’s focussing on a relatively few complaints about images of nipples being disallowed or bone-stupid time-wasting apps. Like we need those. Man.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart has won EIGHT consecutive Emmy awards. Deal with it.

I celebrated last week Jim Parsons winning an Emmy for his role as Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory. Cool.

This news that Jon Stewart and The Daily  Show won an EIGHTH Emmy for Best Variety Show somehow slipped past me. That brilliant, vital show deserves them all.

Dumb sentence of the week award goes to RobotCeleb’s Tim Smith for this timeless prose:

Speculation and shear [sic] animosity is circulating the Internet today, as people are furious that The Daily Show with Jon Stewart won this award yet again.

What does that even mean? Speculation and ‘shear’ animosity? (Like clippers? Or like laterally shifted? Er, ‘sheer’, perhaps, Tim? It’s still nonsense IMO.) People are furious?

Actually Tim’s whole story is pretty ungracious if you ask me: “Jon Stewart somehow came out on top and Conan O’Brien got shafted once again.” Riiight. OK, Tim. “Conan O’Brien, the man whom everyone wanted to see win.”

Well, obviously not everyone, huh? Congratulations to Stewart and The Daily Show.

"Look at your man, now back to me. Now back at your man, now back to me. ... Sadly, he isn't me ..."

Discount slightly the gushing, dewy-eyed hype about Facebook and Twitter and this is STILL a real advertising campaign success story. My goodness yes. AND it uses social media in a clever, very deliberate and savvy, self-aware way. Watch this:

Old Spice Social Case Study from Digital Buzz on Vimeo.

The excellent writing (“Look at your man, now back to me. Now back at your man, now back to me. … Sadly, he isn’t me, but if he used Old Spice body wash he could smell like he’s me …”) … wow, clever … and the dreamboat ‘beefcake’ model, the location filming of the commercial and the special effects all work together really well. But cheap, it ain’t. Look at all the extra filming and huge effort that went into the feedback part of the ‘response campaign’.

Just the confident attitude of the television campaign makes it a winner, in my book — and the smart idea of targetting women (who BUY the product, doh!)

Well done, Old Spice. Funky.

(Thanks to reader Matt Stenning for the tip.)

Interesting to see Brian Edwards recently accused of these ‘failings’ with respect to Paul Henry by anonymous commenters on his blog. (Unless ‘Dwossie Bleu-Bleu’ is a name?)

My own views of Paul Henry and his (un)suitability for TV are summed up in Say goodbye to Paul Henry the abusive try-hard. But I’m not running a ‘hate’ campaign either.

In my observation, allegations of ‘vendetta’ are swiftly hurled at any critic with an attention span. – P

Using new and old tools to tell the truth.
image: Azerbaijan Media Center (click)

I hadn’t heard this term:

The insider described transparency journalism - a phrase not used by the [WikiLeaks] organisation until today – as ”journalism that tells a true story and then backs it up by publishing source documents that also provide the truth.’‘

I like it.

Source: WikiLeaks founder to stay – insider — Sydney Morning Herald 8 Sept 2010 (last paragraph).

As part of my formal journalism training, then as a professional reporter covering some pretty contentious news rounds … and then as a political reporter at Parliament, I’ve learned to routinely archive information to back up my stories and claims — and to justify my commentary and opinions. I’ve done it for years.

You never know when your ‘recollections’ will be challenged, or you’ll be asked to explain your basis for a conclusion. Our lawyers at Radio NZ News were pretty robust in their encouragement for us to slay dragons — but stressed we should have the facts to back up assertions: from the headline to the smallest details of a news story. It’s a reassuring feeling.

It was SOP for cabinet ministers’ Press Secretaries to record my interviews with their minister — a good practice for keeping both sides honest, frankly.

Some habits die hard and carrying a spiral bound notebook to jot salient facts into is one I still practise. It’s useful to be able to dive back and refresh one’s memory about some matter or the other — if someone used a particular turn of phrase, or details of claims or promises made, relationships, features of past interactions. It’s a good way to do things.

Let’s face it, e-mail has made the whole ‘I said, he said, you said’ game so much easier, and I’ve mentioned before my delight with how valuable the artificial intelligence of DEVONthink makes my collection of data and web archives. Awesomely powerful.

Of course, those (few) who criticise me and accuse me of ‘smear campaigns’ and ‘spreading lies’ etc also sometimes complain that they (really) don’t like how I ‘cross-thread’ and ‘link to old information’ … but I do that — almost as a reflex — quoting sources to prove I’m not making it up. (I couldn’t make up some of the stuff I quote. It’s just too whacky, the marketing claims simply too hyperbolic, or gauche some of it. I don’t have the imagination.)

Well, now, thanks to WikiLeaks, I have a new term for what I’ve aimed to do:

Transparency journalism

(And here I thought I was just blogging… sniff.)

- P

from Liberty - published by Ubuntu (click to enlarge)

I’m reading a book of John F. Kennedy quotes with a foreword by Desmond Tutu and good biographical introduction which touches on Kennedy’s life.

It highlights how his struggles with health and his father’s ambition were part of what led to his aspirational speeches and his call to work for ‘peace’ with ‘courage’ — real encouragement. It’s very good.
This page (right) popped out, last night.

Other big hits for me were:

Too often… we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought

.

We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda;
it is a form of truth.

Look, even if these were penned by bright speechmakers, it’s brilliant that he spoke them out.

Also of note is that, in his own terms, he didn’t go into ‘politics’ he pursued ‘public service’ — often siding with the underprivileged in his society. I don’t care about the Kennedy bashers, I’m still inspired by him.

Not your average aspiring local body politician.

I had the pleasure of Cameron Brewer‘s company at a looong lunch at the Auckland Club a while back — a gaggle organised by David McEwen. (Thanks again, David.)

He’s an ebullient, engaging guy — and pretty clean-cut, it seemed to me. Just like his well-designed billboards, one of which I spotted yesterday.

I may or may not share his politics (I don’t know). But if local body politics is what he wants, good luck to him, I say. We could do a lot worse.

University of Canterbury, Christchurch — earthquake damage. Just two of the shots …

Imagine if it had struck at 4.35 PM instead of 4.35 AM. Imagine if that was your workstation. So lucky.

Photos: University of Canterbury, via NZ Herald (click for more).

This is so good…

Rhian Sheehan - Standing in Silence - Part 3 (Niva's Tune) {click to watch video}

… just take the 4 minutes and 8 seconds to watch and listen to this. What a great use of bandwidth.
Thank you Rhian Sheehan. Thank you for giving your gift.

Watch the video below the fold … (more…)