You may have noticed that this site is now on a bona-fide blog platform…about a dozen-plus years late to the party, but hey, it finally happened. However, the transition has been a trainwreck behind the scenes. While things are clean-looking, (somewhat) searchable, and dialogue-enabled, the design, configuration, and content-migration did not go remotely as I’d hoped.
For one thing, most internal links within posts are broken, which requires hand-code fixes. Not only just for links to other site-content, but also to links to locally-hosted media files (audio/video/pictures). With 1,000+ posts over 17+ years, it’s a mind-numbing task, but I hope to have it complete within the next week or two. (As of today, all posts from 2006-present have been fixed). Continue reading “Pretty Outside, Broken Inside”
Tag: site admin
Just in Time for the Holidays…
…I decided to remove the store-section of this web site. For years I have affiliated with alternative or independent retailers of books and music, but nobody really bit, partially because e-commerce on this site is somewhat antithetical to its nature; it’s really a labor of love. (Even so, many thanks to those who do occasionally throw a buck or few my way via the donate button).
Apologies to those who had linked to my book reviews; perhaps those will be resurrected in the future. Continue reading “Just in Time for the Holidays…”
Not-Quite-Hiatus Ahoy
It’s that time of the semester when my teaching duties kick into high-gear. This fall, I’ve got 33 students in an introduction to the political economy of the media class (which is right up my alley, and I had loads of fun teaching it last spring). Each of them are now busy researching and writing 10-page papers on a media policy issue of their choice. I’m spending long days in the office doing paper-counseling sessions as well as the necessary work for class-prep itself. In addition, I’ve got some deadlines looming to submit paper-abstracts for a communication research conference.
As a result, I’ll be shortly suspending multi-weekly news-updates to concentrate on getting the legacy projects of the site back up to currency. In the meantime, outside of the instances when I simply can’t help myself from bloviating, I strongly suggest that (if you aren’t already) you supplement your info-diet with a subscription to either the Benton Foundation’s Communications-Related Headlines newsletter or Free Press’ Media Reform Daily. Both are free; they’re also required reading for my students.
Miscellaneous Follow-Upage
After months of frustration, the hosting provider for DIYmedia.net has saved my day by stepping in and graciously providing me with independent, unrestricted e-mail capability. I’ll never have to rely on Comcast again for that application (provided Comcast’s general broadband network uptime remains reliable, which is a questionable proposition).
You know you’ve got a systemic problem when the first prompt a customer encounters at your 1-800 number is, “For trouble with your service….” Continue reading “Miscellaneous Follow-Upage”
Hiatus Ahoy: Notes While Away
My work online here will significantly slow down over the next couple of months, as I enter the most critical phase of my graduate studies to-date. Once I hopefully become ABD (“all but dissertation”) in early May, some of the pressure ease. But then I’m immediately leaving the country for an exploratory workshop hosted by the European Science Foundation on the impact of digitalization with regard to community media. As one a handful of non-EU “experts” invited to the event, I expect my role will primarily be to warn other countries in the midst of formulating, adopting, or modifying digital radio standards to stay as far away from iBiquity’s HD protocol as they possibly can.
Expect “regular” content-generation to resume sometime in late May or so. I made updates to the Schnazz, Truthful Translations, and Enforcement Action Database over the weekend, so those are up to date, at least in the near term.
In the meantime, keep an eye on these stories: Continue reading “Hiatus Ahoy: Notes While Away”
Back from Hiatus
A much-needed break: preliminary exams, teaching new classes, and a wonderful vacation. I’m still struggling to make the transition from “relaxed” to “busy,” though I never really did get away from the latter.
Long story short, “regular” updates to resume in September.
WordPress Design Challenge
The transition of this site to some sort of content management system is long overdue. There’s too much stuff here now to keep good track of it manually.
I’ve settled on WordPress, given its ease of use and flexibility, and after the learned advice of technically-inclined friends. However, before beginning the actual site migration, it behooves me to cement the design of the new site first.
To tell the truth, I like the simplicity of the current design, though I have plans for the sidebar. What I’d like to do is modify a WordPress theme to mimic what you see now as closely as possible. However, my semi-random hacking at stylesheets and other theme components leads to broken sh*t. Anybody out there with design skillz who can help?
Stat-Parsing
It’s been about nine months since this site moved to a properly-beefy server. One of the advantages of the move was regaining access to site stats. Having a somewhat consistent record to work with now, there’s interesting info to share.
At present DIYmedia serves up an average of ~80,000 pages per month to more than 20,000 unique users. Hit-wise, on a monthly basis, the number’s well over 300,000. This works out to nearly 700 visitors a day (on zero publicity). Continue reading “Stat-Parsing”
Ear Candy Expansion
A massive weekend update to the Featured MP3s section of the site nearly doubles its size. Lots of new tracks about pirate radio and media freedom from the likes of Anti-Flag, The Clash, David Rovics, Eric Idle, Steve Earle, and Utah Phillips, among many others.
As a part of this project the music section of the DIYmedia store has also been overhauled, although I’ve yet to add links to many of the works featured in the Media Collage section of the site. Most links point to Insound, an independent retailer of everything from CD/DVDs to zines. Their selection isn’t perfect but it’s the principle here that counts.
Next up will be a long-overdue update to the bookstore, which is woefully out of date at present.
Bringing Back the Noise
If you can read this, you’re hooked into DIYmedia’s brand new server featuring expanded pipe action – putting the Truthful Translations of Political Speech back into the hands of the people. Note the GWB collages are now into the triple-digits and contain multi-page sub-sections. There’s also new Don, Ron, George I, Arnold, Pat, and Tony tracks, just to name a few.
New stuff ahoy in Celebrity Speech as well, including Rush remixed-comment on that drug hoopla and the ever-lampoonable Dan Rather. Continue reading “Bringing Back the Noise”