Things I wish tech journalists would learn:
Counts are not the same thing as surveys.
Surveys yield projections that have margins of error that should be disclosed and explained.
Survey methods should be disclosed and critically examined. If a survey was conducted in order to generate a press release for marketing purposes, it's probably bullshit.
Units in distribution pipelines are not the same as units sold to consumers.
Lines outside of stores are a publicity stunt.
Companies like Nielsen and Comscore attempt to report on Web traffic, using samples (not counts) and making statistical projections. If you're going to take their numbers as "market share," explain what "market" is being "shared," how the data was gathered, and how the conclusions were drawn. Otherwise shut up.
Small percentage differences often are within the margin of error and are irrelevant. Say so. Don't turn them into headlines.
Web numbers are always based on some unit of time that should be critically examined. Days, months, and quarters are not the same thing.
Pageviews are not the same as hits.
Unique users are not the same thing as unique visits.
Attempts to count unique users are universally inaccurate because of multiple device usage and cookie clearing.
HTML5 Web apps can be made to install locally and work offline.
No empire lasts forever. Big today may be gone tomorrow.
If you want to be a cheerleader, you should show up wearing a skirt and carrying pom-pons. Otherwise knock it off.
Steve Jobs is not God. "Insanely great" is more about disassociation from reality than greatness. Facetime, really?
Apple's usability decisions are often right, especially when compared with those of Microsoft or your average Chinese remote-control engineer, but sometimes horribly wrong. One-button mouse. Drag a disk to the trash can. Finder. No back button on the iPhone. No scheme for organizing apps. iTunes (shudder).
"Ready for the enterprise" is meaningless marketing drivel.
The iPhone and the iPad are not the same thing. One of them won't fit in your pocket and is a portable device, not a mobile device. Figure out which is which and keep the distinction clear in your reporting.
Blogging about a rumor posted on some other blog is not journalism.
Tweeting a link to your blog post about a rumor that came from some other blog is worse than annoying.
You're supposed to be shining light on the future, not reflecting the past.
Linux may be running your phone, your Netflix box, your Wifi router and the website you're looking at. Maybe it's time to stop referring to it as a fringe tool of ponytailed geeks.
Linux doesn't require a command line, and software is easier to find/install than on Windows.
Android vs. iPhone pageview trolling is every bit as tiresome and useless as Mac vs. PC was.
Cutting your Web story up into 37 pages is pathetic and desperate.
I could go on. Maybe I should cut this up into a slide show.
Comments
I read this as evidence that
'Awesome, awesome read. Thanks.'
(rescuing a comment caught in the spam filter)
From: Oscar Godson
"Linux may be running your phone, your Netflix box, your Wifi router and the website you're looking at. Maybe it's time to stop referring to it as a fringe tool of ponytailed geeks."
I had to post it on my FB. I actually had an argument with an Apple/Mac guy the other day when he *actually* said, "Linux just isn't ready for primetime as is Mac or Windows". I about shit myself.'
New tech blog
Excellent!
Also!
Extremely good
This info isn't just for tech
Another one I left out
Know the tech you're writing about.
Here's an example: http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/content/8725.html
A gushing story about Suzuki's "HTML5 site design." But the site, m.suzukiauto.com, isn't HTML5 at all.
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//OMA//DTD XHTML Mobile 1.2//EN" "http://www.openmobilealliance.org/tech/DTD/xhtml-mobile12.dtd">
Here's another one
What resonates with me most
broadcast journalists
Sure, sounds good... But don't pick on FaceTime.
Linux isn't ready for primetime
Don't say READ