Periscope - the new platform
Twitter is an amazingly effective microblogging platform which has already revolutionised journalism and is actively used by major news corporations such as channel 7, channel 10 and ABC news. Recently Twitter has once again raised the bar and introduced a powerful new associated platform to project current events called Periscope. An easy to use live streaming application available on iPhone and android devices, Periscope looks to be the new forefront in citizen journalism and likely to be adapted in the professional fields. In a competitive market with another app; Meerkat, Twitter bought the rights to the unreleased Periscope app in February this year before releasing it in May 2015. (Price, 2015) The two platforms are almost identical in performance, both having ‘alert’ functions for topics of interest or importance, ‘like’ equivalent functions and a comments section under the post. Periscope quickly put Meerkat on the ‘once was’ list of social media thought having the added advantage of saving the videos after they’ve been streamed so they can be viewed after the event as well, whereas Meerkat videos are gone once filming ceases.
Already there is speculation to the possibilities and the implication this platform will have in the way of journalism. As it is still in its early days the novelty has yet to wear off everyone on the street is trying to have their 30 seconds of fame and create their own ‘television channel’ using Periscope. As said in an online review only a few days after Periscopes release; during a time of crisis or significance the people using Periscope to stream live from the scene are simply relaying what the major news teams are posting on twitter to complement their stream. (Brunstein, 2015) How long will it be before field journalists take to live broadcasting television from their phone? It is well documented that Twitter is now a commonly used platform to break news by both professional and citizen journalists (Ahmad, 2010; Emmet, 2008; Hermida, 2010a, 2010b; Stevensen & Haider, 2011) and now it has the potential to be an even stronger platform with its Periscope allegiance. Periscopes possibilities extend far past the simple reporting of significant events, it has massive possibilities for businesses with live product reviews or ‘behind the scene’ insights into their favourite companies or brands. Of course this is meaningless unless there is an appeal for people to sign up to the fairly new platform. As is the case with Twitter, the celebrity appeal is the greatest draw card a social media platform can offer. (Hargittai & Litt, 2011; Marwick & Boyd, 2011). |
Already “Breaking Bad” actor Aaron Paul, astronaut Chris Hadfield and skateboarder Tony Hawk are among those using the platform. There is a recorded 10 million users to date with approximately 2 million active every day resulting in 350,000 hours of video content daily. (DMR, 2015) Surely it’s only a matter of time before this new platform is adopted by the major news networks and freelance journalists alike for topics in hard hitting news to travel journalism to sport events. Of course it also opens a can of worms for broadcasting rights and privacy issues.
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Commercial Attack
No one wants to see the ominous dorsal fin of a shark heading in their direction when they’re in the water.
But that was exactly what I saw the last time I was at the Seaway on the Gold Coast. My first reaction wasn’t however to scream and panic and swim as fast as I could in the opposite direction. It was to find my camera attached somewhere to my scuba gear so I could get a good shot of that toothy grin. Crazy you might think but for any scuba divers visiting the sunny Gold Coast, the Seaway is a must do dive along with the HMAS Brisbane and north Stradbroke Island. There’s not a better place to blow bubbles with the site supporting over 370 species of fish recorded by the Queensland museum, different types of rays, seahorse, sharks, octopus and squid. The best part about it though is you can get to the seaway without getting sea sick and putting your credit card in the red. Dr Taryn Crispin is a marine biologist and recreational diver who loves the Seaway dive site and visits it often. “I’ve been diving eleven years and love how affordable and accessible to Seaway site is. It’s definitely a great area for some unusual fish, seahorse and squid. They are definitely my draw card to the area.” “Besides that it’s a good safe dive day or night, you don’t have to go too far out into the water at night and fear the sharks to see squid,” Said Dr Crispin. All divers can agree that there is nothing more special than being underwater in complete silence accept for your own steady breath in and the sound of bubbles after breathing out. Being within touching distance to some of the most feared, weird and wonderful creatures on our planet. Fewer people have seen the deep see than walk on the moon, and fewer local Gold Coast people than this would agree that Seaway underwater paradise is a good place for a cruise ship terminal. But this area is once again under threat with Mayor Tom Tate wanting to develop the spit into a cruise ship terminal and casino. |
This is not a new proposal but one the government have flirted with for a few years now and although there is currently an agreement not to develop the area it is still being looked at with hungry eyes by developers.
Chinese developers have proposed a high-rise building, residential buildings and a cruise ship terminal and casino to be placed on Wave Break Island, an entirely sand island at the base of the Seaway. Marine biologists like Dr Crispin, Gold Coast foundations such as GECKO and Save Our Spit are in the midst of a political battle to save the ecosystem and permanently protect the area. GECKO campaign coordinator and former president Lois Levy said, “We’re currently looking for appropriate legislation to ensure development in the area won’t ever go ahead. “The best way we could do this would be to have the Moreton Bay marine park boundaries pushed south to incorporate Wave Break island and the seaway itself, if we could get that done it would solve all the problems because it would protect everything and still allow commercial activities and recreational activities to go ahead in the area but no major development could be done. “The Broadwater is exceptionally beautiful… We have no problem with people diving and sailing and such, the businesses depend on it as it is now. We just don’t want it stuffed up by pointless development on a sand island. It’s totally inappropriate.” Development would lead to dredge material fouling the waters and killing all the marine life in the area, as was seen 40 years ago when the seaway was first developed out of necessity for safer marine vessel passage. Australia’s premier inshore dive site would become a desolate waste land where beautiful fish and invertebrates once thrived for at least several decades if the government was to have its way with the land. Dr Crispin is far less than impressed at the development prospect and the idea that her squid friends would leave the area for good. “Squid are sensitive to sound and if you have major construction or huge ships coming through they would definitely be gone, so would most of the birds I would think. If you have sound, you lose the draw cards.” Recreational diver Michael Birnbaum from Switzerland also feels the site should stay as it is. “It’s such a good site and so easily accessible, especially if there were even more stairs put in, but that should be the only ‘development’. You can visit the site at so many different tide times, it’s great for after work, just throw your gear in the car and you’re set.” |
“If the site were to be developed there would be zero access to the divers because it’s private land. And if you start getting big draft ships coming through it’s really dangerous, it’s bad enough with jet skis and tinny boats.”
So why is the Seaway so special? Why don’t the local divers just go to another place, surely there are other sites as good as this one? Aside from the wildlife diversity unique to this area, no other city in Australia can provide the easy, year round access and appeal that the Seaway can offer so close to a major city. Many local dive companies call it ‘The best dive site in any Australian city.’ The water temperature doesn’t drop below 18 degrees and visibility is often anywhere up to 20+ meters which is amazing for a shore dive. Dr Crispin and Michael also agree that this is certainly a safe area protected from ocean conditions by South Stradbroke Island with five different dive sites available to suite the weather. The first is the South wall sand pipe which is the most popular, the short pipe, eagle ray cleaning station, Wave Break Island and the North East wall. Each site is unique and has its own special appeal but they are all accessible from the same land based entrance point. At the first and most popular site you can see colourful blue and white cleaner wrasse at their cleaning station waiting for the big-eye trevally, eagle rays and gropers as big as a small adult to cruise in for a good clean. The short pipe is a photographers dream with 150 species of fish, including family favourites from Finding Nemo like the morish Idol (Gill), butterfly fish (Bubbles) and puffer fish (Bloat). Dr Crispin favours the short pipe for the diversity of fish and the sneaky octopus that hide under the rocks. Unfortunately though the fish are at risk not only by site development proposals but also from aquarium trade collection. The Seaway is not protected by any laws to prevent the capture of fish for aquariums and that seems to be affecting the colourful inhabitant numbers. “It seems that there isn’t as many of the popular fish as there once was. That should be looked at as well… If the whole area was protected from as part of the Moreton Bay reserve as GECKO want to that would probably solve a lot of problems,” said Dr Crispin. |
Inglorious produce glorious idea
France is ahead of the
curve in solving food waste problems with the third largest French supermarket
chain Intermarché,
the third largest supermarket chain in France introducing ‘Inglorious Fruit and
Vegetables’ into their fresh produce section.
About 1.2 tonnes each day of obscurely shaped fruit and vegetables are sold at a discounted price in support of the European Union’s vote to make 2014 the year against food waste. The Australian 2 fruit and 5 vegetables every day initiative to increase population health is a great idea but somewhat unachievable for many households simple because of the price of produce. Intermarché presented the idea to the public with fruit juices and soups made from the ‘ugly’ fruit and veg and saw an overwhelming positive reaction from the public in store and over social and conventional media. |
“We faced only one problem,
being sold out,” Said Intermarché in an online video.
Foodwise.com estimate 20 – 40% of all fresh produce in Australia is rejected by supermarkets like Coles and Woolworths simply because they have an extra stem or irregular shape and don’t match the cosmetic guidelines for the company. The results of the ‘Inglorious fruit and vegetable’ campaign saw not only a reduction in food waste but also a 24% increase in the supermarket traffic for each store stocking and distributing ‘Inglorious’ produce. The clear notion from social media in Australia at the moment is that we should follow Frances example and begin to introduce these imperfect fruit and veggies into our supermarkets. |
Greste family to appeal seven-year sentence
Peter Greste’s family will
appeal against his seven-year sentence in an Egyptian jail in an effort to
exhaust all legal processes until a political solution can be imposed.
Peter Greste’s parents are already in Cairo briefing lawyers on the approval, but his brother Michael said in Brisbane today that Peter’s conviction was “a political case”. “We intend to appeal the verdict through the formal channels offered by the Egyptian legal system and are in the final stages of appointing a legal firm for the appeal case,” he said “I think it’s fairly clear this is a political case, I think there is a connection between Peters’ association with his employer Al Jazeera and the Egyptian government has something to do with it.” Mr Greste said. He also said that Prime Minister Tony Abbot assured the family that he ‘has made representation of the highest order to Egyptian authorities,’ and Peter had written a letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop. “We have to have faith in Egyptian government and we have to exhaust all legal channels available… the Egyptian president made it pretty clear he wouldn’t be stepping in or taking any action until the legal process was exhausted,” Mr Greste said. |
When questioned about the appeal case affecting Peter’s length of sentence,
Michael Greste said that his information was that they wouldn’t increase his
sentence as a result of the proceedings.
It has now been over a month since the guilty verdict, but Peter Greste has been in the notorious Tora prison just outside Cairo prison since late last year. Since his conviction, he has has several short 45-minute visits with his parents. “It is my hope that in light of the recent extension of his liberties in prison he will get more visiting time… He’s an exceptionally strong and philosophical person which I think helps him but he still finds it restrictive,” Michael said today. The Greste family now spends all of their energy in trying to secure Peter Greste’s release and proving his innocence, and are strongly encouraged by the support from the public in the matter as it helps both the case and Peter’s psyche. A letter from Peter to his family said, “One thing that helps lift my mood is the incredible collection of letters, If ever I feel alone or isolated I only need to leaf through those for inspiration.” |
Shark nets more harm than help
Another whale was entangled
in shark nets off of Gold Coast beaches this morning but was thankfully rescued
by SeaWorld staff, a much happier outcome than the juvenile whale which died in
shark nets on Sunday less than 4km away.
Marine mammal researcher Olaf Meynecke said to the Gold Coast Bulletin yesterday, “this (the death of the whale) highlights the cruelty of these nets to marine life and the need for QLD Government to reconsider lifting shark nets during winter months. “There’s no independent scientific evidence that shark nets have reduced shark attacks during the QLD winter over the past fifty years.” Whales aren’t the only creatures being caught in these nets and lines targeting sharks, a dolphin was also caught on a drum line this Sunday and is now being cared for at SeaWorld with severe chest injuries. A supporter of the petition to the QLD minister for Environment and Fisheries to stop whale entanglement Lyn Walker said “I want to protect our sea life. Take the nets down. I will swim any way I know the danger, they don’t.” |
Craig O’Connell has been involved in developing the ‘Sharksafe Barrier’ with a
marine conservation foundation O’Seas, which is a safe alternative to baited
hooks and nets for both swimmers and marine life.
"Our barrier does not use netting or hooks, but rather stimuli that non-invasively deter sharks away from a region, whereas other marine life can simply swim through the barrier," Mr O’Connell said in a report to Discovery News on Monday. The Sharksafe Barrier has been designed to resemble dens kelp forests, a natural ‘no-go-zone’ for sharks by using several rows of large vertical pipes and small magnets to send the ‘toothy hunters’ in the opposite direction said Mr O’Connell. |
GBR senate inquiry finale
The last of three senate
inquiries about dredging in the Great Barrier Reef was held in Townsville
yesterday where representatives from major reef conservation groups presented
to the senate committee whilst members of the public waved brightly coloured
‘Save the Reef’ banners outside.
Flinders Place in Townsville’s CBD became a platform for local protesters to show their angst toward the proposal to expand their port and other ports in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) heritage area. A report by Greens supported association Fight for the Reef in late 2013 claimed that there had already been some 902,154 cubic meters of maintenance dredging waste dumped in the GBR. North Queensland Conservation Council (NQCC) coordinator Wendy Tubman said “had the management of the GBR region been satisfactory, we would not have seen the continuing downward trend in GBR region health, as documented by GBR Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA). “We expect better management of our reef… NQCC does not refute the fact that the impact of agricultural run-off into the GBRWHA is massive, contributing to the major problems of Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (CoTS) and water quality.” |
Sadly the agency (GBRMPA)
that was seen as ‘the good guys’ and ‘on the side of the Reef’ is now regarded
as an agency that can be swayed by the government of the day, said Ms Tubman.
Chief Executive of the GBRMPA Russell Reichelt announced in a media release in early March this year that the GBRMPA had approved the Abbot Point development ‘with conditions’. “The dredge material will not be ‘dumped on the reef’… it (dredge waste) will be disposed of about 40km from the nearest offshore reef,” said Mr Reichelt. “As an added precaution, the activity can only happen between March and June, as this falls outside the coral spawning and seagrass growth periods.” The Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS, who are a key independent science provider and adviser to GBRMPA) submission to the senate stated “AIMS is not in a position to comment on the adequacy of any permit or management decisions for this issue (management of impacts of industrialisation).” A final report for the dredging proposal is scheduled to be submitted on August 27th this year. |
Straddie sparked again
Stradbroke
island was seen to be up in flames again yesterday as pillars of smoke were
seen from Ormeau on the mainland around 10am. Reports say that fire
fighters were called from the scene only a day before the new
blaze sparked on Monday the 13th January after battling the fire for two
long weeks.
The cause of these fires was a single lightning strike south of Point Lookout which sparked one of the biggest fires recorded on Stradbroke Island on the 29th December last year. Human and animal inhabitants of the island alike have been severely affected by the multiple blazes that ravaged the northern island. |
Dr Greg
Baxter, University of Queensland ecologist said to the Brisbane Times that the
animal species on the island could take up to two decades to recover from the
damage of the fires. "But if there is another hot fire within another five
years - and that burns a large proportion of area that has already been burnt -
then you will get species dropping out of the system," Dr Baxter said.
Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/north-stradbroke-fire-leaves-wildlife-at-severe-risk-20140108-30hgm.html#ixzz2qWMXoMJ1 |
How to save a life
Be the gift of hope
All natural cancer cure
Queensland Institute of
Medical Research have made a break through discovery of a potentially life
saving treatment for blood cancers.
Interferon is a newly developed chemotherapy drug under clinical trials which has been showing promising results to the treatment of malicious blood cancers such as leukaemia. Head of department for translational leukaemia research at QIMR for two years; Mr Steven Lane says, “It’s still in the early stages of development though there are no known long term side effects after treatment.” This new treatment not only treats the symptoms of the blood cancers like other chemotherapy courses, but it attacks the disease at its source to fight the cause of the disease. |
“Interferon acts by
activating the cancer cells and making them divide and grow; this then exhausts
them over time and eventually kills the mutated cells to prevent more cancer
cell growth.” Mr Lane said.
The drug has been derived from a protein naturally occurring in the human body which is known to act as a part of the immune system. If treated in the early stages of the cancer, subjects have shown significant improvement within the first one to two months and continued improvement up to 6 months after therapy began. Clinical trials are now in their final stages and once completed Mr Lane said they would then be seeking human patients to trial interferon. |
Schools to Swim
Sam Riley Swim Schools take
action to stop unnecessary children deaths from drowning by demanding action
from Royal Lifesaving Australia.
Between July 1st 2011 and June 30th 2012 there was an alarming 284 people who drowned in Australia, many of whom would not have had they been able to swim. Swim School managers from Sam Riley Swim Schools began a signed petition in 2012 after these statistics were released to motivate Royal Lifesaving Australia to take action and assist in preventing these deaths. The Springwood school manager, Miss Samantha Fraser said, “The more children who have access to free swimming lessons, the less likely we are to have drownings.” |
When questioned about the
petition for compulsory school swimming, 9 / 10 parents believed it would be “a
great idea” and most were disappointed that a program like this wasn’t already
in place.
Though Royal Lifesaving Australia has many school programs which promote awareness, there are no mandatory physical swimming programs provided free of cost. “Lots of families I know can’t afford swimming lessons.” Said Miss Fraser The petition, though submitted to the Royal Lifesaving team late 2012 with over 500 signatures from supportive parents and swim school teachers, seems to have had no impact in beginning a compulsory school swimming program in all Australian primary schools |