Ten things I didn't know about the UK before I got here

1. It's cold
2. It's wet

Nine new blogs were born today

Eight of them are here. The other one will follow.

http://www.linnerreadme.blogspot.com/

http://hazzlehoff.blogspot.com/

http://www.catrionawhiteatthepa.blogspot.com/

http://www.shivzib.blogspot.com/

http://www.paddyponderslife.blogspot.com/

http://www.writtenbyleon.blogspot.com/

http://www.carolinehowley.blogspot.com/

http://www.lunagarcia-lunagarcia.blogspot.com/

http://www,vanguardview.blogspot.com

http://anastasiatscheprassow.blogspot.com

Kebab anyone?

I'm sure when newspaper circulation departments gather up their papers and collect their bills for display outside newsagents, the last thing on their minds is whether the headline might be appropriate for the location. This bill from The Argus in Brighton made me smile. What's not obvious from the picture is that it's right outside a kebab shop. The owner is the one puffing away outside. It has to be said it's one of Brighton's better purveyors of the nations favourite after pub grub.

Blog off

This blog is officially an ex-blog. I now blog on media and communications at The Pencil Sharpener, group blog for Press Association Training. I'll be launching a food blog soon. Watch this space...

Sun video

It's about the content stupid

In amongst all the chatter on the web about the latest cool tools there's also, thankfully an awful lot of common sense. As a recent arrival on Twitter and a more active blogger and networker than I used to be, I've had to plough through an awful lot of useless information. But there are some gems out there.

Here's one from Rick Waghorn. It drills down to the heart of the digital issue for journalists, namely: It's all about the content. Twitter and Facebook, LinkedIn and Blogs are all just a way of getting there.

The worrying thing is that while some of the thought leaders in my little blogsphere such as Sarah Hartley, Jeff Jarvis, Rick Waghorn, Adam Vincenzini, Paul Bradshaw Adrian Monck and Frank Wintle are constantly exploring, challenging, thinking and seeking out an understanding of what's happening on the web, there isn't enough of this type of research being done by local journalists themselves.

I've always tried to keep my web training courses grounded in the reality of the newsroom. But recently I've become more and more concerned that local papers are not putting enough into understanding the changing world around them. But that's what journalists do isn't it? Why can't local newspapers put some real time into exploring new media?

The web has been changing at a break-kneck speed - hurtling down the fast lane while local newspapers are just about ambling down the slip road trying to join the traffic.

There is always likely to be market for local news - how we get it to people is the real challenge that lies ahead.

100 essential websites

Always worth a look, the Guardian's annual list of the 100 essential websites - many of which I've never heard of. Looks like there's some clickin' to do.

New Google news experiment

I'm convinced Google is getting increasingly concerned about the sabre-rattling of newspaper publishers who are about to put up paywalls for their content. Google's approach now is to try and work in tandem with newspapers rather than just using newspaper content on Google News.

Here's the latest collaboration which will be worth keeping an eye on.

SEO and newspapers

Some great comments in this piece about Matt Kelly's appointment as head of digital for Trinity Mirror's national papers. I particularly like the observations about the need for websites to be built for human's rather than search engines.