Matt Hampel | matth.org

A while ago, I wanted to post an ad on Mlive for Shakespeare in the Arb. I had to fill out an online contact form — complete with fax number — just to get access to their crazy-complicated rate cards. Then some lady called me and tried to hard-sell me.

Here’s how the process worked with the Ann Arbor Chronicle: There are three ad slots. Each has a unique rate and format. We chose one, emailed a JPG file, and sent in our cash. Our ad appeared for a month. Fantastic — no hard selling, no commitments, no incomprehensible combo-packages. The Chronicle made it easy for us to give them our money.

(there were many other benefits — like supporting local journalists directly, and by publicly demonstrating the alignment of our event with the Chronicle’s style)

I’m worried that AnnArbor.com doesn’t understand this. First of all, it seems that their ads will be based primarily around what they call “Deals”. That is, ads will be expected to offer discounts, freebies, or special pricing. I’m not offering anyone anything like that.

At the AnnArbor.com tech advisory panel, I asked if there will be a way to manage ads online, without having to call and negotiate. The answer was no.

I think someone could make good money being the intermediary to this system. I want a place where I can select my timeframe (or clicks or views or whatever), ad placement, upload an image, and pay money.  I don’t need phone conversations and I don’t need bundled ‘ad products’.

 This semester, I researched and wrote a report on the state of Ann Arbor’s Community Television Network for Susan Crawford‘s Telecommunications Law course.

The report is now available online in multiple formats. At that address, you can browse the report by section, view the entire report, or download a printable copy as a PDF.

Here’s the one-paragraph version: Community Television Network broadcasts public, educational, and governmental programming to Ann Arbor residents via cable TV. Its current functions, which include providing media tools and education to residents and broadcasting civic information, provide the community with relevant and important content and knowledge. The Network faces challenges centered around changes in the nature of media consumption and production. The report recommends a number of policy and institutional goals that could help the organization adapt to these changes, including an increased focus on consumer-level digital equipment, online distribution, and public guidance.

I look forward to your responses and feedback, and I encourage you to use the features of the website to share them. You can add comments to every section and paragraph of the report.

The City website’s “News” has announcement about energy bill assistance. The steps you need to go through to learn about the assistance are farcical. The news release is a PDF that contains no actual information about the service — instead, it directs residents to watch a cable TV program. So, the low income residents who this program targets have to pay for cable TV. The video was not posted online as of 31 December.

Viewers then have to guess when the information will be broadcast and schedule around it. Two of the three timeslots are essentially random (sometime at night and “between regular programming”).  Interested parties can  browse to the Public Access channel’s schedule, which requires a minimum of four clicks from the City homepage, plus another PDF download. That’s assuming users know the schedule is posted online, and exactly where to find it.

I don’t have cable, so I can’t check, but I’d guess that the CTN program is not captioned, leaving residents who are deaf or hard-of-hearing out of luck.

People on a tight budget don’t have that time to waste. This is a lousy failure to communicate.

Here are two simple ways the City could effectively provide this information to residents:

1. Post a web page (not a PDF) containing the information that would help residents understand and acquire energy bill assistance.
2. Post the video online, so residents don’t have to wait or guess when the information wil be aired.

For the record, the text of the press release (sans boilerplate):

CTN Airing Public Service Announcements for Energy Bill Assistance

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Dec. 23, 2008 — Help may be available for citizens unable to pay their utility bill. Ann Arbor Community Television Network has produced a public service announcement to inform viewers about DTE Energy’s payment assistance programs. Paul Ganz, DTE Energy regional relations, shares details of DTE’s efforts to work with customers and resolve payment concerns before shutoff actions are engaged. Customers can learn about alternatives available through DTE should they be experiencing economic hardships, and how to take advantage of assistance opportunities.

This PSA can be seen as part of the “Access Soapbox” program on CTN channel 17, as well as, in between regular programming on all four CTN channels — 16, 17, 18 and 19 on Comcast Cable. Information is also posted on CTN’s electronic bulletin boards, which are telecast during the overnight hours.

For the “Access Soapbox” schedule of days and times, and more information about CTN, visit www.a2gov.org/ctn or call CTN at 734.794.6150.

I’m really surprised we don’t yet have a good, cheap corner bakery in downtown Ann Arbor. Sure, there’s Zingerman’s but that doesn’t really count. I’m looking for something like the bakeries in Chicago’s Chinatown, or Detroit’s Mexicantown, where I paid $7.50 for this delicious box of treats:

(how much do you think that would have cost at Café Japon?)

In France, there’s a smart little bakery on every corner. Same in Germany, but they’re generally national chains with Stehplätze (standing tables) only. You can still get your sweet roll for 40 euro cents, though.

(photo above from David Ortman, by-nc)

from the aanews:

Under the living-wage law, groups that have contracts with the city of $10,000 or more must pay above-minimum wages. That wage level is now around $12 an hour for employees who don’t receive health benefits

…

But upping the grant would increase the festival’s cost by some $19,000. And City Council Member Chris Easthope, who’s promoted the change, argues that the festival’s seasonal employees – almost all students – are not the kind of workers the wage law was meant to protect.

Thanks, Chris, for your beneficent leadership.

In my inbox today, a response to my question about the accessibility of the City of Ann Arbor’s website:

Thank you for your patience. The city is in the process of converting to new Web site management software. As the city trains its team of Web content editors to work with the new software, the importance of alt tabs [sic] is emphasized, and editors are shown how to complete this important step. The addition of alt tabs is becoming a part of editors’ routine content-updating process.

In addition, the communications office is meeting regularly with members of the city’s commission on disability issues to further help ensure our Web site is accessible to all. This partnership has been very valuable.

I hope you will find our site even more user friendly with the upcoming launch of the new software in the weeks to come. As always, we welcome your feedback.

The RC is home to a forum on urban organization and development — everyone is welcome to attend any and all meetings:

OCT 30: Structures of inequality, political economy of marginalized urban communities, political organizing. By Michelle & ???????

NOV 6:� Housing issues, commercial improvements, a closer look at asset-based development. By Patrick

NOV 13: Urban gardening, green development. By Ashlee (and Jessi?)

DEC 4: Nuts and bolts of non-profit start-ups- 501c3 status, grants, technology, initial mobilization. By Matt & Michelle.

DEC 11: Educational development & the arts for social change. By Ashlee and Alex.
All meetings are 7-9pm in 24-26 Tyler, East Quad, 701 E. University, 48109.

WEMU host Michael G. Nastos retired from station this evening after nearly 30 years. An explanation will appear in Saturday’s Ann Arbor News, he says. No further explanation was printed, so either the News left out information or I misheard.

I grew up with Michael G. Nastos and WEMU Jazz, nearly every day since I was conscious. It makes his departure particularly saddening for me. If anyone knows more, I’d be interested to hear.

All interested editors of ArborWiki are invited to the Summer Work Party this coming Thursday, the 26th, at 9pm. We’re meeting at the Ann Arbor outlet of Primo Coffee for a couple of hours to hack away at MediaWiki.

There are a couple specific code parts that I hope to attack, namely:

• The upcoming server change and partnership that — after about a year — is finally ready to happen.
• Forcing search to actually search everything. It doesn’t do talk pages, I don’t think, and certainly not categories.
• Providing a new syntax for mapping
• I will also bring along some of my extra schmaltz for community use.

We will also be discussing how AW can neatly be extended to neighboring communities, especially Ypsilanti.