DXO » Journalism

PHOTOS: Dan Sinker is @MayorEmanuel

DXO — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 11:58:50 +0000

Here’s some photos I took today that got some wide pickup nationally, including an exclusive article in The Atlantic. Here’s a snip from my personal blog, Derivative Works:

Dan Sinker is @MayorEmanuel. Never let it be said that Daniel X. O’Neil cannot keep a secret. This morning I went to Sinker’s house to take some pics for him. One ended up in The Atlantic piece:But I like this Seesmic money shot better:

I really love these pics.UPDATE: Here’s some media outlets that used my pics:

LAUNCH: AldermanicWebsites.com

DXO — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 05:42:55 +0000

Today I launched a politics/ design/ technology/ humor site called AldermanicWebsites.Here’s the launch post (Comparing Aldermanic Hopefuls Online) and two snippets:

Here’s something I worked on over Christmas vacation: AldermanicWebsites. It is a fun/ manic little Web site that “contains links to and reviews of the Web sites, Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, and other Web referencia for each of the 349 people who filed nominating petitions to run for Alderman in one of the cities wards.”*I like the Analysis best– so far I’ve got five posts there, covering everything from good stars and bad stars to remarkable sites and popular Web development platforms. And you’ve realy got to view source to see anything.

Here’s the About page with a snip about the technology reviews:

If you’re interested examples in particular technologies used by particular candidates, the Quick-See pulldown menu is your best bet.For instance, you can see all candidates using the WordPress Web development platform, all candidates using PayPal to collect contributions, or everyone who uses Contact Contact to send out mass emails.Same goes for wards– just choose the ward your interested in (the 24th is super-lively) and you’ll see all candidates. The Ward list is in alphabetical order (when the ward number is spelled out). That’s a little goofy, I know– what can I say; I have limited skills.

Here’s some coverage:Gapers Block: Comparing Aldermanic Hopefuls Online

There are 349 candidates for alderman in this election, with varying levels of web savvy. AldermanicWebsites helps sort through them all. Unsurprisingly, a certain star makes a lot of appearances.

Progress Illinois: Council Candidates On The Web, Facebook, Twitter, And More

AldermanicWebsites.com is a new hub tracking the web-based battle for Chicago’s City Council. Courtesy of internet developer and writer Dan X. O’Neil, the site offers an easy way to comb through the online output of hundreds of candidates who submitted nominating petitions to run for one of Chicago’s 50 council seats. You’ll find links to the candidates’ websites, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, and what O’Neill calls “other Web referencia.” There are reviews and discussions of their digital production too — check out O’Neil’s thoughts on the star imagery on the prospective council member pages — and a link to a set of photographs of the front page of each aldermanic candidate’s site. Browsing through those front pages is a useful way to learn how council candidates are defining the issues their communities face, where they think incumbent council members have fallen short, and why voters should trust them to do a better job.

REF: Post About Goofy Contract / CityPayments

DXO — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 04:19:57 +0000

Here’s a nice post from Chicago Muckrakers, acting on a contract I flagged as goofy over on CityPayments: Company accused of stealing millions from NYC and hurricane victims gets money from Chicago.

The City of Chicago has given over $7 million to Spherion, a company whose employees were targeted by federal prosecutors last week for its role in a money laundering scheme.Citipayments.org’s Dan O’Neil was the first to notice Chicago’s connection to Spherion. We dug a little deeper into some Chicago records and found that the company was originally awarded a $6 million contract, but has already received $7 million for “application development, support and ongoing maintenance” and “consulting.”

CityPayments is a nifty little research tool.

PANEL: “Covering The City”at the Great Cities Institute at UIC

DXO — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 19:14:03 +0000

Today I participated in a panel discussion about urban reporting and research. Here’s a flyer for the event:Covering the City

Complete audio of the panel here and links to the intro and Q&A.

Panel Discussion:”Daily Urbanism”at Open Cities conference

DXO — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:48:06 +0000

Today I participated in a panel for the Open Cities conference in Washington, DC. The topic was “Daily Urbanism”. Here’s the description from the program:

A good infographic is worth a thousand words. Data visualization can help bridge the gap between government projects and citizen engagement. Panelists will discuss opportunities to use data to better understand cities and guide regional policies.

Open Cities PresentationView more presentations from Daniel X. O’Neil.

Here’s some of the points we covered:

It may seem like automatic data, but there are millions of humans behind it
People reporting potholes, cops coming to the aid of citizens, building inspectors crawling through job sites
Represents immense human labor and many citizen interactions
Getting represented here is as important as being represented in the voting booth

Panel Discussion: “What Is News in the Interactive Era?”

DXO — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 06:27:14 +0000

Today I participated in a panel discussion on the Google campus with the Berkeley School of Journalism.

MSNBC.com Purchase of EveryBlock

DXO — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 20:41:55 +0000

Here’s a snip from some of the news coverage of the sale of EveryBlock that focuses on the public data work that I spearheaded:

MSNBC.com Buys EveryBlock as Interest in Local Content Grows | Kara Swisher | BoomTown | AllThingsD.

EveryBlock takes a slightly different approach, scouring a mass of publicly available data in a variety of U.S. cities from a variety of public records–such as crime stats, building permits and restaurant inspections–and reassembling them into more comprehensible and geographically relevant news feeds, depending on what a user asks for.

Chicago Sun-Times Editorial re: CityPayments:”You too can track city spending”

DXO — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 08:26:44 +0000

Here’s an editorial from today’s Sun-Times.www.suntimes.com/news/commentary/1653034,CST-EDT-edit06b….July 6, 2009Ever hear about the City of Chicago spending money on something and think to yourself, that’s just goofy?Just the other day, Ald. Ed Burke griped about the city paying a contractor $915 every time it hauls a body to the morgue, while noting that other cities pay far less.Most of us don’t have Burke’s soapbox. But now, in a more modest way, you too can let the world know when you think the city’s blowing your money.In a clever use of technology to bring information to the masses, two civic-minded, tech-savvy guys — Daniel X. O’Neil and Harper Reed — have set up a Web site, citypayments.org, that offers a searchable database of thousands of city contracts for a variety of goods and services, from Chevy Impalas to toilet seats.The City of Chicago offers much the same information on its Web site, but the database on the independent citypayments.org is easier for the average citizen to use.And here’s the best part: Taxpayers can comment on the spending they find at citypayments.org and even flag an expenditure as "goofy."You might wonder if this will accomplishment anything other than providing hours — or at least minutes — of entertainment.Who knows? Maybe a business aced out of a city contract by a clout-heavy rival will anonymously drop a dime at the site. Maybe a city employee, frustrated by waste in her department, will point out a few interesting secret facts about a contract — again anonymously.This could turn into a fine fishing ground for reporters and prosecutors.At the very least, it offers an education on how Chicago spends our tax dollars.The more folks who plunge into the site, the more interesting things might get.Get snooping.

The Launch of CityPayments

DXO — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:16:13 +0000

Today I helped launch CityPayments. Here’s a snippet from the launch blog post:

Take a look at CityPayments, a database of all vendors, contracts, and payments that have been posted by the municipal government of the City of Chicago to the Vendor, Contract, and Payment Search lookup tool maintained by the Department of Procurement Services.

PANEL: Chicago Future of Media Conference

DXO — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 18:27:36 +0000

I took part in a panel called, “How do people consume the news, and what do they do with it?”. Here’s some video:

Here’s Michael Miner’s take, and a little follow-up I wrote.