I’m trying not to use the word “hate” because it’s just not a nice word.
Last year, my editor-in-chief and I started using Google Calendar as a collaboration tool to schedule stories. She’s in Sarajevo. I’m in Zurich. The Calendar seemed to be the best way to schedule stories in real time with both of us online. I created the calendar.
A few months ago, she had a problem where the calendar that contained the schedule for all of our news stories either wouldn’t load for her or just wouldn’t show the stories (which we’d put in as events). This happened all of a sudden. Then, all of a sudden, the problem disappeared. Everything went back to normal.
Well, it’s my turn now. Since Christmas, I haven’t been able to see what stories have been scheduled…and we’ve scheduled some weeks in advance. I posted the problem on the Google Calendar help group, but no one seems to know a solution. My e-i-c is going to have to send all of the scheduled stories in an e-mail, which is certainly not a time saving move. I created a new calendar thinking that that would solve the problem. Nope, I can’t see any scheduled stories even on the new calendar.
I even tried embedding the calendar in a web page. I still couldn’t see the events.
I’m at my wits end with this. I can see my other calendars, just not this one…which is the most important one.
This has taught me a lesson: Never depend on one service for something as important as story scheduling. Always have some type of back up (even paper based). It will save you a lot of trouble down the road.
I’m now trying to find a better scheduling solution because it looks as if Google Calendar isn’t it. Any suggestions?
This video has been making the rounds, but I first saw it over on Bruno Giussani’s site:
I find it interesting that the folks who made this video and uploaded it had no problem with portions of YouTube’s Terms of Use:
“C. For clarity, you retain all of your ownership rights in your User Submissions. However, by submitting User Submissions to YouTube, you hereby grant YouTube a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicenseable and transferable license to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display, and perform the User Submissions in connection with the YouTube Website and YouTube’s (and its successors’ and affiliates’) business, including without limitation for promoting and redistributing part or all of the YouTube Website (and derivative works thereof) in any media formats and through any media channels. You also hereby grant each user of the YouTube Website a non-exclusive license to access your User Submissions through the Website, and to use, reproduce, distribute, display and perform such User Submissions as permitted through the functionality of the Website and under these Terms of Service. The above licenses granted by you in User Videos terminate within a commercially reasonable time after you remove or delete your User Videos from the YouTube Service. You understand and agree, however, that YouTube may retain, but not display, distribute, or perform, server copies of User Submissions that have been removed or deleted. The above licenses granted by you in User Comments are perpetual and irrevocable.”
Now granted, YouTube doesn’t push you to list private information, but I think the present Facebook brouhaha is just that, brouhaha. *Anytime* a person signs up (or even posts, see Typepad/Six Apart’s privacy policy, especially “Information Use, Sharing and Disclosure”) for a site, they are sharing personal information.
The degrees are different, but info is shared just the same.
