Happy Belated Birthday, America!

While a lot of people flocked to DC for a 4th of July celebration, I headed south for Charlottesville and Richmond. While in C'ville, I visited Monticello, Jefferson Vineyards and Carter Mountain Orchard. I'm currently working on my own retirement residence (Mikecello) but I'm still waiting on an inheritance of 3,000 acres of land in southeast Texas.

I also saw Richmond's minor league baseball team, the Flying Squirrels. While I didn't appreciate the extra innings, I did enjoy the post-game fireworks show! Shout out to Thomas Jefferson and the minor leaguers trying to make it.

Poynter Institute: Fact or Friction

About a week ago I shot a forum at the Newseum entitled "Fact or Friction: Building the Bridge Between the Fourth and Fifth Estates". It was held by the Poynter Institute and discussed how traditional news outlets (the fourth estate) could coexist with new media and nontraditional news providers (the fifth estate). Matt Thompson, Ana Marie Cox, Drew Curtis and Ellen Weiss were among the bloggers, twitterers, CEOs, etc. who provided insight on the issue.

Much like in the photography world, the old heads at the forum seemed to be saying, "Yeah this new media is all great and innovative...but how do we make money?" I guess be great and innovative. Shout out to @mthomps, @anamariecox and @drewcurtis.