Six months of The Daily

It's been a little more than 6 months since The Daily first arrived on iPads, stirring up enthusiasm for a new opportunity for newspapers.

Shortly after launch, I reviewed The Daily and found it had some major issues but a lot of upside.

So, where are we at six months later?

I'd say the real news is that The Daily is still around.

Post launch, I read The Daily nearly daily until Rupert Murdoch put up a paywall sometime in the Spring. Frankly the interactive Sudoku puzzle was the big draw pulling me back day after day, so I subscribed for a few weeks, but then simply got too busy to hunt it down each day.

An improved index page gives prominence to the hard-news in The Daily.I recently resubscribed, on a week-to-week basis, to see what's up. The key changes are better navigation and sleeker design; optimized video that loads fast and streams cleanly; no app crashes; a new weekly Travel section; page remakes for big news during the day; and more interactive features such as You Write the Caption and invites to submit audio memories for stories like the 9-11 anniversary.

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Take your blinders off, protect your privacy

Personal privacy in a 24-7 digital world may sound quaint, and I'm certainly aware of the tradeoffs each of us makes as personal information becomes  a form of currency. 

But knowing that personal information is currency one should actively and tightly control isn't something the average person is aware of, let alone cares about.

Therein lies a big problem as more and more entities get their hooks into personal data via our computers, smartphones and smart TVs. It's one thing to hand over your name, email address and ZIP code in exchange for free access to a service. But it's much more serious when you're unaware that digital service is also tapping into your personal contact list, following your browsing history, even tracking your location. 

The growth of free smartphone apps has increased the prevalence of these privacy threats. Too often we're too focused on firing up a cool app instead of first reading the fine print that may raise eyebrows.

Case in point: I recently got a notice to upgrade the Android app from a local TV station.* Since my company had just released a new Android app for our 661411 brand, I dived in to the fine print to see what had changed with this TV station app. Good thing I did.

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My stint hosting Californian Radio

I did my first gig co-hosting Californian Radio on Monday, talking local and national motorsports with Californian reporter Mike Griffith. 

One thing becomes clear quickly: I have a voice made for print.