In case you haven’t seen our new RebelMouse page, DigitSlam, you should really check it out. We just got a neat little bit of recognition for it. If you like news in numbers, fast, hop over that way. Oh, and our Twitter is hopping, too.
Weekend project of the weekend: Ever wish you could have a never-ending supply of big numbers in your life? SFB covers a lot of them, but what if you want nothing but numbers? Meet our new SFB-affiliated number machine, DigitSlam — a RebelMouse account and Twitter account which work in tandem to throw giant numbers in your life. Want ‘em in your Twitter feed? Follow on Twitter. Want ‘em with nice design? Read us on RebelMouse. Check it out. Because numbers are cool.
Today is our birthday. We turned four, which means we’re old enough to go to preschool.
![Hey guys, it’s our birthday: The stuff we learned in 2012
After finishing your champagne, Nosh on some cake! As you may or may not know, ShortFormBlog started in earnest on January 1, 2009, and things have kind of gone pretty crazy since then. Among the milestones we hit this year? A nice little mention from Time Magazine, a night at the Shorty Awards (where I got a chance to say hey to the We Are the 99 Percent folks), and some of our coolest articles ever. But we got into this because of the news, so with that said, hit the jump to see our favorite stories from 2012, displayed Summary Sandwich style. — Ernie @ SFB
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The year’s biggest story, and what we learned from covering it The Chicago Sun-Times nailed it earlier this week, rough as it is to admit. With two major shootings and the major debate it caused, it’s the year of the gun. The question is, will things change in 2013?
How Hurricane Sandy brought us together after the storm In 2011, a hurricane got fairly close to causing major damage to NYC. In 2012, it actually happened. The monetary toll was high; so was the resiliency.
The year that politics went totally flip(-flop) The trend started in 2011 with a smiling Herman Cain. In 2012, we got Etch-a-Sketches, doghouses and binders full of women. Will 2013 be a year off?
Oh yeah, Obama won a second term or something Nate Silver called it. Though the president had a fallow period after the first debate, he eventually made it back. And he got on the cover of Time, too.
The ever-precarious situation in Sryia Syria was very volatile in 2012, but we kept you guys up to date. Meanwhile, there’s already too much drama around Benghazi, so let’s focus on those lost.
The opportunities we got to stretch our wings and try new things One of the best things we got to try in 2012 was The Pitch, an experiment in writing long-form articles. We also got the chance to experiment with the form a little, which was a real joy.
» And again, thank you: The reason SFB has continued to be fun after all this time has been because of the people we get to chat with and talk about the news with through this site. Seeing a post of ours impact so many people is awesome, and it’s something we look forward to doing in 2013. So again, thank you, from the entire team. (photo by Mamapyjama/Flickr)](http://25.media.tumblr.com/e90b6d522853ee82001440b11664ed07/tumblr_mfxm7nlbXT1qas8z9o1_500.jpg)
After finishing your champagne, Nosh on some cake! As you may or may not know, ShortFormBlog started in earnest on January 1, 2009, and things have kind of gone pretty crazy since then. Among the milestones we hit this year? A nice little mention from Time Magazine, a night at the Shorty Awards (where I got a chance to say hey to the We Are the 99 Percent folks), and some of our coolest articles ever. But we got into this because of the news, so with that said, hit the jump to see our favorite stories from 2012, displayed Summary Sandwich style. — Ernie @ SFB
We love feedback, but figure it would be helpful for you guys to have some commonly-addressed concerns laid out at the outset. Check it out and let us know what you think. — Ernie @ SFB
rachelcstella says: Wait, this was only for the summer? You’re not going to continue? Oh, I wish you’d keep this feature going!
» SFB says: We like The Pitch, too, but we want to be careful to give features a chance to lay dormant, for fear of overexposure. (For example: We want to bring the Tumbl-zine back at some point.) We think that there’s a lot of opportunity to do things like The Pitch, but at the same time, we don’t want to have such a feature wear out its welcome. We may bring it back at some point based on time and reader demand for sure. We like doing it! :0 — Ernie @ SFB
Seventh-inning Pitch: We’re here to serve you, folks. We SFB writers really enjoy writing the longer stories that are most important to you. The Pitch is a chance for all of us to delve a little deeper. Head over to this week’s The Pitch album on Facebook and vote for what story you want to see written slightly more longform-y! Your choices: The media’s coverage of Sarah Palin in comparison to Paul Ryan; a crazy new sci-fi technology developed by Microsoft and the NYPD; the Insane Clown Posse’s insane lawsuit against the FBI; a closer look at Paul Ryan and what makes him so Paul Ryan-y; or what to do with yourself now that the Olympics are over. Oh yeah: Be sure to read last week’s winner, a close-up on Syria. source
Have you been on Facebook today? Our weekly contest, The Pitch, is heading into Week 6. Pick between a look back at the situation in Syria, a prediction of how the electoral college will act this year, actual coverage of the LIBOR scandal, or the feud between Reid/Romney. The story with the most votes by Friday evening will be written more in-depth for you by Monday. Head over to our FB album and vote! then be sure to read this week’s Pitch: “The Olympics and social media: When restrictive brand standards stifle everyone.”
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alligatortower says: I don’t want to vote on which stories you write. I want you to write the stories that you think are important, and I want to judge whether I follow you or not based on whether I agree with you often enough.
» SFB says: And we want to listen to our readers and best focus our resources so that we can tell better stories! That’s why we created The Pitch. Writing longer stories takes a larger amount of resources than posting short items — and by doing it this way, we know where to put those resources so that you guys can read interesting stories, and we hear from our readers at the same time. And, a general thought: Read things you disagree with! It expands your worldview, dang it! Don’t get tunnel vision. You’ll learn more about how the world works. — Ernie @ SFB
The Pitch is on fire: Your SFB writers are here to serve you with a fifth week of friendly competition. Head over to our Facebook photo album and vote on which story you want us to delve more deeply into. From the whooping cough epidemic in Washington to a new social network start-up whose main focus is to be less ad-focused. Voting closes on Friday evening.
Is corn more interesting than Bachmann? Curious about the Colorado shooting? What’s Mitt Romney up to?And what about this patent/antitrust thing? One of these stories could get a nice, long, interesting feature — help us figure out which one!
The Pitch’s four-week-aversary: Last week, SFB editor Ernie won The Pitch; have you read his piece on journalism outsourcing? Because you should. Voting has opened this week for our latest round! From tech companies’ legal troubles to Bachmann’s “Islamophobic” witch hunt, there are five awesome stories for you to choose from. The story with the most votes by Friday evening wins, so head over to SFB’s FB so you can get in on this sweet action. source
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