The following is draft material for my next book, Welcome to the Fifth Estate (the follow up to Now Is Gone, which is almost out of print). Comments may be used in the final edition. You can download the first drafted chapter of the new edition — Welcome to the Fifth Estate — for free. One of the most crystallizing moments of my online career was when Ike Pigott said social media was an organic process. This analogy struck me as inherently true, in large part because of the significant amount of time and care one has to invest in building an active community. Like a farmer who invests love and labor day after day watching her/his fields slowly yield …

On episode 18, Richard Laermer and I discussed the Golden Globe Awards, the Haitian crisis, and Obama’s incredible MLK Day speech, and what it might mean for the State of the Union speech next week. Somehow, George W. Bush, Meryl Streep and Kate Hudson creeped into the conversation. Here’s a breakdown: The Golden Globe awards, and what we thought of them and Meryl Streep The incredible online response to the Haitian crisis The return of George W. Bush to the White House, ye gads! Obama’s really compelling MLK speech (is he finally ready to be himself?) Discussion about what Obama needs to do during this State of the Union How news outlets are turning to smaller outlets like blogs for …