All in Storytelling

John Frost asks:

"In this post-frontpage era of digital journalism, what should the homepage look like? What are the absolute essentials?"

This question made me immediately think about the way that I develop content for this blog, and find myself incredibly embarrassed. It's funny, you can see "best practices" not being utilized in content elsewhere and be completely oblivious to it when it comes to your own regurgitation.

I was a much younger man then. Fill with energy and rage for that day. Days would follow and we would fall further into blame. The flags went up and so did the fists. Status quo. Today, I take my little girl to school. I look into the eyes of the future, my future, possibly your future. All I see there is love, laughter, dreams and discovery. We must now teach undying fearlessness with dogged practicality.
Think back to your first real job. Remember that one old-timer who had all the great stories? I don’t mean the bitter guy who wore a tie with his dandruff-covered short-sleeved shirt, and referred to upper management as “The Gestapo.” I mean the funny dude who seemed to know his shit, but also had a million great stories about the industry. He knew every client, went to all the trade shows – and talked about flying on airlines like Eastern and Pan Am. Back when they served real meals. In coach.
Well the wiki says "Gamification is the use of game design techniques[1] and mechanics to solve problems and engage audiences. Typically gamification applies to non-game applications (also known as "funware"),[2] particularly consumer-oriented web and mobile sites, in order to encourage people to adopt the applications. It also strives to encourage users to engage in desired behaviors in connection with the applications.[3] ...
Most of you don’t know this, but the beta version of Justice was a far cry from the uber-social techno-dweeb you know today. My “once upon a time” took place in Breckenridge, Colo., circa 1977. I was not part of any clique, wasn’t a trust-fund kid, and didn’t have a huge network of homeboys. My funny name didn’t help. And to top it off, I was in educational support classes because I had to play catch-up after starting in Florida’s rudimentary education system.