Welcome to the 13th episode of “The Mediatwits,” the weekly audio podcast from MediaShift. The co-hosts are MediaShift’s Mark Glaser and Rafat Ali, the founder of PaidContent. This week’s show looks at a recent survey by Pew Internet that found that 35 percent of Americans now have smartphones, and that ownership is even higher among people of color. Guest Aaron Smith from Pew explained one surprise from the survey: 25 percent of smartphone users were using their phone as their main source of accessing the Net.
Then talk once again turned to the United Kingdom, and what is becoming a regular feature on the podcast: “This Week in Rupert.” The phone-hacking scandal continues to widen, with News Corp. dropping its bid to take over BSkyB, and a new FBI investigation into possible hacking of the phones of 9/11 victims in the U.S. Special guest Jack Shafer, Pressbox columnist for Slate, says not to jump to conclusions and that the New York Post and Fox News are innocent until proven guilty.
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Intro and outro music by 3 Feet Up; mid-podcast music by Autumn Eyes via Mevio’s Music Alley.
Here are some highlighted topics from the show:
Google+ addictions
0:40: Mark convincing friends to join Google+
3:10: Rafat waiting until it grows out of early adopter phase
3:30: Rundown of topics for the podcast
Pew Internet survey on smartphone use
05:00: Background on Pew Internet’s Aaron Smith
07:15: Smartphones becoming part of daily life
11:15: Theories on popularity of smartphones by blacks, Latinos
This Week in Rupert
14:50: Slate’s Jack Shafer now supporting Murdoch (joking!)
16:10: Update on the phone-hacking scandal, spreading to 9/11 victims?
18:20: Everyone’s guilty before anything is proven
20:20: Guardian, Nick Davies deserve praise for staying on story
22:30: Fox News impacted? Mark and Jack argue it out
25:45: Twitter keeps Jack updated on story
More Reading
Smartphone Adoption and Usage at Pew Internet
As smartphones proliferate, some users are cutting the computer cord at Washington Post
Smartphones and Mobile Internet Use Grow, Report Says at NY Times’ Bits blog
Jack Shafer’s Pressbox column on Slate
Rupert Murdoch, Paper Tiger at Slate
Murdoch Pulls the Ultimate Reverse Ferret at Slate
FBI to investigate Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.: Did it hack 9/11 victims? at Christian Science Monitor
Google Plus Users Top 10 Million; 1 Billion Items Shared Each Day at ReadWriteWeb
Weekly Poll
Don’t forget to vote in our weekly poll, this time about how you access the Internet:
Check out the results of a previous poll: What do you think about Google+?
Mark Glaser is executive editor of MediaShift and Idea Lab. He also writes the bi-weekly OPA Intelligence Report email newsletter for the Online Publishers Association. He lives in San Francisco with his son Julian. You can follow him on Twitter @mediatwit.