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I’ve been on Twitter  for — I don’t know — six or seven months now. Can’t see much use for it and, frankly, in terms of the time and bandwidth I’m wasting, it ain’t worth it. So i’m de-Twittering or un-Twittering. I will be an ex-Tweeter.

Reason? Basically, there’s nothing I’m getting from the Twitter folks I follow that I can’t get in person, via e-mail, via RSS or via the good old-fashioned phone.

You may have a different Twitter experience, of course, and I’m not saying Twitter is bad. For journalists, Twitter, had its one shining moment, so far as I can tell, during the Mumbai terrorist attacks. (I’ve heard there were lots of cool Tweets as that Airbus landed on the Hudson river.)

But as party of my daily/hourly digital toolbox and with more and more tools showing up on the Internet, I think you’ve got to make some decisions about what’s useful and why. Digg, for example, seems like a useful tool for newsroom managers and assignment editors but for the blue-collar grunts like me out there pounding the digital pavement, Digg, Twitter, and services like it are just time-wasters.

The social software tools I find valuable for the work I do are Facebook and Google Reader. I’m a big Google Notebook fan as well. Notebook is “share-able” but I tend to keep all my Notebook stuff private cuz that’s where tidbits for the scoops I’m working on end up.

E-mail — so ubiquitous now that its value is overlooked — remains the all-time killer app for a reporter, if you ask me. Web browsers are a close second but e-mail lets you reach out, get personal, stay anonymous if you need to, and can be your conduit to file to your desk and the wider world. Plain-text e-mail works on every hardware platform and every bandwidth situation. (And I’ve reported from spots where the story was getting out at 1200 baud ! ) The Web, of course, is a wonderful Internet application for journalists but content coming and going via HTTP can be a bandwidth hog and the browser that will interpret all that content will vary considerably on different hardware platforms. Of course, we don’t think about bandwidth or platforms nowadays when we’re using the PC in our office which is connected to somebody’s 802.11n WLAN.

But back to Twitter. When I signed up for a Twitter account I couldn’t, to be honest, envision how it might make me a better reporter but I had faith that, like a lot of other online tools I’ve used since I downloaded Netscape’s Mosaic in 1994, its value as tool to help me improve the quality, efficiency, or scope of my newsgathering.

Unlike Facebook, where I’m approaching 1,000 friends (many personal but most professional), I thought I’d restrict my Twitter “Follows” to key or frequently used sources — political operators like Jack Layton or Gilles Duceppe or folks with expertise, like Michael Geist or Jim Carroll, that I’ve called upon many times over the years to help with my stories. I also included a few digital-savvy journalists in my follow list. I vowed not to clutter up my “Follow” list with personal friends or those folks who I didn’t already have a working professional relationship with.

Now one of those journalists who I’ve following on Twitter is my friend and former boss Kirk Lapointe. Kirk’s assignment right now is at the Vancouver Sun where he’s the managing editor. Ever since I first worked for him back at The Hamilton Spectator in 1996, I’ve known Kirk to keep an eye on the future. Over the last few months, I’ve admired the commitment he has made to Twitter. He sees something there and the Twitterverse is definitely richer for him being in it. But you know what? The real interesting stuff from Kirk I find in his newspaper or his blog. Is there “must-have” unique content from Kirk or any of the others I’m following on Twitter? Nope. [I single Kirk out here, not because I disagree with him. In fact, I think he and I agree on a whole pile of things when it comes to our brave new digital world and journalism.]

So aside from the fact that I just found nothing on Twitter that made me a better, faster, reporter — what else is it that’s bugging me? Search.

Search, for a reporter, is a must-have. In fact, the lack of decent search within Facebook is one of things which may eventually drive me from that club. On the other hand, one of the things I love about Facebook is the photos of young political staffers who-want-to-be-cabinet-ministers doing crazy, drunk things while they let other people take pictures. I’m collecting all those photos and, believe me, the dirty-tricks operatives at Liberal and Conservative research groups are doing the same thing. But I digress …

How is search valuable? Today, for example, as we were reporting on the issue of U.S. protectionism, we needed to know, on deadline (i.e. within about 5 minutes) what percentage of steel made in Canada gets exported to the U.S. I had the answer within that five minute window because I’ve set up my digital world to answer that question. Here’s how: First, I’m running Google Desktop so that all the stuff on my local machine and local servers gets the Google index treatment. I know there are other search engines out there but, I’m sorry, Google is still king.

Next: Everything I touch on the Web and every piece of e-mail and paper I get ends up in digital form on my drive. I do lots of ATI requests and every one I get is digitized and then run through the OCR function in Adobe Acrobat. Google gobbles it up.

So today, on deadline, I’m a keystroke to Google Desktop, type in “steel canada exports u.s.” and, presto, up pops a briefing note the Department of Finance prepared for a meeting Jim Flaherty had with a CEO from a Canadian steel company. In the briefing note? You guessed it. Finance department officials say Canada exports about 40 per cent of all steel made in the country, 90 per cent of which goes to the U.S.

That’s the power of search for a journalist on deadline. Twitter’s search capabilities are far too rigid (Find people using twittername, lastname or firstname. That’s it. I can’t easily or with precisely search my own tweets, my follower’s tweets, or my followee’s tweets.

Google Reader is my preferred RSS reader for the same reason I like Google Desktop. I can search with a good deal of precision through all the content I’ve ever received through RSS. Can’t do that with Bloglines which I used to use.

So there you go: So long Twitter and good luck! I’ll keep the account open just in case there’s another Mumbai moment but I suspect I’ve tweeted my last.

To those I’ve been following via Twitter: I’ll see you at other digital hangouts. To those who’ve been following my Tweets: You can find me right here.

Technorati Tags: digital politics, e-democracy, facebook, internet, journalism, facebook, social software, twitter

Two datapoints out this morning that might give us pause as the federal government prepares to release the hounds of spending.

First, the economics department at the T-D Bank says that ” despite perceptions of tightening conditions, bank credit continues to flow at a strong pace to households and firms.” The report, written by the bank's deputy chief economist Craig Alexander and economist Grant Bishop, concludes that “business credit expanded by 13.2% Y/Y in December fuelled by Canadian-denominated business loans and much expanded reliance on Bankers’ Acceptances.”

Business lobbies such as the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business have been saying for weeks that credit for many of their members is drying up.

Second, the Conference Board of Canada today reports that consumer confidence is up this month. That's right — up! It's not up much but the board's survey found that an increasing number of Canadians are feeling better about their financial situation and are considering purchasing big-ticket items.

Not that it takes much encouragement, but, as it's Sunday night and I don't have to report to work for at least another 10 hours, I'm pleased to enjoy an extra whisky in honour of the 250th birthday of Robert Burns:

About 4.2 million Canadians claim heritage ties to Scotland, so it's no surprise that there are a dozen statues erected to Burns across the country. After all, Canada's first two prime ministers were Scots.

I'm one of those. My dad's dad hailed from Edinburgh; my mom's dad sailed from Greenock, near Glasgow, a month before the Titanic left Southampton and arrived in Halifax a few days after Titanic was supposed to have arrived in New York.

And yet, though I feel a powerful attraction and fondness for the land of my ancestors, I've never been there! (Je suis né à Montréal!) Perhaps that will change in 2009. In the meantime, I'm told – perhaps best in “Scotland's Story” by The Proclaimers (left) — Scotland is not just for white guys who like fried food.

Technorati Tags: robert burns, scotland

James Grant has some economic advice for President Obama:

In the long run, nations consume and produce in roughly equal measure; they have no choice. The United States is the rare exception. It is privileged to consume much more than it produces (a difference measured by the current account deficit) and to have done so virtually year in and year out for the past quarter century. This wonderful feat is possible because the dollar is the preeminent monetary brand — the world's “reserve currency.” The United States' creditors willingly accept it. And, accepting it, they turn around and invest it back into the obligations of the United States. There can be few items higher on the to-do list of the incoming administration than to freshen and strengthen the dollar brand.

A strengthened American currency, of course, may be just the thing for those, like Canada, who depend heavily on selling lots of stuff to Americans every year. If the dollar rises and the loonie falls, that has the effect of making Canadian goods, services, and employees relatively cheaper.

Americans, as a result, might buy more stuff from Canadians and our trade surplus — which is getting dangerously close to becoming a trade deficit — would likely widen.

Now, as with any economic transaction it seems, there would be some downside. Because world oil prices are denominated in American dollars, a rising dollar would automatically push pump prices in Canada higher. You might have noticed this already. Even though oil was trading at something around $45 US a barrel (that's right $45!! a barrel), your local gas station was probably charging you something around 85 cents a litre (that's the national average: It's just 73 cents here west of Ottawa). That's better than last summer, of course, but your local pump price hasn't fallen as much as the price of a barrel of oil because the refiners and retailers who supply your local gas station need American dollars to buy their raw material: oil. And as the dollar rises against the loonie, they will need more loonies to buy the same amount of oil. And that's why pump prices aren't falling that fast.

And what about groceries? Food makes up a big chunk of the budget of most Canadian households, particularly those in middle- and lower-income brackets. A lot of the food we buy — oranges from Florida, broccoli from California — comes from the U.S. Again, a stronger American currency makes many groceries more expensive. Indeed, Statistics Canada said on Friday that while overall inflation is pretty tame (just 1.2 % year-over-year), food prices are definitely rising quickly:

Food prices increased 7.3% during the 12-month period, following a 7.4% increase in November. Excluding food, the CPI posted no change in the 12 months to December. This was the slowest pace registered for this index since November 2001.

The underlying factor for rising prices for food was sustained price increases for food purchased from stores. Prices for food purchased from stores rose 9.0% in December, identical to November's increase. The main contributor was a 26.9% increase in prices for fresh vegetable items, products which are largely imported.

Persistent price increases for bakery and cereal products (+12.4%) also contributed to rising prices for food purchased from stores.

In any event, Grant closes his short essay with this paragraph:

No small source of strength in the U.S. economy is Americans' capacity for failure. They excel at pratfalls. They file for bankruptcy and emerge without permanent social stigma. They recognize error and put it behind them. The next administration should thus turn a deaf ear to suggestions to manipulate energy prices, prop up housing prices, suppress short selling in the stock market, or otherwise try to prolong boom-time errors. Japan, refusing to let its own great bubble deflate, suffered a decade of economic stagnation. The United States, too, must take its bubble-related lumps, of which the current financial crisis is clearly one. But as the 44th president would be wise to remind his compatriots, the United States has no time for lost decades. Let markets clear and a new day dawn.

Technorati Tags: economy, inflation

Everyone wants President Obama to drop by and say hello. Canada, we've heard from Canadian sources, will be his first international source, likely some time in early March.

Obama's big international coming-out party will be the G20 meeting in London, England on April 2. This is the essentially the second half of the G20 meeting that Barack's predecessor hosted in Washington in November to deal with the economy. At the earlier meeting, world leaders agreed to get together in the spring to to do more to help the global economy.

From London, Obama (and Prime Minister Harper) will travel to the NATO heads of state meeting in Strasbourg, France on April 3-4. It is the 60th anniversary of the alliance and there are plenty of important issues for it to consider namely and in no apparent order: 1) A resurgent Russia, 2) Afghanistan and 3) NATO expansion.

Now we learn, from a blog covering Hilary's Secretary of State-ship, that after that, Obama will do a European tour after the NATO meeting that will include a stop in Russia.

This is just cool and I wanted to share it. Relatives in Northwestern Ontario passed along these photos, taken by Ontario Provincial Police near Kirkland Lake, Ontario. You'll see a lot of moose if you spend time in northern Ontario but few have ever seen an albino moose:

On his first full day in office, President Barack Obama ordered this memo be circulated:

January 21, 2009

MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES

SUBJECT: Freedom of Information Act

A democracy requires accountability, and accountability requires transparency. As Justice Louis Brandeis wrote, “sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.” In our democracy, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which encourages accountability through transparency, is the most prominent expression of a profound national commitment to ensuring an open Government. At the heart of that commitment is the idea that accountability is in the interest of the Government and the citizenry alike.

The Freedom of Information Act should be administered with a clear presumption: In the face of doubt, openness prevails. The Government should not keep information confidential merely because public officials might be embarrassed by disclosure, because errors and failures might be revealed, or because of speculative or abstract fears. Nondisclosure should never be based on an effort to protect the personal interests of Government officials at the expense of those they are supposed to serve. In responding to requests under the FOIA, executive branch agencies (agencies) should act promptly and in a spirit of cooperation, recognizing that such agencies are servants of the public.

All agencies should adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure, in order to renew their commitment to the principles embodied in FOIA, and to usher in a new era of open Government. The presumption of disclosure should be applied to all decisions involving FOIA.

The presumption of disclosure also means that agencies should take affirmative steps to make information public. They should not wait for specific requests from the public. All agencies should use modern technology to inform citizens about what is known and done by their Government. Disclosure should be timely.

I direct the Attorney General to issue new guidelines governing the FOIA to the heads of executive departments and agencies, reaffirming the commitment to accountability and transparency, and to publish such guidelines in the Federal Register. In doing so, the Attorney General should review FOIA reports produced by the agencies under Executive Order 13392 of December 14, 2005. I also direct the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to update guidance to the agencies to increase and improve information dissemination to the public, including through the use of new technologies, and to publish such guidance in the Federal Register.

This memorandum does not create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

The Director of the Office of Management and Budget is hereby authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

Canada's Information Commissioner heartily approves.

Technorati Tags: access to information

In his last week in office, President George W. Bush ordered that a special “Afghanistan Support Office” be created within the Department of State. It will be headed by a Director, the first one of which will, it looks like, be selected by Secretary of State Hilary Clinton.

The purpose of the ASO shall be to perform the specific project of supporting executive departments and agencies in preventing Afghanistan from becoming a safe haven for terrorists, facilitating Afghanistan's progress to self-sufficiency, and maintaining an effective diplomatic presence in Afghanistan.

Don't know much about this and the search phrase <“Afghanistan Support Office” Bush> yields nothing in Google Web or Google News. Would love to know more about budget; reason for existence; etc.

Bush issued the order on Jan. 16 and it will be published in the U.S. Federal Register Thursday.

Technorati Tags: afghanistan, Hilary Clinton, United States – Foreign Policy, United States – State Department