Kate Colbin, in her Online Spin Column, sees a world where, "Everything Is Now Your Responsibility." She says we have an environment "where you have access to near-infinite possibilities and total control over where your attention goes, you have no excuses. Want to learn Spanish? Easy. Mad keen to make a sweater, but never picked up a crochet hook before? Piece of cake. Calculus? Programming? Robotics? All at your fingertips." At least if you live in a computerized, Internet environment. However, with billions of posting daily - most of them juvenile, irrelevant and distracting - keeping up with what is possible, much less what is of value to you, is another matter.

The entropic nature of ever accumulating data is being countered by efforts to shrink the time required to communicate it. Ten-second spots are getting more common and more welcomed by TV viewers.

A new information expediter on the scene is "Glance Journalism," according to Dan Shanoff's daily newsletter - as reported by the NiemanLab. "Glance" is the name of the feature of the Apple Watch that lets Watch-wearers skim through a series of not-quite-notifications. Shannoff says, "Maybe they are notifications, but only as a subset of a new class of ultra-brief news.

"Glance journalism makes tweets look like longform, typical news notifications (and even innovative atomized news apps) look like endless scroll, and Seward's list of essential Things (chart, gif, quote, stat) look unresponsive." Shanoff foresees writers, editors and other news team members striving to develop a whole new approach to delivering compelling news in a Glance format.

Even faster is "Gist" communications. It takes about 27 milliseconds (or less) – approximate one-tenth of the time it takes to blink your eyes - for humans to comprehend the meaning, or "gist" of a scene. That's according to Professor Bruce Hansen, reported in the Colgate University Scene. He says "Deriving an accurate understanding of rapid scene categorization has critical implications for driving safety, instrument panel design for aircraft piloting, as well as eyewitness perception and memory, and surveillance — to name a few."

Also coming into use in the quest for speed are brain waves. InteraXon's headband, allows the persons wearing it to move images on a computer screen. And, Laurie Sullivan in SearchPost Daily reports, "London-based This Place has developed a Google Glass mobile app, MindRDR, that uses brainwaves to take photos of what a wearer sees in front of them. It also allows them to share photos on Twitter and Facebook. In another article for SearchPost, Sullivan reports the people at The Viv Labs who invented Apple's Siri are developing artificial intelligence that will process "massive amounts of intelligence to predict human needs." Citing Wired's Steve Levy, she reports that the more this AI is used, the smarter it becomes.

Let us hope all this high speed processing of data doesn't as Nicholas Carr, warns in his book, The Sallows, (quoted by Gord Hotchkiss, in Search Insider) "that, rather than freeing up our brains to dive deeper into new territory, technology may just give us the ability to skip across the surface of the titillating." Or as Hotchkiss puts it, "trade breadth for depth." Meanwhile, 93 more magazines opened than the number that closed during the first half of 2014. Per Erick Sass's report in Media Daily News.

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The Daily Kos reports that Tesla is "Creating the neighborhood gas stations of the future as they quietly have been building accessible charging networks right where they will be needed for ultimate convenience." Quoting the Wall Street Journal it elaborates "With little or no fanfare, Tesla also has been installing high-power wall chargers at restaurants, hotels, beach parking and other locations that can send 80 amps of electricity into the Model S and add 58 miles of range in an hour."

Gravity Ads have been introduced into Gannett's online video offerings. The Wall Street Journal's Mike Shields describes them as "ads that take over a person's computer and shove a video ad, in many cases a TV spot, front and center" and labels the tactic "home page hijacking." P.J. Bednarski gives points to Gannett in Online Video Daily for not trying to fool anyone with its Gravity Ads-they are quite obviously advertising, not ads pretending to be editorial content – but, he suggests people might just avoid the site for that reason.

Two tele-operated humanoid robots, one a child android reports world news, the other, an adult female android termed "a science communicator" are on display in Japan's National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, or Miraikan. Writing for Tech News World, Katherine Noyes describes androids as "robots that closely resemble humans in appearance and movement, thanks in part to soft skin made from silicon and smooth motion made possible by artificial muscle." She says the robots reportedly are able to use humor and can express confusion.

While Uber is having its troubles in Germany it has inspired a similar service for small businesses here that do not ship in volume or on a regular schedule. Cargomatic links those shippers and small trucking companies while providing the logistics needed to efficiently transfer cargo. . . . . If you missed a look at Renovo's $529,000 electric supercar provided by Automotive News here's a link from that story to a good look at the all-electric two-seater: http://renovomotors.com/the-coupe. You can put your money down now with the Silicon Valley company Renovo Motors Inc. but hurry, less than 100 cars will be built in 2015.

Audi is the first automaker to get a permit from California to begin testing a self-driving car on the state's roads, David Undercoffler reports for the L.A. Times. . . . And for those who did not find the details of the trip in space offered by Land Rover in connection with the launch announcement for its new Discover Sport (Autowriters.com among them) Brand Republic's Kate Magee provided some. In conjunction with Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic and its commercial space flights, Land Rover will provide the winner of a contest for the picture or film best demonstrating a "spirit of adventure" and three of his or her friends a trip in space valued at one million dollars. However, we are not told the rules or how to enter the competition that will be promoted by social media and news releases. The winners will be announced December 2, Magee reports.

ForbesLIfe.com will publish "daily features on men's and women's fashion, watches and jewelry, automobiles and boats, real estate and luxury homes, fine dining and drinks, arts and culture, as well as life's other indulgences" Wooden Horse News reports. It goes on to quote the new site's editor, Mike Solomon (msolomon@forbes.com), "What makes ForbesLife.com so exciting is that it will allow us to broaden our coverage of women's fashion, jewelry, watches and beauty." apparently of all of life's luxury items.

 Autowriters has been asked to "Like" Carnichiwa.com, an automotive website delivering the latest global industry news, car reviews and coverage of major international auto shows and events. Decide for yourself at: http://www.carnichiwa.com. (See Passing Scene re "Likes"). The same applies to a request to "like" Highline European Motorcars on Facebook. A new road to be explored is the motoring life of actor James Garner in a new book by former Motor Trend editor Matt Stone. He'll be signing it at the Autobooks-Aerobooks store in Burbank, CA on Oct. 4. You can find out more or order at: manager@autobooks-aerobooks.com. . . .The Wire, Atlantic Media's news aggregation site, has announced it is shutting down according to a memo published on Gawker. Those currently staffing The Wire will be reassigned elsewhere within Atlantic Media.

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The war is over but the battles continue as media critics rant about "content marketing," "native advertising" and other euphemisms for paid space or time masquerading as editorial content.

P.J. Bednarski bashed the practice in a VideoBlog June 2 titled: Native Ads: Finessing Fuzzy. TV satirist John Oliver ridiculed the concept on his August 3 Last Week Tonight TV show. That brought an open letter dissent from Sergey Denisenko, head of a global native advertising agency, which brought an open letter rebuttal from MediaPost editor-at-large Bob Garfield and, in turn, an open letter reply to Garfield from Denisenko, All that in Media Daily News.

Advertising Age's media guy Simon Dumenco chimed in Sept. 1, adding more reasons to support Oliver's complaints about native advertising. Garfield, who earlier declared his implacable opposition to the practice in a column titled The Crusades Lasted 200 Years. I'm Just Getting Started, then wrote a not too far-out parody: ABC News' ‘The Brothelette' after it was revealed the broadcaster had been paid by a company to produce and air as news an interview with two celebrities about their participation in the company's ad campaign.

Not all journalists are on the con side of the discussion. Auto writer Dave Kiley writes: "Just Because Your B-School Didn't Cover Content Marketing Doesn't Mean It Isn't Here" and offers five reasons why companies should include good content in their marketing plans. Another reason for content marketing may be the fact that banner ads are not working on the Internet. Nicholas Carter reports for Business Insider, a study found "It's More Likely You Will Survive A Plane Crash Or Win The Lottery Than Click On A Banner Ad." He continues with a series of other occurrences the study revealed as many times more likely than clicking on those expensive banner ads. Among them: a full house in poker, getting accepted at Harvard and winning a lottery. Along those same lines, another study is headlined in the LondonBlog, "Facebook 'Likes' Really Could Be As Worthless As You Were Fearing, MIT Scientists Reveal."

Content marketing will continue to grow because, simply, the money is there.

Jack Neff reports in AdAge that Kraft Foods "now generates the equivalent of 1.1 billion ad impressions a year and four times the return from investment from content marketing than even targeted ads." Also along this trend lines, Genworth, a long-term care provider has inked a deal with the CNN Content Development Studio that works with advertisers and agencies to develop branded entertainment and sponsored programming, according to MediaPost Agency Daily's Larissa Faw.

Proctor & Gamble is switching an impressive amount of its marketing budget to social and digital media at the expense of TV commercials and print ads, Thom Kennon writes for Marketing Daily in a provocative piece entitled: Radical Marketing In A Post-Advertising World. A main point he makes: "In this post-advertising world, the untethered human has taken control over all of the content they consume, along with the where, when and what they do with it."

Maybe. In a posting in The Guardian by Emily Bell points to the possibility that an algorithm can limit the content consumed by the untethered human.

As an example, she sites one person not getting any word from her regular news feed about the riots in Ferguson, Mo. and first learning about them on Facebook. This example, she says, "highlights how a news ecosystem that automatically favours one type of story over another can pour very cold water on democratic debate." Another example could be the limited news coverage of the 400,000 –person climate march. Or, ESPN's coverage of the NFL abuse cases.

Bell's post is titled, "We can't let tech giants, like Facebook and Twitter, control our news values." She argues that algorithms should not replace cultural values. That same caution could read, "We can't let Content Marketers control our news values." (See Garfield's parody). Bell concludes her post: "We can build the Internet in space, and robots are taking a central role in our lives. But we need an open conversation about who shapes their values."

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NORTHEAST

Honda's new 2015 CR-V is slated to be introduced to members of NEMPA at the Automotion Garage on September 30. . . . Craig Fitzgerald's Midnight Oil column on Tesla for BestRide.com provides a pretty clear explanation why the electric carmaker won a factory retail outlet in Massachusetts. Existing laws prohibit manufacturers from competing with their franchised dealers in the commonwealth. Since Tesla has no franchised dealers there, no violation... Hyundai gave NEMPA members a up-close look at the 2015 Tucson Fuel Cell Vehicle in Boston Sept. 22nd.

ATLANTIC STATES

The Milwaukee Mile, the oldest continuously operating auto-racing facility in the world, will be the focus of the Oct. 18 Center Conversations at the International Motor Racing Research Center. Milwaukee Mile expert Steve Zautke will speak at 1 p.m. at the Center. The talk is free, and all are welcome. Zautke also will speak about Road America. The next Center Conversations will be Nov. 8 featuring Michael Martin on the United States Road Racing Championship race series of the 1960s. . . . IMPA is slated to hear from Nissan Sr. Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Fred Diaz, on the third Thursday of the month, Oct. 16, at its regular luncheon spot, the 3 West Club.

SOUTHEAST

Mark Brantley of Charlotte, North Carolina, took home the Best of Show Award at the recent Charlotte Motor Speedway AutoFair with his 1973 Pontiac Trans Am. . . . Once again Bill Warner has come up with a little something new for his annual Amelia Island Concours D'Elegance. On March 15, 2015, the 20th such Amelia gathering will display, "the eclectic and eccentric cars customized and modified to promote America's movie and TV cowboys with the highly anticipated ‘Cars of the Cowboys' class." Warner says the class was inspired when at age 11 he met then cowboy movie star Lash LaRue and was given a ride in LaRue's Muntz Jet car (For those who don't remember, the vehicle was one of the many promotions of "Mad Man Muntz" who gained his greatest fame for his "Muntz TV" that mounted a large, magnifying screen a few inches outside of the small screens then offered on most TV sets.) Among the "cowboy cars" slated to be on display are those of Leo Carillo, Tom Mix, Roy Rogers and Dale Robertson. . . . The event will also celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the recently turned 85 Sir Stirling Moss' victory in the 1955 Mille Miglia.

TEXAS

TAWA has gained an impressive sponsor for its annual Texas Truck Rodeo where the much sought-after "Truck of Texas" is determined in a two-day shoot-out by TAWA journalist members from across the nation. It is the The Steel Market Development Institute (SMDI), a business unit of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). The TAWA Texas Truck Rodeo will be held Oct. 8-10 at the Knibbe Ranch outside San Antonio. Ronald Krupitzer, vice president, automotive market of SMDI, said "With recent anticipation surrounding the use of alternative material designs in the automotive industry, SMDI and its member companies look forward to partnering with the Texas Auto Writers Association and sharing their insight on why time-tested materials, like advanced steel, will help to ensure the durability, strength and safety of future vehicles." Take that all you on the aluminum bandwagon!

MIDWEST

Wendy Orthman reported that MAMA had more than 70 vehicles lined up for its Set. 30, Oct. 1 Fall Rally at the Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, IL. Worth noting many of the participating manufacturers are requesting drivers to sign waivers before taking a car for a spin – or should we say test drive.

WEST COAST

The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles will close On Oct. 19 for what looks like a dramatic $125 million remodel. The night before it does the Beach Boys will perform at the museum's annual gala. No re-opening date has been announced but for a look at what will be there when it does, go to: http://www.petersen.org/ . . . . . "Cars of Character" is the topic for AutoDesignO's 6th annual flagship event, The Design Panel Forum, on Oct. 21 at Hollywood's Warner Brother Studios. Free to invited guests and media, this years event, "has evolved into a unique opportunity at a high-profile venue with few distractions, allowing sponsors to connect better with guests," according to John Grafman, executive director of AutoDesignO. The organization is committed to all professionals in the automotive design industry and works to improve access to people and information and promote cultural exchange within and beyond studio walls. Sponsors of this year's forum include: BMW, General Motors, Hyundai, Mazda, 3DXCITE and Katzkin. One lucky guest will win a leather car interior from Katzkin. For more information about this unique forum contact Grafman @ john@autodesigno.com or telephone 949-279-4444.

MPG, apparently still searching for a new centrally convenient luncheon spot for its far-flung membership, has added a Rose Bowl circuit to its two-day Willow Springs "Track Days" schedule as well as panel discussions at the Pasadena Hilton. One of them will look at "Secret of Success in Automotive Journalism." Nominees for the press groups' annual Dean Batchelor Awards for automotive journalism closed Sept. 30 with winners in six categories of traditional and audio visual media to be feted at MPG's annual December dinner. . . . The Art Center, College of Design's Oct. 26 "Street to Screen" Car Classic 2014, is more than just another high-profile car show, this free popular public event celebrates the best in automotive and overall transportation design. Located above The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. the annual event also showcases the College's strong ties to the auto industry and honors many noteworthy alumni. For more information, visit artcenter.edu/carclassic.

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B.F. ("Moon") Mullins -- The recent passing of this long-time friend, client and supporter, merits mention because in our opinion, he represented the best tradition of PR: bringing to the table the objectivity of a veteran journalist who put the facts before the needs of corporate egos while serving his employer with solutions media could live with.

It wasn't easy tussling with the land mines within and without that rocked Chrysler Corporation during his 30 years there. He did so with equanimity and a "street sense" that earned him the affection and respect of the media and the PR team he assembled for Chrysler as its Director of Worldwide Sales & Marketing & Public Relations and later, after retiring from Chrysler, a second national PR team he assembled for Toyota that was termed the "PR juggernaut of the auto industry."

He was a street-smart good guy.

Mike Anson – A long-time West Coast auto journalist, Mike was known and liked for his easy-going manner and distain for "hype" when he later became a PR man. He worked with Road & Track and Four Wheeler before becoming the first editor of 4Wheel and Off Road and then editor of Motor Trend. He was a creator, founder of the national America On The Road radio show and worked PR stints for Hyundai and Suzuki.

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Will Mark Rechtin find it easier to call "a spade a spade" when there are no ad dollars to be mined, or sources to be cosseted? He has traded an inside look for an outside analysis of the auto industry and its products, moving after 20 years with "the bible of the auto industry" to the "champion of the consumer." As West Coast Bureau Chief for Automotive News, Rechtin covered and served the industry. In his new East Coast post as Consumer Reports' Cars Content Development Leader he's responsible for the evolvement and implementation of a renowned portfolio of digital and print products designed to serve car buyers with facts, figures, statistics, ratings and analysis. mrechtin@consumer.org follows the common format for most of the company's Connecticut contacts.

Alan Ohnsman has departed Bloomberg News to join TrueCar Inc. as senior vice president and chief communications officer. His new email is aohnsman@truecar.com. He most recently covered automotive news and green transportation from Bloomberg's Los Angeles bureau. . . . Sam Abuelsamid has left the Ford Content Factory to join Navigant Research as a Senior Analyst - Smart Transportation. He can be contacted at: sam@abuelsamid.com  . . . . Bill Groak's new email is bgroak@pcgcampbell.com  . . . Alex Fedorak is now public relations manager at Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. . . . Brandy Schaffels moved up to chief editor at AskPatty.com, Inc. Her email remains brandyschaffels@gmail.com.  . . . Dave Pankew has moved from Autoblog.com to editor-in-chief of AutoNation, based in Fort Lauderdale, Fl. Try him at dpankew@autonation.com . . . John L. Stein has added Auction/Newsletter Editor at Vintage Motorsport Magazine to his self-employed assignments at Stein-Karr Marketing & Communications, try auto.author@verizon.net to reach him. . . . . .Consumer Reports has named Seung Min (Mel) Yu ,a Flint, Mich. automotive tech communications specialist and Pacific-Rim correspondent/translator, an automotive analyst working with its test engineers, survey researchers, and statisticians to prepare surveys and develop methods of analysis or improve existing methods. His email is: flyernol@gmail.com . . . Car news for Jezebel Magazine should be sent to: cpicciano@modernluxury.com. Modern Luxury owns Jezebel. . . .Race Central honcho Rich Branch's new email address is: rich@every1winsracing.com  . . . Because Autowriters
lost track of what he was up to, we note Rick Popely, former Chicago Tribune auto reporter, recently celebrated one year as host of Internet radio's Cars, Trucks and Bucks interactive show on the TalkZone. Com . . . Gary Anderson, editor-in-chief of the Mercedes-Benz Club of America's magazine, The Star,  has added Babbage Engine Interpreter at the Computer History Museum in, where else? the Silicon Valley. What is the Babbage you ask? It is a 5-ton Victorian era calculating machine with 8,000 parts. Inventor Charles Babbage never saw it work. You can see it in operation at: www.computerhistory.org/babbage . . . . Lauren Fix has added a new responsibility to her busy schedule: Automotive and Technology Expert at Arise Global News Network. . . Freelancer Keith Griffin has added Bold Ride to his roster of outlets. Speaking of Bold Ride, its online daily blog invariably offers some great eye-candy for car lovers along with entertaining captions. Also, for those who enjoy reliving the muscle-car era, No Limits Magazine is an authoritative online source by the editors of the Auto History Preservation Society. Its 9/24 retelling of the Cobra story is a refreshing, straightforward account of how the car came to be.

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North American regional automotive press associations provide information and background not easily found elsewhere. If they are too distant for you to attend their meetings, belonging usually gives you access to transcripts or reports of these events and other benefits.

AARWBA
American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association, Inc.

Norma "Dusty" Brandel
President, Exec. Director
dusty@aarwba.org
www.aarwba.org

AJAC
Automobile Journalists Association of Canada

www.ajac.ca

APA
Automotive Press Association
Detroit, MI

Mark Phelan, President
www.autopressassociation.org

ARPA
American Racing Press Association

Stan Clinton, President
stanclintonarpa@aol.com
americanracingpress.com

EMPA

Eastern Motorsports Press Association
Ballston Spa, NY

Ron Hedger, President
www.empa.org

GAAMA

Greater Atlanta Automotive Media Association
Atlanta, GA

Davis Adams, President
www.gaama.org

IMPA
International Motor Press Association
NYC, NY

Dave Kiley, President
davidjkiley@yahoo.com
www.impa.org

MAMA

Midwest Automotive Media Association
Chicago, IL

Kirk Bell, President
www.mamaonline.org

MPG
Motor Press Guild
Los Angeles, CA

Joni Gray, President
motorpressguild.org

NEMPA
New England Motor Press Association
Boston, MA

Craig Fitzgerald, President
www.nempa.org

NWAPA
Northwest Automotive Press Association
Portland, OR

Nik Miles, President
nik.j.miles@gmail.com
www.nwapa.org

PAPA
Phoenix Automotive Press Association
Phoenix, AZ

Cathy Droz, President
drozadgal@aol.com
phoenixautopress.org

RMAP
Rocky Mountain Automotive Press
Denver, CO

Andre Smirnov, President
www.rmapmedia.com
info@rmapmedia.com

SAMA
Southern Automotive Media Association
Miami FL

Bill Adam, President
www.samaonline.org  

SEAMO
Southeast Automotive Media Organization
Charlotte, NC

southeastautomedia.org

TAWA
Texas Auto Writers Association

Michael Marrs
michael.marrs@txann.com
www.TexasAutoWriters.org

TWNA
Truck Writers of North America

Tom Kelley, Executive Director
tom.kelley@deadlinefactory.com
www.twna.org

WAJ
Western Automotive Journalists
San Francisco, CA

Brian Douglas
www.waj.org

WAPA
Washington Automotive Press Association
Washington, D.C.

Melanie Batenchuk, President www.washautopress.org

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