by Al Sacco

More on ‘BlackBerry Shame:’ PBS Mediatwits Podcast

Opinion
Oct 19, 20122 mins
MobileSmall and Medium BusinessSmartphones

CIO.com's Al Sacco sits in on a PBS Mediatwits podcast to discuss a recent New York Times article on "BlackBerry Shame," as well as a blog post Sacco wrote in response.

Earlier this week, The New York Times published an article entitled, “The BlackBerry as Black Sheep,” that opened up a big ol’ can of worms among smartphone users, particularly BlackBerry users. The article featured a number of sources who expressed shame over using BlackBerry smartphones.

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Shortly after I read the Times post, I wrote a response explaining why I think using a BlackBerry can still be “cool,” and how BlackBerry should not be a source of shame. I seem to have also hit a nerve, based on all the feedback I received. I heard from countless readers, other BlackBerry users and even a number of media outlets, who wanted to talk with me about BlackBerry.

Mark Glaser, executive editor of PBS MediaShift, asked me to sit in on his Mediatwits podcast to discuss both the Times article and my own. The original idea was to also have the Times author, Nicole Perlroth, on the podcast, but she cancelled at the last minute. So I ended up chatting with Glaser and his co-host Rafat Ali, as well as Zvika Krieger, a contributing editor with The Atlantic who also took issue with Perlroth’s piece.

You can visit PBS.org to listen or download the MP3 podcast here. Our conversation about BlackBerry begins about 22 minutes into the podcast and lasts for 10 more minutes.

AS