Cast Down Your Pods Where You Are

What's the 411, SIU?

Did you know SIU-E's been talking talking smack about you again? Yeah, yeah, I know. You can punk them any time you want. So you say.

Seriously though, where's the U's podcast? You know that Allegheny College in Pennsylvania has their own podcast, don't you?

Who is being punked now, Saluki?

You could be creating rich media content, information for alumni and prospectives, in-depth profiles of events and people, and you are still wasting time sharpening your number twos so you can fill out attendance sheets? C'mon dog, paper? You sure you wouldn't prefer some papyrus or vellum or something? Perhaps you were hoping to scratch some hieroglyphs on a nice, flat rock? That hill over there would be great for sending smoke signals, in case you're wondering.

I don't mean to be getting down on you, though. I heart your educational mission. It's just that where the U goes, the city tends to follow. As for us, the people of the city of Carbondale, we're all just walkin' here! Do you want to be the car of indifference that almost runs us over as we cross the street of localism? Should we slap the hood of the car of indifference with the hands of social darwinism? Or would you rather be the Joe Buck of encouragement who leads us across the road of technological change to the sidewalk of community potential?

And don't you try to sneak out of the room, Southern Illinoisan. We see you trying to take that danish back to your cubicle. Why can't you be like your sister, The San Francisco Chronicle Podcast? She knows how to give us "the story behind the story". She knows the value of letting her readers hear directly from her sources. Remember how we talked about adding value and how on the web primary documents are more valuable than narrative description?

And which one of you left the towel of economic development on the floor of shrinking budgets in the bathroom of urban planning?