We saw something very exciting when looking at ThePianoMan's collection of flooding photos from Lincoln County, Missouri. His final image is a Google Earth map showing some of his shots and where they were taken. This gives a better sense of just how widespread the flood damage is, and it was quite an innovative idea!

If you have a collection of photos, and want to get creative on how they're presented, share them with us! We would love to not only see your images, but where they're coming from.

Posted by hhanks // 6 months ago
 2 comments // Add a Comment
Posted in: technology, creative, shoutouts

Then you should join us at the iReport hub in Second Life for a few pre-conference training sessions about how to cover in-world events (such as BlogHer!) in Second Life. Here's what we're planning:

• Tuesday, July 1, 2 p.m. SLT/5 p.m. ET - SL iReporting 101
• Tuesday, July 8, 2 p.m. SLT/5 p.m. ET - Avatar photojournalism
• Tuesday, July 15, 2 p.m. SLT/5 p.m. ET - Virtual world newsgathering
• 
  We sure hope to see you at the SL iReport hub. And while you're there, stop by the newly opened BlogHer office, where you can find out how to register for the conference and also grab a refreshing glass of virtual lemonade.

Posted by lila // 6 months ago
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Posted in: secondlife

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is preparing to enter retirement, signaling the end of an era for the corporation that brought us the Windows operating system. After 33 years with Microsoft, Gates is an icon of the technology world he helped to nurture. Remember your first computer? When floppy disks were enough to load programs on an old MS-DOS machine?

Now is a great time to look back on the computing past, before Windows Vista came about or Apple had operating systems named after cats. SirNigel shared a photo of himself as a child in 1970 and went on to say that the punch card computer his mother used is now on display in the British Museum. He used to doodle on the cards and play with a 10-key machine. Do you have a similar story? Tell us how your computing use has changed and how you think Gates affected the technology world. (Hey, maybe you have an offbeat take on Gates, like sherifosman.) Take a minute and share your story on iReport.com.

Posted by nsaidi // 6 months ago
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Posted in: computer, technology, fun_on_friday

When a fire hit the Bonny Doon community in Santa Cruz, California earlier this month, iReporter PSYCHOSiiS posted some incredible images. This past Friday, when several more devastating wildfires broke out in the area, he followed up by reporting on one of them in Watsonville, California, with the help of writer Jesse William.

Besides the very compelling way PSYCHOSiiS told these stories, setting the scene and providing details on what sets this fire apart from others he had seen, he says he went into these dangerous situations fully prepared, "wearing fire protective gear, boots, a hard hat, breathing apparatus, camel back-pack, etc."

Do you have photos or video of wildfires? Share them with us. But as always, we want to remind iReporters and future iReporters to watch out for their own personal safety while covering these potentially dangerous situations.

Posted by hhanks // 6 months ago
 1 comments // Add a Comment
Posted in: video, news

We just rolled out a couple of dandy new features:

• The list views on the homepage and iReports page now include filters for time, so you can see, for example, the most commented iReports in the last 24 hours, the last week or all time.
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• Your "My Stuff" page now includes a list of files in each story, along with a small thumbnail image and the upload status for individual elements. Not sure what that means? Check the FAQ.
• 
  Questions? Thoughts? Please drop them in the comments!

Posted by lila // 6 months ago
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Posted in: features

We were pretty tickled to see some famous faces crop up in the "Latest iReports" queue this week: Vint Cerf (father of the Internet!) explains why everyone needs access, Craig Newmark (who put the Craig in Craigslist) endorses Barack Obama, and plenty of others offer their thoughts on how technology is affecting this year's election.

Each one of these newly minted iReporters was a participant in the Personal Democracy Forum, a gathering of technical and political minds this week in New York, where we set up an iReport camera that people could walk up and talk to. But you don't have to be at the PDF to tell us what you think -- head over here to upload your own take on technology and politics right alongside Cerf's.

Posted by lila // 6 months ago
 2 comments // Add a Comment
Posted in: assignmentdesk

It seems we all know someone with a famous doppelganger.

Are you often mistaken for Jack Black? Know someone who could pass as Britney Spears' twin? Do you do a great Bill Cosby impression?

This Friday, we want to see your best celebrity look-alike photos and videos.

Posted by katie // 6 months ago
 2 comments // Add a Comment
Posted in: fun_on_friday, offbeat

Remember, there's one week left to take part in the iReport.com Promo Challenge. All entries must be submitted by noon on Thursday, June 26. We've seen some great submissions and look forward to seeing your creative commercials.

iReport is all about you. We want to see how YOU would promote iReport.com by making a short commercial. There are some rules -- for instance, you've got to make it exactly 15 or 30 seconds long -- but all you need to get started is a great idea.

So go ahead, get creative. You could win some new video equipment, maybe even get your commercial on TV. Send in your commercial today!

Posted by hhanks // 6 months ago
 2 comments // Add a Comment
Posted in: creative, site

iReporters shared deeply personal and touching stories Tuesday as gay and lesbian couples married across California. Two of those iReporters shared similar tales.

wadeinexile, who used to live in California, moved to Argentina to be with his partner in 2000. Since they could not marry, neither could gain citizenship in the other's home country. Eight years later, they are still together, now both legally living and working in Germany.

BillSargent also left the U.S. to live with his partner in Sweden. "Even though gay marriage isn't permitted here, the people here are much more accepting," he said. "Until things change in the U.S., I have no intentions of moving back or visiting."

How is California's ruling affecting you? Share your story, and see what others have to say.

Posted by katie // 6 months ago
 7 comments // Add a Comment
Posted in: community, personal_story

iReporter SameDew has lived in Quincy, Illinois, all her life, so she knows that community very well.

She says she feels that officials there are more prepared for the flooding than they were in 1993, but still worries that the levees there could possibly break sometime in the next 24 hours. In the meantime, she is following their progress, telling their stories and letting those in the Quincy area know how they can help. "We need everybody with a pulse and respiration to help sandbag," she says.

Is your community facing this kind of challenge? Let us know how people are working together.

Posted by katie // 6 months ago
 6 comments // Add a Comment
Posted in: community

Our community is steadily getting bigger. Just today we topped 50,000 registered iReporters all across the globe. Welcome new members!

Posted by lila // 6 months ago
 4 comments // Add a Comment
Posted in: community

Let's be honest, Dads don't always get the credit they so richly deserve. This weekend, families across the U.S. have a chance to make up for that by presenting Dad with a Father's Day gift. We want to see your most memorable Father's Day gifts. From the tacky to the eloquent, share your Father's Day hits and misses.

Posted by tyson // 6 months ago
 1 comments // Add a Comment
Posted in: fun_on_friday

As a single mother of three, mommiestyles is greatly concerned about rising gas prices. She voiced her concerns on iReport.com, asking how she could feed her children with these prices. "Who can afford that?" she asked. "I might as well charter my own jet!"

As the price of gas continued to weigh heavily on her mind, mommiestyles went to the streets of Cincinnati to ask passers-by the simple question: "To drive or not to drive?" --- and she turned out to be quite the gifted interviewer as well.

What question would you ask in your neighborhood? Grab your camera and hit the street!

Posted by hhanks // 6 months ago
 11 comments // Add a Comment
Posted in: shoutouts, assignmentdesk

We just rolled out a few new features. Please let us know what you think in the comments!

• Superstar status - Starting today, the number of times other people view your stories gets factored into your superstar rating. (That's the rating that determines who appears at the top of the iReporters page.) We've heard from several folks that the list is too static and tough break into, and we hope that changing up the calculation will make a difference.
  
  
• Story page layout - We tidied up the buttons in the middle just a bit to make them easier to find and use.
  
  
• E-mail notifications - You'll find a few new options for turning on or off e-mails from iReport.com on your "my stuff" page. Just click on "Notifications" to set your preferences.

Posted by lila // 6 months ago
 22 comments // Add a Comment
Posted in: site, features

The site will be down for a few minutes Wednesday morning while we make a few fixes. We'll plan to start at 8 a.m. ET and should be finished by 8:30. In the meantime, if you have a breaking story that just can't wait, please e-mail it to ireport@cnn.com. Thanks!

Posted by lila // 7 months ago
 2 comments // Add a Comment
Posted in: site

You've shared many incredible iReports of severe weather in the last few days. Among them is this extraordinary video of a tornado forming in Monee, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, posted by weather buff rpot.

The reactions of rpot and members of his family go from awe to fear as the huge twister appears to be getting closer. Tell us, how would you react in this situation?

And a quick reminder, if you're sending severe weather iReports: please, be careful out there!

Posted by hhanks // 7 months ago
 2 comments // Add a Comment
Posted in: shoutouts, video

We've posted a couple of times already about our obsession with Twitter, a micro-blogging service that asks for updates in 140 characters or less. iReport already sends out Twitter updates every time we post a new assignment, and a few hundred subscribers get the scoop first. But we're convinced (by this and this and this, to highlight just a few examples of newsy tweets) that there's more iReport could do with Twitter.

So let's give it a try, eh? If you're on Twitter and you spot news worth announcing in 140 characters or less, ping @cnnireport. We'll feature some of those posts here, and if they catch on, try to find a cool way to present them on iReport.com.

Posted by lila // 7 months ago
 9 comments // Add a Comment
Posted in: twitter, community

Ah, weddings ... something borrowed, something blue, something bound to go wrong. With all the high expectations heaped on one day, even something as innocuous as a breath mint can be problematic. Mandachell07 found out the hard way that it isn't wise to walk down the aisle with Tic Tacs in her mouth. In a nervous heartbeat, she was spitting out the candies along with her vows, and her new husband just had to ask, "Did you really just spit on me?"

Or, take the story of GHGCzarina, who experienced a storm that punctuated her vows with a "grand burst of thunder" and plunged the reception into darkness. In this not-so-perfect world, sometimes the most unfortunate timing can make for the best stories. Do you have a story about a wedding that didn't go quite right? Share your photos, video and horror stories on this fun Friday.

Posted by nsaidi // 7 months ago
 1 comments // Add a Comment
Posted in: assignmentdesk, fun_on_friday

newschaser, a videographer from Moncton, Canada, always keeps the iReport community up to date with Moncton mishaps, from a moose run amok to automobile miscalculations.

Today, though, he inspired us with some shots of newborn animals. Check out this bald eagle, she's a new mother! And, newschaser tells us, this little fawn had an interesting birth. When her mother was killed by a car, an onlooker says that someone noticed the doe was pregnant and cut the fawn from her womb. Not the happiest story, but the baby looks healthy!

Inspired? Show is what's happening in your world.

Posted by kate9 // 7 months ago
 1 comments // Add a Comment
Posted in: community, shoutouts, personal_story

iReporters Spellbox have a great interest in music. So great, that they even have a band in Gainesville, Florida, called Spellbox. Little did they know until a few years ago that their neighbor was none other than legendary musician Bo Diddley, who passed away Monday at the age of 79.

When spellbox learned of his death, they logged on to iReport.com to tell us about the Bo Diddley they knew... the man they knew as a "friend and mentor", who would come to their house and jam with them, and entertain guests at their parties. "He was in a couple of our videos, gave us instruments and foot pedals. We opened a couple of shows for him, and he took us under his wing."

Spellbox went through some of their old videos and even came up with footage of Diddley rehearsing for a performance in Gainesville, and they shared it with the iReport community.

Were you affected by Bo Diddley's music, or did you meet him in person? Share your memories.

Posted by hhanks // 7 months ago
 2 comments // Add a Comment
Posted in: shoutouts, personal_story

When a fire broke out on a movie lot in Universal Studios, California, on Sunday, iReporters were all over the scene with their cameras to document the event and share some insider information. What a great response!

Are you familiar with the area of Universal Studios that burned? If so, share photos of it with the iReport.com community!

Posted by kate9 // 7 months ago
 4 comments // Add a Comment
Posted in: shoutouts

We've been thrilled by the spirited debates that have erupted on iReport.com, but sometimes things get a little out of hand. We love that the members of the community have strong feelings about gas prices, the merits of owning an SUV, the Democratic delegate dispute and the many other topics that come up each day. But calling people names, insulting their appearance or sending rude private messages is not cool.

Our site is unedited and unfiltered, but it doesn't have to be unkind. This is a community, so let's try to be a little more neighborly.

Please take a moment to review our community guidelines, and if you come across any comments that violate those guidelines flag them.

Let us know what you think in the comments below, and share any other concerns you may have.

Posted by davidw // 7 months ago
 35 comments // Add a Comment
Posted in: community, user_experience

Props to TheWarden, who, spurred by the fact that visiting a friend across town has become "a serious investment" took us on a gas price tour of his hometown.

We appreciate his candid take on a serious issue. Join TheWarden as he cruises across the Intracoastal Waterway, through South Beach, and around Miami in search of the lowest gas prices.

Be sure to share your tales of searching for and avoiding gas stations with iReport.com.

Posted by kate9 // 7 months ago
 2 comments // Add a Comment
Posted in: shoutouts

"Back in my day, I used to walk 15 miles in the snow…" This cliché isn't much of an exaggeration for user drakes, who rides a bicycle year-round in Madison, Wisconsin. Snowdrifts be darned. The video was shot from a helmet camera. We got another first-person bike video from rawbacon showing a harrowing ride through a bustling street in Amsterdam. Not to mention Placebo's video of his traffic-laden commute in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. More and more iReporters are looking to bikes and trains for solutions to rising gas prices.

Note that we don't advise you to distract yourself behind the handlebars or especially the wheel; in these cases, the camera was fixed to an object such as a helmet or the vehicle was traveling at an extremely slow speed.

But iReporters have lots more ways of getting around. PreachTina documented her rather interesting journey on the New York City subway. yngjedi takes a ferry across Puget Sound in Seattle, Washington, as part of his commute. DRSPIEGEL14 suggests that pedal-powered vehicles could be the transport of the future. iReporter sicarim now takes the bus and kelepouris is resorting to a golf cart. MP3SMART keeps a "fun fleet" while JohnBrooking is another biker. How do you get around? Pull out your camera and show us your commute.

Posted by nsaidi // 7 months ago
 8 comments // Add a Comment
Posted in: shoutouts, assignmentdesk