Archive for the ‘Writing/Publishing’ Category
Where the slippery slope of deception ends …
A scandal is whipping through the internet about a tech reporter/blogger called Randall C. Kennedy who “invented” an alter-ego as an “expert” source for info about a speciality area of computing. He even posed as his fake self when giving interviews to other reporters! Sucker/innocent victim ComputerWorld writer Gregg Keizer reflects on lies and liars […]
A three horse race to rule over the global distribution of digital content … Apple in front by a nose.
Worthwhile evaluation from someone who knows the publishing game better than most — and from more angles. Why Apple’s iPad is shaking things up with Amazon and Google from Martin Taylor’s e-report — digital publishing downunder When Apple launched its long-rumoured iPad tablet computer late last month, it fired a major salvo in the battle […]
More iPad preamble – “a clear window into the software”
“People who are focussed on the hardware are missing the key thing: – software and services” – Walt Mossberg Wall St Journal “One thing you have to understand about this gadget is that the gadget disappears pretty quickly. You’re looking into pure software.” – David Carr NY Times On the Amazon Kindle: “It looked like […]
The rise (and fall) of the value of online advertising
Following a report on Apple boss Steve Jobs pitiching the iPad distribution channel to NY newspaper chiefs… The highlighted bit (see below) about online advertising space being (a) infinite in supply and therefore (b) valueless accords with my thinking (although I am not a genius, nor all that experienced). I’ve done some online advertising and […]
RIP JD Salinger
“There is a marvelous peace in not publishing,” J.D. Salinger told The New York Times in 1974. “Publishing is a terrible invasion of my privacy. I like to write. I love to write. But I write just for myself and my own pleasure.” Farewell. The New Yorker has made his stories available. Good on them.
‘Bounced around like dragonflies’ – Internet addiction & Writing
One of my heroes, Garrison Keillor had some more good and insightful things to say about writing, including the benefits of solitude and the malison of the ‘always-connected’ data-overloaded life: The Internet and Google have their usefulness, God knows. I mean, how would we live without them? But you know, for young people with tremendously […]
Rising ape or fallen angel? – Terry Pratchett on religion
A nice answer to a straight question about his belief in god(s)… ‘I’d rather be a rising ape than a fallen angel’ Watch the 8 minute video at guardian.co.uk
The French Resistance and Google
I must say I like the absence of inevitability the French demonstrate towards the mega-Google. Their ‘keep your hands off our culture’ approach, (despite Euro Disney and the laughable but well-patronised McDonalds and Disney store on the Champs Elysees) is refreshing and worthwhile. The hopeless shrug of the shoulders so many meet Google’s apparent dominance […]
A novel explanation of copyright and IP
© kiwiright from nu4mz on Vimeo. Worth watching and mostly good. But a specious argument (starts about 1.50) reveals a mindset: Do you know if you walk around town with a camera you’d be filming a lot of trademarked signs, You might have to get a permit for that. You might have to pay a […]
A rose by any other name
Well, that was quick. Rupert Murdoch’s campaign (what’s the opposite of ‘charm offensive’?) calling news aggregators ‘parasites’ and ‘thieves’ for their activities harvesting News websites’ internal organs material has had rather quick pay-off. We discussed the widely-reported/hyped ‘discussions’ News Corp was supposedly having with Microsoft Bing about ‘de-listing’ News Corp sites from Google (yeah right) […]
Unhappy BOTH ways?
German publishers criticize new Google Books deal Frankfurt – German book publishers – angered at being included in the Google Books Settlement without being consulted – voiced concern Sunday that they had now been excluded. The US search giant and US publishers announced Friday that the revolutionary plan to put every out-of-print book in the […]
Why journalists shouldn’t be defending Fox News
I didn’t see this article at the time, but Dan Froomkin makes a good case. I dislike the hypocrisy of this ‘channel’ — the apparent willingness to distort, their naked manipulation of the ‘issues’ (far beyond a ‘slant’, Fox misleads … in short, like some people I know: a total lack of self-awareness Sure, Fox […]
Microsoft helping ‘de-list’ news sites from Google?
Wow. Can this be the future? Microsoft paying News sites to BLOCK their content from Google? (… while, presumably, allowing it to show up on MS Bing)? OK, it’s still just a rumour. Here’s the CNN story and this quote from Lance Ulanoff in PC Mag‘s “online news ice age” what-are-they-thinking?’ reaction — which resonates […]
Nothing ‘new’ under the sun
Great minds think alike?
