Open The Dialogue

• Law school rankings, once the domain of once-a-year publications aimed at those considering a degree in that field, are now being handled by blogs. Even worse for those publishers, they're becoming more of a factor in future attendee's decisions. (CT)
• Today's Meta of the Day award goes to MightyBids, an online auction site which has gone belly-up, is now selling itself on eBay. (CT)
• If you tried tuning into Pandora or any other online music station (except Last.fm) and were wondering where the, you know, music was, the stations all fell silent. The move was made to protest the ridiculous new royalty fees online broadcasters are to be subjected to. (CT)
• Robert French lists the new batch of blogging communications students he's got for this coming five-week period. These, like all their predecessors, should be good reads. (CT)
• Mack Collier is asking for input on best practices in terms of comment approval on corporate blogs. (CT)
• LinkedIn has, seemingly, seen the positive press and usage growth Facebook achieved by throwing open the API doors and decided to follow suit. The move will be made inside of the next nine months. It will be interesting to see how such tools get applied to a more professionally-oriented network as opposed to one with a reputation of being just cool. (CT)
• Didn't realize there was a blog focused on the homeless in Los Angeles. Check out the "LA's Homeless Blog," written by Joel John Roberts of PATH Partners. Found this via this item by Dakota Smith on Netscape's Newsquake blog. (TB)

Posted by Chris Thilk at 09:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

• Congratulations to digg, which has found yet another way to honk off its user base, this time with the introduction of threaded comments. User complaints have, of course, been dugg, completing today's meta requirement. (CT)
• Kevin Dugan is, of course, being completely serious with this list of ten reasons you should join a social network. (CT)
• Google has been busy creating a whole series of new blogs. First there was their Public Policy blog and now come official journals for Google News and Google Finance. Both of the latter two have as their stated goal a more instant, direct communication of product happenings with users and readers, which of course is the whole blogging point, so good on them. (CT)
• Todd Anderlik is great at finding fun videos and this one featuring a bunch of agency type folk lip syncing Harvey Danger's "Flagpole Sitta" might be the best ever. For some reason watching this while I had Twitbin, Socialtext, Wordpress, Google Reader and Trillian open at the same time made me think about how different my life is than how I thought it would be when I was six. (CT)

Posted by Chris Thilk at 05:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

• Arianna Huffington and Jay Rosen are partnering on a new citizen journalism site called Off the Bus that focuses on the 2008 campaign cycle. The site aims to bring a new and fresh perspective to the campaign beat that just isn't possible with mainstream reporters. (CT)
• Media planning tool provider Telmar will be launching a new vertical search engine to help people find media industry research studies and other statistics. (CT)
• If you were getting jittery without your hourly fix of Jessica Britney Alba Timberlake Diaz news it's because Perez Hilton's web host inoculated itself against an eventual lawsuit took down the site for a short while yesterday, citing the site's continued usage of copyrighted photographs. (CT)

Posted by Chris Thilk at 04:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

• The WSJ is tapped in to the "virtual job interview" meme that's floating around, on how companies are using Second Life, among other places, to get the scoop on potential staffers. Awesome job pointing out the "difficulties" some have using the system. (TB)
• Launching off of Tom's item above, the difficulties of the Second Life experience are recreated in the world in a video passed on here by Eric Rice. (CT)
• In case any of you were wondering when LOLcats were going to officially become uncool, the fact that the phenomenon got a write-up in today's Chicago Tribune seems a good starting point for that countdown. (CT)

Posted by Tom Biro at 11:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

• Jeffrey Zeldman reminds (gulp) everyone who's doing a bit of Web design to make sure and set the background color of those sites, so that users don't do it themselves and then make fun of you. (TB)
• An increasing number of non-profit organizations are getting over long-held prejudices and fears over engaging public relations firms, instead using them to get the word out and compete for press coverage with some big players in the philanthropic area. (CT)
• CNET is launching a whole slew of new blogs dealing with how technology influences various niche interest areas. (CT)
• I don't understand the hesitation some corporations are experiencing in agreeing to sync people's iPhones to their corporate email servers. Do these IT departments not realize the iPhone is the BEST DEVICE EVER? (CT)

Posted by Tom Biro at 11:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

• Businesses are increasingly looking at social networks not as a marketing opportunity but as a way to find new employees and connect team members.
• A number of online social networks exist specifically to connect people for offline activities. There are also startups popping up all over the place that are geared toward niches and specific interest areas for people who don't want to get lost in the MySpace crowd.
• That leads to the next issue, which is the rise of network aggregators that allow people to manage multiple profiles from one interface.
• A new study shows kids are citing updates from friends they're connected to as an important source of news, more so than newspapers or other traditional news outlets.

Posted by Chris Thilk at 10:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

• Mashable's Pete Cashmore has some thoughts on the deal to bring FOX video clips online via Brightcove. (TB)
• In the San Francisco Chronicle, there's an item about what could amount to an iffy situation with Comcast phone customers, who thought they could stick to a cheaper plan, but are now being notified that "pending regulatory approval" that this would probably change. Considering people's annoyance with "unlimited" bandwidth advertisements and how that has cropped up from time to time, this could also start a fire under some unsatisfied customers. [via TechMeme] (TB)
• A new lawsuit could decide whether or not anonymous, libelous statements are allowed online. (CT)
• YouTube is warning people who might use its new mobile service frequently to biggie-size their service plans since the bandwidth requirements are sizable. (CT)
• Neville Hobson alerts us to new corporate blogs from GlaxoSmithKline and Johnson & Johnson. (CT)
• Neville's FIR co-host Shel Holtz says the companion website for the podcasting book the pair have written is now live. (CT)
• This kills me. (CT)
• Speaking of Shel and Neville, the two are stepping back from their day-to-day roles at the crayon agency, but Digitas' Greg Verdino is coming onboard. (CT)

Posted by Tom Biro at 05:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

• Interesting object lesson from people who found some very...umm...interesting debug statements in the hidden language of YouTube pages. (CT)
• Some sort called "hockey" (Tom keeps talking about it but I have no idea) is looking at what the NCAA did when it kicked out a blogger and going in the opposite direction. Instead of telling them to shut down their laptops the New York Islanders have created a special section for bloggers to do their thing. (CT)
• To chime in on Chris' last entry, I present some comments from one notable hockey / sports blogger, Eric McErlain, who isn't so happy about this move by the Islanders. David Singer has also put together a pretty decent roundup of commentary on the subject. (TB)
• It's interesting that only the online folks comment when Calacanis or Winer try to set the rules for how and when they're interviewed but when Mrs. Pitt does so it gets mainstream media attention. (CT)
• Over at Slate, Harry McCracken really really likes Google Gears, and tells you all about it. (TB)
• In blogger news, James Joyner has pointed out that Chris Bowers is leaving MyDD for a new group blog that will open up his horizons a bit. (TB)
• On Twitter, Randall Bennett alerts us to a new technology that could affect anyone who drives while on their cellphone. The device, from Highway Safety and Technology, would enable police to determine whether a vehicle had someone using a cellphone at the time it passes by, rather than having to see the driver holding up the phone. And yes, there's the opportunity for "false positives." (TB)

Posted by Chris Thilk at 03:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

• Looks like Google's idea to have a party for eBay merchants in Boston during an eBay event wasn't a good idea after all. The Big G has cancelled its shindig after eBay cancelled its AdWords advertising in the U.S. [via TechMeme] (TB)
• Make no mistake about it: The deal between NBC and Group M to only pay for TV commercials that are actually viewed instead of using show ratings as the basis for payments is about as huge a shift as they get. (CT)
• My pal Joy sends along this fascinating item featuring a woman who made a video about presidential candidate Barack Obama. The reason I mention it here is the comment on the page, "gotta tell ya, politics in the age of citizen media is going to be fun as hell — what’s next?" True enough. (TB)
• Stereogum provides a way that you, too, can have your say on what song should have played at the end of The Sopranos this season. Enjoy that! (TB)

Posted by Tom Biro at 04:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

• It seems that Flickr's latest language upgrade may have come with some strings that include people in countries that are looking to censor "unsafe" content not being able to view any picture on the service, Pro user, "safe" search off, or not. Following discussions here and here. [via my pal fbz, who's not happy about the situation] (TB)
• If you're in or plan to be in San Francisco on July 1, then you might want to check out the Benefit to Save Net Radio. (TB)
• It's birthday day in the blogosphere, with PaidContent turning five and TechCrunch turning two. (CT)
• JD Lasica recaps the changed rules for interviewing people who are internet famous and might be a bit wary of being mis-quoted or having their words misrepresented. (CT)
• I can't figure out for the life of me why people seem so surprised you'll need an iTunes account to setup their iPhones. Isn't the fact that you need an iTunes account a small sticking point when we're talking about the BEST DEVICE EVER? (CT)

Posted by Tom Biro at 05:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

• Sick of downloading those Powerpoint files from Gmail and then opening them? Well, those days are kinda over with Gmail's new Powerpoint Preview. Pete Cashmore says it "gives [him] a reason to never use Microsoft Office again." (TB)
• The people actually working on Odeo probably have to check their paychecks to see who owns them at any given time since the company has just been bought and sold again. (CT)
• YouTube finally seems ready to roll-out monitoring tools that will allow copyright holders to identify - and potentially monetize - clips that belong to them, even if they were uploaded illegally. (CT)
• The team behind the much-reviled 2012 Olympics logo are taking the "any buzz is good buzz" approach to the criticism of their handiwork. (CT)
• Because you asked for it: "Days of Our Lives" episodes are now available on iTunes. Yeah, I'm checking the sky for bowls of blood being poured out as well. (CT)
• TechCrunch's Mike Arrington just posted a few minutes ago about Flickr now supporting seven new languages. (TB)
• Umm, yeah, about that new version of Safari... (TB)

Posted by Tom Biro at 01:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

• Finding a job as a blogger is hard, according to the New York Times. It's even more difficult to be a blogger within a corporation where you have to be on edge about what you're writing about and how it can impact the larger business. (CT)
• Technorati could see its traffic growth come a very sudden and very dramatic halt if Google decides to stop indexing tags as part of its search results. (CT)
• If you're planning on going to the Bon Jovi show in Newark, NJ (who lives in New Jersey?) you can get ticket packages that include an iTunes copy of the band's new album. (CT)
• A new social network has launched called Wis.dm that seeks to connect like-mined people who find each other via a series of yes/no questions. I like it when we can break down human interaction to the point where it's binary - saves time. (CT)
• The Onion's Doyle Redland had some fun a couple of days ago with something that sounds very PR-worthy, that a "Company Produces Lifestyle, Not Corn Chip." Nice. (TB)

Posted by Chris Thilk at 01:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

• Todd has the second in his series of interviews with new media blogger types, this time sitting down for a chat with Kami Huyse of Communication Overtones. (CT)
• The cable industry is saying people are making unreasonable requests regarding a la carte cable. I say the requests are reasonable and companies shouldn't dismiss their customers out of hand like this. (CT)
• Apple just turned 30. And Steve Jobs' turtlenecks just turned 25. (CT)
• David Armano revisits his Experience Map and the lessons he's learned from its debut a year ago. (CT)
• Big congrats to Kevin Dugan on the awarding of a PRSA Silver Anvil to his Bad Pitch Blog. (CT)
• I'm not sure why I'm not seeing more coverage of BoingBoing's stories on the true origins of LOLCATS. (CT)
• Thank goodness this young man has realized his lifelong dream of owning a Second Life coffee shop. (CT)
• A student pursuing his Master's at Copenhagen Business School is looking for your help in a survey about Web browser usage, et al. Go check it out and chime in. [via SpreadFirefox] (TB)
• Yep, thank the world of online mayhem for "bringing back" CBS' cancelled drama Jericho by sending thousands of pounds of nuts to the network. (TB)

Posted by Chris Thilk at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)