Earth to Wired - The Proof is in Vancouver
March 14, 2007
Wired online today launched something called Assignment Zero, in conjunction with NewAssignment.net.
…we’re trying to figure something out here. Can large groups of widely scattered people, working together voluntarily on the net, report on something happening in their world right now, and by dividing the work wisely tell the story more completely, while hitting high standards in truth, accuracy and free expression?
Excuse me…haven’t you heard about the success of Now Public or about Orato ?
They’re two Vancouver sites that have/are/continue to prove what you’re ‘trying to figure out’.
Oh, and isn’t it just a bit weird that Wired’s online story about Assignment Zero doesn’t even link out to their partner NewAssignment.net (though they do to Assignment Zero)?
T I R E D.
Drinking Downstream of the Herd
March 13, 2007
Viacom, owners of MTV and Nickelodeon, has opted to sue YouTube.
Last month, Viacom, which also owns cable networks VH1 and Comedy Central, told YouTube to remove 100,000 “unauthorised” clips. Viacom said its demand came after YouTube and Google failed to install tools to “filter” the unauthorised video clips following negotiations. “There is no question that YouTube and Google are continuing to take the fruit of our efforts without permission and destroying enormous value in the process,” it said. full story at BBC
Viacom’s sueing for over a billion dollars, claiming its shows have been viewed over 1.5 billion times.
While Viacom is sueing, other broadcasters are leaping at the opportunity afforded by YouTube’s obvious success, using it to promote new shows and send out teasers.
Just ten days ago, the BBC set up a deal with YouTube, in the belief that the exposure will actually drive more traffic to their own web site. Other broadcasters are simply loading material on YouTube ad hoc, clearly with the intent of leveraging the kind of exposure YouTube can provide.
Deal or no deal, a quick search proves that every major broadcaster around the world has content on YouTube, and many of them are uploading it themselves.
By way of example, CTV,CBC, ABC, CBS, and NBC all have regularly updated content on YouTube. Even Canada’s staid National Film Board is using YouTube to reach new audiences, in both official languages no less…
Choose the winner!
The NFB invites the Canadian public of all ages to see the 20 shortlisted films in the contest and to vote for their favourite…Ces œuvres ont été créées par des jeunes aspirants cinéastes à la manière du génie de l’animation Norman McLaren.
www.nfb.ca/animation
There’s a good reason these broadcasters aren’t displeased their content is on YouTube. Not only does it provide huge exposure, YouTube pays the freight on serving the video.
Clearly Viacom sees things differently. Worth reading is Om Malik’s assessment of what’s going on.
Wired Shoots a Sexy Blank
March 12, 2007
Wired online’s RSS feed teases the story this way:
Susie Bright calls internet writers to task for labeling links as not safe for work. Is it time to drop the flag? In Sex Drive Daily.
But link out to the story, and the page comes up nice and clean, the ultimate Safe For Work page from Wired.
Hey. I was trying to read that !
Ready for my Close Up
March 12, 2007
The gear’s getting a bit restless - seems like the talent is getting all the attention.
If You Think No One Is Listening…
March 9, 2007
It’s probably because they aren’t.
The Canadian government’s web site has an online portal for air travel complaints.
But according to CBC.CA news, if a tree falls in the forest and no-one is there - it definitely doesn’t make a sound…
Travellers passing through Toronto’s Pearson International Airport have reported a spate of frustrating delays in the days leading up to March Break, the airport’s busiest time of the year, but it appears no one is keeping track of the complaints.
Passengers from across the country with unresolved complaints used to be able to lodge them with the Air Travel Complaints Commissioner, a position created in 2000 to document problems.
But that job is sitting vacant. The last complaint report covered incidents in 2004.
Big Bamboo
March 8, 2007
The fastest-growing species of bamboo can gain a meter in a single day - almost enough to see the growth with the naked eye. Nearly 1 billion people worldwide live in some sort of bamboo structure, including 75 percent of the population of Bangladesh. from Christian Science Monitor)
Bamboo Technology is named for the unlikely devices that the Professor came up with on Gilligans Island. In general they are not necessarily made of bamboo — the ones on The Flintstones were often made out of wood, stone and dinosaurs. What characterizes all of them is the self-evident unlikelihood that they actually work. Most likely to be seen in the more farcical Sit Com(s). from the TV Tropes Wiki
Looks like the Professor is having the last laugh after all.
Yep, that’s a flat screen TV made out of bamboo. Featured at Playengine UK it reminds me of some of the furniture my dad used to make when I was a kid, except dad never laid a bandsaw to bamboo…
The components on the cover, except for the buttons, are made entirely of bamboo. The electronic components are lead free and comply with CE and EU safety approvals.
The unique bamboo colour offers natural beauty and style which provides many advantages for consumers. It is one of a kind, ideal for homes, offices and of course an alternative to plastic surround.
Just as I was mulling whether this is some sort of goofy eco-trendy anomaly I discovered a C-Net preview of a new bamboo covered laptop from Asus…
Asus is definately playing the eco-card on this one, the laptop is called the Ecobook, but won’t be out until next year sometime.
Not satisfied to leave well enough alone, I stumbled upon BambooClothes.com, home of the unfortunately named Panty Boo…
Oddly, the Panty Boos are not to be found on the Canadian site Bamboo Clothes Canada .
Anyway, the thought of a bamboo thong sent me off in another direction, and I ended up a Treehugger where I discovered a whole world of bioplastics using bamboo and other vegetable oils to make eco friendly plastics…
In efforts to reduce fossil fuel dependence and CO2 emissions, Mitsubishi Motors has announced the development of plastics for car interiors made from plant-based resin and bamboo fiber. The automaker hopes that the use of bioplastics can help replace processed wood and oil-based materials in car interiors.
Not green enough for you ? Check out this bamboo bike…
I’d love to see Dangerous Dan take this for a spin on the North Shore. If he did, he’d no doubt need this nifty bamboo helmet from Roof in the UK.
Now you may think I’ve become a bit bamboo obsessed. Well, maybe for just a minute. But I’ve got nothing on this guy, Australia’s Mr. Bamboo.
Internet Radio - Will the Governor Call in Time ?
March 8, 2007
Doc Searls has written an insightful article about the threat to internet radio in the US due to a recent copyright board decision.
The article is called Internet Radio on Death Row and it’s a must read if you want a better understanding of why internet radio as we know it may soon disappear.
In a move that recalls the Vogons’ decision to destroy Earth to clear the way for a highway bypass through space (a thankfully fictional premise of Douglas Adams’ Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy), the judges comprising the Copyright Royalty Board have decided to destroy the Internet radio industry so the Recording Industry won’t be inconvenienced by something it doesn’t know, like or understand.