ideas grokked from the interwebs

Amazon Relies on Customers to Pimp the Kindle

The See a Kindle in Your City program, which was started in May, is just another extension of that idea. Freed and members of his group saw that people were especially curious when they saw one in public and decided to capitalize on the phenomenon.

The Media Equation - A Campaign Not Filtered by the Press - NYTimes.com

By becoming a ubiquitous presence in the digital lives of its supporters, the Obama campaign could become like that friend who I.M.’s a little too often. And while there may be something validating in getting a piece of information at the same time as Wolf Blitzer, a few people who heard an audible notification in the middle of the night probably woke up wondering if their ailing aunt had died.

Technology Review: "I Just Called to Say I Love You"

Just 10 years ago, New York City (where I live) still abounded with collectively maintained public spaces in which citizens demonstrated respect for their community by not inflicting their banal bedroom lives on it. The world 10 years ago was not yet fully conquered by yak. It was still possible to see the use of Nokias as an ostentation or an affectation of the affluent. Or, more generously, as an affliction or a disability or a crutch. There was unfolding, after all, in New York in the late 1990s, a seamless citywide transition from nicotine culture to cellular culture. One day the lump in the shirt pocket was Marlboros, the next day it was Motorola. One day the vulnerably unaccompanied pretty girl was occupying her hands and mouth and attention with a cigarette, the next day she was occupying them with a very important conversation with a person who wasn’t you. One day a crowd gathered around the first kid on the playground with a pack of Kools, the next day around the first kid with a color screen. One day travelers were clicking lighters the second they were off an airplane, the next day they were speed-dialing. Pack-a-day habits became hundred-dollar monthly Verizon bills. Smoke pollution became sonic pollution. Although the irritant changed overnight, the suffering of a self-restrained majority at the hands of a compulsive minority, in restaurants and airports and other public spaces, remained eerily constant. Back in 1998, not long after I’d quit cigarettes, I would sit on the subway and watch other riders nervously folding and unfolding phones, or nibbling on the teatlike antennae that all the phones then had, or just quietly clutching their devices like a mother’s hand, and I would feel something close to sorry for them. It still seemed to me an open question how far the trend would go: whether New York truly wanted to become a city of phone addicts sleepwalking down the sidewalks in icky little clouds of private life, or whether the notion of a more restrained public self might somehow prevail.

To Reach Prolific Content Sharers, Lay Off the Humor | CenterNetworks

the most savvy and prolific viral sharers prefer spreading news more than humor

Mozilla drags IE into the future with Canvas element plugin

“Currently, the experience is pretty crappy: you have to click through an infobar to allow installation of this component, then you have to click ‘Yes’ to say that you really want to run the native content, and then you have to click ‘Yes’ again to allow the component to interact with content on the page,” he wrote in a blog entry. “In theory, with the right signatures, the right security class implementations, some eye of newt, and a pinch of garlic, it’s possible to get things down to a one-time install which would make the component available everywhere.”

NBC’s Olympic Web Blackout: The View From CBS and Major League Baseball - Bits - Technology - New York Times Blog

“We’ve learned that wherever you are, you watch on the biggest screen you can,” Mr. Bowman said.

HDTV Becomes De Rigeur - Bits - Technology - New York Times Blog

High-definition TV is no longer a luxury option. It’s standard.

Poynter Online - Forums

By creating a clean, clutter-free design, we are making our important, award-winning coverage more attractive to more readers. The energy of our stories and our news talent will be brought to life with rich, colorful pages and vibrant visuals complemented by eye-catching photos and graphics. In addition, meaningful links from The Sun to baltimoresun.com and our other websites will promote better reader interplay between our print and online offerings. Navigation will be simplified with concise, informative callouts that direct readers to relevant content. The reader-friendly layout will be balanced with a modular ad strategy, which provides higher visibility and more impact for the advertiser’s investment.

‘Saturday Night Live’ Cast Takes a Summer Break of Comedy for the Web - NYTimes.com

The ability of “The Line” to attract name-brand talent reflects the increasing number of writers and actors who are showing interest in original Web video. “The Line” was the first straight-to-Internet series to be produced and financed by Broadway Video, the production company founded by the “SNL” executive producer, Lorne Michaels. But it won’t be its last: the company says it will produce other Web series created by and starring “SNL” cast members, and Mr. Michaels also intends to produce Web performances by Jimmy Fallon this fall, as that former “SNL” cast member prepares to replace Conan O’Brien on “Late Night” next year.

Is NBCs Tight Leash on Olympics Webcasts a Mistake? - Bits - Technology - New York Times Blog

“The Internet hardly cannibalizes; it actually fuels interest,” said Alan Wurtzel, NBC’s president of research, in a conference call with reporters Wednesday.

Police Turn to Secret Weapon: GPS Device - washingtonpost.com

Across the country, police are using GPS devices to snare thieves, drug dealers, sexual predators and killers, often without a warrant or court order. Privacy advocates said tracking suspects electronically constitutes illegal search and seizure, violating Fourth Amendment rights of protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, and is another step toward George Orwell’s Big Brother society. Law enforcement officials, when they discuss the issue at all, said GPS is essentially the same as having an officer trail someone, just cheaper and more accurate. Most of the time, as was done in the Foltz case, judges have sided with police.

The Classic Rock Magazine Is Switching to a Smaller, Rack-Friendly Size - NYTimes.com

Rolling Stone says it will spend more and print more, not less: in addition to using more expensive paper and binding, it plans to add 16 to 20 pages per issue.

TV Networks Rewrite the Definition of a News Bureau - NYTimes.com

CNN announced on Tuesday that it would assign journalists to 10 cities across the United States, a move that would double the number of domestic cities where the cable news network has outposts. But in a reflection of the way television networks are reinventing the way they gather news, the journalists will not work from expensive bureaus — rather, they will borrow office space from local news organizations and use laptops to file articles for the Internet and TV. When news happens, they will use Internet connections and cellphone cameras to report live.

The doubts starting to rein back Obama | Andrew Sullivan - Times Online

Why is it so close? That’s been the chatter after these past two weeks in the three-month run of the Obama-McCain smackdown.

The Media Equation - All of Us, the Arbiters of News - NYTimes.com

Early on in any journalist’s career, the young reporter is besieged by advice from all sides. Flacks, sources and run-of-the-mill busybodies will pound on the phone about why the reporter isn’t covering this or that story. And then, a sage editor will appear and counsel the newbie: “We decide what the news is.” That truism still attains; it’s just the meaning of the pronoun has changed. Yes, we decide what is news as long as “we” now includes every sentient human with access to a mouse, a remote or a cellphone.

In the Region - Long Island - The Web as Real Estate Trove - NYTimes.com

“If we know that they can get the information anyway, why send them somewhere else to get it?” said Barbara Ford, president of the Multiple Listing Service of Long Island. Earlier this year, she added, the service added rentals to its search engine. Before the end of the year, it also plans to add homes in the foreclosure process, she said.

City Life - The Smart-Phone Attitude - Editorial - NYTimes.com

I used to believe that talking on a cellphone had no effect on my walking pace or directional stability. But after watching so many other pedestrians drunk with conversation, I realized that I am just as susceptible. And after switching to a smart phone, I had to switch to a new way of walking. I find it hard to ignore the gentle ping and throb that tells me new e-mail has arrived. So when my pocket pulses, I duck into a doorway or line myself up behind a lamppost, out of the current like a trout behind a rock. I feel at times like a remote-controlled robot, but I honor the first law of New York: keep moving or get out of the way.

Yahoo to let visitors decline more targeted ads

Yahoo Inc. will let its Web visitors decline ads targeted to their browsing habits, becoming the latest Internet company to break from a common industry practice as Congress steps up scrutiny of customized advertising and consumer privacy. Yahoo has been offering that opt-out choice only to ads the company runs on outside, partner sites. Yahoo said Friday it now would extend that option to ads displayed on its own sites, to boost users’ trust - and in doing so, perhaps draw visitors from its rivals.

You Can Go to . . . - washingtonpost.com

“The problem … in a nutshell, is that speech-based interfaces are not human-centric,” says Victor Zue, director of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, where he focuses on making human-computer interactions more natural. “They are designed to make the machine’s life easier, and not the human’s. Witness the way we subject ourselves to the litany of questions from machines to get to the right department in a company, to receive weather and flight information, to look for a nearby restaurant. Who is the master and who is the slave?”

You Can Go to . . . - washingtonpost.com

“Text to speech is really really hard to do. A lot of people just turn the voice off and watch the screen — and get in an accident. Exactly. The very best nav is a friend in the passenger seat. But that person can see you and knows the relevance of how quickly we need to turn, or whether we’re in the wrong lane. There’s so much going on. The modern nav system tries to do that. But that very simple human interaction is so complex. The human says, ‘We missed it, but it’s okay.’ He doesn’t say, ‘Recalculating,’ he says, ‘I know another way.’ When the computer tries to do it, it fails.”

WiFi Nearing Takeoff - washingtonpost.com

“If they charge for it, they are going to make millions and millions of dollars,” said Mike Boyd, an aviation consultant. “Most of us cannot be away from the Internet or our laptops for very long. We get separation anxiety when we are not on the Internet for a few hours.” Delta said it was adding the service because it was cost-effective and could be deployed more quickly than other options.

You Can Go to . . . - washingtonpost.com

Pew Internet: Search Engine Use

The percentage of internet users who use search engines on a typical day has been steadily rising from about one-third of all users in 2002, to a new high of just under one-half (49%). With this increase, the number of those using a search engine on a typical day is pulling ever closer to the 60% of internet users who use email, arguably the internet’s all-time killer app, on a typical day.

Where the Fashionistas Go for a Quick Fix - NYTimes.com

“People still like flipping a page and experiencing great photographs on paper,” said Imran Amed, the publisher of The Business of Fashion, a Web news site. But a Webzine, he said, “can be much more dynamic, change its content faster, create dialogue with a bunch of people passionate about the same topic, and push the envelope in getting them to interact.”

New Google Insights: Fact or Fiction? You Tell Me

I think it will appeal greatly to those of us that don’t have access to more comprehensive market research–which is probably 99% of us–but I’d caution building your entire marketing campaign around the data provided by Google Insights.