Google Wave Used to Hunt a Killer

Here is a story right in our own backyard.  Many folks have been wondering just what exactly to do with Google Wave.  After being invited by Google to test out a beta version, I have been wondering the same thing.  Apparently, the Seattle Times was using Wave to help hunt down the killer of the four slain officers in Lakewood.  Amazingly, massive amount of people flocked to this real-time flow of public information and tips began springing up left and right as to the suspected killer’s whereabouts.  Interestingly enough, this use of Wave have given those who tested out the waters some insight.  Some loved the rapid flow of information while others thought it was an unorganized mess or perhaps “Twitter on steroids.”  Via TechCrunch.

Digg Dumbs it Down

Digg, a news-sharing social Web site, announced this week that it would be releasing a new version of its application programming interface (commonly referred to as API).  According to Digg, the goal is to allow developers a simpler and better way of interacting with the Digg platform.  What’s newsworthy about that you might ask?  Digg has grown to become one of the Web’s biggest news aggregating sources and this change could signal an even greater usage of Digg’s platform.  The easier something is to use, the more people will give it a shot.  Via Forbes.

Comcast is the New NBC

In a move that is sure to completely shake up how everyone will consume media in the future, Comcast announced this week that it would be entering into a joint venture with GE, the parent company of NBC.  Comcast will have a 51 percent stake in the venture, giving it controlling power.  NBC is not the only media property to be affected.  Hulu, USA, Bravo, Syfy, Oxygen, Versus, CNBC, MSNBC, Universal Pictures movie studio and Telemundo are a handful of the other media properties now owned by Comcast.  Via The New York Times.

Already there are a slew of news stories and questions arising.  Is this legal?  What does it mean for the future of media?  For a more visual and highly critical breakdown on the deal, check out this graphic over at Gizmodo.

Matt Smedley

Free or paid news edition

With all the buzz circling about regarding the debate between paid vs free online content, I thought it appropriate to take a look at what some of the top influencers in the online world have to say.

Twitter flips the bird to Murdoch

Earlier this week at an event in London, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone addressed Rupert Murdoch’s plan to remove all of his sites from Google’s field of vision so that he could charge for all his online content.  If you are not already familiar, Murdoch previously announced a plan to effectively prevent Google from indexing all of his online properties, such as the Wall Street Journal.

Biz Stone shot back by saying that the speed of change on the web meant it would likely “fail fast” and that instead of trying to “put the genie back in the bottle,” Murdoch should be thinking of more innovative ways to make money.  Via Mashable.

People don’t expect to pay for news anymore

In a “not-so-surprising” move, Jay Adelson, the founder and CEO of Digg, commented this week on Fox Business News that he didn’t see a future in the ability for news organizations to charge for their content.  For those of you not familiar, Digg is a Web site whose users gather stories from around the Web and then vote on them.  The best way to understand Digg is by comparing it to a giant popularity contest.

The funny thing about Adelson’s comment about paying for news is that he HAS to say that in order to keep his business alive.  Digg operates by taking news that has been reported by other organizations and aggregating it in one location.  The moment content providers start charging for news is the moment the strength of Digg’s business model breaks down.  If more and more news organizations start charging for their online content, the less free content will be able to flow onto Digg’s pages for all to see.  Via TechCrunch.

YouTube creates channel for citizen journalists

Earlier this week, YouTube announced the creation of a new channel that will be devoted to citizen journalism.  The new channel is designed to be a centralized location where news organizations, professional journalists and your average consumer can come together to share content.  For example, a news organization may not have the capacity to send a camera crew to every town hall meeting, but if something of interest happens and your “average Joe” just so happened to catch the newsworthy moment on his camera phone, the content can then be shared to the masses in a more organized fashion.

So much of the conversation around paying for news is based on quality and reliability.  This move by YouTube should be interesting because it completely bypasses the quality and reliability portion of the news equation.  Via Reuters.

Matt Smedley