This week’s 4cast:
1. Bad Manners in the Blogosphere
Recently, a prominent technology blogger named Kathy Sierra (Creating Passionate Users) received a series of anonymous, threatening messages in the comments section of her blog, leading her to cancel speaking engagements and suspend the blog indefinitely. In response, Web 2.0 luminary Tim O’Reilly has issued a Call for a Blogging Code of Conduct, which has set off an entirely new controversy.
- A Call for Manners in the World of Nasty Blogs (New York Times)
- Draft Blogger’s Code of Conduct (O’Reilly Radar)
- Blogger’s Code of Conduct: a Dissection (Tistan’s Insights)
- Update on Kathy Sierra story (Confessions of a Science Librarian)
2. Digital Copies Collecting Dust
When Google Book Search scans a participating library’s collection, it provides a digital copy back to the library at the end of the process. So what are libraries doing with their copies?
- Book Search and library digital files — what’s the scoop? (Google Librarian Central)
- Google Book Search Libraries and Their Digital Copies (Searcher: The Magazine for Database Professionals)
- Google Book Search And Libraries: An Overview (Search Engine Land)
3. The YouTube War: Another Front
First, it’s the lawsuits. And now, it’s the competition. NBC and Fox are among the partners planning to release a YouTube rival later this year.
- TV networks plan rival to YouTube (BBC)
- News Corp. and NBC announce partnership to create YouTube competitor (Ars Techncia)
- NBC, News Corp. Plan YouTube Clone (Wired News: Epicenter)
- A new alternative to Google’s YouTube (Pandia Search Engine News)
4. Purveyors of DRM Find Way to Capitalize on Anti-DRM Sentiment
To counter the rising outcry against DRM, EMI Music (one of the world’s biggest record companies) recently struck a deal with Apple to sell DRM-free music through the iTunes music store – at a slightly more expensive price, naturally.
- EMI, Apple partner on DRM-free premium music (CNET)
- EMI, Apple To Sell DRM-Free Music for $1.29/song (TechCrunch)
- First DRM-free songs from a record company (LibrarianInBlack)
- EMI, Apple, DRM and…Books! (Booksquare)
