DISQUS

It seems to me, that twitter is there to fill in the gaps: when you are sitting on the toilet and you are bored
when you wait for your date
when you eat alone

most of all don't feel alone, be constantly occupied (even with crap)

On the other hand, I am very happy that I am a EU citizen (regarding this subject, at least).
I find it great, that users can decide who gets his hands on what kind of private information.
Isn't that one of the points of the upcoming semantic web?

It's really interesting to see computer games developing beyond their entertaining potential. There is also a conference in Germany coming up called gamesphilosophy.
Fascinating to see videogames under a completely new lense.

Youre right, I didn't think of it like that. Anyway, I think in order to get these options widely spread, they must also concentrate on user-friendliness. The wider public doesn't have a technological affinity with code.
Anyway all this openness of data can evolve to an important privacy hazard for someone who doesn't know how to protect himself.

I'm still looking for some reasons to stop using torrents and change to DRM music.
Until now I got:
1. RIAA will start ruling the game and people will get scared.
2. We will start thinking about the artists.

I agree with you. They diplomatically restated the same material.
The question is who is in control of the digg network? The users, the top-users or the administrators?

Diversity in social networks is the best way to promote quality content. If you want to promote any content, just build a vast friends network. I find diggs initiative very good. The only ones complaining were the top diggers, just because the power of their network is decreased.

I find the downside not so bad. Compared to the upside at least. Last.fm is a music hub and providing such a service is surely a big step. They didn't say anything about the labels' income percentage, but I like to be optimistic on that one.
Downloads would be great, I agree. Don't see it happening, though (unless last.fm prints its own money)

I actually find the crowdsourcing idea a great thing. It relies on the wisdom of the crowd. It's not about individual answers, it's about the collective intelligence. It is also a great deal of work; a work that Pro-Ams could do very well. A similar project of crowdsourcing and tagging was realized by the Metropolitan Museum.
If the collective tags are aggregated correctly, they could provide quality information, competing the data experts could provide.

there was a similar story about a month ago with torrentspy. In the end the court pressed torrentspy to provide ip adresses of its users. I wonder where this story will go...

Do you think its the 2$ that would make the difference? I find the Radiohead tactic also good. There is the online version (choose your price) and the offline version, the physical product.

I don't see original cds as blank cds with music on them.
Original cds are for me irreplaceable: the procedure of listening to the cd, while having the box in your hand, reading the leaflet, looking at the artwork. I like that...

I wouldn't call it a dumb idea. Reznor also talks about the physical product.
I don't know about you, but I would gladly pay a 5$ tax to get original cds, instead of just the digital versions.
I agree though, that not everyone should pay this fee - online people who download.
In such a napster, count me in!

lets see where they settle...

MySpace actually ranked very well (SPI of 923).
I agree with James; Facebook is not popular for its speed, its popular for its community.
When I recommended other social networks (in particular kaioo) than Facebook a comment was:
"Im in facebook for my friends, even if i choose to leave, how am i suppose to convince 70 people to leave facebook, in order to be able to communicate with them, somewhere else?"

Just a few days after the whole Scoble story, eh?
It makes you wonder...doesn't it?

The development of the long tail (as expressed by C. Anderson) along with initiatives of big bands to move on independent (radiohead, Nine Inch Nails) are signals towards the death of major labels.
Maybe we will witness the long tail effect in labels too? I still like buying CDs and LPs. I'm just more picky. So maybe small labels are the next step.

Wow! I see a polarization of a subject. People either strongly disagree or strongly agree. Interesting...

Media as an extension of ourselves. A notion of Marsall McLuhan. Also used in the film 'videodrome' of Cronenberg. Then it was television, now it is the web. A small step towards evolving into cyborgs.

I find it great that torrentspy protected its users and their private data. It probably saved them from a lot of trouble.
But what comes next? Control over the internet and its traffic? Control over which information and what kind of data will be exchanged?

The
official google post about the Davos question
sees it differently of course. I also (deep inside) have the hope that the youtube debate will actually be heard.
But I'm too pessimistic (or realistic) to see it like that. I find the question alone (what to do, to save the planet) kind of (at least) awkward.

Time will show, i guess.

I agree that Google Knol won't be a competitor of a wikipedia. They are targeting a different group. But I would like to add one more parameter to your equation: Google Knol = Wikipedia + Social networks.
Namely:
Google Knol = Wikipedia + social networks + authorship.
And I find this parameter very important, specifically for the quality of the information aggregated.
By that I mean (actually a ask), if the presence of authors (having the role of the expert) will really promote the collective intelligence of the community.

[But nonetheless, Google Knol may develop to be the first 'wiki' where students can officially refer to. And the presence of authors, may be the main reason.]

I absolutely completely agree! The other day I wrote about the role of authorship on the web and specifically in the blogosphere. Although the author might have a significant role in the 'real' world, the magic of the internet and the blogosphere is its self-organization and lack of authorities.
Having authors, who protect their rights, may eventually bring control and organization online.
And I like the web, the way it is: a mess.

It's true that mail spam has significantly decreased (or we visit less hardcore porn...). But spam has also transformed. They now use blogs to advertise. Spam comments are quite often...