DISQUS

Unless you're getting super philosophical on us, I'm pretty sure you meant 'imminent'. :)

Looks sweet!

I do find it strange, however, that as Stringer was talking about synergy between departments at Sony, they announce this - but not that it would be able to access the PS Video Store or, a new music store. I agree with you Chris - Sony really needs to provide a content solution for this device as well.

(P.S. I finally gave in and bought an iPhone - I miss Sony sound quality but the iPhone is truly unmatched).

I forget who it was specifically, but some Sony exec did say they were working on a wireless Reader. Maybe the words swirling all around are a hint? Hope so - I think the actual design of the Reader is better than the Kindle.

http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/4/has_twitter_...

Twitter's email notification system was down - and thus you got them all at once. Other points still totally valid though.

A bit off-topic, but you could argue that the reason you're seeing 'better comments' on Friendfeed is because, since they come from the Web 2.0 circle je... umm community, they fit your definition of 'better'. The more centralised feed aggregation becomes in the early-adopter geek cirle, the more and more it will turn into the aforementioned circular love-fest. Yes, syndication in all forms - including giving away your content for free - is great. But the dissemination of that content into a more and more specific, elite group isn't going to help anyone but that same elite group.

Thanks for the review. In terms of this niche, there is also a site called eRenovate.com which performs a similar function. I have no details on its genesis though.

Thanks for the review. In terms of this niche, there is also a site called eRenovate.com which performs a similar function. I have no details on its genesis though.

Razzle seems (seemed?) like a great idea with half-assed execution. I know I was quite excited about it when it popped up on RFD but even the design of the website seemed to be subpar. I do hope they get things together but as you said, they have an uphill battle. I think something video game related may help them win back some goodwill and appeal to the right demographic.

Razzle seems (seemed?) like a great idea with half-assed execution. I know I was quite excited about it when it popped up on RFD but even the design of the website seemed to be subpar. I do hope they get things together but as you said, they have an uphill battle. I think something video game related may help them win back some goodwill and appeal to the right demographic.

No, that's a really good point Mathew. You'd never see an American Youtube portal right? There is a sense that moves like this are always going to be secondary to the (American) mainstage. Perhaps that kind of segregation will undercut the capacity for online content to 'succeed' regardless of where it's from (God, I sound like such a liberal humanist all of a sudden!).

I think the advertising reason is probably it - better targeting etc. But perhaps there's something to it on the user's end - i.e. maybe people are more likely to participate in something when it feels 'local' but has a global audience. I've often lamented the general lack of a Canadian web presence, partly because I believe in the relationship between public projections and identity - if you never see yourself anywhere, sometimes you feel like you don't 'really exist'. Perhaps it wasn't Google's intent, but maybe there's a little bit of 'representative politics' going on here?

Oh... this again. The thing that constantly baffles me is the amount of revenue that Canadian media companies are losing by not cutting deals to distribute content electronically or on their websites. When I miss a show, I also miss the ads. When I want to download an episode of the show to watch on the go - one which I wouldn't watch otherwise for lack of time - can you really blame me for 'finding it elsewhere'? Wouldn't Cdn companies want to find a way to pick up that lost revenue somehow? Or do they insist on thinking of the internet as something that sucks profits away from media providers, rather than an enormous opportunity?

Funnily enough, it will likely be Microsoft who will be the first to introduce Canada's first decent digital distribution model when they launch Xbox Live Marketplace here later this year. It figures that no Canadian company would have the foresight or guts to try the absolutely radical idea of selling media online. If only Apple released iTunes in Canada - then it'd be like there was a proven distribution model just waiting for the deals waiting to happen...

$15 billion?! That's preposterous. That face is worth $12 billion, tops. ;)

I may be alone on this but I don't think that Jaiku and Twitter are the same thing. Twitter seems to essentially be a communication/microblogging tool. Jaiku, on the other hand, seems to deal in what they call presence management i.e. consolidating the multiple activities/identities that one has around the 'net and collecting them all in one place. When you look at Jaiku as an aggregrator of sorts - pulling your blog postings, twitters, Flickr uploads etc. all together - the acquisition by Google seems to make more sense, at least to me.

I think that Joost is better in the States, where they have signed content deals with more interesting partners. We in Canada seem to be getting shafted a bit as there isn't really anything compelling to watch. While I think the premise behind Joost is solid, until I can load it up and, at the very least, watch reruns of some good sitcoms or older films, its promise will remain just that.

With a student discount, the seven bucks a month I play for the G&M seems reasonable and I think it's 'reasonable' that's key. Being able to read the full paper for much less than a physical subscription is quite a desirable deal.

I do, however, think that the paywall is frustrating and can easily alienate readers. It's akin to DRM on music - if protecting your business model involves hampering the consumer experience, something is wrong. If there were some sort of 'DRM-Free' approach that worked, I think papers would be doing a lot better with this internet thing.

Isn't that akin to Stephen Harper saying that, because both he and I have the vote, we have equal power? I think what Calcanis is missing is that meritocracy is always imbued with elitism - sure, often the cream rises to the top because of hard work, but it almost never happens without the self-reproducing nature of power and privilege.

Well, this would certainly end the walled-garden phenomenon that is causing everyone to call Facebook the next AOL.

I think I just like the idea of aggregation - in the same way that Jaiku consolidates all one's own RSS feeds (blog, Flickr, last.fm etc.), a meta-social network could be equally as useful. If the ostensible point of social networks is to allow people to connect, then this seems brilliant to me.

Rod from Techfold said something similar recently - that the sale of last.fm to CBS meant that the music service would have to relenquish control to the more traditional 'big business' concerns of CBS. While it's impossible to know if that was a factor in the decision, it's certainly well within the realm of possibility, despite the claim of a potential 'loss of royalties'.

Still, I too think that the day of silence is a bit much - seems a bit like teachers going on strike: the people in power aren't the ones who are ultimately put out.

I think the fact they're games is exactly the point. While films are narratives - the placing of events into a structure that is inherently about meaning making - the dominant mode of gaming is simulation, not narrative and, thus, does not demand the same meaning-making strategies that narratives do. This is why both GTA and Tetris are 'games', even though they seem to differ so radically. It's for this reason than Manhunt 2 *should* be banned - it crosses the line from that which can be narratologically positioned into that which simply revels in violence.

I think 'we bloggers' are a little annoyed by app integration in Facebook, as it's almost like one has to maintain two separate online lives, linked loosely by widgets. However, Facebook does do a couple of things well: it provides a space for consolidation for people who don't maintain a blog and have no desire to; and it also seems to be becoming like the Windows of the Internet. Although the diffuse nature of the 'net is its greatest asset, it is also its most alienating: by providing a centralised, 'neutral' platform (I use the latter term loosely), Facebook opens access to things like Flickr, Twitter, Jaiku, last.fm etc. to those who would otherwise be completely intimidated by Web 2.0 and the blogosphere.

Awfully jealous. The student tickets disappeared long before I had even heard of the conference, and regular conference prices are way too much for my grad school self.

What would be amazing is if you might post your thoughts on the conference later, and where Canada (and maybe Toronto) fits into the whole Web 2.0/new media 'matrix'.

No pressure though. ;)

I think I'd disagree with you here Mathew. One of the most difficult aspects of the mass dissemination of media that the internet allows is the disjunct that occurs between images and that to which they refer when there is a lack of context. This video is, on one hand, simply a car crashing and, if played out in a movie, might be almost entertaining. On another, it is the filmic representation of someone dying. While one can obviously divorce the two if one wants, I don't think it's something we should encourage, at least devoid of explicit contextualisation. I understand that censorship is a difficult issue - one that I cannot claim to 'get' completely - but I don't see how the distribution of this video achieves anything more fostering than a morbid sort of voyeurism that puts up yet another comfortable wall between the viewer and others' pain and suffering.

Rod, when I spoke of the ecosystem, I did mean the simplicity entailed in having a centralised approach to content on a PC, from playback, to purchasing, to transferring to a device. Indeed, I think that sort of 'one stop' simplicity is precisely why iTunes-iPod is so successful.

I think the choice of MP3s over AACs could be significant, as all MP3 players - including anything that plays MP3 CDs - could utilise these files, from your cheapest knock-off to your top of the line iPod or Archos.

But the question of the ecosystem is an important one - iTunes is the centre of a lot of folks' media universe. One question is how Amazon will deliver these files, whether through a web-based solution, a Windows Media Player add-on or a new, dedicated jukebox software. Looking at Sony's disastrous experiments with Sonicstage and Connect and the effect it had on their business, if Amazon goes the software route, they best beta test it until it's near perfect.

Also - any word yet on whether this will be another US only thing? Or is amazon.ca going to join in the fun?