Over the past two weeks or so there have been quite a few stories that I have wanted to comment on, but I am unfortunately finding myself lacking the time to do so. So rather than try and catch up in a half-hearted sort of way, I thought I'd just link to them below, and give myself some time this weekend to write a longer post on the one issue I have been following with the greatest degree of interest - namely, how Australian politicians are using the internet in the lead up to the election later this year. I'll aim to get that post up on Monday. In the meantime, here are some links that I feel are worth reading and thinking about ...
Legal Issues
Researcher: Optimal copyright term is 14 years from Ars Technica (by Nate Anderson)
"A Cambridge researcher says that, according to economic calculations, the ideal length of time for copyright protection is a mere 14 years."
Clear Channel Shows RIAA A Non-Infringing Use Of File-Sharing Networks from Techdirt (by Carlo Longino)
Will ISPs begin to filter their networks for illicit music? from Technology Guardian
"They might after a ruling in Belgium where the local ISP, Scarlet has been given six months to begin filtering out infringing peer-to-peer content on its network."
"It's Conduct, Not Speech" from The Volokh Conspiracy (by Eugene Volokh)
"In recent months, I've often run across arguments (including in comments on this blog) that certain kinds of speech ought to be unprotected because they're really "conduct," not "speech." Now these..."
Is Google Breaking The Law In Providing Ads On Typosquatting Domains? from Techdirt (by Mike Masnick)
Another Pointless Perfect 10 Suit Gets Shot Down from Techdirt (by Carlo Longino)
The Lawsuit against a Lawyer Rating Service: Why the Suit Might Lead the Service to Improve, Becoming More Transparent from FindLaw's Writ
"FindLaw columnist and U. Washington law professor Anita Ramasastry discusses a class action challenging a lawyer rating website. She considers whether such sites can take cover under statutory immunities for websites that host user postings, and suggests that, whether or not the suit is successful, more transparency regarding how the ratings are arrived at is necessary."
Stealing Code in Second Life Is Still Stealing from Wired
Children, Parents and Educators Online
Voyeurs 'R Us: What parents need to know about Stickam from CNET News.com
"Blog: The New York Times reports that the live video chat Web site Stickam.com has corporate ties with a pornography producer. As this story begins to unfold, Stickam's practices alone raise serious child abuse concerns."
Software lets parents monitor kids' calls from CNET News.com
Hanging in the hi-tech faculty lounge from CNET News.com
"Blog: Educational software company Blackboard offers Scholar as a social-networking site for academics."
General Internet News/Observations
Chinese Internet Usage Rivals U.S. from TechCrunch
GSOH and Web 2.0 compatibility essential from Technology Guardian
"Online dating agencies are changing to attract the MySpace generation."
US Politics and the Internet
Tech Politics Podcast: Is Google turning into Microsoft? from CNET News.com
Roundup: Funniest YouTube Questions for Candidates from PC World
Online Journalism
Michael Rosenblum launches new initiative for citizen journalism from CNET News.com
Irony is too serious a business for most of the internet from Technology Guardian (by Andrew Brown)
"Why is it that almost all the irony online is unintentional?"
The 10 principles of online news. Only 10? from Media Guardian's Organ Grinder Blog
"Online news junkies are delighting in an internal memo leaked from the Washington Post. Senior management have composed ten principles for web journalism that go something like this ..."
NY Times Magazine Takes A Neutral Point Of View On Wikipedia from Techdirt (by Mike Masnick)
Other Interesting Reads
Losing anonymity won't stop the flame wars from Technology Guardian
"Why do people attack each other via blogs and online forums? Researchers now think they know."
The intoxicating appeal of online karaoke from Slate (by Michelle Tsai)
"I've always felt uncomfortable living my life online. I have a MySpace profile, but it's empty. I don't blog. And I won't post pictures on Flickr if they feature me or anyone I know. But recently, I learned that I'm not completely opposed to Internet exhibitionism. When it comes to online karaoke, I'm a microphone-hogging fame whore."
Bizarre Searches Stranger Than Fiction from epiar
Videos
Friday Vid Picks: Facebook Much? from NewTeeVee (by Craig Rubens)
"Poke. Message. Confirm. Poke. Wall. Video? While it took Facebook a while to get around to adding video, Facebook fans have been shooting their own testimonials to the social networking site’s ability to bring us together and rip us apart." Here is one of many embedded in the piece - Facebook Song:
Who is YouTube?: my answer in 2 minutes from the Utube Blog
PS. All this probably means is that maybe apart from the odd video and tomorrow's news links, I want really be posting much over the next few days.
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