Unrequired Reading {21.11.08 to 22.11.08}


These are some of the things that have caught my attention lately. It’s a more eclectic mix than just the news business, but then so’s life:

  • Truth in editing | FT.com – "It's all in the editing, you see. Filming Dragons' Den takes all day. Some entrepreneurs are grilled for a couple of hours, or more. The questioning is mainly measured, and calm.

    Then comes the magic of television. Longueurs are removed. The aggro is accentuated. And the polite, reasonable Ms Meaden becomes A Dragon.

    I should have known. I'm not above the odd bit of selective quoting myself."

  • Don’t Buy It | washingtonpost.com – "The British psychotherapist Adam Phillips calls boredom the restless state of waiting to desire. Consumption gives us myriad names for inchoate desire — and ready objects to allay it. Take away shopping, and you're left with the restlessness."
  • The death of conversational marketing [Online Advertising] | Valleywag – Battelle's dream of conversational marketing has turned into something more like the schlocky endorsements radio hosts get paid to do. By falling so short of his rhetoric, Federated's experiments have mostly ended in embarrassment, both for him and the bloggers he represents.
  • The Truth is Elusive? Nah, Not in Our Business | Watchdog Blog – “The contents of today’s paper should be treated with care. The information collected and presented was done so under circumstances and conditions that are error prone. The newsroom budget and funds available to assure accuracy are constrained by the corporation’s fiduciary responsibility to stockholders. Consequently, the reader is advised to seek multiple sources of information and to be sure to read the paper tomorrow for any corrections or clarifications or for new developments needed to put today’s news into perspective. While we cannot warranty that all information in today’s paper is accurate, we do warranty that our editors and staff practice no intentional deception, and we do abide by an affirmative duty to publish corrections promptly and fully.”
  • The Financial Times and “the worst online redesign I have ever seen” | Currybet – I like it, but Martin Belam has a suggestion: "[O]ne tweak I would make to the Financial Times design would be in the area of the pink background. I understand it is an important element of the print branding, but I'd also like the site to be easy on the eye when reading from a screen."
  • Hey, that’s my idea | John Robinson – "Now that everyone can publish — and so many are — the possibility that a number of people have the same good idea seems likely. That you might write it first, but be overlooked by others, seems likely, too. Even if you build it, they might not come. All of which argues for taking full advantage of all of the social networking aspects of the Web. When you think you have a good idea, let people know."