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Can you trust Wikipedia – or Jimmy Wales?
Ah yes, the battles are so bitter because the stakes are so low. Wikipedia uber-ed Jimmy Wales stands accused of pocketing US$5k for cleaning up a Wikipedia entry on this guy. Interested? If you don’t have kids of your own, you can get the whole “he said/she said” thing by following the thread. Toys quickly…
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Destruction. Creative, or just destructive?
Three things had me thinking, as I re-read Old Media Seek To Know Google Not Just Fear It: The genius of Google has been to couple search and advertising more effectively than anyone else. Its key word and contextual ad placements – mimicked by other Internet companies – have been nibbling away at the revenue…
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Lawyers: the necessary brake on media innovation?
Marc Andreessen remarked recently a propos the internet and the media, that most car companies didn’t emerge from horse carriage making. Admittedly that summary misrepresents the long period of development of a whole host of automobile-related technologies: fuel processing, engine development, machine tools. Reuters boss – and former lawyer – Tom Glocer has another take,…
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Democracy and the BBC: more preached than practised
One of my favourite quotes on democracy (disowned by its originator alas), comes from British educator Derry Hannam: Learning about democracy and citizenship in school is a bit like reading holiday brochures in prison. Why do I trawl that quote up? Well, BBC Director-General Mark Thompson, in an interesting and wide-ranging speech addressing the trust…