Gems from the German Internet Manifesto

Two minutes, Turkish.

While Google and the Newspaper Association of America scheme on how best to nickel and dime readers in the States, a group of German bloggers recently banded together to provide their take on how journalism in the world of the Internet really works.

The result is the Internet Manifesto.

The Bavarian e-tome consists of 17 points that should give journalists a lot of hope for the future — news executives … not so much. Read the rest of this entry »

Top 5 Android apps for breaking news

After 30 long months with my faithful Nokia 6126, I finally broke down and splurged on a new phone. I’m now the proud owner of a MyTouch 3G.

There’s so much about this phone that excites me, mainly because I’m a geek who doesn’t typically get my hands on new technology until it’s cheap enough to be evaluated in terms of the number of meals I’ll have to skip to afford it. So for a mere 200 double cheeseburgers, I have finally gained entry into the smartphone club, much to the dismay of people who are actually hip.

In just a fews day, I was blown away by the potential of this device to help in the reporting of spot news.

There’s already been some talk about iPhone apps that have the potential to revolutionize mobile journalism. But check out how five apps from the Android market can enhance the way news is gathered, produced and delivered — even from the field. Read the rest of this entry »

Why it's best not to anger Google

In their most recent attempt to stall innovation and flail their arms wildly about in a misguided attempt to summon help from anyone but themselves, the Associated Press has decided to pursue litigation against aggregators who “walk off with our work under misguided legal theories.”

Fair use, by the way, is the misguided legal theory to which they’re referring. And Google is the largest intended target of this unanimous AP board decision, which will pave the way for the negotiation of a new contract between the search and news giants.

As other bloggers have pointed out, the AP’s groundbreaking tactics largely mirror that of the RIAA, which decided to sue the pants off song-stealing pirates, like dead grandmothers and children.

Now don’t get me wrong, there are some similarities between the litigious strategy of the RIAA and the AP, but there are a few reasons why biting the hand that feeds is even more dangerous for a news organization that relies on traffic and trust to survive. Read the rest of this entry »