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7:00 PM ET, April 11, 2009

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Tim Windsor / Nieman Journalism Lab:
Yet another reminder that users are in charge: the DiggBar backlash  —  If you needed any further proof that this is an age driven by users much more than publishers, look no further than what's happening right now with Digg.com, a site you probably think of as a stand-in for all that is user-generated, unedited and anarchic.
RELATED:
Joshua Topolsky:
Why Engadget is blocking the DiggBar  —  Some of you may be wondering why you're not seeing the latest piece of Digg's news-puzzle — the DiggBar — on Engadget.  Let me explain.  —  If you've seen the tool in action, then you know that it appears to offer an easy way to read an article …
Ted Dziuba:   DiggBar is a Howl of Desperation
Marshall Kirkpatrick / ReadWriteWeb:
How to Sell Your Soul on Twitter and Who's Buying  —  What are you doing?  No what are you doing Apple, Skype, Flip, StubHub and Box.net??  These popular companies just couldn't resist paying off Twitter users to put advertisements into their Twitter streams using the new pay-per-tweet service Magpie.
RELATED:
Erik Sherman / BNET Technology:
Apple, Skype, Adobe, Others Pay Twitterers for Promos  —  It was only back in January that we saw Belkin make itself look like a fool by advertising to pay consumers who would write glowing product reviews, whether they had used the products or now.  Well, it seems that companies never learn …
/blog:
The Truth about Magpie [Google It]
Discussion: WinExtra
Nick O'Neill / All Facebook:
Facebook Starts Recommending Branded Public Profiles  —  Last night Facebook turned on a feature which will surely build some buzz: the recommendation of brands as friends.  Previously Twitter launched a user recommendation system which generated a lot of controversy as recommended users …
Discussion: Inside Facebook
Nick / Rough Type:
Google in the middle  —  Three truths:  —  1. Google is a middleman made of software.  It's a very, very large middleman made of software.  Think of what Goliath or the Cyclops or Godzilla would look like if they were made of software.  That's Google.  —  2. The middleman acts in the middleman's interest.
Discussion: mathewingram.com/work, Thanks:atul
RELATED:
Mathew Ingram / Nieman Journalism Lab:
Why Nick Carr is wrong on Google as a middleman for news
Discussion: MediaMemo
Matt Richtel / New York Times:
A Google Whiz Searches for His Place on Earth  —  MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Where's Sanjay?  —  The question comes from one of dozens of engineers around a crowded conference table at Google.  They have gathered to discuss how to build easy-to-use maps that could turn hundreds of millions …
Jennifer / Electronic Frontier Foundation:
Federal Authority Over the Internet?  The Cybersecurity Act of 2009  —  There's a new bill working its way through Congress that is cause for some alarm: the Cybersecurity Act of 2009 (PDF summary here), introduced by Senators Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Olympia Snowe (D-ME).
RELATED:
Data Security Podcast:
Will The Cybersecurity Act of 2009 Require IT Security Professionals …
Discussion: ReadWriteWeb
Fred / A VC:
Selling The Company Back To The Founders  —  I read with interest the Brad Stone piece in the NY Times this morning suggesting that Niklas and Janus might buy Skype back from eBay.  I think this is a wonderful idea and I hope it happens.  —  Back when eBay bought Skype in 2005, I was skeptical that eBay was the right home for Skype.
RELATED:
Brad Stone / New York Times:
Skype Founders Seek to Buy Service Back
Henry Blodget / Silicon Alley Insider:
Steve Jobs Still Running The Apple Show  —  Here's a relief: Steve Jobs is still making product decisions at Apple, people familiar with the matter tell the Wall Street Journal.  And at least some folks at the company still expect him to return in June.  —  Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook runs …
RELATED:
PC World:
Netbooks and Linux: A Complicated Story  —  Over the past few days there's been a raft of stories about how the Linux netbook market share is not as healthy as it used to be.  —  Up until now it's been believed that the emerging netbook market (arguably the first new PC hardware platform for decades) …
Discussion: DesktopLinux.com and Slashdot
Brian Solis / TechCrunch:
Can the Statusphere Save Journalism?  —  Recently, I enjoyed a refreshing and invigorating dinner with Walt Mossberg.  While we casually discussed our most current endeavors and experiences, the discussion shifted to deep conversation about the future of journalism in the era of socialized media …
Discussion: PR 2.0, Thanks:bobcaswell
 
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 More Items: 
Guardian:
Cobol hits 50 and keeps counting
Cecilia Kang / Washington Post:
IRS Increasing Oversight of Electronic Tax Filings
Paul Graham:
The Founder Visa  —  Watch how this essay was written on Etherpad.
Dan Nosowitz / Gizmodo:
iTunes Gift Code Hackers Turn Attention to iPhone App Developers
Discussion: IntoMobile, 9 to 5 Mac and digg.com
 Earlier Items: 
Susan Decker / Bloomberg:
Funai Wins Order Blocking U.S. Imports of Vizio TVs
Discussion: Engadget and Gizmodo
Stephanie Condon / CNET News:
Google Book settlement faces legal assault
Mark Wilson / Gizmodo:
Dell Adamo Full Review: Macho Outside, Sissy Inside
Discussion: Engadget and techeblog.com
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Analyzing Comcast's spinoff of cable networks, purposefully structured with low debt: the move might be a signal to the industry that it's time to consolidate

Lauren Forristal / TechCrunch:
Tubi launches Scenes, a mobile feature that lets viewers watch 60-to-90-second trailer-style clips from its library to help with content discovery

Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
James Harding says the Tortoise-Observer deal could create a profitable media group and there isn't a guaranteed future for the Observer with the Guardian

 
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