Link: Women's Use of Social Media: "More Thoughtful and Intentional"

Now on 7x7.com:
Women's Use of Social Media: "More Thoughtful and Intentional"


"Since it's a cliche that men and women are as different as, say, Venus and Mars, it should come as no surprise that the genders use social media differently..."

Little Startup Fwix Takes on AOL, Google and Yahoo in Local Search Battle

"If this is the first time you've heard of Darian Shirazi, it's a safe bet it won't be the last..."

(Link to 7x7.com)
http://www.7x7.com/arts/berkeley-dropout-darian-shirazis-plan-win-hyperlocal-game-fwix

Twitter Upholds Bay Area Tradition by Defending First Amendment in WikiLeaks Case

Today, on 7x7.com:

"When the news broke a few days ago that Twitter had successfully challenged a gag order in the federal government's investigation into the WikiLeaks case, it was a reminder that the Bay Area is on the front lines of the battle to protect our First Amendment rights in the digital age."

Read More...

Want to Read Your Magazines on an iPad? Maybe Wait a While…(Link to 7x7)

As I was sitting in a Cole Valley café recently, watching Craig Newmark of Craigslist demonstrate how he uses his iPad (on a tiny easel) to handle customer support issues, it struck me that only a year ago this scene never could have happened. Read More...




http://www.7x7.com/arts/want-read-your-magazines-ipad-maybe-wait-while

Link to today's 7x7 post

The World of eBooks Exploded in 2010

New Site for Blog Posts

Update:

To follow my technology blog posts, please note I am now publishing weekly at 7x7.com.

My early posts include these:


The Day That Twitter Ate the Cookies

Innovation at Facebook Comes from the Bottom Up

From 'Wired' to Willy Wonka: TCHO Uses Technology and Ethical Sourcing to Make Great Chocolate

Thank you for supporting my blogging work!

Big Loser in Murdoch/ Apple Partnership: The NY Times

As the media world awaits the arrival of The Daily, Rupert Murdoch's newspaper designed specifically for the iPad, early next year, what's wrong with this picture?

Going back to the launch of the iPad in January, the main promotional images that emerged from Steve Jobs and Apple at that time displayed a prototype of The New York Times, not one of Murdoch's newspapers.

On his whirlwind tour announcing the new mobile platform, Jobs visited several media companies in New York, including the Times and News Corp.

It seemed obvious to all of us covering the industry that the most-favored media company on Jobs' list was then the Times, widely recognized as the best newspaper in the country.

So what happened?

Why is it that Murdoch has announced an iPad-based news product, while the Times remains silent?

Right from the start, details leaking out from the initial meetings indicated that Apple and the media companies remained far apart on the question of how content partnerships would work on the new mobile device.

As I noted at the time, "major sticking points...include(d) pricing, revenue sharing, and ownership of subscriber information — in other words, pretty much the entire business model that would underlie any content deals for the iPad."

So in order to proceed, someone had to figure out how to close the gap on those issues and that, apparently, is what Murdoch (reportedly with Jobs' active involvement) has now succeeded in doing.

The basic premise supporting a paid model on the iPad was recently clearly stated by the Times' own David Carr:

"When I am on a Web browser and I bump into a pay wall, I reflexively pull back unless it is in front of something I really must have. But when I’m in the App Store on an iPad, I’m already in a commercial environment: pushing the button to spend small money on something I’d like to see or play with doesn’t seem like such a sucker’s bet."

While there remain major questions about how Murdoch's initial $30 million investment in The Daily will reach profitability anytime in the foreseeable future, there is always a competitive advantage in being first*.

So that nagging question remains: Why wasn't it the Times?

* Billionaire Virgin Airways owner Richard Branson is said to have an iPad-based news project ready for launch also, so it is unclear at this time which wil be "first."

Recommended reading:

Steve Jobs and Rupert Murdoch Save Newspapers — Well, One, At Least

For Rupert Murdoch, There’s No Downside to His Tablet-Only The Daily

Rupert Murdoch's iPad experiment is unlikely to succeed

Old media tackle the challenge of tablets

Forget print and, oh, forget the web: Murdoch to launch iPad-only newspaper

Go Down Moses, Apple Unveils its Media Tabula Rasa

The True Test of the NYT’s Paywall Plan Will Be e-Readers