Monthly Archives: July 2007

Anniversary of a Blog

By Michael Becker | Published: July 31, 2007
The Toronto Star reports on the 10th anniver­sary of blog­ging with a mes­sage to those who believe that blog­ging will replace tra­di­tional jour­nal­ism and to those who think ama­teurism is ruin­ing cul­ture (sum­mon the whip­ping boy, Andrew Keen!). Their mes­sage: “Both are wrong.” Writers David Eaves and Taylor Owen argue that the same forces that drive [...]
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The End of an Era

By Michael Becker | Published: July 26, 2007
Venerable and never once cor­rect or true, the Weekly World News was a check stand tra­di­tion. Alas, it is no more. More on Weekly World News closing Weekly World News Killed By Aliens, Declining Circulation Mourning the Weekly World News
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Reading Andrew Keen

By Michael Becker | Published: July 24, 2007
I’m about three-quarters of the way through Andrew Keen’s dia­tribe The Cult of the Amateur and felt like I had to get a few thoughts into the ether before I finish. I came into Keen’s book with the knowl­edge that I wasn’t going to like what he had to say about the Web, espe­cially Web [...]
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King me!

By Michael Becker | Published: July 19, 2007
The world of check­ers is being turned upside-down by claims that Chinook, a com­puter pro­gram, is invincible. Okay, maybe the world isn’t upside-down–I have no way to find out because I don’t know where the checker’s world is, and I’m not going to spend time look­ing for it online. Still, you have to admit that [...]
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Washington Post Sponsors Local News Site

By Michael Becker | Published: July 16, 2007
The New York Times reported today on a new site spon­sored by the Washington Post, LoudounExtra.com, which deals in “hyper­local” news, like church sched­ules and high school foot­balls scores (in real-time).
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