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Hypergene MediaBlog » Twitter used by news outlets and emergency services during California fires
At last, a good use for Twitter! “As the fires in Southern California rage out of control, the LA Times and KPBS – even the Los Angeles Fire Department – have started posting real-time updates and public service announcements on Twitter.” (tags: disaster emergencies social+media mobile newspapers local)

Howto: Disable nytimes.com double click foolishness. » EdwardJames.org
“A few months ago (give or take), nytimes.com added a feature that opened a popup window when you double clicked on a word in an article. It pops up a dictionary definition of the selected word. Here’s how you disable that feature in Firefox…” (tags: tidbits+fodder usability problems solutions newspapers news+biz)

Press Releases – Directions Magazine
This is very, very cool. I want! “Nokia Research Center (NRC) and Reuters are working together on a mobile journalism project that could transform the way journalists file news reports when on the move.” They’re definitely thinking of this for citJ, too. (tags: tools mobile journalism citizen+journalism tidbits+fodder audio video)

House Panel Approves International Internet Freedom Bill on Threat Level
“House Foreign Affairs approved a bill to shield the citizens of repressive regimes from the overbearing reach of their govts. Would make US companies liable in the US for providing foreign govts with local customers’ personally-identifiable info.” (tags: censorship law gov free+speech privacy access business world tidbits+fodder)

The Local Onliner » Judy’s Book Closes Down
“Judy’s Book announced this morning that it has thrown in the towel on efforts to transform itself from a review-driven IYP/social network to a local shopping/lead generation site.” (tags: reviews business social+media)

Terry Heaton’s PoMo Blog » Blog Archive » Microsoft wins the battle, loses the war
“There’s also something not quite right about Facebook’s value proposition to advertisers — targeting based on private profile data. Besides, paying $250 million for less than 2 percent puts the value of Facebook at $15B. Sorry, I don’t buy that.” (tags: social+media business deals business+models problems advertising)

Crowdsourcing, Like Wildfire « Web 2.Oh. . .really?
“Classic case: non-professional “reporters” in various places can create more and more compelling content than a single media group can. And it’s a classic case where big-media ignorance is standing in the way of a transformed public experience.” (tags: citizen+journalism disaster journalism crowdsourcing media+evolution mainstream+media tidbits+fodder)

Study: Parents more ambivalent about Net – Online World – MSNBC.com
“Children were more likely than parents to consider computers and gadgets helpful to their lives. Among parents, mothers were more likely than fathers to praise technology.” (tags: research statistics generations psychology society security)