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NEWS FEATURES
New Yorkers always look like they know where they’re going, barreling down avenues, cell phone in hand. The secret is that they don’t, or rather they haven’t—until now. In fact, they may not actually be talking on those cell phones anymore, but instead using a relatively new service called HopStop, a MapQuest-like offering that uses mass transit and walking directions to get users from Point A to Point B in the five boroughs of New York.
When Ourmedia.org launched this past March, it provided a free space for creators of all types of content—including video, audio, and the written word—to distribute their content. Perhaps more importantly, however, it stepped in to fill an emerging need for a forum in which to discuss the best ways to create, produce, and distribute content.
AvantGo, a service of the Sybase Inc. subsidiary iAnywhere Solutions, is moving fast in its efforts to push mobile content forward. The company beta launched the AvantGo Travel Tab at the end of May, with the specific intention of assisting its business traveler clientele. The project began last year when focus groups of business travelers around the world were asked how they use mobile technology and what they find important.
German media giant Bertelsmann reportedly pumped $85 million into the beleaguered Napster between 2000 and 2002, before Napster finally declared bankruptcy and its remains were scooped up by Roxio. So what did Bertelsmann get for its $85 mil? The short answer is, nothing. However, Bertelsmann did get something from its dalliance with Napster: a profound respect for P2P technology and its potential for content distribution.
People already create, distribute, and consume mobile information and entertainment in the forms of news, music, and games; now art has gone mobile too. Several organizations are harnessing mobile technology to bring art to the masses and to provide artists with new outlets and creative forms.
FEATURED STORIES
Citizen Journalism provides a place for people to celebrate the ordinary victories in their lives, a forum for discussing local political issues, coverage that specifically suits its local readership, and a way to connect people to one another—all things found wanting in a world dominated by big media monopolies. This budding phenomenon supports the community along with a new journalistic business model. Ron miller
The open access (OA) landscape is littered with misconceptions and misunderstandings. In fact, the very definition of open access is frequently disputed. There are those who assume that anything free is open access and others who confuse it with kindred spirit open source, but understanding the definition is only to begin to grasp the issues OA raises. Marydee ojala
In the Old Economy, those who owned the exclusive rights to a product or service could become very wealthy. Today the tables have turned; it’s openness and the free availability of good ideas that drive value. The mindset of not only the content consumer is shifting, but also that of vendors and even content providers, which seek to find ways to profit from the new (digital) economy. peggy anne salz
COLUMNS
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FACES OF ECONTENT
“When we know what’s going on internally, we can compare that to what’s going on in the outside world, and we look for bridges between different technologies.”
PRODUCT REVIEWS
TypePad is a terrific tool to set up a professional-quality blog in just an hour or so. Perfect for individuals or businesses, TypePad requires no Web design or HTML skills. With the WYSIWYG editor, creating a post is as easy as using Microsoft Word. TypePad is what Web-based services are supposed to be: easy-to-use, powerful, professional, cost-effective, and fun. Many services make the claims, TypePad actually delivers. David meerman scott
PROFILES
Founded in 1998 to develop solutions that would, in president and CEO Robin Hopper’s words, “democratize the creation, management, and distribution of Web-based information,” iUpload today provides to both organizations and individuals an integrated suite of Web site and blog publishing tools that help optimize the marketing potential of their content by extending their voices across multiple communities. marla misek
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