Washington Post: Our Reporters Aren’t For Sale (Yet)
Illegal Downloads, Meet Suspicious Stock Sales: The Pirate Bay Story Gets Even Murkier
The more I hear about the supposed plan for an Internet cafe company to buy the world’s best-known illegal file-sharing site, the more I think that the whole thing is a farce.
So this one doesn’t even faze me: Swedish regulators are looking into insider trading charges at Global Gaming Factory X, which saw shares jump several days before it said it would buy The Pirate Bay.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Facebook’s New Privacy Policy: Share Everything With Everyone!
Are you one of those Facebook users who worries that your boss will see photos of what you did last weekend? Then you’ll like Facebook’s new privacy policy. But if you’re part of the large group of people who think that nothing is really private on the Web and that everyone should see everything you do online, then you’re really going to like Facebook’s new privacy policy.
Gadget Gods Peter Rojas and Ryan Block Finally Unveil their Newest Gadget Site: Gdgt. Get it?
Does the world need another gadget site? Yes, say two of the gadget world’s biggest stars, who are launching gdgt.com today. The site is the work of Peter Rojas, who helped build Gizmodo and Engadget, and Ryan Block, who took the torch from Rojas after he moved on. Gizmodo and Engadget are the best known and most powerful of the new generation of gadget sites, which makes Rojas and Block revered by the gadget gang and able to cobble together funding. But they’re still taking on a very crowded field.
Dealmakers Aren’t Dealing, Unless You Can Get the Word “Mobile” Into Your Pitch
Did you want to buy or sell a media or tech company in the last six months? Chances are you didn’t: New data from banker The Jordan, Edmiston Group say the M&A market for the first half of 2009 was nearly nonexistent, at least compared to the post-MySpace Web 2.0 heyday. One exception to the drought: A booming market for mobile companies.
Sony Celebrates an Unhappy Birthday: The Walkman Is 30 Years Old
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
YouTube Co-Founder Steve Chen Moves On, Stays with Google

YouTube co-founder Steve Chen, who oversaw the company’s technical operations as it grew from an upstart to the world’s biggest video site, no longer works at the site day-to-day. This is old news, literally: Chen left his spot as chief technology officer last fall, though he remains employed at Google, which bought his company for $1.65 billion in 2006.
Here Comes the Video Shakeout: Joost Scales Down, CEO Mike Volpi Steps Out
Here’s the beginning of the inevitable online video shakeout: Joost, the once-hyped video service that was supposed to rival Google’s YouTube, is restructuring to focus on “white label” services, i.e., a back end for other video players.
The site is laying off the majority of its 100-plus employees, and CEO Mike Volpi is out, replaced by Matt Zelesko, who had been SVP of engineering.
Is The Pirate Bay Really Going Legit? Of Course Not.
You can hear the head-scratching going on at movie studios and music labels across the world: What just happened to The Pirate Bay? Reports out of Sweden are murky at best. But supposedly, a Scandinavian software outfit is buying the world’s most notorious file-sharing site for about $8 million and will create a service that pays copyright owners when people download their work. But let’s be honest: That’s never going to happen.
Jeff Goldblum Defies the Web, Denies His Death on “Colbert Report”
Monday, June 29, 2009
Is Bigger Better? Here Come the Supersized Web Ads.
Earlier this year, an online publishing trade group promised to get its members to start running new, bigger, harder-to-ignore ads by July. So here they are: The Online Publishers Association says 37 sites, including the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and CNN.com, will start selling the plus-sized ads this week. Now we’ll see if they work.
Sharks, Jets, Page Views: “Web Site Story”
Big Music Label Foe LimeWire’s Newest Executive: A Big Music Label Veteran
The Great Michael Jackson Web Collapse Downgraded to “Stumble”
We’ve previously noted that the Web is great at transmitting information quickly, though not always accurately. Same goes, apparently, for stories about the Web’s ability to transmit information quickly. Those reports you read last week about the Internet buckling under the weight of Michael Jackson traffic? Greatly exaggerated, says the analytics company cited most often in those reports.
Latest MediaMemo Videos
View All Jobs | Post a Job Job Listings
MediaMemo Posts by Date
MediaMemo Posts by Category
About Peter
Peter Kafka has been covering media and technology since 1997, when he joined the staff of Forbes magazine. Most recently, he has been the managing editor of the tech and media Web site, Silicon Alley Insider.
Ethics Statement
Here is a statement of my ethics and coverage policies. It is more than most of you want to know, but, in the age of suspicion of the media, I am laying it all out.










