Can the hype surrounding buzzy tech like Twitter, the Kindle and cloud computing get any louder? No, pronounces tech consultancy Gartner Inc., which has a very official-looking chart to make its case. But are you better off being on top of the “Peak of Inflated Expectations” or working your way up the “Slope of Enlightenment”? Who knows?
A system to speed elite travelers through airports shuts down after four years and $116 million. Its failure will rub some shine off a couple of well-known media types: The entrepreneur behind Court TV and some of the primary investors behind Twitter.
On the Internet, as the joke goes, nobody knows you’re a dog. And on Twitter, nobody knows if you’re a “real” celebrity who’s decided to start using the service, or an impostor. That could turn out to be a business opportunity for the Twitter guys, but right now it’s a problem, in the form of a lawsuit filed by St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa
The New York Times has already tried charging people to read part of its Web site. Now, like everyone else in the publishing business, it’s trying to figure out how to charge for online access again. The Times is reportedly mulling two options: A Financial Times-style “metered” approach and a Salon/NPR/PBS version whereby everyone gets free access to the site, but subscribers/donors get bonus goodies.
South By Southwest isn’t just a chance for Webby folks to drink. They also spent a lot of time thinking about the big issues of the day: Namely, what does Twitter mean, and what should we do about it?
Hard to see how Twitter accounts and Web radio sponsorships are going to sell more soda. But Pepsi is trying this stuff out anyway. Here’s what it’s thinking.
Sometimes Jon Stewart uses his platform to explain new technology, like Twitter or the Kindle, to his audience. And sometimes he uses it for a trenchant media critique. Or, as in the case of last night’s segment on CNBC, not so much a critique as a full-fledged evisceration.
Hey! Have you heard of Twitter? OK. But remember that most of the world actually hasn’t heard of, let alone used, the service. So exposure like this “Nightline” episode, which aired last night on ABC and reached millions of people, means… something.
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. Read more »
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.
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