Tuesday, January 27, 2004

Amazon Reports First Full-Year Profit. Better-than-expected sales led Amazon.com to earn $73 million in the fourth quarter, giving the company its first full-year profit. By Saul Hansell. [New York Times: Technology] 10:53:48 PM    comment []

what declan doesn't get (how to read). Free free to try this at home: (1) Read what Dean said about privacy here. (2) Read what Declan said Dean said about privacy here. Andy O's got a nice piece of reporting about this "reporting" at The Register. [Lessig Blog] This is about more than the old Lessig-McCullagh feuding: it's about Declan's dwindling credibility concerning Democratic political figures. Or maybe not even dwindling; when I got the e-mail from him, I didn't even finish reading it, but quickly discounted it and hit "next message". 10:10:16 PM    comment []

It's a theme day at Smart Mobs: An overview of Slashdot-style moderation systems. Researcher and smartmoblog reader Derek Lackaff has written an overview of Slashdot-style moderation as an effective reputation system in online discussion communities: Norm Maintenance in Online Communities: an overview of moderation regimes (ThanksDerek!) Slashdot Moderation Analyzed. Slash(dot) and Burn: Distributed Moderation in a Large Online Conversation Space by Cliff Lampe and Paul Resnick analyzes the Slashdot moderation system and concludes that it works -- with some qualifications. Will online discussion reputation systems continue to evolve? This question is one of the critical uncertainties about the future of smartmob technologies. (Thanks, Jim!) 9:49:21 PM    comment []

Now that I've got a democracy, what should I do with it?. Opening John Stuart Mill's On Liberty today, I'm surprised by how fresh and modern this 1859 essay sounds. I suppose that's because Mill's ideas are the winning memes -- his writings embody how we still think about liberty and democracy today. [Learning the Lessons of Nixon] Oh, but that doesn't account for freshness, only for the sense of modernity, I think. The freshness comes from his actually articulating the reasons for giving such priority to liberty (and from the passion and clarity with which he does so). That's a work everyone should read if that haven't, and return to from time to time even if they have read it before. Just a great, great book. (Not too long, either!) 9:36:18 PM    comment []

Kurds, divided, face new future. Turkish PM meets with Bush; Iraq's Kurds are on the agenda. [Christian Science Monitor | Top Stories] 9:18:09 PM    comment []

Nice post from Amy, on Worms of Endearment, about her visit to talk to middle school kids about worms. After I've been in a school, I always take new and unexpected pleasure in such mundane adult privileges as being able to drive, or eating whatever I want for lunch. . . . It was mostly boys who spoke up at first.  I guess some things never change.  But once I asked why the girls didn't know anything about worms, they all started to raise their hands and I ignored the boys and called on them. . . . . One kid asked if he could have a worm.  It's so funny, the way kids think that adults will just give them stuff.  I told him, "No way, get your own worm!"  He offered to buy one from me and I said, "All right, how much money have you got?"  He backed down from the negotiations at that point.  He must have realized that I was serious about taking his lunch money in exchange for something I dug out of the dirt in my backyard. 7:02:45 AM    comment []

Tricky E-Mail Worm Spreads Fast. Known as 'Mydoom' or 'Novarg,' the latest malicious code to make the rounds is clogging Net traffic. An expert says it looks like the 'next big one,' but it's still too early to tell. [Wired News] 6:55:29 AM    comment []

Fees come to social networking. Tickle, the Friendster competitor formerly known as Emode, is first out of the gate with fees for some social networking services. [CNET News.com - Front Door] 6:52:12 AM    comment []

Chinese company to challenge Microsoft's Office. Little-known Chinese software maker Evermore Software next month plans to step up its challenge to Microsoft's Office dominance with the release of its Evermore Integrated Office 2004. [InfoWorld: Top News] 6:45:25 AM    comment []

State of the blogs [Salon.com] 6:37:44 AM    comment []

You say deserter, I say AWOL [Salon.com] 6:34:01 AM    comment []

Building a New Career is a Snap. Three talented -- and lucky -- candidates earn dream jobs as Lego master builders in a two-hour, on-the-spot competition. Daniel Terdiman reports from Carlsbad, California. [Wired News] 6:26:43 AM    comment []