WebProNews

Blog Comment Ownership Question Resurrected

This is a topic destined for a courtroom one day, bitter enemies formed along the way: Can a blog publisher collect blog comments and publish them in a book? We addressed this topic weeks ago, with no definitive answer. The question arises again today as a result of simultaneous, otherwise minor, occurrences.

Twitscoop Fixes Breaking News

Twitter's cool, no doubt, but what enhances its coolness are the applications developing in the periphery, all of which seem to extract from Twitter's deep reservoirs of cool and redistribute along the Internet. Recently, Twellow and Summize have surfaced. Before that it was TwittEarth, which lets you be a giant fly on the wall of the world.

Twitter (Maybe) Buying Summize

A rumor pops its head out this morning that Twitter is negotiating to buy Summize, a search engine allowing users to dig through tweets on Twitter. Before we continue, let's take a moment to appreciate the quality snark emanating from David Fry via Twitter rival FriendFeed: One company with no revenue buys another company with no revenue and whose existence depends on the first company?

Shuttered Chinese Vid Sites Still Pull VC Cash

One supposes if one has access to billions, what's tens of millions on a calculated bet? One could say that, but one still gets upset when one loses money in the pop machine. In the case of some Chinese online video sites, it's more like three pop machines. Doh!

Expedia Labels French Worst Tourists

Here was the basic plot of the gore movie, Hostel: Obnoxious American tourists get sold to butchers at a higher rate than tourists from other countries because, well, they're obnoxious American tourists. And that's just not right, because according to a worldwide survey of hotel staffers from Expedia, it's the French who are the most obnoxious tourists. Like we needed a survey; we saw Talladega Nights *.

Yahoo Looks To AOL For Saving

And by screw I mean noose. Following the Yahoo/Microsoft saga is like watching a billion-dollar chess game, and Yahoo's current board only has a couple of moves left before they find themselves in check. It's not over, but it's close. Yang and company's last desperate move: Chat up TimeWarner/AOL about a possible $10 billion merger and get it done before the Wrestlemania of all annual board meetings on August 1st.

No Kids, No Votes, No Souls, on eBay

One thing we know about a culture based on money and trade: People will sell anything if allowed, and even when not allowed. eBay proved that point long ago and not half a year goes by without crazy stories of what people will buy and what they will sell. The latest: one German baby; one American Presidential vote.

Searching For America's Next President

This weekend, as we fire up the grills and the sparklers (and some pyrotechnic contraband, depending on where you live), we also fan the flames of patriotism and of brotherhood, knowing that despite our differences of opinion in politics, the flames in our bellies are unending and conceived in the spirit of the unity of all voices.

Powerset: Why A Google-Killer Sells So Cheap

Of all the post-Google search engine startups, Powerset was touted as the most likely Google-killer. We waited with bated breath, we rubbered our necks around to get a better glimpse—early reports were stellar, yes this was the one to take on Google and. . .Wait, what? Sold to Microsoft. $100 million? Wait, what?

Selling Your Soul On The Internet Is Hell

Things aren't cool anymore once everybody starts doing them, that's the Law of Cool*. The same applies to selling one's immortal soul on the Internet, which has entered let's-throw-a-toga-party-like-they-did-on-Animal-House status**.  Our latest soul peddler is from New Zealand, who learned like others before him that hosted auction websites don't want anywhere near his soul or lack thereof.