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Who is paying attention to new media and online PR?

Bloggers are writing about their day jobs, and it’s getting some of them in trouble. An increasing number of companies are adopting policies that would prohibit bloggers from discussing their workplace, with termination as one possible result. In most cases, the law is backing the corporations up.

America Online (AOL) seems to have created a tempest of backlash on the Internet regarding their recent suggestion to start charging fees for email. A number of voices in the tech industry criticized almost immediately. Now the politicos are out in force and there are a lot of unlikely bedfellows ready to give some not-so-pleasant pillow talk to the massive company. This time, it’s not a “Dear John” letter; it’s a “DearAOL” letter.

Richard Edelman’s and Paul Holmes’ discussion of the payola scandal are must reads.

Sometimes a great joke never dies. Just substitute “Web” for “Unix” in the following canonical one-liner and you’ll see what I mean: “The nice thing about Unix standards is that there are so many to choose from.”

Another group is not satisfied with Google’s effort to digitize books for their Google Print for Libraries and has joined in the voices asking them to cease these activities.

The Royal Society discovered long lost notes belonging to Sir Isaac Newton. Newton’s notes on the pseudoscience of alchemy were found following his death in 1727 The Royal Society said there were never “properly documented” and sold for a measly 15 pounds ($27) in 1936 at Sotheby’s and hadn’t been seen since.