Amazon gets sued after Kindle fiasco

The first of what I believe may be many lawsuits against Amazon.com following its decision to delete (without notice) books from privately owned Kindle e-readers was just announced.

SEATTLE – A high school student is suing Amazon.com Inc. for deleting an e-book he purchased for the Kindle reader, saying his electronic notes were bollixed, too.

Amazon CEO Jeffrey P. Bezos has apologized to Kindle customers for remotely removing copies of the George Orwell novels "1984" and "Animal Farm" from their e-reader devices. The company did so after learning the electronic editions were pirated, and it gave buyers automatic refunds. But Amazon did it without prior notice.

It's not so much what they did as how they did it. Owners of the Kindle were not even aware it was technologically possible for Amazon.com to do this. In the case of the first plaintiff, he had been in the process of writing a report which linked to specific sections of the book deleted by Amazon.com. When the book was removed his work became useless.

Talk about destruction of demand...this would seem to have shaken the confidence of at least one Kindle owner.

Internet coupons get no respect (?)

Even Journalists get short-shrift by businesses sometimes. Case in point, this Tweet from @cheapchick, known for being a shrewd (yet very law-abiding) shopper.

@cheapchick I had my first problem using grocery coupons printed off the Internet last night. My Altercation at Albertsons http://tinyurl.com/mz36v5

Follow the link, read the blog and let the businesses beware... fore-warned is fore-armed after all.

Tweet leads to libel suit

Here's the Tweet that turned me on to this story:

@Lisaterence Woman Sued for $50,000 Over a Tweet: How much damage can a Tweet do? According to property management company Ho.. http://bit.ly/VCL5n


Here's the link to the story: http://mashable.com/2009/07/28/woman-sued-tweet/


Seems to me, a single persons opinion is one thing--stating someone else's opinion is and always has been a no-no.
Nothing new here..in MY opinion.

Twitter debuting new Homepage

This is according to an exclusive story by All Things Digital: Next week Twitter will debut a new homepage designed to better explain what the site is and how to use it. I came across the story by following Journalist's Toolbox Tweets. Here is their original post:


@journtoolbox Twitter to Debut New Homepage Next Week: http://tinyurl.com/l9z4mr

Can't wait to see it!

Online music-the future is Streaming

Here's an interesting story from CNN about the present and future of online music. Especially funny is this line:

But some music industry experts say the shifting landscape of digital music could help save struggling musicians and record companies.

Poor, poor, filthy rich, record companies. I shed a tear for you and your opulence...

Tweet the Force and it may Tweet back

The things we learn via Twitter:

Check out this cool Tweet from @theMaraJade

@theMaraJade This is quite interesting. Could the Force be real? http://bit.ly/P4Wnx (link via @apocalypzia)


Even cooler is the blog it points to...check it out. And may the Force be with you.

@Twelpforce to the rescue

Best Buy is moving service further onto the 'net in an effort to reach customers where they hang out most.
It's called @twelpforce and of course, it's on Twitter.

Check out this story on TechCrunch:

The promise we’re making starting in July is that you’ll know all that we know as fast as we know it. That’s an enormous promise. That means that customers will be able to ask us about the decisions they’re trying to make, the products they’re using, and look for the customer support that only we can give. And with Twitter, we can do that fast, with lots of opinions so they can make a decision after weighing all the input. It also lets others learn from it as they see our conversations unfold.

Left in the hands of business owners, Twitter seems to be developing into a more customer oriented service than any of its online competitors...your thoughts?

Tweet from the Loo my darling!

It was only a matter of time until someone found an interesting way to incorporate bathroom humor and our love for all things Twitter.


It's called "Art in the Loo" and here's the link:

http://artinloo.tumblr.com/


Very interesting. And creative. And only a little bit strange...

In space no one can hear you Tweet...

Like your Twitter news to be Space-Related? Check out The Daily Galaxy.

They have an excellent post today on plans by Google and Microsoft to put galactic maps available online. Here's their latest post:

Microsoft vs Google Space Race. Place Your Bets Now!: Are Microsoft and Google in a space race? We think they ar.. http://tinyurl.com/lvbrb4

Check it out!

Don't look now, but a robot is chalking Tweets on the Tour de France.

Check out this CNN story about the "Chalkbot"

"Not only is Lance Armstrong posting to Twitter from the race, but a Chalkbot -- a robot that writes in water-soluble paint -- is scribing messages onto the road, offering inspiration to the competitors and to cancer survivors."

Check out this cool YouTube video from the creators of the Chalkbot. You can submit messages via Twitter or read its messages here.

These guys certainly deserve credit for creativity and skill, but the very idea of moving something which normally appears online only to the real-world is truly the next frontier..

Check it out.

Don't Tweet: Follow

Twitter is more than just a place to post your daily coloric intake. It's also a great place to find great deals.

Some folks, like @cheapchick, only post deals. Here's an example:

@cheapchick This week's $1 summer movies for kids start tomorrow at various theaters http://tinyurl.com/nwobnb

Another great Tweet to follow @freestuffus. Here's an example:

* Reminder -Free Soft Serve cone at Baskin Robbins for ages 13-25 http://tinyurl.com/ly7ajn


I encourage anyone who has an interest in Twitter to sign up. But please don't feel obligated to Tweet. Just sit back, find cool people to follow (like @jerrybattiste or @newsbanner or @whoissuresh or @mswiftpi or @libraritarian59) and enjoy what you read...

@libraritarian59 won a cake!

If you want to know the details drop @libraritarian59 a note on Twitter and find out exactly who she had to threaten (and/or cajole) to win a cake.
And it was not just ANY cake. This is a 9-layer chocolate cake...delicious in appearance...you'd have to ask @dylanmcintosh about taste--he ate half the cake in a single bite. Ok, that's a bit of an exaggeration..but he did eat a piece.

Google OS for net books coming...

Google is trying to face down the Goliath of PC's, Microsoft with its new net book friendly operating system based on the new Chrome browser.

Currently many net books run on the open source Linux Operating System. But consumers find that OS too confusing and labor intensive when it comes to trying to connect devices.

According to the CNN story Google's new operating system must:

"...be under pressure to ensure Chrome OS works flawlessly with gadgets such as cameras, printers, smartphones and e-book readers. So far, Linux netbooks have had a spotty record. Some such as Ubuntu or Red Hat offer better support for popular gadgets but still users have faced compatibility problems. A recent review from the Wall Street Journal complained that Linux-based netbooks could not load software drivers to print photos to Canon and Dell printers. The review also said there were problems loading pictures over a USB cable from the Canon PowerShot SD750 digital camera onto a Dell Mini 10 netbook running Ubuntu."

Cyber Attack at NYSE

The New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday confirmed it was the victim of a Denial of Service cyber attack.

@BreakingNews has confirmed this information.

According to their story:

Earlier on Wednesday, eleven South Korean government websites suffered a similar attack - taking them offline for hours. A number of U.S. government websites, including the U.S. State Department, have also experienced similar attacks since Independence Day.

It is unknown who is behind the attacks, or if they are connected.

Tweet-Up Friday at Quizno's

We're talking about a Tweet-Up this week at Quizno's in Bluffton.

If you're up for it, drop us a line and let us know you're coming...

Twitter is NOT a TOY

We've all heard about the dangers of texting and driving--or texting and train conducting.
Now we have to be concerned some juror is chatting about what they had for breakfast instead of listening to testimony.

Michigan Courts have admonished jurors for using Twitter in court and/or during recess.

Most of the complaints about Twitter use seem to be errors of judgement, rather than an inherrent flaw in the service. If jurors don't understand what it means to remain impartial, they don't need Twitter to screw up. They could grab a newspaper on their way to the toilet, or watch CNN from their sequestered hotel room.

And people definitely don't need Twitter to drive carelessly. They've been doing that for more than a Century....

Social Networking jobs on the rise

Social Networking may seem like a new career field, but according to job trends data supplied by www.indeed.com employers have been looking for people with this skill set for the past few years.

It's not enough to have a Facebook page and a Twitter account, however. Employers want to know how you can use those tools to benefit their company, specifically how to make money doing it.

If you apply for one of these jobs, be prepared to start talking about online product creation, marketing and generating new revenue streams...to name a few specifics.

You might also want to read "Who Moved My Cheese" and understand why it's important everyone in the company familiarize themselves with the moral of that story...

Need a laugh? CNN has the sites

CNN reporters bored with the same-old, same-old, news coverage have instead turned their journalistic talents to scouring the 'Inter-web' for hilarity.
Or their idea of hilarity.

Check out their latest hit list of 10 humor sites worth visiting:

Bored with Pearl, the cursing toddler landlord demanding rent money? Not amused by those cutesy pictures of cats with the baby-speak captions?
Maybe you need some fresh sources of Internet humor. The Web is full of clever blogs and funny sites, including many that collect amusing gags from users and find comedy in real life.

It seems odd to me they ditched their science desk last year, dumping the acclaimed science journalist Miles O'Brien in the process, when clearly the trend is toward more and more tech-savvy reporting.

Not sure if this qualifies as "tech-savvy" but it's the best they got...

Farmers find uses for social networking

Fastest growing sector of people using Twitter? Farmers.

CNN has an interesting story on the sudden increase in the use of all Internet and social networking by agricultural producers across the country. Farmers, it seems have quickly learned to use the many hardware and software options available for staying connected to suppliers and consumers. This is a definite change from the days when farmers were often the last group to grasp onto new technology.

According to the story:

Historically, farms have lagged behind the rest of country in Internet and computer usage. But a 2007 census by the U.S. Department of Agriculture says Web use on farms is increasing. High-speed Internet access doubled on U.S. farms between 2005 and 2007, for instance, jumping from 13 percent to 27 percent.

A national survey on Internet usage among farmer's, provided by the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, is available here.