First, BitTorrent (the P2P file-sharing giant that went "legitimate" over a year ago) is teaming up with Joost (which uses P2P tech to stream TV on the Web) to launch a "new Net TV service," MediaPost reports. Then NBC and News Corp. announced they were teaming up to launch a video site this summer, the Wall Street Journal reports. The BitTorrent-Joost deal could make life a little tougher for … [Read more...] about YouTube competition
Social Media
Pinpointing IM users
You may've heard of social mapping on cellphones (pinpointing friends' physical location with GPS technology – see "Mobile socializing"). Now there's social mapping in IM. AOL's AIM instant messenger "adds a new group of AIM's buddy list windows called 'Near Me'," the Associated Press reports. This isn't GPS (global positioning system). Near Me "tracks locations by using the continuous wireless … [Read more...] about Pinpointing IM users
Cyberthieves: More sophisticated
It's not so much that they're getting smarter as that "tools for carrying out attacks [on family computers] are readily available and harder to purge from computers," reports Washington Post security writer Brian Krebs. Yes, a virus clicked on in an email can grab info, but it can also leave keylogger software that grabs even more. Brian led with the story of a man whose infected PC gave … [Read more...] about Cyberthieves: More sophisticated
Viacom vs. online teens?
The New York Times says Viacom's $1 billion lawsuit against Google's site YouTube.com "is the clearest sign yet of the tension between Google and major media companies." I'd say it's probably bigger than that. It's the clearest sign yet of the tension between the social, media-sharing Web and the media industry. It's a story that affects teenagers especially because they love to share media – … [Read more...] about Viacom vs. online teens?
An experiment in the YouTube ‘lab’
Copyright pressures on YouTube are mounting as media companies struggle to find the right balance between the marketing value of exposure on the top media-sharing site and actually getting paid for their content. "Viacom Inc., parent of MTV and Comedy Central, said it has ordered YouTube to immediately remove more than 100,000 video clips placed on the popular Web site without its approval," the … [Read more...] about An experiment in the YouTube ‘lab’