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North Korea cuts Twitter followers to 3 — but keeps the guy from Texas
Oh, North Korea, you like to keep us guessing. The unpredictable kingdom’s Twitter habits are as inscrutable as the rest of its behavior. Read more »
Jeff John Roberts
Jeff reports on how copyright, patents, anti-trust and other legal issues shape the digital economy. He also reports on the business and strategies of news companies. Jeff previously worked for Reuters in New York and Paris, and practiced intellectual property and media law. He writes for GigaOM and paidContent from the GigaOM East office in Manhattan's Flatiron District.
Pay TV will shrink for first time in history, study says cable watching peaked in 2011
photo: ollyy
For the first time ever, the number of U.S. households paying for TV service will go down. The news comes as a tipping point in consumers’ struggles to break away from a TV industry that forces them to buy bundles of channels. Read more at paidContent »
Don’t hold your breath waiting for Amazon to give you Kindle copies of your books
Amazon is offering consumers a free digital copy when they buy a CD. It makes perfect sense to do the same for books — alas, it’s not going to happen. Here’s why. Read more at paidContent »
Amazon gives free digital album to anyone who buys the CD
Good news for anyone who owns CDs — Amazon is now selling music on a two-for-one basis that gives every customer a digital and a physical version of an album. The company just raised the stakes in its fight with Google and Apple over “music lockers.” Read more at paidContent »
Twitter stands up to French demands on anti-Jewish tweets
photo: ollyy via Shutterstock
Jewish groups in France are invoking hate speech laws to demand that Twitter hand over the identities of users who tweeted anti-Semitic messages. This puts Twitter in a hard place because the company is committed to free speech. Read more »
Aereo will take its TV distruption to 22 new cities this spring
Aereo, the disruptive TV-everywhere service that lets people watch shows on mobile devices thanks to remote miniature antennas, announced it is expanding — even as legal questions remain unresolved Read more »
Netflix gets eight shows from Warner Bros, including ‘Fringe’ and ‘Revolution’
photo: Warner Bros
A new deal means Netflix will be able to replenish its content library with past seasons from eight shows, including the West Wing. Meanwhile, many other content goodies will stay out of its reach. Read more »
BuzzFeed parties on with launch of Hollywood site
photo: BuzzFeed
BuzzFeed has had a very good year after earning heaps of funding and expanding its serious news footprint from New York to Washington. Now, the viral site wants a piece of entertainment reporting. Read more at paidContent »
Hulu CEO is leaving as company wrestles with future
Hulu CEO Jason Kilar is leaving the company along with CTO Rich Tom. The two will stay on in the next months to manage the transition. Read more »
You’re dead to me: Facebook prank shows how social media is (still) bad at death
A new Facebook prank making the rounds lets you turn someone’s account into a memorial page by sending along an email address and a fake obituary. Read more »
Don’t say display ads are dead: ESPN shows there’s life in an old format
photo: ESPN
It’s fashionable to declare that display advertising is done for — but ESPN and others are showing that this is just the case for bad display ads. New creative opportunities could give the display market a second act. But will publishers invest in them? Read more at paidContent »
Google wins: a plain English guide to the FTC’s big ruling
photo: Kzenon via Shutterstock
After a two-year investigation into Google’s search business, the feds finally issued a decision. The outcome is a clear win for Google — here’s an easy Q&A about what happened and what it means. Read more »
Search stays the same: feds and Google settle antitrust issues
photo: google
The FTC finally concluded its two-year investigation into whether Google’s treatment of its competitors broke antitrust laws. The result is a minor change to the way Google uses patents but that does little to change the company’s search listings. Read more »
Free Harvard class teaches non-lawyers about copyright
photo: col via Shutterstock
Harvard law school is inviting 500 people to take a free 12-week copyright course — complete with small discussions, a 3 hour exam and a certificate at the end. Read more »
Can you mix hookers with highbrow? 5 questions for BuzzFeed in 2013
photo: TijanaM via Shutterstock
BuzzFeed became a disruptive media force in 2012 by adding serious news to the silly and sleazy stuff it’s long produced. Here are some questions that will determine whether BuzzFeed can shape news in the long run. Read more at paidContent »
“Twitterverse” cracks list of most annoying words — just sayin’
photo: D.J.McGee via Shutterstock
Time to find a new name for all those folks on Twitter. “Twitterverse” joined “whatever” and “just sayin” on a list of terms that people find most annoying in conversation. Read more »
Netflix can jump on Facebook at last — but does anyone care?
photo: ollyy
Netflix has been lobbying to change a law that prevents it from using Facebook to reveal what movies people are watching. It has finally won in Congress but, by this point, doubts about the value of frictionless sharing mean the victory may not be worth much. Read more »
Here come the design patents: new law boosts rights in shapes, designs
photo: tovovan
The United States is already struggling to reform an overgrown patent system. But now the President has signed a law that will make it easier to obtain patents in shapes and other designs. Read more »
Chip maker Marvell smacked with $1.17 billion patent verdict
A jury said Marvell Technologies, which specializes in energy efficient chips, must pay $1.17 billion for violating two patents belong to Carnegie Mellon University. That figure is likely to be adjusted. Read more »
Want to be a news baron? 2013 could be your year
Some famous newspaper titles are going on sale next year. Meanwhile, as analyst Ken Doctor reports, regulators will re-examine rules that limit cross-ownership of media platforms. Read more at paidContent »
Instagram privacy lawsuit is nonsense say experts
photo: ollyy via Shutterstock
A law firm is trying to capitalize on recent outrage over Instagram’s changes to its terms of services. Despite media hype, the lawsuit has been described as “frivolous” and “flimsy” by social media law experts. Read more »
How publishers are getting over the app debate: 3 examples
photo: Everett Collection
Fewer publishers are treating apps as a make-or-break business decision. Instead, a shift in the economics of app making means publishers can choose from a wider variety of app options that are tailored to the type of content they produce. Read more at paidContent »
New York Times Co will make $91 million from digital subs — analyst
photo: Carlos E. Santa Maria
A news report gave the New York Times some powerful validation for its online paywall model. But a closer look at the numbers show that digital subscriber dollars can only be one part of the Times’ future. Read more at paidContent »
A fighting chance: News Corp’s news and books are profitable as co. starts anew
photo: Triborough
News Corp has finally announced details about how it will split off its publishing operations from its richer entertainment divisions. A look at the numbers show the reborn company will be fine, at least for awhile, in part thanks to keeping an Australian sports business. Read more at paidContent »
Pocket’s Top 10 lists: view-it-later tools catching on — but will everyone use them?
photo: CREATISTA via Shutterstock
Tools like Pocket help you manage a flood of online content by zapping it into a personal box to view later on. The company showed the stories and videos that we’re storing the most — but the tech-heavy nature of its Top 10 lists suggest these tools still await widespread adoption. Read more at paidContent »
65,000 tweets in 2 minutes: Twitter officially opens your archive
photo: Gl0ck
It’s official: you can now download all your old tweets. What does mean? In the short, a trip down memory lane but, in the long term, a rich cultural treasure. Read more »
Online ad spending up 18 percent from a year ago, hits $9.26B in Q3
photo: Pink_Sherbet_Photography
The IAB, which surveys a wide range of web sites and online services, reports that advertising revenue is growing rapidly as marketers tap into new forms of digital engagement. Read more at paidContent »
Fox’s bloody t-shirt: Newtown images show risks of automated ads
A Fox news story about the Newtown tragedy came with an ad for a bloody t-shirt while Facebook showed an ad for a shooting game. In the past, editors could have screened these ads — this is less possible online where fewer humans are involved in the ad-buying process. Read more at paidContent »
The Nielsen Twitter ratings: a new way to measure TV popularity
In an acknowledgement of the growing importance of the “second screen” for TV watchers, Nielsen is unveiling a new set of ratings that will measure a given show’s popularity on Twitter. Read more »
Washington Post signs up with NewsCred in push for dollars, exposure
The Washington Post is the latest to join NewsCred, a middle-man service that is licensing a growing stable of elite titles to brands and international publishers. For the Post, the deal represents both a revenue stream and a strategic opportunity. Read more at paidContent »
The right to resell: a ticking time bomb over digital goods
photo: DVARG
There’s a brewing conflict over consumers’ rights to use platforms like ReDigi to resell their books, music and other digital property. Now libraries and companies like eBay and Redbox are leading a campaign to pass “You bought it, you own it” laws. Read more at paidContent »
TV-on-the-go service Aereo adds Bloomberg TV as first cable channel
Aereo, which lets consumers in New York watch live TV on their phones and online, now has a cable channel. The deal shows viewers it can get more content — and also gives it a small PR boost in its legal fight with broadcasters. Read more »
Jury says Apple’s iPhone infringes patents from Nokia and Sony
In a surprise ruling, a Delaware jury has found that Apple’s iPhone infringed on three patents issued in the early 2000′s. The verdict is the latest incident of a global patent battle that appears to have gotten out of hand. Read more »
Did Google pay Belgian newspapers a $6M copyright fee? Sure looks like it
photo: Sergey Mironov
Google and Belgian news publishers announced a deal that will put an end to their copyright dispute. Google says it is not paying the papers for content — so then why is money changing hands? Read more at paidContent »
Content and commerce: is Etsy an outlier?
photo: Karen Nicol
Retailers are trying to use blogs and other content to drive sales. Meanwhile, publishers are hoping their stories can lead to commerce opportunities. Handcraft site Etsy appears to have figured out both sides of the equation. Read more »
Study says half of media buyers will try native advertising in 2013
photo: Everett Collection
Native advertising — like a brand’s Tumblr blog or a sponsored tweet — is generating a lot of hype. A new survey says ad people are ready to take it on en masse, but some wonder if it can scale or if it’s just a buzzword. Read more at paidContent »
Vox Media says the Verge is “very profitable” after one year
photo: The Verge
The Verge made a big splash in November 2011, when it arrived with a custom built publishing system and plans to take over tech reporting. One year later, it’s making some real headway. Read more at paidContent »
Content delivery booms: Outbrain buys firm that brings media to brands
photo: Minerva Studios
Brands like shoe stores and banks need quality content to feed their growing social media following. This has led to the rise of middlemen who pair non-media companies with publishers who can license their content. Read more at paidContent »
BuzzFeed apologizes (sort of) for smear of The Oatmeal cartoonist
photo: Mathew Inman
Viral site BuzzFeed is under criticism for publishing a malicious attack on a cartoonist that contained major factual errors. Editor-in-chief Ben Smith has responded but the site may need to do more in the future if it wants to play in the media big leagues. Read more »
Should Mike Bloomberg buy the Financial Times?
New York mayor Mike Bloomberg is the leading candidate to buy the prestigious Financial Times, which is set to be shopped in 2013. It would be a prestigious pairing, but would the FT become a distraction to Bloomberg LP’s core business? Read more at paidContent »
