Fri, 29 August 2008

Podcasts' popularity surges in US
Internet users are increasingly time-shifting their media consumption by downloading podcasts to watch or listen later, according to a US study.
A research group looking into the habits of web users, the Pew Internet and American Life Project, found that 19% of internet users had downloaded podcasts to listen or view at a later date.
Source: Media Guardian

Does Silicon Valley Face an Innovation Crisis?
Judy Estrin, who has built several Silicon Valley companies and was the chief technology officer of Cisco Systems, says Silicon Valley is in trouble. In a new book, “Closing the Innovation Gap,” which will be in bookstores Tuesday, she writes that the valley’s problems are symptomatic of a crisis in innovation facing the country as a whole.
In an interview in her Menlo Park office Thursday, Ms. Estrin said that the United States is stifling innovation by failing to take risks in sectors from academia to government to venture capital. “I’m not generally an alarmist, but I am really, really concerned about this country,” she said.
Source: NYTimes

Web news aggregators rise despite papers woes
Local newspapers may be faced with hard times, but the ability to get news on a mobile device is flourishing, with several outlets providing context that helps explain particular stories' places in the larger universe of world events.
The need for this becomes more apparent when you consider the thousands of newspapers, broadcasters, wires, and blogs around the globe. Until recently, few sites tried to make it easier for you to negotiate through the thicket.
Source: Reuters

More Artists Steer Clear of iTunes
ITunes has been the runaway hit of the music business, selling more than five billion song downloads since it started five years ago. But a growing number of record companies are trying to steer clear of Apple Inc.'s behemoth music store, because they say selling single songs on iTunes in some cases is crimping overall music sales.

Kid Rock's "Rock 'n Roll Jesus" album was kept off iTunes' virtual shelves. It has nonetheless sold 1.7 million copies in the U.S. since its release last year -- a sizable number for the depressed music industry. Sales of the album have increased in 19 of the past 22 weeks, according to Nielsen SoundScan, vaulting it to No. 3 on the Billboard 200 sales chart. After witnessing the album's performance, his label, Warner Music Group Corp.'s Atlantic Records, last week yanked an album by R&B singer Estelle from the iTunes Store, four months after it went on sale there -- and the same week that one of its songs entered the top-10-selling tracks on Apple's download service.
Source: Wall Street Journal