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It would appear that not even the internet is free from the ever tightening boundaries of free speech. And I am not talking about terrorism plots, or speech which ‘incites racial hatred’. Oh no. It would appear that not even calling someone a ‘douchebag’ is ‘politically correct’.

This follows the case of 16 year old Lewis Mills High School senior Avery Doninger (shown above with Mum) who, in exasperation over the schools inability to help matter overs a ‘battle of the bands’ delay, wrote on her blog that “jamfest is cancelled [SIC] due to douchebags in central office”. Apparently, according to the school, this “created a foreseeable risk of substantial disruption” and they banned her from being re-elected as a class officer. So the teenager and her mum took this to a federal district court judge who rejected their claim of an infringement into her First Amendment rights, a view which was concurred to by an appeals court.

So, if a 16 year old girl can’t express her anger on a blog, then what has the world come to? Surely it is not even that much of an insult, and nothing that a ‘polite conversation’ could not solve, and the fact that it took place out of school grounds also raises questions as to what authority a school should have. So a word of warning, if you have a blog and don’t like your boss… you know what not to do!

Via [Courant]

It was just a little over a month ago now that the Cuban Government decided to begin easing up on restrictions with electronics, namely computers, and as we have already seen Cuba citizens lining up for cell phones, the same is happening with computers.

Reports of “more than a dozen prospective buyers” began to line up when they first went on sale. While “just” a dozen people may not sound like a lot, you also must consider that these computers are not coming cheap. Havana’s Carlos III shopping center began to sell the Qtech PC along with a CRT monitor for $780. Sounds expensive enough already, but consider further that these PC’s are not exactly high powered either, they are featuring Intel Celeron processors with 80GB hard drives, 512MB of RAM and running Windows XP.

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The Internet access while tightly controlled does not seem to be stopping Cuban bloggers from telling their story. Computers have just recently became legal for Cuban citizens to own and even with the hard to come by Internet access many are turning towards the web to share their story.

Some of the blogs, have been going on for longer than the two-months that computers have been legal to access. A site we have mentioned before, “Generacion Y” which is written by Yoani Sanchez receives more than one-million hits a month. But for Sanchez and other Cuban bloggers, most of whom choose to do so anonymously getting their stories posted is not as simple as sitting in front of a computer and typing away.

For example Sanchez has to pretend to be a tourist in order to obtain her web access, which costs about $6 an hour from local Havana hotels. Others are willing to pay upwards of $40 a month to get black-market dial-up access. Regular or authorized service includes access to an island-wide network that allows for sending or receiving emails, this is available at youth clubs, post offices and a handful of cafes however the rest of the web is blocked.

While its still illegal and potentially dangerous for bloggers such as Sanchez to write as she does, especially under her real name, she is quick to note that “with each step we take in that direction, it’s harder for the government to push us back.” Hopefully, as we have seen the recent relaxing of what Cuban citizens can legally purchase electronics wise, we will soon see the same to happen with other services such as unfiltered or unblocked Internet access.

Read [USA Today]

Everybody seems to be making their own kind of blogging platform, although most of these are really based on old principles. And sometimes even existing blogging software. Such is the case with the new online service, BayWords.com, launched by the same guys who are responsible for The Pirate Bay, and enabled freeloaders to have a virtual home on the Internet.

And now, they’re all set to set you free through your words, with an uncensored blogging service that’s really just a Wordpress-powered blog deep inside. But it’s the thought that counts, they say, and with BayWords, there will be no limit to what thoughts you can publish. From the most recent blog post on their own BayWords blog, Brokep had this to say: “Many blogs are being shut down for uncomfortable thoughts and ideas. We will not do that. Our goal is to protect freedom of speech and your thoughts. As long as you don’t break any Swedish laws in your blog, we will defend it.”.

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Its always nice to see a happy outcome, a Cuban blogger, who recently had her own site blocked by the Cuban government has won an award for that very site. Yoani Sanchez who writes the Generacion Y blog as a journal of her daily life in Cuba was given the Ortega and Gasset prize for digital journalism. This prize comes as an annual event that is presented by the Spanish newspaper El Pais. According to the paper, Sanchez was awarded the prize for “shrewdness in overcoming hurdles to freedom of expression in Cuba, her vivacious style and her drive to join the global space of citizen journalism.”

According to reports she hosts her blog on servers in Germany and was able to attract 1.2 million hits this past February. But perhaps more important than the award, Sanchez who spoke with Reuters via telephone was quoted as saying that “this is great encouragement for Cuban bloggers who are still at an embryonic stage.”

Thankfully the Cuban government has been getting a little looser lately when it comes to ‘modern’ freedoms such as cell phones, computers, DVD players and toasters. Hopefully some of this new found ‘freedom’ will find its way to the Internet access, which is currently still controlled by the government and we can only hope that Yoani Sanchez does not receive any unwanted attention courtesy of her blog, award and new found attention.

Read [Reuters]

Check out Doug’s sweet quote in the new release below...and while you are at it, check out Pluck and BlogBurst.

“BlogBurst has definitely driven our blogs Gadgetell (http://www.gadgetell.com) and The Final Sprint (http://www.thefinalsprint.com) to the next level,” says Doug Berger of the Dabbledoo Network. “Seeing our headlines and branding on media sites, including USA TODAY, has tripled our traffic and expanded our reach beyond belief.  We are very excited to see what Pluck has in store for us in the future.”

Pluck Launches Version 1.0 of BlogBurst Blog Syndication Network

Pluck Corporation, a social media technology pioneer, today announced the immediate availability of version 1.0 of the BlogBurst blog syndication network, a service that manages and syndicates content from leading bloggers to top online properties and publisher web sites around the world. In addition to the release of the new 1.0 version, Pluck announced that several new BlogBurst syndication partners, including USA TODAY and Discovery, have joined the network to deliver quality blog content to large and diverse audiences on their respective online properties. 

“Blogs can be a valuable complement to traditional news coverage,” said Jeff Webber, Senior Vice President and Publisher, USATODAY.com. “By tapping into the BlogBurst network, we can help readers find the best of those independent writers and gain new insights on topics ranging from technology to entertainment, travel, business, and sports.”

Since the launch of the beta version of the BlogBurst network in May, the service has grown into the largest syndication network of its kind with over 3,000 blogger members from more than 45 countries.

The new “Lighthouse” syndication partners include: Newspapers, Broadcasters, Syndicated News Services, Magazines, and Portals....

• USA TODAY – The nation’s top-selling newspaper


• Guardian Unlimited – Leading UK news and information source


• Discovery – Parent company of Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Travel Channel and other major media brands


• Reuters – One of the world’s largest providers of syndicated news


• IDG UK – Parent company for UK publications such as MacWorld, Techworld and PC Advisor


• Rodale – Publisher of popular consumer titles including Runners World, Men’s Health and Women’s Health


• TELUS Corporation – Leading Canadian communications company

“BlogBurst has definitely driven our blogs Gadgetell (http://www.gadgetell.com) and The Final Sprint (http://www.thefinalsprint.com) to the next level,” says Doug Berger of the Dabbledoo Network. “Seeing our headlines and branding on media sites, including USA TODAY, has tripled our traffic and expanded our reach beyond belief.  We are very excited to see what Pluck has in store for us in the future.”

These new BlogBurst customers join previously announced “Lighthouse” clients, including Hearst Newspapers, Austin American-Statesman, The Washington Post and Gannett.  Most recently, Reuters, one of the largest providers of syndicated news worldwide, began using BlogBurst blogs on the entertainment, health and technology sections of its web site as part of a larger alliance with Pluck. 

To meet the needs of bloggers and publishers alike, the new BlogBurst version 1.0 includes dozens of advanced features designed to help make the flow of blog content to online media properties seamless. Major new features available with BlogBurst 1.0 include:

• BlogBurst BurstWires: To help publishers gain quick access to blog content on timely events, BlogBurst offers new editorially-managed BurstWires, which package together relevant content on breaking news. BurstWires increase opportunities for blog distribution by giving publishers access to the most relevant blogs for particular topic areas, such as sports championships or current events.


• New Widget Design: BlogBurst Widgets offer publishers the ability to plug-in cross-browser and cross-platform web components to more seamlessly incorporate blog headlines and full-post content from the BlogBurst network into their existing online media properties without the need for site redesign, custom APIs or additional HTML software programming.


• Enhanced Reporting: New tracking and analytics capabilities help BlogBurst network members easily access important information, such as when and where blogs have been syndicated, along with audience metrics by online properties and blog topics.

“After successful testing and refinement by blogger members and our publishing partners, the BlogBurst service is moving into commercial availability,” said Dave Panos, CEO of Pluck Corp. “Our blogger members have shown publishers that they can produce invaluable content that piques the interest of traditional audiences. By working together, publishers and bloggers are entering the new media age where mainstream firms and innovative new publishers combine to give the everyday reader a richer, more complete perspective on important local news and world events.”

Performancing, the popular blogger portal, is now offering an all new services to add to its existing line of services that include job board, blog posting add on for Firefox and a forum for people to discuss blogging at large. They are now set to offer advertising through their existing web site. They appear to be setup to compete directly with companies like AdBrite, which is currently a major player in that same role.

The only thing that seems to be a little different is their reward system, currently they are paying blogger 70% of the advertising revenue while keeping the rest for themselves. With Performancing’s loyal blogger base it looks like they could really come out well from the deal by some of the lower traffic web sites. I’m sure we will see some casinos try to buy out all of the lower traffic blogs to increase link backs.

It would be a quick and easy way to just make the search engines like your web site just a little better if not get a few clicks out of the advertisements alone. At any rate, the advertising market seems to be getting a little more saturated as more and more companies try themselves out in the market. Google AdSense led the way in the most recent surge and now AdBrite, BitVertiser, Performancing, FM Publishing, PayPerPost and others are trying to pave their own way to the bank in gold.

I can’t spell. Many other writers out there don’t spell that well either or have many typos. TextTrust has compiled a list of the most commonly misspelled words it has found on the 17 million web pages it has spell checked over the past year.

Incorrect — Correct
1. Independant — Independent


2. Accomodation— Accommodation


3. Definately — Definitely


4. Recieve — Receive


5. Opportunites — Opportunities


6. Thier — Their


7. Occured — Occurred


8. Infomation — Information


9. Offical — Official


10. Acitives — Activities

TextTrust combines its spell checking software with human editors that check the web sites of its clients for spelling errors.

“Software programs can only do so much to identify misspelled words,” said Rostenne.  “Human editors can use their common sense and powers of reason to detect other spelling errors. The editors are what sets TextTrust apart and makes our service even more valuable.”

TextTrust wants to make sure that organizations never again receive the “I found a spelling error on your web site” email.  The company offers various levels of service from a one-time review of your web site to weekly service. A free trial is offered at its web site, www.TextTrust.com and the cost of its service begins at less than $30. Hmm, maybe we should check them out…ehh-noep not neded.

Read [WebBlogWire]

Microsoft Word and HTML do not currently get along as nicely as many would hope, thankfully this should change come Office 2007. A lead program manager on the Word software design team, explained on his weblog that Word 2007, the next-generation version of Microsoft Word, will support blogging. When blogging with Word 2007, users will get to use all the well-known Word features, specifically formatting and layout to draft posts. Users will even be able to upload pictures from Word to their blog hosting providers. So far, MSN Spaces, Blogger, SharePoint, and Community Server are supported (our beloved Wordpress has still not been announced).

P.S. - If anyone knows of a Wordpress 2.0 supported plug-in that “cleans-up” HTML we would greatly appreciate it.

Read [AMCP Tech]

Evan will be filling in as The Water Cooler contributor while Bryan continues his plot to take over the world, for the next few weeks, across the pond in London .

Before I start on today’s topic I want to call everyone’s attention to my favorite non Gadgetell blog on the internet, written by a great technology mind, Mark Cuban the man behind HDNet, the former Broadcast.com, and is currently the owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks as well as other tech/video ventures.  In the past few weeks he has written some great entries on blogging, MySpace and the pure stupidity of shareholders: all are a must read. Check them out at Blogmaverick.

One of Cuban’s recent posts deal with the new partnership between BitTorrent and Warner Brothers. These two seem like more of an odd couple than Kobe and Shaq; you have to wonder what possessed these two sworn enemies to unite.  Pretty much BitTorrent will provide a similar platform as iTunes. Whereas iTunes currently offers television shows, WB will offer Movies and shows. The puzzling thing here is, iTunes only has legal products on its catalogs and has total control, whereas no matter what the WB want to believe, there will still be copies of illegal content on the servers. Cuban found MI-3 and Scary Movie 4 with relative ease according to his blog.

Maybe there is something I don’t know but I trust Cuban in his research and if the legal files are going to be right alongside the illegal ones, what’s going to stop Joe Downloader from taking a peak at the newest movie rather than shelling out the $9. Just imagine the excuses you can give if you were to get questioned by the authorities, “how am I supposed to know whats legal and whats not if it’s all showing up on the same search that WB has”. So good luck to the WB and their parent company TimeWarner because we all know you are the smartest of businessmen...after that AOL debacle of a few years ago - maybe you’ll prove me wrong, but I think you’re making a big mistake here.