From the day it was released, people have recognized that the Kindle is crippled by compromises. Since then: We’ve learned that the Kindle is a failure as a new media platform; Amazon is turning off Kindle features to keep publishers happy; and that “Buying” a book for the Kindle is like Russian roulette. A lot [...]

The Committee to Protect Bloggers is reporting that blogger Omid Reza Mir Sayafi has died in prison in Iran. Omid was sentenced in December to three years in jail.  Omid was accused of “insulting Iranian religious leaders and spreading propaganda” against the Iranian state. Human Rights Activists in Iran (translated from Arabic by Hamid Tehrani [...]

YouTube today announced a variety of changes at the site that are designed to help you view content that’s relevant to you and avoid content that isn’t. While YouTube’s focus is on making it harder for uploaders to trick people, the changes they’ve made affect everyone.  Here’s a rundown of the changes, from YouTube’s announcement: Stricter [...]

Elisabeth posted a note earlier today about new media and podcasting in China, and how local coverage paints a picture that may be surprising to many in the West. Chris raised a question in the comments, though, that is worth addressing: “I thought I read that RSS was banned in China. Does anyone know if [...]

As mainstream media promotes itself to new heights (depths?) over the upcoming summer Olympic Games in Beijing, and with the International Olympic Committee raising hackles with its severe restrictions on blogging, podcasting and new media, it seemed like a good time to look at citizen media efforts coming from China itself. This week’s edition of [...]

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has issued guidelines (pdf) regarding blogging and other user generated media at the 2008 Beijing Olympiad. And while the Olympics may be a celebration of athleticism and global togetherness, they aren’t going to be a celebration of personal expression. The IOC’s guidelines address rules for blogging and other user-generated media [...]

The video-sharing Web site YouTube has reportedly suspended the account of an Egyptian anti-torture activist and journalist who posted videos of police brutality. The activist, Wael Abbas said that close to 100 images he had sent to YouTube were no longer accessible, including clips depicting purported police brutality, voting irregularities and anti-government demonstrations. “They closed [...]

YouTube plans to start banning videos posted to the site that may contain copyrighted content, according to CEO Eric Schmidt. The new system, which Schmidt called Claim Your Content, will automatically identify copyright material so that it can be removed, Schmidt said. Schmidt made his comments at the National Association of Broadcasters conference. “We are [...]

After receiving a court order, Turkey’s largest telecommunications provider, Turk Telecom, Wednesday blocked access to YouTube because it featured video clips that were seen as insulting to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey. The censorship marks the latest battle between Web titans such as YouTube’s corporate parent, Google Inc., and foreign governments over [...]

Attorneys general of more than 20 states have written to Anheuser-Busch, asking the brewer to provide tighter access controls to make sure underaged viewers aren’t accessing its new beer-themed video site, Bud.TV. The site asks for your name, zip code and birthday to verify that you are 21 or over. The attorneys generals are asking [...]