Tech Blog Jots for November 29

From the team over at CustomScoop:

“Google Answers” No More
Search Engine Watch Blog

Danny Sullivan is surprised by Google’s decision to shut down Google Answers.”Killing off the service, which never seemed to catch on much, certainly will help Google seem like it is focusing efforts toward more needed areas. But it still feels like an odd, almost surrendering move in the face of Yahoo Answers being such a success.”

UK Press Complaints Commissioner Calls for a Voluntary Blogger Code
Scobleizer

A UK official has caused a bit of stir in the blogosphere by suggesting that blogs be covered by a voluntary “code of practice.” Robert Scoble and others laugh of the idea as unrealistic.“Heck, we can’t agree on anything, including the definition of the word ‘blog’ so you think you’re going to get us all to agree to a code of practice? Yeah, right.”

Wal-Mart Launches Movie Download Store
Gizmodo

Louis Ramirez highlights news that Wal-Mart is attempting to maintain its 40% market share in DVD sales by launching a new video download service. “The way it works is you buy a DVD at the store and then log onto the Wal-Mart website to get your download (each DVD will have a sticker with a URL and promo code that you punch in to get the process going). Then for $1.97 you can download a version of the movie that'll play on a portable media player or for $2.97 you can download a version for your PC/laptop. Cough up $3.97 and you have the right to play it on either of the two. According to Wal-Mart, this gives buyers the freedom to choose what they want. Personally, I prefer to rip copies of any movie that I own and play them where I want, but that's just me.”

Bit Torrent Signs a Series of Partnerships, Expects Substantial Funding
GigaOM

Om Malik believes that Bit Torrent’s recently signed partnership agreements with several major media companies will enable the peer-to-peer distribution company to raise between $15m and $25m in funding. “BitTorrent has not yet launched its long-awaited video store. Perhaps this latest funding will boost the company’s e-commerce rollout. BitTorrent spent some of the year announcing truces and partnerships with Hollywood, but it has been quiet lately.”

AT&T Launches HDTV via DSL
IP & Democracy

AT&T has taken a step forward in the triple-play “race against cable” by finally offering high definition television. However, IP & Democracy notes that the service is only available in one Texas market, and the blog wonders if AT&T can easily carry the offering in other areas.”It took a long time for the company to rectify the HD problem even in San Antonio. It’s not entirely clear that it’s an easy feat for the telco to offer a rich menu of video, voice and increasingly higher-speed broadband services, which is what AT&T must do if it wants U-verse to be a viable competitive alternative to cable.”

Are Green Businesses the Way of the Future?
Entrepreneur

Amanda Kooser explores the future of environmentally-friendly business and entrepreneurship. She points out that when retail giants like Wal-Mart are selling organic cotton t-shirts, it becomes obvious the trend to be green is catching on.  Many say that small businesses/entrepreneurs have an advantage to be able to provide even more to their customers as the final decision with which company they might do business with could come down to which business is more “green” in its practices. “A few steps to take when making the green plunge with your business are…seek your niche, be an example, educate, [remember] your customers are your best marketers and find colleagues who are on the same page. People who are imbued with this kind of spirit have an incredible imagination to rebuild the value chain and inspire their customers in the process." 

The War of Black Friday vs Cyber Monday
FastCompany

Most of us know exactly what Black Friday is, the biggest shopping day of the year. Now that the Internet has taken us by storm and many people use it for online shopping (58 percent of all online shopping is done in the workplace) the Monday after Thanksgiving has become known as Cyber Monday. This year, sales totaled $687 million, up from $484 million last year.  But aren’t people working?  No matter, 88 percent of Cyber Monday shoppers made purchases from the office.  “Black Friday's storefront shoppers have slacked by about one million consumers since last year, Cyber Monday welcomed two million more shoppers to the Web this season.”

Mobile Devices Get Java RSS Feeder
MicroPersuasion

“Newsgator has rolled out a beta RSS reader for phones that support J2ME (a flavor of Java). This includes Blackberries. The reader is in partnership with Freerange Communications and syncs up with Newsgator's servers. This ensures that what you read in one place won't show up in the other. Newsgator launched a reader for Windows Mobile devices earlier this year.”

Can Authenticity Be Faked?
A VC

Authenticity is a key aspect in successful businesses, A VC questions whether it can be faked.  He thinks it cannot be faked and points to successful businesses like Digg, Delicious, Flickr, and Craigslist as being truly authentic. “We define authenticity as that intangible feeling you get when you come across a service that does exactly what it is supposed to do, is novel, true to itself.”

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