The internet is a big place and a lot happens on it every day. We try to cover the things we find most interesting, but in case you disagree with our judgement, here are some other things that smart people might want to know about today. We offer each with a touch of editorial about what it means – and in some cases why we haven’t written about it yet.
Today’s almost-news-to-us includes: Amazon doing unnatural things with Wikipedia, Facebook plus Etsy makes me a power shopper, if Groupon is like the Borg – here’s who might be the Baby Borg next in line, everyone is talking about an iPad RSS reader that got Facebook integration and Dora the Explorer gets new iOS apps. Awesome!
Amazon rips off Wikipedia, plugs it full of affiliate links and says “hey, it’s Creative Commons!”
Caroline McCarthy covered this on CNet. It’s limited to books for now but the company says it will be rolled out to other sites in the future. One Wikipedian we talked to called it “slimy BS” and I’m apt to agree. Incidentally, Seth Godin blogged today that Wikipedia doesn’t run ads on its own site because the Foundation behind it “wants you to own it” through personal investment and donations. Makes sense. Maybe Amazon didn’t just mistreat Wikipedia then – maybe it mistreated you.
Facebook + Etsy = Awesome Personalized Christmas Gift Guides
Login with Facebook on this Etsy page and it will recommend handcrafted and vintage gifts based on the interests of your friends and family members. It uses the structured data of peoples’ Facebook “Likes” as search queries across Etsy. Set upper and lower price limits, filter by international shipping, it’s great. It even recommended some cool gifts that I’d be proud to give and that I think would be well received by some of the dorkiest people in my life. I’ve been meaning to write about this one for days, ever since Dan Frommer called it “brilliant” this weekend.
I just haven’t been able to prioritize writing about this, even though it’s super cool, because shopping isn’t really that interesting or important. Am I right?
Groupon Competitors – Who Might be Next in the Group Buying M&A Frenzy?
Venture capital and startup analytics service Chubby Brain shares some research. For what it’s worth, I think the news that Google is trying to buy Groupon is painfully boring. The internet is a beautiful thing full of world-changing potential. Coupons? Boring! Of course, if you disagree with me then you might like our technical interview: Groupon’s Development Philosophy: Really Short Iterations
Pulse, the iPad Newsreader Many People Love, Gets Facebook Integration
Everybody wants to be compared to Flipboard these days, but no one is doing as good a job as Flipboard. This news got so much coverage today, though! In addition to the AllThingsD coverage linked-to above, this got write-ups in TechCrunch, Mashable and The Next Web today! Facebook integration for an iPad feed reader!
Celebrities will not Tweet! To mark World AIDS day. The Daily What mocks the effort mercilessly and with intelligence.
Dora the Explorer launches iPhone and iPad apps in time for Christmas – very cool.
I can’t believe ReadWriteWeb didn’t cover that! Except…I guess we just did.
