Berkman Buzz, week of June 4

BERKMAN BUZZ: A look at the past week's online Berkman conversations
The Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Harvard Law School
Week of June 4, 2007

What's going on... take your pick or browse below.

*David Weinberger reports from NY Tech Meetup.
*Dan Gillmor reviews "Cult of the Amateur."
*Mary-Rose Papandrea discusses libel in the Boston Media.
*Ethan Zuckerman from TED Global 2007.
*Jim Moore's Open Letter to the NY Times.
*Larry Lessig explains Google and MacMillan tussle.
*Weekly Global Voice: Add citizen media event to GV calendar.


The full buzz.

"I'm at a company meeting at MeetUp.com and James Hong, founder of HotorNot is doing a speed history and demo. In his five minute talk, he makes three points of particular interest to me..."
David Weinberger, "Cool tech at NY Tech Meetup"

"Andrew Keen’s book, The Cult of the Amateur: How today’s Internet is killing our culture, was officially published this week. It is a shabby and dishonest treatment of an important topic.  We do face many problems in a digital age, including several of the general issues Keen raises. (I wrote about many of them in my own book three years ago.) We do need to be dealing with those problems."
Dan Gillmor, "Amateurish 'Cult of the Amateur'"

"Yesterday Massachusetts' highest court rejected the Boston Herald's motion to reconsider its decision in a defamation case brought by Judge Ernest Murphy.  A month ago the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court had voted unanimously to affirm a $2.1 million jury verdict against the Boston Herald for its publication of a story in which it quoted Superior Court Judge Ernest Murphy as saying that prosecutors should tell a 14-year-old rape victim 'to get on with her life and get over it.'"
Mary-Rose Papandrea, "Massachusetts S.J.C. Denies Boston Herald's Motion for Reconsideration of Judge Murphy Libel Decision"

"Novelist Chris Abani is a deceptive and funny man. He tells us that he’s been at TED for three days, 'watching slideshows, listening to scientists… feeling a bit like a gansta rapper at a bar mitzvah.' Much of the conference, he observes, have been about narrative in Africa. 'But we’re really talking about news narratives. 40% of Americans can’t afford health insurance, they’ve got a president who doesn’t listen to his people and keeps prosecuting a senseless war - if we go by the news, the US is as bad as Zimbabwe, which isn’t true, right?'"
Ethan Zuckerman, "Three voices. Listen."

"Unfortunately, I need to take you to task for your article yesterday in the Times about patents.  The creation of inventions and intellectual property is vital to the American economy and the United States’ role in the world economy. For better or worse, America’s economic future depends on creating and licensing intellectual property. Strong worldwide patent rights are the foundation for American economic survival over the next fifty years."
Jim Moore, "An open letter to Steve Lohr of the New York Times: Regarding Jon Dudas’ testimony today to the Senate Judiciary Commitee"

"Engaget reports that “the head honcho of Macmillan Publishers” lifted a couple Google laptops at a recent BookExpo America, and then when he returned them, retorted 'hope you enjoyed a taste of your own medicine,' and 'there wasn’t a sign by the computers informing him not to steal them.'  So this betrays an astonishing level of ignorance, even for a 'head honcho.'"
Larry Lessig, "From Engaget: “Publishing exec ‘steals’ Google laptops in silly demonstration” — of just how little publishing executives understand"

"One of the best kept secrets of this website is a calendar of local and world events, bloggers meetings and conferences.  This month is busy with meetings in South Africa, Tanzania, and the G8 Summit in Germany. Got any ideas for new blog projects? There’s just one week to go before Rising Voices and J-Lab grant proposals are due.  Scroll ahead in the calendar to see more events."
Solana Larsen, "Add your citizen media event to the Global Voices calendar!"