Question of the day
Why doesn't the spell checker in Blogger know the word "blog"? Or "blogger" for that matter.
Passion for moblogs
Affärsvärlden's and Ny Teknik's new lifestyle monthly magazine Passion distributes its first edition today. I'm interviewed in an article about mobile blogging. Let's just say that I don't consider my blog to be a mobile blog, even though I occasionally send photos via MMS to Flickr, which are displayed in the right column of this page. Oh, and they managed to spell the name of my company wrong (of course). It's supposed to be an "s" in the end. Other than that, I think the article is ok.
3,000 blogs on Norwegian daily
Norwegian daily Verdens Gang (VG) launched a blog initiative on October 10 and in one and a half month, as many as 3,000 blogs were registered. The users have posted 8,000 blog posts which have received a total of about 30,000 comments.
Looking at the tag cloud it seems that VG bloggers are heavily into football (the sort you play with your feet, not your hands), politics and blogs. Music, sex and school are other popular topics.
I have two minor objections. First, why have a megaphone as a symbol for a communications channel that is more of a dialogue than any newspaper? A telephone would have been slightly more relevant. Second, each blog gets a very short (which is good) URL, starting with www.vgb.no and followed by a number. It would have been cooler if users could have chosen a user name that would also be the URL of the blog (like www.vgb.no/kullin). It is easier to remember and would give potential users a hint of who the blog belongs to and/or what the theme of the blog is. The other way is more "host friendly" than user friendly. Remember that with 20, 30, 40 million blogs around, branding your blog becomes increasingly important.
One could also question the reasons why a newspaper should be a blog host (other than increasing traffic to its web page). At least VG seems to have some form of citizen journalism ambitions (which is more than you can of most Swedish papers) as it is experimenting with ways of incorporating the best blog material on the general site.
Looking at the tag cloud it seems that VG bloggers are heavily into football (the sort you play with your feet, not your hands), politics and blogs. Music, sex and school are other popular topics.
I have two minor objections. First, why have a megaphone as a symbol for a communications channel that is more of a dialogue than any newspaper? A telephone would have been slightly more relevant. Second, each blog gets a very short (which is good) URL, starting with www.vgb.no and followed by a number. It would have been cooler if users could have chosen a user name that would also be the URL of the blog (like www.vgb.no/kullin). It is easier to remember and would give potential users a hint of who the blog belongs to and/or what the theme of the blog is. The other way is more "host friendly" than user friendly. Remember that with 20, 30, 40 million blogs around, branding your blog becomes increasingly important.
One could also question the reasons why a newspaper should be a blog host (other than increasing traffic to its web page). At least VG seems to have some form of citizen journalism ambitions (which is more than you can of most Swedish papers) as it is experimenting with ways of incorporating the best blog material on the general site.
Volvo site got 1 million visitors from blog ads
More money find its way into the blogosphere. According to Charlene Li, analyst at Forrester Research, businesses are spending $50 million to $100 million this year on blog advertising and marketing.
And advertising on blogs is effective. I recently wrote about Audi's blog campaign, and in the New York Times, Volvo claims to have received one million visitors to its web page via blog advertising.
"Last spring, Volvo spent several million dollars to sponsor Microsoft's MSN Spaces, a site that offers free Web logs and personal pages. The blog investment was worth it, said Anna Papadopoulos, the interactive media director at Euro RSCG 4D, a division of Havas that is running Volvo's Web log campaign. Since April, about five million pages have been set up by individuals, and a million people have visited Volvo's home page directly from the blog site, she said."
And advertising on blogs is effective. I recently wrote about Audi's blog campaign, and in the New York Times, Volvo claims to have received one million visitors to its web page via blog advertising.
"Last spring, Volvo spent several million dollars to sponsor Microsoft's MSN Spaces, a site that offers free Web logs and personal pages. The blog investment was worth it, said Anna Papadopoulos, the interactive media director at Euro RSCG 4D, a division of Havas that is running Volvo's Web log campaign. Since April, about five million pages have been set up by individuals, and a million people have visited Volvo's home page directly from the blog site, she said."
Hällekis-Kuriren is blogging
Yet another Swedish daily starts blogging. Hällekis-Kuriren, a local newspaper in Hällekis in Western Sweden, launched a blog last Wednesday at http://hallekis.blogspot.com/ "as a complement to the regular website". The paper promises to be more personal on the blog and has the ambition to blog via mobile phone.
AT&T brushes up its logo
The Brand Builder writes about AT&T's "new" logo and presents an interesting chart (pdf) over the history of the logo.
Thanks for the link
Sigge Eklund likes my blog, which of course is nice. I just wanted to return the link and say thanks (I'm reading your blog too), you're sending a lot of new visitors to my blog.
Stats for 22-23 Nov.
Stats for 22-23 Nov.
Norway's best blogs
Who will become the "Fjord Mustang" of blogs? Well, we will soon find out. The best Norwegian blogs will be awarded in December by Dagbladet.no. Twelve blogs have been nominated in four different categories. Undercurrent has the list.
Three more RSS feeds from Aftonbladet
Here's a follow up to this post. Aftonbladet now offer in total four RSS feeds:
- News
- Entertainment
- Sports
- "Plus" (Premium content)
Aftonbladet call their feeds "webbfeeds", which is a poor combination of Swedish and English. I would prefer "RSS-flöde" which is a common translation of RSS feed.
- News
- Entertainment
- Sports
- "Plus" (Premium content)
Aftonbladet call their feeds "webbfeeds", which is a poor combination of Swedish and English. I would prefer "RSS-flöde" which is a common translation of RSS feed.
Press secretary forced to delete his blog?
This is odd. Two days ago, Thomas Hartman started out as new press secretary for Barbro Holmberg, the Swedish Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy. Apparently Hartman has been publishing a controversial blog in which he has been posting some very harsch comments about media.
Västerbottens-Kuriren wrote yesterday that Hartman had written, among other things, that people should "stop reading the crap".
- I think it looks like there are small chances he will do a good job as press secretary. As press secretary you are supposed to work for openness and smooth contacts between media and the minister, said Stig Fredrikson, chairman of the Publicists' Club in a comment to VK.
When I searched for Hartman's blog last evening it looked like it had been closed down. It could be (since VK made the usual mistake of not writing the blog URL in the article) that the blog in question is actually to be found somewhere else, but I find that highly unlikely.
In my view it looks like his entire blog has been deleted because the statements he made does not sit well in his new job. So much for openness and transparency from the government...
Footnote: Some of the headlines from Hartman's blog can be found at Blogwalk. Unfortunately there are no cached versions of the blog in Google.
Update: VK writes that Hartman closed down his blog after VK had contacted Anna Helsén, Press Secretary to Prime Minister.
Västerbottens-Kuriren wrote yesterday that Hartman had written, among other things, that people should "stop reading the crap".
- I think it looks like there are small chances he will do a good job as press secretary. As press secretary you are supposed to work for openness and smooth contacts between media and the minister, said Stig Fredrikson, chairman of the Publicists' Club in a comment to VK.
When I searched for Hartman's blog last evening it looked like it had been closed down. It could be (since VK made the usual mistake of not writing the blog URL in the article) that the blog in question is actually to be found somewhere else, but I find that highly unlikely.
In my view it looks like his entire blog has been deleted because the statements he made does not sit well in his new job. So much for openness and transparency from the government...
Footnote: Some of the headlines from Hartman's blog can be found at Blogwalk. Unfortunately there are no cached versions of the blog in Google.
Update: VK writes that Hartman closed down his blog after VK had contacted Anna Helsén, Press Secretary to Prime Minister.
6 out of 10 newspaper blogs don't allow comments
I can think of many reasons why traditional media would want to start blogs. Dialogue does not seem to be the primary reason. I have examined 42 blogs from 17 Swedish newspapers and found that:
- 6 out of 10 newspapers do not allow comments on their blogs.
- Only 53% of the newspapers have RSS feeds for their blogs.
- Almost 3 out of 10 don't have permalinks, something at least I think is a minimum requirement for a blog. Without permalinks a blog is probably nothing more than an online diary.
Only three blogs have both comments, RSS and permalinks enabled, so hats off to Dagens Industri (Diego), Norra Västerbotten and Sydsvenskan for a good technical understanding of the blogosphere.
Elements of participatory journalism are uncommon. I managed to find 6 blogs from 5 papers that included external writers in some form. Norrbottens-Kuriren is maybe the most positive example where the paper invites one blogger per week to write.
Since I have read in some of the comments from this weekend's Swedish blog forum that some of the papers are considering to implement comments in the near future, this summary might need an update. But until then, here are the numbers (percentages are for individual papers, not for each blog).
Here is a list of 42 active or temporary blogs from 17 Swedish papers.
Media - Blog name:
Aftonbladet - Lotta Gröning
Aftonbladet - Tomas Ros’ hockey blog
Aftonbladet - Helle Klein
Aftonbladet - Robert Laul’s football blog
Aftonbladet - Fredrik Virtanen
Barometern - Blog (readers’ diary)
Dagens Industri - Diego.se
Dagens Nyheter - The Irak blog
Dagens Nyheter - Thomas Hall (German election)
Dagens Nyheter - Wifstrand’s elite handball blog
Dagens Nyheter - World Cup blog
Dalademokraten - Robert Sundberg’s media blog
Expressen - Anders Nunstedt (music)
Expressen - Cecilia Hagen
Expressen - The culture blog
Expressen - Lars Lindström
Expressen - Linda Skugge
Expressen - Olof Lundh (football)
Expressen - PM Nilsson
Expressen - The hockey blog
Expressen - Poker blog
Expressen - The NHL blog
Falu-Kuriren - Pralinbloggen
GT - Jimmy Fredriksson
GT - Kai Martin
Kvällsposten - Maria Rydhagen
Kvällsposten - Peter J Olsson
Mora Tidning - Carl Johan Bergman (sport)
Mora Tidning - Hockey blog
Nerikes Allehanda - NA blogs from Book Fair
Nerikes Allehanda - Eva’s blog
Nerikes Allehanda - English football
Nerikes Allehanda - Sylvia’s sisters
Norra Västerbotten - Sofia OO right now
Norrbottens-Kuriren - Blog of the week
Smålands-Posten - Camilla Carnmo (culture)
Smålands-Posten - Helena Söderlundh (entertainment)
Smålands-Posten - Tuva Klinthäll
Smålands-Posten - Stefan Nilsson (motor)
Sydsvenskan - Culture blog
Ystads Allehanda - Ulf & Lollo
Örnsköldsviks Allehanda - Ulf Eklund (sport)
And finally, it's not a blog just because you say so.
Footnote: The blogs I have listed are blogs hosted on newspapers' web sites. They do not need to be active. Personal journalist blogs are not included. Content has not been reviewed. Some blogs do not list their RSS feeds on the site, but they can be found via a search on Bloglines for example.
- 6 out of 10 newspapers do not allow comments on their blogs.
- Only 53% of the newspapers have RSS feeds for their blogs.
- Almost 3 out of 10 don't have permalinks, something at least I think is a minimum requirement for a blog. Without permalinks a blog is probably nothing more than an online diary.
Only three blogs have both comments, RSS and permalinks enabled, so hats off to Dagens Industri (Diego), Norra Västerbotten and Sydsvenskan for a good technical understanding of the blogosphere.
Elements of participatory journalism are uncommon. I managed to find 6 blogs from 5 papers that included external writers in some form. Norrbottens-Kuriren is maybe the most positive example where the paper invites one blogger per week to write.
Since I have read in some of the comments from this weekend's Swedish blog forum that some of the papers are considering to implement comments in the near future, this summary might need an update. But until then, here are the numbers (percentages are for individual papers, not for each blog).
Here is a list of 42 active or temporary blogs from 17 Swedish papers.
Media - Blog name:
Aftonbladet - Lotta Gröning
Aftonbladet - Tomas Ros’ hockey blog
Aftonbladet - Helle Klein
Aftonbladet - Robert Laul’s football blog
Aftonbladet - Fredrik Virtanen
Barometern - Blog (readers’ diary)
Dagens Industri - Diego.se
Dagens Nyheter - The Irak blog
Dagens Nyheter - Thomas Hall (German election)
Dagens Nyheter - Wifstrand’s elite handball blog
Dagens Nyheter - World Cup blog
Dalademokraten - Robert Sundberg’s media blog
Expressen - Anders Nunstedt (music)
Expressen - Cecilia Hagen
Expressen - The culture blog
Expressen - Lars Lindström
Expressen - Linda Skugge
Expressen - Olof Lundh (football)
Expressen - PM Nilsson
Expressen - The hockey blog
Expressen - Poker blog
Expressen - The NHL blog
Falu-Kuriren - Pralinbloggen
GT - Jimmy Fredriksson
GT - Kai Martin
Kvällsposten - Maria Rydhagen
Kvällsposten - Peter J Olsson
Mora Tidning - Carl Johan Bergman (sport)
Mora Tidning - Hockey blog
Nerikes Allehanda - NA blogs from Book Fair
Nerikes Allehanda - Eva’s blog
Nerikes Allehanda - English football
Nerikes Allehanda - Sylvia’s sisters
Norra Västerbotten - Sofia OO right now
Norrbottens-Kuriren - Blog of the week
Smålands-Posten - Camilla Carnmo (culture)
Smålands-Posten - Helena Söderlundh (entertainment)
Smålands-Posten - Tuva Klinthäll
Smålands-Posten - Stefan Nilsson (motor)
Sydsvenskan - Culture blog
Ystads Allehanda - Ulf & Lollo
Örnsköldsviks Allehanda - Ulf Eklund (sport)
And finally, it's not a blog just because you say so.
Footnote: The blogs I have listed are blogs hosted on newspapers' web sites. They do not need to be active. Personal journalist blogs are not included. Content has not been reviewed. Some blogs do not list their RSS feeds on the site, but they can be found via a search on Bloglines for example.
Dagens Næringsliv closes its online archives
Norwegian daily Dagens Næringsliv lost a case against freelancer and art critic Jan Kokkin who argued that the newspaper had published more than 500 of his articles online during the last decade without giving him compensation, in violation with the contract between the two parties. The paper was sentenced to pay 60,000 NOK in damages and 250,000 for legal expenses.
As an effect of the outcome of the case, DN's Chief Editor Amund Djuve told Aftenposten that the paper closes its online archives. The sentence will be appealed to the Supreme Court.
Update: A similar case from a US court from earlier this month.
As an effect of the outcome of the case, DN's Chief Editor Amund Djuve told Aftenposten that the paper closes its online archives. The sentence will be appealed to the Supreme Court.
Update: A similar case from a US court from earlier this month.
"News" sites or "Ad" sites?
Speaking of blogs vs. news sites. This is a screen dump of Aftonbladet.se today. I've managed to fill the entire screen with ads (if I scroll up, naturally I will see headlines to articles). Add to this view some interstitials, pop-ups etc etc and compare it with any blog out there. It's like the perfect promotion for RSS, don't you think?
Quote of the day
The Swedish defense has problems with getting its new logo approved. A 300 year old coat of arms is not changed without proper procedures. Oh, and getting the support from the people who will be using it.
Staffan Dopping, head of information at the Swedish defense, said:
- You have to break a few eggs to make an omelette.
This "fine" old French proverb is often attributed to Lenin. Either way, if a person uttered that expression in a media training session I would definitely tell him/her not to.
Staffan Dopping, head of information at the Swedish defense, said:
- You have to break a few eggs to make an omelette.
This "fine" old French proverb is often attributed to Lenin. Either way, if a person uttered that expression in a media training session I would definitely tell him/her not to.
Media misses Druckers' demise
Where do you turn to get news today? Traditional media, blogs or both?
To borrow a line from JD Lasica, journalists are "trained to think of [themselves] as a special elite who report, filter and interpret the news for lay people". But more and more often I find that I rely equally as much on blogs as a collective filter to bring me the news that I want. Example: Henrik Torstensson writes that management guru Peter Drucker has died at the age of 95 and links to a message from Claremont Graduate University and an obituary in Financial Times. Drucker has been an icon in business and management for decades, but still no (?) Swedish or Norwegian media have reported on his demise (in Denmark most media have). Apparently, blogs can satisfy my information needs at least as well as traditional media can.
To borrow a line from JD Lasica, journalists are "trained to think of [themselves] as a special elite who report, filter and interpret the news for lay people". But more and more often I find that I rely equally as much on blogs as a collective filter to bring me the news that I want. Example: Henrik Torstensson writes that management guru Peter Drucker has died at the age of 95 and links to a message from Claremont Graduate University and an obituary in Financial Times. Drucker has been an icon in business and management for decades, but still no (?) Swedish or Norwegian media have reported on his demise (in Denmark most media have). Apparently, blogs can satisfy my information needs at least as well as traditional media can.
Finally! Aftonbladet launches RSS feed
Aftonbladet has one of the best online editions of all Swedish media, but I have been questioning why it doesn't come with an RSS feed. Via Networkers.se I read that Aftonbladet is finally beginning to experiment with RSS. The first feed is for premium content only and requires a subscription.
A spy in the house of love
If you are in Stockholm this weekend and have nothing to do, let me recommend a visit to the club Debaser tomorrow evening. My old favourites the House of Love is back together and performing live. I would love to go, but I'm too old to stand in line (that's not the only reason I'm not going...). Seriously, entrance is only 90 SEK but you can't order tickets in advance.
I had totally missed that Guy Chadwick and Terry Bickers were back together again until just recently when I found out about their new album Days Run Away. The single Gotta Be That Way is vintage House of Love stuff - excellent pop. In the name of decent music, go out and buy the album.
Listen to some of the songs here.
I had totally missed that Guy Chadwick and Terry Bickers were back together again until just recently when I found out about their new album Days Run Away. The single Gotta Be That Way is vintage House of Love stuff - excellent pop. In the name of decent music, go out and buy the album.
Listen to some of the songs here.
News site vs. Newspaper - 10 reasons for reading
Travis Nep Smith - Top Ten Reasons for Reading a News Site:
1. My news site has never stained my clean shirt or my car seat.
2. Anywhere I travel, my news site goes with me. It doesn't pile up
while I'm away.
3. I can listen to my news site's podcast while standing, while
eating, while riding a bus, OR while I drive my car.
4. If I read a story I like, I can send it to a friend without a stamp.
5. My news site doesn't just have sections -- it's customizable, and
it shows my wife and I exactly what we're interested, separately.
6. I'll give you the battery advantage. But my news site has each
apartment listing with detailed descriptions, photos and a precise
map. My newspaper says "Downtown, 2 bd/2 bt, 5 appl., ht & ht wtr,
balc, d/i pool, n/p, n/s. $1200"
7. My news site never gets stolen off my doorstep or delivered late. Or wet.
8. My news site doesn't need to be recycled.
9. If my news site is makes a mistake, they correct the original
story, and when I read that story later, I will see the corrected
version. My newspaper may not be broken, but it could be wrong.
10. I can read my news site in a light breeze.
Ken Ficara - Top 10 Reasons for Reading a Newspaper
1. My newspaper has never crashed, gone down, or flashed animated ads at me.
2. Anywhere I travel, my newspaper goes with me. I don't need a laptop or a wireless connection or a PDA.
3. I can read my newspaper while standing, while eating, while riding a bus, but not while driving my car, which is just as well since I should be paying attention to the road.
4. If I read a story I like, I can tear it out and save it, and not have to pay to read it 30 days later.
5. I don't have to sign in or customize or register or remember passwords to read my newspaper. And I often enjoy articles in my newspaper on topics I wouldn't normally think I'd be interested in.
6. My newspaper has high-resolution picutres and type on large pages that load almost instantly, making it easy to browse and enjoy.
7. My newspaper is cheap, disposable and easy to replace. If it's lost or stolen, it's no big deal.
8. My newspaper is not made of unrecyclable toxic materials.
9. If my newspaper makes a mistake, the correction is posted with an explanation. It's not sneakily applied to the original story after I've read it.
10. I can read my newspaper sitting outside on a nice day in the sun, even if a breeze is blowing, because I know how to fold a newspaper.
[Via CyberJournalist.net]
1. My news site has never stained my clean shirt or my car seat.
2. Anywhere I travel, my news site goes with me. It doesn't pile up
while I'm away.
3. I can listen to my news site's podcast while standing, while
eating, while riding a bus, OR while I drive my car.
4. If I read a story I like, I can send it to a friend without a stamp.
5. My news site doesn't just have sections -- it's customizable, and
it shows my wife and I exactly what we're interested, separately.
6. I'll give you the battery advantage. But my news site has each
apartment listing with detailed descriptions, photos and a precise
map. My newspaper says "Downtown, 2 bd/2 bt, 5 appl., ht & ht wtr,
balc, d/i pool, n/p, n/s. $1200"
7. My news site never gets stolen off my doorstep or delivered late. Or wet.
8. My news site doesn't need to be recycled.
9. If my news site is makes a mistake, they correct the original
story, and when I read that story later, I will see the corrected
version. My newspaper may not be broken, but it could be wrong.
10. I can read my news site in a light breeze.
Ken Ficara - Top 10 Reasons for Reading a Newspaper
1. My newspaper has never crashed, gone down, or flashed animated ads at me.
2. Anywhere I travel, my newspaper goes with me. I don't need a laptop or a wireless connection or a PDA.
3. I can read my newspaper while standing, while eating, while riding a bus, but not while driving my car, which is just as well since I should be paying attention to the road.
4. If I read a story I like, I can tear it out and save it, and not have to pay to read it 30 days later.
5. I don't have to sign in or customize or register or remember passwords to read my newspaper. And I often enjoy articles in my newspaper on topics I wouldn't normally think I'd be interested in.
6. My newspaper has high-resolution picutres and type on large pages that load almost instantly, making it easy to browse and enjoy.
7. My newspaper is cheap, disposable and easy to replace. If it's lost or stolen, it's no big deal.
8. My newspaper is not made of unrecyclable toxic materials.
9. If my newspaper makes a mistake, the correction is posted with an explanation. It's not sneakily applied to the original story after I've read it.
10. I can read my newspaper sitting outside on a nice day in the sun, even if a breeze is blowing, because I know how to fold a newspaper.
[Via CyberJournalist.net]
Blogger reported to the police
A Swedish blogger has been reported to the police for libel. The background to the story is that the Church of Sweden made a decision on 27 October to bless partnerships between homosexuals. Blessings were supposed to be voluntary and the church will not force a priest to perform this act against his or her will.
Some found this decision to be very controversial and Yngve Kalin, a priest in Hyssna outside Gothenburg, started an online petition for priests that refused to make this blessing and disagreed with the decision of the Church of Sweden.
The topic has been widely discussed in media and in the Swedish blogosphere. There is currently a counter-petition here. But Kalin found that one blogger went too far, by for example calling him a "devil in a cassock" so he reported the blogger to the police and demanded that the blog should be shut down.
The blogger also posted a photo of Kalin's family which made a family member report him to the blog host for abuse and the blog host (Blogsoft) apparently removed the photo from the blog without notifying the blogger.
This story raises a number of interesting questions (that I'm not entirely sure how to answer):
- How does freedom of speech protect a blogger from legal actions?
- What right does a person have to not have his photo published on a blog against his will?
- What information about an individual can you publish on a blog without breaking the personal data protection act?
- What right does a blog host have to edit the intellectual property of a blogger without prior notification?
In the user agreement for the blog host (webblogg.se by Blogsoft) it says that they have the right to delete information on a blog, that breaks a number of rules, like for example publish photos of drunken people, or advertise commercial services (!). No corporate blogs on Blogsoft in other words?
"Portalansvarig har rätt att i efterhand granska all information som läggs ut på webblogg.se, samt ta bort den information eller de inlägg som strider mot dessa regler."
We will definitely see more conflicts regarding blogs and freedom of speech in the near future. My advice to bloggers is to stay out of trouble - be careful about using very negative descriptions of other individuals and don't publish photos without asking for permission.
Some found this decision to be very controversial and Yngve Kalin, a priest in Hyssna outside Gothenburg, started an online petition for priests that refused to make this blessing and disagreed with the decision of the Church of Sweden.
The topic has been widely discussed in media and in the Swedish blogosphere. There is currently a counter-petition here. But Kalin found that one blogger went too far, by for example calling him a "devil in a cassock" so he reported the blogger to the police and demanded that the blog should be shut down.
The blogger also posted a photo of Kalin's family which made a family member report him to the blog host for abuse and the blog host (Blogsoft) apparently removed the photo from the blog without notifying the blogger.
This story raises a number of interesting questions (that I'm not entirely sure how to answer):
- How does freedom of speech protect a blogger from legal actions?
- What right does a person have to not have his photo published on a blog against his will?
- What information about an individual can you publish on a blog without breaking the personal data protection act?
- What right does a blog host have to edit the intellectual property of a blogger without prior notification?
In the user agreement for the blog host (webblogg.se by Blogsoft) it says that they have the right to delete information on a blog, that breaks a number of rules, like for example publish photos of drunken people, or advertise commercial services (!). No corporate blogs on Blogsoft in other words?
"Portalansvarig har rätt att i efterhand granska all information som läggs ut på webblogg.se, samt ta bort den information eller de inlägg som strider mot dessa regler."
We will definitely see more conflicts regarding blogs and freedom of speech in the near future. My advice to bloggers is to stay out of trouble - be careful about using very negative descriptions of other individuals and don't publish photos without asking for permission.
Lobbyist of the year
Sören Sehlberg, head of information at MHF (Swedish Abstaining Motorists’ Association) tonight won the award for lobbyist of the year for his work with implementation of alcolocks in cars.
Business site plagiarised fashion blog
N24.se, a collaboration between daily Svenska Dagbladet and tabloid Aftonbladet, plagiarised an article by the fashion blog Manolo.se, the blog recently acquired by local daily Sydsvenskan.
The article had entire paragraphs that were copied from the blog article. A comment to the original article brought the issue to Manolo's attention and after some contacts the article on N24.se was taken off the website.
Dagens Media has more info (in Swedish) and some screen shots.
The article had entire paragraphs that were copied from the blog article. A comment to the original article brought the issue to Manolo's attention and after some contacts the article on N24.se was taken off the website.
Dagens Media has more info (in Swedish) and some screen shots.
Creative kiwis
Warning: toilet humour. A new hotel in Queenstown, New Zealand has "life sized images of girls peering in to the urinals" on the wall in the men's room. Very creative and funny.
"It's the most popular room in the five star hotel", writes a local news site.
"It's the most popular room in the five star hotel", writes a local news site.
Dreaming of Gwyneth
Coldplay gets great reviews for their concert on Monday.
Sundsvalls Tidning: 5/5
Aftonbladet: 4/5
Göteborgs-Posten: 4/5
Stockholm City: 4/5
Upsala Nya Tidning: 4/5
Svenska Dagbladet: 4/6
VLT are not quite as happy. And finally some sour grapes from Dagens Nyheter's Po Tidholm who is busy dreaming of Gwyneth.
Update: GP, DN (in a second article not online) and SvD all quote former Oasis manager Alan McGee who called the band's fans "bed-wetters", a lazy metaphor for describing how provocative it is for a rock band to be nice guys.
Hate speech trial live on Swedish tv
The trial against Pentecostal pastor Åke Green will be broadcasted live by Swedish television SVT. This is the first time SVT is broadcasting from the Supreme Court, but no images will be shown, only audio.
Green was sentenced in the district court to one month in prison for hate speech against homosexuals. The sentence has been widely covered in international press.
Green was sentenced in the district court to one month in prison for hate speech against homosexuals. The sentence has been widely covered in international press.
Passion magazine delayed
The new monthly "gadget" magazine Passion from E+T Förlag has been delayed one month. It was originally planned to be launched the last week of October, but since E&T publishing house recently was sold to Finnish company Talentum, the magazine will have its first issue out later in November.
Passion will be distributed along with business weekly Affärsvärlden and tech pub Ny Teknik and will have a circulation of 160 000 copies.
Passion will be distributed along with business weekly Affärsvärlden and tech pub Ny Teknik and will have a circulation of 160 000 copies.
Arena rock is good for you
Andres Lokko may have been voted Sweden's best rock journalist, but it can hardly be because of an impeccable taste in music. Lokko seems to actively hate any band with more than 6 fans and his main target this weekend is Coldplay, which fans he says "manifest their burning indifference to music by compulsively believe they appreciate X&Y".
Well, at least I have the guts to admit I can enjoy a good tune even if it's middle-of-the-road and I always believed it was possible to listen to both ABBA and And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead. Both Kylie and Kraftwerk. Both ELO and Einsturzende Neubauten. But that's just me. I just never realized that a music collection of some 600-700 albums made me indifferent to music.
Anywho, in a few hours I will be chanting along with 13,000 others when Goldfrapp and Coldplay play in Stockholm. And it will be a great evening for all us "music-haters".
Well, at least I have the guts to admit I can enjoy a good tune even if it's middle-of-the-road and I always believed it was possible to listen to both ABBA and And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead. Both Kylie and Kraftwerk. Both ELO and Einsturzende Neubauten. But that's just me. I just never realized that a music collection of some 600-700 albums made me indifferent to music.
Anywho, in a few hours I will be chanting along with 13,000 others when Goldfrapp and Coldplay play in Stockholm. And it will be a great evening for all us "music-haters".Poppius! Goes the weasel
There's nothing like a little argument between journalists, and blogs add a bit of spice to the mix. Kristoffer Poppius wrote a note in Dagens Nyheter "På Stan" and mentioned journalist Hanna Fahl, who didn't exactly approve. Read her reply on the Jet Set Junta blog. In the comments, Poppius is offering some kind of correction in DN.Swedish ad market up 8%
Investments in advertising increased with almost 8 per cent during the third quarter this year compared to the same period 2004, according to IRM. The increase is larger than expected. Total investments were 5.7 billion SEK and online advertising for example, rose by 25 per cent. [Via Pressens Tidning]
Aftonbladet buys Stockholm portal
Aftonbladet recently launched a special Stockholm section and today the tabloid revealed it has acquired the local portal Allt Om Stockholm ("Everything about Stockholm") with 180,000 unique visitors per month. The two websites will co-operate in order to strengthen their offers both to readers and advertisers.
I can't compare this investment with Sydsvenskan's purchase of Manolo.se, but this seems to be a logical step in the fight for the local advertising market in Stockholm.
I can't compare this investment with Sydsvenskan's purchase of Manolo.se, but this seems to be a logical step in the fight for the local advertising market in Stockholm.
Daily invests in fashion blog
The rumours were true. Swedish daily Sydsvenskan invests in the fashion blog Manolo.se and creates a company called Manolo AB. The blog has 45,000 unique visitors per month and will be kept a separate entity from Sydsvenskan and "will not in any way be connected with the Sydsvenskan brand".
I'm not sure I see the synergies between a fashion blog and a local daily, if they are to be kept separate from each other, but I'm sure someone somewhere has a business case that says this is a good idea.
Update: Jenny Holmstedt, business developer at Sydsvenskan says that the blog has not been purchased mainly for its focus on fashion, rather because it has attracted an interesting target group of men between 15 and 40.
I'm not sure I see the synergies between a fashion blog and a local daily, if they are to be kept separate from each other, but I'm sure someone somewhere has a business case that says this is a good idea.
Update: Jenny Holmstedt, business developer at Sydsvenskan says that the blog has not been purchased mainly for its focus on fashion, rather because it has attracted an interesting target group of men between 15 and 40.
FIFA restrictions an opportunity for consumer generated media
Online editions of newspapers will not be allowed to publish photos from football games in the World Cup in Germany next summer until one hour after the game ends. This is a result of an agreement between FIFA and Infront Sports & Media in Switzerland, the company that owns the TV rights for the World Cup 2006. Also, not more than five photos may be published from each half of the game, because more photos could resemble a TV sequence.
These rules have upset the global newspaper organisation WAN which means that it is a restriction of media's right to inform the public.
Obviously 75,000 spectators at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin couldn't care less of these restrictions and should FIFA stand by its decision we would probably see a significant rise in traffic to photo sharing sites like Flickr. Bloggers and others that are present at the World Cup will be given an opportunity to beat media at its own game by publishing consumer generated content that is free (maybe not legally, but in reality) from restrictions. Suddenly a press accreditation is a disadvantage, not an opportunity.
Via Journalisten.
These rules have upset the global newspaper organisation WAN which means that it is a restriction of media's right to inform the public.
Obviously 75,000 spectators at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin couldn't care less of these restrictions and should FIFA stand by its decision we would probably see a significant rise in traffic to photo sharing sites like Flickr. Bloggers and others that are present at the World Cup will be given an opportunity to beat media at its own game by publishing consumer generated content that is free (maybe not legally, but in reality) from restrictions. Suddenly a press accreditation is a disadvantage, not an opportunity.
Via Journalisten.
:-)
Don't ask...
Via B.L. Ochman.
Update: Although fun, this is not only old, but also completely fake. See the original photo here.
Via B.L. Ochman.
Update: Although fun, this is not only old, but also completely fake. See the original photo here.
The Vodafone brand may disappear from the Swedish market
Norwegian telecom giant Telenor acquires Vodafone's Swedish operations for 1.035 billion euros. Pål Kvalheim, Director of Communications at Telenor tells Dagens Media:
"Our goal is to transfer to the Telenor brand in Sweden."
"Our goal is to transfer to the Telenor brand in Sweden."
