Also: Banning Facebook at work | US music publishers join YouTube lawsuit | The BBC - another one bites the dust | Fremantle's new comedy site
Much to the merriment of Blogland, a group of leftie bloggers are trying to organise a trade union for bloggers with the aim of helping establish fair rates, health benefits and professional standards. [Cough]
I should explain that in the US, where blogging has a far higher profile, this idea is backed up by people active in the political arena where bloggers have more clout.
In the UK, bloggers - however much I disagree - are still regarded as rabble more than rousers. Given my role on the National Union of Journalists' new media council, I have experienced more than a little, erm, friction in the gulf between trade unionism and the technology world.
For starters, the idea that there could ever be enough of a consensus even between the bloggers is laughable. The phrase "herding cats" comes to mind.
And let us not forget the last hoo-ha about a code of blogging in the form of the Kathy Sierra saga, which seemed to end up with most of the world's noisiest bloggers caterwauling about restrictions to the freedom of blogging.
In short, I really can't see this how this could ever get the critical mass of supporters it would need to be effective.
Rather unexpectedly, TechCrunch picked up on this but concluded that ultimately the market determines the rates, and that blogging can't be compared the the journalism industry. (Wall Street Journal)
Obligatory Facebook story of the day
Not allowed to use Facebook at work? You're not alone. Employers are concerned that staff waste too much time on the site, and it seems inevitable.
But is that a bit short sighted? If you work anywhere near the media, for example, (even excluding jobs like mine, which necessitate near-obsession with the internet) Facebook is just another communication tool. If you're more likely to get a response by emailing within Facebook than using conventional email, if you can rouse more people for a networking event or if you can find contacts through mutual friends - why not use Facebook when it suits? Isn't it a bit like banning mobile phones in case employees use them to text friends, as well as receive business calls? I don't think productivity is that clear cut.
Mike Stopforth on Moneyweb had a good rant about this the other day. He argued that banning Facebook would just shift any "displacement time" onto something else, which I suppose could be doing the crossword or having another fag break. Facebook lets employers know more about their employees (a mixed blessing, I concede) by showing how they deal with their contacts, and is also a good way of attracting talent. And lastly, he says, Facebook should be seen as a communication sandbox. Speaking to executives, he said: "This is more than just tech, this is a human trend. Your employees are doing it. Your customers are doing it. And you're still getting your PA to print out your emails. Facebook could help you familiarise yourself with social networking, aggregation, blogging and a number of other social media trends and technologies." (Moneyweb)
Plus: From Wired, Investment bank Bear Stearns puts Facebook's revenue at $357m next year and $6bn by 2016. Out of this world?
Meanwhile, Facebook's London network homepage is displaying an event entitled "If any of you c*nts are about... I'm going to the pub for a piss up". Charming.
US music publishers join YouTube lawsuit
In the US, the National Music Publishers Association has joined a lawsuit put by the FA Premier League and music publisher Bourne Company against Google for copyright infringement on YouTube. Though the big four music labels have all negotiated deals with YouTube, music publishers hold different rights and are making a separate claim. Google said it was "surprised and disappointed" that NMPA had joined the lawsuit, pointing the audio and video fingerprinting technology it plans to introduce to identify and black attempts by users to upload content illegally. A lawyer for the case dismissed that claim, saying: "Their statement has no credibility, because I don't think it's their business model." (Wall Street Journal)
The BBC: another one bites the dust
Ben Lavender, the iPlayer honcho at the BBC, has left to join the online DVD rental service LOVEFiLM. Lavender, who has also worked for MTV Europe and Five, was the guy behind that Celebdaq project. He'll now be group digital and product director across the UK, Germany and Scandinavia. (Variety)
Fremantle's new comedy site
FremantleMedia has launched a direct-to-consumer comedy site called TVComedyClassics. How long did it take to come up with that name? This will be a long-tail project exploiting Fremantle's archive including Tommy Cooper, Frankie Howerd and George & Mildred either as download to own or for rent and in four quality options. Shows will cost 99p to rent of £2.49 to own. (C21)
