Linkpile

[NOTE TO RSS READERS: Yes, there is duplication of these links while I figure out the best way to add a daily linkpile to the site itself. Please bear with me, I will eventually figure out the best scheme and remove the duplication problem. Thank you.]

• Alleged: Americans reclassifying luxury, necessity in recession – Survey: 24% say they have “reduced or canceled cable or satellite TV subscription.” Really? Is there real data that’s consistent with that? It’s a pretty big number. If it lines up with real data, say so. If it doesn’t then admit it, so the reader understands the gap between what people tell survey-takers, and what they actually do. Not that surveys are worthless; it’s definitely worth knowing what people say. But it should be made clear where that lines up with actual behavior — and where it doesn’t.
• Espresso Book Machine – “Prints and binds books on demand in five minutes, while customers wait.”
• Paid to Pitch: Product Reviews By Bloggers Draw Scrutiny – “Companies see the freebies and payments to bloggers as a cheap way to boost brand buzz during the recession. But site visitors often don’t realize they’re reading a promotional pitch. Not all bloggers make clear that they are being compensated to talk up products, if they disclose it at all. The Internet is becoming so rife with paid blogging that the Federal Trade Commission, which guards against false advertisements, is examining whether it should police bloggers.”
• Apple’s Gatekeeper Role Draws Scrutiny – “Apple was hit by a complaint for allowing the sale of a game developed by a company called Sikalosoft. The game, in which players try to silence a crying baby by shaking the phone, was available for a couple days for 99 cents before it was removed on Wednesday by Apple following protests by child welfare groups.”
• bar codes – Good roundup of creative ones.
• The Future of Panel Discussions: A Panel Discussion – Potentially fun: “A participatory event in which the spectators are rotated into the seats of the panelists.”