Forbes Sees Future in FlipGloss

Launching today is a new entrant into the online magazine field, FlipGloss:

…billed as an “interactive photo experience that lets you flip, hover and discover.” Founded in March 2008 by digital music vets Kerry Trainor (CEO), Mike Randall, Robyn VanTol and Christopher Shattuck, FlipGloss Media has been funded by Forbes Media from the beginning, though the amount is undisclosed. (via)

Having spent a few minutes playing around on the site I have to say that it is diffently a step in the right direction in terms of translating and improving upon the tradition magazine format and reading experience.

Gone is the linear feel of a blog or the clutter of endless links.  Instead, the format is heavily image-driven and the animation of the page-changes have a satisfying “flow.”

There is also a nice integration of clickable images, allowing users to find out more information quickly and easily without leaving the confines of the site.

While perhaps not a revolution, this is the sort of response magazine publishers need to take if they hope to stay relevant in the digital age.

Yahoo and Time’s Top 10 Viral Videos – Now Can We Kill the Term Viral?

I am hard-pressed to think of a more overused, misrepresented and misunderstood concept than “viral vidoes.”

A quick look at either Yahoo’s or Time’s 2008 “Top 10″ lists makes it pretty clear that there is no real definition of what makes a video viral other than it was seen on the internet, that it was relatively short and that it was seen by a lot of people.

In fact, Yahoo lists the now-famous Shiba Inu Puppy Cam as a “viral video” even though it was a live-streaming event, not a standalone video at all.

In addition, it doesn’t seem to matter who made the video or even whether it was made for the internet originally or not. That’s how clips of Sarah Palin being humiliated by Katie Couric somehow become on par with Joss Whedon’s elaborate internet series “Doctor Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog.”

We all know that this is the time of year for lists, and that we all love lists, but it would be nice to see everyone drop that “viral video” tag and just list your ten favorites.  That’s what it looks like you’re doing anyhow.  Now just admit it.

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Sarkozy Rejects Will of Euro Parliament Favor of RIAA and MPAA

Legislation has been under consideration across Europe that would allow governments to ban people from the internet for life if they are found to have committed online piracy more than three times (the “three strike law”).

Aside from the endless grey areas surrounding what would constitute an act of piracy, this kind of legislation is only in existence due to the lobbying pressure of groups like RIAA and the MPAA.

Now, French President Sarkozy, in his position as president of the European Parliament, has sided with the lobbyists and rejected an amendment to reel in this sort of crazy legislation:

“The rejection goes against the will of the European Parliament, where 88% of the members already voted in favor of the amendment, which was originally destined to protect file-sharers from Internet disconnection under the ‘3 strikes’ framework…The rejection also goes against conclusions from the EU culture ministers last week, who sided  with the more balanced view of the European Commission, by encouraging copyright holders to work on offering “high quality, accessible, easy to use and consumer friendly” content online – instead of chasing pirates.” (via)

This is a very disturbing precedent and one that internet-rights watchers here in the US should keep a close eye on.

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