FTC tackles economics, technology, ownership and antitrust in ‘workshop’-style hearings next week

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission will tackle economics, technology, ownership and antitrust as it convenes next week the second of two “workshop”-style hearings on the future of journalism. UPDATE: Here’s the link to the audio: The session entitled: “How Will Journalism Survive the Internet?,” will run from 10 a.m.-4:45 p.m. on Tues., March 9 and … Continued

Discussion finds pros and cons to new ownership forms

Putting journalism under non-profit ownership is no panacea for financing it, a six-person panel found during an 80-minute discussion at the New England Newspaper & Press Association annual meeting in Boston moderated by 2008-2009 Reynolds Fellow Bill Densmore. There are challenges to obtaining foundation funding. Local-news operations in New Haven, Conn., and Brattleboro, Vt., are … Continued

The value of privacy

Citizens need privacy as a shield against the state as well as corporate power. Legally, privacy is thought of a protection from other things. Contested commodities Research shows that people may be willing to part with what is known as contested commodities.  People may be willing to trade private information for goods and services.  In … Continued

Who’s who?

Jeff Vander Clute,
 President Jeff is founder of Semesphere, Inc., a Palo Alto, CA-based consulting firm that developed several social media and networking applications. Jeff has known and worked with Bill for 15 years, and provided the technical lead on “The Information Valet Project.” He was the principal developer of the Internet’s first mass-market social … Continued

Want news?

Listen to more interviews conducted for the Media Giraffe Project at UMass Amherst. Download an MP3 podcast for offline listening. Audio: Bill Densmore interviewed at KTRS St. Louis about IVP Can news organizations figure out a way to increase the value they receive for journalism on the World Wide Web? McGraw Milhaven, talkmaster on KTRS … Continued

Bill Densmore: The information valet project research proposal

Are people willing to pay for information online?  Do they truly value privacy?  What kind of information are consumers looking for online? To sustain an information valet economy — and along with it both participatory democracy and journalism — the next generation Internet needs a user-focused system for sharing identity, exchanging and settling value (including … Continued

Firing neurons, building relationships: Washington D.C. Conference

Washington, D.C. — The Radio and TV Museum inside George Washington University displays journalism’s past: a Philco Model 42-350, a 1942 radio to first offer FM broadcasts. Its fame soon faded:  the museum notes 1945-57 was “dismal,” as television ate up once-loyal FM audience and advertisers. Dusty radio relics reminded journalists, bloggers and software geeks … Continued

Info Valet leads to Circulate

An article about the new Circulate created by 2008 Reynolds Fellow Bill Densmore Sorry, wedding planners: happy couples will soon have a faster and cheaper way to find ads for discounted designer duds or a Consumer Reports articles on best honeymoon getaways. It’s called Circulate, a new Internet-based service that will provide consumers a customized … Continued

Blueprinting the information valet economy

Building the collaborative, shared-user network A senior level strategy session combined with a public symposium designed to blueprint the law, ownership-management, marketing and technology of a shared-network for user centric demographics, privacy protected purchasing and advertising exchange and compensation. Two levels of participation Member/collaborators – enterprise partners, institutions, individuals, donors or foundations who are likely … Continued