Techdirt. Stories filed under "interaction" Easily digestible tech news... http://www.techdirt.com/ en-us Techdirt. Stories filed under "interaction"http://www.techdirt.com/images/td-88x31.gifhttp://www.techdirt.com/ Fri, 7 Oct 2011 09:59:50 PDT Judge Refuses To Dismiss Twitter From Patent Lawsuit Concerning Patent On Interacting With Famous People Online Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111007/02210416245/judge-refuses-to-dismiss-twitter-patent-lawsuit-concerning-patent-interacting-with-famous-people-online.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111007/02210416245/judge-refuses-to-dismiss-twitter-patent-lawsuit-concerning-patent-interacting-with-famous-people-online.shtml 6,408,309 on a "Method and system for creating an interactive virtual community of famous people." That's not a joke. Even worse, he claimed that Twitter infringed on the patent. Yes, for daring to have a community which some famous people have decided to use... suddenly, that's patent infringement.

Of course, as we noted at the time, the patent didn't seem to cover what Twitter does at all. But why let that stop you from suing? And while Twitter did try to play some games over jurisdictional issues to get the case moved (which failed), this seemed like the type of case that should lead to an early dismissal. Instead, as pointed out by Richard Gailey, the court has rejected Twitter's attempt to get the case dismissed, and now it's moving on towards trial. Of course, the judge is also pressuring Twitter to settle with (read: pay off) the patent holder, which only perpetuates this kind of ridiculousness. Here's hoping that Twitter is willing to fight this.

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]]> bang-head-slowly http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20111007/02210416245 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:59:00 PDT It's 2009 And Newspapers Are Just Now Realizing That Reporters Should Interact With Their Communities? Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091014/0220286524.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091014/0220286524.shtml engage in comments on their articles. Instead, they seem to view the comments with disdain, pointing out how idiotic many comments are. Well, of course that's what happens when the folks at the actual newspaper ignore them. So, while it's nice to see a newspaper like the Cleveland Plain Dealer (whose writers have been advocating for changing copyright law to protect newspaper business models) finally realize that its reporters need to engage in comments in order to foster more of a useful community in those comments, it's really quite stunning that it's taken this long for newspapers to figure it out -- and that such a "revelation" requires a special announcement from the newspaper itself.
We're joining the online conversation. For too long, we at The Plain Dealer posted stories on cleveland.com and then turned away to focus on the next day's news. Now, we're encouraging our reporters and editors to pay attention to what you're saying, to answer your questions and respond to your complaints.
A newspapers' true asset is the community it serves. Too many in the newspaper business have been neglecting that community. It's great that this particular newspaper seems to have finally figured it out, though it's amazing that it took this long and is such a big change in focus that it requires an announcement.

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]]> better-late-than-never http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20091014/0220286524 Fri, 5 Sep 2008 13:23:00 PDT If ESPN Can Replay Games With Madden '09, Let Us Do It Too Dennis Yang http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080905/0032532176.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080905/0032532176.shtml interact with simulated football players created using EA's video game technology. Using Madden '09, ESPN's football analysts can model different variations of plays to demonstrate possible outcomes. So, instead of just drawing X's and O's on a telestrator, ESPN anchors will be able to interact with the virtual players on camera to illustrate various football strategies and outcomes. ESPN and EA forged a 15-year partnership back in 2005, and this move strengthens both brand's ties with their audiences.

As the video game has improved, using Madden to illustrate plays has been done increasingly over the past few years, but football spectating still has to cross the chasm of interactivity when compared to the video game experience. In the video game, you're able to change camera angles, slow down the cameras, and highlight things like passing routes and defensive coverages -- all at the click of a few buttons. EA's new system, EA Sports Virtual Playbook, loads in actual gameplay data from the previous day's game, with which ESPN's anchors can then replay and modify the simulation to become the ultimate version of a Monday morning quarterback. That's great and all, it would be even better to let fans download that data to their Xboxes, do their own analysis and then share that back with the community. Though, that scenario is most likely a pipe dream, considering that the NFL still freaks out about even sharing more than 45-seconds of game footage.

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]]> boom-goes-the-dynamite http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20080905/0032532176 Fri, 15 Aug 2008 12:25:46 PDT Newspapers Realizing The News Is Really Interactive Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080815/0152151986.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080815/0152151986.shtml part of the news process -- whether it means contributing to the story or spreading the story. Unfortunately, too many newspapers seem to think that "interactivity" just means adding comments to the stories they've posted on the web. But that doesn't actually engage an audience and bring them into the process.

However, some newspapers are figuring this out. Check out this great story of how the Chicago Tribune interacted with some folks on Twitter to both get alerted to a story, report on it, and then spread the news. There's been plenty of talk about how breaking news often first appears on Twitter, but it's often mentioned in a way that suggests that Twitter and news organizations are somehow "competing." But that's not what happened with the Tribune.

Someone on Twitter in downtown Chicago noticed a bunch of scared people running out of Daley Center, claiming their lives were in danger -- so he Twittered about it, asking if anyone knew what was going on. Others started asking about it, and one user alerted the Chicago Tribune's twitter account. Then, the folks at the Tribune did what good professional reporters should do: checked out the story and twittered the details, while alsoposting a full article on the Tribune website about a bomb scare at Daley Center. And, following that, a bunch of folks who had originally helped alert the Tribune to the story, Twittered the Tribune's story as well.

It's a much more interactive role, where the Tribune relied on the community to help alert it to a story, and then did what it should be able to do better: professionally gather the details and report on the situation -- and then let the community share and discuss the story as well. Slowly, but surely, it looks like some news organizations are figuring this stuff out.

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]]> it's-about-time http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20080815/0152151986