It can be proved that in certain scenarios peer-to-peer (P2P) systems are superior to centralized systems. For example, in a centralized file sharing system, when the number of users grows, the only way to sustain the quality of the service is to add more and more new servers and increase the bandwidth. The more users there are in the system, the more resources are required. However, in P2P systems, the quality of the service grows as the number of users grows. The more users there are, the easier it gets to download a certain file.

Let's apply the same reasoning to a system like a search engine. Putting an exponentially growing web on a single central system is not successful in the long run. It's true that by investing in hardware and software more and more computing power can be added but again the system will reach a point after which it will not be possible to maintain the quality of the search engine. The only solution to a growing web is a decentralized, peer-to-peer (P2P) search engine.

Well, at least in a theory, a P2P search engine must work better than its centralized counterpart. A P2P search engine must deliver better result quality at lower costs while maintaining the simple handling and the speed of conventional search engines. There would be no centralized server and no centralized index. Every user of the search engine would be a part of a distributed index.

W can discuss theoretic aspects of a P2P search engine endlessly. However, smart folks behind FAROO have already started developing a P2P search engine and it looks like they have progressed pretty well. I said looks like because at the moment it is not possible to download the search client or whatever piece of software there will be. The FAROO web site is the only source of information at the moment. However, the web site explains quite in a detail how the search engine will function.

Finally, I would like to mention that the FAROO search engine is being developed by a German company FAROO GmbH.

I'll keep an eye on FAROO and dedicate a future post once more information becomes available.

He's Axl, he did not appear at the event. But nobody has said he would do. It were only heavy rumours. Slash was a no-show as well.

Former Guns n' Roses members Izzy Stradlin (guitar) and Duff McKagan (bass) joined ex-GNR drummer Steven Adler and his Adler's Appetite band for a couple of "Appetite for Destruction" numbers ("Mr. Brownstone" and "Paradise City") during the bands s headlining appearance at the Key Club in West Hollywood, California Saturday night.

But sooner or later, a full reunion will happen. Every GNR fan expects this and so do I. But I think many GNR fans are mad at Axl

"What would it have taken an hour or two out of his life to hang with some old friends for a few minutes and make a lot of people happy. What did holding out endear him to Axl more..I doubt it. I mean Slash will go play with tons of people that he has no connection too but the one time an old friend needs him to be on board he can't show....Slash is as big of an ass as Axl".

Some fans are even more critical. But friends, come on, let's don't forget those fantastic compositions that GNR have released, which have delivered enormous pleasure to us. Let's try to understand Axl's point of view and the reasons why he did not appear at the event and let's hope that one day we see a true and full re-union.

The world’s leading organization Ifra for newspapers and media publishing, cooperates with the Daily Telegraph, and aims to organize training to teach senior editors how to manage seismic organizational change.

Nowadays focus falls on managing fundamental changes in newspaper culture. As one can guess the future of newspaper is a bit cloudy. The decline in newspaper use is determined by the existence of such strong competitors as television and Internet, especially in developing countries. The 57th annual World Newspaper Congress, held in Istanbul in June 2004, reported circulation increases in only 35 of 208 countries studied. Internet competition decreases the use of clasified ads in the newspapers. The segment interested in jobs, cars has changed their address of searching the information from newspapers to internet. Even there are clasified ads in newspapers the user is more internet focused.

But whether the future of newspaper changes or not, the information and the articles published in the newspaper should be objective, ethical and in the public interest.
Randy Covington, director of IFRA's US Newsplex operation, told Journalism.co.uk: "I think it's probably a first for the US, we're taking some of the lessons from Europe and particularly some of the lessons and major changes last year from the Daily Telegraph, in London, and sharing those lessons with the US newspaper industry.”

The review of the newspaper development gives the specialists ability to study the issue deeply, find out mistakes, strengths and weaknesses of the newspaper. Training will be held by Infa in October and will reveal many innovative methods and practices. Covington adds: “They need to be broad, they need to by systemic and they need to be focused on the audience and not the newsroom."

The initiative of the Ifra will lead professionals to more objective, innovative, impartial and unbiased journalism that will be enhanced by good managerial skills of media managers.

The FIA has confirmed the calendar for the Formula One 2008 world championship.

Valencia, Spain, will host the European Grand Prix on a street circuit on August 24, subject to approval. Singapore will also stage a street race on September 28, subject to circuit approval. In Singapore we may witness the first night race.

The 2008 calendar in full looks like this:

16 Mar Australia
23 Mar Malaysia
6 Apr Bahrain
27 Apr Spain
11 May Turkey
25 May Monaco
8 Jun Canada (Provisional)
22 Jun France
6 Jul Great Britain
20 Jul Germany
3 Aug Hungary
24 Aug Europe (Subject to circuit approval)
7 Sep Italy
14 Sep Belgium
28 Sep Singapore (Subject to circuit approval)
12 Oct China
19 Oct Japan
2 Nov Brazil

Photo courtesy of f1istanbulturkey.com

Until recently I have preferred playing computer games on a PC rather than on a console. Why not? My Sony Vaio easily crunches even the most recent games at a pretty high FPS. However, playing graphic intensive games on a laptop is not that comfortable, especially in a hot summer.

That is why I have decided to buy a gaming console and started exploring different options, understanding power and weaknesses of consoles from Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo.

Nintendo's Wii is technologically the least sophisticated and the cheapest of all three consoles. Nevertheless, eight months since its launch, the Wii has outsold both Xbox and PlayStation. Nintendo expects to sell a total of 16.5 million Wii units in the fiscal year ending in March 2008, up from its previous forecast of 14 million. This is a spectacular comeback for Nintendo, especially considering the fact that the Kyoto based maker of "Pokemon" and "Super Mario" games had fallen behind Sony's PlayStation 2 in the previous generation of game consoles.

Nintendo's comeback isn't just based on the Wii. The DS portable game console sold 47.27 million units worldwide since its launch in late 2004, far outstripping any other console on the market.

Generally consumers win from fierce competition and the gaming console market is not an exception. Sony slashed US prices for PlayStation 3 game console by US$100 earlier this month to US$499 for the 60 gigabyte model. Microsoft's Xbox 360, which has been quite successful in the US, sold sluggishly outside of software giant's main US market. Shall we expect a price drop?
Consumers' quick reaction on Sony's price drop (PS3 sales more than doubled in the USA in the two weeks since the price drop) signal tough competition ahead.

Well done Nintendo! Price reduction on Sony PS3 is only welcomed. But my choice goes to Xbox 360.

The FIA World Motor Sport Council acknowledged that McLaren had breached the sporting regulations by having unauthorised Ferrari documents in their possession.

I believe this is what every Ferrari fan was expecting. However, McLaren went unpunished. This is almost a comical situation indeed and I am deeply disappointed with the FIA's decision. And this is why.

Formula One is a sport where a verge of success and failure may lie in a thousandths of a second. In Formula One every detail is important. In Formula One there are no unimportant details.

Even if McLaren declares that they have not benefited from possessing the secret material, it might still have an impact on the outcome. If nothing else, it is psychologically devastating realising a fact that your competitor possesses your confidential material.

FIA, please bring justice to this case by imposing appropriate sanctions on McLaren. One of the reasons why we love Formula One is that it is extremely fair sport. Formula One is more than sport. Do not legitimize dishonest behaviour.

Photo by courtesy of www.leblogauto.com

The mobile giant has acquired a Redmond-based social networking startup Twango. The financial side of the transaction were not disclosed but according to rumours the deal hit a 70 million Euro mark.

ASUS whose winning formula is Quality + Speed + Innovation + Service + Cost launches a new product-Dual screen notebook. The main advantage of the dual screen notebook is that the user does not need to start the Windows, if one wants to view slide-shows, phone numbers, e-mails... The integrated 1,3 mega pixel Web cam might be swiveled 235-degrees.

ASUS is a leading provider of so called 3D: Computers, communications and consumer electronics. All the comforts the new products are providing are enhanced by various products Digital Home, professional series of PCs. The company introduces 7 models a- W1V, A5E, W1V , A5E, W5A, M5A, S5A, A3 and A6.

In a highly competitive world new product launches are the most important factors to retain the user and make them be the life-long clients of the products. Andrew Tsui, managing director of ASUS India, said, "After acquiring leadership in the motherboard segment in India, ASUS has plans to penetrate the Indian notebooks space. ASUS notebooks are launched to meet the individual's needs. The assortment will provide flexible and active choice, to the entire stratum of end users. With such a wide range, ASUS will be able to focus on customization, helping to connect with the end users at a personal level."

5 component formula with the ingredients like Quality-the most admirable, Speed- the most worthy, Innovation- the most attractive, Service – the most beneficial, Cost – the most determining is the guarantee of indubitable success for the company.

Today I was checking visitor statistics and to my amazement over 80% of all visitors coming to Blogvasion.com from Google during past couple of days were searching for Formula 1 2008 Calendar.

Dear friends, unfortunately the 2008 calendar has not been confirmed yet. Moreover, there isn't even a preliminary schedule. Need a speculated one? Oh dear, here it is found on Wikipedia.

However, there are a couple of facts.

Fact number one is that we won't see the US Grand Prix. I've already written a post about this.

Fact number two is that Australia has lost the pole position and that Bahrain will host 2008 season opener.

Fact number three is that Bridgestone will be the official tyre supplier for the 2008 season and probably up to 2010.

The article on Wikipedia provides more "facts" but I don't take anything on Wikipedia as a fact. As soon as the Formula One 2008 schedule is confirmed, I'll publish it and where the hell I wrote down Bernie's cell phone... :)

Web 2.0 is almost instantly associated with user-generated content. While Web 2.0 encompasses more than that, user-generated content is the first sign of a Web 2.0 site.

Even among the Web 2.0 sites some are more popular, some are less. Personally, I believe that one of the most successful directions is video sharing and streaming, with YouTube being a vivid example.

However, YouTube is a universal video sharing service. Almost all general markets are already taken by big players who have enjoyed the first mover advantage. But niche markets are still open and I believe that is where we will see the future Web 2.0 sites appearing in.

What will you get if you take baseball and add Web 2.0 to it? Yes, you'll get Actober.com. It was designed to promote the MLB 2007 postseason. The Actober.com site lets fans put together videos containing their favorite baseball moments. Fans can take the clips both from the site's archive and from personal clips. Users with the best videos can win tickets to the 2007 World Series.

Sometimes I think that people went crazy about this web 2.0 thing. Versioning the web is a dumb idea. Frankly, I run my own web 2.0 site, but still think that web 2.0 is just a marketing gimmick. Of course it is a fact that the Web is in its second phase of existence but this is not the same as version 2.0. Web does not have versions simply because it can't.

Where would you like to live? You choose, FindAHome.com will do the rest of the job. FindAHome.com is a new web 2.0 service for the real estate market developed by Equias Technology Development, LLC, a Delaware based company.

At the time of writing this post, the website is in a demo mode only and showcases MLS properties in San Diego, CA. However, once the full version of the system is launched, consumers will experience something that until recently was only envisioned in futuristic settingsVisitors who may be looking for a home across town, or on the opposite side of the country or planet, will access a free, "zoomable" Global map that keys in to any geographical spot or even a zip code in the United States, and unfurls a wealth of hyper-localized demographic data, while directing visitors to local broker/members for immediate regional assistance.

That is when consumers will really begin to see how FindaHome.com really separates itself from wannabe competitors, explains former Realtor.com sales manager, Steve McGuire, who now serves as director of Internet sales for Prudential Verani of Londonderry, New Hampshire.

It must be noted that, Equias Technology Development, LLC has licensed a number of very important patents in the US in an effort to stretch the boundaries of what is possible in interactive mapping and location based intelligence. The patents, along with the experience that the company has in the field, will be leveraged to guarantee success of the portal.

It was believed and anticipated that Christian Klien would take the vacant seat at Spyker F1. However, the team management opted to go with the Spyker reserve driver Markus Winkelhock. Markus Winkelhock will make his Formula One debut at Sunday's European Grand Prix and we will see one more rookie in this season.

To Winkelhock this is a dream come true. The driver admitted that while he hadn't have much time in the car this year, he is prepared both physically and mentally.

I think Markus' appearance on the track is some kind of an experiment. This can be a one-off race or we may see Markus in subsequent races, maybe even for the rest of the season. One thing is clear that the team must make a decision who will be Adrian Sutil's partner for the rest of the season. Therefore, it will be an extremely important moment in German driver's career.

Well, I am not sure about the tiny, small, field mouse, but what about computer mouse?

It is worth of mentioning that there is absolutely new product called: ‘MX Air Rechargeable Cordless Mouse’.

It is the new achievement of technology. The mouse works in the air as much as on the desk. It is more like a remote controller.

Air mouse is the combination of three technologies. These are freespace-control, gesture command, and wireless. Freespace-control provides with navigation sans. Gesture command gives opportunity to change volume. Pressing different buttons results in decrease or increase of volume. The third technology in the combination is that the mouse is wireless. It is very comfortable especially from the view point of convenience and comfort.

MX Air Rechargeable Cordless Mouse is expected to be available from August.

25 years have passed since the first computer virus Elk Cloner first infected a computer. Almost a harmless creature of a computer code did not cause much damage beyond making a poem appear on infected users' screens. It is believed that Elk Cloner was written by a fifteen-year-old high school student named Rich Skrenta for Apple II systems.

Computer viruses in their classic form are almost dead today. Today, considerably more danger comes from malware. Intentionally or without any intentions, computer viruses cause a lot of trouble. The first virus to cause damage on a colossal scale was Melissa - a computer worm released in 1999 via an e-mail. Melissa infected over one million computers in North America alone.

Even more danger comes from malware created by criminals. A simple Internet Explorer plugin that may look as an absolutely normal software can hijack your internet banking details. Users of Internet payment systems (PayPal, Moneybookers, NETeller and others) have been victims of such dangerous plugins many times.

Some people believe that the first virus ever created was called "Pervading Animal". It appeared in 1975 on the Univax 1108 system. If this theory is true, than a computer virus is considerably older. Frankly, I don't know if the tale about "Pervading Animal" is true but even if it is still Happy Birthday to Elk Cloner.

As expected, Web 2.0 applications for iPhone have started to emerge rapidly. Leaflets, a new mobile portal providing free Web 2.0 applications optimized for modern "Mobile 2.0" phones and handheld devices, beginning with Apple's iPhone.

Leaflets are small, mobile web-based applications you access from Safari on your iPhone. And since Leaflets are designed to run fast over AT&T's EDGE network, you can use them anywhere: no wi-fi required.

The portal already provides a number of cool and interesting applications (or how the developers call them Leaflets). For example, the Search Leaflet allows you to search Google, Yahoo, MSN and Wikpedia. The Feeds Leaflet gives you an opportunity to catch up with your favorite RSS and Atom feeds on the go. With the del.icio.us Leaflet you can access your del.icio.us bookmarks and browse the most popular sites. And the Flickr Leaflet saves your precious iPhone memory and allows you to view Flickr photos faster. There is more already and even more to come in the future. So if you are a lucky owner of iPhone, check out Leaflets right away and enjoy your mobile friend.

ICEsoft's" Web 2.0 Solution Integrates with JBoss Seam— ICEsoft Technologies, a leading provider of enterprise AJAX solutions, announced the availability of ICEfaces 1.6.0, the newest release of ICEsoft's flagship AJAX development environment. Among its other improvements, ICEfaces 1.6.0 offers complete integration with JBoss Seam 1.2.1 GA, ensuring fast, efficient creation of Web 2.0 applications featuring the benefits of AJAX and other next-generation Web technologies.

I won't be far from the truth by saying that web developers had never been considered as seriously as traditional developers. Generally, web developers' salaries in most of the web development companies in most parts of the world had been lower than those of traditional developers. I would not say that this was too unfair.

In the market economy prices for goods and services are determined by demand and supply laws. Shortly, it's far difficult to find an experienced C++ developer who is well versed in different aspects of Windows programming that finding a good web developer.

However, everything changes except the law of change. The advent of Web 2.0 has put additional requirements on web developers. The functionality that was considered good enough ten years ago is extremely not enough today. Web applications have almost fully mimicked the functionality of their desktop counterparts. Hence, the complexity of web development has increased tenfold. Fortunately, these effects have led to a significant rise in the earning power of web developers.

According to the latest reports from the Association of Technology Staffing Companies (ATSCo), web developers have seen a 26% increase in pay over the past 12 months alone. We can safely assume that this is not a limit and the pay rise will continue for web developers.

Brickyard drops off the Formula 1 2008 calendar, though the Indianapolis door is left open for potential future races. This was the mutual agreement between Tony George, the CEO of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Formula One Management Ltd. CEO Bernie Ecclestone.

In June this year, at the 2007 event, George and Ecclestone agreed to a mid-July deadline for a decision about future events. According to the speedway officials, they needed a long term solution and not the one-year agreement the speedway officials achieved with Ecclestone last year.

According to the estimates, the attendance at Indianapolis has always been good at around 125,000 people. It is believed that the inaugural race in 2000 drew more than 200,000 people. Exact figures have never been published but it was apparent the US Grand Prix has been a popular event. But in 2005 the event was spoiled. 14 of the 20 drivers pulled off the track just before the start over concerns about the safety of the Michelin tires used by seven teams. Tony George even refused to wave the checkered flag or join Michael Schumacher in the winner’s circle. Furious and dissapointed spectators and Formula 1 fans threw beer cans on the race.

With or without the Formula 1 event, the speedway most likely will be the site for three races next year. Along with Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR's Allstate 400, the Brickyard will be hosting the MotoGP World Championship in 2008. Confirmation still pending on this.

But the Brickyard won't be the same without Formula 1 and I hope someday the sound of the Formula 1 car engines will be heard on this fast and wonderful motorway.

A controversy between Scuderia Ferrari and the McLaren-Mercedes team reached High Court in England this week.

Ferrari are accusing their former engineer Nigel Stepney in supplying the rival team McLaren's chief designer Mike Coughlan with secret Ferrari technical information in April. It is believed that the 780 page secret material was stored on two computer disks.

Ferrari representative, the lawyer Nigel Tozzi told judge Michael Briggs that the Coughlans should not have had documents which were found during the search.

Stepney does not plead guilty and denies any wrongdoing. But he is facing a criminal investigation under a separate process in Italy where Ferrari is based. Moreover, Stepney says that Ferrari is terrified that what he has in his mind is valuable. "I guess I know where the bodies have been buried for the last 10 years, there were a lot of controversies." continues Stepney.

The FIA is conducting its own investigation into the allegations. According to their representatives, McLaren may face points deduction as a form of punishment.

The first daily web-based newspaper in the Europe http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ launched on November 15, 1994 launches a new blog. The aim of the blog is updating breaking news stories. It will provide the viewer with the information and commentaries on the stories that are actual during a day. Possibility that information details will not be fully covered immediately is caused by the nature of Breaking News as the details are sketchy. One of the reasons for that might be limited sources available to the reporters.

Main advantage of developing online version of breaking news is that the information is updated as soon as the details are unveiled. Each interested person can receive updated information as it is placed on web page. The new service has already past the phase of testing last week.

There are many blogs that provide the viewers with news, but the most important is that the segment is chosen precisely. Providing “News Hungry” people with a typical, ordinary news is not enough. News is an essential thing in their lives or business. One always needs focused news, not to loose time in reading those ones that lack value to them.

On the initial stage the blog will provide the viewers with the information around the United Kingdom.

This article has originally been posted on MediaPath

Looks like FeedBurner.com is experiencing technical difficulties. At least I've been trying to access the site but no luck. As it is visible from the error, there is something wrong with the software. Maybe an update? But it does not look so. I wonder if the problem is with the interface or with the tracking too. Well, we shall wait and see.

No matter how hard decision it was, the Spyker F1 team management has confirmed that Christijan Albers will no longer race for them in this season. According to the Spyker F1 team boss, Colin Kolles the decision has nothing to do with Albers' performance. Banal it may sound, but the main reason of such a tough decision was a problem with the driver's personal sponsors.

Are you often asked a question what your top ten favorite cars are? Or maybe top ten places to visit, top ten foods that you like, top ten songs or top ten movies? It need not be ten, though, the question remains the same. Our friends, colleagues and associates are eager to know what we like and what our priorities are. So are we. I bet you have frequently inquired about your friends' top lists. This is so common among people that folks behind Jamza.com have created a nice Web 2.0 site where everyone can join, create different top lists and publish them.

However, Jamza.com goes beyond that. You can even add your blog, upload photos and make friends. To be short, Jamza.com is a new, cool social networking site with a unique concept.

I joined Jamza yesterday and have already created a couple of lists: Top Ten Music bands, Top Ten Dream Cars that I don't own yet (but I hope to own in the future :) and my Top Ten most inspirational businessmen or entrepreneurs.

So, come on, join Jamza.com. It's cool and fun.

BBC – the largest broadcasting corporation in the world according to the audience number, employing 26,000 staff, launches the new device iPlayer. Among the products and services of BBC are: Desktop alerts, BBC News on interactive TV, E-mail services, Mobiles and PDAs, Podcasts from BBC News, and News feeds.

BBC Media & Technology division in partnership with Siemens works on this issue. BBC iPlayer will be a free catch-up service for UK license fee payers, says Ashley Highfield, director of future media and technology at the BBC.

Any program will be downloadable over the internet, the most surprising thing is that one can watch favorite program without advertising.

iPlayer has been tested on January 31, (15,000 people). Full coverage of market is expected in the Autumn. BBC is discussing MSN, telegraph.co.uk, AOL, Tiscali, Yahoo!, MySpace, Blinkx and Bebo as distribution partners. Programs will be able to use up to 30 days before the expiration time.

One of the most important advantages of the iPlayer is that it gives viewers ability to watch their favorite program when they want. Value added service always catches users attention. Now BBC viewers will be able to choose from different programs those which attract attention, have interest in. Feeling of convenience and comfort play main role in successful development of the new product.

As Ashley Highfield, director of Future Media & Technology, says: "Our vision is for BBC iPlayer to become a universal service available not just over the internet, but also on cable and other TV platforms, and eventually on mobiles and smart handheld devices."

Ferrari's successful start in this season of Formula 1 World Championship was followed by a series of failures. As a Scuderia Ferrari's passionate fan, I was extremely disappointed by this. But Kimi Raikkonen's success at Magny-Cours last week, followed by today's magnificent victory made me happy :) Ferrari showed that it's way too early to consider this season's fate decided. Both last week and this week, Ferrari showed that their cars were equally fast, if not faster than those of the rival McLaren-Mercedes.

In the era of connectivity Nokia takes the leading position. Among Nokia Products are: Mobile phones, Multimedia computers, Mobile gaming devices, Enterprise Architecture, Networks, Wireless systems, Wireless data devices, Wireless voice devices, Wireless switching equipment, and now it launches a mobile newspaper in the palm. It will give users opportunity to view news updates in the native language.

Manorama Online’s chief operating officer, Miss Mariam Mammen Mathew says: "Currently Internet penetration is very low, especially in smaller cities & rural areas. Services such as the 'Mobile Newspaper' will ride on the larger penetration of mobile phones, and bring the Internet Revolution to the masses."

Nokia announces that is has partnered with different media houses and islaunching not only “vernacular news portal” but value added services in ten languages. The only thing the users need to do is to download vernacular news portal icon on their phones, send ‘MM’ as SMS to 5555.

Users of Nokia GPRS will be able to get news in different categories, such as: sports, travel, music, movies.

(Nokia 2626, 6233, 6300, 6131, N72, N80, and N95 are able to download the vernacular news portal icon).

This article has been featured on MediaPath

What is it in a name? When I first heard about GREETINGster.com I thought it was just another online greeting cards service. GREETINGster.com is a clear example when there is much more beyond the name.

We are overwhelmed with all kinds of online services. Web 2.0 sites and services are appearing virtually on a daily basis. And right at this Web 2.0 hype GREETINGster.com launched as a the ultimate "greeting card fulfillment manager" service.

There are four simple steps to use GREETINGster.com:

(1) You select the card which is then (2) delivered to you a week before the occasion. Then you (3) sign the card and (4) resend back in the stamped and addressed envelope. That's it. GREETINGster.com bridges a gap between the virtual and real worlds. And the best of all, this fantastic service costs only $2.99 postage including.

Amazing! Sending greetings has never been so easy, cheap and hassle-free before. Payments are accepted through PayPal.

Unfortunately, GREETINGster.com only sends cards to US addresses. Hopefully they grow fast and at some day they start sending the greeting cards outside of the USA too.

What is the first thing I do in the morning? I switch on the TV set, computer and try to find news, interesting for me . Each news has its reader or listener: doctors, scientists, programmers, engineers, teachers...
Society in general is interested in specific news, useful and productive for them. Media should cover interests and demands of society, and realize that public has right to know.

These fields are more or less mutually interesting for everybody as the material well being of humanity depends on these fields. Different countries have different priorities depending on their level of development, culture, history, and modern trends.

TV, Radio, Newspaper and other media has mission to inform and provide society with programs and information of high quality. Relations between society, government and media overlaps like a chain. But media stands between these two. This is the field that should be absolutely free from any control. Media has its standards. Professional journalism follows these standards. These are not limitations but contrary. They help journalists to seek truth and report it. This is one of the codes of journalistic ethics.

The issue I am going to cover is News and it’s values. The most important values of news are: Impact, Weight, Controversy, Emotion, Unusual, Usefulness, Timeliness, Prominence, Proximity, Currency, Educational Value.
Each component of these values are of same importance. And why?

Impact - The news TV, Radio, or newspaper covers should have an impact on the audience otherwise information is no more news. Development of technology, new trends in obtaining valuable materials of your interest is widely varied today.

Weight – According to this value news is determined by the fact significance.

As for Controversy, it is news with arguments, controversial ideas, fights, through these elements news becomes more interesting, but it does not mean that arguments should not be in correspondence with the news, event, or should be exaggerated.

The following value is Emotion – news should be emphasizing positive emotion, news should take into consideration the interests of society. As I have already mentioned modern technology development, cable TV and other channels of media have different interests, in difference with the time when there was no choice.
Media is not only the opportunity of making more money but serve interests of owners of media channels. I do not know, how much sustainable is the myth about objectivity, but human beings are subjective, each of us have our interests and values in our lives. News and each product media is producing is made by human beings. Another question arises: Does level of objectivity depend on the level of journalist’s professionalism? Indeed, depends and not only in media but in each sphere that is already developed and have some importance for public. Human resources high qualification is the basis of success organization may achieve.

What is Unusual ? Dog bites man or man bites dog? That is the question in news. What do you think which one wins and which one stands under the name of “Breaking news?” Hope you guess.

Usefulness? There is no mean of highlighting an event without having the value of usefulness. The main reason we all do what we do is the realization that it is useful for us otherwise we do something else, more productive and helpful.

Timeliness - the main focus is on what is new at that time. The importance of timeliness has twofold nature. News may loose its news value in some 2 days, in highly competitive environment media channels try to catch as larger audience as possible. This fact sharpens the value of timeliness in media field.

Prominence is choice between public and obscure person. What direction attention falls to? To the president who lost consciousness or to the ordinary person? Public person has priorities in advertising, too. Famous face causes more attention rather than obscure one.

Accident that happen in one’s own country is always more valuable for the native citizen rather than events happened abroad. That does not mean that people have less sorrow for the event outside country but interest and attention is driven to the local news. As for the events of global importance it is mutually important and interesting for the citizen of each country or region. This characterizes the value of news called Proximity.

In Currency news is qualified as news, only if it is the issue of public concern. Public concerns may be expressed in different forms. Concerns about political situation, criminal cases, killings but media should cover these news and following the standards, ethical codes, to minimize harm in society.

The last value of news is Educational Value. The main purpose of media channels, would it be TV, Radio or newspaper is to make the reader realize that after reading, or listening the news they know a bit more then before reading the newspaper, watching TV or before putting the wireless on.

Turn on the TV set, radio or computer tomorrow morning, open the first page of the newspaper, have a look and decide what is the most valuable news for you. Listen to it or read it and “know a little bit more than the next guy” as Julie Willis says. (Discovery Channel)

This article has been featured on MediaPathBlog

Silicon Valley is the cradle of Web 2.0. We expect to see almost every new Web 2.0 start-up born in the USA. Not this time. Some folks from the South of Spain have come up with an interesting idea to make blogging easier.

Bligter.com is a place where you can get posts written by other bloggers, to publish in your blog. I'd say Bligter.com is something like a blog posts exchange. You submit posts, which get published on other users' blogs. Likewise, posts published by others can be used on your blog. Thus, if you don't have an idea for your next post, you could use Bligter.com.

Unfortunately the system is extremely new (I'd say rather raw) and getting posts is not available yet. As the creators of Bligter.com claim, they are in the process of collecting posts and you should be able to get posts shortly.

Google has acquired GrandCentral and the communications company is now officially a part of the search giant.

"Our innovative approach, using Web 2.0-based standards, lets developers create amazing new applications while keeping the iPhone secure and reliable." says Steve Jobs.

That's true, soooo true. Past couple of weeks many iPhone targeted web 2.0 applications emerged. It's sad that quantity is not always a key factor. To me quality over quantity is more important. But there is one cool web 2.0 application for iPhone. It's called iPling. Not sure who invented that word but as the creators define iPling is the act of opening up by sharing my thoughts with other iPling users, so they know the things I like and the mood I'm in.

In other words, iPling is a location based social expansion service. You can use iPling to search for those whose share your musical tastes, hobbies, likes and dislikes, etc. I'd say that iPling seamlessly integrates into your life (huh, what a phrase). You want to be discoverable, right? So you just create your quick profiles or as the creators of iPling call them "iPling circles". Basically, the profiles describe what you are looking for. Done with that? So good. Now you can start discovering new peopl and be discovered by others.

A good thing about iPling that it is anonymous. In other words, when you enter an iPling relationship you do not reveal much about yourself, well except the common interests that you and the other iPlinger have.

Don't want any more missed encounters? With iPling you won't miss the next opportunity. Join and enjoy!

I must confess. I'm collecting slogans. I'm mainly interested in corporate slogans. I think there is more in a slogan than it appears at the beginning. A slogan is a company's essential attribute and in my extremely unscientific research I've found out that almost every successful company has a cool slogan. Unfortunately the reverse is not always true. There are many unsuccessful companies with cool slogans.

Since I've been collecting slogans, I've read many of them. But the one that I've recently found out is one of the most weird slogans: BUSINESS NETWORKING THAT DOESN'T SUCK. It belongs to biznik. Agreed, the name is not less weird than the slogan. But behind the name and the slogan we see a rather interesting system.

biznik is a business-building social network for indie professionals. Tired of being alone in business? Welcome to biznik. From accountants to sex therapists you can networking with already registered 4,000+ members.

biznik tries to establish a new type of networking. The folks behind biznik refer to it as "radical self promotion because it’s not your typical me-first-take-no-prisoners kind of self promotion." In other words, collaboration rather than competition is at the heart of biznik.

While the major focus is on the USA, biznik has a growing member base in a number of other countries.

Well, the concept sounds interesting. However, as with many other Web 2.0 ventures and websites, it's not immediately possible to see tangible benefits delivered by biznik, let alone to calculate the ROI.

Anyhow, it's free to join. So, why don't you give it a try?

In history it is an empire, in art it is a material used to produce work, in geography it is a village in Henderson Country, Illinois.

Media, we are going to analyze now is Mass Media. It is envisioned to reach large audience. Mediums might be as following: television, radio, broadcasting, and newspaper. Each of them is specific and needs to be treated differently. In spite of differences, the main purpose of them is to serve society. Media always shows the level of democracy in the country. If media does not provide us with the diverse viewpoints and information that is unbiased then the democracy level is undermined.

Common Cause says that media and democracy has four goals:
“The first is fighting media consolidations, the second is protecting and strengthening public broadcasting, following is ensuring that the Internet remains a vibrant open and competitive outlet for citizen discourse, and the last is developing and advancing a long-term agenda for a more democratic media.”

But despite above-mentioned aspects there are too many details that should be taken into consideration. One of the guiding principles for journalists is - minimize harm.
Level of professionalism determines further development of the events journalist is going to highlight.

While thinking over this principle-Minimize Harm one should ask him/herself whether event should be reported or not, who are the people which need to be informed about the fact, whether facts are strenthened by evidents and are not rumors, what one can do when the facts are contradictory and what is the impact on the community…

Theses are the questions that need to be answered and only after that one should decide whether publish or not, highlight or not.

Fred Brown says in his article “Asking right questions a key to minimizing harm” that:
“The heavyweight in this balancing act is the truth. Telling the truth is a journalist’s overriding duty. Considering the consequences is a tempering element — a smaller element, but nonetheless an important one.In the simplest terms, minimizing harm requires being sensitive to the consequences of what you do as a journalist.”

Ethical journalists treat sources, subjects, and colleagues as human beings deserving of respect.
Ethical journalism demands critical thinking and knowledge of those codes that are internationally accepted, but it is not easy task. Media mostly is limited in time; in majority cases journalists face ethical quandary and when dilemma arises journalists have consultations with managers. But being professional and ethical journalism means that one can decide him/herself, in right way, in the case when manager’s consultation is impossible to obtain.

Despite the fact that minimizing harm is one of the first things a journalist should care about, stories and facts sometimes do not give us ability to minimize harm as much as possible.
Harm may be expressed in the form of reputation, and not only.

Bob Steele, who teaches journalism ethics at the Poynter Institute, asks: "What if the roles were reversed? How would I feel?" That is a very good question. Individuals answer it individually but professional and ethical journalist’s answer should satisfy international standards and should be based on codes of ethics.

This article has been featured on MediaPathBlog