links for 2009-06-12

"Some journalists feel that priming content for search engines is a reductive and mechanistic exercise, sucking the fun (and art) out of headline writing. After all, who's ever heard of an index (or an algorithm) 'getting' a pun?"

"[David Hunke] regrets not charging for the paper's iPhone app. While the site is likely to remain free, services that add value, like a digital edition or iPhone and Android mobile products could be charged for." "I'm not sure we realised what we had," said Burke. "I think that's a value readers will be willing to pay for."

"Now, however, new media and new social forces are changing the way that people communicate. We, the citizen, now control our own information. We chose our media. Sometimes we even create it. We share it and interact with it. We mix it up. We are on Facebook while we watch TV. We link to blogs from newspaper websites. We are listening to the news while we order something on Amazon and post pictures of our friends on Flickr. We are more likely to talk politics on Mumsnet than Newsnight. We are in charge."

"Rob's persistence was rewarded with a genuine scoop when Sir Peter revealed he was now looking to auction off the infamous duck house for charity."

Classic put-down: "As one of Britain's leading sportsmen, Rafael Nadal is always in need of amateur coaching from internet messageboards. We can only hope he takes your advice".

Caution: intellectual property genius at work [via Mike Lynch via @rhodri]

Mandy Pollard and Kieran Wyatt with a glimpse into the BBC's mobile mail-bag. Sounds like exactly the same random mix of stuff we used to get at search. My favourite was the one asking us where they could get the wallpaper that had decorated a particular sitcom set.

"I don’t understand your point. In one sentence you’ve argued the case for the whole London tech scene to re-locate to the west coast of America". Ooh, that sounds nice, where do we apply for our tickets?