Yesterday Tumblr blogger Joshua Gross tried to make a really good point about how cab drivers in New York City made a ton of cash off of a set of buttons that artificially raised the size of the tips they were given. Not long after that, The Next Web posted essentially the same thing with two paragraphs copied almost word-for-word, giving little credit initially. Gross got upset, complained, and drew the wrath of TNW’s CEO, Zee M. Kane. A couple sample tweets:
@endtwist @harrisonweber and i think “copying” is pretty extreme. Facts are facts, and we included them.
— Zee M Kane (@Zee) May 14, 2012
@endtwist @harrisonweber think it’s pretty ridiculous that you’re even getting the slightest bit annoyed about this.
— Zee M Kane (@Zee) May 14, 2012
@endtwist @harrisonweber needless to say, we’ll be staying well clear of anything ur involved with in future for fear of ridiculous reaction
— Zee M Kane (@Zee) May 14, 2012
Then Hacker News, where the story was originally posted, noticed the uproar, and from there it turned into a mess. Kane eventually wrote an apology on Google Docs, while still denying the plagiarism allegations, which ended as such: “Secondly, seriously keep my mouth shut until I know all the facts. Even when I’m sure I know them, check again.” (Initially it said “keep your mouth shut,” which made it sound like he was attacking his readers.)
To put it simply, there’s a right and a wrong way to aggregate, and The Next Web is doing it wrong. (Especially with that response. You took his story; be gracious.) Rewrite. Add something new. Don’t just copy word for word. In some newsrooms, this would be grounds for dismissal. Don’t forget that.
Every story on the front page of Hacker News is about Steve Jobs. Pretty sure that’s the first time that’s happened, where a single story has overtaken the site.
jeffmiller asks: What are your favorite (non-Tumblr) websites for news. (Or rather, what news websites do you read on a daily basis?)
» We say: Outside of our staple news sites (Reuters, CNN, the NYT and such), my personal favorite site is Mediaite, which I think strikes the perfect balance between news and commentary, and I can guarantee to generally have its finger on the pulse. (The aftertaste is also a little better than Politico, generally.) I also like a lot of The Atlantic’s stable, including The Atlantic Wire, which is a bit of an unsung hero among news commentary sites. I also greatly adore Hacker News, where you can usually find something generally awesome going on, be it a cool startup or interesting technical debate, and have been a faithful reader of Pitchfork, Slashdot and Fark since the late ’90s. Gawker Media’s stuff is staple food for me, and I’ve been a huge fan of Dave Weigel especially since he moved over to Slate. As for news outlets that never get their fair shake, the Christian Science Monitor always has stuff well-suited to SFB articles. And there’s a lot to like about The Awl. (It’s our Office Hours! Ask us stuff!)
Come up with a clever idea. Play with it for a few days. Promote it online. Watch traffic explode as the crazy idea goes viral and forces you to beef up your server capacity almost immediately. Decide you don’t want to make it your main gig. Choose to cash out quickly. Put up a page hoping you find a buyer quickly. Find said big buyer quickly. Turn your side project into a wad of cash. With just three words. And a dream. Way to go, Mark Bao. source
Thinks we like: Bit.ly. Twitter. Hacker News. Bitly.tv. Now what if someone mashed up Bit.ly links found on Twitter to look like Hacker News, but with the ranking style that Bitly.tv uses? Well, friends, you’d have Bitly News. Which is the coolest thing we’ve seen today. source
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