Breaking Tweets » Lauren McTigue

Rupert Murdoch threatens Google: Twitter users predict backfire

Lauren McTigue — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:49:03 +0000

News Corporation’s Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch said that the company is planning to remove news stories from the Google search engine in an interview with Australia’s Sky News.

The New Zealand Herald was just one of many outlets to report on Murdoch’s plan to block Google from searching News Corp. sites. Murdoch also threatened to sue the BBC for “allegedly stealing content” from News Corp. sources.

Rupert Murdoch has said for a few months that News Corp. is considering charging visitors for reading content from the company’s newspapers online.

Some Twitter users think that blocking Google’s access to News Corp. stories will result in a backfire for the company that owns The Wall Street Journal and The Times of London, among others.

joewo (San Mateo, Calif.) EXCELLENT!! Rupert Murdoch says his news organizations will not be on Google. Not on Google…not seen by about 90% of searchers #FAIL #p2 10 Nov 2009 from web

scriptdaddictd (New York City, N.Y.) Rupert Murdoch vs. Google = short match. 10 Nov 2009 from txt

prendio2 (Undisclosed) i haven’t watched all this but Rupert Murdoch seems to be completely out of touch http://bit.ly/1oaamT found via @marshallk 10 Nov 2009 from Tweetie

jasonblogz (Undisclosed) If Rupert Murdoch wants to charge so people will pay to read his News Corp garbage, I say let him! But what will media matters do? 10 Nov 2009 from web

wordsdonewrite (Los Angeles, Calif.) @morganb Regarding Rupert Murdoch, he is so far in left field regarding news content. As a former staffer at LA Times, I follow him closely. 10 Nov 2009 from web in reply to morganb

Feedjunkie (World) If The WSJ.com Says Goodbye To Google, It Will Also Say Goodbye To 25 Percent Of Its Traffic: Whenever Rupert Murdoch goes .. All-feeds.com 10 Nov 2009 from twitterfeed

BrickCheney (Undisclosed) Rupert Murdoch says Google users aren’t good for ad revenue. This is news to Google, the world’s biggest ad company. 10 Nov 2009 from TweetDeck

mauricioswg (Undisclosed) Rupert Murdoch blocking Google reminds me of the RIAA suing Napster. Yet another example of failing to adapt. 10 Nov 2009 from Tweetie

Though Murdoch acknowledges the benefits of a highly visited search engine like Google, he does not see much danger in removing News Corp. stories from it.

The Wall Street Journal reported Google’s comments saying that news organizations are free to choose not to have their stories come up in the site’s search results.

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Pro-rape Facebook group angers Twitter users

Lauren McTigue — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:07:50 +0000

Students at St. Paul College of the University of Sydney created a pro-rape Facebook group that was kept on the site from August until late last month.

WAToday.com reported that past and present students are responsible for the group’s creation and described themselves as “anti-consent” in the description.

The group, titled “Define Statutory,” is just part of what the Sydney Morning Herald reported as a much bigger problem on these elite college campuses where there is a lack of respect for women by some men.

Twitterers are disgusted that this group existed, though some are saying that it does not come as a surprise.

maxine (Sydney, Australia) Least surprising news story of the morning: “Elite college students proud of ‘pro-rape’ Facebook page” http://bit.ly/4AWKzA 08 Nov 2009 from Tweetie

nellieoconnor (Sydney, Australia) Am disgusted by the USyd College ‘pro-rape’ facebook site. I hope it was in jest, but some things just aren’t funny. http://bit.ly/B8bWb 08 Nov 2009 from web

Jen_Bennett (Sydney, Australia) Misogyny, rape at Sydney Uni colleges not super surprising, just depressing. What year is it again? http://bit.ly/1nSo1P (via @rachelhills) 08 Nov 2009 from web

auswonderwoman (Melbourne, Australia) Elite University of Sydney college students proud of ‘pro-rape’ Facebook page. Disgusting and disgraceful! 08 Nov 2009 from web

theastonshuffle (Canberra, Australia) horrible, but im not surprised RT @SBSNews: pro-rape Facebook site set up by students of elite colleges http://bit.ly/2BNgBY (via @radger) 09 Nov 2009 from Twitterrific

JoinTheFarQ (Sydney, Australia) Please prosecute these ‘ Pro-Rape’ facebook group of weak, scum, idiots: http://bit.ly/4rZWm2 09 Nov 2009 from TweetDeck

PeterBlackQUT (Brisbane, Australia) this sounds like an american frat house, not an australian uni: “elite college students proud of pro-rape facebook page” http://j.mp/27ybUu 09 Nov 2009 from BigTweet

School officials are “sickened” by the issue and believe that the binge drinking lifestyle that is common on college campuses is partly to blame for women feeling unsafe.

While the University is looking into the issue further, no action has been taken yet against the students responsible for the group, ABC News in Australia reported.

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Youth Pledge Day begins in Indonesia

Lauren McTigue — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:43:54 +0000

Indonesian Vice President Boediono is leading ceremonies for the country’s Youth Pledge Day Wednesday morning.

This day commemorates a pledge made on Oct. 28, 1928 when Indonesia was still a Dutch colony, The Jakarta Post reported. The pledge stated that the young people of the country could build a new and independent nation, which was eventually acheived in 1945.

Youth Pledge Day is highly celebrated as it acted as a “turning point” for Indonesia in gaining their independence.

Twitterers have been sending out good wishes early Wednesday morning before the ceremony which is being held in Serang, Banten.

niyataniya (Undisclosed) Selamat pagi pemuda Indonesia. (Good morning Indonesian youth.) 28 Oct 2009 from UberTwitter

GagasMedia (Undisclosed) Selamat Hari Sumpah Pemuda. Ayo pemuda Indonesia, bangun semangat berkarya! (Welcome Youth Pledge Day. Let the youth of Indonesia, to work up the spirit!) 28 Oct 2009 from web

harisprahara (Jakarta, Indonesia) Selamat hari Sumpah Pemuda… (Good day Youth Pledge) 28 Oct 2009 from web

ksetyadi (Jakarta-Yogyakarta, Indonesia) Selamat hari #sumpahpemuda ! Semoga pemuda (dan pemudi) Indonesia makin maju dan berprestasi (Good day # sumpahpemuda! May the youth (and women) Indonesia progress and achievement;)) 28 Oct 2009 from Echofon

andry (Jakarta, Indonesia) ‘Pemuda’ tentu mengacu pada pemikiran dan semangatnya: Sedikit naif, segar, subversif, dan membahana. Umur biologis, itu lain soal. (’Youth’ of course refers to the thought and spirit: A bit naive, fresh, subversive, and formations. Biological age, is another matter.) 28 Oct 2009 from Tweetie

hasanozo (Undisclosed) Semangat pemuda terdahulu melekat erat dijiwa!! Bangun pendidikan pemuda!! Bangun bangsa dan negara!! Semangat SUPER!! Untuk INDONESIA (The spirit of youth clung previous dijiwa!! Wake up youth education!! Wake up the nation! Spirit SUPER!! For INDONESIA) 28 Oct 2009 from UberTwitter

tintaniwidya (Undisclosed) selamat pagi dan selamat hari sumpah pemuda ! (good morning and congratulations on oath youth!) 28 Oct 2009 from web

made_it (Indonesia) Selamat Hari Sumpah Pemuda..Mari kita buat Indonesia menjadi tempat yang lebih baik..jadilah bangsa yang optimis krn pesimis adlh kehancuran (Youth Pledge Day Congratulations .. Let’s make Indonesia a better place .. be a nation of optimistic pessimism adlh destruction krn) 28 Oct 2009 from TweetDeck

The motto for Youth Pledge Day is One Nation, One Language, One Country: Indonesia.

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New logo for ANZ bank criticized on Twitter

Lauren McTigue — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:46:49 +0000

ANZ, one of the leading banks serving Australia, New Zealand, Asia and the South Pacific, has released its new company logo, but early reviews from Twitter users are not so positive.

InsideRetailing.com reported on the company’s logo change as being part of its rebranding campaign to show unity across the 32 countries that the bank serves.

The logo has the old ANZ letters in place, but in more modern font. The bank added a petal shaped figure next to it which is meant to signify the people and countries where ANZ has a presence, making it look like a person as a whole.

But Twitterers have other thoughts on what the new logo looks like, and many are not impressed by the bank’s new branding identity:

osirisX (Craigie, Perth, Australia) I like the new type in the ANZ logo. It makes ANZ feel more human and less IBM. But that symbol is POINTLESS. Is it a flower or a person?! 25 Oct 2009 from Twitterrific

TheVintry (Pokolbin, Australia) #anz#logo. Is that Kenny from South Park in the ANZ logo? 25 Oct 2009 from web

icanseeit (Brisbane, Australia) Hmmm not sure what I think about the new ANZ logo yet. Old one was around for so long it will take some time… #newlogo #anz 25 Oct 2009 from Tweetie

web_goddess (Undisclosed) The new ANZ logo/glyph looks like it should be on the side of a feminine hygiene product box. 25 Oct 2009 from TweetDeck

Harcourt666 (Undisclosed) The new ANZ logo looks absolutely ridiculous. Looks like somebody crying because the bank has charged them $5 for breathing at their branch 25 Oct 2009 from Twitterrific

BettyBrowne (Sydney, Australia) what’s that blue thing on the end of the new ANZ logo? A jelly baby? Alien? half a croissant and two biscuits? 26 Oct 2009 from web

rljm (Adelaide, Australia) My friends at #QBN just showed me the new #ANZ logo. It is absolutely appalling, I really hope they don’t change, it’s a backwards step imo. 26 Oct 2009 from Echofon

nick_wade (North Geelong, Australia) just putting it out there, the new anz app logo is hideous 26 Oct 2009 from Twitterrific

HarrisonARH (Brisbane, Australia) Wow. Twitter is alive with discussion on the ANZ logo. Looks to be designed for push into Asian market. Certainly getting exposure. 26 Oct 2009 from web

ohhitskat (Melbourne, Australia) So ANZ is happy to spend millions of $$ on a new crappy logo but not willing to put a little bit forward to look after their employees? heh 26 Oct 2009 from Tweetie

Below is a TwitPic posted by one Twitterer that shows the new logo:

posted by: waynecheng

Whether or not Twitterers like it, the bank plans to continue releasing the new logo over the next two years by adding it to online material, office supplies and ANZ buildings.

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UK postal strike set for Thursday, Friday met with mixed responses

Lauren McTigue — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:46:09 +0000

Royal Mail’s postal strike is now set for Thursday and Friday after failed attempts by the British government to discourage the strikes.

The Wall Street Journal reported today that there will be more than 40,000 workers striking Thursday, and nearly 80,000 set to strike Friday. The workers are seeking better pay, conditions, and a better way of dealing with modernization, namely e-mail.

News of the strike taking place has some Twitterers are reacting with jokes, suggesting that this will have little effect on their lives in the next two days.

Kapuskasing (Cambridge, England) shame about the postal strike…there is sooo much stuff i need to accomplish with them…NOT…but will milk it for sure #honorarybrit 21 Oct 2009 from TweetDeck

SonyaVanSickle (Texas) So this UK postal strike – they do get that there’s email now, right? And the more strikes that occur the less likely ppl are 2 MAIL things? 21 Oct 2009 from TweetDeck

YorkshireTea (United Kingdom) Got an email from an SMS provider to reassure me that their service will not be affected by the postal strike. Erm, thanks? 21 Oct 2009 from mbpidgin

RalphCooper (London, England) Does anyone at all support the postal strike? 21 Oct 2009 from Tweetie

Others who will be affected by the strike are less concerned about the postal workers, but still worried about certain orders arriving on time, perhaps one of the bigger uses of “snail mail” in recent years.

paulrandall (Southwest of England) Hoping my copy of Forza 3 won’t get delayed too much now the postal strike is going ahead 21 Oct 2009 from Tweetie

BeadieJay (Oxfordshire, England) Angry at myself for forgetting postal strike. Now no way to get 60th Wedding Anniversary card to parents for Friday 21 Oct 2009 from web

MissUnderscore (North East England) Damn you postal strike. I ordered black pipecleaners for my class’s pom-pom Halloween spiders. They have not arrived! 21 Oct 2009 from web

nizzy_ (Scotland, UK) just my luck! saas sent out my award letter yesterday and the postal service is going on strike tomorrow, arghhh. 21 Oct 2009 from web

alecyeoman (Cornwall/Norwich) Great. Postal strike is going to delay the book I ordered from Amazon. 21 Oct 2009 from web

Some companies have been shipping products early in anticipation of the strike, including Microsoft which has allowed some users who have ordered the new Windows 7 to receive their orders early.

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Jessica Watson, 16, begins attempt to circumnavigate globe

Lauren McTigue — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 04:58:38 +0000

Sixteen-year-old Aussie Jessica Watson set sail from Sydney Harbour Sunday morning, hoping to become the youngest person to complete a solo round-world journey.

AFP reported that her 23,000-mile voyage was stalled a month ago after damage to her boat in a test run. This did not deter her from going through with her dream, though Queensland state officials did ask that she reconsider her plans to go through with the solo trip.

Twitter users are wishing her safe travels, though some believe it is a risky voyage for someone so young.

hackjack (Sydney, Australia) That Jessica Watson… I’m not sure what to think of that whole teenager sailing around the world thing. 17 Oct 2009 from web

Linda_Pilko (Sunshine Coast, Queensland) Hooray for Jessica Watson! What an inspirational girl. I wish her a safe and uneventful journey. 17 Oct 2009 from TweetDeck

arcfactory (Undisclosed) Bon Voyage Jessica Watson – may your voyage around the world be speedy and keep you safe!! http://bit.ly/4rgFA 18 Oct 2009 from Facebook

kouky (Sydney, Australia) The zeal of Jessica Watson’s parents irks me. However I do wish her all the best of luck in her voyage. 18 Oct 2009 from Tweetie

monkeymoyle (Perth, Australia) good luck jessica watson come home safe 18 Oct 2009 from web

__PJ__ (Germany/Australia) Best wishes & many prayers for Jessica Watson on her 11 month sea voyage!! 18 Oct 2009 from web

ssrrhh (Undisclosed) Excited for Jessica Watson, totally will stalk her blog over the next 8 months! 18 Oct 2009 from web

Watson’s trip is to last 11 months on a bright pink yacht called Ella’s Pink Lady, as skincare company Ella Baché is sponsoring the trip.

She comes after a few teenagers who have completed the same journey in the past year. The most recent of these adventurers are 17-year-old Mike Perham of Britain, and American Zac Sunderland, also 17, who completed his voyage in July.

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Bloomberg LP buys BusinessWeek from McGraw-Hill

Lauren McTigue — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:38:54 +0000

Bloomberg LP, founded by Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, has bought the weekly magazine BusinessWeek which has been owned by McGraw-Hill for 80 years.

CNNmoney.com reported Tuesday evening that Bloomberg is paying around $5 million for the magazine. The company, which provides news, data and financial software to companies, says that it will attempt to keep the BusinessWeek’s well-known image intact, and that it is well suited for Bloomberg LP’s corporate clientele.

Twitterers are contributing their thoughts from how little the magazine sold for to where the news industry has been heading for quite some time:

bkgraham (Halifax, Nova Scotia) Bloomberg buys Business Week for less than $5 million. How cheap can a brand like that get? http://bit.ly/G6rXd 13 Oct 2009 from web

zjthomas (London, England) Bloomberg buys Business Week!! Turmoil in business media industry!!! 13 Oct 2009 from web

JoeTacopino (Undisclosed) Bloomberg buys Business Week. Will billionaire mayor save newspapers next? 13 Oct 2009 from web

bellisimatime (Undisclosed) will magazines become museum pieces? bloomberg buys business week 4 5 mil. aiyiyi. oh and what about conflict of interest, hmmm? 13 Oct 2009 from web

BelugaBoyd (Vancouver, British Columbia) Bloomberg buys Business Week for $2-$5 mil + liabilities http://bit.ly/160os2 Amazing how poorly valued traditional media is these days! 13 Oct 2009 from TweetDeck

rustyw (Boston, Mass.) Bloomberg buys BusinessWeek for nothing. Reports Mashable worth $100M+ . Inconceivable! (Princess Bride) http://bit.ly/gwGQE 13 Oct 2009 from TweetDeck

BusinessWeek was put up for sale after seeing a 40 percent decrease in advertising sales this year. The magazine industry overall has seen a 20 percent drop in ad sales this year, CNNmoney reported.

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Hillary Clinton says “no” to running for President in the future

Lauren McTigue — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:35:07 +0000

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that she has no intention of running for President of the United States in the future, when asked on NBC’s “Today” show this morning.

Bloomberg reported that she looks forward to retirement and enjoys her current position in the Obama Administration.

Twitterers seem skeptical to the firm response Clinton gave, while some were disappointed as they had hoped she would take a run at the race in 2016:

mikecantone (Orlando, Fla.) Hillary Clinton says no to running for Pres again, makes me sad to hear, I’ll always believe she’d be the best President http://bit.ly/Xm1tW 12 Oct 2009 from web

thenote (Washington, D.C.) Hillary Clinton was definitive on Today this morning, ruling out another run for pres. who wants to bet that’s the end of that storyline? 12 Oct 2009 from TweetDeck

JamesH247 (Austin, Texas) Finally catching up on my CNN/MSNBC and first thing i read, “Hillary Clinton says she wont run for president again.” NOOO! Worst day ever! 12 Oct 2009 from txt

DavidCornDC (Washington, D.C.) NBC asks Hillary Clinton will she ever run for pres. again. She says, “No.” But does that depend on what the meaning of “no” is? 12 Oct 2009 from web

mooktheoriginal (Minneapolis, Minn.) Hillary Clinton says she’s not going to run for president again…yeah uh huh sure…if the opportunity came up by 2016 she would 12 Oct 2009 from web

citizenjones76 (Southern Calif.)She needs to be pres after Obama RT @renwl Hillary Clinton Says She Has No Interest in Presidential Run http://bit.ly/15p1ar (Bloomberg) 13 Oct 2009 from twidroid

Obama defeated Clinton in the primaries last summer by less than 100,000 votes to go on to win the 2008 Presidential elections.

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T-Mobile and Danger users lose data which may not be recovered

Lauren McTigue — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 04:27:04 +0000

T-Mobile experienced another glitch this weekend that caused some Sidekick users to lose all of their data, with the possibility of it not being recovered.

The New York Times reported that employees at T-Mobile have been working to fix these issues, but many have already lost all contact and calendar data. This happened for those Sidekick users whose batteries were either removed or ran out.

Twitterers are reacting with frustration to the glitch with T-Mobile:

nadianaff (Singapore) I feel sorry for t-mobile users. Now go get at&t or verizon or something. Hah! 11 Oct 2009 from Echofon

KeyBella (New Jersey) So we’ve established that T-Mobile lost all cell info, but now it’s been said that we’re never getting anything back. http://twurl.nl/l86rv5 11 Oct 2009 from web

omgiitsnicole (Massachusetts) wow t-mobile sucks. anyone who lost their contacts and pictures and shit isn’t getting them back. i’m so glad we pay them money for shit.. 11 Oct 2009 from web

thuybee (Houston, Texas) If you have my number; txt me your name. t-mobile didn’t tell me to not reset my phone soon enough… so my data is all lost. :[ 11 Oct 2009 from web

loanofficermary (Pasadena, Texas) All my numbers were deleted please call me!!! Thanks t-mobile!!!!!!! Sidekick is having issues right now…..GO FIG … http://lnk.ms/3B5dW 11 Oct 2009 from MySpace

Andrew_Lloyd_ (Undisclosed) Glad this sidekick I’ve been carrying the last few weeks wasn’t hooked up to t-mobile/danger. Must really suck for those people 11 Oct 2009 from Tweed

T-Mobile employees are working with customers and have begun crediting some users’ accounts with a month of free data service. More information as to what measures the company will take will be released Monday.

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Amazon announces Kindle will go International Oct. 19

Lauren McTigue — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 19:00:30 +0000

The New York Times reported that Amazon.com’s popular e-book, the Kindle, will be available in 100 countries around the world beginning October 19.

The international selection of books will be smaller than the Kindle available in the States, but Twitterers are reacting in high numbers to the news.

Twitterers around the world are excited about the new Kindle, but some are still holding out for the Apple’s iTablet:

MathildaB (Seattle, Wa.) I really can’t see myself buying a Kindle. Saving myself for the iTablet in 2014 (via @Zee)// Let’s hope it is 2010 iTablet! Can’t wait!! 07 Oct 2009 from Tweetie

wenjie (Singapore, Japan) Such joy when I read Amazon is shipping Kindle worldwide. 07 Oct 2009 from TweetDeck

atoast (Denmark, Coopenhagan) Finally the Kindle is ready for launch in Europe – just in time for my birthday. 07 Oct 2009 from twidroid

wacking (Tsukuba, Japan) Kindle、興味はあるけど様子見だなー。噂のMacbook touchが代替になるかもしれないし。 (Kindle, I’ll be interested, but that trial balloon. Rumored Macbook touch might be an alternative.) 07 Oct 2009 from Echofon

JonathanNelson (Snellville, Ga.) @tirsen you should wait for Apple’s new tablet that’ll be coming out real soon. i personally think it’ll put the kindle out. 07 Oct 2009 from Tweetie in reply to tirsen

jolanda_hains (Switzerland) Would I buy a #Kindle if the price came down? What would be the advantage over reading websites and eBooks on a mobile? The screen size? 07 Oct 2009 from TwitterBerry

lebard (Sydney, Australia) Will Kindle beat the apple tablet? Will a screwdriver win over a hammer? Depends on the use I suppose. There’s market space for both #kindle 07 Oct 2009 from TweetDeck

Others believe that Amazon needs to tweak the plan to include more countries by the shipping date and are speculating on what this release means:

stgeller4 (Berkeley, Calif.)Whoops, “international” Kindle doesn’t do Canada yet; amazon working on this. New Kindle does do Mexico and UK. 07 Oct 2009 from web

laceykim (Silicon Valley, Calif.) the price cut on the $amzn kindle just might shoot up holiday sales, good news? 07 Oct 2009 from web

candyapplebleue (Canada) Ok, let me get this straight. Kindle now ships to, and is supported in, Botswana.. but not in Canada? WTH? 07 Oct 2009 from Twitscoop

As reported by the New York Times, one kink that surely needs to be worked out will be foreign rights issues with book sales because prices vary from country to country with different publishers.

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