As someone without a TV, I was reliant on the news from Twitter and blogs to update me on the protests happening downtown. Visiting dedicated news sites came after the fact: The Star, The Globe and Mail and the National Post all did great coverage of the events – each dedicating a blog to report on the event – both from inside the walled fortress and outside – but I went to their sites after already hearing the news on Twitter for a more indepth review and a collection of some fantastic photojournalism.

Two Twitter feeds from public broadcasters took me right from my safe couch just west of the rioting and protests into the downtown core and the Eastern Ave detention centre: @kimfox from CBC and @spatikin from TVO. CBC had their own blog, tweeted, opened a Flickr account for viewers to send in their photography from the event… in all, really embraced hearing what was happening from areas they might not have access to – a great job.

Steve Paikin in particular managed to use the 140 characters allowed to tweet explosive play-by-plays and comments about a peaceful sit-in he attended on the Saturday night. Reading his tweets was a play-by-play of what was happening, and his tweet at 10:02 pm “i. gone police escor me away” drew me away from the standard picture of the burning cop car into real concern – did they really arrest journalist and very peaceful guy Steve Paikin?

Fortunately they didn’t –  but without him tweeting, we would have never learned about the freelance writer who has done work for the Guardian, who was allegedly beaten by some police, and how Ontario’s new sweeping police powers this weekend affected one a Liberal candidate who tried to help Premier McGuinty get his current job. Since those tweets, Paikin has been called in by many bloggers and radio shows to recount what he saw – something that may have had less of an impact if it weren’t for the immediacy of Twitter.

The Toronto Police tweeted as well – some call to action tweets to get people to report on those who cause damage to property along Queen St W and Yonge and College streets. But also, as a way to RT all of those people who supported their actions this weekend. As the Toronto Police are now learning, however, a RT doesn’t ignore the criticisms or the viral effects of a video post where protestors were chased after apparently singing O’ Canada and then sitting down on Queen W, or the police apparently firing on a protestor when she turned her back to them.

Tamera Kremer’s tweet “@torontopolice – assume ur just PR but really infuriating you retweet & respond to those who praise you while ur community cries out” speaks to what organizations need to always consider when they’re in the social media world – you can’t just put a blind on loud criticism and questions by only RT’ing the support. Social media is about dialogue – even answering those uncomfortable questions. She continues: “@torontopolice not really what “social media” is about. Our community has video & pics, where are your responses? We saw it happen.”

Basically, Etacts works to remind you that you haven’t responded to emails. I applied it to my gmail account just now and immediately saw I haven’t emailed someone in over a year. I’m a horrible, horrible person.  So horrible that I chose to update this blog rather than email back. What’s another day? (Horrible!)

Etacts’ concept sounds simple enough, but if you’re a multitasker who continually feels the inbox is out of control, this could be a handy tool. If you’re a GTD follower or someone who likes passive aggressive email topics, this site will also remind you of who hasn’t responded to YOUR emails (i.e. I’ve been waiting for a response to my email for 23 days!). There’s also a good looking plug in for your gmail account that appears to work a lot like xobni.

It’s definitely a project that has potential to grow – hopefully into Microsoft Office Outlook so I can use it at work. Yes, it’s all about me, me, me.

Brought to my attention by Web Worker Daily

I’ve looked up Facebook (first link to its Harvard incarnation), You Tube (didn’t exist), my name (I didn’t exist) and some of my other favourite sites. Thanks to web.archive.org, you can even see how some sites looked back then (and how just a few small tweaks can make a huge difference).

The latest snafu is with Sony.  In short, a fella deleted some movies off of his hard drive to make some room, but he then he couldn’t reload the content he purchased.

DRM backlash hit the new Electronic Arts game Spore, where users gave the high profile game only one star on Amazon. EA loosened its rules.

Could a solution be on the way? Major producers (except for Disney and Apple) seem to be interested to create a system that allows downloadable content on any device called DECE (Digitial Electronic Control Ecosystem). Details will be available in January but will likely employ cloud computing ideas.

As long as I can download my stuff to my iPod, Shuffle and (upcoming) iTouch without trouble, I’ll be happy.

As this country is set to have an (illegal) election to choose a new PM, I hope all Canadians consider this government‘s investment strategy before placing their vote.

If you want your voice heard, September 25 is National Digital Media Day in Canada. Join the social media network on Facebook or on Ning.

And a guy who has, well, too much money is about to get a lot more richer. Seth McFarlane’s latest effort is an online gamble. Cavalcade, which from the teaser looks like the Family Guy clips that were too blue to use on traditional TV, will debut on September 10. 

Why is this an online gamble? It’s the first time Google AdSense will use its embedded ad service to promote the series. It’s a case of going to where the people are online, rather than the relying on the exploratory nature of the net. Reports are that instead of a static ad, a video from the series will appear, with clickthroughs to the video. It’ll also be up on YouTubes sponsored by Burger King. McFarlane is also said to be receiving a cut of the ad revenue. This deal was struck with Media Rights Capital.

We’ll see if it works! Given McFarlane’s level of fandom, it probably will attract viewers and money. Could this work with unknown producers or docs?