Never underestimate the power of a Twitter feed

A clever use of a Twitter feed leveled the playing field for a staff-starved campus blog called Onward State so it could compete with a 112-year-old college newspaper for student eyeballs. Most exciting is that they used Googlewave for the blog's tiny staff to collaborate in real time, an interesting solution to keeping everyone up-to-date on daily workflow. It's a model that The Daily Collegian, their print competitor with 10 times the staff, and newsrooms worldwide might want to mimic. Greg Ferenstein on Mashable.com examines the successful social media strategies of Onward State, and compares the world views of two camps of student journalists and their professional counterparts. http://bit.ly/bL4QYt

Italy's cyber-bullying decision sets a precedent

Three Google executives were convicted in Italy on February 24 over a bullying video posted on the site, setting a precedent. I pose this question: If Google & Facebook are liable for cyber-bullying through their websites, then are cities liable for permitting crime on their streets? http://bit.ly/cSbON3

Control-freak alert

Apple's penchant for controlling every aspect of a user's experience has resulted in the company applying for a patent for technology that stops your cell phone if you don't watch ads. http://bit.ly/c3iPmj

In other news, Apple doesn't care if its iPad ad goes viral? No surprise there. Apple doesn't control YouTube http://bit.ly/cATvQv

Bleacher Report signs deal with Hearst

Will the Bleacher Report deal with Hearst be the petri dish where cit-J proves it can save newspapers? http://bit.ly/dyTPUf

As long as readers are clear about who they're reading, citizen journalism can provide a valuable resource to traditional media -- and provide reports that might otherwise never see the light of day. This is an interesting test.