“Whether you’re a newly minted blogger or a relative old-timer, you’ve been seeing more and more stories pop up every day about bloggers getting in trouble for what they post. Like all journalists and publishers, bloggers sometimes publish information that other people don’t want published. You might, for example, publish something that someone considers defamatory, republish an AP news story that’s under copyright, or write a lengthy piece detailing the alleged crimes of a candidate for public office. The difference between you and the reporter at your local newspaper is that in many cases, you may not have the benefit of training or resources to help you determine whether what you’re doing is legal. And on top of that, sometimes knowing the law doesn’t help – in many cases it was written for traditional journalists, and the courts haven’t yet decided how it applies to bloggers.”

[Legal Guide for Bloggers]

Zevs has just “liquidated” Google website.

[ZEVS LIQUIDATES GOOGLE]

“Twitter has landed a reported $35 million in additional venture funding, despite the fact it still lacks a business model. The funding values the company at $250 million, according to news reports.

The move appears to buck a trend as venture funds have famously tightened their purse strings and sent directives late last year to their portfolio companies, urging them to buckle down and make their numbers. It’s no longer enough to generate eyeballs and worry about monetizing them later.

But earlier this week the micro-blogging service shrugged off speculation, based on a British news report, that it would start charging corporate clients. It would not, it said, start charging anyone for services that are currently free.

In fact, Twitter said it didn’t need the cash infusion — but the additional money was too good to pass up. “Our strong growth attracted interest and we decided to accept a unique opportunity to make Twitter even stronger with a very attractive offer,” the company said on its blog.

It said its active users have jumped 900% in the past year. Bolstering that claim is another recent study. At the end of last year, 11% of online American adults said they used Twitter or a service like it, according to a Pew Internet & American Life Project study. Twitter and Twitter-like services are used by about one in five online adults between the ages of 18 and 34. Ten percent of 35- to 44-year-olds and 5% of 45- to 54-year-olds use Twitter.

Institutional Venture Partners and Benchmark Capital underwrote the additional funding.”

[Source]

The KINDA Sutra, a hybrid doc short, explores the eternal question: Where do babies come from? A diverse collection of people, from kids to seniors, reveal  misconceptions about conception. Kama Sutra inspired animation brings these theories to life, highlighting the universal confusion about sex and what it actually takes to make one of us. The 8-minute film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January.

[Watch]
[The Kinda Sutra: Where Do Babies Come From?]
[Squeaky Stroller]

If you ever wanted a small space solution to take care of all of your needs, then you’ll want to keep an eye on Matroshka. The picture should say it all but if you’re eager to know more, Matroshka is an all-in-one compact living solution. The compact furniture was designed by four university students in May 2007. It was created with the idea of making the most of small spaces. Taking up less space than 4 m2, it includes a bookshelf, double bed, sofa or corner sofa, and a dinner table or sofa table.

[Live Smart Daily]

Joss Whedon (creator and writer of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) brings “Dollhouse,” a new drama, to FOX Friday nights.  Tonight is the premiere episode, at 9pm EST.  Here is the IMDb synopsis of the new show:

The show follows an organization that employs mind-wiped DNA-altered humans known as Dolls who are implanted with false memories and skills for various missions and tasks. When they are not ‘at work’ they are living in a real life Dollhouse which gives the show the name. One of those mind-wiped humans, a young woman named Echo (Eliza Dushku), is slowly starting to become aware of herself and what’s going on – all the while somebody on the outside is trying to bring the Dollhouse down while getting closer to Echo – possibly not aware that she is one of the Dolls he is after.

Sounds like a unique concept, and I’m interested to see if there’s the possibility of a good drama these days.  Although I was never much of a “Buffy” fan, Joss Whedon did create one of my favorite short series, “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.” If you haven’t seen that I would recommend checking it out.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think about “Dollhouse” if you watch tonight!

There is also a LiveBlog during each “Dollhouse” episode if you want to watch with some added commentary.  Click here to read along during the show: “Dollhouse” LiveBlog

[Culture Popped]