Yesterday evening I attended a debate organised by the Authors' Collecting and Licensing Society and held at the British Library. The speakers were distinguished - three writers, one media executive, one book publisher and an MP - the auditorium was full of intelligent and interested people, the chairman was the excellent John Humphrys. Unfortunately and worryingly, the debate was trivial, shallow, anecdotal, self-serving, smug and boring. Apart from that it was okay. In an era where technology and social change are challenging copyright more fundamentally than at any time since its inception, the debate was typified by an anecdote about a magazine sublicensing an article to another magazine in Australia without informing the author. It was really a moan session between authors and publishers. Authors and publishers are on the same side when it comes to copyright and intra-trade squabbling will only serve to weaken the vital case for the retention and adaptation of copyright as a rewarder and guarantor of literary and other creativity. Harrumph.
On the other hand, this eloquent essay by Peter Brantley at the University of California Berkeley Library describing second thoughts about accepting Google's offer to digitise their books is much more germane. And I'm grateful to Michael Cairns and his Persona Non Data blog for this link.
The guy on the right of this photo is Peter Collins who, amongst many other responsibilities, is in charge of advertising at Nature Publishing Group. He is hard to recognise here because his shirt is white and tucked in.
Back in December I wrote about our experiment of allowing recruiters free advertisements in the online editions of our journals while charging for premium upgrades and word-associated links. I described it as 'another great moment in classified advertising'. The photo shows Peter, representing the Nature Jobs team, accepting the first prize in the Online Recruitment Awards Ceremony, a tribute to innovation and another great moment in classified advertising.
Yesterday's papers printed obituaries of two very different people both of whose inventions have changed millions of lives around the world - Robert Adler with the TV remote control and more importantly for me Alejandro Finisterre who designed, built and eventually patented table football.
Next stop on my way to work is Shaftesbury Avenue and its theatres. Here's a non-contemporary picture for the sake of nostalgia.
Stop press: Try this link for an outstanding headline.