Interesting Stuff 2008-05-20

At the Ofcom PSB Review blog, Peter Phillips gives a report on the Westminster Media Forum's seminar on public service broadcasting:

Direct funding, indirect benefits like access to spectrum, and levies on industry can and do already work as ways of funding public service broadcasting around the world.

Richard Pope used MySociety's new Freedom Of Information request service What Do They Know? to ask for

1) a copy of the BBC's profanity list which rates the degree of offense of swear words and derogatory terms and is used to inform the BBC's editorial decisions.

2) the list of words banned from the BBC's online communities and forums.

--but did not get the list of cuss words he'd hoped for.

George Ornboblogs at Shape Shed about Jonathan Hassell's recent presentation at the University Of East London on making websites more accessible for users with intellectual disabilities.

Michael Arringtonblogs at TechCrunch UK on BBC Switch's Sound Index (currently topped by Coldplay).

Finally, more on Olinda. Aside from many responses in many foreign languages that are beyond the understanding of Internet Blog, Tristan Ferne of this parish asks whether this social radio is "spime". Mark Hopkins at Mashable calls Olinda a "Lego mindstorm looking device" and Conner Flynn at SlipperyBrick agrees. Ryan Jarrett likes everything except the "wipe-clean spaces for writing your friends' names or sticking in a picture"; Tim Regan says "it bothers me a lot that Last FM misses all my BBC iPlayer listening... Enter Olinda" and DaveX at Startling Moniker opines:

as an American, the whole BBC thing is a bit mystifying to me- but the Olinda is surely one of the more interesting, positive aspects that come from having such a powerful public broadcaster. Let's be real, the best thing PBS ever offered was a tote bag.

Alan Connor is co-editor, BBC Internet Blog.