#1: What exactly does Google know about you? With 23 services and counting, Google is the online destination for a lot of people for e-mail, online document storage, web site analytics, forums, and–oh yeah–online searches. In addition to their 23 services, they now offer Google Dashboard in case you want to check on everything Google knows about you with its services. Haven’t poked around this one, but an interesting addition.

#2: Ah, workplace pettiness–how I miss thee: Disgruntled Toronto Star editor takes revenge on publisher by copy editing his letter. I’m not sure I’d call this “constructive revenge” as The Torontoist does but then definitions differ.

#3: I’m on a discussion list that has a couple members obsessed with what logo Google is showing on their search page on any given day (Google “dresses” up the logo for various holiday). Finally someone posted an index where all of the Google special logos are indexed for quick perusal. Interesting to see how some countries got a Hallowe’en logo with one piece of candy, some with a bit more, and some with the logo inundated with candy–cultural sensibilities? The index appears to go back to the very beginning.

#4: The top 20 most annoying book reviewer cliches and how to use them all in one meaningless review. I think I’ve only used #17–I must not read the right type of books.

#5: What a New York Times bestseller actually makes for an author in terms of cold hard cash. Think they’re rich? Think again.

#6: Jim Carrey has a new website. You’ll need Flash to view it but it’s worth it. I’m normally not a fan of Flash pages since Flash is often used for the web site owner’s benefit and not the visitor’s benefit, but in this case it’s been used right. The site is meant for entertainment, I think, more than for straight information gathering but if you like Easter Eggs (clicking on random things to find surprises) and the oddness that is Carrey you’ll like what he’s done with his site. I’m doubly impressed that he has included plain Jane navigation at the bottom of his page for those people who really do want information and not entertainment–it’s a small touch but it’s huge in terms of serving his audience and not being so arrogant as to force people to play games they don’t want to if they just want information. If you want some clues as to what to look for on his site, there is a Wall Street Journal blog post with their review of the site.

#7: One person’s account of the actual cost of making an e-book versus making a print version. Biggest cost? Editing (but only because they did not hire a professional graphic designer and did the text formatting themselves). Worth every penny, if you ask me (but then, I edit on a freelance basis so of course I would say that).

#1: Something is up at Amazon (again). Are they forcing publishers to put up searchable copies of their books before the book is for sale?

#2: Interesting statement on the Google Book Settlement, excerpted and highlighted for easy reading. Covers the reasons the settlement has “bad idea” written all over it.

#3: An article on Craigslist and its odd founder from Wired examining why, against all odds and a staunch refusal to innovate, Craigslist continues to dominate online classifieds. The article is much more interesting than I make it sound. Really.

#4: Star Trek fan? John Scalzi ranks Star Trek film directors.

#5: Use Gmail? Here’s a handy Lifehacker article with a number of ways to access Gmail when it goes down.

#6: James Patterson signs 17-book over 5 years deal. Sigh. This is why I often stop reading authors: too many books pumped out over too little time leaving them cookie-cutterish, boring, and predictable. Apparently he comes up with an outline and contracts out the writing of the first draft (which is the most time-consuming and painful part of the writing process for many), so he’s not really “writing” 17 books.

#7: An article on why students aren’t ready for digital textbooks (or as I read it: why digital textbooks aren’t ready for students).

#1: An argument for why ebooks cost as much as they do and not as little as consumers think they should from CNET. Interesting, but I think some of the costs are being counted twice. Marketing an ebook doesn’t require a separate book tour from the print version of the book (and most books by large publishers come out in print as well). There is also the common argument made that cheap ebook prices will cannibalize the print sales of the book, which I think is wrong. I don’t think there is as much overlap between those two markets as publishers keep assuming (if there is data to back up the assertion that ebooks cannibalize print sales I’d be interested in seeing it).

#2: More on ebooks: A blog post by author Lynn Viehl on my favourite multi-author blog about whether or not to give away free ebooks or, as she puts it, “To E- or not to E-” It’s an interesting read, especially for authors, on how to use free ebooks to attract readership for your print books.

#3: Not directly about publishing, but there is an interesting article on Advertising Age about whether companies should pay bloggers for product reviews. I thought it might be of interest because every once in a while a new book blogger will raise the question of charging for book reviews (there are sites that do this and post them on amazon.com). For the record, I don’t charge for reviews and if I ever did I would disclose it (though my opinion would be the same because I wasn’t there the day they taught ass-kissing as anyone who’s met me is well aware–it’s somewhat of a character defect of mine). I do receive free review copies (not always) as do many book bloggers who are reviewing current releases.

#4: Amazon is making friends and influencing people again (not). Now it is censoring the author blogs and making the content harder to find. Seems some authors were using the author blog feature to sell directly to consumers and cutting Amazon out of the deal.

#5: Google is getting into the ebook business as a direct competitor to Amazon (and others) by launching an ebook store. Not everyone is happy about this: PC World think this will create a standards war with consumers stuck in the middle. Fiction Matters points out that this will be an online ebook store only which has little appeal to readers who want their books portable and unplugged from the Internet.

#6: Ever wonder how authors of classics feel about derivative works (think the glut of derivatives of Jane Austen)? Well, someone wrote a derivative work of Catcher in the Rye. Unlike many authors whose works are being used, Salinger is still alive and he is not thrilled.

#7: This one is not really a publishing item, but I thought it was interesting: Newsweek has published an article about Oprah where they dissect the credibility of her experts and the balance of her coverage on topics. I am an anti-Oprah book club kind of reader (if she recommends it I know I won’t like it). Although I have found some of her experts credible, I agree with the articles premise that the focus is often more on personality than credibility and a balanced presentation on topics is often lacking. She is powerful though (Random disclosure: She boosted one of my relatives’ businesses considerably just by mentioning one of his products in an O Magazine ‘favourite things’ list).