Mechanical Serfdom Is Just That (BusinessWeek)

Twitter has revealed it has developed a "computation engine" comprising low-paid human workers to categorise the hashtags and topics enjoying sudden spikes in popularity, to help it to sell advertising against them. Computer algorithms are currently unable to understand the meaning of some topics, Twitter said.

Tasks such as transcribing business cards or titling porn films give rise to a vast army of temporary employees in matches made through Amazon's Mechanical Turk.SAN JOSE, Calif. — The job didn't pay much: $4 an hour if she really hustled.

One of the things that continually amazes me is how people can line up all the facts, actually get them right, and then leap to entirely the incorrect conclusion. One such is this piece from the New York Times concerning Amazon's Mechanical Turk marketplace.

Wall Street Breakfast Editors submit:Top StoriesAmazon flies higher after earnings. Amazon (AMZN) shares surged 9.2% premarket after its Q4 operating profit beat expectations and despite net profit plunging, and EPS and revenues missing consensus.

Amazon has cut ties with Hensel European Security Services, a German firm whose staff has been accused of mistreating seasonal workers.

[Reuters ] - Amazon.com Inc (NasdaqGS:AMZN - News) said on Wednesday it has struck a sponsorship deal with AT&T Inc (NYSE:T - News) to sell a less expensive version of its Kindle 3G digital reader.

By Tradevestor:So, the market just loves Starbucks (SBUX) and hates Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) now.