Will digital books be a boon or bust for journalists? Stephen Beale sends word — from a workshop by the Association of Health Care Journalists — that it's a mixed bag, quoting Jim Azevedo of Smashwords: "When people ask, 'What’s the best thing about Smashwords?' we say, 'We make it fast, free and easy for any author anywhere in the world to publish and distribute a book.' When they ask, 'What’s the worst thing about Smashwords?' we give them the same answer."

Brevity is the soul of wit and the essence of Twitter, but it's a challenge to write well in such brief bursts. Who does it best? Mallary Jean Tenore has some nominees on Poynter: "Twitter is a powerful tool for writers. With its 140-character limit, it's like an electronic editor that forces us to find a focus and make every word count. It's a verbose writer's friend and worst enemy — a constant reminder that it's often harder to write short than it is to write long."

Two views on a favorite meme of the Internet age. Robert Niles writes on Online Journalism Review that news publishers are struggling "because the market's telling them just how worthless" their product — a commodity called information — actually is. But on Scholarly Kitchen, Kent Anderson writes that data is never free: "Unless we fully realize the costs and obligations of being digital, we’re likely to mistakenly believe it can be free."

Denise Graveline surveys alternatives to the fabled Flip, which met its end after Cisco Systems acquired its original maker. "The good news: The rest of the field didn't grind to a halt. The bad news: You have more choices than ever to make when choosing an ultralight camcorder." The options range from a $100 Sony with bare-bones capability, to more expensive models with built-in wifi sharing, geotagging, beefed-up memory and storage, and live-streaming for videos.