The internet got excited about Facebook’s Open Platform this summer, which isn’t actually a big deal unless you like randomly-generated Harry Potter quotes or being spammed by Honesty Box. Still, everyone from nerds to journalism professors loved it. The only problem is that Facebook doesn’t have a killer revenue model, despite healthy ad rates.

That’s where news feed comes in. Webware picked up a Wall Street Journal report that Facebook is going to start placing more ads inside news feed targeted to different user demographics. That sounds like great eye real estate, which makes it more annoying than sidebar ads. They’re comparing it to Google’s AdWords program, which sounds about right since both companies make money by hassling their users, but they’re so ubiquitous and useful no one will care.
-Will Sommer, blog editor

DC government is blaming the fire in Georgetown library last April on Dynamic Corp., a Maryland-based construction company. The city’s suing for $13 million, which is a pretty good deal considering restoration was expected cost from $15 to $20 million.

According to the lawsuit, the fire was started by Dynamic employees with heat guns. I had never heard of heat guns, but they sound pretty useful: “It has 2 heat settings, 500 or 1020 degress Farenheit. This versatile device strips paint and varnish, thaws frozen pipes, softens adhesives for removal of linoleum and floor tile, and quick dries almost anything.” This one is only $24.99, which makes me wonder why we don’t all have them.

For its part, Dynamic seems unperturbed by the lawsuit. Its website has a fondness for stock photos and phaser sounds, and it still lists DC government as a “valued client.”

Besides heat guns, the secret star of the fire is the bookmobile that serviced Georgetown afterward. The bus is 40-feet long and has wireless internet. That even sounds like a good idea for Georgetown students, forced to choose between long lines in the bookstore or getting mugged at Lauinger.

Georgetown library photo from Flickr user Slack13

-Will Sommer, blog editor