Mondoville Daily Scroll: November 5

Today on the Scroll: real-time collaborative journalism fights to win over the VCs on CBC; phone book firm continues making case for post-print survival; architecture critic likes public libraries; freelancers bash a rapacious publisher; and one more bash of the concept of a creative class.

Dragons’ Den nets $250,000 for ScribbleLive [CBC]: Multimedia liveblogging software becomes the Susan Boyle of Canadian business, at least for one night, after trying to explain how social media can work to generally clueless Dragons — venture capitalist judge Arlene Dickinson grasped enough to buy 30 per cent of the company, three times what they initially offered to sell. But the guys from ScribbleLive fared considerably better on the show than Ms. Lube.

Yellow Pages looks locally for more growth [Canadian Press]: “If you’re looking for a dive shop in Sudbury,” CEO Marc Tellier tells worried investors, “Google is not going to know about it.” Last month, The Globe and Mail bought into Tellier’s belief that the clout of the print directory will gradually translate into an online moneymaker.

Library 2.0 [Christopher Hume, Toronto Star]: Rapturous paean to the evolving Toronto Public Library system, where one can now eat and drink with impunity: “Forget Starbucks, Second Cup, Tim Hortons, the whole irritating landscape of phony hospitality, those walk-in ads where comfort, cookies and coffee are doled out at $5 a serving.” Also noted downtown: “literate vagrants catching up on their reading.” Ten years ago, they could count on a comfy chair at still-competing Chapters and/or Indigo.

Bad Writing Contracts [PWAC]: Not a goofy blog of typos, as the name might suggest, but a site from the Professional Writers Association of Canada to raise awareness sparked by a possibly sadistic freelance contract from Transcontinental Media —  publisher of Canadian Living, Elle Canada and Homemakers — who only want to pay writers once for work they hope to publish over and over again. Last spring, The Globe and Mail owners agreed to pay out $11 million to freelancers for unauthorized electronic reproduction of their articles after a protracted legal battle.

Florida state of mind [Mike Smith, NOW]: Two years after he moved to town, Richard Florida gets the old-school rant-by-numbers left-wing alt-weekly roast, prompted by his appearance at Creative Places + Spaces. Some good Twitter-worthy quips in there, however. [Previously on Mondoville]

… and more all day today @mondoville.