Reuters is reporting today that a hacker “who goes by the name ‘Gabriel,’ claims to have taken a digital copy of author J.K. Rowling’s seventh book, ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,’ by breaking into a computer at Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.” As many Potter fans are aware, the details of the final book have been carefully guarded by author J.K. Rowling and her publishers.

With the release of “Deathly Hallows” less than a month away, anticipation and excitement continues to grow, with fans eagerly awaiting the opportunity to finally know what happens to Harry and other lead characters from the series. Rowling fueled fans’ excitement some months ago when she claimed that two of the main characters from the series would die in the final book.

In May, Rowling posted a message on her site stating she could see the “first distant rumblings of the weirdness that usually precedes a Harry Potter publication.” Rowling asked fans who might somehow learn the details of her final book not to publish them for others to read. J.K. stated that her desire is for readers “who have, in many instances, grown up with Harry, to embark on the last adventure they will share with him without knowing where they are going.”
I wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment. And it’s quite likely the vast majority of Potter fans agree as well.

Why would anyone want the endings of both the book and this monumental series spoiled when the release of the final books is less than a month away? After years of anticipation, reading what happens in a series of posted spoilers on the Internet will almost certainly ruin the final book for you. And it could potentially ruin the series as well.

This blogger is a “hater” when it comes to spoilers, and I’ve spoken out against this horrible habit before. Two posts in particular, Just say NO to spoilers!, and Help! Star Trek has fallen and can’t get up!, make this clear to readers.

Think about this; if Gabriel truly did hack into a computer and steal the book, then he or she has committed a serious crime. Definitely, Gabriel should be thrown in jail and Rowling’s publishers should sue for damages.

The self-alleged criminal, Gabriel, is very pointed in his desire to damage Rowling and her publishers. Gabriel says unequivocally that “We make this spoiler to make reading of the upcoming book useless and boring.”

This person wants to ruin your experience, and they want to damage 10 years of very hard work on the part of J.K. Rowling. Does anyone truly think J.K. began writing expecting to become a billionaire? She began writing because she had a story and characters whom she desired to bring to life.

Now Gabriel is trying to get a tad bit of fame by damaging 10 years of hard work. This is a criminal act and, if they truly did steal a copy of Rowling’s final book, Gabriel needs to treated as the criminal he truly is.

If a copy was stolen, it is more likely Gabriel worked for the publisher rather than they were able to hack into their computers. In most cases where data in one form or another is stolen, leaks occur from the inside.
But this is a personal theory. Ultimately, we may find that the loser “Gabriel” was just telling a huge lie to get some attention, or to promote a pet theory.

Regardless, I think fans everywhere need to avoid spoilers of any kind. The best reaction to people such as Gabriel is pity and contempt. Pity that they should be so immature and reckless, and contempt for their thoughtless actions. It is not “cool,” or “admirable” in any way to do what loser Gabriel claims to have done.

What we can know with certainty is this; Gabriel is either a thief, a liar, or both. Any way you look at it, this person is, without a doubt, a loser. And if you read spoilers stolen illegally from Rowling, then you’re a loser too.

Senator Clinton’s campaign has launched a new site, HillaryHub.com with a Drudge Report-like format in that it does not produce original content but instead simply aggregates content. The key here is that Senator Clinton’s campaign can aggregate the material they choose to highlight, which is a particular advantage.

On the face of it, it is a very good idea. Media companies have, for years now, pointed out how influential DrudgeReport.com has become in breaking stories that otherwise might have received little or no attention. He breaks new stories and he adds momentum to stories that are just breaking in a way that few if any other sites can.

Matt Drudge, of course, is a news aggregator but he picks and chooses which stories to headline, and Drudge’s instincts for stories, in my opinion, seems somewhat akin to the instincts of a George Soros or a Warren Buffet in terms of their ability to both anticipate the market and move the market.

Those are the instincts that Drudge possesses when it comes to his ability to both anticipate the media and move it as well.

So, the question is, can Senator Clinton’s team do the same? Even if they cannot, HillaryHub may still prove both a great strength and a strategic campaign advantage. In terms of giving campaign supporters the best possible take on their candidate, this site is ideal. That said, most campaign sites do some of this already, so it will be interesting to keep an eye on this move to determine the overall strategic value of HillaryHub.com.
At the same time, if the Clinton Campaign seeks to truly aggregate everything, they should have a section or a column for direct campaign releases and information. An aggregator should gather everything, both internal and external to the Senator’s campaign. It should not try to carefully couch campaign information as “other” content.

So, for example, while it is okay to link up with an article written in response to a campaign news release, Clinton’s campaign should not try to show their own news releases on this site ONLY by linking to other media sources. I just think it would make the site look to contrived and less natural, which is something that Senator Clinton should avoid at all costs.

My two cents on that issue.

So, will this prove a winner for Senator Clinton? Will others follow her lead?

I think it will be helpful, though I’m not sure at this point how much. And, definitely, others will follow her lead. They’ll do it in one of two ways. Either they’ll tweak their current campaign sites to aggregate other information HillaryHub-style, or they’ll create a similar type of aggregator site.

The last question in my mind is whether or not this was the right time for Senator Clinton to launch this site so early. Will this give her rivals — Democrats and Republicans — time to copy her efforts and eliminate any strategic advantage?

I guess, on this issue, we’ll have to stay tuned.

There is a very interesting picture up on Drudge Report right now showing a crying Paris in the back of a patrol car. I’m not sure when that was taken, but let’s hope it was today.

What can I say? I have NO sympathy for Ms. Hilton and it doesn’t seem as if anyone else does either. You can hear people talking about her everywhere; in the office, on the street, and with friends. They talk about the beautiful spoiled brat who has never had to take responsibility. Well, right now, it seems she is in the process of being spanked by reality.

I’m very glad to see that the judge who presided over her case and the prosecutor who brought the charges against her are pushing back on the decision to send Paris home to serve detention there. Paris, who thought at first she was going to be allowed to phone into the court was, instead, picked up by the Sherriff’s office. Apparently the Sherriff’s office thought they could disregard the Judge’s order for her to appear in court. I guess the Judge was able to get them to change their minds after he threatened to charge Sheriff Lee Baca with contempt.

So Paris is headed back to jail, reportedly having been escorted out of the courthouse screaming for her Mom. Good for him.

A little time in jail, and a little does of true reality might be just what the Judge ordered. Who knows, maybe some family members are also hoping this experience will teach her a bit of self-control.

We’ll see.

Photo property of DrudgeReport.com.