Vogel Internet, Information Technology and e-Discovery Blog : Texas Internet, Information Technology, eCommerce & E-Discovery Lawyer & Attorney Peter S. Vogel : Gardere Wynne Sewell Law Firm : Dallas TX

Google added two new links for “My social circle” and “My social content” that permit Social Networking searches! This blending of the most popular search engine in the US with social networking is getting more interesting since “Google is striking real-time deals with both Facebook and MySpace. Updates from public pages on Facebook will appear in Google real-time search, as will any publicly posted comments on MySpace.” In the future hundreds of millions of friends on Facebook and MySpace will use Google to search.

Google “Show Options”

Many people may not have noticed that when you do a Google Search the results displays “Show options” which includes the following:

So whenever you do a Google search you can click on “>Any time, Latest” and you will find information that just happened seconds before. This service now permits real time searching rather than purely historical.

Twitter on Google and Bing

To make things a little more interesting Google just announced that it will add live results from Twitter searches. However Bing already has an early version http://www.bing.com/twitter. With the tremendous growth of Social Networking now blending into search engines seems logical and inevitable. Even though Google gives pointers on how to protect oneself with these new social network searches, Google still keeps searches for 18 months. It makes one wonder how private everyone’s information really is on Social Networks or Google.
 

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Last week I posted as a guest blog at on Karl Bayer’s Blog about Dispute Resolution concerning Allison Skinner. Victoria VanBuren who works with Karl has posted a guest blog on this site about the Enron database.

Recent surveys indicate that there are over 210 billion emails sent each day, which does not include the more than 1 trillion text messages sent in 2008. eDiscovery has impacted every lawsuit in every courthouse, and with this unbelievable number of emails and text messages litigation will never be the same.

After the Guest Post last November about Allison Skinner’s Brilliant idea about eMediation, Allison and I have received great feedback about the eMediation idea. Judges and lawyers throughout the country are excited about this new use of the Mediation process to solve the biggest problem in litigation today, eDiscovery.

Get CLE Credit and Learn about eMediation and Special Masters

So join Allison O’Neal Skinner and me on our webcast when we discuss “how-to” conduct eMediations and when a Special Master should be considered for eDiscovery. The TexasBarCLE will broadcast this webcast live on February 16, 2010 from 2-3:30pm (1.5 hours CLE credit).

On the webcast Allison and I plan to discuss:

• The benefits of eMediation to effectively manage eDiscovery in a unique and productive way.
• How and when to use an eMediation.
• The various functions the Special Master can serve for the parties and the Court.
• The comparative effectiveness of an eMediator versus a Special Master at different pre-trial stages.

Also I’m happy to report that Allison is teaching a course this spring on eDiscovery at her alma mater, the University of Alabama Law School.

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With all the press about the disaster for Google in China somebody had to benefit, and it turns out the predominant search engine Baidu will be the big winner. Baidu had 63.9% and Google had about 31.3% of China’s search engine’s market before the December attacks. Ironically Baidu was started by Li Yanhong, a.k.a. Robin Li in 2000 when he raised $26.2 million in venture funding including a modest investment from Google. Today Baidu has 7,000 employees and market value of $16.2 billion, however Google sold its stake in 2006. Google entered China in 2006 with an agreement to censor certain topics.  But whether Google departs or not, Baidu is sure to grow since many users of Google are worried about security. Of course that is ironic since many in China believe that Baidu censored a great deal more than Google.cn. 

Attack on Google

Apparently the attack on Google was through a security hole in Microsoft’s browser Internet Explorer (IE) including these versions:

IE 6 Service Pack 1 on Microsoft Windows 2000 SP4 has the bug. Moreover, the flaw exists in IE 6, IE 7 and IE 8 on supported editions of Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7, plus Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2.

Some pundits are wondering why Google was using IE rather than Google’s browser Chrome, which is an interesting issue aside from the attack.

Microsoft's Ballmer: We're Staying in China

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer committed to stay in China even though Google appears to be ready to leave. “Google has been in China since 2006 operating under an agreement with the government that has the search giant purge banned topics from its Chinese search results. But the recent attack has Google saying it will no longer censor results per Chinese law and the company is threatening to pull out of the country altogether. “ Since Microsoft recently announced its plan to grow its search engine Bing in China it’s no wonder that Microsoft may stay notwithstanding censorship and vulnerability with IE.

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In a recent interview Mark Zukerberg “told a live audience …that if he were to create Facebook again today, user information would by default be public, not private as it was for years until the company changed dramatically in December.” Without question Facebook and social networking have changed Internet users’ perceptions of what should be private and not.

Google CEO Schmidt Comments about Privacy
 

The Electronic Frontier Foundation recently reported:
 

When asked during an interview for CNBC's recent "Inside the Mind of Google" special about whether users should be sharing information with Google as if it were a "trusted friend," Schmidt responded, "If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place."
 

Schmidt went to say that under the US Patriot Act the US government may obtain information from Google which they routinely retain. Many Google users are unaware that Google retains each and every search for 18 months. So I guess his advice should make people stop and think.

Privacy – What Do Law Students Think?

When I first started teaching the Law of e Commerce at SMU Dedman School of Law in 2000 privacy was a very important and hot topic. A few years ago the CyberProf listserv did an informal survey of those of us who teach the Law of eCommerce and/or the Internet regarding how our students felt about privacy in 2000 and in 2008. Not much of a surprise that law students in 2008 seemed to care a lot less about privacy. My guess is that social networking, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, texting, et al have been the big drivers of this change in attitude regarding privacy.

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My good friend Kevin Campbell (CIO at Hunt Oil) told me recently that about 5 years ago he removed the TVs from his home with great protest from his kids, but they did keep 2 computers hooked up to the Internet. One evening last fall Kevin’s wife asked him to check on the pending storm on the western horizon Kevin checked on weather.com. Kevin reported back a few minutes later about the latest radar report. In the meantime Kevin’s 20 year daughter reported about strong winds, lightening, and heavy rain which was not part of the weather.com’s website report. When asked where his daughter got her information, of course she just pinged friends on Facebook who lived to the Campbell’s west where the storm was brewing. I guess Kevin’s reliance on going to a website rather than use a Web 2.0 social network source shows a different perspective on getting current information!

2010 Election Year

Adding to the reality of 2010 Web 2.0 politics that 430 Members of Congress are now on YouTube, the Washington Post reported that a Facebook lobbyist is now tutoring Members of Congress:

Inside the headquarters of the National Republican Congressional Committee, 25-year-old Adam Conner -- registered Facebook lobbyist, poster of multiple Obama attaboys and a guy whose Facebook photo is a grizzly bear wielding two chainsaws -- sits down to teach a course. The subject: How to use Facebook better. His student: Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.).

Not much of a surprise given President Obama’s successful campaign and the reality of the down economy means fewer political contributions. So if candidates want to get re-elected (or just elected) they have to use Web 2.0!

Texting is for Real

A former partner recently told me that his daughter sent a text to his wife – “OMG!!!” So his wife called their daughter, and when there was no answer she sent the daughter a text “What’s this about?” The daughter sent a text reply “I’m marrying Jim next summer!” All text, all the time. Web 2.0 will mean be a different year for politics since so many people now rely on texting, Facebook, MySpace, et al. It will be interesting to see how 2010 elections turn out.
 

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The EU finally concluded its antitrust case against Microsoft by allowing customers to select browsers from a variety of 12 options including Google (Chrome), Apple (Safari), Mozilla (Firefox), and Opera. Under the plan “in March Microsoft will issue an update that enables the more than 100 million European users of Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 to choose among a variety of browsers available for installation in addition to -- or instead of -- its Internet Explorer.” Since Microsoft will remain liable for fines it is likely that Internet Explorer’s market share will decline to the benefit of others.

How Can Bing Compete in China?

Microsoft recently announced that it planned to enlarge Bing (its search engine) in China:

"Microsoft is committed to the China market and the search market in China is the most important strategic market for Microsoft," Microsoft told Reuters on Dec. 29. "We specifically set the search technology center in China to get a deeper understanding of what Chinese users need, to be able to deliver the best product to them."

However:

“According to research company Analysys International, as cited by Reuters, Chinese search engine Baidu currently leads the country's search engine market with 63.9 percent, followed by Google with 31.3 percent. Meanwhile, another research company estimated that Bing (which launched in China in June, and is still technically a beta) occupied less than 1 percent of the Chinese search engine market in the second quarter of 2009.”

So the likelihood of a Bing’s success seems remote any time soon.

Google Still Dominates

Since Google’s search engine continues to grow in the US and China it seems unlikely that Microsoft can make any inroads unless Microsoft changes its business plans. There is an increase in the use of cloud computing for business around the world which makes it debatable if users need new operating systems to replace older systems whether Microsoft, Apple, or Linux. Right now it is hard to tell how Microsoft’s new operating system Windows 7 will fare. If it is not a fabulous success, maybe Microsoft will only get smaller throughout the world.

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Web 2.0 must be for real, how else can anyone explain Members of Congress find YouTube, Twitter, Blogs, and Facebook the most effective way to communicate in 2009? Today NPR (National Public Radio) interviewed Republican strategist Mindy Finn (a partner and blogger at the political consulting firm Engage who helped Virginia Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell) said that "Members who don't have a lot of say or don't have much of a voice in Congress can use social media to talk directly to their constituents, to voters and to activists." Finn went on to say “"In the past, they might put out a press release and nobody picks it up. But now if they build up a network of blogger support, if they have a presence on Facebook or on Twitter, and they put out that same information, it can go virally across the Internet."

YouTube Offering Text Captioning

Google recently announced that it is making YouTube accessible to deaf and hearing impaired Internet users. Since the captions are English-language speech only the power of Google’s 51 languages will allow for automatic translation to millions of people around the world who do not speak English. This technology is not new and Google currently uses it to transcribe voice mail messages into .wav files with Google Voice. Of course this technology is not perfect but offers a dramatic impact on world-wide communications.

Federal Trade Commission Examining Google Acquisition of AdMob

What will happen if AdMob, one of the top sellers of iPhone banner ad apps and web pages, becomes part of Google’s empire? This acquisition would position Google to be a major player in the mobile advertising ecosystem and expand Google’s market power. It does not take rocket science to see that Members of Congress are taking advantage of YouTube and Web 2.0, so surely they will capitalize on mobile ad which Google can see. Without question President Obama’s use of Web 2.0 vaulted him into the White House, and clearly Members of Congress depend on Web 2.0 to be relevant and communicate with their constituents. Wonder what will happen with Web 3.0 in the future and its impact on politics?

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Months after declaring the importance of CyberSecurity as a national priority President Obama will name Howard Schmidt as Cyber Czar today. “Schmidt served as special adviser for cyberspace security from 2001 to 2003 and shepherded the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace, a plan that then was largely ignored. He left that job also frustrated, colleagues said.”

Not the Rock Star that the President Was Looking For

Schmidt appears to have the right credentials. Before he joined the Bush administration he work as Chief Security Officer at Microsoft and later VP and Chief Information Security Officer at eBay.  Before the appointment Schmidt was head of the Information Security Forum (ISF) a cybersecurity research consortium. “In addition to his role leading the ISF, He's the chief executive of R&H Security Consulting and serves on the board of several security companies including PGP, Fortify, and BigFix. He's served as vice chair of the President's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board and as chief security strategist for the US CERT Partners Program under the Department of Homeland Security.”

Cyber Czar Not Part of Cabinet

Based on the May 2009 Cyberspace Policy Review Schmidt will report to both the National Security Council and National Economic Council, but will not part of the President’s Cabinet. There were many reports that no one wanted the Cyber Czar job and that’s probably because there are so many federal agencies in the mix including NSA, CIA, Justice, and DOD. It will be interesting to see how well the new Cyber Czar will succeed. Time will tell and everyone will be watching!

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In a 5-4 ruling the Ohio Supreme Court now requires a search warrant to search cell phone content which the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio calls a landmark decision as this appears to be a case of first impression. The defendant’s cell phone was searched without a warrant after he was arrested on drug charges based on a police sting operation. At trial the defendant claimed a violation of the 4th Amendment that although the police had the right to take his cell, the police did not have the right to search the contents of the cell. A decision to appeal to the US Supreme Court is pending.

US Supreme Court Agrees to Consider Text Messages

This week the Supreme Court agreed to consider the privacy claims of police officers text messages in City of Ontario v. Quon. The question before the Supreme Court is whether the city employees are entitled to privacy of the text messages stored at Arch Wireless’ servers since the city provided the text services to the officers as part of their jobs. Each officer received 25,000 characters a month as an allowance and the officers paid for any overages. The city paid no attention to the text messages until it discovered that officer Jeff Quon (who paid for characters above the allowance) had sent sexually explicit messages that were clearly personal and not business related. The question in this case is also a claim of violation of the 4th Amendment.

Web 2.0 Communications

Given what people post on social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn it is a wonder that many folks expect much privacy today. Courts will continue to be confronted with perplexing issues regarding the use of the Internet and this will never be less complex, but as I  blogged this week Judges in Florida should not be social network friends with lawyers who appear before them in cases even though lawyers may contribute to their election campaigns. As web 2.0 expands one easily images that the courts will have to reconsider how the 1789 written Constitution applies.

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