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

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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?