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

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerman recently announced significant changes to Facebook expanding 100’s of websites with "open graph" and  “like” which may revolutionize the Internet. At the annual f8 Facebook outside developers’ conference on April 21, 2010 Zuckerman demonstrated "open graph" and how the use of “like” on hundreds of websites (including Yelp, CNN, Pandora, ESPN, and IMDb) will allow the 400+ million friends to share their likes which in turn will be posted to their Facebook pages. According to Mashable.com Facebook “has created a platform that allows sites and apps to share information about users in order to tailor offers, features and services to each one’s interests and tastes — even if that individual has never visited the site before.” Zuckerman explained how most information on the Internet is lost in time once posted, referring to a tweets, text messages, and the like, but the new Facebook "open graph" and "like" will permit information to live forever on the Internet.

Microsoft Docs on Facebook

In conjunction with the f8 conference Microsoft announced a new beta for Docs on Facebook to facilitate access to Microsoft apps through Facebook that “allows users to create, edit and share Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents via the new Docs.com Website. Users can then share those documents with their Facebook friends, as well as give them editing privileges.” Microsoft’s collaboration with Microsoft is clearly competition for Google, Google apps, and the new Google Buzz.

Senator Doesn’t “Like” Facebook’s Instant Personalization Features

Under the new "open graph" and "like" Facebook automatically changed the privacy features, so within days of Facebook’s announcement Senator Charles Schumer of New York wrote a letter to the FTC “urging them to create privacy guidelines for Facebook and other social networking sites.” We need to watch closely to see what, if anything, the FTC may do. My blog on January 14, 2010 included a link to an interview with Zuckerman where he commented that the age of privacy is over. So perhaps he was referring to the new "open graph" and "like" features may be part of his plan to actually make that happen

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A report that a number of privacy groups filed a complaint with the FTC to investigate includes this quote “Internet ad exchanges… are basically markets for eyeballs on the Web. Advertisers bid against each other in real-time for the ability to direct a message at a single Web surfer. The trades take 50 milliseconds to complete.” The April 8, 2010 complaint was filed by the Center for Digital Democracy, US PIRG, and the World Privacy Forum against Google, Yahoo, PubMatic, TARGUSinfo, MediaMath, eXelate, Rubicon Project, AppNexus, Rocket Fuel, and others. Among other allegations in the complaint is a “massive and stealth data collection apparatus.” How much privacy to we really have?

Privacy in Social Media

Seems like an interesting overlap with my recent blog about the fact that the FTC is already dealing with EPIC’s complaint that Google’s new Buzz significantly breached “consumers' expectations of privacy” at the same time that Google acquired Social Media Optimization company Aardvark. Since it is the job of the FTC to protect consumer privacy it will be interesting to see how both of these disputes evolve.

Hearst Said to Be in Talks for Web-Marketing Agency iCrossing

More interesting news is that Hearst might take over iCrossing.  iCrossing is one of the leading Search Engine Optimization (SEO) companies with a who’s who customer list including: Adobe, Bank of America, BMW, Epson, Fairmont Hotels, Mary Kay, MasterCard, Office Depot, and Toyota. Hearst is:

“one of the nation's largest diversified media companies. Its major interests include magazine, newspaper and business publishing, cable networks, television and radio broadcasting, internet businesses, TV production and distribution, newspaper features distribution and real estate.”

So the addition of SEO power for Hearst will make an interesting future for everyone. Not to mention the impact on Social Media Optimization that Google and others possess we can expect the FTC investigations to prove very interesting.

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On Thursday, April 22, 2010 the TexasBarCLE will present my webcast from 12:30-1:30pm CDT about Internet Intellectual Property (IP) issues. Actually these topics are also found in the syllabus and PowerPoints from my Law of eCommerce class at SMU Dedman School of Law which I will teach again in the fall of 2010. Interesting how much the Internet and the law have changed since I first taught the class in 2000. Certainly we can expect more change in Internet IP law since we are awaiting the US Supreme Court’s ruling about software patent in a case heard in November 2009 -in re Bilski.

Please join me on Thursday for the Internet IP webcast.

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For purposes of dealing with web 2.0 the White House Memo released on April 7, 2010 about social media specifically states that “interactive meeting tools—including but not limited to public conference calls, webinars, blogs, discussion boards, forums, message boards, chat sessions, social networks, and online communities—to be equivalent to in-person public meetings.” The White House Memo is a follow-up to President Obama’s January 21, 2009 (day after the President was sworn-in) “calling for the establishment of ‘a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration.’” Fascinating development that blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, MySpace, Yelp, and the like are public meetings which means that one should expect little privacy from use of these online services.

Majority of Government Agencies Use Social Networks

This report states that a majority of government agencies now use social networks is hardly a news flash, but put in context of the White House’s Memo that use of social networks are public meetings may change the public view of how they communicate. Of the 400+ million Facebook members of an estimated 70% are outside the US, and one may wonder how communications across international borders impacts the declaration that social media is public meetings.

Yelp and the Business of Extortion 2.0

This recently filed class action suit accuses Yelp of extortion to get bad comments removed from Yelp and lower rankings by reviewers. It remains to be seen whether this case will succeed, but if Yelp is considered a public meeting by the White House it makes one wonder how extortion fits in. Not to mention that the 50 million a day of tweets on Twitter are considered public meetings, even though at least 14,000 are followers of a Doonesbury’s cartoon character Roland Hedley! Web 2.0 is definitely taking us in interesting directions!

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Apparently Microsoft did not learn its lesson hiring Jerry Seinfeld to help launch Vista in the fall of 2008, now apparently Tiger Woods will be Microsoft’s spokesman for Windows 7! Is it possible that Steve Ballmer actually said???: “This guy is big – really big from what I hear, and he’s known as a great multi-tasker who can juggle different extra-curricular activities – just like Windows 7!” Now that Tiger Woods is playing in the Masters in Augusta we will see a media frenzy like nothing else.

Microsoft Loses Its Appeal

The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Microsoft’s appeal for an en banc hearing that Microsoft willfully infringed i4i’s patent and owes more than $240 million in damages. Last January Microsoft removed the offending XML technology from Word 2007 and Office 2010 will not include the infringing technology. Next for Microsoft is the US Supreme Court, who may take the case. However, since less than 4% of cases presented to the US Supreme Court by Petition for Writ of Certiorari are accepted.  So it's unlikely that the US Supreme Court will consider Microsoft's appeal.

10 years after Microsoft vs. DOJ

It’s hard to believe that in April 2000 “U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson ruled that Microsoft violated federal and state antitrust laws and ordered the company to decouple its operating system and browser technology, pay hefty fines and undergo years of scrutiny to prevent future market monopolizing.” Apparently Microsoft if doing well since Microsoft reported “in January record revenues of nearly $20 billion for its second fiscal quarter.” One of the major problems 10 years ago was the monopoly of Internet Explorer, and even though Netscape is no longer in the market apparently the browser wars now continue in the US and EU with Google Chrome and Firefox.

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Cloud Computing is not to blame for the General Services Administration’s exaggeration that it saved $850 million when in fact the savings was $1.8 million! At the recent FOSE conference a GSA official failed to describe how the federal agency managed to save $850 million and over what time frame the saving occurred, but later the GSA had to admit the spokesman “misspoke.” Of course Cloud Computing is a pretty hot topic these days, but hardly a new concept. Before personal computers and servers, in the 1960’s and 1970’s many companies bought computer resource time on mainframes over phone lines which was called “time sharing,” now that same concept of buying computer resources over the Internet is referred to as Cloud Computing. There is much debate about whether Cloud Computing is a great savior to IT, but the GSA’s unbelievable exaggeration of savings does little to help! Having good Cloud Computing contracts is the best medicine.

EDWARD TUFTE – A Most Brilliant Communicator

In 1995 I attended a day-long Edward Tufte seminar with a handful of individuals about how to better communicate information. Tufte is Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Statistics, and Computer Science at Yale University, but with the proliferation of the Internet now Tufte’s seminars are attended by hundreds when he tours the country. I have relied on his concepts since that seminar to try to communicate better.  Tufte's books which have won more than 40 awards are wonderful, you should take a look: Beautiful Evidence, Visual Explanations, Envisioning Information, the Visual Display of Quantitative Information, and Data Analysis for Politics and Policy. If ever you have an opportunity to hear Tufte speak, please do as it will ignite great thoughts.

TUFTE to the Rescue

In March the President appointed Tufte to advise the Recovery Accountability and Transportation Board to help the public understand how $787 billion in stimulus monies are being spent. As a former federal employee I understand how the government can bury information so the public is incapable of understanding. When Tufte was shown the first web design about the stimulus monies he called it “intellectually impoverished. So check out recovery.gov and you will be amazed how easy it is to understand. Many thanks to Professor Tufte!

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