2 – Online Technology

Boston Police Charge Those Who Videotape Arrests as “Wire Tappers”

February 22nd 2010

This week the ACLU filed a lawsuit against the Boston Police Department for using “wiretapping” laws to prevent citizens from taking video footage of police arrests.  Some would naively think such laws were passed to protect the people from the authorities, not vice versa. (details in Law.com) Following Training? Boston police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll rejected […]

Digital Marketing Investment & Threats of Foreign Ownership

February 16th 2010

Hungry investors stake their claim in digital marketing IPOs. Back in December I suggested that 2010 will be a big year for digital IPOs. We’ve already seen this playing out in the FriendFinder IPO. New theme: concern over foreign ownership of social networks. As social networks become investment targets, international ownership may fuel new concerns […]

Obama + Google: A Love Story

February 15th 2010

Presidents Day and Valentine’s Day came together in Fortune Magazine’s feature story. This cover featured an inspired visual melding of brands, and the title promises something juicy along with tech policy. The article chronicles Google’s shift, like much of Silicon Valley, from being blind to government policy to building a lobbying arm to participate in politics […]

Trademarks in Keyword Advertising: Online Law Trends for 2010

February 11th 2010

The most frequent response to my question about what online law issues our readers are most concerned about centered on the still undetermined law around the use of trademarks as  to trigger advertising in search engines.  The issue is both prominent and vexingly permanent in the minds of both IP layers and and search marketers. […]

Altaf Shaikh: Do you think that Bill Gates or Richard Branson is always on the other end of your social media conversations?

February 9th 2010

First off, I just wanted to thank Dave for inviting me to join in the conversation on Ghostwriting in Social Media. Secondly, I want to make something very clear before I stand up on my soapbox: I am a marketer—and founder & CEO of the interactive e-marketing firm ListEngage.com—and as a company, we do represent […]

Offensive Game on Yahoo Kids Teaches Girls Age 6-12 to Win By Dressing (or not) To Please Boys

February 7th 2010

A few months ago we got the most offensive legal advertising ever taken down. (Remember,  it advertised a sex offender defense practice using a photo of a girl showing skin and looking guilty….and an adult hand keeping a scared child from speaking.) As the father of two girls who have never watched television, I’m astounded […]

Litigants Are Often Caregivers Who Need Help Too: Online Tools Help Bring Community In

February 7th 2010

Last week a family member had serious enough surgery that I took time away from my job to be a caregiver. Surprisingly, this has connected me more to social networks and this blog. You see,  our hospital has wi-fi in its waiting areas, so writing online is productive way to pass time, and absorb the waiting […]

Shava Nerad: Blog Ghost Writing Amplifies Authentic Voices

February 6th 2010

This response was originally posted on Shava Nerad’s blog Memesplice. It is used with permission. This is a response to Ja-Nae Duane’s article, which in turn responds to Dave Weineke’s article, both on UsefulArts.us, Dave’s blog. You should go read both.  But briefly, Dave thinks a blog article written by one person and posted under […]

Ja-Nae Duane: Ghost Blog Writing & Social Media Ethics Are Different

February 5th 2010

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to yesterday’s post, The Ethics of Ghost Writing and Marionette Social Media. As someone who does a tremendous amount of outsourcing, this is a topic that is near and dear to me. Blogging: I am a huge advocate of outsourcing my blog writing. Why? Well, I have two […]

The Ethics of Ghost Writing Blogs and Marionette Social Media: New 2010 Trend

February 4th 2010

The road to hell isn’t just paved with good intentions. Its slope is masked by perfectly plausible justifications. So here’s the nice, clear thesis this post will advance: Unacknowledged ghost authorship of social media is unethical if you put your name on it. Many errors seem benign in the beginning. But no matter how gradual […]