Online privacy has been a concern for years but only in recent years, with the explosive growth of the social web, has the concern grown about a person’s own words coming back to harm him or her in the future.  That’s because nearly everyone is using the social web these days, and many are only just beginning to realize that what they publish today could still be found in a Google search years from now.

Newstex syndicates the authoritative content from Thomson Reuters’ podcast, Legal Current, about the business and practice of law, and this week, an interview with Jeffrey Rosen delved into online privacy and the problems associated with exposing too much of oneself in the digital space.  Jeffrey Rosen is a law professor at George Washington University whose article about online privacy, “The End of Forgetting,” appeared in The New York Times Magazine in July.

In Rosen’s interview with the Legal Current podcast, he explains, “The right to privacy tends to cover only the outrageous or the untrue postings, things that are highly offensive to a reasonable person. But when you’re talking about embarrassing or truthful information, there’s not a clear legal right to escape it or to have people take it down.”  You can follow the link to listen to the complete podcast interview with Jeffrey Rosen on Legal Current.  It’s well worth it!

Interestingly, the timing for the Legal Current interview with Rosen couldn’t have been more appropriate.  Just last week, I watched an episode of The Colbert Report that discussed this very topic with the tongue-in-cheek humor viewers expect from host Stephen Colbert.  You can watch the segment clip below (or view it here if the video doesn’t play for you).

Control-Self-Delete — that’s not a bad idea.

The city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has an idea that seems to verge quite close to being an act of suppressing freedom of speech with a new $300 “business privilege license” that all bloggers in Philadelphia will be charged if they want to keep writing online. 

All local Philadelphia bloggers will have to pay for the privilege license regardless of whether or not they make any money from their blogs.  Even if a person writes a blog as a hobby, just for fun, or for a personal creative outlet — they’ll have to cough up the $300 to keep blogging.

The online buzz about Philadelphia’s new “business privilege license” is calling it a violation of free speech citing the fact that only people who can afford to pay the $300 license fee will have the ability to express their thoughts on the heretofore free-flow of online information and conversation on the social web that was born of user-generated content and citizen journalism.

MSNBC.com republished an article by Teresa Masterson of NBCPhiladelphia.com, where Masterson makes the following keen observations:

“Blogger Marilyn Bess, whose Ms. Philly Organic Blog has made her a whopping $50 over the past few years, went to the city’s tax amnesty program to explain that she makes pennies on her hobby. They told her to hire an accountant, she told the City Paper. In an economy where jobs are sparse and people try to make ends meet with part-time jobs, taxing the independent, scrappy freelancers and bloggers seems counterproductive. But the emptying of bloggers’ wallets may not be the worst result of these taxes. With the city’s charge being more than what most bloggers make, their voices could be silenced, as the extra expense is enough to discourage many from even having a blog.”

The story even made the news as you can see in the video below:

What do you think?  How can bloggers fight similar tactics from spreading to other cities?  Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Behavioral targeting for advertising purposes is the subject of an ongoing debate.  On one side are the businesses who use behavioral targeting of consumers’ online activities to serve more ads that are more likely to appeal to specific audiences.  On the other side are consumers who view the tracking of their online activities as an invasion of their privacy.  Interestingly, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is looking into creating a do-not-track list registery similar to the do-not-call list registry that telemarketers must abide by.  In the meantime, the debate continues.

However, there is another party in this debate — online publishers.  They have a stake in this battle, too, and research from a DM2PRO and AudienceScience survey conducted in May 2010 reveals just how much behavioral targeting benefits online publishers.  Take a look at the benefits of offering audience targeting according to the publishers who responded to the survey (from eMarketer):

The data from this study tells us that publishers benefit from behavioral targeting because they can sell more ad space and sell it for higher rates, help their clients make more money, and prove that they’re helping clients make more money because they can offer better metrics.  Based on those survey results, online publishers would certainly be on the business side of the behavioral targeting debate.  In fact, 72% of the respondents to this survey reported that they already offer their clients some form of audience targeting aside from more traditional contextual targeting.

What do you think of this debate?  From a publisher standpoint?  From a consumer standpoint?  Leave a comment and tell us what you think.

The upcoming “affordable” Amazon Kindle includes Wi-Fi access (not 3G)  to download books and more, and it costs just $139.  The upcoming $189 Amazon Kindle includes free 3G access to download books and more.

That’s quite a price difference from the original Kindle as well as Apple’s hot (and pricey) iPad product.  It’s also $10 cheaper than the more competitive Nook ereader from Barnes & Noble.

The $139 and $189 Amazon Kindle devices were only announced recently for pre-orders, but there is already a backlog due to high demand (although Amazon has been known to manufacture backlogs in the past, so it’s impossible to predict what the real pre-order volume looks like) with shipping on new devices now delayed.  New orders will be fulfilled on a first-come, first-served basis as new Amazon Kindles become available for shipping.

Sounds like the more affordable Amazon Kindles are already a success.

However, marketing experts are predicting that the Amazon Kindle and other ereaders won’t reach the masses until the price tag drops below $100.  We’ll have to wait and see how the actual sales volume numbers shake out for the more affordable Amazon Kindle devices, but I think the $100 estimate is probably accurate in terms of predicting when ereaders will be purchased in multiple quantities per household across a broad consumer audience.

What do you think?  Do you own an Amazon Kindle, an iPad, Nook or another ereader device?  Leave a comment and tell us what made you decide to buy (or not buy) a particular ereader.

By the way, all blogs syndicated through Newstex are automatically available on Amazon Kindle!  If you’re a Newstex publisher, you can follow the link to get your free Amazon Kindle badge.

comScore released its ranking of online video sites among the U.S. Internet audience for July 2010 this week, and as you might expect, YouTube continues to lead by a very wide margin.  You can see the results in the chart below:

According to the report, 178 million U.S. Internet users watched online video in July 2010 with an average of 14.7 hours watched per person.  The monthly rankings didn’t change significantly in terms of market share from previous months, but Facebook did climb one spot to the third position in the ranking list, above Microsoft sites.

In total, 84.9% of the U.S. Internet population viewed online video in July 2010.  The average online video was 4.8 minutes long.  Interestingly, online video ads accounted for 9.8% of online video content viewed in July 2010 but made up just 0.9% of actual online minutes spent viewing online video content during the month.

Of sites known for publishing short-form video content, YouTube by far surpassed all other sites in terms of viewer engagement (i.e., the length of time users actually viewed content).  Hulu also ranked high in terms of viewer engagement, but Hulu is known for publishing long-form video content, so this is to be expected.

It’s an exciting time of growth for online video, and it’s very interesting to keep track of viewer statistics related to online video.  Will another site ever be able to compete with YouTube for short-form video content?  It’s interesting to consider what’s next for online video.  What do you think?

Time for the Publisher INsider where we highlight some of the most INovative, INteresting and INspirational content providers that are part of Newstex Authoritative Content.

This month, the Publisher INsider profiles Financial Sense Newshour whose online video content is offered through Newstex Authoritative Content.

Financial Sense Newshour is a free financial market broadcast hosted by money manager Jim Puplava where he discusses the week’s market action, interviews financial experts, and offers his personal perspective on the markets and economy.  The audio program is part of Financial Sense whose mission is to “give each investor, no matter their income, net worth, or level of financial expertise, a greater understanding of the markets, and a more informed approach to making investment decisions.”

Each Newshour program is three-hours (often longer) and includes interviews with financial experts, Jim Puplava’s personal perspective on the markets and current “hot topics,” and Jim’s responses to questions from listeners.  Jim has a long history of experience in finance and the media having hosted radio talk shows, television programs, and Internet radio programs since 1987.  His discussions on Financial Sense Newshour are always informative and interesting, as you can see from some recent programs:

• Oil Crunch – Metals: Oil crunch, silver to outperform gold
• S&P 500 and U.S. Dollar Index: Inverse correlation between dollar index and S&P 500
• Debt Forgiveness and Trading Markets: Financial reform legislation, gold and gold equities, and finding returns in zero interest rate environment
• On the Beach: The economy and energy wakeup call

Financial Sense is published by PFS Group (James Puplava is President of PFS Group), and as the Financial Sense website explains:

“Financial Sense online (FSO), with its free market perspectives, editorials and specialized resource news and links, and Financial Sense Newshour (FSN), with its free interviews with some of today’s top financial thinkers, represent Jim Puplava’s commitment to providing excellent educational financial resources to all investors. He feels that the investment community has given him a wonderful living since 1985 and he is grateful for the trust of his readers, listeners, and clientele. Financial Sense is his way of giving back to that community. That’s why PFS Group publishes Financial Sense and Financial Sense Newshour to the public without cost.”

If you’re interested in finance, trading, and investing, then Financial Sense and the Financial Sense Newshour are excellent resources providing authoritative content from experts.  Be sure to check it out!

I often write about the cluttered online video environment and how hard it is to find specific, authoritative online video content amid that clutter.  Now, there is some clear proof available which paints that cluttered picture of the online video landscape in one place.

Mark Robertson of ReelSEO put together two blog posts that compile lists of video sites like YouTube (there are 300 of them on his list) along with their langauges, URLs, Alexa ranks, and Google page ranks.  He also put together a list of video search sites and video search engines (there are 30 of them on his list) along with URLs, Alexa ranks, and Google page ranks.

So next time you publish an authoritative online video on YouTube or your preferred online video site, remember Mark’s lists.  It’s harder for people to find that video than you might think.

Fortunately, syndicating your online video content through a licensed syndication company like Newstex puts your authoritative content (including video content) in front of professionals who need it but don’t have the time or patience to find it through online video search sites and video search engines. You can learn more about online video syndication in the free ebook — The Truth about Online Video and Licensed Syndication.

Did you know there were so many options for publishing online video and searching online video content?  Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Time for a new interview in the Newstex Blogger in the Spotlight Video Interview Series where we turn the spotlight on the bloggers, Twitter publishers, and video publishers who syndicate their Authoritative Content through Newstex.

Today’s interview is with Garland Pollard who writes about legacy brands (you know — those brands we all remember that are no longer around) at BrandlandUSA.  Watch the video interview below to learn more about Garland’s blog and what makes it unique and authoritative.

You can watch previous video interviews in the Newstex Blogger in the Spotlight Video Interview Series on the Newstex YouTube Channel, and keep your eyes open for new video interviews coming soon!

Last month, YouTube announced it now supports original video resolution from 360p all the way up to 4K.  That means even videos shot in sizes intended to be displayed on 25-foot screens can be uploaded to YouTube.

This was an exciting announcement in terms of what could be coming for online video in the future.  However, many people are wondering how far away that future actually is.  Today, practically no one can view 4k videos over standard broadband connections, and it’s fairly safe to say that the vast majority of people around the world don’t have 25-foot screens to view them on.

This has been a hot topic across the Web over the past few weeks.  Other people have been quick to point out that the ability to upload 4k video isn’t that exciting given the fact that YouTube only just recently (a few weeks after the 4k announcement) boosted the length of videos that can be uploaded to YouTube to 15 minutes.

Regardless of these limitations, it’s still interesting to ponder what might be coming for online video in 5 or 10 years.  I think it’s safe to say that it won’t look the same as it does today.  The demand is too high and new technology to enable better viewing is constantly launching.

It’s doubtful that the first use of the 4k upload ability in YouTube will find favor with the broad YouTube publishing audience, but I’m sure there is a niche out there that will find a use for it.  Or perhaps there is already a specific publisher or organization who has their eyes on the feature and might even get special privileges to increase the 15-minute upload limit.  Of course, I’m just speculating.

What do you think the new 4k feature means for online video publishing and viewing in the short-term? Long-term?  Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

You can check out some of the videos uploaded in 4k format in this YouTube 4k playlist.

Image: YouTube.com

In a recent article from The New York Times, author and New York Times contributor Peggy Orenstein reflected on the world today, which operates very much under what she calls a new version of a famous quote, “I tweet, therefore I am.”

Peggy, who admits she has become a Twitter-addict only recently, writes:

“I am trying to gain some perspective on the perpetual performer’s self-consciousness.  That involves trying to sort out the line between person and persona, the public and private self.”

The point she is trying to make is one that previous generations didn’t have to think about.  With the social web at our fingertips and the lines of communication more accessible than ever, where is the line between private and public when it comes to individual’s lives.  We use Twitter, Facebook, and tools of the social web to interact with global audiences, but are we truly putting ourselves out there or crafting ‘versions’ of ourselves for that audience?

Peggy’s thoughts support my belief, and the belief of many marketers and branding professionals, that the social web enables us to create personal brands.  Those personal brands might not be exact replicas of your personal life, but depending on your goals and reasons for participating on the social web, your online persona might need to be quite different from your personal self.

Each person publishes content on the social web for his or her own reasons.  That’s one of the things that makes the social web so open.  People have more access to information than ever and the world will never be the same.  There is something for everyone, and therefore, the social web clutters the Internet making it more difficult to find the content that is meaningful to you.  Fortunately, there are tools and services that help people find the content, conversations, and people that are meaningful to them (such as Newstex, which helps people find authoritative content).

So is there a difference between real-life person and online persona?  I think there is more than one answer to that question.  For some people, there might not be a difference at all.  For others, the difference might be subtle.  However, for many, that difference is probably quite great, and as long as you’re not lying, that’s okay.

After all, we have to keep something to ourselves, right?  Unless you’re on Jersey Shore.

What do you think?  Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Image: etherbrian.org