July 2007

Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, the self-described "constitutionalist" Republican candidate for Congress, has arguably the most loyal Internet following of all of the 2008 candidates, so his visit to the campus of the Google Internet firm was a bit hit earlier this month.

Now, courtesy of the Paul campaign, you can get the condensed version (less than 15 minutes) -- and a catchy tune titled "If You Google Ron Paul" that promises "hope for America."

The song has plenty of red-meat lyrics for the civil liberties crowd. Here's a sample: "If you Google Ron Paul, you will find the man who will save us ... from the PATRIOT Act and Homeland Security. ... If you Google Ron Paul, you will find a man who will ... protect our privacy, stop the national ID card."

Technology Daily's PM Edition on Tuesday reported on a string of new lawsuits filed by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers against bars, nightclubs and restaurants that allegedly played content owners' tunes without permission.

Attempts to contact several of the named defendants were unsuccessful by deadline, but late in the afternoon I heard from one pretty startled lounge owner. Abi Eshagi, proprietor of the Ibiza Dinner Club in Seattle did not know about the legal action even though the complaints were filed in courts around the country on Monday.

"I have been paying to two different commercial music service subscriptions -- [an] online service and cable service with music channels," Eshagi said. "I have informed ASCAP of this and I have heard nothing further from them. I don't know how many different times an establishment has to pay for the same copyright use."

What do you do when Congress tackles a new issue that promises to be a hot topic among feuding industries? You start a grassroots group, of course. On Tuesday, local radio broadcasters, minority groups, non-profits and others formed the Free Radio Alliance to oppose what they see as a "performance tax" being pushed by the recording industry.

The announcement coincided with the House Judiciary's Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property examination of whether musicians should be paid when their songs are broadcast over AM and FM radio, which is the norm when their work is played on satellite, cable and Internet radio.

"More than half of the proposed performance tax would go to line the pockets of the record-label conglomerates, three out of four which are headquartered in other countries," said Free Radio spokeswoman Cathy Rought. "The record labels are desperately looking for financial help to support their failing business model, and they are doing so at the expense of local communities across the country."

Victims of the so-called tax would include smaller, specialized radio stations "that serve as the cultural lifeline to numerous religious, Hispanic, African American and other niche communities," Rought said in a press release.

Read more about the alliance here and read Technology Daily's coverage of the hearing here.

The Politico's gossip gal Anne Schroeder reported Tuesday that CNN's blogosphere-watching duo Abbi Tatton and Jacki Schechner have split up. Schechner's contract wasn't renewed and she was out of work as of Friday.

The popular pair, who covered Internet and new media news for the network, appeared routinely on "The Situation Room" and I had the pleasure of working with them both on election night during last November's midterms.

Schechner came to CNN after producing and hosting video news segments for a reality-based video game company in the Big Apple, according to her bio. During the 2000 presidential election cycle, she was the on-camera chat host for Pseudo.com, an interactive Web TV service. She got her start in TV at Miami's WSVN and the NBC station in Hagerstown, Md.

Pssst! Jacki -- we're hiring.

The House Judiciary's Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property was the place to be Tuesday morning before its hearing titled "Ensuring Artists Fair Compensation: Updating the Performance Right and Platform Parity for the 21st Century."

The topic is a contentious one in the music industry -- a recent push to pay artists for music that is broadcast over AM and FM radio. But the mob scene outside the hearing room was a bit unexpected. The line stretched all the way down the hallway.

There was a great deal of hand-shaking and back-patting, with industry executives and lobbyists presumably swapping stories about where they will be vacationing when Congress adjourns for August.

A flurry of representatives with the musicFirst coalition handed out big olive green buttons to anyone with a free hand. The pins championed their cause better than a press release ever could. They read: "I support a performance right now."

The National Association of Broadcasters, which opposes changes to the provision of copyright law, were buttonless. Perhaps they'll think of another gimmick to spread the word.

Read Technology Daily's PM Edition for the full story.

For readers interested in the ongoing controversy about the Republican CNN/YouTube debate, click over to Beltway Blogroll, my personal blog on NationalJournal.com, for news and commentary to supplement the coverage at Tech Daily Dose.

Here are direct links to my latest entries:
-- GOP Campaign Chief Touts YouTube Debate
-- The Debate About YouTube Debates Rages On
-- Forget The Snowman Already
-- The Snowman Question

FishbowlDC's annual "Hottest Media Types" contest ended Monday and Bill Press was crowned His Royal Hotness. The nationally syndicated radio show host took home first place in the on-air category. Some speculate that his win was due to voter fraud.

The media and politics blog ran a screen shot of this original post on Bill Press' Web site that instructed readers to game the system in order to boost his poll numbers.

Read about the other winners here. They included writer Kriston Capps; Washingtonian's Catherine Andrews; PR pros Jonathan Shradar and Jade Floyd; and WJLA's Pamela Brown.

The New York Times reported on Sunday that a 2004 dispute within the Bush administration over a secret anti-terrorism surveillance program was prompted by concerns about the National Security Agency searching through large amounts of computer data.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers didn't waste much time trying to get to the bottom of this latest plot twist. On Monday, the Michigan Democrat asked Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to provide copies of "all opinions, memoranda, and background materials, as well as any dissenting views, materials, and opinions," linked to the alleged data mining.

In the letter, Conyers said he was concerned that the disclosure through the media, stemming from "current and former officials briefed on the program," might be an attempt to respond to congressional pressure "via administration leak of potentially classified information."

New York Democrat Jerrold Nadler, who chairs the House Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, and Virginia Democrat Bobby Scott, who chairs the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, also signed the letter.

On a related note, Technology Daily's PM Edition has coverage of President Bush's weekly radio address, which focused on reforming the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and reactions to his speech by civil libertarians and lawmakers.

CNN is trying to resolve some schedule conflicts that some GOP frontrunners say are keeping them from committing to the Republican CNN YouTube debate now scheduled for Sept. 17 in St. Petersburg, Fla.

CNN's Washington bureau chief David Bohrman said CNN is in talks with the campaigns. A spokeswoman says they may consider changing the date. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and New York major Rudy Giuliani had said late last week they would not attend due to scheduling conflicts.

A spokesman for Romney confirmed they have been speaking to Bohrman and may attend if the date could be "pushed back." The Giuliani campaign said it is working with CNN to find a date that would work for everyone.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz, former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson and libertarian Ron Paul had said earlier they would attend the debate.

Conservative bloggers, including former Republican National Committee e-campaign director Patrick Ruffini, http://www.techpresident.com/node/4009) are urging Republican frontrunners to show up for debate in the early primary state. They've also created an online petition. http://www.savethedebate.com/

The Florida primary is Jan. 29.

Reprinted from the July 27, 2007 edition of National Journal's Technology Daily

Sen. Durbin Uses Blog To Craft Broadband Bill

By Aliya Sternstein

In a role reversal, Sen. Dick Durbin has been blogging about bloggers all week. Since Tuesday, the Illinois Democrat has been conversing with the "netroots" on the liberal blog Open Left to help him write high-speed Internet legislation.

"Today I'm writing to invite you to participate in an experiment -- an interactive approach to drafting legislation on one of the most significant public policy questions today: What should be America's national broadband strategy?" Durbin wrote on Sunday.

Each night, Durbin began his online discussions by asking for legislative proposals that touch on some of his core principles, like achieving universal, affordable broadband coverage. Should the four-day series prove fruitful, Durbin wrote, "it may become the way lawmakers approach drafting bills on other issues like education, health care and foreign policy."

At the outset, Open Left and Durbin's office invited the major telecommunications and cable companies to participate. All of them declined, but on Wednesday, representatives from AT&T's Hands Off the Internet and the AT&T/Verizon Communications-backed Latino Coalition joined the online discussion.

Conservative blogger Robert Bluey of the Heritage Foundation also took note of the development. He wrote on his personal blog, RobertBluey.com, that while it is admirable for Durbin to involve the netroots, "I think it's incredibly short-sighted to have a one-sided conversation with just liberals."

The Software and Information Industry Association will host quarterly videocasts with Credit Suisse analyst Jason Maynard, the trade group announced Monday. The series -- geared toward examining the latest trends driving the software industry -- kicks off Friday.

The organization strives "to operate on the cutting edge of technology and at the forefront of the software industry" and Maynard's videocasts are part of that mission, SIIA President Ken Wasch said in a press release. The live programs are free for SIIA members and journalists and $89 for non-members.

Future installments will be Nov. 9, Feb. 19 and May 19. For more information, click here.

The music industry is bringing some star power to Capitol Hill on Tuesday. Renowned folk singer Judy Collins and R&B artist Sam Moore are slated to testify before the House Judiciary's Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property.

The hearing, titled "Ensuring Artists Fair Compensation: Updating the Performance Right and Platform Parity for the 21st Century," will focus on a recent push to pay artists for music that is broadcast over AM and FM radio.

The movement is being led by the recently launched musicFirst coalition, which has amassed an impressive list of backers, including pop star Christina Aguilera, crooner Celine Dion and soul singer Patti LaBelle.

The National Association of Broadcasters has vowed to fight the effort, calling the proposal a "performance tax on local radio." Stay tuned for the fireworks...

Reprinted with permission from National Journal magazine.

By K. Daniel Glover

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- What happens when a wild range of nonjournalists get to grill candidates in a presidential debate? After several weeks of hype, CNN and YouTube answered that question here this week in an innovative two-hour event that featured questions posed via video clips.

The result was a mix of serious and silly questions -- and serious ones in silly packaging, such as the snowman who asked the eight Democratic candidates what they would do about global warming "to ensure that my son will live a full and happy life."

Other questioners came across as plain scary. A Michigan man brandished an assault weapon as he asked the presidential wannabes what they would do to protect "my baby." New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson gave a polite answer about the importance of instant background checks for gun buyers, but Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware lashed out at the questioner. "I don't know that he is mentally qualified to be owning that gun," Biden said. "I'm being serious.... I hope he doesn't come looking for me."

Many of the debate questions were ones that professional journalists probably wouldn't ask. To Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois: Are you black enough? To Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York: Are you feminine enough, and would you ever be taken seriously as president in talks with Arab nations that treat women as second-class citizens?

Just in case you didn’t mark your calendars, the last Friday in July is System Administrator Appreciation Day. The holiday's Web site proudly proclaims: "If you can read this, thank your sysadmin."

A sysadmin worries about spam, viruses, spyware, but also power outages, fires and floods, the site says. When the e-mail server goes down at 2 a.m. on a Sunday, your sysadmin is paged, wakes up, and goes to work.

"Systems administrators are the unsung heroes of the 21st century, our tireless morlocks who keep the entire universe running," tech blogger Cory Doctorow writes on BoingBoing. "They understand that they’re keeping the infrastructure of the information age alive and functional."

So if you haven’t already done so, give your sysadmin a pat on the back… after he/she stops berating you for not being able to fix the paper jam yourself. And if you're really feeling generous, click here for gift ideas.

Cisco posted this video of Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley from KISS on its corporate blog on Thursday. The legendary rock band entertained the Networkers at Cisco Live! crowd on Wednesday night.

In the clip, the costumed crooners weigh in on the current state of "the connected life," which happens to be the theme of Cisco's new corporate positioning campaign.

"The connected life is finally happening right here, right now. What's happening is in the palm of your hand," Simmons muses. Stanley also marvels at technological advancement but really shows his age when he complains that handheld screens are too small and hard to read.

FBI Director Robert Mueller told the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday that there are "miles and miles" of paper records that have not yet been digitized by the agency, despite progress being made on Sentinel, the bureau's new case-management system.

Phase 1 of the program, which ushered in a more user-friendly Web interface for a accessing files, was implemented in June. Officials are now preparing to move to Phases 2 through 4.

"It's always hard to have a record-keeping function that competes with personnel in the field [but] that ought to be one of the highest budget priorities," Rep. Zoe Lofgren said. Digitization will "give power to your agency in ways that will far exceed the funding necessary" in the short-term, the California Democrat added.

"We have to bring ourselves into the modern era and we have to digitize everything," Mueller agreed. "It is question of resources and bringing on board the next technology," he said, predicting that in the year ahead, "we'll leap ahead" in that effort.

While much of the focus of Thursday's FBI oversight hearing in the House Judiciary Committee was on anti-terrorism, so-called "national security letters," and other issues surrounding government surveillance, Rep. Bobby Scott had something else on his mind.

The Virginia Democrat, who chairs the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, asked FBI Director Robert Mueller for his thoughts on Internet gambling. He wanted to know whether it would make more sense to legalize, regulate and tax the now-illegal enterprise in the U.S.

Mueller said he had not "thought long and hard on it" but he would be averse to legalizing the practice. But the FBI chief did note how hard it is to track down and prosecute online gaming outfits because they can "go offshore so quickly." Why? The "ubiquitous nature of the Internet," duh.

Read more about the FBI hearing in Technology Daily's PM Edition.

Earlier this week, Tech Daily Dose reported on President Bush's response to a question during a Nashville Q&A about music royalties. Now, thanks to YouTube, there is video of the incident.

Food for thought from politics and media blog Big Head DC:

Maybe Anderson Cooper needs a “time”-out? His network currently has a press release out saying that “CNN continues the trend of record-breaking debates with Monday night’s CNN/YouTube Debate posting the highest P18-34 delivery in cable news history.”

But that statement doesn’t tell the full story. According to the Nielsen ratings, CNN’s debate ranked ninth among debates since 1999. And it’s quite unusual for a network to tout 18-34 rankings as a victory for a primary debate.

Nearly a week went by without me writing about the Internet radio royalty controversy and I started to get the shakes. Thanks to the National Association of Broadcasters, the dry spell is over.

In a Wednesday afternoon press release, the trade group renewed its "unequivocal support" for legislation sponsored by Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., that would overturn a Copyright Royalty Board ruling from earlier this year. The legislation has garnered 140 co-sponsors since its introduction.

NAB's backing of the Inslee bill followed a June 6 offer made on behalf of its member radio stations to digital royalty collector SoundExchange. NAB has yet to receive a response from the group, officials said.

FishbowlDC's annual "Hottest Media Types" contest is underway. The inside-the-Beltway blog about journalism and politics is asking readers to cast their votes for the most sizzling on- and off-air reporters and PR practitioners.

Some contestants are utilizing social-networking site Facebook to get out the vote while others have written their own self-aggrandizing press releases and campaign blogs.

In a mere 24 hours, more than 63,000 votes had been cast (and cheating charges are also mounting). Voter fraud! Voter fraud!

Cast your own votes here:
Hottest Media Types, Male, On Air
Hottest Media Types, Female, On Air
Hottest Media Types, Male, Off Air
Hottest Media Types, Female, Off Air
Hottest Media Types, PR, Male
Hottest Media Types, PR, Female

There are two folks from our company in the running -- Government Executive's Greg Grant and The Hotline's Amy Dudley -- as well as Congress Daily alum Greta Wodele. And a member of the Tech Daily staff almost won last year's contest (and was ineligible this time around). Go team!

For more hotness, check out The Hill newspaper's annual "50 Most Beautiful People on Capitol Hill."

Remember Amber Lee Ettinger, the actress who became an online video sensation as "Obama Girl" a few weeks back?

Well, her latest role was as a video journalist at Monday's CNN/YouTube debate in Charleston, S.C. Presumably, she was in the "spin room" to interview the object of her affection, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. But Obama never showed (at least not while I was in the spin room), so Obama Girl had to settle for the likes of Mike Gravel.

Here are some other snapshots from the "spin room" after the debate, and you can check the new Flickr page for Technology Daily to see the rest of our photo coverage of the first user-generated presidential debate:

Actor Richard Schiff, who played Toby Ziegler on "The West Wing"

What was the hottest topic of discussion among stakeholders who assembled at the Copyright Office on Wednesday morning to talk about cable and satellite statutory licenses? Was it the operation and revision of rules under Sections 111, 119 and 122 of Title 17 of U.S. Code?

Nope. It was troubled teen starlet Lindsay Lohan. Sure, the roomful of policy experts conversed about copyright-related issues before the event began, but Lohan's latest turmoil generated the most buzz. Everyone (even policy wonks) enjoys a little gossip, right?

Less than two weeks out of rehab, with another drunken-driving case pending, the 21-year-old actress was arrested this week with a blood-alcohol level over the legal limit. She was released on bail after being charged with suspicion of driving under the influence, possession of cocaine and transport of a narcotic.

Read more about the Copyright Office hearing (sans Lohan) in Technology Daily's PM Edition.

The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this month heard oral arguments in a case involving feuding Internet-based dispute-resolution providers Cybersettle and the National Arbitration Forum. At issue was a complex Cybersettle patent that pertains to various methods and computer systems for performing online dispute resolution.

The three-judge panel this week remanded the case. On appeal, the court found that a claimed method requires actual practice of the method -- not simply the capability, according to Dennis Crouch's Patently-O blog. Now, the lower court will need to determine what portion of NAF's infringing actions included multiple offers and demands, he said.

For added insight, read our original coverage of the case after the jump.
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A group of House Republicans introduced a bill Tuesday that would amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to permit warrantless wiretapping of foreign citizens outside of U.S. borders. Read more details in Technology Daily's PM Edition.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, took issue with the bill, which was introduced by Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M. He said he supports "strong tools for our intelligence professionals to track the communications of terror suspects, infiltrate their cells, and disrupt their plans."

But Reyes said Wilson’s bill is based on "several faulty assumptions," which he outlined in a same-day letter to her. Reyes also said he was "highly concerned" because he heard about the bill and afternoon briefing "through outside organizations, and not from her." Ouch!

The Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse launched Tuesday (see Technology Daily's PM Edition for details) with a mission to curb cybersquatting. The Internet Commerce Association's Philip Corwin, who represents domain-name investors and the direct-search industry, said he looked forward to working with the new kid on the block.

ICA wants to help assuage CADNA's "legitimate concerns about trademark infringement" on the Web, he said. Corwin's group supported a restocking fee for domain names ending with the .org suffix, which helped eradicate abusive domain "tasting." His members would welcome steps by ICANN and VeriSign to achieve the same result in the .com sphere.

Corwin went on to say that while ICA believes that such market-based mechanisms are the best approach, his group will carefully review any legislation proposed by the new coalition "to assure that it respects and affirms the rights of domain-name investors and preserves vigorous competition in consumer search models."

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, has joined Ranking Republican Ted Stevens of Alaska as the proud owner of a .com domain name, thanks to Internet registration retailing giant GoDaddy.

The company's general counsel, Christine Jones, testified Tuesday at a hearing on Internet safety and children. During her testimony, she informed Inouye that she purchased the Web address "chairmaninouye.com" in anticipation of the hearing.

GoDaddy bought Stevens his own domain name when he was chairman of the panel in the 109th Congress. Inouye's Web address is "parked" for now and there was no word from the lawmaker on how (or if) he planned to use it. GoDaddy domains cost $8.95 to register.

Look for full coverage of the hearing in Technology Daily's PM Edition.

Update: Jones tells me that she has registered "a whole bunch of names," including ChairmanSmith.com and ChairmanWhitfield.com -- she does it every time she testifies.

In the 109th Congress, Texas Republican Lamar Smith chaired the House Judiciary Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property Subcommittee and Kentucky Republican Ed Whitfield chaired the House Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.

The fast-paced debate format with video questions from voters drew praise after the CNN You Tube debate from Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean.

Dean said afterwards this debate format "brought the American people back into politics, which hasn't happened since the Nixon Kennedy debate. He also praised it for transferring power to the next generation.

Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., said the questions had more emotional impact coming from voters, but he did not like just having 30 seconds to answer serious questions.

Look for more reaction to the debate format and its impact in the Tuesday PM edition of Technology Daily.

Just in case you'd like to reenact tonight's CNN/YouTube debate in your living room with friends and family (I get to be Mike Gravel!), the news network is working on posting a full transcript of the event, which aired live from Charleston, S.C.

By 10:15 p.m., quite a bit of the transcript was online. I can't wait to review the candidates' answers to the last question: "What's to like and dislike about the candidate to your left?"

CNN analyst Jeffrey Toobin: "This debate was Gladys Knight & The Pips." Hillary Clinton "looked like someone who might be president."

In New Hampshire, CNN conducted a focus group with 24 undecided Democrat and Independent voters. Before the debate, they thought Clinton would be the best performer. Afterward, they said Barack Obama ranked first, followed by Joe Biden and John Edwards.

CNN did the same experiment in Nevada. Bill Richardson, a known name in that part of the country, did the best, followed by Clinton and Obama (who tied) then Edwards.

Maria Elena Salinas of Univision said Clinton "seemed to stand out because of the directness of her answers." She also said she was disappointed that there was not more talk about the immigration issue.

Rev. Reggie Longcrier of Hickory, N.C., who asked a question early on in the evening, said the debate was "dynamic" and unlike anything he had ever seen before.

Our colleagues at Hotline On Call were surprised that there were no technical glitches as the final few minutes of the debate neared. In New Hampshire, Rudy Giuliani was interuppted by static when he answered a question on religion.

Tonight's technology made that debate look like Nixon vs. Kennedy. YouTube executives said they had a couple of contingency plans if the small monitors on the candidates' stands didn't work, but it **seems** like those plans weren't even necessary.

YouTube invited 10 of the questioners to the debate, and now that the official event is over, those citizens will be able to use their videocameras in the debate hall.

Look for the clips coming to a YouTube video channel near you soon.

So said a citizen from Michigan while availing himself of the right to bear arms on film. Joe Biden: "I tell you what, if that's his baby, he needs help. ... I don't know that he's mentally qualified to own that gun. ... I hope he doesn't come looking for me."

Hillary Clinton: "I think it is a problem that Bush was elected in 2000. ... And I actually that it was someone else that elected."

Mike Gravel: "The Clintons and the [Democratic Leadership Council] sold out the Democratic Party to Wall Street. ... It's the people who brought you what you have today. Please wake up."

Barack Obama said he has heard cynicism in "every single question" asked in the videos aired tonight.

Our colleagues at Hotline On Call are also live-blogging the CNN/YouTube debate. Here are a couple of posts…

Just Sayin'

So far On Call has counted 26 videos aired tonight. Of those videos so far, six were recorded by women and at least 17 were recorded by men. And a couple videos were either mixed or from non-gender entities. You know, like an animated snowman asking about global warming.

Don't Look At Us, We Didn't Write The Questions

A YouTube user asks both Clinton and Obama to confront their critics who say gender and race still play a roll in politics. As one reporter put it to me today at lunch, is CNN using the YouTube users to ask the questions they don't want to take responsibility for asking? Probably not, because CNN gets lots of second-wave press for asking controversial questions. But it's worth asking because this might be one of the first times both Clinton and Obama confronted the issue in the same room.

I collect them, so I love that the mottoes like "Liberty" and "In God We Trust" made it into the debate. Too bad that only Joe Biden got to answer. His response: "I think the coin's got it just right."

What I want to know is what the candidates would do to keep the U.S. Mint from messing up more of the new $1 coins by leaving the mottoes off some of the coins. If you're going to move the mottoes to the side of the coins, where nobody will notice them, at least remember to strike the mottoes.

Chris Dodd: "Children certainly would be covered. ... If they're paying part of that thing, then they would also get covered."

Bill Richardson: "Every American deserves the right to the best possible health care."

These questions came from people who have serious healthcare problems or have people close to them who do: What are you prepared to do to fight Alzheimer's? How would you address chronic disease? What would you do to make low-cost or free preventive medicine available? How will you include the disabled in your health plan?

Barack Obama: "My mother, when she was between jobs, contracted cancer," and she spent the last days of her life trying to figure out how to pay for care. "We've got to have a president who's willing to fight" the healthcare industry to make sure they don't have "veto power."

John Edwards: Obama's plan "just doesn't cover everybody." He complained the politicians have talked about health care too long without standing up to insurance companies and drug companies.

Hillary Clinton: She said it is "a national disgrace" that people like those in the videos still struggle to get the care they need. Clinton said everyone should be covered.

That's the message Dennis Kucinich sent in his video interlude at the debate.

But only Bill Richardson got to answer before a commercial break: "As president, I would push the whole country to verified paper trails" for electronic votes.

John Edwards: "I do not favor nuclear power" because it is extremely costly and there is still no safe way to dispose of nuclear waste."

Barack Obama: "We should explore nuclear power as part of the energy mix."

Hillary Clinton: Take away the tax breaks from the oil companies and "focus on innovation and technology," including nuclear energy as a potential alternative source. "It can be a win-win if we do it right."

Over at Pajamas Media, Vodkapundit’s Stephen Green is "drinking his way through another evening of argument." Green submitted several videotaped questions for the Democratic presidential debate (here, here and here) then watched the showdown (presumably with a martini in one hand, typing with the other).

Several humorous posts:
-- "Mike Gravel pounces! Mike Gravel draws first blood! Mike Gravel is some dude running for President! No really!"
-- I have to admit, Chris Dodd at least looks presidential. Unfortunately, he looks like the president of a midwestern Savings & Loan circa 1990.
-- Edwards was asked about something his wife said, that he’d make a better advocate for women that Hillary. Correct answer: “Yes, you have seen my hair.”

... what will you do about global warming?

Dennis Kucinich: "We need to move away from reliance on oil."

But I have to wonder: Why did CNN use a snowman to ask one question about global warming to only one candidate who is considered a longshot? Isn't that a slam against Kucinich -- not a serious candidate, so let's have a snowman ask him a question?

Finally, a technology-related question: Would you scrap or revise the 2002 education law?

Bill Richardson: "I would scrap it. It doesn't work. ... It doesn't emphasize teacher training" and more. He advocated a minimum wage of $40,000 a year for teachers, as well as an emphasis on science and math.

Joe Biden: "It was a mistake. ... I would scrap it" and start from the beginning. He said he only voted for it out of respect for Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., one of the key advocates of the law.

From CNN's Web site:

The CNN/YouTube presidential debate is all about you. You're asking the questions and driving the discussion. But that's just the beginning. We want you to give us your take on the candidates and issues during and after the debates. This is your chance to be a political analyst and call the shots. Watch the program at 7 p.m. ET on July 23, take notes and share your views via I-Report. Better yet -- turn on your camera to record your commentary and reaction video. Click here for more.

John Edwards said he sends his there still. Hillary Clinton said daughter Chelsea attended public schools in Arkansas until her husband, Bill Clinton, was elected president. Other candidates cited a mix of attendance at public and private schools. Mike Gravel said the school system needs competition.

Hillary Clinton made a big fuss during the debate about how she's running for president because she's the best candidate for the job, not because she's a woman. It was a thoughtful, articulate answer. But moments later, as CNN was going to a commercial break, they showed a YouTube campaign video (see above) chosen by her team that featured this punch-line: "Sometimes the best man for the job is a woman." Hmm…

Meanwhile, the YouTube campaign video selected to air for John Edwards poked fun at the $400 haircut controversy -- complete with music from Broadway hit "Hair." Thanks for giving that story legs again. Sheesh!

Chris Dodd, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama all said yes. John Edwards called out a guest who was in the audience with his wife, Elizabeth.

Mike Gravel: "Of course. ... What's the difference" between men and women?

Noting that some Muslim countries treat women as second-class citizens, a questioner asked how Hillary Clinton could expect to be taken seriously in negotiating with those nations. She said that no one need doubt she would be taken seriously and that it "would be quite appropriate" to have a woman

Barack Obama: "We have to begin a phased withdrawal, have our combat troops out by March 31 of next year."

Joe Biden: "You know we can't just pull out now. ... The truth of the matter is if we started now, it would take one year." He insisted that you have to have "a political solution" -- and that he's the only candidate who has one.

Bill Richardson: Diplomacy, U.N. peacekeeping troops ("primarily Muslim troops"), China pressuring Sudan, a no-fly zone. "The answer here is caring about Africa."

Joe Biden: Send U.S. troops. "Where we can, America must. Why Darfur? Because we can." He said 2,500 troops "can stop the genocide now."

Mike Gravel: Africans unfortunately don't want U.S. troops there.

Hillary Clinton: Sanctions on the Sudanese government and a no-fly zone. "American ground troops I don't belong in Darfur at this time."

The question comes from the mother of a soldier.

Hillary Clinton: "There are a lot of questions that we are asking, and we're not getting answers."

Dennis Kucinich: "Yes. It is politics." He said Democrats who took control of Congress have failed the American people by not cutting off funds for the war so troops have to come home.

Chris Dodd: "We should set that time certain." He added that the situation in Iraq is connected to U.S. inaction in Darfur because the military is "bogged down" in Iraq and U.S. global leadership has been undermined.

Bill Richardson: Bring all of the troops home by the end of this year, "with no residual forces. ... No politics. Get it done."

Dennis Kucinich: Yes.

Chris Dodd: "Yes, they ought to have that ability in civil unions. ... But I don't go so far as marriage."

Bill Richardson: "What I think is achievable is full civil unions with full marital rights." He also said he would not tolerate any discrimination against gays.

The question was posed to Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Obama: Ask the cabbies in Manhattan who think twice about picking him up.

Clinton: "I couldn't run as anything other than a woman. I am proud to be running as a woman. ... But obviously I'm not running because I'm a woman."

John Edwards offered his two cents, saying he wouldn't want the vote of anyone who would vote against Obama because he is black or Clinton because she is a woman. But he also said he is a better advocate for women than Clinton.

Clinton's response: "I have been on the forefront" of advocating for women. "I think it's terrific that we're up here arguing about who's going to be better for women."

YouTube is posting the user-submitted videotaped questions as they are aired during the live debate. There is also a pretty massive collection of questions that did not make the cut (featuring costumes, kids, gimmicks, weirdos etc.) The most-viewed question was from a citizen whose entry mentioned California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and cyborgs, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper said.

The questioner said he fully expected the candidates to dodge the question, but not all did.

John Edwards: "I'm not for reparations."

Barack Obama: "The reparations we need ... are investments in our schools."

Dennis Kucinich: "A breach has occurred, and we must acknowledge that. ... Yes, I am for repairing the breach. Yes, I am for reparations."

Joe Biden: Warning that naming names would hurt the designated Republican, Biden named Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb.

John Edwards agreed that Hagel would be a good choice.

Question to Hillary Clinton: How would you define the world liberal, and would you use the word to describe yourself.

Clinton: The word used to mean being for freedom, but "it has been turned up on its head" to mean big government. "I prefer the word progressive," Clinton said.

The attempt by Sen. Joe Biden to stuff the ballot box and get a question on Iraq asked didn't work. So said Anderson Cooper at the outset of the debate.

Introductory comments (from the live feed on campus):

-- Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean on why the YouTube debate matters: "Ordinary Americans get to have their government accountable to them again."

-- CNN host Anderson Cooper: "After tonight, I think it's going to be hard to go back to the debates the way they were, without some sort of user-generated content."

I quoted Jeff Jarvis of PrezVid in my YouTube debate preview story today, and as typically is the case with traditional journalism, I wasn't able to fit all of his insights into our coverage. But that's OK because Jarvis is a blogger and addressed in detail at his own site the points he made in our interview.

Here's a sampling from PrezVid:

The YouTube debates could fundamentally change the dynamics of politics in America, giving a voice to the people, letting us be heard by the powerful and the public, enabling us to coalesce around our interests and needs, and even teaching reporters who are supposed to ask questions in our stead how they should really do it.

The debates could also demonstrate that democracy is in good hands, that we care, we are smart, we are informed. ... Finally, the debates could begin to change the relationship between candidates and voters. ... The wise candidates should go into those 2,000 questions and start answering the toughest ones.

All this could happen. Or CNN could pick the dutiful, dull, obvious, sophomoric questions and make us look like a nation of dolts.

By K. Daniel Glover

Reprinted from Monday's PM Edition of Technology Daily

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Old media stalwart CNN and new media upstart YouTube will break new politics and technology ground here Monday evening by hosting an Internet and voter-driven presidential debate. But before the first video question is put to the Democratic candidates on the stage, observers are asking their own questions about the process behind the debate.

The organizers of the debate -- and another one like it for Republican candidates on Sept. 17 in Florida -- bill it as a "history-making" event. The CNN/YouTube debates take to a new level the "town hall" concept introduced to presidential debates in 1992.

Since June 14, anyone with access to a computer and a webcam has been able to submit videotaped questions to the candidates via YouTube's Internet file-sharing service. By Sunday's deadline, 2,989 questions were submitted. CNN journalists screened the questions and decided which ones to ask when the cable network airs the debate live at 7 p.m.

Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project, called the approach "a logical evolution of the marriage of new media and old media" that has been occurring in recent years. He added that it has made the Internet the "center focus" of politics just 11 years after its "coming-out moment" in the 1996 presidential race.

"This solidifies the notion that the Internet is a prime marketplace [of ideas], the commons of politics," he said.

By Theresa Poulson

Reprinted from Monday's PM Edition of Technology Daily

None of the Democratic presidential candidates will know until Monday evening which voters' questions they must answer in the CNN/YouTube debate. But there were dozens of technology-related questions in the mix that CNN journalists reviewed.

Internet maven Jeff Jarvis, for instance, submitted a video question about ensuring high-speed Internet access for all Americans. And one computer programmer used the tools of her trade to make a computer-generated character who asked how the candidates would protect her vocation from becoming a lost art in the United States because of outsourcing and H-1B visas for skilled foreign workers.

More videos posed questions about outsourcing jobs to other countries, immigration and a proposed guest-worker program.

On the telecommunications front, "The Resident" from New York City asked candidates for their positions on network neutrality, a concept to describe regulation aimed at ensuring equal treatment of broadband content. Other questioners wondered about the regulatory impact of net neutrality.

Sarah from Atlanta asked how the Democrats plan to strengthen U.S. leadership in science and technology, while Tim Miller from Massachusetts questioned the distribution of research and development spending. Another person asked about China's growth as an economic power.

Kyle Hogan from Boston asked if candidates will promote the use of technology and e-learning in education. Others wanted to know the candidates' views about the No Child Left Behind Act or increased funding for the 2002 education law.

Over at Hotline On Call, our colleague Shira Toeplitz is also blogging about the CNN/YouTube debate...

In preparation for tonight, campaigns have to count on doing some things a little differently. How do you express empathy to a video tape? How do you react when a voter shows you their hurricane-ravaged home on a screen? How tersely do you respond to a pointed question when the questioner isn’t even in the room?

Although the Democratic campaigns have been unsurprisingly mum on how they prep the candidates for this debate, a few of the campaigns have planned online activities (read: try to get the media’s attention) in preparation for the big event. Here’s a quick survey of what the campaigns have done and plan to do for the CNN/YouTube debates:

Technology Daily's Theresa Poulson spent a bit of time on YouTube Monday reviewing some of the nearly 3,000 questions submitted for CNN's big debate tonight... like this one, which was one of her favorites.

She also enjoyed this question about computer programming and H1-B visas and this question about inconsistent voting practices.

Check out the PM Edition for a round-up of tech-related questions posed to the Democratic presidential candidates.

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- When Democratic presidential candidates take the debate stage here tonight, odds are good that they won't be asked a question by Andrew McLaughlin, the head of Google global public policy. It would be a PR nightmare to give one of the 20 questions reserved for the air to a top official in the company that is co-sponsoring the debate.

But asked at lunch today what question he would like the candidates to answer, McLaughlin waxed eloquent about America's declining rank in global broadband. He wants to know what the candidates would do to stop the decline as tallied by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. He also wants the candidates to talk more about the forthcoming auction of airwaves in the 700-megahertz band of spectrum.

With hot issues like the Iraq war, immigration and health care on Americans' minds, the odds of those kinds of questions being asked on the air seem slim.

McLaughlin said, however, that he is heartened to see some candidates discussing such issues. He noted, for instance, that Democrat John Edwards did when he visited Google's campus earlier this year.

You can see that entire one-hour chat, along with others by candidates Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Ron Paul and Bill Richardson, at YouTube.

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- CNN will be the filter for tonight's Democratic presidential debate here, deciding which questions submitted via the YouTube video-sharing site to ask of the candidates.

But Gallup, which has been involved in more traditional town-hall presidential debates since 1992, has the scoop on what questions should be asked based on popularity in the American electorate. None of them involve technology directly. Here's what really matters to voters, according to Gallup Guru:

Americans would first and foremost ask about Iraq. In fact, to follow the voters' interests and concerns carefully, I think that about a third of the questions in Monday's debate should be about Iraq. Following that, Americans would ask the candidates about the economy. Then would come two specific issues: health care and immigration.

Finally, Americans want to know how the candidates would handle issues relating to the process of government itself -- how it can be made to function better. Congress and the presidency get very low ratings of confidence and ratings of honesty. People have little faith in the process. What would these candidates do to change this?

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Google and its YouTube subsidiary hosted a luncheon for journalists and bloggers here today in advance of tonight's Democratic presidential debate, which will feature video questions posed by users of the YouTube video-sharing site.

Steve Grove, YouTube's news and politics editor, offered a glimpse into what people will see on the stage. The candidates will stand before a backdrop of "swimming-pool-size" video screens, and each of the candidates also will have personal video monitors at their podiums. Twenty questions of the nearly 3,000 submitted in the past few weeks will be aired live.

Grove said about 800 of the questions were received Sunday, the deadline for entries, and all of them have as much chance of being asked as those submitted earlier. In fact, he estimated that a third to half of the questions were submitted over the past three to four days, in large part thanks to CNN promoting the debate in a series of specials throughout last week.

Grove added that the debate will "live on" at YouTube long after the debate airs, and users will be able to comment on the winning videos and more.

For a glimpse into the tech-related questions that could be asked tonight, and for a debate about just how innovative the debates are, read today's PM Edition of Technology Daily in about an hour -- or check back here later because I will be publishing those pieces at Tech Daily Dose so they are free for all to read.

Sirius Satellite Radio CEO Mel Karmazin spoke at a packed National Press Club luncheon on Monday to make his case for the company's proposed merger with rival XM. Full coverage of his speech will appear in Technology Daily's PM Edition.

The National Association of Broadcasters, which opposes the consolidation, is "still the 800 pound gorilla in the audio entertainment market," he said. Terrestrial radio boasts 230 million weekly listeners and is capable of reaching "virtually every home and every automobile in America."

Karmazin also spent time talking about what he views as a broad, competitive market in which Sirius and XM compete. He noted that 116 million Americans enjoy iPods and other MP3 players and most new cars are including built-in jacks to accommodate them. In addition, about 72 million people listen to Internet radio each month. By contrast, satellite radio only has 14 million listeners, he said.

"There is every reason to believe that these and other technologies and services will continue to attract even more consumers in the years ahead." The competition brings important benefits to "consumers, programmers and society as a whole," he added.

The recently launched musicFirst campaign, an effort aimed at getting musicians more money under copyright law, tried to get President Bush on their bandwagon last week. During the commander-in-chief's trip to Nashville, he was asked if he would support a performance right.

Here's the official White House transcript:

Question: Mr. President, music is one of our largest exports the country has. Currently, every country in the world -- except China, Iran, North Korea, Rwanda and the United States -- pay a statutory royalty to the performing artists for radio and television air play. Would your administration consider changing our laws to align it with the rest of the world?

President Bush: Help. (Laughter.) Maybe you've never had a President say this -- I have, like, no earthly idea what you're talking about. (Laughter and applause.) Sounds like we're keeping interesting company, you know? (Laughter.) Look, I'll give you the old classic: contact my office, will you? (Laughter.) I really don't -- I'm totally out of my lane. I like listening to country music, if that helps. (Laughter.)

Technology Daily Editor Danny Glover and Senior Writer Heather Greenfield will be headed to Charleston, S.C., for the Democratic presidential debate being hosted by CNN and YouTube on Monday. Once there, they plan on posting blurbs on Tech Daily Dose and filing reports for the PM Edition.

Greenfield has a preview story in Friday's issue. Nearly 1,800 people have submitted questions via YouTube for the debate so far. YouTube News and Politics Editor Steve Grove said the site is "becoming the world's largest town hall for political discussion."

From New Orleans' NOLA.com: Ticket sales for a Randy Travis concert to be held Sunday in Mandeville, La. abruptly halted this week when the ticketing portal fpr the show was reportedly "hijacked" by a domain name registration firm operating as RegisterFly.com.

Doug Gilford, the pastor at Cornerstone Church, which was organizing the event, called the incident "a travesty" and said he was "praying that God will show his might at this 11th hour for us."

New Jersey-based RegisterFly was stripped of its accreditation by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers earlier this year for failing to respond to repeated customer complaints. GoDaddy took over the firm's remaining accounts.

(Credit: BoingBoing.net)

Finally, a mobile device that won't get sandy or water-logged at the beach!

Candid comments made by Mitch Glazier, the Recording Industry Association of America's top lobbyist, to Technology Daily ruffled the feathers of the Digital Freedom campaign on Thursday.

The group, backed by the Consumer Electronics Association and Public Knowledge, slammed Glazier's statements about "stream-ripping" and the ongoing debate over Internet radio royalties. He said webcasters should want to work to find a piracy solution before it becomes a bigger problem.

But the Digital Freedom folks said his request amounted to "calling for the implementation of a burdensome, costly, and completely unnecessary technology by webcasters who play and promote the artists the RIAA claims to represent."

"The specific issue at hand is not commercial piracy, but rather fair use of legally recorded music for personal use, which is perfectly legal," said campaign spokeswoman Jennifer Stoltz. What Glazier suggested "is a costly solution without even a hint of a problem" and would be "an imposition on both webcasters and consumers," she added.

For more information, read Glazier's comments in the recent Technology Daily article and the Tech Daily Dose blog post.

MSNBC's "Hardball with Chris Matthews" is asking viewers to submit "the next great viral video" campaign ad. The show is looking for creative entries -- both positive and negative -- aimed at the 2008 presidential candidates. Users can submit them on the show's Web site.

A panel of "all-stars" will weigh the entries on originality, creativity, persuasiveness and accuracy and a winner will be named in August. Judges include CNBC's Donny Deutsch; Democratic strategist Bob Shrum; Ron Christie, former advisor to Dick Cheney; National Journal's Linda Douglass; Washington Post TV critic Tom Shales and others.

Here are two of the most recent entries: entry #1 and entry #2. Okay, not really. But they are genius videos, right?

From the Lowe's Web site: "Mountain retreat, vacation cabin, guesthouse, permanent dwelling --the Katrina Cottage models are designed to take on many roles. Options include Hardie fiber-cement siding, metal 5-V crimp roof, refrigerator and range, and spacious porches."

Yes, that's right, the home improvement giant appears to be selling the small cottages -- designed to replace FEMA trailers after Hurricane Katrina -- online and in their stores. "We had so many requests that the company decided to make them available nationwide," a spokeswoman told the Contra Costa Times.

Katrina Cottage plans can be purchased from Lowe's for $700, with the lowest priced "building kit" starting at $17,000. The cottages come in various styles and sizes. My imaginary plan: Buy one, plunk it down right on the Georgetown waterfront and see who moves me.

Major Internet telephone provider SunRocket went belly-up this week but rival Packet 8 was there to pick up the pieces. Technology Daily's AM Edition reported that the Vienna, Va. firm, which owes millions of dollars to vendors, abruptly folded Monday and some customers who prepaid for service faced losing money.

But Santa Clara, Calif.-based Packet 8 announced Thursday that it had been selected as the replacement VoIP service provider. Under terms of the agreement, Packet8 will waive regular start-up costs for its residential service and will offer a free month of service to SunRocket refugees. Here's the press release.

Tech tools have helped some enterprising Web-heads creatively use the much-talked about phone records kept by Deborah Jeane Palfrey. The so-called "D.C. Madam" posted a copy of her escort service records (all 46 pounds of them) on her personal Web site and it wasn’t long before folks started remixing.

DCPhoneList.com created a searchable index of Palfrey's publicly released list, with entries dating back to 1994. The site permits searches by phone number but warns that the owner of a given number some years ago may not be the same person answering now.

The site said it hopes that "the many eyes of the public will find that which major media have not." Meanwhile, Sen. David Vitter, R-La., admitted earlier this week that he was a client and Palfrey has said other high-profile government officials used her services.

The Consumerist blog converted Palfrey's records into a text file, ran the numbers through a free online reverse number look-up service, sorted them by call volume then extracted all the hotel results. The top five meeting spots in Palfrey's records included the Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, Holiday Inn, and Ritz-Carlton.

What's next? Will someone use Google's popular map-making capabilities to create a virtual tour of Palfrey's clients' escapades?

CleanMyRide.org, an energy policy project of the Center for American Progress, has posted its first bizarre video on its Web site and on YouTube. There's a weird cameo by Ben Affleck in a corn suit. Future installments will feature comedian Sarah Silverman, Matt Damon, Jason Biggs, and more.

The Congressional Modeling and Simulation Caucus is hosting its second annual expo on Capitol Hill Thursday and we're not talking balsa wood gliders and diecast metal car kits here. This group is focused on defense modeling and simulation -- a growing industry that provides "operationally valid environments for war-fighting training."

Modeling and simulation plays a key role in modern military maneuvering, according to the caucus Web site: "In today’s world of tight budgets, limited training ranges, and over-used equipment, M&S offers safe and innovative solutions to complex military training challenges" because of the tools' "interoperability, reuse, and affordability."

The expo announcement promised demonstrations of high-tech toys from the medical, defense, and engineering fields, with scheduled appearances by Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., who chairs the caucus, and Texas Democrat Solomon Ortiz.

It's a clever title for the first post on Sony Electronics' new blog, unveiled by the consumer electronics giant this week. But Rick Clancy, head of corporate communications, said the catchphrase (an old advertising slogan) symbolizes "a unique combination of the whimsical Sony spirit and the candor that I hope to bring to this blog."

While the blog "may not please everyone," Clancy said he hoped to provide perspectives on new products and technologies, industry issues, marketing campaigns, retail strategies and more. He said he will also use the space to clear up misconceptions, debate hot topics, and talk about key trends.

Clancy's not the only one at the company getting in on the blogging game. He pointed out that his counterparts at Sony's U.S. PlayStation division have also recently started a corporate blog.

Internet giant Google is taking a giant leap into the offline world. According to the company's blog, AdWords customers will now have the ability to buy space in 225 newspapers across the United States. The reason? While Web use is growing, Google noted that nearly three out of four adults in the top 50 markets still read a daily or Sunday newspaper.

AdWords started in November 2006 with a test that included 50 newspapers and a small group of advertisers. Since then, the program has grown. Participating newspaper publishers include E.W. Scripps, Hearst Newspapers, Gannett, The New York Times, the Washington Post and others, the firm said in a press release.

"Newspapers are an important source of information and a powerful communication tool," Google CEO Eric Schmidt said. "With Google Print Ads we will bring more advertisers to newspapers which will ultimately benefit readers, publishers and advertisers."

Speaking of Google ad initiatives, take a look at Technology Daily's PM Edition, which has coverage of Wednesday's AEI-Brookings seminar on the company's proposed merger with DoubleClick.

John Simson, who runs digital royalty collector SoundExchange, sent a nasty little letter on Wednesday afternoon to Jonathan Potter, executive director of the Digital Media Association, further fueling a feud between the parties over Internet radio royalties.

Potter put out a press release earlier in the day accusing SoundExchange of "backtracking" on an agreement the two groups had reached (see Technology Daily's PM Edition for details). Simson felt compelled to respond, slamming DiMA for a "pattern of misinformation, mischaracterization and political maneuvering."

Simson said Potter is "intentionally mischaracterizing" SoundExchange's proposal to cap administrative fees for webcasters in exchange for a commitment to work on finding solutions to unauthorized "stream-ripping" and better reporting of what music is played by his member companies.

"It appears that DiMA is really the one 'backtracking' from its commitments" made during closed-door negotiations that took place on Capitol Hill a week ago, Simson said. "Your pattern of failing to deliver is becoming a major obstacle to having productive discussions," he added.

"Rather than do as you’ve promised, you keep running to the press and to the Hill instead of sitting down and negotiating," Simson told Potter. He continued: "If you spent half as much time attempting to construct a business solution to your problems as you do constructing 'spin' for the press and engaging in political maneuvering, then perhaps we would be further along on our negotiations."

Stay tuned as this wonky soap opera continues…

Who is asleep at the controls over at Washingtonpost.com this week? According to blogs Wonkette and PageOneQ, the Web site accidentally ran a story dated July 17, 2007 announcing the death of former President Ronald Reagan. The only problem is that he passed away three years ago. Then, in a story dated July 18, 2007, readers were told that former President Gerald Ford died too… even though he passed away last December. Very strange... Meanwhile, I cannot imagine what rush hour traffic in Washington would be like with two state funerals.

The apparent posting of the final Harry Potter book online before its Saturday release has ruffled the feathers of at least one intellectual property protectionist. The unauthorized distribution of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" is "an especially high profile example of copyright theft," but millions of works are illegally downloaded daily, said Patrick Ross, who runs the Copyright Alliance.

Some will say author J.K. Rowling's sales will still be strong, but that is beside the point, Ross said in a statement. "The more popular a work, the more likely it will be pirated, but that does not make the theft any more acceptable," he noted.

For true fans of the book and film series, Ross explains how the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry would deal with the pre-release piracy problem: "The perpetrators would be found, their House (most likely Slytherin) would be deducted points, and repeat offenders would begin spitting up toads."

Ross may have added incentive to lash out against those who post books online without the author's permission. His mother, JoAnn Ross, happens to be a successful novelist with 95 books under her belt. She is currently writing the second in a trilogy of romance suspense stories.

Dan Glickman, chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America, also chimed in. He said the Harry Potter leak "underscores that robbery of intellectual property extends far beyond the movies, to music, publishing, computer software and other creative outputs that are the foundation of our modern information economy."

Digital royalty collector SoundExchange wants the Digital Media Association to work with the music industry to find ways to put a stop to "stream-ripping," which is essentially Web radio piracy. The group also wants webcasters to be more accurate in reporting how much music is being played.

In exchange, SoundExchange put a cap on the administrative fees Internet radio firms will have to pay through 2010. Both of these issues are examined in Technology Daily's PM Edition. But there is often more detail than one can cram into a 500-word article...

During a Monday afternoon sit-down with the Recording Industry Association of America's Mitch Glazier, the group's executive vice president for government and industry relations said the bottom line is that music labels are simply "trying to be proactive."

RIAA first raised the stream-ripping issue during a roundtable discussion years ago and has been engaging with webcasters ever since. Both the House and Senate versions of the Perform Act last year included an anti-ripping component as an updated condition on compulsory licenses.

Back in 1998, when the parties were negotiating those licenses, webcasters "thought they were able to properly protect the integrity of the signal and prevent the copying of Internet radio streams through sufficient security measures," Glazier said. New technology has changed all that and new measures are needed, he noted.

Some have questioned whether the problem of stream-ripping even exists. To that, Glazier responded: "Why wait until it is a big problem to start addressing it?" There are available technologies in the marketplace to address this issue, he said.

Sometimes e-mail phishing schemes give me the tiniest glimmer of hope that I have actually won the lottery so I can take the long, sunny vacation I so rightfully deserve.

-----Original Message-----
From: xxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2007 1:05 PM
Subject: YOUR EMAIL HAVE WON!!!!

Congratulations in Advance!!!
Yours Faithfully,
Von Adrian (Ms.) CPA.
Coordinator: Millions Lottery.

In Tuesday's Politico "Shenanigans" column, Anne Schroeder writes that CleanMyRide.org, a new energy policy Web site from the Campaign for American Progress will launch Thursday.

In conjunction with the initiative, there's reportedly a video circulating of a corn suit-wearing Ben Affleck. According to Schroeder, CAP has gotten several celebrities to don costumes "to gain some attention about cars and clean air and all that green, Prius talk."

"I can pressure Big Oil. I start revolutions. Remember Beta versus VHS? I did that, and I was 8 years old. Remember DivX? I killed that s---. Acid-wash jeans? Dead, ... and you're welcome," Affleck says in the video. There's also apparently a clip of former "Dawson's Creek" star Joshua Jackson threatening to hurt a baby if something isn't done about cleaner cars.

Update: FishbowlDC has some screen shots of the videos featuring Affleck, Jackson, Matt Damon and comedian Sarah Silverman. Looks hilarious!

Meanwhile, The Examiner's "Yeas & Nays" column reports that rising YouTube star "Obama Girl" (whose real name is Amber Lee) stopped by a Monday night party hosted by Arianna Huffington.

Residents of eastern Iowa and northwestern Illinois can once again listen to their National Public Radio affiliate online. Technology Daily reported in mid-June that Rock Island, Ill.-based WVIK shut down its Web stream to protest a March ruling to hike fees paid to music labels.

The station, which was reportedly one of the first public radio casualties of the proposed fee increase, serves hundreds of thousands of citizens in the Quad Cities that flank the Mississippi River.

At a Friday meeting between NPR, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and digital royalty collector SoundExchange, a payment was offered to cover what the noncommercial entities believed was due by the July 15 deadline. Discussions are ongoing about the amount of the ultimate fee, an NPR spokeswoman said.

Satellite radio giant Sirius made waves with liberal bloggers over the weekend due to the curious christening of its conservative channel as Sirius Patriot. The liberal counterpart is called Sirius Left. Blogger Rick Perlstein called the classification "deeply, deeply offensive."

Sirius "doesn't think you're patriotic," Perlstein said. "This is an obscenity." He then urged his readers to contact Sirius' PR representative for talk radio programming. Other bloggers echoed his call.

Sirius Patriot used to be called Sirius Right but it underwent a name change over a year ago. Taylor Marsh, a blogger who calls herself the "antidote to right wing talk," suggested that Sirius Left be renamed Sirius Liberty.

Sirius Left's home on the Web features a photo of the Statue of Liberty. Sirius Patriot's landing page sports an American flag and an eagle. Sirius honchos have not issued a reaction to the uproar.

Eight years ago this week, Internet visionary Mark Cuban went public with what was then the biggest first day jump in stock price in IPO history (250 percent from its opening price to close at $62.75 per share). The company was Broadcast.com and it made Cuban a billionaire.

The site, which was sold to Yahoo, served audio and video -- live and on demand -- to more than one million unique users per day in 1999, Cuban recalled on his blog. Users were able to experience audio books, full length CDs, full length movies and TV shows (licensed, of course).

There was user-generated content too. It was mostly corporate, since that's who could afford the tools to edit video, but user-generated nonetheless. "Just think if we had put up a discussion forum and called ourself a social network. It's deja vu all over again," Cuban said. Watch the Broadcast.com promotional video here.

Famously fake news source, The Onion, reports on its Onion News Network that "all online data has been lost after the Internet crashed and was forced to restart." The error message that appeared on millions of users' PC screens read: "Restart World Wide Web. Data may have been lost."

Federal investigators traced the crash to a Connecticut man who had more than 35 windows open, The Onion said. He was reportedly downloading tracks on iTunes, watching video clips on YouTube, listening to NPR, instant messaging, checking three e-mail accounts, talking on Skype, and playing online poker while installing the latest version of Firefox and browsing MySpace when the global Internet shutdown occurred.

"The screen froze up and there was nothing I could do. I tried to 'force quit' all the open applications but nothing worked," the man said via facsimile. According to The Onion, White House spokesman Tony Snow admitted that the government does not have a backup of the Internet but "always meant to get around to making one."

Bloggers were some of the hardest hit by the imagined blackout. "Trillions of pages of commentary and diaries of daily minutiae have been forever erased," The Onion stated. "I feel like control-alt-deleting myself," one blogger said.

Update: Life imitating art -- or in this instance, satire. Our office Internet access is down and the IT folks can't figure out why.

Happy Monday! The infamous "Obama Girl" is back with a new viral video on YouTube and this time she's got competition from a Giuliani devotee.

This "debate" between leggy fans of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama of Illinoiis and GOP contender Rudy Giuliani is a bit more lively than one moderated by, say, PBS's Jim Lehrer. It involves a pillow fight and some choreographed dance moves on the streets of Manhattan.

Good news: Unlike "Crush On Obama," this ditty is less likely to get lodged in your brain and rattle around like a bag of nickels in the spin cycle. No, the new song is not as catchy but given its predecessor's success, it may spread like Web wildfire. Only time will tell.

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The University of Texas at Austin is hosting an interesting conference on Friday and Saturday called "New Agendas in Journalism and Citizenship." The Center for Citizen Media's Dan Gillmor is giving a keynote about media literacy in a media-saturated age.

Other sessions will cover online media and civic journalism; mass media and blogging; the public's relationship with digital content; news-seeking and information overload; the many faced 'you' of social media and more. For those of us who cannot make it to the Lone Star State, there appears to be a webcast.

The communications director for the Association of American Universities wrote to reporters covering the battle over the ongoing patent reform push on Thursday afternoon to clear up a few things.

Barry Toiv, whose group represents 62 leading research universities, said there have been a number of articles written that suggest the university community is "strongly opposed to the legislation." But that's not the whole story, he said.

"While a few universities do in fact oppose the bill, the overall community, by and large, takes a significantly different position," he wrote. Some schools do not like the so-called "first to file" provision but the higher education community as a whole does, so long as a grace period for publishing accompanies that change.

The community believes "there are a number of very positive elements in the bill," he noted. That said, AAU, the American Council on Education, the Association of American Medical Colleges, and several other counterparts have some concerns. The groups are working with the House and Senate Judiciary Committees to address them.

Meanwhile, the Senate Judiciary Committee's mark up of the patent bill continued. Read more in Technology Daily's PM Edition.

While the feud over Internet radio royalties plays out in the United States [see Technology Daily's PM Edition for details], a different kind of musical war is being waged in Australia.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, health clubs down under could be forced to play cover versions of popular tunes as they try to avoid a 30-fold hike in license fees for playing copyrighted music in fitness classes.

The possible rate increase follows a ruling by the country's copyright tribunal that said nightclubs and dance parties should pay $1.05 and $3.07 per patron respectively. Fitness Australia's Lauretta Stace said the change could raise class license fees from $0.92 to $31.67 a class.

An typical health club that offers 40 classes per week would have to pay annual license costs of $65,000, up from $1,900. Smaller independent gyms could also close, Stace said.

Facilities could look into playing other musicians' versions of songs to avoid the rate hike. "Whether it's [Abba tribute band] Bjorn Again or the real thing, we don't think it's going to affect the class," Stace told the newspaper.

A parade of high-tech experts shared their views on unsolicited mass e-mail and how it is evolving in the 21st century at a Wednesday spam summit sponsored by the FTC. [Read Technology Daily's PM Edition for details].

Here's what some speakers had to say on the first of the two-day conference:

Part I: The Incentive

Patrick Peterson, vice president at IronPort Systems, said spam is fueled by capitalism and its creators are "talented and genius" and their efforts are geared toward maximizing profits, he said. Their job is getting harder though "because they are operating in an incredibly hostile environment." That means spammers must constantly change their approach to stay ahead of law enforcement and industry filters, he said.

Andrew Klein, senior product marketing manager for SonicWALL, said spammers have gotten much more resourceful in recent years. In the early days of malicious junk e-mail, the focus was on selling credit card numbers through chat rooms for pocket change. Then, along came "botnets" -- armies of software robots that hijack computers and steal personal and financial data -- and the battleground changed forever.

A broad bill that would overhaul the U.S. patent system will be the main topic at the Senate Judiciary Committee's weekly business meeting on Thursday, but there's another tech-related item on the agenda.

The panel is slated to vote on a resolution "honoring the educational contributions of Donald Jeffry Herbert," also known as "Mr. Wizard." The legislation, introduced by Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., who is not a member of the committee, recognizes Herbert, who died last month.

Herbert created the "Watch Mr.Wizard" show that first aired on NBC in 1951. The show was cancelled after more than 500 episodes and in 1983 Herbert developed "Mr. Wizard's World" for cable channel Nickelodeon. The resolution encourages students to honor his memory "by exploring our world through science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields."

Score another one for the home state of Ben & Jerry's and legendary jam band Phish: Vermont just won the right to host the world premiere of "The Simpsons" movie later this month.

Springfield, Vt., a town of about 9,300, beat out Springfields from 13 other states in an online video competition hosted by USAToday.com. The writers of "The Simpsons" have never identified the exact location of the fictional Springfield, the hometown of Bart, Homer, Lisa, Maggie and Marge.

The video submitted by Vermont's Springfield, which featured Homer chasing a giant donut allover the town, received more than 15,000 votes, edging out submissions from Springfields in Illinois and Oregon. According to USA Today, Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas voted himself and urged his constituents to do the same.

In a statement released Tuesday, Douglas declared that Springfield's win was a victory for the entire state. "It proves there's really nothing a giant donut can’t do," he said. "To all the other Springfields, I say, 'Don’t have a cow, man.'"

Timothy Davlin, the mayor of Illinois' Springfield who earlier this week said that all of his city's competitors could "eat his shorts," congratulated Vermont in a statement of his own. But he still insisted that his Springfield is the "true home of Homer and Marge Simpson.”

"We knew all along that it would be a tough battle against the other cities who claim a relationship with the television program," he said. "But, who can argue that being home to Mel-O-Cream, Springfield High School, the power plant, Evergreen Terrace, and our very own Mr. Burns puts us right at the top." -- Michael Martinez

Blogging has been a professional passion of mine for about five years now.

I've been a persistent advocate for embracing blogs as a journalistic tool within National Journal Group, probably to the point of being a nuisance to some folks, and I've written (or am still writing) blogs about Congress, adoption, Russia, obituaries, and even blogs about blogs. You can't get much more fanatical than that.

So I'm always glad to hear when someone I know decides to embrace the power of the blog -- especially someone in the media. That means I am thrilled to report that Sharon McLoone, who preceded me as the editor of Technology Daily, is now one of us.

As of yesterday, Sharon is the new small-business blogger for washingtonpost.com. "This feature will offer an inside look at small businesses and their challenges and opportunities," she wrote in the opening entry. "I will talk to experts who can help guide small businesses (from start-ups to well-established) navigate today's digital and physical marketplaces."

I'm sure all of you techies who still run small businesses, and those of you who have made it big after starting small, can offer Sharon's small-business readers plenty of valuable insights, so stop by the blog and say hello.

As the fight over the proposed merger of satellite radio rivals Sirius and XM heated up with new filings from supporters and opponents this week [read Technology Daily's coverage], think tanks also got in on the action.

The Competitive Enterprise Institute, the Progress and Freedom Foundation and The Free State Foundation all weighed in by sending comments to the FCC about the estimated $13 billion pairing.

CEI said stakeholders "ought not petition the FCC to tighten its regulatory grip, but rather phase out that agency’s involvement in price, entry and ownership regulation in frontier technologies altogether."

According to the group, antitrust activism will "hobble tomorrow's technology and communications sectors, painting a bulls-eye on the back of competitors that rise above the fray or engage in large-scale transactions."

"Competition, properly understood, has little to do with the number of competitors and industry concentration ratios that bewitch government commissions," CEI said. It is better understood as "an extension of the same 'voluntarism' that characterizes a free society that enshrines property and the right of contract."

The National Legal and Policy Center put Google in its crosshairs on Tuesday when it launched a "Top 50" list of full-length movies, cable programs and music concerts available via the Internet giant's video-sharing services -- potentially without the copyright owner's knowledge or permission.

The nonprofit center "promotes a single standard of ethics in public life through research, education and legal action," according to its mission statement. Previous targets have included elected Democratic officials, supporters of liberal causes, and labor unions.

The top 50 list includes the name of the movie or program, the production company, the number of days the content was hosted on Google Video and the number of viewers. All content in the Top 50 list was active as recently as Monday, officials said.

"We hope that our efforts both raise awareness of the issue of video and music piracy and hopefully serve as a resource for copyright owners to check if their content is on the sites without their knowledge or approval,” said NLPC Chairman Ken Boehm.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was told about the FBI's abuses of its anti-terrorism powers nearly a week before he told lawmakers that he knew of no wrongdoing, Technology Daily's AM Edition reported Tuesday. The just-released documents show that Gonzales received a copy of an FBI report documenting incidents in which agents obtained personal information they were not entitled to have.

Not surprisingly, the news prompted a chorus of condemnation by privacy groups and lawmakers.

"The FBI can't be trusted to police its own agents. It's time for Congress to provide oversight to protect American citizens," said Electronic Frontier Foundation Staff Attorney Marcia Hofmann. "These chronic privacy problems have long been known within the Justice Department but still were kept secret from those who really needed to know -- members of the American public."

Caroline Fredrickson, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Washington Legislative Office, said Congress has been "hoodwinked" by Gonzales and "it's time for consequences." Without his false testimony, the USA PATRIOT Act may not have been passed in its current form, she said.

Occasionally, some pretty strange press releases make their way into my inbox. Who knows how I get on these mailing lists. This lukewarm pitch for GillznFinz.com is no exception. Here's a snippet:

Want a website that will entertain and answer any of your fishing desires? Well "A Revolution in the Sport of Fishing" is on the horizon. Regardless of location, type and skill level, GillznFinz.com is your answer. Launching on July 28, 2007 at a soiree in Charleston, SC, GillznFinz.com will be the most comprehensive fishing spot on the web. GillznFinz.com is the world's first interactive website created for fishermen by fishermen.

It's been a slow news day. I actually asked myself, "Where's the tech policy angle?" before hitting delete.

Five movie thieves were arrested over the Independence Day holiday for illegally camcording the box office behemoth "Transformers" in movie theaters across the country, the Motion Picture Association of America announced Monday.

The moviegoers allegedly used camcorders and cellular phone cameras to steal the film, or portions of it, in California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois and New York, then shape-shifted into sports cars and zoomed off (Okay, maybe I made up that last part).

"These arrests serve as a reminder to potential movie thieves that whether you use a camcorder or a cell phone, stealing movies off the silver screen is a crime and you will be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said MPAA Chairman Dan Glickman (a.k.a. Optimus Prime).

If convicted, the defendants could face a range of jail sentences and thousands of dollars in fines. Over the holiday weekend, "Transformers" raked in $67.6 million and "Ratatouille" was a distant second with $29 million. "Live Free or Die Hard," "License to Wed" and "Evan Almighty" rounded out the top five.

If you tuned into any of the Live Earth concerts on Saturday, chances are you were told that 2 billion people were watching with you.

According to early reports, the concerts, which former Vice President Al Gore backed to promote awareness about global warming, failed to attract as many television viewers as desired. Nielsen Media Research released estimates that NBC's 3-hour Live Earth special this weekend actually performed behind the network's regular summer Saturday night programming.

But the shows created a much stronger buzz online. As noted in Technology Daily's AM edition, Live Earth made entertainment history by generating more than 9 million Internet streams. And people are still going online to catch the performances.

Clips of the Live Earth shows are dominating the YouTube charts. Currently, five of the 12 most-viewed videos on the popular sharing site feature Live Earth performances. Another video of a holographic Gore speaking to a Live Earth audience has been viewed more than 25,000 times.

The second wind on YouTube has been kinder to some artists than others -- multiple videos capturing the highly-anticipated reunion of Spinal Tap have received tens of thousands of hits, including one video of the band enlisting “every bass player in the known universe” to fight global warming.
-- Michael Martinez

Ever heard of Nebraskan treasures like Fort Robinson State Park, the Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer, and Carhenge? If not, Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., has the Web page for you. I can't vouch for the parks or museums, but the recreation of Stonehenge from American-made automobiles is supremely cool.

Google's Public Policy Blog reports that the lawmaker, who previously used Google's MyMaps tool to create a virtual tour of his trip to Iraq, launched two new Google-fueled projects to promote tourism in his state -- one featuring state and federal parks and the other highlighting "popular and uniquely Nebraska attractions."

The maps, posted just in time for the summer vacation season, will help visitors "learn about 'the good life' we live in Nebraska," according to Nelson's Web site.

Age-verification technologies have the potential to dramatically affect how people do business and interact socially online. Some lawmakers and law enforcers are pushing such applications as tools to protect children on popular social-networking sites like MySpace.

Others are curious as to whether age verification can be used as part of a regulatory regime if Congress rescinds restrictions on Internet gambling. But the dispute is being shaped by disagreement over how well the technologies work, and it has ensnared companies with considerable influence inside the Beltway and beyond.

Read more of Technology Daily's "Issue of the Week" by our very own Michael Martinez.

C-SPAN's latest installment of its "The Communicators" series will examine how the United States stacks up to the rest of the world when it comes to high-speed Internet access. The show airs Saturdays on C-SPAN at 6:30 p.m. ET and Monday on C-SPAN2 at 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. ET.

Guests include Information Technology & Innovation Foundation President Robert Atkinson and the Progress & Freedom Foundation's Scott Wallsten. Atkinson will talk about the findings from a pair of recent ITIF reports -- one on Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development broadband rankings and one calling for a national broadband policy.

Over at the Concurring Opinions blog, Oxford University Web expert Jonathan Zittrain ponders whether the global petition for the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers to "keep the core neutral" petition is something worth signing.

Technology Daily reported on the new campaign on Thursday. Organizers want ICANN to resist efforts to evaluate proposed domain suffixes based on non-technical criteria such as ideas about morality and competing national political objectives.

Zittrain said he thinks the petition "reads a bit vague" and he finds it "hard to really care if ICANN wants to allow some names and deny others." "I don't see how a willingness to have some content-based process for determining new TLDs can become 'a convenient lever of global control by those seeking to censor unpopular or controversial expression on the Internet,'" he said.

IP Justice fellow Dan Krimm, who is spearheading the effort, responded to Zittrain's "who cares" attitude by arguing that the issue poses a slippery slope: "Allowing ICANN to establish a procedural and jurisdictional precedent in the area of domain names where non-technical public policy can be formulated on a global basis may provide a very attractive venue to expand beyond DNS to matters of more general public policy in Internet governance."

This Saturday's Live Earth concert series may give radio shock jock Howard Stern some competition for his self-proclaimed title as "King of All Media." The festival's 24 hours of music on seven continents will be covered on multiple media platforms.

Live Earth will be transmitted worldwide, from New York, London, Johannesburg, Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai, Tokyo, Sydney, and Hamburg by Intelsat satellite in standard and high-definition across TV, radio, Internet and wireless channels, organizers said.

TV networks NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo, Sundance, Telemundo and others will be airing portions of the shows. Satellite radio providers Sirius and XM will also provide coverage of the event. Additionally, Live Earth concerts will be streamed live online by MSN and up-to-the-minute news will be reported on the concert's official blog.

The concerts will bring together more than 100 artists and two billion people to trigger a global movement to solve the climate crisis, organizers said. Saturday marks the beginning of a multi-year campaign to drive individuals, corporations and governments to take action to solve global warming. Read more about Live Earth here.

Update: [Thanks to The Gate]: Al Gore has rustled up a last-minute deal to bring Live Earth to Washington, after all. Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood will perform at the National Museum of the American Indian. Gore himself is expected to kick off the show.

Now here's an interesting business plan. BetaNews reports that Sprint is trying to rid itself of users who tie up its customer service lines by telling them that it would let them go effective July 30. The company told the subscribers in a letter that "the number of inquiries you have made to us during this time has led us to determine that we are unable to meet your current wireless needs."

Several users of an online forum where the story first broke, Sprintusers.com, are writing to Sprint CEO Gary Forsee to complain about the move. The company is offering a service credit to those whose accounts it is axing and is not charging an early termination fee.

In the July 7 issue of National Journal magazine, Technology Daily's Andrew Noyes examines the ongoing battle over Internet radio royalties playing out on Capitol Hill, in court and in the court of public opinion.

For those who have followed our extensive coverage of the issue in recent months, the article won't provide much new insight, but the two-page spread definitely puts the feud between webcasters, musicians and record labels in the spotlight for a broader audience of policy junkies.

Subscribers can access the story online here or pick up a copy of the magazine. It's perfect weekend beach reading!

Forrester Research's new report, "How Consumers Use Social Networking Sites," is hot off the presses and analyst Charlene Li gave her blog readers some insight into the paper's findings earlier this week.

The report concludes that social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook have seen tremendous growth over the past two years. Frequent users engage in more activities and have a more positive attitude about these sites, but they are also more interested in profiles from their favorite companies.

Forrester said marketers that are interested in reaching their audiences on those sites should: dispense with traditional Web marketing tactics, encourage "friending" and regularly refresh content. Read more here.

National Public Radio affiliate KCRW read the fine print of digital royalty collector SoundExchange's latest offer to webcasters, who have been protesting a forthcoming rate hike, and uncovered something unsavory.

The Santa Monica, Calif. radio station's weekly music commentary show "On the Beat" points out that under the deal, Internet radio providers would have to agree to cease lobbying on behalf of H.R. 2060, a bill that would reverse the Copyright Royalty Board's March ruling.

Sound Exchange has offered to cap the $500 per channel fee at $2,500 (Read Technology Daily's coverage here). KCRW commentator Celia Hirschman also reports that the SoundExchange proposal only extends for 18 months and points out that webcasters would then be forced to "fight all over again" to cover 2009 and 2010.

As part of the agreement, webcasters would also have to withdraw their legal motion for a stay on the per channel minimum issue, KCRW reported. An appeal and request for emergency stay is currently before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

"On the Beat" airs on Wednesday afternoons. Text for the segment, “Cloudy Issues Surround Internet Radio,” is available online here.

The Consumer Electronics Association provided a sneak peak on Thursday of its line-up for the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The event, which takes over Sin City in January, will feature keynotes by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates; Panasonic President Toshihiro Sakamoto; and Intel CEO Paul Otellini.

CEA President Gary Shapiro said the executives are all "industry pioneers who have revolutionized the consumer technology industry through innovative and ground-breaking ideas." Other big names will attend the week-long mega-conference. Details will be announced this fall, CEA said.

Next year's trade show is expected to feature 2,700 exhibitors, covering more than 30 product areas, including the latest in content, wireless, digital imaging, mobile electronics, home theater and audio. Read Tech Daily Dose's coverage from 2007 here.

As virtual worlds become more complex, should the government, or can it, regulate virtual life? National Journal's Neil Munro dissects this complicated issue in the June 30 issue of the magazine.

Here's a snippet:

How do you regulate people's digital fantasies? When fantasy intrudes on reality, what do you do about it? These, in essence, are the two urgent questions facing Internet companies, and government regulators, as online fantasy sites grow into huge second worlds, teeming with millions of "residents" whose virtual behavior can range from the innocent to the bizarre to the criminal. In these burgeoning "virtual worlds," people are engaging in all sorts of activity that would be regulated, limited, controlled, or taxed in the real world.

Read the full story here. The same issue has a cover story by Carl Cannon called "Surviving the Information Age," which is worth a look as well.

Fireworks and food took a backseat to multiple demonstrations of the new Apple iPhone at our Independence Day barbeque on Wednesday. Three partygoers brought along their dearly beloved gadgets and repeatedly wowed the crowd with the device's uber-functionality and utter coolness.

"Look, I can get the real-time weather forecast for Washington tonight and the outlook for a dozen other locations I've pre-programmed." "Check this out -- I can punch in this address and see a Google Earth image of the backyard." "Ooooo, watch this hilarious YouTube video of a cat playing with firecrackers!" "Can you believe how great the resolution is on the photo I just took of the potato salad?"

Techies and non-techies alike were in awe of the sleek design, ease of use and various must-have applications… and the iPhone owners barely even mentioned the components that allow users to make telephone calls and listen to music (the two main purposes of the $600 toy). Summer get-togethers may never be the same but until the iPhone helps clean up after houseguests, it's not a true all-in-one thingamajig.