What's government's role in making the Web secure?

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Below is an interesting article about the government's role with web security. Should the government have the power to shut down the Internet if a cyber attack occurs? Obviously, this would not be as easy as turning off a switch to shut down the Internet, but it is interesting to think about government's position with the Web. Government now has to consider how it would handle this possibility. "McAfee points out that there may be as many as 10% of the world's computers infected with a 'botnet', which is an army of computers used by someone without the owners' knowledge." It is scary to consider an American virtual attack occurring, but it must be explored and discussed. Is it the government's place to control the Internet, or should it be left up to the companies that control it? This is an on-going question that is being explored in the House and Senate as well as in private industry. This is a very important issue that must be decided in order to protect Americans. Maybe the government should direct the necessity for an internet shut down, but the businesses that control the sites would be held accountable for the actual shut down. It'll be interesting to follow the progress.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090927/ap_on_go_ot/us_securing_the_internet

Measuring Web Activity with. . .Photoshop?

Measuring Web Activity with. . .Photoshop?

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Here is another interesting article that is related to this week's lecture. Web analytics company, Omniture has been purchased by Adobe. This should be an interesting mix of a creative design company with a research measurement company. The author discusses how he believes these two companies will mesh or not mesh together. Towards the end of the article he suggests that this merger may lead to the demise of web analytics. I don't really see how this would happen. Advertisers are going to demand some kind of measurement from websites in order to justify their advertising purchase. Not to mention the demand for analytics to determine ROI after a campaign is complete. Still this is an interesting article and it will definitely be worth keeping an eye on this merger.

Twitter: a billion-dollar company that few trust

In this week's lecture, Professor Moore discussed the popularity of microblogger, Twitter. Although, the site is used by millions, the company has still not figured out a good business model to garner revenue. Companies have obviously jumped on the Twitter bandwagon to market themselves, but as you will see from the embedded article below consumers may not find Twitter a trustworthy resource outlet.

Twitter: a billion-dollar company that few trust

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I have a Twitter account, but I am still trying to figure out what the difference is between doing tweets and doing my status updates on Facebook. I do receive useful tweets from the people and companies I follow. I just need to work on deciphering myself from Facebook and Twitter, so I can gain the most from my social media sites.

Trademark-infringing fake blogs fraud?

Trademark-infringing fake blogs fraud?

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Publishers and affiliates get all the fake blog blame

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These embedded articles are very interesting especially since Professor Moore just lectured over the negative implications of fake blogs and how it can be harmful to businesses.

These articles came from a site called Adotas. They provide interactive advertising industry news and information. I receive frequent email blasts from them. Other classmates may find this to be a useful source to subscribe to, if you are interested in knowing the latest goings-on in the industry.