WebProNews

Google, Microsoft Execs Named To Obama's Tech Council

If, on the technology front, our country takes a significant turn for either the better or the worse under President Obama, you might consider voicing your pleasure or dismay by using certain search engines more or less.  It turns out people from both Google and Microsoft have been appointed to the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). 

UK Gvmt May Take Cues From Wikipedia, Google, MSFT

Parts of the UK government may start to take after some ultra-popular websites and online services if David Cameron has his way.  Cameron, the leader of Britain's Conservative Party, directed nods toward Wikipedia, Google, and Microsoft in a recent speech.

Racy Facebook Pics Force Candidate Out Of Running

You could call it a learning experience, a far cheaper lesson for the rest of the world than for Ray Lam, a Vancouver political candidate who withdrew his nomination after racy pictures of him surfaced on Facebook.

Google, Twitter, WordPress Reps Go To Iraq

Don't be surprised if a lot of blog posts, tweets, and YouTube videos start pouring out of Iraq in the near future.  The U.S. State Department has led a number of corporate representatives to Baghdad, and the group includes executives from Google, Twitter, and Automattic/WordPress.

Google's Hairy Mainstream Pickle

Who knew something stupid like “Rickrolling” would become such a problem for Google? Thanks to an Internet fad, Rick Astley’s one 1980’s hit “Never Gonna Give You Up” and video were played on YouTube 154 million times.

Internet Major Resource For Political News

More than half of Americans used the Internet as a political resource during the 2008 election, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Some 55 percent of adults and 74 percent of all Internet users went online for news and information about the election or to communicate with others about the race. Nearly half (45%) of Americans watched online videos related to politics or the election. Young adults led the way in their online video consumption, with close to half of all 18-29 year olds watching online political videos.

Google Helps Identify Anonymous Blogger

Free speech has always been an irritant to those who become the target of it; freedom in general is a frightening concept to some because of the broad blanket it throws over the righteous and the sinful alike. And as always it seems many people support the freedom concept so long as it supplies protections for the liberties they themselves choose to enjoy—enjoy the wrong set of liberties and you’ll suddenly find far fewer true believers in the founding principles of the American experiment.

Bill Lets Obama Turn Off the Internet

Two bills introduced giving the President the power to deem a private network part of the nation’s critical infrastructure and shut it down for cybersecurity reasons also gives the Commerce Secretary the power to access network data outside of oversight.

The Information Mafia Cometh

In light of the hysteria generated by the Associated Press’s plan to go after online news aggregators, Google is quick to point out any action the AP takes won’t apply to them. Why? Because Google already struck a deal with the AP.

Google Helps Promote Indian Elections

India's 15th general election is fast approaching, and Google's determined to help anyone wanting to either participate in or monitor the event.  The search giant launched the Google India Elections Centre in both English and Hindi to facilitate the spread of information.