websense

The following comes from an article found on Law.com – it pertains to a court case that is vitally relevant to my business, as well as clients of TKG. I wish I could post the whole article, because I feel that it is written better than I could, to make sure the legal aspects are represented – but I’ll give it my best shot. To read the entire article (which I recommend), I have provided a link:

http://www.law.com/jsp/cc/PubArticleCC.jsp?id=1202486373422&Web_Host_Liable_for_Contributory_Infringement
Sheri Qualters All Articles
The National Law Journal

So here’s the basic rundown: A web hosting and SEO firm in South Carolina called Bright Builders hosts a site and provides SEO services for a counterfeit golf club company. The fake golf club company openly states on it’s site that they make and sell the best fake Cleveland Golf clubs on the internet. Cleveland Golf gets wind of this and sues. Judge decides a verdict against Bright Builders (the web hosting company) to the tune of $770,750!!!!!!! The fake golf club guys get a jury return of a mere $28,250 statutory damages verdict.

A lawyer (Finnerty) in the case maintains that hosting a web site is the same as being a landlord –
“A Web-hosting company’s obligation is similar to that of a landlord’s, he said. A landlord doesn’t have the obligation to act as an investigator against his tenants to find out they are doing anything illegal, but once they knew or should have known, they have to act,” Finnerty said. “How is that any different online?”

Basically stating that a Web hosting company has a minimal obligation to know what they are hosting, as a landlord has a minimal obligation to know whom he is renting an apartment. If the hosting company or SEO provider discovers something remiss, or flat out illegal, they are obliged to report it.

I guess that’s just basic common sense. I don’t know that I want to get hit with a monetary judgment because I wasn’t aware of what a client had on a Web site TKG is hosting or does SEO for. I think for the most part, we are fairly familiar with all of our clients and would notice something going on. In this particular case, it was clear and obvious that Bright Builders knew what was up, and just didn’t do anything about it. TKG has always upheld the highest Web standards, and hopefully, this would never be an issue. That being said, we host hundreds of Web sites, and a few are just hosted here, we haven’t touched them other than to host.

As law catches up to technology, we’re going to see more and more of these cases. Judges are going to have to try and use existing law as a precedent, as in the landlord example. Or they are going to be setting landmark precedents. Hopefully, these types of cases will be decided justly, and won’t impinge on the freedom of the Web.

What are your thoughts on this case? Do you think the hosting company should have been liable for damages, or do you think it’s a crock? I think I am in the middle on this one. If they were aware of the situation, then yeah, they are liable, but I don’t see how they are more liable than the actual site owners. That one baffles me a little. What say you?

The LinkedIn Blog announced a new feature this week called “LinkedIn Today”- an industry specific news feed based on what your connections are reading.

It’s a pretty cool idea, and can probably help you get the news that is relevant to you. The way it works is fairly obvious, the news stories shared the most often by your connections, coworkers and peers will be presented to you in an industry specific. If you follow more than one industry, as many would want to, clients’ industries, others that affect your business, etc. then the top five news stories that affect the industries you follow will be highlighted.

From the LinkedIn Blog, “By following industries, you can get the relevant news on your Front Page and in the top navigation. We’ll also send you a weekly email of the top industry headlines across all of the industries you follow. And, no matter how many industries you follow, we will only send you one news email per week.”

They also have apps for your phone of course. If you are pretty busy, and don’t want to wade through all the regular news to try and get the industry specific news you are looking for, this could be a beneficial tool. Aren’t we getting lazy? Too many clicks through a news site, just pipe the news I want right to me and forget the rest! In any case, you can do just that now, on your LinkedIn profile. Kinda cool, sort of a one stop for the business community, which I am sure is the whole point.

I think LinkedIn is a great tool. I think this could make it even more useful, unless it clutters up a good thing. We’ll see how it pans out.
If you want to read more about it, check out the LinkedIn Blog post, or watch the video below, originally posted on the LinkedIn Blog.

My heart goes out to all those who lost a loved one in Japan this weekend, and our thoughts and prayers are with the survivors.
Hopefully the radiation from the nuclear plant will not have an ill affect, and the clean up process will go quickly. God be with you, Japan.

In light of the devastating effects of this earthquake and tsunami, many people would like to make donations to help out. Amazingly, there are already scammers making calls and taking donations. Please, if you want to donate to help the people of Japan, call yourself, or go to a trusted site. Don’t make a donation to anyone who calls you on the phone, and be very careful when using a website. Be sure you are actually in the right place, these scammers like to change the spelling of the url very slightly so that you don’t notice, and make a nice little donation to them, rather than your intended recipient.

In an effort to be helpful, here are a couple of organizations taking donations – these places are legit.
Catholic Charities
Mercy Corps

Please keep the people of Japan in your prayers. They are in for a long haul – it’s not going to be easy.

I have to wonder what it says about our society that Cafe Press and Frazzle are now selling Charlie Sheen merchandise like hotcakes. I mean, really? Charlie Sheen? He’s the druggie nutball who keeps calling radio stations with rants about his boss, CBS, and his show, Two and a Half Men, right?

While I wonder what people are thinking, it’s impressive really, that Cafe Press and Frazzle have already started producing merch, and did it quickly, according to a report on Fox News. Cafe Press says they can start producing things like t-shirts and coffee mugs in about an hour after seeing a new trend. Why is this possible? The web, of course. If you’ve been living under a rock and have never purchased anything from Cafe Press, then you need to know that they make t-shirts and other personalized items. You can create a t-shirt or whatever, and have it printed and shipped to you. They also have just about any saying or cause you could ever want already designed and ready to print. So, once they start seeing a certain trend, they knock out a design and put it on their site for purchase. Pretty cool, very much making use of the money making opportunities the web has to offer. It’s smart. I am sure they have folks watching Facebook and Twitter, as well as their own site, gauging the trends and predicting what will come next. Smart, but a little reprehensible. Is there anything they won’t print? A quick search of Cafe press revealed a baby onesie that says “My Conduct is Bitchin”. I really hope nobody buys that for their kid.

As for Charlie Sheen, he has helped some folks make a little money on all his crazy antics, but I continue to wonder what that says about the society we’re living in?

I’m an optimist. I think to be an entrepreneur, you have to be. You just have to dig in during the tough times and work hard to make your business work, and you have to believe it will.

We all know we are finally starting to see the sun after some pretty dark years in the world economy. We were just starting to look toward what comes next, and now we are being told in all sectors that things are going to get bad again. Rising oil prices due to revolutions happening all over the Middle East, food shortages due to crazy weather this winter, and the value of the dollar dropping are all contributing to this feeling of impending doom that is leveled over the country by the media.

Now, I know all these things are happening, and yeah, it’s a little scary. But I have to look on the bright side. Maybe all this trouble over oil will finally force the administration and Congress to address the matter of drilling in our own country. We have massive, massive amounts of oil in the Dakotas, let’s take advantage of that, bring some jobs, create some capital.

As for the food shortage, I think when there is a possibility that people won’t have enough food available, maybe we shouldn’t be making fuel out of corn, and use that food for …food.

So, the bright side of things. That’s really not as tough as you might think after all that. Things are looking up, even with the higher gas prices and some talk of food shortages. According to a recent article on Fox News, business owners all over the globe are beginning to see an uptick in business. They are starting to hire.

A poll by the Young President’s Organization revealed that (direct quote): “61% of CEOs feel conditions are improving (up 46% from the last quarterly survey) and 67% of respondents believe conditions will continue to improve in the next six months.”
Read more: http://smallbusiness.foxbusiness.com/legal-hr/2011/02/10/optimisim-businesses-applicants/#ixzz1FlHxJkY7

This is a survey taken all over the globe, with all sizes of small business. I think if the guy in Sri Lanka thinks things are looking up, certainly the folks here in the US are going to be finding jobs and getting back to work in the near future.

One really interesting point made in this article is that many times, people don’t think to reach out to small businesses. They go to the big job sites and think that they can find everything there. Not all small businesses use those sites, and if you have listened to any news reports in the last couple of years, you know that 70% of all jobs in America are with small businesses – so check out the small business sector! We’re here, we’re successful, and we need people.