Webware

Google has reserved one of its valuable ad spaces on Google Image Search to explain why an offensive image of Michelle Obama appears as the first result for searches on her name.

Search Engine Land noted that last week, Google had removed the image after claiming the site hosting it was spreading malware, but it's back with the ad featured prominently above the image results. "Sometimes our search results can be offensive," Google said in the ad copy. "We agree. Read more."

Clicking on the ad takes you to a special page on Google's site where the company explains "sometimes Google search results from the Internet can include disturbing content, even from innocuous queries. We assure you that the views expressed by such sites are not in any way endorsed by Google." Google said its policy in matters like this is to only remove content from its site if that content is illegal, violates Google's Webmaster guidelines in some way, or if the site owner requests the content be removed.

What's not clear, however, is what triggers the company to take out an ad explaining the search results: after all, there's no shortage of things on the Internet that would offend the average person. Google did not immediately respond to a request for more information about how those decisions are made.

Search Engine Land notes Google has also taken out explanation ads against search queries such as "jew" and "miserable failure," the search query that introduced much of the world to the concept of the Google bomb when searches for those keywords were orchestrated to point to the official Web site of former President George W. Bush by taking advantage of Google's PageRank formula.

Flickr has adopted a less severe way of handling copyright infringement claims after a small firestorm of controversy erupted about a photograph of President Barack Obama modified to look like The Dark Knight's rendition of the Joker comic-book villain.

Previously, certain copyright infringement complaints were met with the removal of an image, and if the complaint was overruled, the Flickr member who posted the image was allowed to repost it. After the Joker Obama case, Flickr decided to merely replace the image in question with a message, a move that means the discussion below the image is preserved and that eases republication if the removal is overturned.

The Obama Joker image still is widespread on Flickr.

(Credit: Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)

The move illustrates the complexities that have arisen in the digital era where photos can be transferred and modified with ease. Copyright law is a much older concept than the Internet, though it's been renovated a bit relatively recently with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Under the DMCA, a party holding copyright to a photo or other work can request that a Web site remove content posted by a third party that infringes that copyright; the Web site can avoid liability in the matter if it takes down the work in question when it receives the notice of infringement. The DMCA also includes a provision to let the third party that published the content challenge the claim.

The Joker Obama image was swept up in this DMCA process in August. The resulting discussion led the Yahoo photo-sharing site to change its policy Tuesday:

"Upon receipt of a complete NOI (notice of infringement), the U.S. Copyright Team will replace the image with a new static image that bears the following copy: 'This image has been removed due to a claim of copyright infringement,'" said Heather Champ, Flickr's director of community, in a comment.

The change was the suggestion of a Flickr user, The Searcher, and Flickr said it liked the idea.

The Obama Joker image was posted on the Flickr site of Firas Alkhateeb, who told the Los Angeles Times he created the Obama Joker image using Photoshop and a Time Magazine cover photograph. The Obama Joker image spread farther after somebody else created a poster with the image and the word "socialism."

Flickr, though, removed the image after it received a DMCA notice of infringement, Champ said in a forum posting.

Among those to criticize the move were Thomas Hawk, an outspoken critic of what he sees as Flickr censorship and the chief executive of Flickr rival Zooomr. He argued in a blog post that the image qualified as a parody under the fair-use provision of copyright law that permits some uses of copyright material.

"Whatever you may or may not think about this image and its appropriateness, the image would absolutely and unequivocally be considered parody and parody has always been one of the most effective defenses against any copyright complaint," Hawk wrote.

Added TechCrunch's Mike Arrington, "In the past Flickr has deleted accounts of users who are critical of President Obama, but as far as I know nothing like this was done to users who were critical of Bush. It's clear that the Flickr team wanted to take this image down."

However, image copying and modification permissions can vary according to context. While creating a parody from an image might be permitted under fair use, copying that parody might not be.

And there's evidence some original rights holders aren't involved. Photo District News reported that Time and DC Comics both said they hadn't send Yahoo the DMCA notice, and that the office of the original Obama photographer, Platon, wasn't even aware of the controversy.

Hawk also quoted the DMCA notice Flickr sent Alkhateeb letter that identified the infringement complainant to be Edward Przydzia.

Yahoo hasn't detailed its rationale for removing the image, saying its privacy policy forbids it from discussing particulars of the situation. However, it did indicate politics were not involved.

"There appears to be a whole lot of makey uppey going in the news and blogosphere about this event," Champ said in a forum post. "We very much value freedom of speech and creativity...I'm not sure how complying with the law has led to the idea that we (the Flickr team) have a particular political agenda."

Politicians are flocking to Twitter. Whether they're Democrats or Republicans, they're finding new ways to talk to their constituents. I've found 20 politicians who are using the micro-blog to communicate their policies. Some are more active -- and more interesting -- than others. Here's the rundown:

Democrats

President Obama started the political Twitter craze.

(Credit: BarackObama.com)

Barack Obama If it weren't for this President, most politicians probably wouldn't be on Twitter. He made the service appealing to politicians by showing them that it's a great way to establish a grassroots campaign. Currently, he has staffers tweeting for him, mostly discussing his policies in office. It's an informative Twitter stream. See also the White House on Twitter.

Barbara Boxer Barbara Boxer, a U.S. senator from California, is quite active on Twitter. But she has her staff update her Twitter stream, only diving in personally form time to time. Her tweets mostly discuss where she will be appearing, so it's not too informative.

Chris Dodd Sen. Chris Dodd's Twitter account is a little sneaky: the tweets sound like Dodd is updating his stream, but if you dig a little deeper, it turns out that his Twitter account is for his "office." So, it's not really Dodd updating his stream even though his staff makes it sound that way. Regardless, they're interesting tweets. You'll gain insight into the Senate proceedings, see where he stands on issues, and find some interesting political links. Dodd's Twitter account is worth following.

Dick Durbin Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin is on Twitter. He has 99 followers. There's just one issue: he's never updated his Twitter stream. I find it appalling that such an important figure in U.S. politics can create a Twitter profile and not update it. Don't follow Durbin.

How bad is it? The economy, we mean. Are we bouncing into a recovery or continuing to sink? Below is a list of resources that will help you track the economy and determine for yourself if it's as bad as some people say.

Economy resources

Bureau of Economic Analysis If you want to be inundated with data detailing every last element of the economy, the Bureau of Economic Analysis is for you. It has data on national, regional, and state levels. If you want to compare the U.S. with economies around the world, you can do that too. Its trade resource is a great place to learn just how much the U.S. is importing and exporting. Finding a particular indicator can be difficult. But that's mainly due to the site's huge database of information. If you want information on anything related to the economy, you can find it here.

The BLS provides a lot of information.

(Credit: Don Reisinger/CNET)

Bureau of Labor Statistics The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides information on some of the major economic indicators, like the Consumer Price Index and employment figures. You won't find every economic indicator, but since the site lists a handful of indexes that matter most to the health of the economy, you should be satisfied. The documents on the BLS site are the full reports presented to Congress each month. They provide outstanding insight into what's really going on in the economy. I highly recommend it.

CBS News Economy The CBS News Economy page helps you learn about taxes, the national debt, and other economic indicators. The page features basic definitions to help you understand more difficult topics. And its use of visual elements like graphs and charts make understanding the economy just a bit easier. (Disclosure: CNET News is published by CBS Interactive, a unit of CBS.)

Economagic Economagic offers a wealth of financial data. Whether you want to see how interest rates have changed over the past few decades or you want to determine the amount of credit market debt outstanding, you can. From the simple to the complex, you'll find anything you're looking for on Economagic. The site isn't designed well--it's basically a list of links and numbers--but you'll get over it quickly once you see how much information is at your disposal. Check it out.

So, about two dozen high-profile and quasi-high-profile young business leaders were invited to Washington, D.C., to meet with senior Obama administration officials Friday to discuss the future of the ravaged U.S. economy. And I've got to respect the fact that the administration wants to hear from young, outside-the-box entrepreneurs. But, of course, the dial on the snark machine has been turned up to 11.

I don't have a complete list of attendees, but we've learned through various channels that the roster includes Kluster founder Ben Kaufman, Zappos founder Tony Hsieh, Toms Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie, Threadless exec Jake Nickell, marketer Josh Spear, former Googler Chris Sacca, and the one everyone's making the jokes about--Twitter co-founder Evan Williams. The punch line, of course, is why the Obama administration would ever want to hear economic advice from the head of a company that has been fueled by buzz rather than profits thus far. (Side note: Were any women invited?)

As Hsieh Twittered, the purpose of the visit was to discuss "ways to help economy that administration may not have thought of yet." It's arguable that administration officials could learn more sage advice from, say, a bright young thing who's made a quick ascent at an existing corporation rather than founded a quirky start-up that's only a few years old.

But at the same time, the White House invitees have all had interesting ideas (with varying degrees of innovation) that they've gotten off the ground and turned into businesses, and it sounds like ideas are what are on the agenda here. I highly doubt that President Obama will suddenly decide that economic recovery isn't important simply because Twitter currently preaches a gospel of growth over profits.

One thing I hope is discussed: what these young business leaders, regardless of what you think about their companies' moneymaking prospects, have to say about getting many of their smart, well-educated peers back in the workforce. I'm in my mid-20s, and have seen scores of my high school and college classmates ravaged by layoffs, particularly in the finance sector. Many others who are in grad school are uncertain of their post-graduation opportunities. In the past week alone I've learned about two more of my acquaintances leaving town to seek employment somewhere where the cost of living is lower.

Some industry figureheads, like New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, himself a veteran entrepreneur, have started making strides to put laid-off professionals back to work at start-ups and forward-thinking small businesses. That's a great idea, and obviously, the people who run existing start-ups both inside and outside the digital space are going to be the ones who have the most to say about it.

Josh Spear posted to Twitter on Friday that he believes the contents of the meeting will be public record. I'm looking forward to hearing what was talked about.

During the Bush/Cheney administration, aerial views of the White House and vice president's residence, the United State Naval Observatory, were obscured in Google Earth and Google Maps. The outlines of the White House were visible, but the roof of it and of the nearby Old Executive Office Building were replaced with featureless gray slabs. The grounds of the VP's house were even more obscured: pixelated so much you couldn't really tell what you were looking at.

Under the Obama administration, clarity and openness has returned to these buildings in Google Earth and Google Maps. The White House and surrounding buildings have regained their rooftops (although the snipers and other security gear reportedly on 24/7 watch on the building are not discernible). The layout of the Naval Observatory grounds is now just about as clear as the surrounding area.

I can see your house from here.

What's with the change? A spokesperson at Google wouldn't tell me much, but we know this: The Google geo team swapped out the image database they had been using, the one with the fuzzy images, with a new one. The old one came from the U.S. Geological Survey, a government agency. The maps arrived at Google pre-fuzzed. The new one, with no censorship, came from Digital Globe, a private company.

The changeover happened on January 18, two days before President Obama's inauguration, however Google had received the Digital Globe data prior to that. The change was part of a "regularly scheduled update," I was told. The schedule is not public, but you can keep up to date on the changes the Google geo teams makes public on their blog.

My Google contact would not agree with me that the changeover had anything to do with politics. Rather, she said, Google is constantly evaluating the quality of various data sets available to them, and simply decided that the Digital Globe data was now better than the USGS dataset. I don't believe it, but regardless, I'm glad to see that our public ceremonial buildings are now viewable by, you know, the public.

First spotted on: ValleyWag.

See also 51 things you aren't allowed to see on Google Maps, on ITSecurity.

President Barack Obama's inauguration didn't set all-time Internet traffic records but did mark the most simultaneous streaming-video viewers in the Web's history, according to content delivery network Akamai Technologies.

About 7.7 million video streams, primarily live, were being viewed at peak time Tuesday, which was at about 12:15 p.m. EST, Akamai said. Part of the reason, the company rationalizes, is that the inauguration ceremony happened when most Americans were at the office, and hence more likely to be watching via a computer screen rather than a television.

"In addition to the historic nature of the inauguration, it is now clear that this event has driven unprecedented demand from a global online audience," Robert Hughes, Akamai's executive vice president of global sales and marketing, said in a release. "With the inauguration occurring during workday hours in the U.S., we witnessed record numbers of live streams served in support of many leading news businesses."

Video from the inauguration ceremony and surrounding events was streamed all over the Web, from online video hubs like Hulu to streaming sites like Ustream to the sites of major news outlets. Demand was unprecedented: CNN.com, one of the most popular viewing destinations, had to cut off viewers and establish a wait list.

While dozens of social and media Web sites saw high or record traffic on President Obama's Inauguration Day, not all Web sites shared the wealth. At least one commercial online hosting service saw its customers take a beating during the ceremony. MerchantCircle (review), which hosts small business Web sites, saw a dramatic drop in traffic to its sites. Once the meat of the inauguration started to wind down, though, it looks like people went back to their usual browsing and buying behaviors.

Traffic to MerchantCircle sites spiked downward during the inauguration ceremony.

(Credit: MerchantCircle)

Itzhak Perlman? Isabel Toledo? Simple Gifts? Huh?

During Tuesday's inauguration of President Barack Obama, people curious about unfamiliar references used Google to supply the footnotes for the ceremony. The phenomenon was visible on Google Trends, a service that shows which search terms are rapidly rising in use.

Inauguration-related searches were hot on Tuesday, according to Google Trends.

(Credit: Google)

According to the U.S. results, Toledo, who designed First Lady Michelle Obama's dress, bubbled up to fifth place on the list earlier in the day. Once the ceremony began, up came violinist Perlman (ninth place), cellist Yo-Yo Ma (12th place), composer John Williams (26th place), and the variation on the Simple Gifts melody (14th place) that he wrote and the musicians played. Aretha Franklin rose up to third place for a time, too, and even "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" ranked 21st at one point.

People were curious about politicians, too--Sen. Dianne Feinstein made it as high as eighth place, and "Dick Cheney wheelchair" was 91st place.

More interesting, perhaps, is that in aggregate, every single one of the top 100 Google Trends searches were related to the inauguration on Tuesday. Many had to do with people's evident desire to find news about it or a place to watch a streaming video.

Update 7:39 a.m. PST January 21: See this Google blog post for some more details about the phenomenon. For instance, there was a lull in regular search in the United States while people watched the inauguration, and 12 percent of inauguration-related search queries came from outside the country.

All of the top 100 searches on Google Trends were related to the inauguration. (Click to enlarge.)

(Credit: Google)