Media - Internet

The first pan-European survey to investigate the use of weblogs in public relations and communication management shows a sharp split between converts and sceptics, with one in three practitioners regularly writing or contributing to weblogs but a quarter ignoring the new medium. PREMIER BLOGGER: The most widely read blog of Finland's presidential candidates, is also the wordiest and most intimate...

SAN FRANCISCO – Google, facing its biggest public relations battle yet, has more at stake than competitors as it fights a federal government demand for data on how millions of users search the Internet. As the No. 1 online search company, Google has the highest profile, and a brand built on a "don't be evil" motto that it must defend as it expands further into search-related ventures. "That is...

WASHINGTON – An experiment in open expression and free speech has proved a bit too free for The Washington Post and its Web site. The newspaper company temporarily shut down Post.blog – a section of Washingtonpost.com that invites reader comments – after receiving hundreds of posts, many using profane or sexist language, responding to columns by The Post's ombudsman, Deborah Howell. The deluge...

WASHINGTON (AP)--The Washington Post (WPO) shut down one of its blogs Thursday after the newspaper's ombudsman raised the ire of readers by writing that lobbyist Jack Abramoff gave money to the Democrats as well as to Republicans. At the center of a congressional bribery investigation, Abramoff gave money to Republicans while he had his clients donated to both parties, though mostly to Republicans...

TORONTO (Reuters) - Internet users can give Web sites a thumbs up or thumbs down in less than the blink of an eye, according to a study by Canadian researchers. In just a brief one-twentieth of a second -- less than half the time it takes to blink -- people make aesthetic judgments that influence the rest of their experience with an Internet site. The study was published in the latest issue of the...

BEIJING (AFX) - China had a total of 111 mln Internet users as of the end of 2005, against 94 mln a year earlier, the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) said in a report. The Internet information center said Internet expenditure in China surpassed 100 bln yuan for 2005. This was the first time spending data has been released. CNNIC also said China's Internet users spent an average...

An Internet portal that is said to hold personal files on 90 million people has caused uproar among netizens and panicked online surfers that fear the information may be made available to the public. Since early December, Ucloo.com has provided a service nicknamed "souren," meaning searching for a specific person. By paying one yuan (12 US cents) through one's mobile phone, it is possible to find...

In a move that would dramatically change the Internet, BellSouth Corp. is proposing to charge companies such as Napster Inc., Movielink LLC, Google Inc. and Vonage Inc. for guaranteed fast delivery of online content. The move could ultimately generate millions of dollars in yearly revenue for BellSouth as early as 2007. Companies that pay the new fees would be able to transmit music, video, data...

In his New Year's address outlining his administration's plans for 2006, French President Jacques Chirac focused on plans for a European search engine to rival US internet companies such as Yahoo and Google. Some of the top tech labs in France and Germany are reportedly working on the 'Quaero' (Latin for 'to search') search engine. Those involved in the Quaero project, including Thomson, France...

The United Nations will launch the first round of consultations next month on creating a new internet governance body, as agreed by delegates attending the global net summit in Tunis last year. The UN, which hosted the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in November, is welcoming all stakeholders to attend the consultations, which will take place in Geneva on 16-17 February, according...