Web site owners who allow visitors to post comments or other personal information may be more liable for their users' content than previously thought, if the rulings in two recent court cases are any indication.

As reported by Anne Broache on CNET's News.com today, federal district judges have ruled in two separate cases that web site operators - in these cases, FriendFinder and Roommates.com - may be liable for the content their users have posted. In the FriendFinder case, a narrower interpretation of Section 230 of Title V of the 1996 Telecommunications Act could leave the site owner liable for fraudulent postings alleging to be someone else and portraying them in a negative way. This interpretation is based on the idea that the plaintiff in the case had her "intellectual property rights" violated under state law, which is specifically not included as being protected under Section 230.

The concern is that while previous court rulings have upheld the idea that web site owners are not responsible for user-generated content that is libelous or defaming, this new approach - claiming that one's "publicity rights" have been violated, will cause legal headaches for site operators. Laws covering intellectual property aren't uniform between states, so site operators could find themselves having to conform to the most strict laws in the country in order to meet the minimum standards.

Anne's article made me think of the question Raivyn posted on her Idiot's Guide to Blogging site on Monday. Raivyn asked whether comments are an essential part of a blog. Some say yes, that blogs need the give-and-take that comments allow visitors to have with the blogger. Others, including Raivyn, argue that comments are not an absolutely required part of a blog. (To participate in that conversation, stop by her site and weigh in with your comments!)

I agree with Raivyn on this, however. I think comments are an important way to create the sense of community many bloggers and social publishers are seeking, but they come with a price: extra maintenance to keep the spam commenters away (though services like Akismet and Drupal creator Dries Buytaert's new Mollom do help automate that monitoring). Also, even if legally there's no need to moderate comments that may be defamatory or libelous, I believe social publishers have a moral responsibility to keep the conversation civil, which means having at least a simple code of conduct for their site's visitors to follow when commenting.

Efforts to make web site operators responsible for the actions of their visitors often stem from the "blame the technology" approach to governing society. If we assume that people are going to do bad things, we limit the access to the tools that might allow them to do those things. If bloggers and social publishers refuse to accept the moral responsibility to moderate their communities, the courts - or Congress - may choose to step in and do it for them. I don't think that's a future any of us involved in social publishing would be happy with.

Photo credit: Joe Gratz (see Joe's photos at Flickr)

I asked Raivyn of Idiot's Guide to Blogging to put together an overview of blogging platforms for those just getting started, and she's done a great job of introducing the topic in today's guest post:

by Raivyn

Before I begin my post, I'd like to thank Tom for allowing me to write for New Tech Heroes. It's not often that I get the chance (or time) to write for another blog, so this is a nice break from the norm.

Now on with the show....

There are a number of things to think about when starting a new blog, especially now, when there are countless web hosting companies and blog platforms to choose from. It's easy to get lost amid all the chaos, even more if you're new to blogging.

I wish I could say there is one ideal blog platform, but the truth is, there is no one-size-fits-all software, and the same goes for hosting packages. Some solutions are geared toward professional bloggers, and others toward those who only blog as a hobby. The decision should ultimately be based on the blogger's needs and tastes.

This article is geared toward the less experienced bloggers, or those who don't want to invest much money into their blogs. Contrary to popular belief (among the problogging crowd, that is), you don't necessarily have to pay for a domain and hosting to have a successful blog. It depends on the service and how you use the features you are given.

Here is a rundown on two of the most popular free blog hosts:

Blogger

This is a free service that I highly recommend for those who have little to no blogging experience, and/or have yet to decide whether or not they want to keep doing it.

It is quick and easy to set up, and you can have several blogs on a single account. Posting is simple, too, and photo blogging is a snap with this service. Like most blog software, Blogger supports comments, trackbacks, archives, tags, etc., and you can also monetize your free blog with AdSense (which can be added with a few simple clicks) or any other ad program you wish.

Also, because the blogs are hosted for you on an established domain with good page rankings, there is more of a chance that your blog will be ranked by search engines quicker than if you had gotten your own domain and hosting.

Another advantage to using a free blog hosting service like Blogger is the fact that new software updates are installed automatically. You don't have to go through the hassle of uploading new software to the server.

Like most free services, Blogger does have its drawbacks. The forced bar at the top of each page is one of them (but this can be hidden with a simple template hack), and you will be given a long sub-domain. There are ways around this, like if you wanted to invest in your own domain, but if money is involved, there are plenty of other worthy choices to pick from.

WordPress.com

Just like Blogger, WordPress.com freely hosts your blog for you on their servers and is a good choice for a new bloggers, especially those with few tech skills. You're given all the blogging basics (comments, archives, categories, ect.), and all the maintenance is taken care of for you, too- the setup, security, software updates, etc.

The design options are limited, however. Bloggers using the free service are bound to the themes provided and have no access to the code. Plugins are not supported, either. New templates are added regularly, but it is still an inconvenience for those who want something more unique.

Overall, services like these are meant for the more casual blogger, or those who are just learning.

But as we grow in experience, many of us begin to feel that the free service is too limited and we can never reach our goals with what is provided. We then decide it would be better to upload blogging software to a paid host. Among the mess of domain registrars and hosting services, there are plenty of low-cost options available- some of the most popular being 1and1, GoDaddy, and HostGator.

There is plenty of open source blog software available, the most common being:

WordPress.org

This is the software used on WordPress.com, but much more flexible and you choose the hosting service. And because there is such a large WordPress following, there are lots of free templates and plugins available for download, and the software is constantly being improved.

WordPress would be my first recommendation to someone looking for a free blog platform due to my experiences with it, but Joomla and Drupal are two other worthy candidates to consider.

A good blog is not necessarily defined by how much money is invested in it, but rather what it provides to the internet community. There's nothing wrong with trying to save some cash, and maybe one of these free or cheap options is right for you. It never hurts to try out free blog software. Even if you find it doesn't fit your needs, you just might learn a thing or two in the process.

Thanks, Raivyn! If you're just getting interested in starting a blog, Raivyn has plenty of advice at her site, Idiot's Guide to Blogging. I've found her advice to be solid and friendly, and I recommend visiting her blog whether you're a new or seasoned blogger.

What's a Blogroll - Can I Get a Side of Friends with It? - by Nettie Hartsock from Beneath the Cover - "The best way I can explain a blogroll is that it’s a list of your favorite websites, bloggers you admire, and even blogs that might be good resources for your readership. I think it’s good to have a blogroll because it helps visitors to your blog understand what “neighborhood” you live in."

Open Source Business Conference Day 1 - by Jeff Whatcott from @FIRST_LIGHT - "The social publishing opportunity is even bigger than I thought. The need for integrated systems for publishing content, creating social networks, and enabling collaboration just keeps coming up again and again in panel discussions, customer interactions, and presentations."

The Ready, Fire, Aim, Reload Strategy for Social Media Success - by Brian Clark from copyblogger - "Let’s take a look at the mind and skill set that’s required to develop profitable new media assets with agile content development. It all comes down to understanding the social media feedback and iteration process."

Semantic Search - Web 3.0 for Drupal - by duvien from duvien.com - "Looks like the future is nearer than we expect. Semantic search is created by Jonathan Hendler. The original development was made possible by LINC and CivicActions. It uses an RDF store as a search index. It allows you to dynamically creates default search interfaces, for many searches per site, configurable via admin interfaces.

Website for blind and vision impaired developed with open source CMS - by Stan Beer from iTWire - "IT consultancy Energetica and not-for-profit benevolent group Media Access Australia, have developed a website specifically for the blind and vision impaired community. The site aims to overcome challenges blind and vision impaired users face when accessing websites by enabling far greater access to audio description."

I had the pepper steak combo (with eggroll and wonton soup) at my local Chinese restaurant a few days ago. After lunch, my fortune was "Slow but steady wins the race." I smiled when I read that because I'd just been thinking about the many "get rich quick" methods of internet marketing that are being promoted today. Do a search on Google for "SEO" and you'll find some of them. They may promise to "guarantee" top listings on Google or Yahoo, or suggest they have a special relationship with the search engines that can rocket your website to that coveted number one position.

Just as in the "offline" world, there's no shortcut to long-term success, and search engine optimization isn't any different. There's no easy way to trick Google and Yahoo into listing your site higher. Take it from the folks at Google themselves. So how do you get your website noticed by prospective customers?

The one thing all search engines seem to love is fresh, quality content. Oddly enough, that's exactly what your website's visitors are looking for. They want to see that your business or organization is alive and well, and they want to know enough about you to make a decision whether to buy from you, or join your cause, or take a job at your company.

So here are four basic tips on how to improve your online presence, and in turn improve your rankings in the search engines:

• When writing content for your business or organization website, tell the whole story. Don't skimp on the details. Tell your visitors what you would want to know about your company if you knew nothing about it. Give them the information to make a decision right then.
• Keep the website updated. Think about the many websites we visit in a week that haven't been updated in months or even years. How confident are you about the current status of that company? They might be doing so well that they're too busy to update their website, but aren't we more likely to assume they've gone out of business?
• Consider starting a business blog. Search engines love blogs because there are usually many legitimate links coming in and out of the website, as you link to other interesting content and the media and other websites link to your compelling content.
• Use social media and networking sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to connect with potential visitors to your site. The more you get the web address out there, the more likely people with find you and pay your site a visit.

There have always been temporary ways to game a system, including search engine rankings. Usually those loopholes are closed fairly quickly, as Google and Yahoo change their methods to keep their rankings accurate. The methods I describe above, however, while they won't bring overnight success, will in the long run build viewership to your website and improve your appearance in the search engines.

Slow but steady wins the race. Don't take shortcuts, invest the time and money needed to create a great online presence, and the rest will follow.

Drupal Economic Indicators Mashup v1.0 - by Jeff Whatcott from @FIRST_LIGHT - "Drupal mentions in job postings look really strong relative to other social publishing technologies. But there still aren’t as many postings as I would like to see. If you dig into the data, only hundreds of job postings actually mention Drupal whereas thousands of job postings mention PHP. But at least Drupal is a specific skill that people are willing to pay for."

Citizen media and the Beijing Olympics - by Hugh R. Macdonald from New Media Mogul - "[The IOC plans] to let athletes maintain personal blogs surrounding the games, provided they don’t comment on the performances of other athletes or upload audiovisual content they have created of an Olympic event. Speaking more generally, it would appear that the IOC considers blogging to be ‘a legitimate form of personal expression’ rather than journalism."

New Media: an Important Place to Be - by Luke Armour from blogtalkradio - "Let’s look at the reported Percent of Media Influence on Electronics and Year over Year Growth for Web Radio: up 14.4%, Satellite Radio: down 6.9%, Radio: up a tiny 0.8%, Newspaper down 1.2%, Magazines down 3.7%, TV/Broadcast down 13.9% and Cable down a whopping 14.4%. And we don’t expect the trend to slow down any time soon."

I enjoyed an interview Valeria Maltoni did with broadcast journalist and podcaster Albert Maruggi recently. The podcast and a short transcript of the interview are in a post on her "Conversation Agent" blog.

Albert is the host of the long-running (four years - an geologic era by Internet reckoning) podcast "Marketing Edge," He and Valeria discussed the changing new media landscape. Here are a few highlights that got me nodding in agreement, followed by a link to Valeria's full post.

The whole concept of being social. You and I meeting each other. There is DNA, we are wired as humans to connect - to say we share this planet. Let alone the fact that we are both Italian, writers, and work in marketing and all the other things we may have in common and have yet to find out. At the essence of social media is the need for the human spirit to connect.

Herein lies the challenge for marketers. They are struggling to live in this environment because their mindset is to sell something. And the social media mindset is tell something, share something. The struggle we will have as a profession, as marketers, and the struggle capitalism will have as a culture is how do I participate with a group of people that are of like mind without understanding the benefit to me? In some ways that is a selfish benefit to me.

And...

Anyone at any point in time can have an influential idea. Just because they don't have 10,000 people listening to them or reading, it doesn't mean that they can't have an influential idea. The ability to find that influential idea is important. Just be out there and participate. Jump in the pool so you can become part of the conversation.

New Media - from Radio Broadcasting to Podcasting - by Valeria Maltoni from Conversation Agent

Washington Doesn't Sleep Here - by Ashley Parker from The New York Times - "...the presence of a blogger house reflects the increasing number of online pundits in the capital. The Flophouse bloggers may not be part of the traditional mainstream news media, but they are certainly part of the mainstream blogosphere that is helping drive discourse in the city and the country. Mr. Yglesias said his site attracted about two million page views last month."

New Media and Politics - Obama, Hillary and Jeff Ooi - by S. Low from Blogscapes - "Now, one very successful aspiring politician is Jeff Ooi, one of Malaysia’s known bloggers who took part in the Malaysian polls yesterday as a member of the opposition party, the Democratic opposition party. He was able to raise US$32 000 via an online fundraising campaign, and has managed to garner much support from his blog and other online activities that he’s won himself a seat in the Malaysian polls."

Why I Subscribed To The Washington Post Sunday Edition - by Scott Karp from Publishing 2.0 - "Newspapers used to see the web as a complement, a value add to the print edition. Now they have to flip the equation. The web is at the center, and the print newspaper must add value, as a complement."

An excellent post by Chris Brogan on Media Bullseye today about "Establishing Reputation Online." He talks about the importance of being yourself online, because

If you’re looking to be someone you’re not, the velocity at which this gets exposed online is astounding. If you’re pretending to be a people person, it shows. If you’re trying to be “one of the guys” and you’re not, it shows. Just be the person you are, and find the way that this connects with the people you need to reach online. Don’t waste calories trying to put on a show. It just isn’t sustainable.

Great advice! I've been enjoying Chris's own blog for a couple of months now, and he has good insights into the changing world of social media. (He also just got a spiffy site redesign by Snowy Day Design and a new masthead logo by Stress Limit Design - nice work, Nico and Justin!)

Media Bullseye - Chris Brogan - Establishing Reputation Online