What Do You Watch on YouTube? (Online Biz Roundup 7/6/08)

We're about to find out. Web privacy issues were raised this week when a judge ordered YouTube to turn over data on what users are watching. That news, plus a rant against voicemail, iPhone mania, and a bunch of links to bookmark after the jump....

Interesting News & Commentary

• The Law and Your Privacy [YouTube Blog] -- YouTube (Google) is ordered to hand over data that shows what videos are being watched on the site. In its ongoing lawsuit, Viacom said they need this data to determine the percentage of copyright infringing vs. non-infringing views. The judge agrees. Unfortunately, personally identifiable information -- including IP addresses and usernames -- will be included in the logs. As you can imagine, this is causing quite a stir in the blogosphere.
  
  
• iPhone 3G lines start... one week early [Engadget] -- Are you getting a new iPhone or upgrading your old one when the iPhone 3G version is released on July 11th? There might already be a big line at your local Apple store.
  
  
• Think Before You Voicemail [Techcrunch] -- "Voicemail is dead. Please tell everyone so they'll stop using it." Michael Arrington encourages you to send an email instead. This helpful rant also includes tactics for managing voicemail, and offers a list of speech-to-text services that will email you your voicemail.

New How-to Articles and Resources to Bookmark

• A Sample Blogging Workflow [Chris Brogan] -- This article is destined to be a problogging classic. Chris discusses the importance of knowing your blogging goals, outlines blogging tasks, and lists some blogging tools. If you're not yet a blogger, this article will give you a good idea of what it takes to be a top shelf blogger.
  
  
• Web Form Design Patterns: Sign-Up Forms [Smashing Magazine] -- A big article surveying and discussing Web sign-up forms from some major websites. Good and bad practices are discussed. There are charts and graphs of who does what (ie., form complexity, placement). Useful for Web designers and developers, and the very curious online biz owner.
  
  
• 7 Must-Read Articles for Freelancers [Copyblogger] -- If you are a novice freelancer or are considering doing some part-time freelancing, these articles will set you up with good fundamentals. Topics discussed include how much to charge, how to get sales, and if freelancing is really right for you. Slanted towards writing freelancers, but all independent contractors will find something useful.
  
  
• 6 Ways to Update Your Status [Read/Write Web] -- An overview of the many different apps that work with various microblogging services including Twitter, Jaiku, Pownce, and Plurk. The title only says "6", but this article links to many more options available.

New Stuff Here at About Online Business

• 12 Keys to Successful Forum Marketing -- Online forums offer you a chance to market your business to a smart, passionate crowd. But it requires plenty of finesse. Use these 12 tips to become a trusted expert of your target forums, instead of being banned as a spammer.
  
  
• 15 Steps to Take Your Brick & Mortar Retail Business Online -- If you want to sell your physical products on the Web, there are a confusing myriad of issues to deal with. This 15 step guide provides a list of issues you need to tackle (in the order they should be handled) and offers tips with dealing with each issue. I link to more resources from within the article, and plan to keep updating it, so bookmark this article and check back monthly.
  
  
• Top 5 Reasons Why Firefox is the Best Web Browser Available Today -- I downloaded the new Firefox 3 last week, and have never been happier with a Web browser. FF3 represents a big leap in the evolution of Web browsers. Download it today and improve your Web productivity.
  
  

Every Sunday, we link out to the Web's best new resources, articles, and interesting news that help you run your online business better. Got a tip? Email me at onlinebusiness.guide@about.com. Thanks!