FTC Ponders: Is 'Adware' Spyware?
by Wendy Davis, Wednesday, Mar 9, 2005 7:00 AM EST

COMPANIES THAT INSTALL AD-SERVING SOFTWARE on consumers' computers and serve them pop-ups--such as WhenU, Claria, and 180solutions--bristle at being called "spyware," rather than the more neutral term "adware." But is spyware really the wrong word for such companies? Perhaps not, according to participants in a spyware workshop convened last year by the Federal Trade Commission. An FTC report on the workshop issued this week, "Monitoring Software on Your PC: Spyware, Adware, and Other Software," stated that panelists and commenters differed widely about whether adware should be considered spyware. Some participants held that the most important factor was whether the software led to the serving of pop-up ads; if so, they argued, then it was spyware. Others argued that the adware/spyware distinction hinges on whether users had adequate advance notice of what the program would do; if so, then it's adware, but if not, spyware's the appropriate name. Still others maintained that adware could only be spyware if it monitored where users went on the Web.

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Seven Bloggers Named to Media 100 List

Micropersuasion
Seven bloggers have been named to The Media 100 (PDF)

Increase Traffic to Your Blog from Search Engines - The Top 5 Tips

by Tinu AbayomiPaul

Your favorite thing about having a blog may soon be this - they naturally attract search engine traffic.

Blogs already have optimized site architecture. Most are set up with a clear navigation, where every page is set up to link back to the other main pages.

They also have the inherent potential to be well-linked.

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