Links of Note: May 2, 2007
Social Media: Map of Online Communities (xkcd.com)I always wondered if MySpace and Facebook shared a border. Now I know (click map to enlarge):
My favorite part is buried in the lower right-hand corner: "Google's Volcano Fortress." I also heard a rumor that if your print this map out on thin paper and hold it up to a blacklight, the numbers 4 8 15 16 23 42 appear in key locations.
Thanks to Jim for the link
Web Law: Even in Net litigation, it's all about location (CNET News.com)
Once you get past the stilted legal jargon, the underlying facts of Web law are really interesting.
For example, a recent lawsuit targeting DontDateHimGirl.com, was rejected by a Pennsylvania court because an analysis of the site's business practices determined it has little impact within the state.
"After analyzing the foregoing facts, the court concluded that the defendants do not perform a 'significant amount of commercial business over the Internet' as directly impacting Pennsylvania sufficient to warrant personal jurisdiction over the defendants in the state."This conclusion was reached after the court considered DontDateHimGirl's primary place of business (Florida) and its revenue streams (merchandising, AdSense). The "sliding scale" process used by the court connects the amount of contact a site has with a state with the state's level of jurisdiction. The more contacts, the more jurisdiction.
Why is this relevant? Attorney Eric J. Sinrod explains:
"They [companies] only need answer to legal allegations in states where they have sufficiently substantial contacts to justify further legal proceedings."
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