On January 28th we posted our POV on the social media blackout in Egypt. Social media played a remarkable role in the ability for revolutionaries to communicate and mobilize, and this is not the first instance where social enabled incredible change for a country and its people.

With knowledge of the political and cultural power of their sites the executives of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google, and others have unique approaches to their resulting responsibility and democratic role.

Google isn’t afraid of taking sides. Becoming part of the revolution, they worked with Twitter to create Speak2Tweet, allowing the people in Egypt to skirt the online access restrictions. YouTube also played a role on behalf of the protesters by quickly curating submitted content to be shared with the world.

While it is unquestionable that Facebook knows their power as a tool for social change, there is no intention to partner with movements as Google and Twitter have done. In part this is a crucial stance on behalf of social justice. If Facebook promoted themselves as a tool for uprising or gave statements in support of this activity, the site would be blocked by some regimes in a precautionary attempt to avoid a repeat of Tunisia or Egypt.

Some advocates for human rights see this as a mistake (more on this specifically in this NY Times article). The trust and authenticity we find so appealing about Facebook can be devastating to citizens of more oppressive nations as it stems from the prohibition of false identities. Facebook’s response is always in defense of overall user protection, so this policy is not currently up for negotiation.

This does not mean that Facebook will idly stand by. Last month we all jumped on the security upgrade to prevent stolen passwords. This was Facebook’s response to actions taken by the Tunisian government, worded as a technical solution across the board for greater user security. Facebook has also shut down activist pages with falsified admin names, solidifying their stance against overall abuse to their terms.

All social media sites have been threaded into historical progress. What do you think of the differences between Google and Twitter putting themselves in the front line and Facebook sticking to the sidelines?

After uproar over Google Maps leaving some faces and private property captured in their Street View feature unblurred, and Google Buzz’s questionable privacy settings, some major international players are putting their foot down and demanding change. Most of us can breathe easy– Google has been working to address these repeated concerns.

Heads of 10 countries just sent an open letter to Google CEO Eric Schmidt demanding that the internet powerhouse step up its game when it comes to protecting users. Overall, they say they want to see Google:

- collecting and processing only the minimum amount of personal information necessary to achieve the identified purpose of the product or service;

- providing clear and unambiguous information about how personal information will be used to allow users to provide informed consent;

- creating privacy-protective default settings;

- ensuring that privacy control settings are prominent and easy to use;

- ensuring that all personal data is adequately protected, and

- giving people simple procedures for deleting their accounts and honoring their requests in a timely way

So I have to ask, do you feel violated? What concerns do you have over Google’s privacy issues? Do you think the open letter is more whiny than it is warranted?

You thought that your car could keep you safe from advertising as long as you ignored the billboards, but it’s 2010 now and it’s time for change! As we move into the next decade of technology, consumers can expect to see more integration between marketing, social media, and their daily commute.

Companies like Ford are coming out with new cars that will deliver popular mobile features to their navigation systems like turn-by-turn directions, streaming music, and Twitter. Google Maps will even start featuring paid advertising layered over existing billboards. This is big news for businesses like gas stations, restaurants, fast-food chains and hotels which will now have the opportunity to offer special discounts and promotions to drivers.

I don’t mind this new presence so long as there’s an added benefit for the consumer. Maybe while on vacation my navigation system could show me a promotion for a hotel discount, or let me know where to get cheap gas. Perhaps when I pull in to fill up the tank, a virtual billboard could remind me how much I’d love some McDonalds for the road (just so long as my Twitter doesn’t automatically post that I’m breaking my new year’s resolution.)

The search giant has tapped leading social music platforms Pandora, iMeem, Lala, Rhapsody, and the recent MySpace acquisition, iLike, to provide intelligent music-related search results and legal downloads through the Google Music Search.

Search Google for an artist, album, song, or string of lyrics and you’ll be greeted with full-length previews of the music streamed from Lala.com or MySpace Music.

Google search results for "david bowie"

Click on a song and the Lala streaming player pops up to play a full-length sample with a Buy MP3 button. Some songs are streamed from MySpace and only offer a :30 preview with the option to purchase the whole song.

According to Google, two of every ten searches is music-related, so it was logical to implement a feature like the Music Search to suit the needs of users. But industry observers, like Nigel Kendall, Technology Editor for the London Times, seem to think this move by Google is a direct assault on Apple’s stranglehold of the digital music market (holding firm at 69% in the first half of 2009, according to an NPD Group report).

Google’s Music Search will impact the music industry by driving music-related search traffic to selected partners. It could be a strategy of exclusion, but at heart it is a natural evolution of Google’s search engine.

Any music service that isn’t included in the partnership (here’s looking at you iTunes Store, Amazon MP3 Store, and GrooveShark) is essentially locked out of a ubiquitous consumer channel.

This development raises many questions, just to name a handful:

- How much of a boost in sales will Google’s partners see?
- How much will this impact sales/traffic on non-partner music services?
- How will Google’s partner lineup change (or not) over time?
- How will Microsoft’s Bing change to meet user’s heightened expectations?
- Will Microsoft integrate Zune Marketplace into Bing results, or will it rely on partners?
- Will Apple open up the iTunes Store to external search engines?

It’s worth noting that there is no money exchanged between Google and its partners to facilitate the Music Search results. Google benefits from being able to provide users with a better experience, and the partners benefit from the traffic driven to them from the world’s largest search engine.

This is fascinating on so many levels: business, cultural, and technological.

The barriers to finding and consuming culture (be it music, movies, literature, etc.) are falling at a rapid pace while the purchase process has already been reduced to a single click of the mouse.

I can remember the days when finding rare albums and out of print music was a drawn-out scavenger hunt conducted in any and every music store you came across, and finding new music was limited to what was available in the stores. I wanted to purchase music, but the barrier to purchase could be very high.

What used to be an exercise in patience suddenly became an act of instant gratification with the advent of online services such as eBay, Napster, and Amazon in the late ‘90s.

Since then, many tools and services have been developed to monetize and evolve the on-demand, easy-access nature of music, but Google’s Music Search is noteworthy because it has the benefit of instantly becoming the most ubiquitous music search engine on the Internet. There’s no software to download or accounts to sign up for.

Google has removed the learning curve, and brought us closer to our music – new and old.

Damn, it’s good to live in the future.