Video of the Day: YouTube Phenomenon All About Words

One of the hottest channels on YouTube these days has to do with words. HotForWords has grown in just 2 years, to beat even Michael Jackson and Showtime in the number of hits.

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Online Social Networking Frenzy Points to Internet's Future

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'Ebert & Roeper' To Unveil Largest Online Collection of Video-Based Movie Reviews

The renowned movie review show At The Movies with Ebert & Roeper has announced that its website will unveil the largest online collection of video-based movie reviews.

This new website feature dubbed "The Balcony Archive" is said to be the first of its kind, offering an unprecedented library of 5,000 reviews, all searchable by movie title, director or actor.

Users will now be able to watch both current and classic movie reviews spanning more than
20-years of Ebert & Roeper and Siskel & Ebert. Current theatrical and DVD release reviews are posted to the website following each weekly broadcast of Ebert & Roeper and now the complete collection will be made available for online viewing.

Each video-based movie review features the lively discussion that has made the review show popular for decades. Whether the critics agree or disagree, they offer passionate, informed and entertaining critiques, assigning either "thumbs
up" or "thumbs down." With the launch of this momentous online tool, movie lovers can watch a current release movie review before heading to their local theatre, or they can research a classic title before deciding to rent or purchase on DVD. Whether it's the best movies of all time, the biggest box-office bombs or the most heated debates between Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel, fans of the big screen now have an all-access pass to the unmatched footage.

"For years this was a dream," says Roger Ebert. "Now I am exhilarated that it is a reality, thanks to the enormous effort of digitizing something like 1,000 programs. It is always fascinating to go back and see what was being said about a film before it opened. The disagreements, between me and Siskel and Roeper, will be fun to revisit, and even more exciting will be our sense of discovery when we find something like Boyz N the Hood, Fargo, Hoop Dreams, or Monster. I may start searching around in this archive and never stop!"

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Find Your Online Degree

You hear about them all the time. You see the ads, promising the ease of an online college degree.

But how do you make sense of it all? How do you make sure you're going to find the school and right program for you?

Directory of Schools features more than 1,364 schools with accredited online degrees and 9,238 online programs.

The site offers a full search capability. Search by degrees offered and programs offered.

You find information of the well-known University of Phoenix, as well as online programs from Liberty University, Kaplan University, Ashford University and hundreds more.

Search by subject area: communications, health care administration, management degrees, and many more. You'll also find informational articles that explain online degrees and offers important tips.

Directory of Schools finally lays out the world of online learning in a way that makes sense.

This was a sponsored post.


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Online Tax Filing Up, Internet Security Fears are Down

More consumers are filing their taxes online, and fewer are concerned about Internet security, The Conference Board and TNS report.

This year, 39 percent of consumers intend to file their 2006 federal taxes online, up from 28 percent just three years ago. Online tax filing is a growing trend. Close to two-thirds of consumers report having filed online for three or more consecutive years, of which nearly half have been filing online for more than five years.

"Speed, convenience and choice are compelling an increasing number ofconsumers to toss their pencils and papers and file their federal taxes electronically," says Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. "Whether using professional tax services or do-it-yourself software, electronic filing continues to grow year after year. And, by far, direct deposit is the preferred refund method. This year's ability to split refunds among up to three accounts is yet another choice that should broaden the appeal of electronic filing."

The Consumer Internet Barometer - produced by The Conference Board, the global business research and membership organization, and TNS, a global market insight and information group - surveys 10,000 households across thecountry and tracks who's doing what on the Internet.

Among consumers intending to file their federal taxes online, nearly 40 percent intend to use a professional tax service, with women more likely than men to seek assistance. Do-it-yourself tax software is more popular among male filers than female filers. The number of online filers using IRSe-file has declined since 2004, as the pool of eligible filers has likely shrunk due to increased complexity in returns and as more alternatives become available. Slightly more women than men (20 percent versus 19 percent) will use IRS E-file.

Consumers are less concerned about security when filing taxes online. Today only 43 percent of Internet users are "extremely" concerned aboutfiling taxes online, down from 52 percent in 2004.

Last year, more than 70 percent of online tax filers chose to receive their refund by direct deposit while 18 percent requested a check. The ease and convenience of direct deposit clearly makes it the preferred choice of online tax filers.

Among those who do not file online, the leading reason cited is that the consumer does not do his/her own taxes (34 percent). Coming in second (23 percent) are concerns about personal information on the Internet.

The Consumer Internet Barometer is based on a quarterly survey of10,000 households. A unique sample is surveyed each quarter. Return ratesaverage 70 percent, which ensures highly representative data. Data is weighted as well to reflect the latest U.S. household demographic information. The latest survey was conducted during the first quarter of2007.

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January Web Traffic Reflects New Year's Resolutions

January saw significant increases in visitation to tax, travel, careers and real estate sites. Heightened interest in tax software and Microsoft's new Vista operating system boosted traffic to the computer software category, while mounting speculation about 2008 U.S. presidential candidates drove traffic to political sites.

That's according to the comScore Media Metrix monthly analysis of U.S. consumer activity at top online properties and categories for January 2007.

"As we've witnessed on an annual basis, consumers turned to the Web at the beginning of the year in a very utilitarian fashion, with an eye toward planning," says Jack Flanagan, executive vice president of comScore MediaMetrix. "Traffic to tax sites continued to grow versus December, and Travelsites also saw increases as Americans explored ways to escape the winter doldrums. Politics also captured consumers' attention, as politicians turned to the Web as their primary vehicle to announce their candidaciesfor the first time. In addition, Americans took keen interest in potential career changes and housing moves in January."

comScore Media Metrix, a division of comScore Networks, provides Internet audience measurement services that report detailsof online media usage, visitor demographics and online buying power for the home, work and university audiences across local U.S. markets and across the globe. All comScore Media Metrix syndicated ratings are based onindustry-sanctioned sampling methodologies, according to the company.

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Survey: Labor Demand Still Soaring in Gulf Coast Area

Labor markets in areas damaged by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 continue to be among the most active markets in the United States, according to The Conference Board Help-Wanted OnLine DataSeries.

For the last three months, the average monthly count of online advertised vacancies in the New Orleans metro area was 17,300, a level that is more than double the monthly average for the three months before Katrina.

"In the last three months, the average number of ads for the nation was 11% above the three months prior to Katrina, well below the growth in the Lake Charles (65%), Pascagoula (30%), Gulfport (41%) and New Orleans (105%) metro areas for the same period," says Gad Levanon, economist at TheConference Board. "The Houma metro area had a very dramatic rise in online ads after the storm and the average monthly number of advertised vacancies is still running about 1,700 ads per month, a level that is over five times the pre-hurricane level."

Adds Levanon: "Labor demand is also stronger than the national average in many of the metro areas where the Katrina evacuees fled."

Again, while vacancies were up 11% nationally, the three-month moving averages seen in Baton Rouge (74%), Austin (76%), Houston (49%), San Antonio (86%), and Dallas (37%) are much greater, the survey says.

The labor demand covers a wide range of occupations. In New Orleans the largest increase in demand is for office and administrative support, business and financial operations, and management occupations. "It's not just construction," notes Levanon. "In the damaged areas, the number of ads for architects and engineers has more than doubled, reflecting there building efforts. The high labor demand is a positive sign for the revitalization of the Gulf Coast area. But it is just part of the overall dynamic of the area. Population shifts make a big difference."

In some areas like Lake Charles, the labor force has rebounded almost to its pre-hurricane size while New Orleans' labor force is reported to be down over 30 percent from its previous level. "Part of the labor demand reflects the difficulty of finding workers in the reduced local labor force," he says.

The Conference Board Help-Wanted OnLine Data Series is released monthly and measures the number of unduplicated online jobs postedon more than 1,200 major Internet job boards and smaller job boards that serve niche markets and smaller geographic areas.

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Tech, Media Organizations, Non-Profits Launch Project Online Safety

Technology companies, media organizations, trade associations and non-profits joined together to announce their collaboration in launching Project Online Safety, an educational campaign focused on promoting Internet safety for children.

The initiative is designed to provide parents and children with a centralized online resource of Internet safety tools and educational materials and supports and encourages the broadcast of a series of related national public service advertisements (PSAs) being sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and the Ad Council.

Organizers say Project Online Safety is part of an ongoing, industry-wide effort working with leading advocacy organizations to educate parents and childrenabout the importance of online safety. The partners of the initiative thatare investing resources to support online safety programs are AT&T, BlogSafety.com, Cable in the Classroom (CIC), Charter Communications, Comcast, Cox Communications, Facebook, Fox Interactive Media (MySpace), Internet Education Foundation, National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), Network Solutions, News Corp., Qwest Communications,Time Warner Cable and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).

"The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is pleased to be a partner in Project Online Safety," says Ernie Allen, president and CEO of NCMEC. "By offering one point of access to our collective Internet safetyresources, we can more effectively equip parents and their children with the tools they need to have safer experiences online."

The PSAs direct parents, guardians, and teens to visit http://www.cybertipline.com/ to learn about safe and responsible use of theInternet, as well as how to report threats. Administered by NCMEC, theCyberTipline is a reporting mechanism for child sexual exploitation. Reports can be made on the website or by calling 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678). The PSAs will run on cable, broadcast and Internetproperties, including being accessible through links on the web sites of participating companies and organizations.

"As the leading high-speed Internet service provider, we are continuing to provide a superior Internet experience, and that includes providingtools and information to make that experience safe," says David Cohen,executive vice president, Comcast. "We're especially pleased to be working with our long-time partners at the Ad Council, our good friends at NCMEC, and other leading organizations on this important broad-based initiative."

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Lawyers Come To Cyberspace

Attorneys can join the bar in all 50 states. In the District of Columbia. There's even a bar reserved just for those lawyers who argue cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Now there's a bar in cyberspace, too.

Calling itself the world's first online bar association, InternetBar.org says it was established to serve as a catalyst for advancing the rule of law in cyberspace and altering substantially current legal practice paradigms in the virtual world.

“We have founded InternetBar.org because we believe that an internationally networked community of lawyers, jurists and policy makers can effectively address emerging questions of the administration of justice, security and conflict resolution. We will be working on the internet in a trusted online space. We are creating a new, virtual form of self-governance,” says attorney and InternetBar.org President Jeffrey Aresty.

InternetBar.org says it seeks to create ethical ways for lawyers, jurists and courts to collaborate in cyberspace and harmonize the rule of law in the evolving virtual world. As a virtual bar association, InternetBar.org is dedicated to fostering widespread global collaboration, providing the highest quality education and training and undertaking sophisticated outreach.

Founded in 2005, InternetBar.org believes that an internationally networked community of lawyers, jurists and policymakers operating in trusted online forums can effectively address emerging questions of justice, security and conflict resolution through a new form of virtual self-governance.

InternetBar.org says it is dedicated to supporting individuals and businesses which are seeking access to legal information, cross cultural knowledge and alternative dispute resolution online.

Membership in InternetBar.org is free to anyone who shares its mission through 2007 and members will have the opportunity to be trained in in something called Online Dispute Resolution (ODR).


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Survey: 2 of 5 Identity Theft Victims Know Source of Crime

Two out of five identity theft victims surveyed by the Identity Theft Assistance Center (ITAC) know how their personal data was stolen, providing valuable insight about how identity theft occurs.

"This information is important because the more we know about the sources of identity theft the more successful we all will be in fighting this crime," says ITAC Executive Director Anne Wallace. "These documented cases provide real world perspective on identity theft."

ITAC surveyed 275 identity theft victims who used the ITAC's free service over a one-month period. Of the 275 cases, 160 consumers (58%) did not know the source of their identity theft. Another 115 consumers (42%) did know how their information was compromised. The 115 consumers attributed their identity theft to the following sources:

-- Friends, relatives, in-home employees 26 cases 22.61%
-- Computer hacker/virus/phishing 25 cases 21.74%
-- Mail (stolen or fraudulent address change) 24 cases 20.87%
-- Lost/stolen wallet, checkbook or credit card 15 cases 13.04%
-- Corrupt business or employee 12 cases 10.43%
-- Data breach 8 cases 6.96%
-- House burglarized 4 cases 3.48%
-- Instant credit 1 case 0.87%

Getting accurate information about the sources of identity theft is difficult because identity theft -- the opening of a fraudulent new account or account takeover -- is often confused with other types of fraud, like the unauthorized use of a credit card, accoding to ITAC.

ITAC says it is in a unique position to gatherdata about identity theft because it deals in verified cases of identity theft. The companies that belong to ITAC refer customers to ITAC once thefraud is resolved at the member company. ITAC then helps the customer identify other fraudulent accounts and assists in restoring their financial identity.


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