Here is the essense of the bill SB 59 (georgia-kid-law.pdf ) with Arne’s insert in brackets:

It shall be illegal for the owner or operator of a social networking website [myspace, facebook, linkedin, probably blogger] to allow a minor [under 18] using a protected computer [i.e., one in Georgia] to create or maintain a profile web page on a social networking website without the permission of the minor’s parent or guardian and without providing such parent or guardian access to such profile web page at all times.

First offense is a misdemeanor, second is a felony with imprisonment up to five years.

Of course, as someone who just started a social networking site for SoCon08 to help Georgia businesses, nonprofits and entrepreneurs, it worries the hell out of me.

Here is Arne’s response to what he, at least according to the subject line of this email thinks is a fairly dumb piece of legislation, but his remarks below are more temperate:

I am sending this email to my Senator (Senator Henson) and all the sponsors of SB 59.

I am a concerned parent. I have 4 children, aged 9, 14, 18, and 20. I am deeply concerned about the potential risks to children associated with social media generally.

I am also a partner at the law firm of Morris, Manning and Martin. I started my firm’s “Web 2.0″ practice group. As a part of my job, I study the business models associated with social networking, I have my own MySpace and FaceBook accounts, and I represent clients who are in this business space. (I am not being paid by any of them; this email is sent as a concerned citizen only.) I also speak and write in this area.

Given my parental and professional background, I consider myself one of the more knowledgeable people, over 50 years of age, about social networking.

A few months ago, there was press coverage of sexual predators and MySpace. At that time, it was reported that MySpace had 29,000 sexual predators who had accessed MySpace. Comparing this to the total number of users of MySpace at the time (about 58 million), that means that there was approximately one sexual predator for every 2,000 persons on MySpace. I can understand that this is a serious concern to legislators, parents, and NewsCorp (who owns MySpace).

Also at that time, I checked to see how many sexual predators were in my own county. At the time, I counted 596 sexual predators listed in DeKalb County. DeKalb County’s population is approximately 723,602. This means that in DeKalb County, there is one sexual predator for every 1,214 people.

As you can see, the ratio of the number of sexual predators to the population in DeKalb County is 61% GREATER than the number of sexual predators on MySpace. My kids may be more at risk of sexual predators at school or at the mall than they are on MySpace. While the larger absolute numbers make for sensational headlines, those numbers merely reflect a problem that we have in society.

Businesses are not interested in having sexual predators on their sites, and at least the larger social networking sites are spending massive amounts of money both to prevent sexual predators from using their systems and to catch and prosecute them. I believe that the owners of social networking sites, such as NewsCorp, Disney, Google, and other large, well-funded companies, are a part of the cure.

Second point. I teach my kids how to deal with social networking. I view this as my role as a parent. I don’t need the government telling me or my kids what to do.

I oppose SB 59. This legislation paints with way too broad a brush, and it is very likely to have severe unintended consequences. I don’t think that it is in our State’s best interest to legislate something that has the potential of excluding the State of Georgia from participating equally with other states in the development of social networking generally, which I believe has the potential to be as important as the rise of the Internet itself.

While we have a clear societal problem with sexual predators, social networking is the only area I know where the resources of businesses have been marshaled to help solve this societal problem. The risks of social networking simply aren’t sufficiently different from this problem in our society at large to justify passing an overly simplistic,potentially damaging (to businesses and the cause of reducing sexual predation), and, in my opinion, poorly thought through legislation.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Paul Arne

He thinks anyone interested in social networking should be contacting their legislators too.

So this is the kind of tool that reporters could be using for many events and using Twitter to allow people to join the discussion, especially since you can upload photos, video, URLs, etcetera while live blogging. The Cover It Live demo, says it is similar to sending IM messages.

Armstrong provides his own excellent review.   

I will be at the We Media conference in Florida on February 26-29 and will probably give this program a try then, if not before. My problem is that I am a slow and rather sloppy typist, as many of you might have noticed on these pages. I usually have to proof stuff over and over. So maybe live blogging is not my forte. Still I want to practice with the tool because my new mantra is: You have to play the game to understand it.

Last time I looked at Flickr there were about 300 photos posted about the event. Look through them closely. As you do, be sure to watch the slide show of the black and white photos by Tikigod, who is, in fact, Nik Wilets. Wilets, whose self portrait is on this post, now specializes in interactive media and design at Morris DigitalWorks™ ; however, he has a degree in photojournalism and worked as photojournalist in the past.

Over all the years I was a magzine editor, I found that meeting photos were often boring, except probably to the people attending the meeting. However, that might have been because the photojournalists shooting them were bored or weren’t much better than the amateurs, at least, on an artistic level.

Now that takes us back to SoCon08. Look at Wilets photos are they better than the others? Is black and white a lost art that should be revived? If you were a photo editor and Wilets was on your staff, would you send him to the meeting or just let the conference attendees fire away and you take the best of what they shoot?

Is there be much of a future for photojournalists? Should newspaper or web editors be hiring more photojournalists or fewer?  Or should they be hiring fewer photojournalists, but better ones? Or should they use their money to hire people who write, shoot photos and do video, even if there might be a trade off in quality in one of those areas? Would there be a trade off in quality?

Our SoCon08 has been fortunate because we are, in part, about citizen media. So we are getting some of the best of the amateurs to shoot for us. Still would that be enough if you were a news site? If you were starting a web news organization today, what role would photos and great photographers have in it?

I know my answers. I would try to hire as many great shooters like Wilets as I could and knock the socks of my viewers each morning, no matter if I was in print or online. The more amateur stuff out there, the more appealing will be the stuff by the pros because it will continue to stand out.

Last year SoCon07 was a big success and we were astounded by those numbers: 96 on Friday and about 200 on Saturday. This year, looking at the numbers we are about 150 percent more astounded.  When we started planning for SoCon08 I was thinking there might be Web 2.0 conference fatigue, apparently not in Georgia. One more interesting fact, last year Saturday was free, this year we are charging $15, mostly because we felt if people had to pay something, they would be more likely to show up. It is easier on the conference planners and helpers which include in alphabetical order: Lauren Booth, Jeff Haynie, Sherry Heyl, Timothy Moenk, Sean O’Leary, Barbara Vinning and me Leonard Witt. Apparently, that fee did not deter many from registering.

One figure which I am not sure of yet. Last year as the conference ended late Saturday afternoon, just six of use came to the Marietta Town Square for a evening pub crawl and dinner.  This year 72 folks say they want to join us. After a day and half of networking, we will see how many want to soldier on into Saturday night. Any how, last night, which was Saturday, I had to visit the different possible venues on the Marietta Town Square. Rough duty going from pub to pub, but alas here I am on Sunday typing away.

Finally, here’s another social networking, social media, Web 2.0 message. We did no advertising. It was all word-of-mouth via our various online networks. Does that mean we know all of these people? Heck no, but we all know some of them and they know some others. After next Saturday, everyone’s social network will be increased, fortified and energized. Welcome everyone to the world of Web 2.0 and SoCon08.  

 Saturday registration closes Friday. Register now. A friendly reminder for reading PJNet.org.

The cost of attending Friday night’s big networking dinner is about to jump because we will soon reach the limit of subsidized spots. Pay $28 now or $48 later. So sign up now.

Also you might want to look at the participant list and see if it makes sense for your business or organization to be a sponsor. If interested, contact me. Last year we had 200 attendees and this year we expect at least as many.

“How far we’ve come, Where we’re going” should impact the format of the conference.

It was my distinct impression that the social media landscape in Atlanta changed after SoCon07. Whereas before there didn’t seem to be much going on, afterwards there seemed to be an explosion of conversations about social media happening around the city. From Podcamp Atlanta, to the Social Media Club, to Startup Weekend Atlanta, to panel discussions about Web 2.0 at professional associations across the board, it seems Atlanta has come a long way in climbing the social media learning curve this past year.

I’ve heard similar stories from a number of other people who attended SoCon07, and even a few who were unable to but noticed a similar trend. Whether it was the catalyst, or just coincidentally within the right time frame, it’s clear that SoCon07 was held at an inflection point for these conversations.

And so a year later we’re coming together for SoCon08 to look forward, but I think it’s equally important to look back. As they say, in order to understand where we are going we need to understand where we’ve come from. This isn’t just about understanding how far the technology has come, it’s about understanding the collective story. As far as I know no one has the bigger picture of what’s going on here (yet), but we all have our own bits and pieces of the story to share.

Last year we had a great main session where we explored all kinds of ideas, stories, opinions, etc. This year I think the format should remain largely unchanged, but with the added focus on sharing our bits and pieces of the larger story. The theme “How far we’ve come, Where we’re going,” resonates not just as a feel good phrase, but as a guide for the main session. I think it should be divided into two sections: one retroactive, and one forward looking. Both sections should be given equal time. The conversation should be moderated such that we don’t stay on any particular topic area for too long, but explore a number of individual stories within different themes enough to see how well they resonate with the larger group.

What kinds of stories should we be airing about this past year? How social media has impacted our lived this past year personally and professionally. Personal stories regarding the rise of Twitter and Facebook. Stories about how our businesses have been impacted positively and negatively. Challenges we’ve faced. Conversations we’ve had. Meetings we’ve had and attended. etc.

As for where we’re going this next year? New events and initiatives that are being organized around and/or with social media. New business directions. Unexpected personal opportunities that are opening up. Areas of concern and trepidation. Larger trends in the tech industry. Larger trends socially. What would people like to see happen this next year? Plans, predictions, etc.

I think it’s perfect that Jeff is doing the opening for SoCon08 because of his unique view. He’s been active locally, as well as nationally, organized a number of events, but has also been steeped in the technology. As far as telling bits and pieces of the larger story go, he touches the social as well as the technical, and definitely has some great past events and future plans to draw from to set the stage for SoCon08.

 So that’s where we are headed in a general sense. Go to the SoCon08 site and register now.