Interesting post on NPR, which validates my opinion on the rise of importance on moderator tools. The post discusses derogatory comments on blogs and news sites where the conversation can quickly stray from civil discourse to scathing personal attacks, even when the post is a spoof on a heated topic, similar to TurnHere's sales person who seems to have no problem attacking people publicly. For years, many Web sites just let users go at it, and free speech reigned. But now editors are rethinking just how open their sites should be. Update: It appears that Jill Simon, …

A federal judge in Portland, Ore. has ordered Google to retain the payload data its Street View cars obtained from unsecured WiFi networks. Additionally, U.S. District Court Judge Michael Mosman ordered Google to provide copies of the hard drives to the court. For now, Google will retain the encryption key, but Mosman left open the possibility that the information will be disclosed. "Access to the data on the source hard drive retained by Google will be determined in the normal course of discovery -- with the clones lodged with the court available should something happen to that hard drive, …

Haier America is launching a cross-platform advertising campaign with The Weather Channel Companies to promote the company's full line of air conditioners and home comfort products. The campaign includes a new television commercial, online banners, mobile Web banners and a radio spot. Haier will be promoting eco-friendly air conditioners and dehumidifiers beginning May 27, and running until mid-July. Four products are featured; as each spins into view, one sees a creative visual interpretation of the word which describes the various key attributes of the Haier air conditioners -- Cool, Dry, Quiet and Eco-cool. Each word is textured to reinforce …

John Veronis is leaving Veronis Suhler Stevenson, the influential media industry private equity firm he co-founded with John Suhler. Veronis, who has been chairman and co-chief executive, redeemed his equity interests in the firm, but will fulfill his existing investment commitments to VSS funds, as well as other funds in which he is a limited partner. To date, VSS has managed six private equity funds: four equity buyout funds and two structured capital mezzanine debt funds with capital committed exceeding $3 billion. Jeffrey Stevenson, who joined the firm in 1982, will continue to serve as the managing partner of …

Moving forward with a plan to assert authority over the Internet, the Federal Communications Commission said Thursday that it will vote at its next meeting about whether to seek public comment on the proposal. Earlier this month, FCC Chair Julius Genachowski put forward a plan to reclassify broadband transmission as a telecommunications service, subject to common carrier rules. Many experts believe that such a reclassification is necessary before the FCC can impose net neutrality regulations that would ban Internet service providers from discriminating against particular sites or applications. Genachowski's proposal involves reclassifying broadband transmission as a telecommunications service …

Fleishman-Hillard International Communications announces that longtime McDonald's Corp. communications executive John Blyth has joined the firm as a senior vice president and partner. Blyth, who joined McDonald's in 1981, has served since 2005 as the company's corporate vice president of corporate communications, leading a global team of 80 communications professionals representing executive communications, internal communications, global Web communications, meetings and events, and creative services. He also was a member of McDonald's Worldwide Corporate Relations Council and Global Communications Council, both of which set policies for the company's corporate responsibility efforts, issues management and brand-building activities worldwide. In his new position, …

Whirlpool Corp.'s KitchenAid brand has signed on as a presenting sponsor of the Senior PGA Championship. The sponsorship will extend through 2014, and KitchenAid will be the Official Home Appliance brand of The PGA of America. The KitchenAid sponsorship will begin with the 2011 Senior PGA Championship, at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., and includes Senior PGA Championships in 2012 and 2014 to be hosted at The Golf Club at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Mich., which is the headquarters of KitchenAid. The Championship dates and the site of the 2013 Senior PGA Championship will be announced …

Luxury jeweler Tiffany & Co. says its first-quarter sales rose 22% to $633.6 million, with most regions and product categories showing gains. The better-than-forecast results pushed net earnings up 135% to $64.4 million. Overall, same-store sales increased 10%, and in the Americas, they rose 15%. (Sales at its New York flagship jumped 26%.) "Our business performed exceptionally well in the first quarter, continuing the broad-based improvement we began to experience in the second half of 2009," chairman/CEO Michael J. Kowalski, says in a release. "Sales growth was again achieved in most countries and product categories, as consumers around the …

Wonder what it's like for a third grader to launch a Web browser, type in www.google.com, hit return and see her art project on the top search engine's home page. It probably doesn't get much better than that. Makenzie Melton, a third grader at El Dorado Springs R-2 Schools in El Dorado Springs, MI, won for her design, entitled "Rainforest Habitat." Millions of online votes helped to decide the Doodle 4 Google competition. In the drawing, she expressed her concern about the rainforest. Makenzie's design triumphed more than 33,000 student submissions from across the country.

ABI Research estimates smartphones and connected computing devices will become the primary drivers of data traffic during the next five years, generating more than 87% of total mobile network data traffic for U.S. operators by 2014. The stat is based on a report on U.S. mobile operator network traffic that also suggests connected computing device traffic will grow by 90% through 2014. Apple's iPhone and similar devices such as the Samsung Omnia and Motorola Droid will lead the traffic. These devices invite more customer interactivity, which can lead to extremely high data traffic consumption. Computing devices include laptops, netbooks, …