Agarwal told WebProNews that he recommends a hub-and-spokes model for publishers. For instance, he said that publishers should use their blog to create a hub for its audience to comment and engage on. Furthermore, he believes they should use social media platforms as the spokes to draw people back to the hub.

He did warn that bloggers should be careful about over-syndicating since it could result in the audience never going to the hub. To avoid this, Agarwal told us that publishers should not syndicate their full content everywhere, and instead, focus it on niche audiences.

On another note, he said that Posterous was putting a strong focus on mobile because they believe it is directly related to the future of publishing.

For 5 years, WebProNews has partnered with BlogWorld and New Media Expo, the world’s first and largest new media conference, in an effort to broadcast how new media can grow your business, brand, and audience. Stay tuned to WebProNews for much more exclusive coverage.

The Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising hope to regulate how advertisers utilize endorsements by consumers, experts, organizations, celebrities, and bloggers. The FTC is calling for these parties to openly disclose their relationships with the company or brand they are endorsing, which is causing quite a rise from the blogosphere.

Piersall raised many points on both sides of the debate. On one side, many people feel like they have to “justify” what they are talking about. For example, someone may provide a complimentary statement toward a brand without realizing that it could be perceived as an endorsement. Piersall said she has become very conscious of how she injects brands into her work.

On the flip side, if someone is willing to associate his personal brand with another brand, then he must also be willing to face the consequences that could be affiliated with it. According to Piersall, while brands should not expect bloggers to spread their message for free, bloggers should also be open and disclose their relationship.

Although the gray areas remain, Piersall hopes that people take both the ethics and consequences into consideration moving forward. To read the complete text of the guidelines, the official documentation can be found here.

In a phone interview with WebProNews, Chris Locke said he believes the aired interview didn’t fully portray the points he wanted to get across.
“It seemed worth doing, but it didn’t really convey very deeply at all what our sense was in coming together to try to communicate those larger issues.”

The two bloggers released statements expressing their concerns regarding the importance of free speech on the web. Many people in the world of blogging have an opinion about the Sierra situation. Some believe more control should be exerted to protect individuals from harmful or threatening speech, and that a code of ethics should be implemented. Others believe that this kind of immature speech is just something that goes along with the territory for a public figure like Sierra, and that free speech should be protected at all costs.

“We both see the potential for the First Amendment being eroded, very, very, important protections that are afforded to speech that some people find odious. I mean you can find any number of neo-Nazi sites on the web whose content I find despicable, but if we start saying, well this is outside the bounds of what’s acceptable, we really move away from the notion of democracy, which is already under serious fire in the larger culture.”

Sierra also issued a statement regarding preservation of free speech.
“This could be a very important moment if we stop, think, and talk about the kind of future we really want online, and make certain we don’t give up something more important in the process.”

Both Sierra and Locke hope that the issue can be resolved to provide a safe environment for bloggers on the web, as well as an environment where First Amendment protections can flourish.

In related news, Bad Toelz Mayor in Germany demanded Google Earth delete a reference to “Mount Hitler“from the 3-D software. Mayor Andreas Wiedemann said residents have called the peak “Mount Hitler” for a brief period during the Third Reich, but that after World War Two it went back to the original name Heigel Kopf. Google Earth gives users both names of the mountain, but Wiedemann thinks it misleads. Google Germany spokesman Stefan Keuchel said the Hitler name appears as a “technical accident.” Google earth considers deleting the matter if they find no historical reason for its addition.

Olympic organizers opened a ticketing website today allowing Chinese residents to reserve tickets online for the 2008 Games. The web site announced organizers would distribute tickets in three phases and they would randomly give out tickets to over-subscribed events. Olympic organizers said overseas residents could purchase Olympic tickets from their national Olympic Committee or from designated outlets at the same price as Chinese residents. Tickets vary from 30 yuan or around three dollars and 50 cents at preliminary events to five thousand yuan or more than 640 dollars for the opening ceremony. To see about acquiring tickets, log on to www.tickets.beijing.2008.cn.

Microsoft announced today that it secured Quest Software as its first protocol technology program licensee. This program comes out of the March 2004 European Commission order forcing Microsoft to license its protocol technology at “reasonable and nondiscriminatory” terms. The program intended providing all licensees with the power to produce server-based products to perform with Microsoft’s technology.

The Commission warned Microsoft about penalties just last week that the company’s license prices seemed too high. Quest has access through Microsoft’s Work Group Server Protocol Program to communication protocols in the Windows operating systems. Quest plans on developing software to expand the customers’ ability to integrate Unix, Linux and Java authentication systems with Microsoft’s Active Directory. The Department of Justice expressed concerns that Microsoft has fallen behind on deadlines to revise the documentation to licensees.

Ad Age and Vizu Answers performed a study on blog readership. The study showed that two-thirds of blog readers read more than three blogs daily. Most readers re-visit the same sites to get their information. About 67 percent of users follow links to learn about new blogs. About 23 percent of readers rely on recommendations, rather than just using as search engine.

Readers determine the credibility of blogs based on the “quality of writing.” Viewers think personal opinions separate blogs from other forms of online media. The survey showed 65 percent of blog readers search for entertainment. Nearly one-third looks for information. Around one-eighth of readers relate blogging to business. Three-fourths of those who interact regard themselves as primary readers. Around 20 percent of readers claim to create content.