While he doesn’t think the U.S. will see legislation this year, he does think we’ll have it eventually. He said that the U.S. was paying a lot of attention to Europe, especially since it is expected to change its privacy directive as well.

Polonetsky did tell us that 2012 would include even more scrutiny of companies and lots of hearings.

“I’ve never seen as much scrutiny,” he said.

For the companies that are not in favor of legislation, he recommends that they show how they are self-regulating.

Would you like to see online privacy legislation? We’d love to know your thoughts.

Most consumers search for information related to legislation, government, health, and other important areas. The problem is that searchers see the top 10 results and think that they are accurate because they’re at the top. Unfortunately, that is not always true. To make matters worse, many governments do not always make their information available, and those that do, don’t always know how to do it well.

Another element that intensifies the concern is that search is not going anywhere and will only become a larger part of our lives over time. So, what does this mean for the future of the way we consume information? It’s an intriguing question that does not have an answer yet.

Fox believes it is important that we consider these types of issues to help find solutions for them. What are your thoughts on this matter?

In addition, she shares her excitement for recent advancements with HTML5 and how they will make the Web better. Fox also discusses her blog post explaining how not to move a url as well as her new book, Marketing in the Age of Google.

WebProNews had the opportunity to talk with Ashish Arora, the Vice President and General Manager of Logitech Digital Home to learn more about Logitech’s role in this innovation. Arora shares that Logitech became involved with Google TV because it wanted “to build a new presence in the living room that consumers have never had before.”

Although Logitech is known for devices such as mice and keyboards, the company has actually been innovating in the living room for quite some time. According to Arora, the company could take all the experiences it built around the PC and now offer them in the living room through Google TV.

Logitech, specifically, brings its companion box to Google TV, which allows easy access to HDTVs with HDMI-enabled set-top boxes. The companion box includes Logitech’s Harmony remote control technology and also comes with a remote control that has both keyboard and remote control capabilities.

Many times throughout the interview, Arora expresses Logitech’s excitement around the openness of Google TV.

“It’s a great time for consumers, for people to really enhance their current TV watching experience with Google TV,” he says.

Google TV is scheduled to be available this fall.

For consumers, Price Protectr’s Priceless Alerts System allows consumers to track price changes before and/or after they make a purchase. As  James Wallace explains, Price Protectr saves the consumer both time and money by doing the comparative shopping for them and sending them email notifications containing the comparisons and any price adjustments.

It should be noted that the system is user-requested only. Price Protectr does not send unsolicited emails.

For retailers, the solution provides many marketing opportunities. First of all, it helps reduce shopping cart abandonment. Secondly, it helps retailers build a long-term relationship with consumers.

If you would like to learn more about Price Protectr’s Priceless Alerts System, visit their Business Solutions.

IMshopping is providing a solution by allowing merchants to add a human-assisted shopping community to their site. By simply designing a button and adding a bit of code to their site, a retailer can have the IMshopping community available for their customers in under an hour.

Merchants go through a recruiting process to find guides that are experts in their particular business to have them answer customer questions. IMshopping’s ability to drive traffic to your site should not be overlooked either. All discussion topics and questions are archived for customer reference which means more links to your site!

It is important for retailers to provide customers the community feel that they crave, and in this interview Mary Piontkowski and Kevin Wray discuss the value IMshopping provides for both retailers and their customers.

If you are a merchant or a curious shopper you can find out more information about IMshopping by visiting their site at www.imshopping.com.

He says, “The key really is to integrate social media into your overall marketing campaigns.”

Retailers need to connect with their customers, listen to what they are talking about, and strive to meet their needs. Prasad explains how 1-800-Flowers integrated social media into their Mother’s Day campaigns and created all sorts of buzz through Facebook, Twitter, and mommy bloggers.

As retailers connect with their audience, they must remember to speak with a “conversational voice” and not a “corporate voice.” Consumers control the purchase process now and expect the merchants to come down to their level.