»  Obama says devices like iPads and Xboxes make information a “distraction” rather than a “tool of empowerment.” [NY Post] »  Location functionality is found in the JavaScript of the touch.facebook.com version of Facebook. [TechCrunch] »  Court rules internet filtering at libraries is constitutional. [ars technica] »  The team behind…

Erika Nardini, the VP of brand packaging at Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO), announced her resignation today, sources tell us. At Yahoo, Nardini reported directly to North America head Hilary Schneider and was responsible for “advertiser driven content and product innovation” across the company’s properties. We believe she is now headed to…

»  Facebook users aren’t outraged about privacy issues—they’re thrilled with it, says the company’s director of developer network. [InfoWorld] »  AOL (NYSE: AOL) will begin A/B testing its redesigned homepage “very soon.” [SAI] »  FCC’s Julius Genachowski on the future of internet policy. [Broadband.gov] »  A hands-on look at Microsoft’s…

»  Why Silicon Valley tech giants are acquiring chip designers. [VentureBeat] »  Reasons why Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) should spend some of its ad budget on improving its products. [Search Engine Land] »  MySpace (NYSE: NWS) Chief Security Officer Hemanshu Nigam is leaving his job of four years to start a…

»  Why some might argue Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) CEO Carol Bartz’s $47.2 million pay from last year is too much. [TheStreet.com] »  Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI) is launching an API, “Blockbuster Everywhere,” to deliver films and reviews to phones, set-top boxes and gaming consoles. [ReadWriteWeb] »  Facebook says 50,000 sites have…

»  Chris Kelly, the former chief privacy officer for Facebook and now a candidate for Attorney General of California, criticizes Facebook for its automatic opt-in information-sharing services. [GigaOm] »  Star Tribune CEO Mike Klingensmith talks new paywall and digital strategy. [MinnPost] »  Why Roger Ebert hates 3D (and thinks you…

»  Signs that the Obama Administration may cave on network neutrality after three years of promising to promote it. ]isen.blog] »  More doom and gloom news for the newspaper industry, this time from Warren Buffet. [MarketBeat] »  How privacy concerns could lead to regulation over more sites than just Facebook.…

Ben Elowitz (@elowitz) is co-founder and CEO of Wetpaint, a platform for social web sites, and author of the Digital Quarters blog. Prior to Wetpaint, Elowitz co-founded Blue Nile, the online retailer of luxury goods. He is also an angel investor in various media and e-commerce companies. If old-media traditionalists…

»  Apple’s shuttering of Lala could signal the upgrade to a web- or susbcription-based iTunes or perhaps, a means of combating Google (NSDQ: GOOG) music search. [Betanews] »  What to fear and hate about Facebook, and why it’s too late to regulate it. [Scobleizer] »  Why television needs sport almost…

»  LinkedIn adds a “follow company” button so users can more easily follow company profiles’ news and activity. [LinkedIn Blog] »  Taking a cue from Foursquare, the Huffington Post is giving out badges to readers who often comment and share HuffPo stories. [TechCrunch] »  iAds is coming at a hefty…

Ty Ahmad-Taylor is the founder and CEO of FanFeedr, a real-time personalized sports feed. Previously, he was SVP of Strategy and Product Development at Viacom (NYSE: VIA) and, before that, Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA). He tweets at @tyahma One of the things big and small media companies grapple with is identity,…

»  ABC (NYSE: DIS) News concludes a round of smaller-than-expected cuts. [LAT] »  A call for the end of Tumblr book deals. [GQ’s The Verge] »  Does Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) want to buy Foursquare? It depends on how much… [TechCrunch] »  How Second Life manages to stay afloat—and even adapt—while…

»  Ted Turner called his former Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) colleagues “dumb” for selling the company’s stake in Google (NSDQ: GOOG) too soon. [The Hollywood Reporter] »  New OPA report says ad networks provide advertisers with the smallest change across effectiveness metrics, among other findings. [Release | Full report (PDF)]…

»  Why AT&T (NYSE: T) should buy Foursquare. [CNET] »  In case you weren’t aware Floppy discs still existed, Sony (NYSE: SNE) said it will stop production in March 2011. It stopped making drives last September. [CrunchGear] »  Apple’s iPad is no longer banned in Israel. [eWeek] »  Survey finds…

EveryBlock—the MSNBC Interactive-owned hyperlocal aggregator—is bulking up its site with data from SeeClickFix, a startup that lets anybody report an issue in need of government action in their community. The two companies—which are both considered to be among the top innovators in the local space online—will announce their partnership later…

TheWrap.com, the Hollywood business focused blog started by former NYT Hollywood correspondent Sharon Waxman, has closed a $2 million second round of funding, she tells us. The round was led by Maveron, the VC firm co-founded by Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, and other first round investors. The site raised $500K…

»  Demand Media SVP Steven Kydd hits back at comments that the company is a “content farm.” [International Symposium on Online Journalism] »  A problem with Facebook’s plan for domination. [Continuations] »  Through the months: Google’s and Facebook’s auto opt-in ventures. [Daggle] »  Why Seth Goldstein, SocialMedia.com co-founder, thinks the…

»  Facebook’s latest change that you have to opt out of. [Librarian By Day] »  How Huffington Post measures up against The New York Times. [Newsonomics] »  Why marketers are shifting their online ad budgets to content sites from ad networks. [AdAge] »  How high-quality reporting is flourishing outside traditional…

Arnon Mishkin is a consultant focused on media and internet companies. The easiest way to clear a room of internet-savvy media executives is to suggest that maybe they should close their sites to crawling and prevent Google (NSDQ: GOOG) from carrying excerpts of their content. “Look, our ability to sell…