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It looks like the Internet marketing industry could be staring at an age of government regulation and oversight that could change online advertising in major ways. While this kind of news should come as no surprise based on the new age of government intervention in business it is still enough to make even the most seasoned online marketer take notice.
The New York Times tells of how things could look very different for the online advertisers in the future
The new head of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the Federal Trade Commission, David C. Vladeck, says it is time for that to change. In an interview, Mr. Vladeck outlined plans that could upset the online advertising ecosystem. Privacy policies have become useless, the commission’s standards for the cases it reviews are too narrow, and some online tracking is “Orwellian,” Mr. Vladeck said.
Yesterday we told you about the 
If there was ever a group of people that have to sacrifice in ways that I simply cannot imagine it’s the men and women of the US Armed Forces and in this case the United States Marine Corps (Semper Fi). These folks have volunteered to do a job that most of us would not do but ranks as one of the most important jobs any person could do. They make incredible sacrifices so we can complain about how rich people manipulate the Internet for more riches. Makes this all seem kind of insignificant doesn’t it? Now, the Marines have to abide by the order which bans all social networking sites from Marine networks which cuts off one of the few ways they can even feel like they still have a home.
Maybe everyone was waiting for the Microhoo giddiness to be over. Maybe everyone had enough of hearing about the whole deal. Whatever it is there appears to be a more clearly defined landscape emerging as to who is going after what amongst the largest Internet players in the world. One thing for sure is that as the next phase of the Internet Age starts to unfold there is going to be some serious ‘contact’. It’s the corporate version of training camp opening up and preparations are being made to knock the snot out of the competition.
We know that the ink from Steve Ballmer’s huge pen is barely dry on the documents that christen the new era (or error) of the online marketing industry but inquiring minds want to know whether the masses are on board. In this case, the masses are advertisers who are going to need to gather intelligence regarding the true potential impact of how they allocate search ad spend in the future. This new kid on the block is not even out of the ‘corporate offspring’ nursery unit and polls are taking place as to whether advertisers intend to spend more money with the Baby Micro-Yahooy. 
