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Editor's Note: This weekend we relaunch our blog, Tech Daily Dose, as Senior Writer Andrew Noyes covers CES in Las Vegas.
Lobbying
Fans Of Technology Administration Work To Save It
by Heather Greenfield
The Commerce Department's Technology Administration is the only federal office whose sole job is to advocate for American competitiveness through reports and lobbying for innovation-friendly policies. But TA may be out of a job itself soon if Congress, which created the department in 1980, puts legislation to a vote.
A bill in the 109th Congress that promoted research and development and mathematics and science education also would have unauthorized funding for the agency.
The authors of the measure, Sens. John Ensign, R-Nev., and Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., took their cue from recent Bush administration budgets that recommended cuts to TA funding -- from $7 million, to $6 million and then to $1 million in his most recent budget proposal.
Although that particular legislation is dead, former leaders of TA are not waiting for it to be resurrected before they fight the idea. They asked Senate Commerce Committee leaders in a letter to delete the TA language from a bill that they said has "great merit" in "almost all elements."
"At a time when competitiveness has rocketed to the forefront of the national agenda, TA's mission has never been more important," said the seven former secretaries who led the agency under the Clinton and both Bush administrations.
Former Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy Kelly Carnes, who served from 1997 to 2001, said during her time, the agency issued two reports to Congress with recommendations on the shortage of information technology workers and what should be done. She said those recommendations were echoed in reports by others and are now part of competitiveness proposals by both President Bush and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
"We're sort of disarming as other countries are arming," Carnes said.
Phil Bond, now CEO for the Information Technology Association of America, led TA under the Bush administration. He said it is critical to have a senior representative looking out for competitiveness during senior administration meetings.
Bond said the office also was a one-stop portal where the tech industry could go to advocate its interests. TA then passed the messages to entities like the Education Labor departments and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
"I wouldn't have left Hewlett-Packard if I didn't think it was a vital job," Bond said of his move to TA. "It continues to boggle my mind that they would do this," Bond said, predicting that if TA closes it will be resurrected in some form later to advocate for American competitiveness.
Despite the letter, a spokesman for Ensign's office said the plan is to reintroduce the legislation as is "in the coming weeks."
If it passes, Carnes said TA likely would receive about $2 million in appropriations but no authorization to spend it. Carnes said she would rather see the budget "eliminated altogether than to be limping along" with just $2 million.
She and other former secretaries plan meetings with congressional staff and lawmakers in the coming weeks in hopes of not just saving TA but increasing its budget.
The office of current TA chief Robert Cresanti declined comment for the story, and supporters of the legislation did not offer further comment at press time on why funding should be cut.
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Telecom
AT&T Rivals Contest Merger Rule's Impact On Them
by David Hatch
As the dust settles on the FCC's approval of the AT&T, BellSouth merger, some large and mid-sized local telephone competitors to the company are complaining that one condition imposes "backdoor" requirements on them.
At issue is a restriction stipulating that the new AT&T reduce its special-access rates, the discounted fees it offers wholesale business customers. In order for companies such as Qwest Communications International and Verizon Communications to take advantage of the discounts, they must offer similar services at the same reduced fees as AT&T, according to the condition.
"Any effort by AT&T, BellSouth to bind the commission to accept its proposed discriminatory tariff is null, void and to no effect," Robert Connelly, the vice president and deputy general counsel at Qwest, wrote in a Jan. 4 letter to the agency. He threatened possible legal action, stating that if the new AT&T files a "discriminatory" tariff for special access rates, "legal processes can prevent the illegal conduct from actually coming to fruition."
A source noted that impacted companies have several options. They can appeal the soon-to-be-released merger order at the FCC or in federal court, or challenge tariff changes that the merged company will file with the agency.
In a Dec. 29 letter to the FCC, Michael Glover, senior vice president and deputy general counsel at Verizon, echoed Qwest's concerns, arguing that the restriction is "discriminatory on its face and would subject any carriers that are denied those benefits to a competitive disadvantage."
Glover contended that merger requirements should be limited to merger parties and that other matters should be addressed through separate rulemakings that fully involve potentially affected parties. Verizon did not participate in the review of the deal and has no position on it, he added.
In a joint statement accompanying the agency's Dec. 29 approval of the merger, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and Commissioner Deborah Tate, both Republicans, blamed the opposing party for the clause affecting other entities.
"The Democrat commissioners want to price regulate not only AT&T but also Verizon and Qwest," they stated, adding that the restriction is unnecessary and impacts parties unrelated to the transaction. Aides to both Democratic commissioners could not be reached for comment.
"Even when AT&T attempts to fulfill its merger commitment by filing the tariffs, the commission is not bound to approve these tariffs," the Republican regulators insisted. "We would oppose such discriminatory practices and would encourage such tariffs to be rejected."
But in separate statements, Democrats Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps said the special-access mandates would limit the ability of the merged AT&T to use its dominance over business customers in 22 states to hike rates. "Nowhere is the FCC's folly in deregulating without ensuring competition more apparent than in the special-access market," Copps wrote.
Adelstein added that in light of the Justice Department's decision not to impose any restrictions on the deal, "I believe it is imperative to adopt measures to protect against the loss of competition."
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E-Government
House Panel To Act On E-Voting Issues, Aide Predicts
by Michael Martinez
A Democratic House aide said on Friday that he expects the House Administration Committee to act on legislation addressing several high-profile e-voting issues this session.
At a forum hosted by the People for the American Way Foundation, House Administration elections counsel Thomas Hicks said the panel's new Democratic majority is likely to examine legislation to require that e-voting machines produce auditable, paper receipts. He said another key issue is the investigation of the source code of widely used e-voting machines.
E-voting has resurfaced as a hot issue largely because of a controversial election in Florida's 13th District last November. Republican Vern Buchanan defeated Democrat Christine Jennings in that race by just 369 votes. Citing e-voting glitches and an 18,000-vote discrepancy between her race and others on the ballot in Sarasota County, Jennings has sued for a new election.
Jennings also has contested the results before the House Administration Committee. The Democrats did not object to Buchanan being sworn in Thursday, and Hicks said the panel will not consider the matter until it has run its legal course in Florida. At that time, he said Chairwoman Juanita Millender-McDonald would assign two Democrats and one Republican to investigate.
Hicks said Millender-McDonald, a Californian, does not believe e-voting was given sufficient airtime by the committee last session. The panel held a hearing in September to examine the security of paperless e-voting machines, but some lawmakers, including New Jersey Democrat Rush Holt, were frustrated that it did not occur until shortly before Congress adjourned.
Jennings' legal battle also has spotlighted the debate over whether e-voting vendors should have to provide information about the source code of the machines. She sued to examine the code of the Election Systems & Software touch-screen machines used in her district, but that request was blocked in court last week. She already has appealed the ruling.
Hicks said House Administration also is likely to examine that issue. He said it would be sensible for a narrow group of experts to investigate machine codes in order to evaluate their security and reliability.
But he warned that prescribing legislation that would force state and local governments to make changes to their voting systems before the 2008 presidential election might be chaotic. He said it is important for Congress not to mandate deadlines that would force hasty decisions and cause even more potential problems.
"I don't want to create another $3 billion mistake," he said.
Kindra Muntz, the president of the Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections, said voters do not have time to waste, and Congress needs to affect immediate change. SAFE helped win support for a ballot initiative in Sarasota County to require e-voting machines to produce paper trails. That initiative was passed and appealed by former state Secretary of State Sue Cobb.
People for the American Way President Ralph Neas said after the panel discussion that he hopes for House action on an e-voting bill within five or six months and Senate action by August.
"Sarasota is a teachable moment," he said.
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Security
Senators Seek More Aid For Transportation Security
by Chris Strohm
A bipartisan group of senators is seeking more than $1 billion to bolster security for passenger railroad and bus systems, the trucking and freight industry, tunnels, and pipelines.
Newly minted Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, and ranking Republican Ted Stevens of Alaska are sponsoring a bill that will seek $1.2 billion over three years for transportation security improvements. Several provisions were included in the Senate's version of a maritime security bill last year but were removed before Congress finalized it.
"Our legislation represents a federal commitment to surface transportation security for our nation's railroads, trucks, buses and pipelines," Inouye said. "It identifies and addresses the numerous, lingering shortcomings that currently exist in these systems and provides the Transportation Security Administration with the necessary guidance needed to improve the protection of our essential transportation infrastructure."
The bill does not, however, address shortcomings in inner-city bus and subway systems.
It was not immediately clear if funding authorized in the bill would be supported by appropriators. But Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., has offered legislation in the past to fund rail and transit security. A spokesman for Byrd could not be reached for comment.
Some critics argue that putting more money into surface transportation security is wasteful and not the best counter-terrorism strategy.
"I think throwing federal money at infrastructure is a loser strategy. You can't childproof the United States," said James Carafano, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation. "You cannot protect all your vulnerabilities and that's not the best place to invest all your money. If you put all your money in trains, they blow up schoolyards."
Carafano said a better strategy is for the federal government to invest money in counter-terrorism programs that identify terrorists and stop attacks before they are fully hatched.
The new Democratic-controlled Congress is likely to struggle with how best to spend money to improve homeland security. "It's been more than five years since [the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks], and the government still hasn't done enough to prevent a disaster on our railroads," said Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J. "We cannot afford to delay."
The proposed bill would establish a new freight- and passenger-rail security grant program and a study on the feasibility of passenger and baggage screening. The bill also would require a program that encourages trucks carrying hazardous materials to be equipped with communications and tracking technology, and it would call for a feasibility study on developing a national response system for transportation communication alerts.
The bill also would authorize funding to upgrade Amtrak railroad tunnels in Baltimore, New York and Washington, including authorizing $400 million for improvements to the rail tunnels in the New York-New Jersey region.
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Security
Department Fine-Tunes Distribution Of Urban Grants
by Chris Strohm
Trying to avoid the congressional and public outrage that ensued last year, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on Friday announced that his department is fine-tuning how it will distribute almost $1.7 billion in grants to states and urban areas.
The department plans to award the grants this summer under five programs, the largest of which are the urban-area security initiative and the state homeland security grants.
The department faced heated congressional fire last year when it cut urban-area funding to the New York City and Washington regions by about 40 percent. In the months that followed, the department's chief of grants and training quit and officials reworked the grant process.
Chertoff acknowledged late last year that the department was too focused on "bean counting" and pledged to make changes.
"The bottom line is that this is not just about mathematics and getting a lot of statistics and doing a lot of mathematical operations," Chertoff said Friday. "It's about keeping sight of the big picture. And the big picture is worrying about how do we protect the most people from the greatest risks most of the time. This year's guidance, hopefully, provides greater transparency and better justification to the American people."
Under the revamped process, Homeland Security will work with grant applicants to fine-tune their requests for funding.
"By getting the grant guidance out early in the year," Chertoff said, "we're going to have the opportunity to work with communities, based on their submissions, to have a back-and-forth or a give-and-take ... so that they can maximize the use to which they put the funds that they may be receiving under these programs."
He said another change is that the highest-risk urban areas can use up to 25 percent of grants to cover personnel costs related to counter-terrorism activities. But like last year, grant applications will be reviewed by more than 100 national experts on homeland security drawn from federal agencies and state and local communities.
In total, the department plans to allocate about $750,000 under the urban-area program. That will be slightly more than last year and about $510,000 under the state security grants, which will be slightly less than last year.
The department also will allocate about $365,000 under the law enforcement terrorism prevention program; $32,000 under the metropolitan medical-response system; and $14,000 under the Citizen Corps program, which aims to prepare people for emergencies.
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Labor
NASA Workers Fight Layoffs, Seek Spaceship Aid
by Aliya Sternstein
National Aeronautics and Space Administration employees have asked congressional appropriators to adopt fiscal 2007 language forbidding layoffs at the agency and to grant sufficient funding for the next-generation manned spaceship.
The space agency had planned to cut up to 2,673 employees by the end of fiscal 2006, but senators proposed a moratorium on layoffs, said Lee Stone, a vice president for legislative affairs at NASA's largest union, the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers.
"Unless the fiscal 2007 appropriations language includes an explicit prohibition against reductions in force, it will be all too easy for management to fall back on the misguided policy of blaming its workforce for the woes created by an under-funded presidential mandate and of trying to lay off technical staff to make ends meet," he said.
The Dec. 22 letter was sent to new Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd, D-W.Va.; new House Appropriations Chairman David Obey, D-Wis.; Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md.; and Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-W.Va., as they prepare to finalize fiscal 2007 spending.
Stone said that non-managerial scientists and technicians would be the likely victims of any workforce trimming.
"We are talking about space scientists working on understanding our solar system and on finding other earth-like planets in other solar systems; earth scientists working on protecting our home planet from potentially disastrous climate change; human factors researchers working to make U.S. aviation safer and more efficient; and life scientists working to make the exploration promises made at headquarters about extended human presence on the moon and ultimately a manned Mars mission actually possible," he said.
The letter, signed by union President Gregory Junemann, also proposes that the Appropriations committees set the fiscal 2007 budget at least $305.9 million -- 1.9 percent -- higher than the fiscal 2006 level of $16.5 million to "continue a minimal, sustainable pace for the development of NASA's critically needed next-generation spacecraft."
In their proposal, the employees "acknowledge current fiscal realities," Junemann writes, adding that they will accept moderate science and aeronautics program cuts in order to sustain the president's goal of sending humans back to the moon and eventually Mars. "However, we oppose the president's proposed deeper cuts that would seriously hamper NASA's science and aeronautics programs, as well as harm its scientific and engineering capabilities."
Rejection of the requested increase in funding will lead to schedule slips for future launches, the letter added.
The renamed House Science and Technology Committee expects to hold budget review hearings on NASA's funds for the existing space shuttle, the next-generation spaceship and the International Space Station, committee spokeswoman Alisha Prather said.
The panel also plans to examine areas such as Federal Aviation Administration research and development and air-traffic control.
In terms of layoffs, Mikulski said, "I do not want any RIFs [reductions in force] at NASA this year or any other year."
NASA officials declined to comment on the budget until it is signed into law. NASA headquarters spokesman David Steitz said, "Regardless of budget deliberations, RIFs are not anticipated."
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Intellectual Property
Chamber Plans Multi-Pronged Anti-Piracy Campaign
by Andrew Noyes
A new U.S. Chamber of Commerce report details the business federation's plan to fight counterfeiting, piracy and intellectual property theft through a multimillion-dollar, multi-pronged campaign in 2007. The agenda received high marks from high-tech experts.
"This is a serious and dangerous problem that already costs the U.S. economy a quarter-of-a-trillion dollars a year," Chamber President and CEO Thomas Donohue said Friday at his group's annual "State of American Business" conference.
If the chamber has its way, its recently launched 225-member anti-piracy coalition will double in size in the coming year. Recruiting new associations and companies, as well as reaching out to unions and consumer groups, are among its top priorities, said Caroline Joiner, who directs the chamber's anti-counterfeiting and piracy efforts.
The three-million member organization also will expand the scope of its work with Brazilian and Chinese anti-piracy authorities, continue talks with the European Union, and build on an existing partnership with Mexico, the report said.
The chamber plans to conduct research domestically and abroad to measure the scope of IP infringement. Key studies include a U.S. consumer survey in targeted congressional districts and a study to measure piracy's effect on India's movie industry, known as Bollywood.
On the educational front, the chamber will sponsor "IP weeks" and road shows, and continue its lobbying blitz on Capitol Hill. In addition to its annual summit in Washington in October, the group will host a March global conference in Beijing on intellectual property and innovation.
Patent reform remains a key issue in 2007. The group will organize and lead a new coalition to build a consensus for addressing concerns across industries, the report said. Legislative action in the 109th Congress fizzled due to unworkable differences among stakeholders.
Keith Kupferschmid, vice president of intellectual property policy and enforcement for the Software and Information Industry Association, said he was heartened that the chamber "is shining a very bright light on some of these very important issues."
He said 2006 was a "building block" year as the chamber and its partners devoted more time and resources to IP issues. But in 2007, Kupferschmid envisions the group being "more proactive" with "their programs [getting] more involved."
On the patent front, Kupferschmid is skeptical of whether the chamber's new coalition could do much more than already has been done to bring together opposing factions. "We've yet to break the stalemate on patent reform," he said, "but we welcome anybody's bringing together of interested parties if there's a chance we might get it passed."
The inclusion of patent reform in the report is "a sign that more and more businesses are facing an increased glut of frivolous patent lawsuits that are having a negative impact on innovation," Business Software Alliance spokeswoman Diane Smiroldo said.
The topic is quickly becoming "more than just a technology industry issue," she said. "Given this expanded business community support, we expect 2007 will bring significant progress in modernizing our nation's patent laws."
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On The Hill
Flurry Of Tech Bills Filed On Congress' First Day
by Brittany R. Ballenstedt
Lawmakers introduced several technology-related measures upon their return to Washington this week, confirming a renewed interest in tech issues at the start of the 110th Congress.
As Congress convened Thursday, the newly seated House Democratic majority moved rapidly to approve new rules that they say will make the House more ethical by distancing members from the influence of lobbyists.
The House voted 430-1 on the measure, H. Res. 6, which would ban members from accepting gifts or travel from lobbyists, require approval by the Ethics Committee for any privately funded travel, prohibit member use of corporate jets, and mandate ethics training for staff.
Four noteworthy Senate bills were introduced on the tax front: S. 156, which would make permanent a ban on Internet access taxes that is set to expire Nov. 1; S. 140 and S. 170, which would repeal a federal excise tax on consumers who receive only local telephone service; and S. 166, which would place a three-year ban on discriminatory taxes on cell phone services.
On the pornography front, legislation numbered S. 49 aims to prevent the carriage of child porn by video providers, to protect children from online predators, and to restrict the sale or purchase of children's personal information in interstate commerce.
Other tech-related measures introduced this week, separated by category, are:
Campaigns
-- H.R. 71 would repeal the requirements for people making expenditures for electioneering communications to file reports with the Federal Election Commission.
Cyber Security
-- S. 92 would prohibit the unlawful acquisition of customer network information.
Education
-- H.R. 36 would encourage teachers to pursue mathematics and science subjects; H.R. 37 would encourage businesses to improve math and science education; and H.R. 38 aims to improve the math and science readiness of disadvantaged children.
-- H.R. 102 aims to expand scientific and tech education capabilities at two-year colleges.
-- H.R. 112 would authorize aid to veterans who pursue doctorates in science or technology.
-- And H.R. 200 seeks to encourage schools to use computer hardware to prepare students for the 21st-century workplace.
Environment
-- H.R. 233 would promote the recycling of used computers.
-- And S. 129 would promote the use of energy-efficient computer servers.
Intellectual Property
-- H.R. 34 would encourage district judges to enhance their expertise on patent cases.
Security
-- H.R. 11 seeks to ensure that domestic electronic spying is conducted under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
-- S. 139 would accelerate the Supreme Court's review of a Bush administration program that allows electronic surveillance without warrants.
-- S. 187 would provide sufficient resources to permit electronic surveillance of U.S. citizens for foreign intelligence purposes.
-- H.R. 130 would authorize grants to emergency responders, and S. 74 aims to ensure high-threat areas have adequate funding.
-- H.R. 98 targets illegal aliens by proposing an employment eligibility database and improvements to Social Security cards.
-- S. 9 calls for more effective border and employment enforcement.
-- S. 83 aims to improve rail transportation security, while S. 184 aims to improve rail and surface transportation security.
-- And S. 136 aims to expand the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium to include the Transportation Technology Center.
Telecom
-- H.R. 42 would expand the lifeline assistance program.
-- H.R. 211 would establish nationwide availability of the 211 telephone service for information and referral on health and human services.
-- S. 93 aims to upgrade the 911 system used to reach operators in an emergencies.
-- And S. 101 aims to protect rural phone service by updating the universal service program.
Television
-- S. 124 seeks to help certain counties receive the television broadcast signals of their choice.
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Today's Feature:
Executive Summary
House lawmakers started cleaning their own house this week by casting votes on ethics reform hours after a swearing-in ceremony elevated Democrats to control of the chamber.
Every Friday, read the Executive Summary by K. Daniel Glover
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E-briefs
White House: President Bush announced Friday that he will nominate John Negroponte for deputy secretary of State and Mike McConnell to replace Negroponte as director of national intelligence. At one time Negroponte also held the position of deputy national security adviser to President Ronald Reagan. "John Negroponte's broad experience, sound judgment and expertise on Iraq and in the war on terror make him a superb choice as deputy secretary of state, and I look forward to working with him in this new post," Bush said Friday. McConnell is currently a senior vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton and previously served as director of the National Security Agency during the 1990s. Bush said McConnell "has the experience, the intellect and the character" for success as director of national intelligence.
On The Hill: The rules package for the 110th Congress that the House passed Thursday changes the name of the Science Committee to the Science and Technology Committee. According to a panel release, the name change "brings the committee back to its roots to more accurately reflect its broad jurisdiction in the areas of science, research and technology." Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., is the new chairman, and a new Web site has been unveiled. The committee plans to focus on ensuring adequate federal support for basic research, labor competition and security, among other issues. To reflect their political philosophy, majority Democrats also changed the names of other panels, including Education and the Workforce to Education and Labor, and Government Reform to Oversight and Government Reform.
Cyber Security: Energy Secretary Sam Bodman has fired the administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration after repeated cyber-security breaches at the agency under his control. At congressional hearings last year, lawmakers learned of a 2004 incident where a hacker stole personal data on 1,500 people. An inspector general report in September said little had been done to fix the problem. But the latest incident in October, may have led to the request for the resignation of administrator Linton Brooks. During a drug raid, police found computer flash drives holding classified information in the home of a former Los Alamos National Laboratory employee. In a statement, Brooks acknowledged that he was asked to leave over management issues and said it was "not the decision he would have preferred." Congress created the agency in 2000 in part to deal with security lapses at the department.
Intellectual Property: Patent and Trademark Office Director Jon Dudas told high-tech leaders and reporters in Seattle on Friday that intellectual property is "growing in importance to the local economy" in and around the city, which is home to a number of technology firms. Seattle also is ranked sixth in the nation for biotechnology industry concentration, he said. "The residents of Washington realize the importance of intellectual property protection as evidenced by the more than 10,000 patent applications they filed in the past year," Dudas added via teleconference. IP issues in the state have made headlines lately. His speech came weeks after the Washington Research Foundation filed a lawsuit in a Seattle federal court against Matsushita Electric Industrial, Samsung and Nokia, alleging that the companies infringed on patents for Bluetooth technology. The complaint cites four issued patents and two pending applications, and seeks an injunction and unspecified damages.
Intellectual Property: A federal judge in Wisconsin last week dismissed a patent suit filed by HyperPhrase Technologies against Google over its search tools. Red Herring reports that U.S. District Judge John Shabaz ruled that Google's AdSense and AutoLink features do not violate patents that HyperPhrase holds for tools that retrieve and store medical information. Shabaz rejected HyperPhrase's claim that AdSense infringed upon a patent that specifies records that reference each other. "Considering the AdSense product, there are two records involved in the process: the Web page and the advertisement," Shabaz said. "However, to suggest that either of these records 'refers' to the other is nonsense. ... The AdSense product describes an entirely different process, which achieves an entirely different result in an entirely different way."
Courts: A new Web site called FedCirc.us aims to make life easier on patent experts, lawyers and others who track patent decisions from the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. The online destination, created by practicing patent attorneys, offers concise summaries of case reviews; case data, including citation information and links to download opinions; and practice alerts for hot-button issues. FedCirc.us co-founder Matt Buchanan, who writes the Promote the Progress Web log said the new site is "just the beginning." FedCirc.us is "merely the leading edge of the most ambitious and significant project yet," Buchanan said. His collaborators are Stephen Nipper of the Invent Blog and Doug Sorocco of Phosita, an intellectual property blog.
Business: Recently released research on the electronic marketing practices of law firms shows that about 20 percent have Web logs and more than 37 percent plan to increase their spending on the medium as a promotional vehicle. The report, written by Primary Research Group, was based on a survey of 46 firms. Close to 60 percent of firms polled have e-newsletters, and almost 58 percent use opt-in e-mail marketing to promote their practices. Only 12.5 percent said they paid for search-engine placement, but 32 percent said they are "likely" or "very likely" to take that route within the next two years. Meanwhile, audio downloads known as podcasts have not caught on. Less than 3 percent of firms polled had used a podcast to promote themselves.
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Editor in Chief -- Louis Peck, 202-739-8481
Editor -- K. Daniel Glover (bio)
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Senior Writers -- David Hatch (bio), Heather Greenfield (bio), Andrew Noyes (bio) and Aliya Sternstein (bio)
Special Correspondent -- Chris Strohm (bio)
Staff Writer -- Michael Martinez
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