This Week in Online Evidence – July 1st 2011
Highlight: Google launches Google+, a new social networking site
Our highlight this week is the introduction of Google+, the new social network from Google. The social networking tool is currently in beta, or as Google is terming it “a field testing phase”, but there are already a large number of active users and the service is generating significant interest online. Although this is not Google’s first attempt to enter the social networking market the high demand for invites to the beta is a promising start and suggests that Google may recover from recent lacklustre products such as Google Buzz and Google Wave.
Google already have a loyal user base including those who use Google search, Gmail, Docs, Picasa, Maps etc. Although it will be difficult for Google to compete with established networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn there are some novel features in Google+ which will attract users. Here at Cernam we will be tracking Google+ closely since it has the potential to become a very important source of online evidence, potentially mirroring the importance of Facebook data in litigation and corporate investigations.
This Week in Online Evidence – February 25th 2011
Highlight: Google Cloud Connect
This week Google launched Google Cloud Connect for Microsoft Office. Cloud Connect is a free plugin for Microsoft Office which enables users to seamlessly collaborate on Word, Excel or Powerpoint files via Google Docs. Two or more people can work together on the same file in real time with Cloud Connect immediately sharing any edits and handling overlapping edits. The tool works by syncing the Microsoft Office documents with Google Docs and by adding a document sharing toolbar to Microsoft Office.
Cloud Connect represents a major advance in offline access for Google Docs and will encourage greater collaborative use of Google Docs since users will no longer need to leave their familiar Microsoft applications. For a more detailed overview of Cloud Connect see Google’s video below or take a look at Amir Efrati’s article in the Wall Street Journal or Klint Finley’s post at ReadWriteWeb.
Social Network Data in Litigation: Part 2
In part 1 of this series, we introduced you to some cases dealing with social networking information as discoverable evidence. We are constantly finding cases which deal with insurance claims, contract disputes and employment issues. However, we are also consistently finding different outcomes in these cases.
In this post, we will introduce you to a few more of these important cases.
McCann v. Harleysville Insurance Co., CA 10-00612, slip op. (N.Y.A.D. 4th Dept. Nov. 12, 2010)
Similar to McMillen v. Hummingbird Speedway, Inc. (2010), McCann sought damages for injuries sustained when her vehicle collided with a vehicle insured by Harleysville Insurance Co. The defendant requested disclosure of photographs on the plaintiffs Facebook profile stating that the photographs would provide information as to whether or not the plaintiff was seriously injured in the accident.
