The good news is that many of these companies have dramatically reduced their debt, so perhaps now they can make rational, long-term business decisions. Hopefully they won’t be stupid enough to erect pay walls on their content, and focus instead on finding new sources of revenue from things like the iPad and other tablets where they can charge for the convenience of delivery, rather than charging for online access to their content.

Google has already had a dud with Google Buzz, and it seems clear that they don’t understand the concept of social networking. They understand math and algorithms, but they seem to have little understanding of how humans interact with one another. They seem to avoid human input at all costs, always trying to solve problems with an algorithm.

We’ve seen this with some of the heavy-handed tactics used by Google with users of services like Google Adsense. If Google perceives a problem with an account, that account is shut down automatically, and the user is forced to endure a bureaucratic as they implore Google to restore their account.

If Google wants to compete in the social network space, they will need a team that understands this very different environment.

Meanwhile, Facebook is reportedly on “lockdown” as Zuckerberg rallies his team to deal with the coming threat.

Now more details are coming out, including the identity of the woman behind the sexual harassment allegations that got the whole thing moving. Jodie Fisher has worked as an actress, so The Business Insider found photos of her on IMDb. As Henry Blodget points out, why was their an allegation of harassment is she isn’t alleging they had sex?

I suspect we’ll be hearing much more about this attractive blonde and the events that led to Hurd’s ouster.

Henry Blodget is a man who will be neither easily riled nor insulted. When, in March, he learned that a blog had labeled a section of The Business Insider, the gossipy financial website he founded three years ago, “The Hooters of the Internet,” Blodget waited a couple hours before tweeting: “The Hooters of the Internet. I like that.” In May, Blodget predicted on his website that within just a few years, The Huffington Post will take in over $100 million in advertising revenue—more than triple the $30 million the site says it will bring in in 2010—and that by 2015 or so, it would be generating more from advertising than The New York Times. In an endnote, he disclosed that Kenneth Lerer, a co-founder of The Huffington Post, is also an investor in The Business Insider, or TBI as it is known by its readers. “Thank you for the disclosure,” someone called The Truth typed in the piece’s comments section. “Unfortunately, it invalidates everything you write. You’re a mouthpiece.” It took Blodget less than a minute to post his response: “Thank you!,” he wrote, like a fraternity pledge embracing his hazing.

Blodget was busted back then by then-New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who has since had his own problems. Spitzer now has a TV show premiering soon on CNN, so it looks like everyone can get a second chance.

The Business Insider, along with niche areas like Silicon Alley Insider, is an excellent online magazine and news resource, so Blodget appears to be on his way.

I agree that HuffPo will keep growing as well, though at some point they might want to scale back those ridiculous and often misleading headlines.

Who knows how much of this particular story is true, but many of us have suspected for a long time that Digg is rigged, and large sites can goose the results, along with certain powerful (or well-connected) users. The question is to what extent is Digg a part of or privy to the rigging process? And, do they turn a blind eye when it comes to friends, allies and sponsors? I wonder . . . .

HuffPo has a cool story about a new niche dating site – You and Me Are Pure. As the article points out, there are all sorts of online dating sites out there covering all sorts of niches, from dating based on ethnicity to things like fitness buffs, cougars and bikers.

The aim of the site, the creators explain, is “to use virginity as a significant compatibility tool to bring people together. Some people may overlook the bonding power of virginity. Virginity as an important common aspect between people can lead to close friendships, or can even serve as a mutual precious gift of marriage.”

The founders of the website, Lety and Jose Colin, explain that they were virgins until they were wed.

We have to admit we’re impressed. With all the niche dating sites out there, they may have found the most exclusive one of all!

Photoshopped photos are a problem everywhere. It’s ruining the glamour business, and we’ve seen it have a big impact in the fashion world.

Now we have a respected magazine photoshopping out a person in a photo in order to make a broad point about a story. But the real photo doesn’t really match the point, so they alter it. Wow.

At the moment, Americans who shop over the Internet from out-of-state vendors usually aren’t required to pay sales taxes. Californians buying books from Amazon.com or cameras from Manhattan’s B&H Photo, for example, won’t be required to cough up the sales taxes that they would if shopping at a local mall.

This is hardly a new debate: pro-tax officials and state governments have been pressing Congress to require taxes to be collected for a decade or so. They argue that reduced sales tax revenue threatens budgets for schools and police, and say that, as a matter of fairness, online retailers should be forced to collect the same taxes that brick-and-mortar retailers do.

But with states scrambling for new sources of revenue during what may be a double-dip recession, pro-tax lobbyists are hoping that they’ll have better luck this year. The National Conference of State Legislatures applauded Delahunt’s legislation, saying he should be commended for allowing states to collect as much as $23 billion in new taxes.

So did the Retail Industry Leaders Association, whose tax committee members include Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Costco, AutoZone, Target, and IKEA.

On the other side are groups that advocate for lower taxes and retailers including Amazon.com and eBay. In a statement on Friday, Tod Cohen, eBay’s vice president for government relations said: “At a time when unemployment rates are high and small businesses across the country are closing shop, we are confident that Congress will protect small Internet retailers and the consumers they serve from another Internet tax scheme.”

The absence of a tax online has been very helpful in the growth of the Internet and online sales. It makes thing much easier for small sellers as well, so any change would need to be carefully examined.

That said, online sales are now huge, and it does hurt revenues for state governments.

If they move forward, the key would be to craft a system that has one standard for all states, so every online retailer isn’t subject to 50 different state regulations. That alone would kill many online businesses.

Perhaps they should have a single national rate, like 5%, and the states get money based upon the location of the purchaser for each transaction. Retailers would simply collect the tax and then report transactions and the locations of the buyer.

The Obama administration gave a major boost to the wireless industry Monday by announcing plans to make available for commercial use a huge swath of spectrum.

Obama signed a presidential memorandum directing the federal government and private companies to identify unused airwaves that could be auctioned off, or at least shared, to expand mobile broadband for consumers over the next decade. The goal is to free up some 500 megahertz — almost double the current amount of spectrum available for commercial use — by reallocating airwaves now operated by companies, broadcasters and government agencies.

This is welcome news to those of us who believe that the wireless industries provides one of the largest areas of potential economic growth over the next 10 years.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs poses with the new iPhone 4 during the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. The new features are quite impressive as Apple builds upon the momentum from the iPad.

Meanwhile, many app developers are worried as AT&T will no longer be offering unlimited data plans. I can see the concern, as users don’t want to worry about what they are consuming. The beauty of many apps is that they are free, or they are so cheap that the decision to purchase is insignificant. This may upset the balance, no matter how good the iPhone gets.