The Whois Database that gives everyone access to domain name owner's contact information might be scrapped if an agreement can't be worked out.

Per Yahoo, the participants at ICANN are at an impasse on how to change the level of privacy for the public system, and may resort to chucking it all.

Whois is an important resource that is sometimes abused by marketers. But it is the public record that is vital for businesses to find out how to contact potential partners or at least parties of interest (and not to mention a law enforcement tool).

While the Internet can be a very private place, there are also standards that make it more of a challenge to remain anonymous. Yes, you can spoof email addresses or fake your IP, but for most folks it is too much of a hassle, and that seems to have worked out well.

By running a website you are putting out your virtual shingle out, so is it too much to ask to register some basic contact info? Isn't the risk of allowing people to misuse a public forum (similar to the airwaves) with libelous content or hate speech or child pornography greater than requiring some public disclosure? The FCC requires disclosure on who develops radio and TV stations, so shouldn't the Net be the same?

MyLifeBrand announced a "major upgrade" to its social networking aggregate sites, which is pretty impressive considering it is only now a beta release.

The site lets you pull data from the usual suspects (MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn) so that you can see all of your latest updates in once place. The site also added blogging tools , a search tool across networks (now that's useful!) and will soon come out with its own widget technology for sharing apps.

So with Google's social play, a social browser, and widgets galore, we now have hit maximum social networking density. This reminds me of the overdose of reality shows that culminated with has-beens competing against each other while sharing a house. The genre has officially been beaten to death!

The takeaway is that social networking functions are here to stay, and innovations will continue as the big players integrate community into their websites. But the real money to be made for startups from VCs and larger corporate buyers is now behind us. The movement in the future will be in the development and deployment of ad models (think targeting) that are needed to support all of this UGC.

TechCrunch has the skinny on Google's plans to outdo Facebook and MySpace by integrating social networking services across all of its platforms.

While it's going to be a long haul for Google to make its Orkut social networking competitive with the other platforms, as Forbes points out, iGoogle might be the real centerpiece of its social strategy.

If you put YouTube videos and "people updates" on iGoogle in combination with email and GoogleReader news feeds, why would you need another networking site? While younger audiences tend to shift loyalties quickly, the attrition rate from MySpace and Facebook users to Google will be slow, and there will likely be many folks who use both services.

Google could accelerate is social domination by buying LinkedIn and it's 15 million users. Google would quickly own social users who are more work than play, and that's a demographic that advertisers also like. Watch for that to happen soon.

In the long term, social networking isn't something you'll go to, it will be part of your most everyday tasks, and that sounds a lot like Google today.

Skype and U.K. telco's announcement of the Skype Phone is bad news for the telecommunications industry -- if it can succeed. Being able to make free mobile to mobile calls is intriguing to customers, but generating sufficient revenue from VOIP wireless won't be easy.

The Skype Phone is free for Skype to Skype calls in an effort to boost users who also use the phone for pay calls. The telcos get the benefit of any pay-for calls, but that may not be enough to subsidize the free calls. eBay/Skype hopefully has some interesting ad-based services in its back pocket. Once the phone is introduced in the U.S. eBay could make buying or bidding for goods online free.

According to Ovum analyst John Delaney:

We think 3 might have something of a hit with the Skype Phone – albeit within a niche, unless (1) it expands the range of handsets available and (2) it makes Skype In/Out available – at present only Skype-to-Skype is supported. The package is attractive, and the cost of acquiring it is low."

The Google Phone is likely to find a good advertising/search mix to finance free or low cost mobile phone services. (Hello CallSense?)

There will likely be a very chaotic time ahead in the next few years as the wireless applecart gets upset by these new services. Revenues will take a hit as new players will endure losses as they try out new models.