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The news that FTC has ruled in favor of the $3.1-billion Google-DoubleClick mega-merger continued to reverberate throughout the Internet today. Here are some of the more interesting articles we found that went beyond the simple details of the business transaction:

Tameka Kee, writing in MediaPost’s Online Media Daily, claims that most Internet industry executives are viewing the impending merger as a positive development.

Instead, several industry executives said the deal would actually drive innovation and increase the opportunities for all companies involved. “We’re not scared. Google’s technology has helped the online ad industry grow to reach something like $27 billion annually, and with the DoubleClick deal it will help grow the [ad-serving] industry,” said Rajiv Khaneja, president and CEO of Sparklit, a Canadian company that offers Web hosting, content management and ad-serving services. “The DoubleClick deal will also help grow the industry, and when the industry gets bigger, everyone benefits.”

“The FTC did throw a bone to those worried about privacy,” wrote ZDNet blogger Larry Dignan in today’s column. “In a separate statement, the FTC pitched self-regulatory principles on privacy to quell any emerging consumer worries. This statement reads like a discussion point more than any hard position. The FTC does propose transparency and consumer control, reasonable security for consumer data with limited retention and affirmative express consent in privacy policy changes. Those issues are great talking points, but not much more than that.”

And finally, with news of the DoubleClick-Google team-up also comes news (from the Hollywood Reporter) that Viacom is dumping Double-Click as its advertising partner — and signing a new contract with Microsoft. “Under terms of the deal,” writes Alex Woodson in the article, “Microsoft’s Atlas division will serve ads for Viacom’s Web properties, which number around 300 and include the sites for MTV, VH1, Comedy Central and those channels’ programs. The software company will also have the exclusive right to sell remnant display ad inventory for Viacom’s Web sites.” Could this sudden shift have anything to do with the fact that Viacom currently has a lawsuit filed against Google and YouTube? That would seem to be the smart answer.