Money makes the world turn 'round ...

MediaPost Publications - Comcast Wants To Lead Interactive Ad Charge - 05/31/2007

COMCAST'S TOP EXECUTIVE BELIEVES IT'S "imperative" the cable operator give advertisers a user-friendly way to beam targeted messages into millions of homes within the next several years. The same philosophy applies to interactive ads, in which a viewer could potentially engage in impulse e-commerce.



"The money is humongous--and real cash," Comcast chairman-CEO Brian Roberts said Wednesday at an investor conference.



That calculus would appear to come from advertisers' increased interest in employing Internet-style targeted ad techniques on linear TV--and the massive amount of ad time Comcast has to sell via the two minutes an hour per channel that it retains for itself.

Make the logo bigger ...

NBC Buys Half-Screen Ads from Hollywood Reporter @ Media Buyer Planner

The ad is fully customizable and can be segmented along the page to include multiple video clips, blogs, and redirects for more information, all in one unit. It is the only ad that will appear on the page alongside the content and runs the full screen, ensuring it is viewed for the entire duration of the reader’s session which, according to the Hollywood Reporter, can last several minutes.

The 50/50 is slated to roll out to other Nielsen Business Media properties later this summer, including Billboard, Adweek, Brandweek and Mediaweek.

The NBC ad can be viewed here.

YouTube on your Apple TV ...

Apple says YouTube coming to Apple TV - Yahoo! News

Apple Inc. said Wednesday it will soon introduce the ability for Apple TV users to access the popular YouTube service on their living room televisions through its video-streaming set-top-box.



Beginning in mid-June, users of the Apple TV device will be able to wirelessly stream videos directly from YouTube. The feature will help address what some observers have said was a shortcoming of Apple TV.

Latest video metrics ...

The Next Net

Site Unique Visitors Year-over-year (April 2007) growth

Tier I

1. YouTube              46,436         271%

2. Google Video        17,372         139%

3. vids.myspace.com 14,856        66%

4. Yahoo! Video        14,531        453%

5. MSN Video           13,218          39%

6. AOL Video            13,150         NA



Tier II

7. Metacafe               3,903         131%

8. Break.com             2,906            3%

9. iFILM                    2,003           -18%

10. Veoh                   1,530            NA

11. Addicting Clips       1,226            2%

12. Heavy.com           1,135 -44%

Online video goes 1-to-1

IBM Ads Launch In-Banner Video Chat @ Media Buyer Planner

Two new IBM banner ads running on B2B sites, inviting visitors to connect directly with an IBM "concierge" to discuss the Express Advantage product suite, reports ClickZ (via MarketingVOX). Visitors can launch a chat session within the ad unit, without leaving the page. Using video, VoIP and text chat technology, the LiveBanner ads are an AVivocom product. The IBM chat ad units will appear on various B2B sites, including Inc.com, Entrepreneur.com, and some "non-traditional environments" in eight U.S. cities.



A demo video of a European version of the LiveBanner is available here.

Get jaxtr | Login

Operating system for the social Internet?

MySpace v. Facebook: “It’s Not A Decision. It’s an IQ Test”

Facebook’s timing is perfect. They just released an API that gives third party developers deep access to Facebook functionality and it’s 20 million users. Not only can these third party startups get a widget placed on people’s Facebook profiles, but they can also get viral distribution through users’ news feeds and access core Facebook features. Using the tools that Facebook made available, developers could build new versions of some of Facebook’s own applications, like Facebook Photos. Users can then remove those default applications and add the new ones. Like Microsoft with Windows, Facebook is now competing with application developers on its own platform.



Read the rest on Techcrunch here.

Strange ... (another new video site, Qoob)

QOOB - VIDEO - PAINT BALLING

Rival armies, guns ready to fire, camouflage vests, helicopters. Then explosions, ambushes, splatters everywhere. The most colourful game in the world goes awol.

Inside AdSense: AdSense coming to a video near you
We know there's a lot going on in the world of video, and you may be wondering how this relates to other video initiatives we've announced in AdSense. Here's a brief clarification:

* Click-to-play video ads: This is a video ad type on our content network. Any publisher opted into image ads and using one of the supported formats may see these click-to-play video ads on their sites.

* AdSense video distribution and sponsorship: We ran 2 pilots that allowed publishers to choose video channels (short-form video clips bundled with video ads) to display on their sites.

* AdSense for Video pilot: This is what we're announcing today - we're extending AdSense to online video content. Publishers in this test will be able to define at what point in their videos that streaming video ads will appear.

- More info here

Facebook is growing up ...

Facebook becomes hub for outside software makers | Technology | Internet | Reuters

Facebook.com on Thursday took the wraps off its highly anticipated makeover from a members-only club into what it hopes can allow it to become a software operating system for all sorts of Internet media.

The college student social networking site, which opened up to users of all ages over the past year, said it has signed up 65 partners, including Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc., to build Web applications within Facebook.

Other companies building services within Facebook include photo-sharing site Photobucket, multimedia presentation site Slide, music discovery site iLike, new-style instant messaging site Twitter.com and Web-calling companies Jajah and Jaxtr.

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Need to check this out ...

MediaPost Publications - Greenlight's Sponsored Mobile Ads Doing Well - 05/24/2007

MOBILE AD PROVIDER GREENLIGHT WIRELESS Corp. said its new three-week-old sponsored listings service has seen a daily click-through rate (CTR) for the publisher-created copy ranging from 1.0% to 3.1% daily.

TweetVolume : Home

In Scott Johnson's inimitable words, "for anyone who gives a flying handshake about Twitter." Type in five random words to see an instant bar chart of how often they appear on Twitter.

Report: Google buying FeedBurner for $100 million | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

TechCrunch is reporting that Google is about to close a deal to acquire RSS management firm FeedBurner for $100 million in cash. The report cites a "source close to the deal." The transaction is expected to close in two to three weeks, TechCrunch says. FeedBurner was founded in 2003 and has raised about $10 million in venture capital funding. FeedBurner allows blog owners to manage their RSS feeds and track usage of their subscribers. A Google spokeswoman said the company does not comment on rumors or speculation. Representatives at FeedBurner did not return calls seeking comment.

Another small step forward ...

Google testing in-stream video ads on publisher sites | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

Google is running a limited test that will allow select advertisers to run video ads inside of video clips on some U.S. publisher Web sites in Google's AdSense program. Under the AdSense for Video test, which began on Wednesday, revenue will be split between the Web site publisher and Google. Details were not disclosed. Advertisements will play on the publishers' Flash players and not on YouTube or Google hosted videos. Publishers can select which videos to monetize and track the performance of the ads, as well as choose where the ads will appear within the video. Ads will be 30 seconds or shorter and can be made skippable.

Google ran two pilot tests previously that allowed publishers to choose video clips with bundled ads to display on their sites as part of an AdSense video distribution and sponsorship that involved Epicurious.com, The Wall Street Journal and Conde Nast LX Networks. Google also offers click-to-play video ads to its AdSense publisher network.

Fun with your Webcam

Phozi: Bringing a Photo Booth Experience to MySpace

Phozi hosted photos that can be displayed on MySpace and all the usual social networking and blogging services. Photos can be uploaded directly or can be taken via Webcam or Mobile Phone.

Phozi differs in what if offers in terms of editing the uploaded image. Phozi offers a variety of tools to customize each image. Users can add borders, stamps and free form text to an image, which from accounts is similar in functionality to a Japanese photo booth.

It’s not without competitors. Cameroid offers similar online functionality and WebCamGreetings offers it through software with a web cam focus.

Not yet ... but we're getting very close ...

International Herald Tribune

Worlds in collusion: Web and TV merge - International Herald Tribune

The long-predicted convergence of the Internet and the broadcast world is finally accelerating as video-sharing Web sites are nurturing a snacklike world of shorts that cannot be found on traditional television networks that serve up 30-minute meals.

When you know you can't beat 'em ... Apropriate!!!

 


HBO gives "Conchords" the viral treatment - Yahoo! News

For the first time, HBO has used the Internet not only to debut an upcoming TV series but also to allow viewers to spread its pilot episode virally across the Web.

Neutrogena Webisodes, Contest Get Women to De-Stress

Neutrogena is giving young women a forum to share tips on how they deal with stress with a Web series and a contest that awards a posh trip to the Bahamas.

The online reality show, “OneLessStress,” follows three 20-something women as they compete in seven New York City-based stress-related challenges. They include time management, diet, career, relationships, organization, money management and beauty and grooming.

The Webisodes, sponsored by Neutrogena and its Oil-Free Acne Stress Control, are available at OneLessStress.com. Actress Hayden Panettiere of NBC’s “Heroes” hosts the series, which run through August. Each episode will feature tips from experts specific to the online challenges.

BBC NEWS | Web 2.0 'distracts good design'
Hype about Web 2.0 is making web firms neglect the basics of good design, web usability guru Jakob Nielsen has said.

He warned that the rush to make webpages more dynamic often meant users were badly served. He said sites peppered with personalisation tools were in danger of resembling the "glossy but useless" sites at the height of the dotcom boom.

Skype joins Wal-Mart's Internet marketplace - Yahoo! News

Handsets, webcams and other gear from Skype, a pioneer in PC-to-PC calling, will be sold in more than 1,800 Wal-Mart stores starting Monday.

The Wal-Mart partnership is the latest sign that Skype has arrived on Main Street, says Don Albert, vice president of Skype's North American operations.

"This brings Internet communications to the masses," he says. "This relationship is an acknowledgment that Skype has arrived in the mainstream."

Skype will show up at Wal-Mart with its own discount offer: a prepaid calling card.

- Read the AP story on MSNBC here

Where have all the viewers gone? - CNN.com

"In TV's worst spring in recent memory, a startling number of Americans drifted away from television the past two months: More than 2.5 million fewer people were watching ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox than at the same time last year, statistics show.

Everyone has a theory to explain the plummeting ratings: early Daylight Savings Time, more reruns, bad shows, more shows being recorded or downloaded or streamed.

Scariest of all for the networks, however, is the idea that many people are now making their own television schedules. The industry isn't fully equipped to keep track of them, and as a result the networks are scrambling to hold on to the nearly $8.8 billion they collected during last spring's ad-buying season.

"This may be the spring where we see a radical shift in the way the culture thinks of watching TV," said Sarah Bunting, co-founder of the Web site Television Without Pity.

Association of National Advertisers, Inc.

In this white paper, Bob Liodice (CEO of the ANA) forecasts the ten ways that marketing will be transformed in 2007.

MediaPost Publications - Video Ads Generate Highest European Click-Throughs; Overall Rates Down - 05/11/2007

ACCORDING TO AN ANALYSIS BY ADTECH AG, video ads generate the highest click-through rates in Europe, amidst declining click-through rates overall. The Frankfurt, Germany-based ad distributor said the current click-through rate of 0.18% is the lowest in the three years it has been analyzing the banner ads it's served.

Down from 0.22% this past December, and 0.27% in June 2005, the decreasing numbers show that consumers "have increasingly gotten used to online advertising," said Dirk Freytag, CEO, ADTECH. "You have to be interesting and reach them with new formats, such as video ads."

On average, video ads received a relatively high percentage of clicks--almost 5%--while new large-format ad spaces such as Skyscrapers and Leaderboards came in at 0.11% and 0.12%, respectively.

In past years, marketers and industry analysts alike have acknowledged that average banner ad click-through rates in the U.S. have fallen far below their peak of 3%, and this data marks the same trend in Europe. It also reinforces the overall industry shift toward moving beyond the click-through rate as the most important ad performance metric.

Widgets 101 ...

World Wide Web of Widgets

The web has seen an explosion in the use of widgets over the past year or so. So let's explore what a widget is and its uses. Note that in this post, we're discussing Web-based widgets only, rather than desktop widgets such as those provided by Yahoo Widgets or Microsoft's Vista widgets.

A New Breed of Branded Entertainment

Maurice Lévy, chairman and chief executive of Publicis Groupe (PUB); David Droga, creative chairman of New York City-based creative shop Droga5; and David Kenny, CEO of Digitas (both subsidiary companies of Publicis); were out West to talk up the launch of Honeyshed, a new Web site aimed specifically at providing only branded content. And though official word said that Microsoft wasn't doing anything but acting as host for the announcement, it's unlikely that its interest in the proposal is merely an act of selfless generosity.

<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://embed.break.com/Mjg2OTAz"></param><embed src="http://embed.break.com/Mjg2OTAz" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br><font size=1><a href="http://www.break.com/index/the-war-in-iraq-a-soldiers-perspective.html">The War In Iraq: A Soldiers Perspective</a> - Brought to you by <a href="http://www.break.com/">Break.com Video Search</a></font>

MediaPost Publications - Ripple Effect: Retailers Get Digital Video Ads - 05/07/2007

A new company, RIPPLE, is poised to help businesses large and small create their own digital place-based video displays to promote inventory and drive traffic. The expansion of the new service, announced today, promises to democratize place-based video advertising, a medium long dominated by large video networks in cooperation with national retail chains.

In effect, local stores will be able to advertise in other local stores using neighborhood networks. The network may also prove useful to national advertisers looking for local access.

Ripple has already established video displays at 400 locations throughout Southern California, Arizona, Nevada and Hawaii. The network's co-founder and president, Ali Diab, says it reaches an estimated 10 million consumers a month and hopes to expand the network to thousands of locations nationally by the end of 2007.

Avenue A/Razorfish Measures Rich Internet Applications

Rich Internet applications appear on the Internet with increasing regularity, yet publishers, marketers and advertisers continue to struggle with measurement of user interactions within some of these apps. Avenue A/Razorfish is attempting to address this problem with an analytics and reporting solution called RIAx, which it's making available to clients.

The democratization of contextual advertising continues ...

Ask.com to Launch Contextual Ad Network

IAC/InterActiveCorp is launching a contextual ad network to complement its existing search ad distribution network. It hopes the offering will become a viable alternative for publishers to Google's AdSense network.

The ads, which will be incorporated into its Ask Sponsored Listings (ASL) platform, will launch at the end of May on several IAC-owned properties, such as Match.com, Ticketmaster, Evite and Citysearch.

TXTual Healing


TXTUal Healing is an interactive public theater piece. It looks at the
cell phone as a device not just to remove oneself from a physical
space, but to interact with and explore it.