Social WiFi Networks

copyright threeminds.organic.com/
by Tamir Levin
published September 19, 2006

Fon.com is an intriguing, and apparently growing in popularity, concept and commercial solution in building community-based public wifi networks. Basically, FON enables your WiFi access point to securely share your connection with other FON users. They share, you share. This means that you give up a little bandwidth on your box, but gain a world (literally) of free access points.

What makes it even more intriguing is the release of a new FON access point, called LaFonera, that provides 2 built-in networks and neatly supports the FON community concept. (sells for $14 including shipping, but read the fine print!).

You can watch the LaFonera launch video or read their blog.
The web site isn’t quite exceptional – but the concept may just be!

FULL ARTICLE

L'affaire Bwin fait trembler les sites de paris sportifs

copyright Journaldunet.com
published September 19,2006


L'arrestation, vendredi 15 septembre à Monaco, des dirigeants de Bwin, site de paris sportifs autrichien, prend de cours toute une profession. Pourtant, elle s'inscrit dans une procédure engagée depuis 2005.

Faîtes vos jeux, rien ne va plus. Un vent de panique semble souffler depuis vendredi 15 septembre sur le petit monde des bookmakers en ligne. La raison de cette agitation ? L'arrestation vendredi dernier, à La Turbie (Alpes Maritimes), par la section judiciaire de la sous-direction des courses et jeux des renseignements généraux, des deux dirigeants du site de paris sportifs d'origine autrichienne Bwin (ex Betandwin), Norbert Teufelberger, président de la société, et Manfred Bodner, son directeur général.

Celle-ci a eu lieu alors que les deux dirigeants de la société étaient en train de présenter à la presse leur nouveau contrat de sponsoring avec l'un des clubs les plus en vu de la ligue 1 de football : l'AS Monaco. Les policiers ont agi sur commission rogatoire du juge Jean-Marc Cathelin, celui-ci ayant été saisi depuis le 7 novembre 2005 d'une information judiciaire contre X pour "tenue illicite de jeux de hasard, loterie illicite, publicité de loterie prohibée et prise de paris illicites sur des courses de chevaux". Cette action fait suite aux plaintes de la Française des Jeux et du PMU, les deux organismes qui, selon la législation française, sont les seuls habilités à organiser des jeux d'argent on et offline en France.

FULL ARTICLE

In Asia, MySpace Clones Stalk Cyberspace

copyright businessweek.com
by Kenji Hall, Moon Ihlwan, and Bruce Einhorn
published September 11, 2006



The huge success of the social networking site in the U.S. has inspired similar sites all over Asia. The business model is a perfect fit

How big is the social networking craze on the Net in Asia? Global investors will get a far better sense on Sept. 14 in Tokyo. That's when Japan's fastest-growing social networking site, mixi, will launch a much anticipated initial public offering. While mixi is no MySpace—there are currently 5 million users at mixi—its membership has quintupled in the past year. At 7 billion page views a month, mixi trails only Yahoo! (YHOO) and Google (GOOG) in Japan in online traffic and is the No. 37 site globally, according to Alexa.com.

FULL ARTICLE

Online ratings: amateur reviews changing approach of small businesses

copyrighht sfgate.com
by Ilana DeBare
published September 3, 2006

Thanks to the recent rise of local search sites like Yelp, CitySearch, Angie's List and Yahoo! Local, customer referrals are becoming more thorough, more honest and more accessible. A September feature by the San Francisco Chronicle, however, reveals that they aren't necessarily becoming more favorable. Enabling customers to review their local businesses online means giving them a forum in which to both praise and punish small businesses. The result, one business owner tells the Chronicle, is that businesses "have to be A+ on the ball all the time."

FULL ARTICLE

Revver.com Gives Ad Dollars to Consumer Videos

copright marketingvox.com
published September 14, 2006

Viral video upstart Revver wants to undermine competitor YouTube's success and become a marketplace to match video creators and advertisers.

Revver is attaching static ads to user-created videos - and sharing the ad revs, writes AdWeek. Its strategy is to compensate not only the creators of videos - whose only compensation on YouTube is, if they're lucky, fame - but also the distributors, whether they do so via custom-built websites, their MySpace accounts or email. Microsoft, American Apparel and MTV have been among the first advertisers to use Revver's service.

Advertisers can browse content areas to select appropriate content for their ads, and creators get the option of rejecting ads for their videos. Over 50,000 videos have been uploaded to Revver, according to CEO Steven Starr, generating click-through rates of 3-4 percent.

Revver plans to expand ad options to include pre-roll and post-roll video ads, with content creators able to choose the type of ads. Revver ads don't show up on YouTube or Google Video, both of which strip out the Revver software used to show the ads.

LEARN MORE: revver.com

Blogs Affect Consumer Buying Decisions

copyright imediaconnection.com
by Diana Arterian
published September 18, 2006



Twenty-four percent of Generation Y currently read blogs regularly while 12 percent of Generation X and seven percent of people from the ages of 41 to 50 read blogs, according to a study by Forrester Research.

KnowledgeStorm and Universal McCann conducted a study on 4,500 business and IT professionals in order to find the impact of reading blogs on their purchases.

The study also found that more than 53 percent of those who responded to the poll were influenced in their workplace purchasing choices by the content in the blogs they read. Eighty percent of the respondents stated that they read blogs-- 51 percent of which said they read blogs at least once a week.

Mondial & Brightcast Branded Video Email

copyright imediaconnection.com
By Roger Park
published September 18, 2006


Mondial Teknology and Brightcast Inc. have co-launched Brandsmit - Video Email, a service that enables marketers to enrich their email messages with online video.

"Given the amount of information we are exposed to in today's business environment, hearing and seeing a brief video introduction to a business or professional service in one minute is refreshing. The viewer then has a much better understanding and is more likely to want more information about the service provider," says Wayne King, president of Brightcast.

The companies say that the new Brandsmit - Video Email will help marketers deliver emails that are more informative and personal.

FULL ARTICLE

YouTube Will Pay Warner Music Group Royalties

copyright Adage.com
By Gavin O'Malley
Published: September 18, 2006

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Winning over another would-be foe, YouTube has reached a revenue-sharing deal with Warner Music Group, which will now distribute and license its copyrighted content through the hugely popular video-sharing site.

Warner can now expect an undisclosed share of ad revenue whenever YouTube users stream a video containing the company's intellectual property. If, for example, an amateur auteur borrows a snippet of Madonna's latest video, or scores their short with a track from Missy Elliot's new album, Warner is now guaranteed compensation. To make this possible, YouTube developed a royalty-tracking system that detects when homemade videos are using copyrighted material.

FULL ARTICLE - http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=111940

As the World Turns From MTV to ITV

copyright Adage.com
By Steve Rubel
Published: September 19, 2006

Apple CEO Steve Jobs was at the top of his game when he rolled out new iPods and more last week. The big news, by far, is a product that will debut early next year. Tentatively called ITV, the set-top box will stream movies and TV shows purchased on your Windows PC or Mac to your big screen TV.

Whether Jobs succeeds in his quest to turn every TV into one powered by Apple is an open question. Lots of companies are moving head-first into the IPTV space. But what's certain is the TV business is going to make another hairpin turn that will make your TiVo look like a UHF in a few years. Here are three trends to watch.

FULL ARTICLE - http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=111950

What's on TV? Soon, the Internet

copyright Adage.com
By Abbey Klaassen
Published: September 18, 2006

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Ten months ago Steve Jobs shook up the TV industry by bringing the ladies of Wisteria Lane to iTunes. This time around, he's introduced something potentially more disruptive: a device that brings broadband content and the silver screen into the living room.

In the iTV future previewed at Apple's media event last week, consumers will be able to pause "Pirates of the Caribbean" bought from iTunes while catching up with ZeFrank and watching an ABC News webcast. But that isn't just the future; it's one example of how the long-promised convergence of the web and TV might actually be upon us -- this time for real.

FULL ARTICLE - http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=111916

TV Marketing: Real World vs. Virtual World

copyright Adage.com
by Claire Atkinson
Published: September 19, 2006

NEW YORK (Adage.com) -- NBC, armed with its YouTube partnership and a slight bump in its promotional budget, has put internet initiatives at the core of its own fall marketing program. But if you're standing in an elevator, buying a spatula or shopping for furniture, chances are you'll run into some marketing for CBS' new fall slate.

The 'outernet'
"It's all about the outernet," said CBS Marketing President George Schweitzer, describing co-branding ventures with Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma and American Airlines, among others retailers. "Our strategy is in reaching out to people while they are in the middle of their daily routine."

FULL ARTICLE - http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=111957

Founders of 'The Source' Start Music Title

copyright Adage.com
by Nat Ives
published September 19, 2006

'Hip Hop Weekly' Debuts Next Month With Former Ousted 'Vibe' Editor

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Hip Hop Weekly, the newsstand-only next act from the ousted owners of The Source and Vibe's recently fired editor in chief, is expected to arrive on Oct. 16 with a guaranteed paid circulation of 100,000.

David Mays and Ray "Benzino" Scott, who started The Source in 1988, were forced out last January amid unpaid bills, allegations of tax evasion and a sexual harassment suit filed by two former staffers. Mimi Valdes was booted from Vibe after a change in ownership last summer.

FULL ARTICLE - http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=111954

How MTV Plans to Let Anyone on 'Laguna Beach'

copyright Adage.com
by Abbey Klaassen
published: September 18, 2006

Pepsi, Procter & Gamble, Cingular and Paramount will be part of MTV Networks' first virtual world, where it hopes a single "resident" can translate into $150 of real revenue.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- The main theater at Laguna Cinemas was almost full -- the red velvety seats filled with the young and the hip, some staring intently at the screen while others whispered to the cute person sitting next to them. About the only thing the cinema didn't have was the waft of popcorn.

It'll take a few more technological innovations for that. This iteration of Laguna Cinemas is part of a 3-D virtual world MTV has crafted around one of its biggest hits, "Laguna Beach" -- and part of the media company's plan to tap into several new revenue sources, including subscription and e-commerce. Think of virtual Laguna Beach as a cross between Second Life, the online virtual world community that opened in 2003, and popular computer game The Sims.

FULL ARTICLE - http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=111930

YouTube Will Pay Warner Music Group Royalties

copyright Adage.com
by Gavin O'Malley
published September 18, 2006


NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Winning over another would-be foe, YouTube has reached a revenue-sharing deal with Warner Music Group, which will now distribute and license its copyrighted content through the hugely popular video-sharing site.

Warner can now expect an undisclosed share of ad revenue whenever YouTube users stream a video containing the company's intellectual property. If, for example, an amateur auteur borrows a snippet of Madonna's latest video, or scores their short with a track from Missy Elliot's new album, Warner is now guaranteed compensation. To make this possible, YouTube developed a royalty-tracking system that detects when homemade videos are using copyrighted material.

Universal's lawsuit threat
The announcement comes less than week after Universal Music CEO Doug Morris threatened to sue YouTube over its failure to prevent copyright violations -- still a common reaction for record labels, movie studios and TV networks anxious to protect old business models.

FULL ARTICLE - http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=111940

MySpace joins battle against Aids and global poverty

copyright Brandrepublic.com
by Danielle Long
published September 19, 2006


LONDON - MySpace is set to partner with Bono's latest activism venture Red in a joint campaign to eliminate Aids in Africa.

Red, which launched in February, raises money and awareness for the Global Fund to combat Aids, TB and malaria in Africa. Red partner companies, such as American Express, Motorola, Emporio Armani and Gap have created exclusive Red products that donate a portion of their sales to the Fund.

The European MySpace community will raise the profile of Red in cyberspace, enabling its users, which total 105m worldwide, to customise their profiles to show support for Red.

FULL ARTICLE - http://www.brandrepublic.com/bulletins/digital/article/593287/myspace-joins-battle-against-aids-global-poverty/

Endemol met la TV à l'heure du Web 2.0

copyright Lejournaldunet.com
by Guillaume Devaux
published September 20, 2006

En prévision de la fin de la « TV rendez-vous », la société de production d’émissions télévisées Endemol France vient de lancer son premier portail grand public de streaming vidéo. De nouveaux formats d’émissions interactives sont en préparation.

Les nouveaux modes de consommation de l'information via Internet sont-ils sur le point de signer la mort de la "TV rendez-vous" ? Sans attendre le verdict, la société de production d'émissions télévisées Endemol France a décidé de prendre les devants en lançant son premier site grand public de VoD. Le portail Endemol.fr propose ainsi un accès direct aux archives d'émissions de télé-réalité telles que Loft Story ou Star Academy ou de talk-Show tel que "On ne peut pas plaire à tout le monde". Le Web offre aujourd'hui à Endemol le moyen d'exister en direct et de se construire une image de marque indépendamment des grandes chaînes de TV généralistes.

FULL ARTICLE - http://www.journaldunet.com/0609/060920-endemol.shtml

YouTube settles copyright issue in deal with Warner

copyright Brandrepublic.com
published September 18, 2006



NEW YORK - Video website YouTube has signed a deal with Warner Music Group to share revenue from online ads that appear on its site alongside uploaded Warner music videos. The agreement also applies to consumer-created content featuring Warner-owned music.

The deal, which takes effect later this year, settles a taxing problem for YouTube and allows it to avoid legal action for breach of copyright. The deal comes in the wake of accusations by music industry executives that it and similar sites are breaking the law.

YouTube is developing an automated system that will identify copyrighted music and video that has been uploaded by users. A percentage of advertising revenues from ads appearing with that content will then be given to Warner. The firm also said that it would make the system available to other copyright owners.

Chad Hurley, YouTube's chief executive, told The Wall Street Journal: "Warner Music Group becomes the first media company working with us to truly embrace the power of user-generated content and allow users to use their content in legal ways, and be able to benefit by generating revenue."

FULL ARTICLE - http://www.brandrepublic.com/bulletins/digital/article/593029/youtube-settles-copyright-issue-deal-warner/

Sainsbury's signs as Yahoo! Answers first advertiser

copyright Brandrepublic.com
by Danielle Long
published September 19, 2006

LONDON - Yahoo! has signed up Sainsbury's as the first UK advertiser on Yahoo! Answers to capitalise on the success of the social search service, which has attracted 50m unique users worldwide in seven months.

Sainsbury's will sponsor the food and drink section of the Yahoo! Answers site, which resembles a large online forum where people can ask questions and post answers.

As part of the four-month Sainsbury's campaign, a "Daily Delicious" question will be posted everyday on the Food and Drink section, providing users with a forum to share food ideas and recipe tips. The questions will cover a host of topics from healthy eating to romantic meals for two.

FULL ARTICLE - http://www.brandrepublic.com/bulletins/digital/article/593025/sainsburys-signs-yahoo-answers-first-advertiser/

Sony investit dans Gamepot

copyright Journaldunet.com
published September 18, 2006


Sony Communication Network, une filiale du géant japonais, entre dans le capital de la maison mère japonaise de Gamepot, éditeur de jeux vidéos en ligne. Pour l'équivalent de 17,35 millions d'euros, il acquiert 27 % du capital de Gamepot. Sony se renforce ainsi sur le marché japonais du jeu en ligne, en forte croissance grâce au développement de l'Internet haut débit.

L'industrie musicale divisée face au partage de vidéo online

copyright Journaldunet.com
published September 19, 2006


Warner a passé un accord avec YouTube pour autoriser ses clips à être diffusés par les internautes en échange de revenus publicitaires. Attitude inverse chez Universal qui menace d'attaquer en justice YouTube et MySpace.

Décidément, Internet divise l'industrie musicale. Déjà partagées quant à l'attitude à adopter face au peer-to-peer, les maisons de disques se sont également distinguées, ces dernières semaines, sur leurs différences de stratégies face au modèle économique de la musique en ligne. Universal et EMI, par exemple, ont passé un partenariat avec Spiral Frog pour proposer leur catalogue gratuitement en échange de publicité. Désormais, voilà les majors divisées face au phénomène YouTube.

De nombreux clips d'artistes sous contrat avec elles circulent en effet sur les sites de partage de vidéo. Une atteinte au droit d'auteur et un préjudice, selon certaines maisons de disque. Universal Music, par exemple, menace d'attaquer YouTube et MySpace et évalue ce préjudice à plusieurs dizaines de millions de dollars. Mais le phénomène est considéré par d'autres comme une véritable opportunité.

FULL ARTICLE - http://www.journaldunet.com/0609/060919-youtube.shtml

Philips Innovative Ad Campaign Makes Media the Message

copyright Adage.com
by Matthew Creamer
published September 17, 2006

Sponsors Free Access to Premium Content on WSJ.com, ESPN.com

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- As part of its "Sense and Simplicity" marketing campaign strategy, Philips Electronics North America is making access to the premium content of WSJ.com and ESPN.com free to the public. The company is buying out the full WSJ site on three Fridays and the home page on five Fridays this fall. The ESPN deal will make its "Insider" sites dedicated to the MLB, NFL, NBA and college football free for entire weekends.

FULL ARTICLE - http://adage.com/article?article_id=111883

The Ad Industry Diversity Hiring Controversy

copyright Adage.com
published September 17, 2006
Advertising Age Editorial

"Despite expressed intentions to reform, the [ad] industry's past record cast doubt upon its willingness and ability to police itself... critics contended that the industry has forfeited the confidence of the minority communities, and that government agencies must step in." So wrote the New York City Commission on Human Rights in 1978. Twenty-eight years later we are once again embroiled in the same controversy over the New York City ad industry's minority hiring practices.

FULL ARTICLE - http://adage.com/article?article_id=111896

Wikipedia made available offline in deal with Webaroo

copyright BrandRepublic.com
by Danielle Long
published September 18, 2006

The deal will give users access to Wikipedia's more than 3.8m articles even when they are not online, via a searchable six megabyte web pack.

Webaroo's Wikipedia pack will provide users with an unmodified replica of the online Wikipedia. It is a collection of web pages from the site and includes meta-data that enables search, updates and more information about a specific topic. Webaroo web packs also provide downloadable content.

Rakesh Mathur, CEO of Webaroo, said: "Webaroo is about serving people's internet needs when they don't have the internet. The Wikipedia pack is one of the great bodies of reference available on the internet, and we've made it portable."

Wikipedia is a web-based encyclopedia project, edited and updated by users and visitors to the website. It is the 16th most popular internet site in the world according to Alexa.com. Wikipedia currently has more than 5m articles, which are available in 229 languages.

CBS Stops Charging for VOD: ad-supported VOD shows

copyright Adage.com
by Abbey Klaassen
published September 14, 2006

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- CBS has stripped the 99-cent price tag from its cable video-on-demand distribution and is offering eight free, ad-supported VOD shows on Comcast's platform this fall season.

he network will sell advertising separately for the on-demand programs, which include "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "CSI: Miami," "CSI: NY," "Survivor," "NCIS," "Numb3rs," "Jericho" and "Big Brother." Last November, when CBS began offering shows through Comcast VOD, the network kept national advertising embedded in the programs but still charged 99 cents for each episode.

FULL ARTICLE - http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=111855

The Latest Discoveries About Male Shoppers

copyright Adage.com
by Andrew Hampp
pubilshed September 14, 2006

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Metrosexuality is dead. Or if it's still alive, no one at today's "The Man Conference," presented by Advertising Age and Maxim, was checking its pulse. Testosterone-heavy topics such as beer, cars and razors were on the agenda for three panels, which were comprised of marketing directors from advertisers including Burger King, Volkswagen and Anheuser Busch, whose VP-brand management, Marlene V. Coulis, was the keynote speaker.

Spend more than they make
Rob Gregory, group publisher of Maxim, and Scott Donaton, associate publisher of the Ad Age Group, kicked things off by discussing the statistics of a 500-man survey conducted just weeks before the conference. The results spoke to the surprisingly high consumer activity of the average male. For example, 58% of men polled spend more money than they make each month. "It almost makes their target household income irrelevant," Mr. Donaton said.

FULL ARTICLE - http://adage.com/article?article_id=111857

Weatherman Scared of Roach

Police Chief May Lose Job Over Wife's Nude Pics

copyright click2houston.com
published September 6, 2006

SNYDER, Okla. -- An Oklahoma police chief's job is in jeopardy and his town is in an uproar because of his wife's profession.

Snyder Police Chief Tod Ozmun and his wife, Doris, live in Snyder, just west of Lawton. However, the chief's wife is known worldwide for her work as a plus-sized model on a pornographic Web site.

Officials said the Snyder mayor is requesting an investigation by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. Technically, the mayor cannot request an OSBI investigation. However, the district attorney's office can, and officials said the focus of any such investigation would be to determine whether city computers were used for the pictures and if that violates the city's charter.

"This came to light because some of the people in town went onto the Internet to download pictures of her and started passing them out around the citizens here in town," said Mayor Dale Moore.

FULL ARTICLE

Top 10 Strangest MP3 Players

copyright techeblog.com
published September 14, 2006

MP3 Players come in all shapes and sizes, that’s why our editors decided to compile a list of the “Top 10 Strangest MP3 Players” for your enjoyment.

FULL ARTICLE

The ID Chip You Don't Want in Your Passport

copyright washingtonpost.com
by Bruce Schneier
published September 16, 2006


If you have a passport, now is the time to renew it -- even if it's not set to expire anytime soon. If you don't have a passport and think you might need one, now is the time to get it. In many countries, including the United States, passports will soon be equipped with RFID chips. And you don't want one of these chips in your passport.

RFID stands for "radio-frequency identification." Passports with RFID chips store an electronic copy of the passport information: your name, a digitized picture, etc. And in the future, the chip might store fingerprints or digital visas from various countries.

By itself, this is no problem. But RFID chips don't have to be plugged in to a reader to operate. Like the chips used for automatic toll collection on roads or automatic fare collection on subways, these chips operate via proximity. The risk to you is the possibility of surreptitious access: Your passport information might be read without your knowledge or consent by a government trying to track your movements, a criminal trying to steal your identity or someone just curious about your citizenship.

FULL ARTICLE

This Film is Not Rated - must-see doc about MPAA ratings

copyright boingboing.net
published September 16, 2006

I just saw "This Film is Not Yet Rated" and boy, is it a fantastic piece of work. As you've no doubt heard, TFINYR is a documentary about the MPAA's censorious ratings system, whereby a secret group of "parents" meet to determine whether a given film is safe for kids to see. If they give a movie an NC-17 (no children under 17 admitted), it's a death-sentence: studios won't promote these movies (sometimes they don't even release them), most cinemas won't exhibit them, and Wal-Mart and Blockbuster won't carry them.

The MPAA's excuse for this is that it's an alternative to government censorship of films, but as director Kirby Dick shows, it's wildly implausible that such censorship would be found constitutional. The MPAA system treats independents as second-class citizens, issuing gnomic pronouncements about a film's suitability, while treating the big studios that own the MPAA with more solicitude, lavishing editorial suggestions on directors who've come under the thumb of the big six.

FULL ARTICLE

Retro Baby Carriage

copyright neatorama.com
published September 14, 2006

If you have $2,200, you can buy this 1950’s Italian baby carriage "Brevetatto" by Giordani Bambino: Link - via Cribcandy

child drummer 4 years old

Apple iPhone slips out in Paris?

copyright reghardware.co.uk
by Tony Smith
published September 14th, 2006

Apple's eagerly anticipated 'iPhone' may have made an unscheduled appearance in public this week - on the front page of a Paris newspaper. French publication 20 Minutes on Tuesday splashed a picture of the device on an edition of the paper timed to coincide with the opening of Apple Expo Paris.

French phone-oriented website PDA France snapped the cover, revealing a black, iPod-like handset with numeric pad, call make and break keys and an iPod Shuffle-style clickwheel-esque navigation control. There's what appears to be a memory card slot - Mini SD? - on the device's left-hand side.

On the back is a square recess, presumably for the camera, which matches the iSight webcam lens on Apple's latest desktop and notebook Macs.

A hoax? An artist's impression? We're tempted to think either might be the case, but PDA France is adamant that the image was credited by the magazine to Apple itself.

We're still not completely convinced - it's easy enough to create a fake magazine front page and add such touches for verisimilitude.

The cover was published before Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the company's latest iPod designs and the iTV set-top box. It had been speculated in some quarters that the company would also show off the much-rumoured iPhone, though in the end, no such revelation was made.

Qui paie sa tournée s'enrichit

copyright liberation.fr
by A. Bo.
published September 14thy, 2006



On savait que la consommation de vin rouge était bonne pour la santé, on apprend maintenant que c'est bon pour le porte-monnaie. Une étude américaine publiée jeudi dans le Journal of Labor Research montre que les buveurs d'alcool aux Etats-Unis gagnent, au travail, plus d'argent que les non-buveurs.

Le raisonnement des responsables de l'étude est assez simple: aller au bar, c'est convivial. Ça décoince, permet de faire des rencontres, d'entretenir un réseau de connaissances plus large et, par conséquent, d'obtenir des opportunités professionnelles. «La consommation d'alcool permet sans doute aux individus de développer des qualités humaines, professionnelles et sociales.» Bref, aller au bistrot après le boulot permet d'accumuler du «capital social» disent-ils.

FULL ARTICLE

YouTube named fastest growing online brand

copyright brandrepublic.com
by Joe Lepper
published September 14, 2006


LONDON - Social networking and video site YouTube is the runaway leader among the fastest growing online brands in the UK followed by Flickr and MySpace, according to latest research by Nielsen/NetRatings.

The results based on unique audience growth for the first six months of the year show that YouTube is the fastest growing website with a 478% increase in unique users.

In second place is photo sharing site Flickr with 131% growth, followed by MySpace with a 98% growth in third. British social network rival Bebo was placed in eighth place.

Despite the dominance of videosharing other sectors, particularly financial services and telecoms are also doing well. The fourth-fastest growing site is American Express with 97% growth and in seventh is Vodafone with 86% growth.

FULL ARTICLE - http://www.brandrepublic.com/bulletins/digital/article/592548/youtube-named-fastest-growing-online-brand/

Political Ad Spending Could Hit $1.6 Billion This Year

copyright Adage.com
published September 14, 2006


NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Despite all the media chatter about Howard Dean's digital legacy and the rise of blogs and websites as the new powers of political marketing, local and national broadcast TV will continue to receive the overwhelming bulk of all ad spending during the upcoming primaries and presidential race, according to Evan Tracey, chief operating officer of the Campaign Media Analysis Group at TNS Media Intelligence.

FULL ARTICLE - http://adage.com/article?article_id=111843

NBC Launches Video Aggregator NBBC

copyright Adage.com
by Claire Atkinson
published September 12, 2006

NBC Universal is breaking down the walls of 30 Rock and making a move into the online-video-aggregation business. The General Electric-owned media giant has launched a syndicated-video partnership that it hopes will catapult the company into the video aggregation big leagues.

FULL ARTICLE - http://adage.com/article?article_id=111819
LINK - http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/13/technology/13nbc.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Digital Mirror That Reads Your SMS

copyright bornrich.org
via UberReview.com
published September 13th, 2006

Remember, the Philips In Touch mirror, we told you about a few days back, that records and displays all your messages. Now, the renowned designer, Robert Stadler has introduced a +336+ mirror during the London Design Festival that receives all your SMS sent from a mobile phone. The messages appear as luminous text, running on the mirrors surface when one gets close to the mirror. Though, as such this doesn’t seems to be of any utility to me. But, if you love to stand in-the-front of the mirror for more than usual periods just like Archies Reggie Mantle then atleast you will remain connected to your friend’s group!!

LINK - http://www.radidesigners.com/3361.html

Breathing Earth: Life, Death, and CO2 Emission

Breathing Earth is a nice Flash simulation of births, deaths, and carbon dioxide emissions happening right now on Planet Earth.

iTunes s'attaque au cinéma

copyright journaldunet.com
published September 13th, 2006

Apple proposera désormais des longs-métrages sur son iTunes Store. Le service se limite pour l'instant à 75 films, tous issus du catalogue de The Walt Disney Company. Les nouveautés seront proposées à 14,99 dollars et les films de fonds de catalogues seront vendus à 9,99 dollars. Aux Etats-Unis, les films seront disponibles le jour de leur sortie en DVD. Le visionnage des films pourra débuter une minute après que le téléchargement ait commencé. Cette annonce a été accompagnée par celle du prochain lancement de l'iTV, un adaptateur qui permettra de diffuser sans fil les vidéos enregistrées sur le disque dur de l'ordinateur vers le poste de télévision.

eMusic : le téléchargement légal sans DRM débarque en Europe

copyright lejournaldunet.com
by Lucile Reynard
published September 14, 2006

eMusic, premier challenger d'iTunes aux Etats-Unis, se lance en Europe avec un catalogue composé à 100 % de labels indépendants, et garanti sans DRM. C'est la seule plate-forme proposant un format compatible avec l'IPod.

A l'image des blockbusters au cinéma, les tubes issus des majors bénéficient de moyens de diffusion colossaux pour inonder rapidement les marchés. Pourtant, des milliers de labels de musique indépendants continuent de distribuer leurs artistes, avec peu de moyens, mais une qualité et une variété certaines. D'après l'association américaine de la musique indépendante, le marché de la musique indépendante représente 38 % des ventes de CD outre-Atlantique. Des chiffres sur lesquels s'est appuyée la société eMusic dès 1998, en se lançant dans la vente de fichiers MP3 en ligne en association avec les labels indépendants. Rachetée depuis par Universal Music puis revendue à Dimensional Associates, la société vient de lancer son service dans l'Europe des vingt-cinq.

Ce service propose trois forfaits mensuels, à 12,99 euros par mois pour 40 téléchargements (soit 0,32 euro le morceau), 16,99 euros pour 65, et 20,99 euros pour 90 morceaux. Ce dernier forfait reste le plus intéressant, le prix d'un morceau revenant alors à 0,23 euro. En revanche, bien que relativement bas, ces tarifs sont légèrement supérieurs aux prix pratiqués par eMusic aux Etats-Unis, en raison de frais de commercialisation supplémentaires. Mais outre les tarifs avantageux, eMusic se démarque surtout en proposant des morceaux en MP3 sans DRM.

FULL ARTICLE - http://www.journaldunet.com/0609/060914-emusic.shtml

Ipop your baby!

LonelyGirl15 Unmasked: What Everyone Is Talking About

copyright Adage.com
by Ann Marie Kerwin
published September 13, 2006

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Her name is not Bree, she is not a teenager and she has not been home-schooled by parents who are super-strict and very religious about whatever it is they believe in, and she seems to have more friends than her film editor pal Daniel. The YouTube phenom LonelyGirl15 is in actuality just another aspiring actress. The New York Times Virginia Heffernan today tells us her real name is Jessica Rose, and she is a "twenty something" graduate of the New York Film Academy who hails from New Zealand and Los Angeles.

The unmasking follows the creators posting a confession that the Lonelygirl15 saga was not the efforts of two teenage friends killing time, but a collaborative effort to tell a story. A Sept. 3 "press conference" from YouTube user Lonesome October, hosted by Bree's mascot, Purple Monkey, also made it clear this was a story being told, and not a real girl.

If you haven't caught up to the 4-month-old LonelyGirl15 saga by now, you clearly have not been paying sufficient enough attention to the new pop-culture byways. YouTube is no longer the home of all of teenage America's funniest home videos. It's a platform for a new narrative form.

FULLA ARTICLE - http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=111840
LINK - http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/13/technology/13lonely.html?_r=1&hp&ex=1158206400&en=ecd6e1f2de43bf9a&ei=5094&partner=homepage&oref=slogin

Students protest Facebook changes

published dukechronicle.com
by Qinyun Wang
published September 12, 2006

While users were busy checking friends' profiles and pictures, Facebook.com silently prepped and readied itself for a facelift. And when the results were unexpectedly unveiled Sept. 5, the volume of response was overwhelming.

Many students across the country and on Duke's campus expressed shock and anger when the changes were made. Although individual opinions varied, the general sentiment was quite clear--an "I Hate the New Facebook" group search turns up more than 500 global results. Two new features introduced Sept. 5--News Feed and Mini-Feed--caused the commotion.

FULL ARTICLE - http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2006/09/12/News/Students.Protest.Facebook.Changes-2267435.shtml?sourcedomain=www.dukechronicle.com&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com

Users Rebel Against Facebook, Digg: Consumer Control Still Tricky to Manage

copyright Adage.com
by Gavin O'Malley
published September 8, 2006

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- It was a tumultuous week for new-media companies. First, the student social network Facebook suffered an uprising in response to new activity-tracking features. Then, changes to Digg.com's algorithm for weighing and ranking news stories touched off a minor upheaval by top contributors.

In each case, sites that pride themselves on egalitarian principals made top-down changes without input from members. And in each case, the communities to whom these sites owe their success threatened to vanish as quickly as they first appeared.

For advertisers, these incidents embody the risks associated with consumer-generated media as a marketing tool. "Why would an advertiser invest in something so fragile?" asked Robert Passikoff, president of the New York-based market-research firm Brand Keys. "Even though these types of glitches, if you will, are inevitable, they slow the progression of advertisers wading into consumer-generated media."

FULL ARTICLE - http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=111739

Your Brand on Wikipedia

copyright Adage.com
by Steve Rubel
published September 11, 2006

Like It or Not, Advertisers Should Avoid Trying to Control Open Source. Last year Home Depot spent over a half a billion dollars on measured media, according to TNS data. The money was well spent -- Google Trends shows that U.S. searches for Home Depot nearly doubled this year.

But it's highly likely that many consumers, in conducting their due diligence, landed on the company's Wikipedia article which, as of this writing, ranks fifth in a Google search for the retailer. Among a lot of neutral-to-positive information, you will learn that there have been several cases where illegal drugs were found inside some Home Depot merchandise in Massachusetts.

Like it or not, the Wikipedia open-source phenomenon looms large right where companies are increasingly spending billions of dollars to jockey for position: on search-engine results pages. A quick check of dozens of the brands on Ad Age's Top 200 Megabrands list reveals that Wikipedia often ranks high not just among Google search results but also among results from Yahoo, MSN Search and Ask.com. The same can also be said for media brands, celebrities, CEOs and other personalities.

FULL ARTICLE - http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=111747

French Maid TV now on Democracy!

Democracy Player for Internet TV - best release yet!

copyright boingboing.net
by Cory Doctorow
published September 11, 2006

The latest version of Democracy Player, an open Internet video program that's as easy as a TV and as open as Firefox, has shipped today. This is version 0.9, the last stop on the way to a gold 1.0 release, and it shows in the spit and polish.
Democracy Player uses free software and open protocols to let you subscribe to channels of video that come in over RSS (so you don't have to keep checking to see if anything new is up) and using BitTorrent (so you can download video without bankrupting the people who host it). It plays any video format (using VLC, an open player that ignores DRM and patents and plays back every format it can get its paws on).

The upshot is something that's almost too good to be true: an Internet video player that you don't need to be a geek to use -- or to publish for. Anyone can make a Democracy channel and you don't need to have a big server to push it out. Thanks to BitTorrent, your hosting costs don't go up whether you've got one subscriber or 10 million.

The 0.9 release can tune in over 600 free channels being published by creative people all over the world. 0.9 adds support for Flash video, and comes (partially) translated into 30+ languages. It also supports drag-and-drop for individual video files, making it the only video player you need on your desktop.

LINK http://www.getdemocracy.com/

President Bush’s Reality: Editorial from New York Times

copyright nytimes.com
published September 12th, 2006

Last night, President Bush once again urged Americans to take terrorism seriously — a warning that hardly seems necessary. One aspect of that terrible day five years ago that seems immune to politicization or trivialization is the dread of another attack. When Mr. Bush warns that Al Qaeda means what it says, that there are Islamist fanatics around the world who wish us harm and that the next assault could be even worse than the last, he does not need to press the argument.

After that, paths diverge. Mr. Bush has been marking the fifth anniversary of Sept. 11 with a series of speeches about terrorism that culminated with his televised address last night. He has described a world where Iraq is a young but hopeful democracy with a “unity government” that represents its diverse population. Al Qaeda-trained terrorists who are terrified by “the sight of an old man pulling the election lever” are trying to stop the march of progress. The United States and its friends are holding firm in a battle that will decide whether freedom or terror will rule the 21st century.

If that were actual reality, the president’s call to “put aside our differences and work together to meet the test that history has given us” would be inspiring, instead of frustrating and depressing.

Iraq had nothing to do with the war on terror until the Bush administration decided to invade it.

FULL ARTICLE - http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/12/opinion/12tue1.html

News Corp pays $187.5m for ringtone firm Jamba

copyright brandrepublic.com
by Alex Donohue
published September 12th, 2006

LONDON - News Corporation is to acquire a 51% stake in VeriSign's ringtone sales unit Jamba, the company behind the Crazy Frog, in a deal understood to be worth $187.5m.

Berlin-based Jamba, which is known as Jamster in the US, will be merged with Mobizzo, which sells video clips of Fox TV shows, dubbed "mobisodes", and additional mobile phone content, but the company will continue to trade under the name Jamba.

News Corp's mobile entertainment executive Lucy Hood will be tasked with overseeing the venture, which should ensure that the company becomes a major presence in the European market, where potential losses at Mobizzo will be offset by Jamba's profitability.

FULLE ARTICLE - http://www.brandrepublic.com/bulletins/br/article/592021/news-corp-pays-1875m-ringtone-firm-jamba/
LINKS - http://www.jamba.de/ - http://www.jamster.com/ -

Korea: Pantech IM-U140 looks stunning

copyright techtickerblog.com
published September 7th, 2006

Pantech has unveiled a DMB phone in Korea which is stunning in looks as well as features. The IM-U140 offers the largest screen compared to any other DMB phone in Korea. The QVGA LCD screen is 2.6″ wide and pops out with the help of a button at 30o viewing angle. Other features include a 3 megapixel camera with image stabilization, auto focus and white balance, 4 channel stero speakers, touch screen with vibrating reaction, music player, Pictbridge support and an electronic dictionary. One more pic after the jump.

Coolringer: Freeware lets you create ringtones for your mobile phone or Skype

copyright redferret.com
published September 11th, 2006

Freeware lets you create ringtones for your mobile phone or Skype. Install and just right mouse click on any MP3 file – for which you have copyright of course, eh? – and presto a ringtone. The program is supposed to analyse the MP3 to ‘clip the coolest part’ of the song, but what it actually seems to do is just create a smaller clip file of the beginning. But hey, it’s free right? Oh and your handset needs to support MP3 ringtone clips.


Coolringer is a smart engine that clips the “coolest” part of any song on your computer, creating a ringtone file that you can use on your mobile phone or in Skype. Simply right-click ANY mp3 and select ‘Make a mobile ringtone’ or ‘Make a Skype ringtone’ and Coolringer takes care of the rest, giving you a sweet ringtone with the best part of any song.

LINK - http://www.coolringer.com/