Filed under: MISC
HUGE DEAL ALERT: MICROSOFT PUTS THE MOVES ON FACEBOOK
In the deathmatch of Google vs. Microsoft, Microsoft takes all.
Microsoft reached a deal to invest up to $250 million for a minority stake in Facebook, and will sell advertising on the site outside the U.S., beating Google in a closely watched contest. The companies have discussed a valuation for Facebook as high as $15 billion. (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119323518308669856.html?mod=djemalert 10/24)
Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE
BROADCAST/CABLE
AT&T is said to be consulting lawyers in Washington, D.C. about how long it would take to get government approval to purchase either EchoStar or DirecTV. If it does make a bid for one of the satellite providers, AT&T could unveil the offer before year’s end. (http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB119314123850168314.html 10/24)
FYI to the traditional media companies. Daily Marauder is available and open for all offers.
Traditional media companies are said to be eyeing blogs as possible acquisitions. Sites such as TechCrunch, Gawker, GigaOm, Boing Boing, and Huffington Post “appear to have attractive business models.” Mainstream advertisers are “increasing association” with the popular blogs. (http://outlook.standardandpoors.com/NASApp/NetAdvantage/i/displayIndustryFocusEditorial.do?&context=IndustryFocus&docId=12491873 10/23)
Google is entering a partnership with Nielsen to give advertisers a better snapshot of how many people are viewing television commercials on a second-by-second basis. Information Google collects from EchoStar set-top boxes will be overlayed with demographic data from Nielsen. (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/24/business/media/24adco.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1193256105-iC6Isz2UOY3Xvb0b/skVfQ 10/24)
Fox News Channel’s coverage of the California wildfires includes on-the-scene reports by college-student journalists contributing pieces for ThePalestra.com. The 3-year-old Web site, based at Ohio State University, offers video reports for “the millennial generation.” (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3ic6473397b3b8e9403e8cae27d98284d3 10/24)
CNBC president Mark Hoffman shrugs off concerns that Rupert Murdoch’s new business news channel will snatch away many viewers: “My initial thought is we’re probably in different businesses.” Still, some observers describe the new Fox Business Network as “younger” and “fresher.” (http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSN1732364220071023 10/23)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
ONLINE/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Hulu.com, the NBC Universal-News Corp. online video joint venture that is going up against YouTube, is said to be preparing for a private beta launch on Oct. 29. NBC pulled its videos from YouTube last week. The much-anticipated site is described as a “YouTube killer.” (http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/10/23/hulu-set-to-launch-on-monday/ 10/24)
They barely sneaked by in that October launch window no?
MTV Networks and Jive Records are entering a deal to allow Britney Spears’ new album to be streamed exclusively through MTV.com, VH1.com and LOGOonline.com beginning Wednesday, a week in advance of its release date. MTV Networks will also promote the album on the air. (http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/071023/nytu050.html 10/23)
Click below to listen to Miss Britney’s album.
In response, a MySpace page has been created to ask people to “be proactive to help” Miss Spears by NOT buying her album. Way harsh Ty.
After a string of box office disappointments cooled distributors’ interest in his latest production, indie filmmaker Edward Burns will release his new movie, Purple Violets, via iTunes as a download only next month. A NYT piece notes that Purple Violets is the first full-length feature to go this route. Last month, director Wes Anderson got some traction for his movie The Darjeeling Limited when he released Hotel Chevalier, a 13-minute “prequel,” on iTunes for free in advance of the main feature’s theatrical showing. Chevalier has been downloaded about 400,000 times and has gotten more attention now that it is now being paired in theaters with Darjeeling, suggesting that Apple was able to have some influence in the film’s marketing. (http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-lacking-theatrical-distribution-small-films-go-straight-to-itunes 10/23)
TasteBook.com, a startup based in Berkeley, Calif., allows users to gather favorite recipes from partner Web sites and create printed cookbooks. Users can add their own recipes as well. The new service, launching Wednesday, is backed by Conde Nast’s Internet unit. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/10/23/tastebook-launches-with-lots-of-help-from-conde-nast 10/23)
LOVE this idea. As a part time cook (rare, but it happens), I love the idea of an easy-to-use online cookbook printing operation. Checking the site out further, I found the whole operation of creating a book extremely easy and very fun. The templates are gorgeous and the book, while designed beautifully, is also efficient to use with pages that can be taken out for grocery shopping and tabs for easily finding what you’re looking for.
Intro Video
The market was expecting big things from Amazon, and the company has delivered. Revenues in Q3 surged 41 percent to $3.26 billion from $2.31 billion last year. Net income quadrupled to $80 million ($.19 per share) from $19 million ($.05 per share) last year. The company cited its low prices and its Amazon Prime offering for its growth. Numbers were bolstered somewhat by a $75 million revenue boost associated with exchange rates and a lower tax rate during the period. During the day, the company’s stock closed just ahead of $100, as it’s touching highs not seen since the very top of the bubble. (http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-earnings-amazon-q3-sales-jump-41-percent-income-soars 10/23)
Facebook has been sending select advertising executives a cryptic invitation to an event on Nov. 6, during which the company promises to “unveil a new way of advertising online.” An AdAge piece cites unnamed sources who say that the event will detail how Facebook will target ads to its members even when they’re not on the site. The ad targeting will be based on personal information users have willingly shared with the social net. Also: Microsoft and Google are each vying to take a stake in Facebook, with a deal expected to be announced in the next 24 to 48 hours.(http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-facebook-gathers-ad-execs-for-a-first-look-at-targeting-plans 10/23, http://www.nypost.com/seven/10242007/business/online_faceoff.htm 10/24)
Yahoo is seen to be shifting its strategy away from being a media company that seeks to attract audiences to its own site and become more of a “technology platform” that helps users get things done. CEO Jerry Yang says: “We may end up continuing to be a strong publisher.” (http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN2331985020071023 10/23)
Google is alleging that Viacom and NBC Universal — its two major Internet video rivals — have secretly co-opted a small copyright-infringement lawsuit against YouTube by videographer Robert Tur. Tur’s attorney admits: “We have received help from various quarters.” (http://www.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20071023-000818-1853 10/23)
The creators of FunnyOrDie.com are launching ShredOrDie.com, a site featuring video aimed at extreme-sports fans, with pro skateboarder Tony Hawk. ShredOrDie seeks to mix extreme-sports and celebrity culture in a manner similar to FunnyOrDie’s blending of comedy and celebrity. (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ic6473397b3b8e9408435ade9f11d0d97 10/24)
EBay, the world’s largest online auctioneer, is launching MicroPlace.com, a Web site allowing ordinary investors to buy securities aimed at improving conditions in the world’s poorest countries. Users may invest as little as $100 to support development in impoverished areas. (http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN2336298820071024 10/24)
(Below) TOTALLY side with the internet webcasters on this one. I ask you this, what is the difference between a streaming online radio webcast and a podcast? Why is one fined and the other is not? Keep in mind, that these fees apply to both community (non-commercial) streams as well as commercial streams. At the very least, there should be a separation between these two to allow for the innovation that a station like KCRW ( www.kcrw.com ) brings to the airwaves.
Internet radio webcasters are hoping a Senate hearing Wednesday will renew interest in their negotiations with the recording industry over royalty fees. Webcasters argue that the fees set by the Copyright Royalty Board last spring would put online radio stations out of business. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/23/AR2007102302123.html 10/24)
Digg leads the pack among the increasingly popular social-media Web sites. Traffic is up to about 5.6 million visitors per month, towering over Del.icio.us, Reddit and others. Diggnation, hosted by creators Kevin Rose and Jay Adelson, is the No. 1 tech podcast in Apple’s iTunes. (http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2007-10-23-tech-digg_N.htm 10/23)
The soon-to-relaunch PageSix.com, derived from the New York Post’s infamous gossip column, will be entering a crowded online celebrity gossip landscape. “Page Six is a force in this genre,” says Harvey Levin, head of TMZ.com. “There’s room for more successful ventures.” (http://www.observer.com/2007/will-page-sixs-new-website-challenge-online-gossip-kings 10/23)
Filed under: WIRELESS
WIRELESS
(Below) SWEET. I can finally update my Facebook status in meetings. I can now rest peacefully. I downloaded and started using the application seamlessly. Unlike the iPhone application, the Facebook Blackberry application installs as a button on my home screen allowing me to access Facebook quickly (without going through the iPhone Safari browser).
BlackBerry maker Research in Motion has launched Facebook software designed especially for its smartphones to make it easier for users to browse the popular social networking Web site.
(http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071024/tc_nm/rim_facebook_rim_dc_1;_ylt=AvEqoLrHS7t_ItFCIk50IJ0E1vAI
11/24)
Yesterday, AT&T said that Q307 revenues nearly doubled to $30.1 billion, up from $15.6 billion in the same period a year ago (the latter did not include its acquisition of BellSouth, which was completed at the end of December 2006), with net income of $3.1 billion versus $2.2 billion in Q306. (http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-earnings-att-reports-record-number-of-mobile-subs-in-q307-10000-new-use 10/23)
Apple is acknowledging that nearly 250,000 out of the 1.4 million iPhones sold have yet to be activated to run on AT&T’s network. Demand for the popular handset remains high overseas, and it will go on sale in the U.K. and Germany next month. (FOXNews.com 10/24)
Will Google announce its much-rumored cell phone today? If so, analysts expect it not to be an actual handset but a bundle of software and infrastructure systems. Based on patents and other filings, analysts also predict the phone will be advertising-supported and feature tools such as search, mapping and instant messaging. (CNET 10/24)
Nokia, the world’s largest cell phone maker, sees content for the wireless Internet as key to snapping up more cell phone users, including in emerging markets. The next big thing in cell phones could be “location-based services combined with social networks.” (http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSL2341750720071024 10/24)
Filed under: GAMING
GAMING
Nissan has partnered with Sony Computer Entertainment and Electronic Arts for the release of a downloadable video game that features the 2008 model of the iconic Japanese sports car, the GT-R. The game release coincides with the car’s unveiling at the Tokyo Motor Show. (The Wall Street Journal (free content) 10/24)
Recent console price cuts made by Sony and Microsoft can be attributed largely to the success of Nintendo’s popular Wii, which most analysts predict will continue to attract the most users despite price cuts by its closest rivals. Microsoft and Sony are expected to continue to duke it out for second place. (Forbes 10/23)
Filed under: TECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOGY
Dell launched its multimedia-friendly XPS 420 desktop PC on Tuesday, which it hopes will help it better compete against rivals Hewlett-Packard and Apple. The new computer system comes with 1GB of memory with an optional internal 802.11g wireless card, a choice of digital tuners for connecting to home TVs and an optional Blu-ray disc player. (Yahoo!/TechWeb/InformationWeek 10/23)
