FACEBOOK BEACON: THE UPDATE
Facebook Launches Beacon
Facebook Beacon was released in early November as part of the Facebook Ads platform, a solution designed to initiate Facebook revenue generation. Facebook Beacon tracks and reports the activities of Facebook users on 44 web participating sites such as Fandango and Blockbuster.
Here’s the idea. For the advertiser, this product offers a way to track Facebook users across their sites. In addition, those users then post activities on the Facebook News Feed thereby generating word of mouth advertising for that advertiser. For example, I buy a movie ticket to see Bee Movie on Fandango. That action is then posted on my Facebook News Feed.
The Backlash
Users were none too pleased. Facebook responded with a revised policy for Beacon at the end of last week.
New Policy
When on a partcipating web site, a user will see a notification box like the one below asking if this transaction can be published in Facebook on the News Feed.
If a user closes this box without responding, they will receive the following second notification when logging in to Facebook:
The user can then choose to remove, click okay to publish the story in Facebook, or ignore. If this notification is ignored, it will continue to reappear until the user finally makes a decision. Notifications galore. . .
Here’s the last option. Users can opt out of receiving any Beacon notifications by clicking on External Websites on the Facebook site and clicking Never for all participating sites. The lingering annoyance? There is STILL no global opt out option available for simulataneously opting out of all Beacon notifications with one click. If the participating site number rose from 44 to 98, one could see how clicking Never 98 times would be a bit of a drag.
Advertisers Feeling Shaky
Even AFTER this revised policy was issued, advertisers are backing out of the program. Both Coca-Cola and Overstock have exited stage right. Why?
Well, here’s the really wrong part. Get ready for it.
Get ready for it.
Participating web sites send user data to Facebook even if that user has opt out of the initial notification. Here’s an example, I’m renting a movie through Blockbuster. A notification window pops up asking if I would like that event posted in Facebook. I click No Thanks. That transactional data is sent to Facebook regardless. Not only that, this data is sent to Facebook even if I’m not a Facebook user. Facebook has responded that they delete all of this data. Advertisers don’t want to be saddled with the responsibility of negotiating who is and isn’t a Facebook user and then determining data deletion on their end. That said, as a user, if I click No Thanks, I would assume that no data would be sent. I would be. . .wrong.
Violation of user privacy? Yup, I would think so.
(http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/03/more-facebook-advertisers-bail-from-beacon-plus-new-concerns/ 12/3)
Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE
BROADCAST/CABLE
The Peabody Award-winning drama series The Wire launches its ten-episode fifth and final season SUNDAY, JAN. 6 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO, with other episodes debuting on subsequent Sundays at the same time. Beginning Dec. 31 with the season premiere, weekly episodes of The Wire will be available on HBO On Demand the Monday prior to its Sunday debut on the main HBO channel. (http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-thewirepremieredate,0,7068981.story?coll=zap-tv-headlines 12/4)
NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker says his company would consider buying DreamWorks from Viacom, should the movie studio become available. “If the opportunity were to arise, it’s something obviously we would look at,” says Zucker. “We have a long history with them.” (http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071203/nbc_dreamworks.html 12/3)
The real issue in the Hollywood writers strike is that nobody knows the value of entertainment anymore, writes Patrick Goldstein. Are YouTube clips “stopping us from watching the shows or are they making us fans of them? If you can’t agree on that, you can’t agree on their value.” (http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/business/la-et-gold4dec04,1,5491562.story 12/4)
The Writers Guild of America will deliver a counterproposal to a recent offer from studios regarding pay for new media, proposing fixed compensation rates that are graduated in increments tied to viewership: “If the number of eyeballs goes up, then [the] residual would go up.” (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ida2e9d7e0740c3cffc6b75d91e382759 12/4)
(Below) Gawker had some words of insight on this story yesterday: Bravo does not address the important question of whether settings will be available allowing the viewer to selectively mute Michael Kors.
Bravo is building an interactive application into the fourth season of Project Runway, allowing viewers in select Cox, Charter, Comcast and Time Warner digital cable systems the chance to answer trivia questions and vote for their favorite designs using their remote controls. The trivia and polling overlays, powered by Navic Networks, will utilize an open standards format built to scale nationally and accommodate measurable in-program sponsorship opportunities.
“Tin Man,” Sci Fi’s three-part miniseries based on “The Wizard of Oz,” averaged 6.3 million viewers in its premiere Sunday night, a record for the network. The show averaged 3.8 million adults 25 to 54 and 3.4 million in the 18-to-49 demo. (Mediaweek 12/3)
Chapter 1 Part 1
Watch by clicking the image below.
CBS Television Distribution‘s online localized talent show Big Shot is set to launch Feb. 4, 2008 on local affiliate sites representing 60% of the country including the sites of WCBS/NY, KCBS/LA and WBBM/Chicago. Local aspiring actors, singers, models and other talent submit videos to their local sites for a chance to be flown out to Hollywood to land their dream job. Local stations have agreed to promote the show on air and online in exchange for selling local sponsorships.
With its acquisition of Oxygen by NBC Universal, came layoffs. 60 people, or approx 25% of the staff, were laid off in Oxygen’s NY, LA and Dallas offices, and according to reports range across all departments and levels. NBC signed papers to picked up the female-targeted network in November and paid a reported $875 million. Laid off employees will either be paid thru to the end of the calendar year and/or provided with a severance package, or will be offered another position within NBCU where available. (http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117976958.html?categoryid=1238&cs=1 12/3)
The hit Disney Channel series Hannah Montana landed in the top spot in Ask.com’s list of 2007′s most popular television show searches. Animated shows Family Guy and SpongeBob SquarePants rounded out the top 3.
Ask.com’s Top Television Show Searches of 2007
1. Hannah Montana
2. Family Guy
3. SpongeBob SquarePants
4. WWE
5. American Idol
6. Big Brother
7. Gilmore Girls
8. South Park
9. Charmed
10. Grey’s Anatomy
Charter is expanding its HDTV services in Los Angeles via the switched digital video technology, including BigBand Networks’ switched video analysis application. Using the technology, which will provide more program channels to the subscribers, Charter hopes to double its HDTV programming by 2008. (Broadcast Engineering 12/3)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
No more ad-free episodes of “The Office” for $1.99 each. As promised, NBC is removing all its content from the iTunes Store after its contract with Apple expired. Its shows will also be available on other platforms, including Hulu.com, the joint venture with News Corp. (http://apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2007/12/03/nbc-pulls-its-tv-shows-from-apple-itunes/ 12/3)
Mourn the loss. NBC used to live right below National Geographic on the iTunes UI. I’m humming a dirge at my desk as we speak. Anyone want to make a bet on whether NBC returns to iTunes?
News Corp.’s MySpace is starting a program allowing musicians to choose a studio and select songs to perform. MySpace will show and sell videos of the performance. It could be perceived as an Internet variation of the series “MTV Unplugged,” but with a revenue stream built in. (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/04/technology/04myspace.html?_r=1&oref=slogin 12/4)
Currently, the only artist available on the site is James Blunt. Users can watch interviews and listen to live in-studio recordings. 5 tracks are currently available for purchase through a partnership with Lala.com. An interesting start but I’d love to see this be a bit more interactive somewhat akin to what happens in the Myspace.com political debate series. In this case, users could have the chance to additional pose their own questions to their favorite artists. Not: Instant chats. Hot: interactive video.
Last night, John McCain participated in the MySpace/MTV Presidential Dialogue series. The interactive debate was held Monday, Dec. 3 at 7 pm ET.
News Corp.’s Twentieth Century Fox studio is in talks with Apple to distribute new and back catalog movies via iTunes, reports Pali Capital’s Rich Greenfield, with a deal expected to be concluded by early next year. So far Disney is the only major Hollywood studio to utilize the platform for day and date releases with Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM distributing some catalog titles.
Six weeks after rolling out a preliminary version of NBC Universal’s Web video portal, company CEO Jeff Zucker describes the response to Hulu.com so far as “fantastic.” He adds: “Advertisers tell us they’re looking for a place to have commercials run in a safe environment.” (http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=72040 12/4)
AOL has relaunched its African American-themed Black Voices site with an increased focus on news, editorial content and community features. The site ranked #1 among Black-targeted sites in terms of unique users in October, according to ComScore Media Metrix, averaging 4.3 million uniques for the month.
News Corp. is said to be acquiring Beliefnet.com, a spirituality-based Web site that attracts some 3 million unique visitors a month. Beliefnet last month launched a beta social networking portal aimed at religious devotees, spiritual leaders and faith-based groups. (http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/breaking_news/news_corp_buys_beliefnetcom_72137.asp 12/3)
Disney’s Internet division is acquiring iParenting Media, in a deal intended to add to its line-up of family-targeted Web sites. IParenting.com offers articles, message boards and product reviews. “IParenting has built a strong, trusted reputation,” says Paul Yanover of Disney Online. (http://www.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20071204-000200-0631 12/4)
CBS signed a deal with Delivery Agent to make show-related merchandise worn or used by characters in CBS primetime shows available on SeenON.com. “Shopisodes” for CSI, CSI Miami, Amazing Race, How I Met Your Mother and Survivor: China are planned. Video clips enable the user to click directly on products that can then be purchased directly from the site. CBS has also completed a redesign of its retail site CBSstore.com.
ESPN is announcing plans for new Web sites that will broadcast sporting events and game scores. ESPN360.com allows users to watch six different sporting events at the same time. The new ScoreCenter.com plans to offer 23 different sports scores by mid-2008. (http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071203/walt_disney_conference.html 12/3)
New developments on the digital music scene — including a recent one-year download promotion deal between Pepsi and Amazon and Wal-Mart’s requirement that major labels supply the company’s Web site with MP3s — is putting pressure on Warner Music Group and Sony BMG Music Entertainment to hop on the MP3 bandwagon. Universal Music Group began allowing the sale of a majority of its catalog in MP3s in August, and sources say the powerhouse company will likely embrace the format permanently. (Yahoo! 12/3)
Cross platform communications and marketing firm Real Time Matrix introduced a new online marketing tool called Vortex, linking brands with relevant content via a customizable desktop console. The player embeds video, audio or text based ads alongside news, sports, entertainment and lifestyle content. Major League Soccer and Social Media Today have deployed the tool so far.
Correction from yesterday:
Facebook received $60 million in investment capital from Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, according to The Wall Street Journal’s All Things D blog. Li is making the investment from an entity separate from Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd. and Hutchinson Whampoa Ltd., two of Asia’s largest holding companies.
Filed under: WIRELESS
WIRELESS
Within five years a quarter of all entertainment will be created, edited and shared within peer groups rather than coming out of media companies, predicts a study by Nokia. People have “a genuine desire not only to create their own content, but also to remix it, mash it up and pass it on.” (http://www.nokia.com/A4136001?newsid=1172517 12/3)
The country’s two largest cable providers — Comcast and Time Warner Cable — said they would not participate in the auction next month of 700-megahertz wireless airwaves. The news sent Comcast shares 3% higher and Time Warner Cable stock up 4%. (Reuters 12/3)
Thirty-five percent of U.S. tweens (ages 8-12) have their own mobile phone, according to a new report from Nielsen. Another 20%-21% of tweens have used text messaging, ringtones and answer tones. They also spend less time than their teen counterparts online – 48% spend less than on hour per day on the net. When they are online they tend to be emailing or playing games.
Filed under: GAMING
GAMING
USA Network launched the USA Character Game Lounge, a mecca for casual gamers that integrates the popular WeeMee avatar into the games. (WeeMee is the personal avatar from the WeeWorld social networking site.) The site has 6 casual games up and running already with plans to double the offerings next year through original development and licensing deals.
The National Geographic Channel has rolled out its first advergame initiative with “Fossil Hunt,” which debuted on its new dinosaur-themed interactive microsite. Designed by Flash-based games creator Arkadium, the NGC microsite was developed to promote the channel’s new dinosaur TV specials premiering Sunday. (Adweek 12/3)
THQ Inc. division Valusoft licensed the rights to develop a console game for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2 based on Merv Griffin’s Crosswords gameshow. Hasbro also signed a deal with the show’s distributor Program Partners to create a home board game for the show.
Filed under: TECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOGY
TiVo has unveiled a new service for its high-definition DVR users that enables them to view and share their digital pictures through their TV sets. Users will also be able to view public images via download and create slide shows. (TheRetailBRIDGE.com 12/4)
New market research from Forrester Research found that there is an emerging consumer market that is willing to pay more for consumer electronics that use less energy or come from environmentally conscious companies. “The green leadership position is open: Which manufacturer will create the iconic ‘Prius’ product in consumer electronics?” Forrester Senior Vice President Christopher Mines said. (InformationWeek 12/3)
Microsoft will include a new version of Windows Genuine Advantage in its first Vista “service pack,” scheduled to be released in the first quarter of 2008. The software will no longer disable pirated copies of the operating system, but will alter the desktop wallpaper and continuously prompt users to buy an authentic copy of Vista. (The New York Times/Associated Press 12/4)
Filed under: MISC
MISC
The DVD business, one of the movie industry’s biggest sources of profits, is expected to post a sales decline for the first time since the format’s rise a decade ago. The drop is attributed in part to an increase in Internet downloading, video on demand, and competition from video games. (http://www.nypost.com/seven/12042007/business/dvd_isaster_sales_806649.htm 12/4)
