Seems ironic that I’m posting this on Utterz no? There’s just
something about a cow on a mobile phone.
Filed under: Feature, ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: BusinessWeek, Facebook, Keynote, Mark Zuckerberg, Sarah Lacy, SXSW
SXSW: THE FACEBOOK KEYNOTE TRAIN WRECK
As I was watching this SXSW keynote yesterday, a colleague texted me, “I’ll give you a nickel if you scream out either get a room or this is getting awkward.” I think that effectively sums up the overall theme of the keynote.
In this keynote, Mark Zuckerberg was interviewed by BusinessWeek columnist Sarah Lacy. I was shocked by Lacy’s immaturity and general inability to do something as simple as ask a question. Even seventh graders understand that they must limit their usage of the word “like” in presentations. In this short clip above, you’ll catch the best moment of the keynote: Mark Zuckerberg implores Lacy to ask him a question and the audience, including myself, reacts with all-out applause. If that moment couldn’t get any more awkward, Lacy then continues her on-stage suicide by claiming that she “apparently can’t do anything right.” Yup, not in this case. I’m afraid not.
A friend ran into her later that night at the Google Blogger party and asked about her reaction to the audience’s assault on her interview methods. In essence, she claimed that she was a talent to be reckoned with and that all critics can just go to hell. When telling this to my friend, a journalist, in a room full of bloggers, she asserted to him that this was “off the record” without waiting for his approval. Girl, you crazy.
Sarah Lacy ladies and gentlemen.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s keynote address at the SXSWi festival “out-and-out bombed.” (http://www.news.com/8301-13577_3-9889519-36.html 3/9)
Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE
Two media moguls are set to go head-to-head in a Delaware court Monday, as Liberty Media’s John Malone aims to stop the plan by IAC’s Barry Diller to break up his Internet holding company. While Malone potentially could oust Diller and win control of IAC, many analysts expect a settlement. (http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article3510674.ece 3/9, http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2008/04/wolff200804 4/08)
News Corp. No. 2 Peter Chernin and Disney CEO Bob Iger are said to have held a “quiet confab” last week with leaders of the Screen Actors Guild to lay groundwork for formal bargaining, aiming to prevent another Hollywood walkout. SAG wants to “renegotiate DVDs and new media.” (http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/moguls-and-sag-leaders-met-secretly 3/7)
Richard Branson could pocket $750 million if U.K. cable giant Virgin Media is sold to U.S. private equity groups, which are considering a takeover bid. Kohlberg, Kravis Roberts, Blackstone, Cinven, and Providence Equity are prepared to offer $6 billion to $7.5 billion for the company. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/mar/09/privateequity.virginrichardbranson 3/7)
Kathie Lee Gifford is said to be in talks to co-host the fourth hour of NBC’s “Today” show. Gifford, who was co-host of “Live With Regis and Kathie Lee” for 15 years, would add immediate star power to the final hour of “Today,” which NBC introduced last fall. (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/08/arts/television/08toda.html 3/8)
Tucker Carlson is reportedly about to be let go by MSNBC. The lone conservative at the cable news channel apparently doesn’t fit in at the increasingly left-leaning outfit. Carlson, known for his bow ties, has been working without a contract since the end of 2006. (http://www.nypost.com/seven/03102008/gossip/pagesix/tuckered_out__101232.htm 3/10)
A&E tallied 1.3 million A18-49 as well as 1.3 million A25-54 viewers for the premiere of Crime 360 last Thursday (10p). The new original series opener also drew in 2.3 million total viewers.
Showtime has ordered a sixth season of The L Word with 8 episodes. This will be the show’s final season, reports THR. The show is scheduled to begin airing the final season in 2009. The current season finale is slated to air on March 23.
HBO has approved a pilot about a recently widowed 40-year-old who is now looking for the meaning of life as she drives around L.A. with her dog. The comedy, titled “Driving Around With Joni,” comes from Jhoni Marchinko, one of the creative forces behind “Will & Grace.” (The Hollywood Reporter 3/10)
Bids for The Weather Channel closed Friday, and parent company Landmark will begin the process of sorting through the interested parties, according to this article. Those in the hunt are believed to include NBC, CBS and Time Warner. (Broadcasting & Cable 3/7)
Viacom-owned TV Land, which has made its mark by serving up classic TV shows to a 40-to-54 demographic, will be testing the flexibility of the network by adding a handful of original reality series to its content mix. The first effort came last week with the debut of “High School Reunion,” and it will continue later this year with a number of new shows, including one about former boxer George Foreman and his family. (Multichannel News 3/9)
Lachlan Murdoch is facing a setback in his plan to re-enter the media business after the major financial backer of his proposed $3.3 billion takeover of Australia’s Consolidated Media suddenly walked away. Rupert Murdoch’s eldest son is now knocking on the doors of U.S. investors. (http://www.forbes.com/media/2008/03/07/consolidated-media-murdoch-markets-equity-cx_vk_0307markets02.html 3/7)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Microsoft will not rush to merge its technology platform with Yahoo’s after a takeover of the Internet company, even if means delaying some of the potential benefits to shareholders from any deal, says Microsoft chief software architect Ray Ozzie. Such a move would be “simply reckless.” (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/cc405276-ee08-11dc-a5c1-0000779fd2ac.html 3/9)
In an effort to slow Google’s siphoning of advertising dollars, the six largest U.S. cable companies — including Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Cablevision — are making plans for a jointly owned company that would allow marketers to buy ads across the companies’ systems. (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/10/business/media/10cable.html 3/10)
Google plans to begin weighing Web page load time as a factor in assigning search keyword quality scores, which influence ad placement on the search giant’s network pages. Ads leading to landing pages that take a long time to load will perform worse than ads linked to svelte pages. (http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml;?articleID=206902553 3/7)
Viacom’s Paramount Pictures is launching an application on Facebook that will make it the first major studio to offer clips from thousands of its movies available for use on the Internet. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080310/ap_on_hi_te/paramount_facebook 3/10)
From what I can see so far, the application isn’t yet live. That said, the fan page is and The Love guru trailer is definitely worth checking out. Ever since the third installment of Austin Powers, I’ve been hoping and praying for a bit of Mike Myers back in my life.
News Corp.’s MySpace is said to be accelerating talks with leading record labels about creating an online music service. Sony BMG, Warner Music and EMI could reach agreements with MySpace before the end of the month, paving the way for MySpace Music to launch this year. (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/954fbbc2-ee02-11dc-a5c1-0000779fd2ac.html 3/9)
After one year and an estimated $15 million worth of development costs, the News Corp./NBC Universal project Hulu.com is set to make its debut in early March. The ad-supported video Web site will let users edit participating television shows and embed clips into other Web sites. (http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/05/technology/hulu.fortune/index.htm 3/8)
Hulu CEO Jason Killar
“The All-For-Nots,” the new short-form Web series from Michael Eisner’s Vuguru studio, is premiering tomorrow at theallfornots.com, YouTube and Bebo. It will also air on Mark Cuban’s HDNet.
If you’re in Austin for SXSW, check out the official launch party of the series on Tuesday from 5:30 – 8:30 at Club de Ville. For details on the party and a trailer for the new series, click the image below.
Reports are circulating that Sir Paul McCartney has finally agreed to sell the digital rights to the Beatles catalog in an exclusive deal with Apple, worth anywhere from $400 million (UPI) to $600 million (Telegraph.)
Greater Media and Jump2Go have signed an agreement to feature iTunes-tagging technology on Greater Media’s HD Radio broadcasts. Radio World (3/7)
Warner Bros. Television plans to resurrect The WB television network in the form of a new Web site. On the site, whose working title is wb.com, users will be able to catch free five-minute episodes of all WB-produced series, including “Gilmore Girls,” “Everwood” and “What I Like About You.” (http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003722037 3/10)
The online series “Quarterlife,” which performed so poorly on NBC that it was yanked after one episode, is “doing just fine on the Internet,” writes co-creator Marshall Herskovitz. “How do we define success [when] the same project can be a triumph in one arena and a failure in another?” (http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv/la-et-counter8mar08,1,1530737.story 3/8)
A&E’s Bio.com also launched its first original web series, On The Job, featuring 2-3 minute looks behind the tape at crime scenes, from a crime scene cleaner to a forensic scientist to a maximum security prison guard. The series is part of the recently launched crime-focuses Notorious minisite.
On the Job
Brad Greenspan’s LiveUniverse has gone public with a hostile takeover bid to acquire the Stage6 video sharing site recently shuttered by parent company DivX. LiveUniverse says its $11 million cash/advertising/equity bid was rejected by DivX’s management team and that offers to renegotiate have been rebuffed.
Watching television episodes on a computer screen is now a common activity for millions of consumers. “It has become a mainstream behavior in an extraordinarily quick time,” says NBC research head Alan Wurtzel. “It isn’t just the province of college students or generation Y-ers. It spans all ages.” (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/10/technology/10online.html?_r=1&oref=slogin 3/10)
Some of the same entrepreneurs behind the Internet user-generated revolution are now paying professionals for content. Google is testing Knol, a Wikipedia-like site by “authoritative” sources. “Nobody wants to advertise next to crap,” asserts Andrew Keen, author of “The Cult of the Amateur.” (http://www.newsweek.com/id/119091 3/6)
Fifteen media women — including Liz Smith, Lesley Stahl and Peggy Noonan — on Saturday officially launched Wowowow.com, a Web site pitched as Huffington Post meets iVillage. The five founders each kicked in $200,000 to fund the start-up and attracted Citigroup as an advertiser. (http://www.nypost.com/seven/03092008/business/web_gals_set_sites_on_wow_101128.htm 3/9)
Yahoo is preparing a major new content site, possibly called Shine, aimed at women between the ages of 25 and 54. Much like a general-interest women’s magazine, the site will focus on topics such as fashion, beauty, home and parenting, incorporating user home pages and blogs. (http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2008/tc2008037_816228.htm 3/7)
Filed under: WIRELESS
Gameloft plans to develop more than 15 mobile games aimed specifically for the Apple iPhone’s new gaming-software platform, the company said. Apple intends to release the SDK later this year. (Pocket-lint.co.uk 3/10)
Filed under: GAMING
Comcast’s venture-capital arm is investing in Giant Realm, a network of video game/entertainment sites. “One of Comcast’s primary products is high-speed Internet,” notes Giant Realm CEO James Green, “and one of the biggest consumers of that are people who play video games online.” (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/business/news/e3i1de189927bfff75813dc5d3a14653715 3/10)
