Daily Marauder

ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA

After losing out in the FCC’s spectrum auction just days ago, Google is already pressing the FCC to utilize TV “white space” to provide cheap nationwide wi-fi internet access. In a letter filed with the FCC on Friday, Google’s Washington telcom and media counsel Richard Whitt reiterated that a vast majority of viable spectrum goes unused or is underutilized. Broadcasters have long complained that white space services would interfere with TV broadcasts and next year’s transition from analog to digital, but Google promises it could work through any problems. Whitt mentions adopting technologies such as “spectrum sensing” to prevent signals from interfering with one another. (Cynopsis Digital, 3/25, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a4CLr1pIxzGY  3/24)

KUDOS to Google for persevering in their attempt to bring low cost Wi-Fi to all of us.  Yes, they’ve got a revenue-generating machine on their hands if successful but regardless, Wi-Fi is a service not afforded by all of us and perhaps a cheaper service will allow more to log on.

After years of telling advertisers that the way they place ads is totally wrong, Google is finally coming around to accommodate Madison Avenue on its own terms. By perfecting paid-search and contextual ads, Google has done a lot to reinvent advertising. But old habits die hard, and advertisers still like to target ads based on good old demographics. Google will be doing a lot more of that now that it owns DoubleClick. But it is also starting to incorporate demographic targeting into AdWords itself (in a very limited fashion).  As of last Friday, advertisers could target their ads by age or gender on 31 participating sites in Google’s ad network that provide such information. The most noteworthy ones are MySpace, Friendster, and YouTube. The rest, with a few exceptions, aren’t exactly the type of sites that big advertisers clamor for, so this isn’t going to have a big immediate impact. (Here is a list of the participating sites). AdWords already lets advertisers target demographically by site, taking generalized demographic data for entire sites from comScore. But this is different because it allows targeting by individual user. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/24/can-google-fix-its-myspace-problem-with-demographic-targeting  3/24)

 
Viewership of TV episodes on Web portals dropped slightly last month, compared with January, largely because networks didn’t have new episodes because of the writers’ strike. AOL TV, which carries ABC content, as well as shows from new channel Hulu and CBS, recorded the heaviest traffic, with 10.5 million unique visitors, while Yahoo! TV came in second, with 9.6 million, according to Nielsen Online figures. MSN TV suffered the biggest traffic drop in the list, with 6.8 million unique visitors. (Adweek/The Hollywood Reporter 3/24)

 
Two weeks ago there were reports that Yahoo was planning to join Google’s OpenSocial application platform. A day later we heard that the final decision had been made, but it wouldn’t be announced for a while, probably in April.  Well, they beat that projection by a week. Today Yahoo announced their support for the platform. But they are also, along with Google and MySpace, forming a new non-profit organization called the OpenSocial Foundation. It is modeled after the OpenID Foundation. The goal, they say, is that by placing the assets into a new non-profit, they’ll be able to say they will maintain absolute neutrality while keeping a straight face. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/25/as-predicted-yahoo-joins-opensocial-but-wait-theres-more  3/25)

 
The key to the future of social-networking sites like MySpace and Facebook may lie in practical functions, such as making plans, booking tickets or checking stock quotes, analysts say. (Iwantmedia 3/25, http://www.reuters.com/article/reutersEdge/idUSN2433464620080324  3/24)

 
A new Facebook application allows users to make flight reservations on American Airlines. (Iwantmedia 3/25, http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2008/03/24/daily9.html  3/24)

 
The Facebook Platform, launched in May 2007, has been an unqualified success. Nearly 20,000 applications have been released by third party developers, and it spurred Google to quickly launch a competing platform of its own. But the flood of applications caused problems right from the start. Facebook has repeatedly changed the rules, but always seems one step behind the creative moves by developers to spam their way into gaining new users. Most recently, limits were put in place that limit the number of invitations users could send out. The more people who ignore requests from a particular application, the lower the limit for that app.  Clearly Facebook is a little tired of beating questionable developer tacticts away with a stick. So now they will try the carrot approach as well - by rewarding developers who play by the rules and build useful, popular applications. The new program is being called the Preferred Application Program. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/24/facebook-to-launch-preferred-application-program  3/24)

 
The road show by Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang and other top execs to tout the company’s new growth plan is not a hit with shareholders, sources say. Most investors are dubious of Yahoo’s “blue-sky hopes.” “I think we wanted to give Jerry a hearing, but mostly to save face,” says one investor. (Iwantmedia 3/25, http://kara.allthingsd.com/20080325/yahoo-time-to-negotiate-with-microsoft  3/25)

 
Time Warner’s AOL is failing to “exploit a wealth of formidable assets,” writes David Case. The Internet service is a victim of “short-term thinking, bad technology, bungled product development, and a risk-averse culture more prone to imitation than innovation.” (Iwantmedia 3/25, http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/124/dead-man-walking.html  4/08)

 
(Below) I mean, this is nice. . .don’t get me wrong.  But, why would I want an online service dedicated to solely Sony BMG content when I could sign up for a monthly subscription model that gave me access to more than one label’s content?

Sony BMG Music Entertainment says it is developing an online music subscription service that will give users unlimited access to its music and be compatible with a host of digital music players. The service is expected to have a flat rate fee per month of about $9 to $12. (Iwantmedia 3/25, http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080325/germany_sony_bmg_online_music.html  3/25)

 
“South Park” creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker are expanding the Web site for South Park Studios, where viewers can stream any episode from the animated show’s 12 seasons. Revenues are being split 50/50 between Comedy Central and Stone/Parker. (Iwantmedia 3/25, http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/24/south-park-studios-now-you-dont-have-to-break-the-law-to-watch-south-park-online  3/24)

 
Looking to appeal to media consumers over an array of platforms, MTV is launching “North Palm Wrestling,” a short-form Web show that will migrate to the linear network. Also in the works: “Anton & Crapbag,” “Damien’s Other Show” and “hoodFab” — three mobile series that will run on a variety of MTV-branded platforms in the near future. (The Hollywood Reporter 3/24)

 
Yahoo is launching a daily Web show called “Primetime in No Time,” a recap of primetime television programming from the night before. The format is similar in style to E!’s “The Soup” and has manifested on the Web with programs like AOL’s “TV Squad Daily With Brigitte.” (Iwantmedia 3/25, http://www.tvweek.com/news/2008/03/yahoo_tries_again_on_web_origi.php  3/23)

It’s No Soup.  In fact, it’s just pretty freakin’ annoying really.

 
Viewdle, a startup developing facial recognition technology for video, has received an unspecified amount of funding from KIT Capital. As part of the deal, Viewdle will partner up with ROO, another KIT portfolio company focused on IPTV broadcasting. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/24/viewdle-funded-by-kit-capital-partners-with-roo  3/24)