Daily Marauder

ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA by Marauder

ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA

In the “foreseeable future,” Netflix is “likely” to offer its video-streaming service separate from its rent-by-mail offering, according to Barry McCarthy, the company’s chief financial officer. Netflix subscribers now can use a number of devices — not just a PC — to stream Netflix movies and TV shows, including the popular “Watch Instantly” content. Reuters (2/25)

After the uproar that ensued when Facebook tried to change its terms of service a couple weeks ago, along with its subsequent backpedaling and public assurances that users own their data, the company is trying a different tack. It is inviting users to comment and contribute on proposed changes to its terms of service. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/02/26/facebook-opens-up-its-terms-of-service-to-input-from-users 2/26)

U2 has Comcast – The Allmans have Onstream Media. The digital media services platform announced a deal to webcast the Allman Brothers Band‘s 40th anniversary, 15-day concert series beginning on Mar. 9 live from the Beacon Theater in New York via Moogis.com on a pay-per-view basis. All 15 shows can be viewed live or via archive for $125. (Cynopsis 2/26)

A super-secret Digg toolbar has been spotted in the wild. We tracked down a beta tester who gave us the skinny on its features. The toolbar lets you Digg or Bury the page you are on, and shows how many Diggs it has already received. There are also links to show related pages, as well as more pages from the same source voted highly by the Digg community or marked as up and coming. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/02/26/digg-is-working-on-a-toolbar-to-go-after-stumbleupon-tinyurl-and-all-the-rest 2/26)

Faced with a tough economy, Google is working harder to make money off more of its properties. The Internet giant is extending its AdWords program to searches on Google News, delivering text ads on the search results page, just as it has long done with Web search results. (Iwantmedia 2/26, http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10172410-93.html 2/25)

Tomorrow’s Cloud Computing Roundtable is sold out. For those of you who can’t join, Techcrunch will be live-streaming the event. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/02/26/cloud-computing-roundtable-sold-out-but-it-will-be-streamed 2/26)

Alaska Airlines has announced that they’ve started testing Row 44’s satellite-based Wi-Fi service on a handful of Boeing 737-700s. The first trial flight will take place between Seattle and San Jose (leaves Seattle at 2:20 PT today and returns on Flight 329 from San Jose back to Seattle) and the service will be free for 60 days. After today that aircraft will shift routes. Pricing hasn’t been set, but I’d imagine it’s close to what VA or AA is charging for Aircell’s Gogo service. (

http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/02/26/alaska-airlines-starts-testing-satellite-based-wi-fi-services 2/26)

The two behemoths of the web are at each others’ throats again. European Union regulators said yesterday they have accepted a request from Google to join in on antitrust proceedings launched in Jan. to investigate Microsoft’s dominance in the web browser market. Google continues to criticize Microsoft’s practice of bundling Internet Explorer with its Windows operating system, claiming it is stifling innovation for users. (Cynopsis 2/26)

The PGA finally gets its roar back this week with the return of Tiger Woods at the Accenture Match Play Championship and Turner Sports’ PGAtour.com is there to provide online users with a variety of content including hole-by-hole video coverage of Tiger’s rounds. (Cynopsis 2/26)

(Below) If only ever company was this innovative…

Procter & Gamble is summoning top execs from Google, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter to its Cincinnati headquarters March 9 for a so-called Digital Night. The consumer goods giant is being hush-hush about the event. A P&G spokeswoman says: “It is about learning.” (

Iwantmedia 2/26, http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=134879 2/25)

Social app maker RockYou, which introduced a new feature earlier this month to add IAB-compliant video ads units to products, also began testing content distribution services with Ashton Kutcher’s Katalyst Media guaranteeing impressions within its apps, per NewTeeVee. RockYou was able to demonstrate 1.8 million impressions in a single day for Katalyst’s special Fashion Week episode of Blah Girls. (Cynopsis 2/26)

Internet advertising could fall by 5% in the first quarter of 2009, the first contraction in online ad spending since the dotcom bubble burst in 2001, according to market research group IDC. Also, the U.S. Internet ad market could get worse before the situation improves. (Iwantmedia 2/26, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123558776209174437.html 2/25)

Some 48% of respondents of a new survey from We Media/Zogby Interactive cite the Internet as their primary source of news and information. Among 18-29-year-olds, the number is 55%. In addition, Web sites are now “more trusted” news sources than newspapers, television or radio. (Iwantmedia 2/26, http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/agency/e3i195c363ab252f976cb7ec76fade882cc 2/25)

The simple e-mail newsletter is leading the way in showing how to make money online. The most noted success story is DailyCandy, purchased by Comcast for a reported $125 million last fall. Thrillist, with annual sales of up to $10 million, is launching in its 10th city, Philadelphia. (Iwantmedia 2/26, http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2009/tc20090224_035701.htm 2/25)

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