Daily Marauder

ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA

Information Architects has released the final beta for the fourth iteration of its awesome Web Trends Map series. This is a great visualization of current Internet trends, and how companies and individuals fit into it. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/06/great-visualization-web-trends-map-4-final-beta 4/6)

Several questions come to mind straight away…like how is Vimeo ranked higher as a web trend over Hulu?  I have some issue with the content of the map but as a conversation starter, it’s quite interesting.

CBS Sports.com wraps up its video coverage of March Madness tonight with live steaming of the championship game on NCAA.com between the MSU Spartans and the UNC Tarheels. Improved latency and a high-quality viewing option helped MMOD improve its reach to nearly 7 million users this year through last Sunday (up 56% from 2008.) Visitors collectively consumed 8.04 million hours of live streaming and audio thus far- up 71% from 2008. (Cynopsis 4/6)

Google’s YouTube could lose $470 million in 2009, according to a report from Credit Suisse. The video-sharing site is estimated to generate $240 million in revenue this year. However, various expenses, especially pricy bandwidth costs, could add up to $711 million. (Iwantmedia 4/6, http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/04/03/analysts-estimate-youtubes-losses-at-470-million-this-year 4/3)

YouTube is said to be in talks to acquire licensing rights to full-length content from Sony Pictures, home of such films as “The International” and “Spider-Man.” Google’s video-sharing site appears to be aiming to become a player in Hollywood as online video is booming. (Iwantmedia 4/6, http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10212585-93.html 4/6)

YouTube is in negotiations with Sony Pictures to get licensing rights to some of the studio’s movies. “The Professional” is from Sony Pictures and is available at Crackle.com.

(Credit: Crackle.com)

Several Nickelodeon shows and Comedy Central’s “South Park” are being added to the instant streaming service on Netflix. The online movie rental service currently offers MTV Networks properties on DVD and obtained its first digital license from the company last year. (Iwantmedia 4/6, http://www.worldscreen.com/articles/display/20489 4/6)

Google will have to defend itself against a trademark lawsuit over advertisements linked to certain keyword searches, says a new U.S. appeals court ruling. If the court adopted Google’s argument, search engines could use trademarks “in ways designed to deceive.” (Iwantmedia 4/6, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123878987982287605.html 4/3)

The slow but steady march towards a unified online healthcare management system continues. Google has announced that it has forged a new partnership with CVS, one of the nation’s largest pharmacy chains, allowing CVS customers to import their full prescription history into Google Health. CVS joins other major pharmacies including Longs Drugs and Walgreens in offering the same functionality, which combined now allow over 100 million Americans to import their medical histories into Google Health, which launched last May. (Iwantmedia 4/6, http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/06/cvs-signs-on-with-google-health-to-offer-comprehensive-pharmacy-history 4/6)

Earlier this week, Google finally announced the formation of a new venture arm called Google Ventures. It is where all smaller-scale venture investments from Google will now originate. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/04/the-google-ventures-cheat-sheet 4/4)

The Associated Press and its member newspapers will take legal action against Web sites that use newspaper articles without legal permission, the group says, in a clear shot at aggregators like Google. “We can no longer stand by and watch others walk off with our work.” (Iwantmedia 4/6, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/07/business/media/07paper.html?_r=1 4/6)

Facebook began testing a SecondLife-style virtual currency system enabling community members to purchase “credits” to put toward virtual gifts and other goodies, per VentureBeat. The service is currently being tested on 15 US college Facebook networks as well as within Facebook’s own company network. (Cynopsis 4/6)

Newspaper company CEOs are said to be planning “private talks” on how to charge for digital content during this week’s Newspaper Association of America convention. Publishers are also expected to discuss whether to demand pay from online aggregators. (Iwantmedia 4/6, http://newsosaur.blogspot.com/2009/04/publishers-zero-in-on-charging-for.html 4/5)

Procter & Gamble will make a bigger push to develop digital media properties for women following the cancellation of its CBS soap opera “Guiding Light,” which it used for decades to peddle soap and household necessities. P&G is “just trying to keep up with the times.” (Iwantmedia 4/6, http://www.smartmoney.com/news/ON/?story=ON-20090403-000824-1525 4/3)