Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: Craig Mundie, Eric E. Schmidt, Eric Schmidt, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, United States, YouTube
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Earlier today, the U.S. declared a public health emergency over the Swine Flu, after confirming 20 cases of the flu spreading to humans in New York, Ohio, Kansas, Texas and California. More than 80 people have died in Mexico from the disease, which has potentially spread to other countries, including Canada and France. Although Federal officials are urging Americans not to panic about the disease, fear of contracting the potentially deadly flu is quickly spreading over Twitter, Google, and blogs across the web. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/26/swine-flu-spreads-panic-over-the-web 4/26)
Eric Schmidt, 
Google’s CEO, and Craig Mundie, Microsoft’s chief research and strategy officer, have been named to President’s Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). According to a statement released by the White House, PCAST is an advisory group of the the country’s foremost scientists and engineers who will help the President and Vice President form policy related to science, technology, and innovation. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/27/googles-schmidt-and-microsofts-mundie-appointed-as-obama-tech-advisors 4/27)
Google plans to roll out a system that will bring high-quality news content to users without them actively looking for it, according to CEO Eric Schmidt. Users will be automatically served the kind of news that interests them. Google will sell advertising against premium content. (Iwantmedia 4/27, http://www.thewrap.com/ind-column/2679 4/25)
Facebook is expected to open up core parts of its site to third-party developers so that they can build new services. The move means developers can build services that access the photos, videos, notes and comments users upload to Facebook, with users’ permission. (Iwantmedia 4/27, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124078628311057281.html 4/27)![[facebook]](image021.jpg@01C9C747.89E261D0)
Computers will freeze and drop offline with increasing regularity as the Web’s outdated infrastructure struggles to cope with the surging popularity of bandwidth-hungry video sites, analysts warn. YouTube reportedly uses as much bandwidth as the entire Internet took up in 2000. (Iwantmedia 4/27, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/technologynews/5224306/Internet-users-could-suffer-brownouts-due-to-YouTube-and-iPlayer.html 4/27)
AOL is adding a twist to old-fashioned political journalism with the launch of its new political news and blog site, PoliticsDaily.com. The site, which will primarily focus on in-depth political commentary as opposed to breaking news, will only provide original content, from long-form analysis to blog posts on issues in the U.S. political landscape. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/26/aol-launches-online-news-magazine-politicsdaily 4/26)
MTV Networks exec and co-founder John Sykes will replace outgoing CEO Owen Van Natta as the new head of Project Playlist, the controversial music-sharing site. Van Natta is being named CEO of MySpace. Sykes, who helped launch MTV 25 years ago, left the company last year. (Iwantmedia 4/27, http://kara.allthingsd.com/20090424/project-playlist-names-former-mtv-exec-sykes-as-ceo-replacing-van-natta 4/24)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=4508e612-70cf-4fcd-bc0f-dccc1481eef9)
Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: Android, AT&T, Google, iPhone, Smartphone, United States, Verizon, World of Warcraft
At the risk of repeating myself for the millionth time, in many peoples’ minds, the Achilles’ heel of the iPhone is the network it’s on in the US: AT&T. Since the day it was announced as being exclusive to that provider, people have been wondering one thing: How long until it’s on Verizon? Rumors have surfaced time and again about the possibility, but today brings perhaps the most concrete news yet that the two sides are talking. The two sides are discussing the possibility of getting Verizon version of the iPhone ready for 2010, sources tell USA Today. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/26/apple-may-hear-verizon-now 4/26)
Samsung is close to bringing its first Android-based smartphone to market, according to reports, which say the Samsung i7500 that O2 is expected to launch in Germany in June will be less than 12 millimeters thick, not include a hardware keypad and run on the Android 1.5 (Cupcake) operating system. Relatedly, Google will release its first Android-powered netbook in the next three months at a cost of $250, according to several reports. Softpedia (Romania) (4/27) , CNET (4/26) , Computerworld (4/25)
A mammoth application comes to an iPhone near you: World of Warcraft. (http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/04/25/world-of-warcraft-on-the-iphone-heralds-end-of-civilization-as-we-know-it 4/25)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=90b67e07-4c42-4637-a6f5-f184a7739759)
Filed under: GAMING | Tags: Bankruptcy, Business, Games, Midway Games, Mortal Kombat, Sumner Redstone, Time Warner, Video game
Time Warner is said to be preparing a bid for Midway Games, the creator of the “Mortal Kombat” video games. Midway filed for bankruptcy in February, two months after Sumner Redstone sold his 87% stake. “Mortal Kombat” has inspired two movies, both from Time Warner. (Iwantmedia 4/27, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=al5HLmOhfWOQ 4/24)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=b570197a-ae41-4778-8c0f-64725418c5ec)
Filed under: TECHNOLOGY | Tags: Best Buy, Blu-ray Disc, Consumer electronics, DVD, RealDVD, RealNetworks, Verizon, Wall Street Journal
Best Buy, the country’s leading consumer-electronics retail chain, is preparing to pump up its use of private-label brands. But, according to this article, the move can be a two-edged sword if products offered up under the company’s private labels do not meet the high-quality expectations that Best Buy has worked hard to cultivate. The Wall Street Journal (4/27)
Revenue from home-video rentals was up just under 1%, to $1.7 billion, in the first three months of the year, according to Rentrak. Revenue from video purchases, however, was not as strong: That category was down 11%, to $3.1 billion, according to Video Business research. Total spending on DVD and Blu-ray sales and rentals fell 7% during the period. Variety (4/26)
The overwhelming majority of teens are worried about the economy and are cutting back spending by about 14%, research shows. While they’re spending less on clothing, beauty, food and trips to movie theaters and concerts, video game, music and DVD sales have been less affected. Advertising Age (4/27)
A U.S. District judge in San Francisco will hear arguments in the MPAA’s lawsuit against RealNetworks‘ RealDVD software this week in a case that could determine whether consumers get to legally copy movie discs. The RealDVD software, which enables users to copy DVDs to a computer hard drive, came under fire from the Hollywood industry group, which said it bypasses DVD copy protection and violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. CNET (4/24)
The newest telecom device on the market — home media phones such as Verizon‘s Hub and AT&T’s HomeManager — could grow from 1.4 million units shipped this year to 14.3 million by 2013 if carriers continue to subsidize their costs to consumers, according to research company In-Stat. “The media phone represents a new category of broadband multimedia device that has the potential to become the fourth screen in the home, complementing the PC, TV and mobile handset,” In-Stat predicted. TWICE (4/24)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=13eedc20-cafc-46e9-b861-ca9324e2873d)
Filed under: MISC | Tags: Audit Bureau of Circulations, Condé Nast Publications, Conde Nast, Domino, Magazine, News Corporation, Newspaper, Wall Street Journal
The decline in U.S. newspaper weekday circulation almost doubled in the six-month period through March as more readers got their news from the Internet, says the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Of the top 10 newspapers, only News Corp.’s Wall Street Journal increased circulation. (Iwantmedia 4/27, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aJf0ZOXN22jY 4/27)
Conde Nast is shuttering the business magazine Portfolio and its Web site, Portfolio.com. The title launched in May 2007. The economic slump has “lowered Portfolio’s revenue projections,” the publisher says. Two months ago Conde Nast closed lifestyle magazine Domino. (Iwantmedia 4/27, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090427/ap_on_bi_ge/us_portfolio_magazine_closure 4/27)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=2980fbeb-5c26-4f91-8abe-02b713e064e9)
Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: American Broadcasting Company, Arts, CBS, Fox News Channel, NBC, NBC Universal, Television, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
Harking back to its heyday, ABC made a deal to bring back Who Wants to be a Millionaire? for a limited two-week stint this summer, in honor of the show’s 10th anniversary. Regis Philbin will also return as host for the 11-night run beginning August 9. The one-hour show will air Sunday-Thursday at 8p, ending on August 23. ABC saw interest in the game show revive based on the successful feature film Slumdog Millionaire which features the Indian version of the game show. (Cynopsis 4/23)
Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott, collectively, are becoming the face of NBC Universal‘s Oxygen cable network. “Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood” on May 26 will begin its fourth season on Oxygen, the network is developing a new show titled “Mr. and Mrs. Makeover” that the two will host, the pair are in talks with the network to star in a telepic and Spelling is set to produce content for Oxygen’s Web site based on her book “Mommyhood.” Variety (4/22)
NBC exiled drama series Kings off its schedule entirely. Beginning this Saturday, NBC will air repeats of Law & Order: SVU, followed by the new Southland and Law & Order. The network will allow Kings to bow on its schedule again starting June 13 at 8p and finishing its run through July 25. (Cynopsis 4/23)
NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox are facing both growing competition and dwindling advertising dollars. The 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. prime-time period is likely to become shorter and networks may start turning over programming to outsiders on some nights of the week, say industry execs. (Iwantmedia 4/23, http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/apr2009/db20090422_256972.htm 4/22)
The hostility between Fox News Channel and MSNBC reached a fever pitch when Fox producer Jesse Waters infiltrated the GE shareholders meeting and asked company execs about an alleged leftward political slant at their cable news channel. Waters’ microphone was cut off. (Iwantmedia 4/23, http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/finance/news/e3i888016761f9ec8245aee50586df5ba1a 4/22)
ABC is heading north of the border for a new series to add to its primetime lineup, picking up a Canadian cop drama titled Copper, cites THR. The 13-episode series about rookie cops is described as being similar to Grey’s Anatomy. (Cynopsis 4/23)
African-American-skewing BET is creating a new network that will launch in October. The new network, to be called Centric, will complement BET, executives said, by targeting a slightly older and more affluent demographic. The New York Times (4/23) , Multichannel News (4/22)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=f83ddad9-7f3f-4906-b187-d14e09f92ac6)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: Comcast, Facebook, Google, Hulu, NBC Universal, Nielsen, Social network service, YouTube
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
In the last year, people somehow found a way to spend 73% more time on Facebook and other social networking sites, according to a new report from Nielsen. In February, Nielsen says, people used social network sites more than they used Web-based e-mail for the first time ever. (Iwantmedia 4/23, http://www.thedeal.com/dealscape/2009/04/nielsen_facebook_use_outstrips.php 4/22)
Hulu, the video site owned by NBC Universal and News Corp., is said to be in talks with the world’s largest record labels to offer music videos in competition with Google‘s YouTube. Hulu plans to compete with Vevo, the music service planned by Universal Music and YouTube. (Iwantmedia 4/23, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aIve2K3rJFl0 4/22)
BBC’s hugely successful iPlayer will begin to offer a selection of programs in HD from the BBC HD channel. Featured shows include Doctor Who and Dragon’s Den. (Cynopsis 4/23)
Comcast is developing a Web site that will function as a portal through which the company’s cable subscribers can watch its TV content on the Internet, according to Karin Gilford, who runs Comcast’s Fancast Web site. Gilford would say only that the service, which initially will be free of charge to Comcast customers, will premiere soon. PCWorld (4/21)
Us Weekly magazine is selling sponsorship of its new Facebook profile to insurance firm State Farm in what appears to be a first for a media company on the social networking site, as well as a first for a company fan page. Facebook will not get any revenue from the deal. (Iwantmedia 4/23, http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=136214 4/23)
YouTube
class=”snap_preview_icon”> is trying to find more ways to monetize the popular web service, and recently started a test project with selected partners who were invited to start offering video downloads to interested viewers (they subsequently killed our own download tool, presumably because they want to minimize the risk of losing money on unauthorized download apps). Now it seems the Google-owned online video community site is ready to expand the program to other interested partners based in the U.S. (see screenshot below). (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/23/youtube-starts-rolling-out-video-download-program-for-partners/ 4/23)
Microsoft is launching a service that allows users of its MSN portal to create a home page dedicated to the goings-on around Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears and other celebs. Microsoft in the future plans to offer home pages customized around other topics. (Iwantmedia 4/23, http://www.informationweek.com/news/internet/ebusiness/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=217000208 4/22)
Discovery CEO David Zaslav said he had nothing against putting content online, except when it didn’t make for a smart business decision. Discovery is beginning to find some success with its full-length content in the lucrative syndication market and, because of that, Zaslav said he was willing to sit on the Web-video sidelines for a little while: “We’re waiting to see if an economic model develops.” Los Angeles Times (4/22)
Josh Schwartz, co-creator of NBC’s “Chuck,” says there is a push on the Internet to get fans to go to Subway to buy sandwiches to support the ratings-challenged series. (The sandwich shop was featured in a recent episode.) Also, many fans are Twittering their support. (Iwantmedia 4/23, http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2009/04/can-twitter-and-subway-save-chuck.html 4/22)
Barry Diller is said to be shopping the “hipster” tip sheet Very Short List. The media mogul’s IAC is in talks with several potential buyers, including Bob Pittman’s The Pilot Group and New York Observer owner Jared Kushner. The small business “likely won’t fetch a substantial sale price.” (Iwantmedia 4/23, http://www.nypost.com/seven/04232009/business/diller_dealing_web_site_165741.htm 4/23)
Not with a bang, but with a whimper. Yahoo! is unceremoniously closing GeoCities, one of the original web-hosting services acquired by Yahoo! in 1999 for $2.87 billion. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/23/yahoo-quietly-pulls-the-plug-on-geocities/ 4/23)
comScore Top 10 Gaining Properties by % Change in Unique Visitors* (U.S.) March 2009 vs. February 2009
Total Unique Visitors (000)
Feb-09 Mar-09 % Change Rank by
Unique Visitors
Twitter.com 4,033 9,313 131 78
Grisoft 4,260 7,764 82 114
Oprah.com 2,814 4,505 60 234
Usmagazine.com 3,863 5,943 54 47
Technorati Media 11,692 16,021 37 2
MLB.com 5,069 6,860 35 75
Groupe Lagardere 4,253 5,705 34 122
Limewire.com 7,861 10,414 32 71
Universal Music Group 5,626 7,421 32 49
Nestle 3,269 4,278 31 201
Total Internet: Total Audience 192,187 192,173 0 N/A
Source: comScore Media Metrix
*Ranking based on the top 250 properties in March 2009
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=eeb4c535-c880-4be9-8ecf-62dfea4e6e12)
