Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: Apple, Hulu, iPhone, ITunes Store, News Corporation, Providence Equity Partners, Software release life cycle, Twitter
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
As Hulu continues its spectacular rise (it is the No. 3 video site in the U.S. and is closing in on No. 2), it just got major buy-in from yet another major media company. Disney is now an investor, joining News Corp and NBC (along with private equity firm Providence Equity Partners). Each of the three media companies now reportedly own 27 percent 
of Hulu. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/30/disney-buys-into-hulu-youtube-should-be-worried/ 4/30)
A future version of iTunes, which was included in the beta version of an iPhone software update sent to developers, included a reference to Blu-ray playback in the “About iTunes” section, according to reports. The news indicates that Apple is preparing to make its applications and hardware compatible with Blu-ray, although the company has not released any statements to verify this speculation. InformationWeek (4/30) , Digital Trends (4/29
Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes says his company is working with several distributors on its TV Everywhere concept and will begin testing it sometime during the second half of the year. TV Everywhere, theoretically, will allow subscription-paying cable customers to watch their favorite shows on a number of other media platforms, including those that are mobile. Reuters (4/29)
Twitter has rolled out search functionality in a more prominent area of the site: the right nav bar. The functionality was originally only available to select users but now has been rolled out to everyone. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/30/twitter-brings-search-to-all/ 4/30)
To build buzz for MTV‘s Justin Timberlake-produced reality show The Phone, Fanscape has launched an interactive Twitter-based game on MTV’s Twitter page. Similar to the popular kids’ game “Telephone,” Fanscape tweets MTV’s audience weekly with abstract messages, asking them to change one word and retweet the message to create progressively funnier conversations. (Cynopsis 4/30)
Google has just announced that it has become the default location provider service in Firefox, which means beginning in the latest Firefox Beta (available here) users will be able to update their location from their web browser without having to install an extra plugins or programs through Google. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/30/google-becomes-default-location-provider-for-firefox/ 4/30)
Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp says it is in talks to buy Yahoo’s online-dating business, after posting a first-quarter loss due to advertising woes. “We would love to have Yahoo Personals,” Diller says. IAC already owns Match.com, the Web’s largest online personals service. (Iwantmedia 4/30, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124100716278968323.html 4/30)
Sony is making more of its films available for free on Crackle.com, the company’s online movie and television video site, adding “Spider-Man 2″ and other titles as it looks to attract more viewers and advertisers. The latest additions specifically target younger males. (Iwantmedia 4/30, http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118002988.html?categoryid=1237&cs=1 4/29)
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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
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Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: Chris DeWolfe, Hulu, Jason Kilar, Myspace, Nikki Finke, Public Broadcasting Service, Television, YouTube
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Hulu CEO Jason Kilar insists that the video site doesn’t cannibalize cable television. “The reality is actually different.” In fact, pay TV customers are increasing, he says. Also, Hulu has lured 49% more viewers since co-parent NBC began promoting it with commercials. (Iwantmedia 4/22, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aULJwPCFWsgE 4/22)
No more speculation or leaks, it’s official. As Techcrunch wrote yesterday, MySpace cofounder Chris DeWolfe
will shortly be leaving the company. He’ll remain on board as a strategic advisor. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/22/confirmed-myspace-ceo-chris-dewolfe-steps-down/ 4/22)
Times are tough in the online advertising space. Yahoo reported a 78% drop in net income, which totaled $118 million for Q1 compared to $537 million a year earlier. Revenue dropped 13% to $1.58 billion, down from $1.8 billion Q1 2008. Double digit declines in display advertising and revenues from affiliated sites didn’t help. Even search revenue on the company’s owned-and-operated sites dropped by 3% year-over-year to $399 million. (Cynopsis 4/22)
Twittering actors and industry bloggers are threatening the role of the once mighty Variety as the premier source for Hollywood news. Nikki Finke’s blog is “the one to beat right now.” Still, actors, directors and producers are bypassing the press — and blogs — via Twitter feeds. (Iwantmedia 4/22, http://www.observer.com/2009/media/get-me-rewrite-once-variety-ruled-holywood-press-twittering-stars-and-cutthroat-blogs-hav 4/21)
The Public Broadcasting Service is launching its own video site, allowing online viewers to stream many of its top shows, including “Masterpiece Theater,” for free. PBS is joining the ranks of Hulu and YouTube — places for consumers who aren’t wedded to watching TV on a TV. (Iwantmedia 4/22, http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ct-pbs22-2009apr22,0,5015075.story 4/22)
The real-time web is all the rage, with FriendFeed widely deploying live feeds earlier this month and Facebook working hard on bringing real-time streams to its homepage. Now YouTube is looking to get in on the action, and is currently testing a new feature dubbed ‘YouTube RealTime’, which allow users to see which of their friends are currently online, the videos they’re watching, and comments they’ve left. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/22/youtube-starts-experimenting-with-real-time-feeds/ 4/22)
Google is introducing Profiles, a service that allows people to create personal profiles that will turn up during Web searches for their name. The service is seen as Google’s attempt to take on Facebook and Twitter. “This improves Google’s relevancy in people search.” (Iwantmedia 4/22, http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2009-04-21-google-profiles-smiths-search_N.htm 4/21)
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says the software maker isn’t interested in buying Yahoo and will focus on gaining market share in Internet search through innovation. Microsoft, however, is believed to be stepping up talks with Yahoo about a partnership to challenge Google. (Iwantmedia 4/22, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ap.6RXsXVGmE 4/22)
Global recorded music sales fell by more than 8% in 2008 to $18.42 billion, led by a sharp drop-off in the United States, according to the world music trade body IFPI. The music industry is facing the transition by consumers to cheaper digital song formats and rampant piracy. (Iwantmedia 4/22, http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSTRE53K5VY20090421 4/21)
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Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: Apple, Handhelds, Hulu, iPhone, NBC, Patent application, Smartphones, Videoconferencing
Ask people what their favorite website is, and increasingly you’ll hear Hulu
<!—->class=”snap_preview_icon”> (at least in the US). The NBC and Fox-backed online video service just kicks ass when it comes to content, interface and overall execution. And now it’s apparently going to attempt to translate that into a kickass iPhone app, according to Business Insider<!– > class=”snap_preview_icon”>.(http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/17/hulu-for-the-iphone-yes-please-but-dont-get-your-hopes-up-just-yet/ 4/17)
Talking about it just makes me want it too much.
Two recently filed patent applications suggest that Apple may include features that incorporate motion and gesture user interfaces as well as videoconferencing in upcoming versions of the iPhone. However, given the advanced nature of the features and the time it would take to develop them, they may not make it to the market for some time, if at all, according to this report. CNET (4/16)
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Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: Facebook, Google, Hulu, Masters Tournament, Myspace, Starz, Television program, YouTube
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Google has just announced its Q1 2009 results, and for the first time ever, there has been a dip. Revenue fell 3% for the quarter versus the fourth quarter of 2008. But, for the year, revenues were still up. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/16/google-shows-a-3-sequential-dip-in-revenues-first-one-ever 4/16)
Facebook is closing the gap on Myspace in the U.S. in traffic by unique visitors slowly creeping up on Myspace’s No. 1 social network position. Worldwide, Facebook took that crown long ago (in April, 2008). But in the U.S., MySpace has been more difficult to displace. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/16/closing-the-gap-facebook-only-9-million-visitors-away-from-passing-myspace-in-us 4/16)
YouTube announced today new measures it is taking to more prominently feature and broaden the range of content available on the site from studios including Crackle/Sony Pictures, CBS, MGM, Lionsgate, Starz, the BBC, Anime Network, Cinetic Rights Management, Current TV, Discovery, Documentary Channel, First Look Studios, IndieFlix, National Geographic. The site will now feature a new ‘Shows’ tab in the YouTube masthead, which will allow users to browse through television content by genre, network, title, and popularity. The site now features thousands of full TV episodes, as well as hundreds of movies. Some videos will be available in HD. At this point the majority of content will come from older TV shows and movies – series like ‘Party of Five’ and ‘Married With Children’, not the current seasons we’ve been seeing on Hulu. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/16/youtube-takes-aim-at-hulu 4/16)
Adding a ‘show’ tab doesn’t prioritize professional content like a whole site built for it. Party of 5 vs. Family Guy? Easy choice.
CBS taking home in millions of dollars from online streaming of the Masters Tournament and other sporting events. The network raked in $30 million alone from the NCAA’s March Madness basketball tournament. Users “will actually pay for online sports content.” (Iwantmedia 4/16, http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/apr2009/db20090415_833886.htm 4/15)
If you want to take a peek at how AOL plans to take on Facebook, you need to look beyond Bebo (the social network it bought for $850 million last year) to theBoot, a country music site hidden away off in a corner of AOL Music. A very interesting experiment is going on at theBoot that represents a major plank in AOL’s social-networking strategy. It shows how AOL plans to take on Facebook Connect, which is Facebook’s way of letting other Websites tap into its members and their activity streams. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/16/its-a-socialthing-aols-plan-to-take-on-facebook-connect-with-lifestreaming-and-chat 4/16)
CBS site TV.com, a rival to NBC Universal and News Corp.’s Hulu, says it is in talks to replicate its U.S. video-on-demand service in the United Kingdom through partnerships with broadcasters. Recent reports suggest that Hulu is in talks to launch a U.K. version. (Iwantmedia 4/16, http://www.nma.co.uk/Articles/42187/Hulu+competitor+TVcom+in+talks+for+UK+partnerships.html 4/15)
Talk show host Oprah Winfrey has taken control of her own Twitter name, @oprah, she announced on her Facebook page today. And tomorrow, she’ll start using it, on her show. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/16/oprah-first-tweet-will-be-tomorrow-with-ashton-kutcher-on-the-show-soccer-moms-to-take-over-the-service 4/16)
Yahoo is said to be seeking buyers for HotJobs — and other properties could follow the employment site out of the door. Yahoo struck a deal to buy HotJobs in 2001 for $436 million. Yahoo could spell out what other divisions are for sale when it reports earnings on Tuesday. (Iwantmedia 4/16, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e21df062-2a16-11de-9d01-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1 4/16)
The producers behind Web series “MoCap, LLC,” which revolves around the denizens of a motion-capture studio, say they have found the perfect TV platform for their show — the young male-centric Spike TV. On April 24, the network will kick off six episodes of the series, which is produced by Albie Hecht, Spike’s first president. TVWeek.com (4/15)
Thirteen.org re-launched their website with nineepisodes of the classic series Soul!, a variety show promoting African-American artistry, community and culture from the seventies.
This sh*t is amazing. I’m now entranced watching this episode with Taj Mahal in it from Dec 13, 1972. I may not have been born yet but I still feel connected to this inspirational music from an artist with this much passion and instrument knowledge. Maybe it’s not digital downloads that are killing the music industry. After watching this, I think music just needs to get its groove back.
Steve Brill, Gordon Crovitz and Leo Hindery Jr. are starting a company, Journalism Online, aiming to build a system to allow newspapers and magazines to charge for online access. For unlimited subscriptions, the firm is “playing with a figure of $15 a month.” (Iwantmedia 4/16, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/15/business/media/15brill.html?_r=1 4/15)
The best way for newspapers to escape their dismal state is to “invent a new product,” says Google CEO Eric Schmidt. “Incumbents very seldom invent the future,” he adds. Schmidt is in talks with newspapers about a new advertising model that “understands your history.” (Iwantmedia 4/16, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/15/opinion/15dowd.html 4/15)
The National Basketball Association’s NBA.com today will introduce its new look, which will include five new video channels. One of those channels will exclusively feature the larger-than-life personality of former “Round Mound of Rebound” and current TNT analyst Charles Barkley. TVWeek.com (4/15)
Time Warner Cable, which continues to take heat this week for its metered broadband plan, would like the FCC to back off insisting that ISPs meet net neutrality obligations per Ars Technica, noting a response to the FCC’s call for input regarding the stimulus plan. “Now is not the time, nor is this the appropriate proceeding, to engage in a debate about the need for net neutrality obligations,” the company writes. (Cynopsis 4/16)
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Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: CBS, Credit Suisse, Google, Hulu, Sony Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Vimeo, YouTube
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)
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Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: AOL, Digital media, Fox Interactive Media, Google, Hulu, Interactive Advertising Bureau, NBC Universal, YouTube
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Jonathan Miller
, the former CEO of AOL, is taking over the digital assets of News Corp., we’ve confirmed – his new title will be CEO of Digital Media. This will include Fox Interactive Media and other duties. Peter Levinsohn, the current president of Fox Interactive, will be leaving his current position but will remain at News Corp. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/27/breaking-former-aol-chief-jonathn-miller-new-fox-interactive-chief/ 3/27)
Disney is entering a deal to put video clips from ABC and ESPN on Google’s YouTube video site in an advertising-revenue sharing arrangement. Disney also is near an agreement to take a stake in rival video portal Hulu, whose owners include NBC Universal and News Corp. (Iwantmedia 3/30, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=afGDz3LXeq8I 3/30)
YouTube will soon unveil a redesign that separates its professional content from amateur videos. YouTube is also redesigning its video player to resemble the video experience on NBC Universal-News Corp.’s increasingly popular Hulu. “It’s totally a Hulu approach.” (Iwantmedia 3/30, http://www.clickz.com/3633218 3/30)
Time Warner Cable has started testing a subscription service in Milwaukee that enables viewers to watch shows on cable networks such as HBO on their computers. According to these reports, the test could lead to a dramatic game-changer for the TV landscape. The New York Times (3/29) , The Hollywood Reporter (3/27)
In an upbeat report this morning, the Interactive Advertising Bureau reported that internet advertising in the U.S. grew 10.6 percent to $23.4 billion. And the $6.1 billion fourth quarter (up 2.6 percent) was the first time Internet advertising surpassed the $6 billion mark. That said, the rate of growth declined both on an annual and quarterly basis. Even the 4.5 percent sequential growth over the third quarter was the lowest since 2002 (as was the annual growth rate). But the sequential growth showed a promising uptick in the fourth quarter compared to the previous three quarters, as the chart above shows. This rebound is also in line with what the four big Web advertising companies (Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, and AOL) saw in the fourth quarter. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/30/iab-reports-internet-advertising-grew-10-percent-last-year-outpacing-tv/ 3/30)
Two Microsoft-related announcements coming from social networking giant MySpace today: the portal is adding support for Windows Mobile-run phones to its new mobile application, due this summer, and bringing the Silverlight runtime to its developer program thanks to a jointly developed Open Source kit. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/30/myspace-embraces-microsoft-platforms-for-mobile-and-web-applications/ 3/30)
All you Twitter addicts stuck in traffic, some good news. You might not have to risk your life any longer sending out one-handed Tweets on your Blackberry or iPhone, while trying to hide the fact that you are doing so under the dashboard. If you have OnStar in your car, you may soon be able to send and receive hands-free Tweets through OnStar’s voice-activated calling system. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/27/omg-onstar-may-soon-let-you-twitter-from-your-car/ 3/27)
Online music may be a treacherous space right now, but there are still a handful of music startups that may be coming close to getting it right. One of our favorites is Lala, a streaming music site that allows users to put their digital music library in the cloud, which can then be accessed from any computer. And soon, they’ll be able to access every song they own from their iPhones too, without having to worry about storage capacity or syncing. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/28/an-exclusive-first-look-at-lalas-iphone-app/ 3/28)
Google is launching a music search service in China that offers free downloads of songs supported by advertising. Through a partnership with China’s Top100.cn, Google is offering more than 1.1 million songs from record labels including Warner, Sony, Universal and EMI. (Iwantmedia 3/30, http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090330/ennew_afp/lifestylechinausinternetmusiccopyright 3/30)
Fox News Channel hopes to leverage its conservative news brand online with The Fox Nation, a new Web site built around its on-air personalities. The site will emulate parent News Corp.’s MySpace by encouraging readers to post comments and argue with one another. (Iwantmedia 3/30, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/29/AR2009032902102.html 3/30)
Flickr founder Caterina Fake revealed her latest creation, Hunch, a new ad supported social networking/decision making engine that allows users to pose questions that are answered using data culled from like-minded users. (Cynopsis 3/30)
IAC property CollegeHumor is acquiring the sports satire site SportsPickle for an undisclosed sum. The purchase puts the popular CollegeHumor portfolio of comedy content into the sports vertical. Barry Diller’s IAC already encompasses 35 Internet businesses. (Iwantmedia 3/30, http://www.minonline.com/news/10458.html 3/27)
In a world where everything is being jammed into 140 characters or less, shorter is better. That goes double (or is it half?) for lengthy URLs. So-called URL shortening services are increasingly becoming indispensable to anyone who uses Twitter. It is the only practical way to share links on the service. Today, one of these URL shortening services, bit.ly, raised $2 million, sparking the question: How much are these things actually worth? ) (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/30/if-bitly-is-worth-8-million-tinyurl-is-worth-at-least-46-million/ 3/30)
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