Google Set to Test Limits of Society

Television, newspaper and book execs feel that Google is growing by using their content without paying for it, observes The Economist. The Internet giant is now turning into a custodian of a wide range of intimate data on its users. Google is set to "test the limits of what society can tolerate."

You can read the complete story on The Economist website

Inc. Expands Size of Inc. 500 Tenfold, Plots Social Networking Foray

Inc. Magazine's September 2007 issue will cover the annual Inc. 500, a list of private businesses in a number of industries that grew the fastest in their respective classes.

Meanwhile, Inc. Online boasts an unexpectedly larger list: the company's first Inc. 5000.

The magazine profiles private-sector companies for the knowledge development of other entrepreneurs.

A complete list of the Inc. 5000 can be found at www.inc.com/inc5000. Red Ventures out of Charlotte and HydraMedia, Beverly Hills topped charts for the Marketing and Advertising sector.

This October the company also plans to unveil IncBiz.net.com, a site where private enterprises can network and exchange information.

Development of niche professional social networks like this one is building in popularity, per a recent Wall Street Journal article, which noted the blossoming of the following niche networks:

* Sermo.com for medicine
* A Reuters social networking destination for finance
* INmobile.org for wireless
* AdGabber.com for advertising

E! Network to Produce Daily Online Show

Variety announced today that E! is boosting its online news efforts, greenlighting a new broadband skein dubbed "E! News Now."

Cabler will produce at least 12 daily editions of the online skein, which will be hosted by thesp Valery Ortiz ("What About Brian?") and former MSNBC reporter Ashlan Gorse ("The Hot List"). Each seg will run between one and two minutes in length and focus on a single breaking story or general topic.

In addition to distributing the segs via its own website, "E! News Now" will be available via mobile phones and yet-to-be announced distribution partners.

"'E! News Now' will allow us to bring (breaking) stories to our users as quickly as possible," said John Najarian, senior VP of new media and business development for E! parent Comcast Entertainment Group.

Lagardere agrees to sell Swedish Elle to Allers

PARIS, Aug 27 (Reuters) - French media to aerospace group Lagardere said on Monday it had agreed to sell its Hachette Filipacchi Sweden unit to Swedish publisher Allers Forlag. It gave no financial details but said the sale was part of a rationalisation plan.

The Lagardere unit publishes the Elle, Elle Interior and Cafe magazines in Sweden.

NYTimes.com Gets Its Rapt on

The New York Times' advertising infrastructure is getting swallowed by Rapt, in a new deal where the nytimes.com adopts Rapt's advertising yield-management platform.

According to DM News, Rapt will "provide strategic advisory services and activate its entire software suite in support of NYTimes.com’s advertising sales operations."

Other Rapt clients include MTV Networks, CNET Networks and Fox Interactive Media.

Murdoch's Dow Jones Deal Makes FT Owner a 'Loser'

Financial Times owner Pearson is being downgraded by Deutsche Bank, saying its business news unit is "the main loser" in recent deals like News Corp.'s planned buyout of Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones. If Pearson tries to sell the FT it will be in "a position of weakness."

MarketWatch reported yesterday.

Britain Abandons Old Media in 'Digital Boom'

BBC reports today that the Internet, mobile phones and MP3 players are revolutionizing how British citizens spend their time, according to the new annual report from Ofcom, the regulator for U.K. media industries.

It reveals that older media such as TV, radio and even DVDs are being abandoned in favour of more modern technology.

It also shows that women, in some age groups, are the dominant web users and older web users spend more time online than any group.

Among children it showed that web and mobile phone use is growing at the expense of video games.

The 330-page report takes a comprehensive look at the way Britons use new and old media and reveals a nation in love with its media, gadgets and hi-tech gear.

The average Briton now spends 50 hours per week on the phone, using the net, watching TV or listening to the radio. However, the mix of how much time is spent on each one has changed radically over the last few years.

Daily mobile phone use is up 58% on 2002 and, over the same period, net use has grown 158%. By contrast Britons spend far less time watching TV, listening to the radio or chatting on a fixed line phone.

The report, the fourth annual survey from Ofcom, revealed big differences in the technologies that different sectors of the population prefer.

* Among Britons aged 25-34, women account for 55% of the time this group spends online

* 16% of Britons aged 65+ spend 42 hours per month online - more than any other age group

* More than 75% of 11 year olds have their own TV, games console and mobile phone

* 15% of 13-15 year olds and 7% of 10 year olds have their own webcam

Young people now spend as much time on their mobile phone as they do playing computer and console games. Proving more popular among younger people are mobile music players and using the net.

Declining among younger people was listening to the radio and playing video and computer games.

Ofcom's report echoed this observation and said Britons were getting increasingly sophisticated in their use of communications technologies.

Older men playing video games, BBC
Older people are keen consumers of modern technology

For instance, a teenager playing an online game might take a picture of a high score or achievement unlocked while they play then text or e-mail it to friends or add it to a website or Facebook page.

The report also revealed that patterns of use could change again as the latest technologies come into wider use.

It revealed that the UK now has about 450,000 subscribers to high-definition services. Of those questioned by Ofcom, 43% said they watched more TV since getting HD. A minority of that group, 36%, said they now watched six or more extra hours of TV every week.

Ownership of a Digital Video Recorder also seems to have a significant effect on viewing habits. Ofcom found that many prefer to watch programmes saved on their DVR rather than a DVD.

YouTube Introduces Video Advertising

NEW YORK, August 22: YouTube today introduced video advertising on the site, opting for “overlays” as opposed to pre-rolls where ads are featured at the beginning of a clip.

The overlay ad appears at the bottom of a clip 15 seconds after the video begins and disappears within 10 seconds if the user doesn’t click on it. The user can also opt to close the ad. If the user clicks on the campaign, the video clip they were watching automatically pauses and the full ad appears.

“What we have come up with is a user-controlled ad format that is engaging,” said Eileen Naughton, Google’s director for media platforms, in the New York Times. “We want our users to be able to accept and choose what type of advertising they engage in.”

Shiva Rajaraman, the product manager for YouTube, told the AP that based on internal research, more than 70 percent of people give up when they see a pre-roll. By contrast, less than 10 percent decide to close an overlay.

Initial video advertisers on YouTube include 20th Century Fox and New Line Cinema; about 50 companies have signed up for the new service, Reuters indicates. The clips that advertising will be featured in have all been legally licensed to the Google-owned site; no ads will appear in user-generated content. Revenues from video advertising on YouTube will be shared with the content owners. Advertisers will be charged $20 for every 1,000 times the ad is displayed.

Wallpaper* Founder Eyes Growth for New Title

Wallpaper* magazine founder Tyler Brule is at the sixth-month point of publishing a Monocle, a high-end, glossy newsmagazine focusing on "global affairs, business, culture & design." The London-based title is now opening its fourth bureau in Sydney, joining New York, Tokyo and Zurich.


The New York Observer writes that in the opinion of Tyler Brûlé, the ever-stylish Wallpaper* founder, the suits are looking at today’s media landscape completely backwards.

These days, he said, news executives and big-time publishers are foolishly closing foreign bureaus, cutting trim size, reducing paper stock, overdoing local news and swapping editorial authority for user-generated content.

“We’re not in the business of trying to build a galaxy of bloggers and churn out copy all day,” said Mr. Brûlé, who earlier this year launched Monocle, a high-end newsmagazine.

While Time redesigns, refashions and rethinks its business model—and crowns “You” person of the year—Mr. Brûlé is now at the sixth-month point of publishing a glossy 225-plus-page “briefing on global affairs, business, culture & design” stuffed with original photography and a “manga” comic book.

And as major newspapers like The Boston Globe shutter their foreign bureaus this year, Mr. Brûlé sees opportunity: next week, he said, Sydney will open as the London-based Monocle’s fourth bureau, joining New York, Tokyo and Zurich.

Mr. Brûlé, now 38, said that for years he’s considered launching a newsmagazine in the tradition of the “confident, robust newsstand weekly” he found in Germany, packed with “60 pages of foreign reportage.” In 1994, while freelancing for one such German magazine, Mr. Brûlé was struck by a sniper’s bullet in Afghanistan.

But the idea for Wallpaper* was also percolating during his recovery in London, and that’s the one that took off first, in 1996—clearing a market for aspirational cosmopolitans (yuppie-porn, to some). The category has skyrocketed since, with upscale shelter mags clogging the magazine racks at Barnes & Noble.

The following year, Mr. Brûlé sold the magazine to Time Inc. for $1.63 million, and founded a design agency, Wink Media (later Winkreative), in 1998. Mr. Brûlé remained editorial director until 2002, before leaving amid gossip about private jet expenses and disagreements with corporate higher-ups.

Before leaving Wallpaper*, Mr. Brûlé was already quoted in the press about his desire to launch a newsmagazine.

“That didn’t make them very happy at Time Inc,” Mr. Brûlé said, laughing. “Norman Pearlstine got so angry at me. I remember being screamed at on the phone in Hamburg.”

ESPNU Scores More Fans, Via Time Warner Deal

ESPNU, the 2-year-old network launched in response to College Sports Television (CSTV), will double its distribution this month, thanks to a sprawling deal between parent company Disney and Time Warner Cable.

TWC will make the channel available on its digital basic tier to 10 million of its subscribers by Sept. 1, taking ESPNU's availability to 20 million homes in time for football season, when it promises 70 games.

The rollout includes homes in New York by Aug. 30 and Los Angeles by Aug. 31.

ESPNU also stands to gain TWC subscribers quickly, since its deal gives it promised distribution to all TWC customers with digital basic--and more customers from a lower basic tier are upgrading. So far, 68% of TWC's 14.6 million customers have digital basic.

ESPNU's distribution bump is an outgrowth of a broader deal with Disney that gave TWC the rights to carry its owned-and-operated ABC stations and other benefits, such as providing a Disney Channel subscription VOD offering. In exchange, Disney received promises for distribution for a slew of cable channels, including ESPNU. The deal also included a renegotiation of the sub fees TWC would pay Disney for carriage of ESPN and ESPN2.

ESPNU launched in some 3 million homes in 2005.

MTV, AP Study: Internet Makes Young People Happy

Cellphones, the Internet and other technologies are integrally woven into the lives of today's 13- to 24-year-olds, according to a study on happiness and young people by MTV and the Associated Press. Half of those young people polled say the Internet alone helps them feel happier.

PR Newswire has more details about this study.

Facebook Goes Mobile on Apple iPhone

Facebook is launching a mobile version that works on the Apple iPhone. The new mobile edition of the social-networking site will allow users to access and update profiles, track friends, and find maps and driving directions for events scheduled on Facebook.

Red Herring has published a more detailed story here.

IAB and Lead Generation Committee Release Best Practices for Lead Generation

The Lead Generation Committee and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) have today released the Lead Generation Data Transfer Best Practices.

At the most practical level, the document will help standardize the transfer and reception of data between advertisers and lead generators.

Two major considerations served as guidelines for the final product:

* Security - lead generation data should be encrypted
* Common format and set up - the data must move in a common format through mainstream, secure internet technologies

"The committee encourages advertisers and publishers to implement these best practices and comply with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations to responsibly support the continued growth of this very important category," said SVP Gayle Guzzardo of Product Management at Q Interactive. She is also the Lead Generation Committee Chair.

Per the IAB/PwC 2006 Full Year Internet Advertising Revenue Report, lead generation revenue totaled $1.3 billion out of all 2006 advertising revenues ($16.9 billion), up from a (now seemingly paltry) $753 million in 2005.

Big Media Web Acquisitions Disappoint

Several traditional media companies are busy acquiring Internet start-ups. But more than a few of the recent deals are viewed as letdowns. Conde Nast purchased Reddit last year, only to see it eclipsed by rival Digg. Even News Corp.'s buy of MySpace is "showing signs of uncertainty."

CNet has more.

Size Matters in the UK

Audiences for print, online and events will be listed together for what is allegedly the first time ever in this week's Audit Bureau of Circulations release.


The Guardian reports that the average circulation of magazines proffered by the BBC and IPC Media will be featured alongside audience figures for other platforms, which common practice among newspaper publishers but unheard-of in the magazine world.

CEO Chris Boyd of the Bureau pointed out, "It has never been so important for media owners and buyers to consider full brand reach when making decisions […] The report enables media owners to offer agencies and advertisers verified, cross-platform data in an increasingly complex market - something that will become ever more important."

BBC Magazines will be the first to make the move. The firm also audits event attendance, in addition to online and print.

Its report, which will cover the period between January and June, will include circulation for seven magazines, attendance figures for four events, and user data for two online platforms.

Conde Nast Seeks Journalists, Actors for Webcast

The Web site of Conde Nast's business magazine Portfolio is planning a Rocketboom-like business news Webcast to be presented by either journalists or actors. The magazine is looking to hire Web hosts who are "intelligent, charismatic and humorous."

New York Times has the full story.

TVB Planning Cross-Media Buying Platform Rollout

The Television Bureau of Advertising is preparing for the fall launch of its ePort cross-media sales platform, reports MediaPost.

ePort will let members, ranging from TV stations to ad agencies, send and request proposals for ad buying on TV as well as online and on other digital media. The TVB has 21 broadcast groups and two sales rep firms already signed on and is hoping to bring the rest on board before the fall launch.

Spot Buy Spot, a Chicago-based technology firm, will manage the platform. The TVB is also planning a November initial launch for ePort, with more functionality and services, coming online in March of 2008.

Nokia announce new Global Network Marketing Agency

Espoo, Finland - Nokia today announced that it has chosen JWT as its global network marketing agency. The announcement is part of Nokia's marketing renewal that focuses on streamlining marketing planning and increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of all marketing activities. The marketing agency review has been an integral part of the marketing renewal process.

In July, Nokia announced Wieden + Kennedy's appointment as the global lead agency for Mobile Phones. Multimedia will continue to use Interpublic Group (IPG) for Nokia NSeries creative support and Enterprise Solutions will continue to use WPP as their global creative agency.

JWT will support the lead creative agencies in the implementation and localization of global campaigns. Also, as a strategic global partner, the agency will support local marketing activities in over 80 markets worldwide.

''Working together with JWT will help us to align our marketing efforts. With one global marketing network partner, we believe we will be better positioned to reach our goal of becoming the most loved and admired brand by people in the world",says Pekka Rantala, Senior Vice President, Nokia.

In the network marketing agency selection, a strong emphasis was put on choosing an agency that is best positioned to support Nokia's long term marketing strategy and business requirements locally. Additionally, a diverse repertoire of knowledge and experience was a key priority.

Transition to the new marketing mode will begin during the fall and will be fully operational by January 1, 2008.

Internet Ad Spending Set to Overtake Newspapers

Financial Times reports online advertising will overtake U.S. newspaper advertising in terms of size by 2011, according to a new forecast from Veronis Suhler Stevenson. Consumers are shifting to digital alternatives and migrating away from newspapers, broadcast television and other media.

NY Times Launches In-Flight Video Magazine

The New York Times and JetBlue Airways are launching "Times on Air," an in-flight video magazine offering content from the newspaper's TimesTalks events, which feature interviews of newsmakers and cultural leaders, as well as material from NYTimes.com.

Editor & Publisher reports today.

Murdoch Deal to Send Ripples Through Media World

Under Rupert Murdoch, a more aggressive Wall Street Journal could pose a greater threat to BusinessWeek, Forbes and Fortune, as well as the New York Times and the Financial Times. The Journal could develop a dominant online financial-news portal, or a MySpace-like social-networking site.

Wall Street Journal has the full story.

Rupert Murdoch's Victory

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Rupert Murdoch's victory in winning approval for New Corp.'s acquisition of Dow Jones and its flagship Wall Street Journal is a historic event with far-reaching implications for journalism, the media business, the competitive landscape and advertisers, says Ad Age media reporter Nat Ives in this video interview. The changes are likely to be most significant for the Journal because, he says, "Rupert Murdoch is going to come in as a purpose-driven, hands-on manager with an agenda. The Journal and Dow Jones for years have been almost drifting. ... The Bancroft family that controls the company has certainly been hands off and unsure about the quality of their own executives and now we have someone who really has a vision coming in to take control."

AdAge has published an online videoreport, which can be viewed here.