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Matt's take on interesting news.

Outcome of an Ad Contest Starts an Uproar on YouTube

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/27/technology/27malibu.html

Some YouTube users cried foul this week when they saw the winning video in a Malibu Caribbean Rum user-generated advertising contest. The contest, which began in early May, solicited videos about Malibu Banana Rum set to the tune of "Banana Boat Song," also known as "Day-O." It offered a prize of $25,000 or, if the winner preferred, a banana grove in a tropical location.

My View: The only words that come to mind is the acronym "lol." It reminds me a lot of the recent story about the man that sued his drycleaner for $54 million over a pair of lost pants. Other than "lol-ing" at the people that are complaining, I don't really have too much to say about this.

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:: Permanent Link :: Posted 6/28/2007 :: 0 Comments :: Links to this post ::

Rumors Fly on Microsoft and Yahoo

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/05/technology/05soft.htm

Microsoft and Yahoo are discussing a business partnership in their effort to compete with Google, people briefed on the talks said Friday. The New York Post reported Friday that Microsoft was pursuing an acquisition of Yahoo, a prospect that sent Yahoo's shares soaring. But a person briefed on the talks as recently as Friday said they had been going on for more than a year and had focused recently on a "creative partnership," not an acquisition.

My View: I think the whole thing is quite silly. While I realize that the two companies want to become larger thorns in Google's side than they currently are, the companies are so different that I really don't see how any kind of partnership/buyout deal could work. One of the companies will have to step up and come up with some new big idea in order to take down the monstrosity that is Google.

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:: Permanent Link :: Posted 5/07/2007 :: 0 Comments :: Links to this post ::

Google Reaches Deal With Clear Channel to Sell Radio Ads

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/16/technology/16radio.html

Google will begin selling advertisements across all of the stations of Clear Channel Communications, the No. 1 radio station owner in the United States, at the end of June, the companies will announce today.

My View: Google is taking a liking to the Microsoft strategy... get in to every possible market you can in order to build a sort of monopolous (no, it's not a real word) web of projects which throws their name in front of everyone. It's hard to remember back when Microsoft used to be liked, but it did happen at one point in time. Does Google face the same fate? Anyways, to the topic at hand. I think Google's experience with Adsense for Sites will be a huge help in this market. While taking the same approach with radio space seems like a longshot, the same was said about Adsense when it first came about. One can definitely say that Google's play into traditional media should be interesting to watch.

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:: Permanent Link :: Posted 4/16/2007 :: 0 Comments :: Links to this post ::

Mini Web grows on small business

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/122/story/76087.html

Johannes Tromp says the Web site for his Lancaster, S.C., bed-and-breakfast generates good business. But last fall, he found a way to reach even more potential customers: He made a version of the site for cell phones. Tromp signed up for a mobile Web address with the newly available suffix ".mobi" and used a self-starter kit from a company called Roundpoint Ltd. to build "www.kilburnie.mobi," the mobile site for his Kilburnie, the Inn at Craig Farm. He says he's gotten a surprisingly good response, with 30 to 40 new calls per month from interested travelers who heard of his inn by accessing the cell phone site.

My View: Mobile web is by far the industry with the most potential for growth. I think that within the next 10 years (if that long), almost everyone in modern society will be connected to the net at all times, including via cellphones or the equivalent device which might be invented in the future. As they said, domain name registrars such as GoDaddy opened the Internet to small businesses with their low cost ".com"s and I think they will do the same for the mobile web. Eventually, having a mobile-enabled site will become yet another necessary piece in the business operations puzzle.

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:: Permanent Link :: Posted 4/06/2007 :: 0 Comments :: Links to this post ::

Viacom's Full-Court Press for Online Ads

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/19/business/media/19viacom.html

Video advertising, while less than 5 percent of online spending, is the fastest-growing advertising category online, generating $410 million last year, an increase of 82 percent from 2005, according to eMarketer, an online advertising research firm.

My View: As much as some people hate to admit, the Internet has become a huge marketing tool, especially among today's kids (born in the mid to late '90s). While Viacom is going in the right direction with it's creation/purchase of websites directed at this crucial demographic, this is only one step in the right direction. I see pay per episode/season TV show downloads becoming the ultimate standard in TV viewing. We'll see how things turn out within the next 10 years since you will certainly see significant change by then.

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:: Permanent Link :: Posted 3/20/2007 :: 0 Comments :: Links to this post ::

Popularity Might Not Be Enough

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/17/business/17online.html

Let's say you wanted to build an advertising-supported online media business that took in $50 million a year in revenue. How many users would you have to attract to get there?

My View: So basically you need to start small with a good idea to get your bearings in the industry with which you are working and then slowly grow in size. Common sense anyone?

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:: Permanent Link :: Posted 3/17/2007 :: 0 Comments :: Links to this post ::

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