March 3rd, 2010 by
Richard Morgan
IT PRO – Twitter to launch search-based advertising model
Twitter is to introduce an advertising model that will serve third-party advertisements in on-site search results, broadly emulating Google’s approach to the wider web.
IT PRO – Orange and T-Mobile merger given EU green light
Mobile heavyweights Orange and T-Mobile have been cleared by European regulators to go ahead with their proposed merger – one that will result in a combined UK customer base of just short of 30 million users.
The Guardian – Microsoft has started rolling out its browser ballot
It’s probably not a “phishing attack”: Microsoft Windows users in Europe are now starting to get a screen that offers them a choice of web browsers, as a result of an anti-trust settlement with the European Commission
The Guardian – BBC’s iPlayer verification blocks open source software
The BBC seems to have started using a Flash player verification service that stops the iPlayer from streaming for more than a minute or two to unauthorised media players, hitting users of the open source XBMC
February 26th, 2010 by
Matthew Watson
IT PRO – Ofcom investigates real UK internet speeds
Ofcom is asking consumers to volunteer for a research project to discover what broadband speeds users are really getting at home, compared to those advertised.
Computing – British Library unveils UK web archive
The British Library has launched its UK Web Archive to capture and record thousands of UK web sites, but has warned that the future of the project is at risk owing to copyright legislation.
CBR – Email scanning damned by UK consumers
Two thirds of UK citizens don’t know that if they sign up for a free email service their messages could be scanned for advertising opportunities. Of the 1,580 UK adults surveyed by GMX, a free email provider, 56 per cent said they were concerned by the practice and 19 per cent professed to be anxious. One in four felt they should be allowed to opt out of having their emails scanned.
Computer Weekly – Nominet votes for internet self-rule
Nominet members have voted overwhelmingly to accept changes to its constitution that should allow it to retain its self-regulatory status as the registrar of the .uk internet domain. At an extraordinary general meeting members voted in favour of resolutions to change the Nominet constitution in way that addressed government concerns about its independence and public-spirited ideals. The government is seeking to give itself the power to manage the .uk domain through the proposed Digital Economy Bill now going through parliament.
The Daily Telegraph – Facebook voted best invention of the decade
Britons have named Facebook as the best invention of the past decade in a new survey. More than 1,000 people were asked to name their favourite three inventions of the Noughties, and almost three-quarters (73 per cent) included the social networking website among their choices. The iPhone was the second most popular (62 per cent), closely followed by networking website Twitter (58 per cent). 2 per cent even voted for X Factor’s twins John and Edward.
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January 7th, 2010 by
Louise Mackintosh
…Who needs him? What with all the New Year reminders that fat is evil.
Take the hilarious story about a health club in Bristol which took it upon themselves to point out in an ad that
“Wh
en the aliens come, they will eat the fatties first”
Needless to say, the locals were far from impressed.
And earlier in the week, a story so bad that I am in two minds as to whether it was born from mind-blowing stupidity or mind-blowing genius: dating site BeautifulPeople.com – which only allows new members to join if existing members deem them to be good looking enough – has axed 5,000 members for having posted photos of themselves showing weight gain.
And the official company quote?
“As a business, we mourn the loss of any member, but the fact remains that our members demand the high standard of beauty be upheld,” said site founder Robert Hintze. “Letting fatties roam the site is a direct threat to our business model and the very concept for which BeautifulPeople.com was founded.”
Yes, you did read that right. “Letting fatties roam free”. Somebody approved that.
I don’t know whether to be appalled or impressed, I really don’t.
December 8th, 2009 by
Matthew Watson
Tiger Woods - finding fulfillment at every step
Another day, another celebrity makes a fool of themselves. This time Tiger Woods has been a bit of a naughty boy allegedly knocking up at least 10 extramarital notches on his bedpost. Not great news then for Accenture, the global IT services company which has sponsored the professional golfer since 2003, featuring him in much of the company’s print, broadcast and digital adverting.
It’s not the first time that a celebrity has damaged a brand by doing or saying something a bit stupid and it won’t be the last. But sometimes it’s not just the advert that can get companies in hot water; it’s where the ad has been placed. Marks & Spencer discovered this earlier this year when the company quickly decided to pull it’s advertising from the Daily Mail’s website after users spotted it appearing alongside Jan Moir’s homophobic article about Stephen Gateley’s death.
Only time will tell if Accenture, Nike, Electronic Arts and the other brands that Tiger Woods represents will continue to back the star. But what’s clear is that businesses need a contingency plan in place to deal with the transgressions of celebrities.
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December 2nd, 2009 by
Katie Swan
The announcement that Google users will be limited as to the amount of news articles they can access for free signals a change in the way we will consume online content. Free vs paid for content is currently a big debate with an increasing number of publications opting to include a pay wall for their online material. As previously discussed in Free vs Fee: The Value Factor. This concession by Google means that internet users will only be able to access five pages of news a day from a paid-for publication before being asked to register or subscribe.
The internet generation are used to accessing content for free so may baulk at the idea of paying. But online publications aren’t pulling in advertising revenue like they used to so it’s no wonder there is an increase in those looking to charge for material.
However, those charging for content will need to offer something unique. It could be that a two-tier system emerges. Mass market media brands will opt for free content hoping for a large circulation to attract advertisers and other more specialist media will charge hoping that high quality specialist stories will attract subscribers. Whatever happens 2010 will see major changes in online content and the way it becomes available to us, with technology developments allowing us to consume more media content at a faster pace.
September 18th, 2009 by
Chris Measures
Another week of living in interesting times for the publishing industry, most of which is down to Google. Today sees the last day of freesheet The London Paper, unable to beat the combined might of Associated Newspapers and the Evening Standard. I’ll miss the Sudoku, but not much else.
More importantly, Google, the bête noire of the publishing industry, has been extremely active with three new initiatives, one of which ironically involves moving written work off the web and into the real world. It obviously has a lot to of initiatives to release before the end of Q3………
First, it launched Fast Flip, which repurposes digital content into a magazine format online – see my colleague Wadds’ Blog for more details . As a follow up it revamped the ad exchange technology bought with its DoubleClick acquisition, promising a better experience for both advertisers and publishers.
However possibly the most interesting story from the busy bees in Mountain View actually moves content off the web and onto the printed page. A deal with On Demand Books will see 2 million out of print books scanned by Google available to print via On Demand’s Espresso machine. Essentially a mini-printing press, Espresso produces a physical book, with the Charing Cross branch of Blackwells installing one earlier this year. When I went in then it was an expensive option, but these new books will be around $8 a pop, which potentially makes it mainstream – and a nifty source of revenue for beleaguered high street booksellers. See the blog of the wonderfully named Brandon Badger of Google for a video of Espresso in action.
So the ongoing Googlification of the publishing industry continues – let’s see what next week brings.
July 24th, 2009 by
Matthew Watson
Have you noticed adverts on Facebook recently that contain pictures of your friends and family?
The social network had made the decision to pair advertisements with relevant social actions from a user’s friends to create Facebook Ads. This is supposed to make advertisements more interesting and more tailored to you and your friends. But the service is opt-out, not opt-in.
To stop your photos from being used in the way click here to update your privacy settings.
July 6th, 2009 by
Matthew Watson
The Guardian: BT drops Phorm targeted ad service after customers cry foul over privacy: BT has decided not to go ahead with rolling out Phorm’s ad-targeted Webwise system to its 4.8m broadband customers. BT said that not using the technology, which uses information on which sites a user visits to help target them with relevant advertising, was down to its need to save resources ahead of its £1.5bn investment in super-fast broadband
The Guardian: ‘Congrats to Uncle C’ – how his wife’s Facebook page exposed new MI6 head: This follows Milliband playing down the issue on the Andrew Marr show yesterday.
Media Guardian: Complaints to rise at the Advertising Standards Authority, despite number of adverts falling: Guy Parker, new CEO of the Advertising Standards Authority, believes complaints this year will top last year’s record figure. The regulator’s chief told MediaGuardian: “We’re heading for about 30,000 complaints, but about fewer ad campaigns than last year.” Last year 26,433 complaints were made to the ASA, about 15,556 ads.
Silicon: 50p broadband tax ‘will leave 20 pc of UK without fibre’: David Campbell, BT Openreach’s MD of next-generation access, said that BT will deploy a mixture of fibre to the premises and fibre to the cabinet for next-generation access – with P or C being chosen depending on the economies of each exchange
FT.com: UK venture capital: Nothing ventured, nothing gained. The UK government’s recent decision to invest £150m in a new venture fund is the latest attempt to help British start-ups navigate a death zone formed by a lack of mid- to late-stage funding. Its goal – to drum up £1bn of public and private funding for start-ups over 10 years – is laudable. But it is unlikely to make much difference.
May 26th, 2009 by
Matthew Watson
Facebook has confirmed that it plans to introduce paid-for applications in the next few days, like those made popular by the iPhone, according to CNET.
It is thought that the social networking site plans to adopt a micro-payment platform that could enable developers to charge users for their applications, as well as make money through advertising. The move would allow Facebook to take a cut of the money generated by application developers, which could help the company monetise the social network further.
The micro-payment platform would see users purchase credits from Facebook to buy applications with. The social networking site launched its own virtual currency of credits last year, after switching from U.S. dollars to appeal to a global market. Until now users have only been able to use the credits to purchase virtual gifts, which they could then send to their friends.
Charging users for applications could prove to be a real money-spinner for Facebook, as Apple’s app store success shows. Apple sold its one billonth iPhone application last month, just nine months after the company launched its app store.
Poll: Would you pay for a Facebook application?
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