Articles of the Day
No Need For “Do Not Track” List - Rumor has it the Federal Trade Commission is seriously considering a “Do Not Track” list that would let Web users opt-out of data tracking. Consumer privacy groups have suggested as much, saying the marketing practice is out of control and that industry self-regulation is no longer effective. To the layman, it might sound as though there is no self-regulation at all, and that consumers are powerless to do anything about the backlog of data being collected about them.
What if Google Bought Sprint? - Things have been looking down for telecom giant Sprint Nextel for some time. Following the resignation of CEO Gary Forsee, the company’s WiMAX plans are up in the air. Investors see WiMAX as a huge risk, particularly for a company that’s recently been under-performing so badly. Last week, Sprint announced it was halting its joint venture with Clearwire, citing Forsee’s departure and the complexity of building a nationwide WiMAX network.
First Great Battle for the Future of Web Advertising - The Web advertising industry is at a crossroads: Nobody pays any attention to display ads, classifieds are ruled by Craigslist, which is free, and search continues to be the industry’s main driver. Aside from search, a direct marketing tactic, “there’s scant evidence that online ads are finding their mark.” Meanwhile, money continues to pour into the Web. Facebook Ads vs. OpenSocial (the Google alliance) is “the first great battle for the future of advertising on the web.” With Facebook Ads, we have the first attempt by a large social network to leverage the substantial power of interpersonal word of mouth advertising. Indeed, Facebook is trying to turn brand marketing into “something people could actually use.”
Marketers Threaten To Put Majority Of Budget Online - Big-name brand marketers are fed up with traditional media channels and are threatening to shift the lion’s share of their budgets online, according to one speaker at the Interactive Advertising Bureau conference on Monday. The increased spending on online ads is coming from a mix of additional allocations and budget shifts from other media, and TV may be in for the largest losses.
Proposed Piracy Law Targets File-Sharers - The Intellectual Property Enforcement Act of 2007 would authorize the Department of Justice to file civil lawsuits against file-sharers. It would also create a new FBI unit to focus on enforcing intellectual property laws and award $20 million a year to the FBI and Justice Department to investigate computer crimes.
Ad Growth Spurs Free WSJ? - News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch today told shareholders in Australia that he plans to end subscription fees for The Wall Street Journal online. “We are studying it and we expect to make that free, and instead of having one million (subscribers), having at least 10 million-15 million in every corner of the earth,” he said, according to the Associated Press. News Corp. this summer agreed to purchase Journal parent Dow Jones for $5.6 billion. The deal is expected to close before the end of the year. News that the site will likely become free isn’t entirely unexpected, as Murdoch has previously touted the potential ad revenue to be gained by making WSJ.com free. Currently, the site draws about 1 million subscribers who pay a total of around $50 million a year for access.
