Articles of the Day
Politicos Spend Big On Traditional Media; Crumbs For Web - When it comes to garnering political ad dollars, the Internet is the Dennis Kucinich of media outlets. With political advertising expected to hit nearly $5 billion this election year, online spending will collect just $20 million, with half that amount funneled into paid search, according to a new study.
Publicis Keeps Friends Close, Frenemies Even Closer, Unveils Google ‘Collaboration’ - Google is becoming more friend than enemy at least at one of Madison Avenue’s biggest players. During an informal press briefing on Tuesday, Publics chief Maurice Levy and Google chief Eric Schmidt unveiled an “ongoing collaboration” between the two companies. Details were sketchy, but the executives said the collaboration, underway for more than a year, is “based on a shared vision of how new technologies can be used to improve advertising.”
Survey: In-Stream Ads Are Intrusive - Pre-roll and other in-stream video ads have always gotten a bad rap. And new research from Burst Media proves that the ad model deserves it. About 78% of respondents surveyed say in-stream ads in online video are intrusive. According to the online survey conducted in December of some 2,600 adult Web users, half say ads in video content disrupt their Web surfing experience.
Top 10 Social Networks - Although Facebook has come on strong in recent months, MySpace averaged more than three-quarters of all US visits in 2007 among the top social networking Web sites, according to Hitwise. The site received 72% of US visits to social networks in December 2007 alone. Overall visits to a group of 53 leading social network sites were up 4% year over year, and the top sites are becoming a mainstay of many Internet users’ routines.
Google Slides Nearly 200 Points Since November - Google’s stock has dropped more than 160 points since peaking at $750 per share in early November. “Right now, Wall Street isn’t in love with Google, or any other stock, for that matter,” says Battelle. Indeed, “that’s not something we’re used to hearing.” Google in early morning trading was hovering even lower, at around $560. Why the slide? Perhaps it’s the latest search numbers from Nielsen Online, which said that Microsoft gained nearly 2 percent on Google Search last month. But more than likely it has to do with the economy at large. The [Google] culture is taking its first deep breath.
What’s CBS Doing With Last.fm? - One of the questions that comes up repeatedly in chats about CBS: what is the company doing to move last year’s $280 million Last.fm acquisition beyond buzz into value? Looks like answers may be on the way. CBS (NYSE: CBS) has called a press conference tomorrow with CEO Leslie Moonves and Last.fm co-founders Felix Miller and Martin Stiksel; no details but to announce “a new unprecedented service”—a video service, we’re hearing, likely mixed with social networking given Last.fm’s bent.
Last.Com To Offer Music-On-Demand - CBS today unveiled its free music-on-demand plan for Last.fm, the music site it purchased last year for $280 million. Through deals with the four major labels and 150,000 independent labels, Last.fm will make around 3.5 million tracks available for free streaming. The site will allow users to listen to each song three times for free. After users have reached the limit, the site will direct them to online music stores like iTunes and Amazon.
