The lead singer of the band Cracker is frustrated with people taking his music without permission. He thinks artists, industry and legitimate sellers should shame big brands into pulling their ads from pirate sites. Read more at paidContent »
It seems that no discussion of the merits or weaknesses of newspaper paywalls is complete unless one side accuses the other of having virtually nothing intelligent to say on the topic. Is there no common ground at all between paywall advocates and paywall skeptics? Read more »
Mad Men are moving their money – the internet will take more advertising dollars than newspapers and magazines combined by 2015, according to latest forecasts. Read more at paidContent »
TV advertising remains healthy, but platform operators want a bigger slice of the pie. Next year, some will introduce targeted advertising to their set top boxes, promising greater granularity and more effectiveness to marketers. Read more at paidContent »
Tablet content is seeing higher engagement than that desktop web. But can tablets do the same for advertising, whose classic banner format is ‘cratering’? Read more at paidContent »
A manifesto on the future of news published by Columbia University’s center for digital journalism argues that the news industry as we know it no longer exists, and existing players need to figure out how to adapt to the new realities of news, and quickly. Read more »
New forms of media are often disruptive to existing forms, but Twitter CEO Dick Costolo says that his network is complementary to traditional forms like television, because it adds the kind of real-time discussion we associate with the town square or the “pulse of the planet.” Read more »
Critics of the Washington Post say that the only approach that will solve the newspaper’s financial problems is to put up a paywall around their content like everyone else — but while that might buy time, it’s not a long-term strategy for new-media success. Read more »
A U.S. election bump lifts the newspaper above the venerable broadcaster, as the two British news orgs vie for American readers. But closer inspection shows the BBC remains the more popular brand. Read more at paidContent »
Web publishers can buy tools that let them identify and segment their readers, and then combine that information with other customer data to offer fine-grained audience options to advertisers. As the ad market gets more demanding, the tools may become essential for some – but not all. Read more at paidContent »
Included in the changes that Facebook recently announced to its privacy and governance policies was an admission that it aggregates and shares data on user activity with advertisers — and Facebook says it plans do so not just inside the network but on external websites as well. Read more »
The industry has been ravaged by cutbacks and an ad downturn. Now three UK local news publishers confirm they are coming together to improve digital news. But can they deliver on the promise? Read more at paidContent »
Pinterest is launching “30 Days of Pinspiration” on Tuesday, courting brands and media celebrities as it promotes holiday-themed boards. The move shows growth by Pinterest in areas that could turn to monetization, and the growing up of an emerging social platform. Read more »
Prague-based social media analytics startup Socialbakers on Monday announced that it had raised $6 million in funding from Index Ventures and Earlybird Venture Capital. The startup says that more than a fifth of all Fortune 500 companies are its clients. Read more »
Apple and Samsung are both taking a greater share of mobile ad impressions from RIM and Nokia, but Cupertino’s devices are gobbling faster than Korea’s, according to research. Read more at paidContent »
Why does one person’s timeline look totally different from another person’s, even if they share many of the same friends and like the same brands? Facebook responded to recent criticism over the surfacing of posts, saying it tries to reduce the number of posts users dislike. Read more »
Despite that famous 1996 declaration, many publishers have struggled to find effective consumer offerings online. But now a perfect storm of new models and prospects gives renewed confidence for many. Read more at paidContent »
A media CEO reminded people that, despite new internet distribution platforms, content owners remain in the drivers seat. He played down the idea of “cord cutters” but did acknowledge the emergence of people who have never had cable at all. Read more at paidContent »
The Washington Post’s new editor, former Boston Globe editor Marty Baron, faces a mountain of problems at the newspaper, which has seen circulation and revenues fall dramatically. Here are some areas he needs to focus on in order to turn the sinking ship around. Read more »
Project Glass, Google’s augmented reality smart glasses, is the ultimate expression of the wearable tech trend. Paul Armstrong of @TheMediaIsDying says that whether you like it or not, the technology is coming–and the changes are going to be profound for the media business. Read more »
As web advertising faces challenges, how can an operating system and a VoIP service show more ads whilst not disrupting users? By threading them so deeply in to the technologies that no-one notices, Microsoft and Skype say. Read more at paidContent »
Some prominent users of Facebook such as billionaire sports-team owner Mark Cuban are complaining that the social network wants to charge them to reach their users with marketing messages — but shouldn’t it be fairly obvious that this was part of Facebook’s plan all along? Read more »
Publishers reliant on classified advertising are getting hurt by the UK’s fragile local economy. Some are now desperately courting alternative advertising models, but our earnings round-up shows their growth is so far being wiped out. Read more at paidContent »
Google tells angry MPs that it doesn’t pay more UK tax because it doesn’t do any innovation in the country. Maybe someone should tell that to Google’s 350 London engineers, who it has previously credited with helping develop AdSense. Read more »
German publisher Axel Springer is buying heavily in to European classified sites to court digital and international growth. Snapping up Belgian property service Immoweb, it says the move will make up for a weakening print ad sector. Read more at paidContent »
Any web service that is growing as quickly as Tumblr is should be of interest to Facebook — but especially one that focuses on creating and sharing viral social content, and one that is appealing to growing numbers of young users. Read more »
Many small businesses have had few options beyond Google’s AdWords to attract customers online. But now, upstart ad companies are using social media and new publishing tools to offer businesses effective — and affordable — alternatives. Read more at paidContent »
AOL has been a basket case for years as it tried to figure out if was a tech or a content company. But today it announced earnings and a strategy that suggest it may finally have found a way forward. Read more at paidContent »
Numbers of people paying for digital content will take off thanks to new media devices, Forrester forecasts. If paid content becomes commonplace, will publishers turn their back on advertising, and what should marketers do instead? Read more at paidContent »
Timed to Halloween and the presidential election, New York-based social loyalty startup CrowdTwist analyzed user data related to brand preferences for chocolate and political affiliation. Its data suggest that Democrats tend to prefer non-premium chocolate, while Republicans opt for more up-market sweets. Read more »
Like the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland, the New York Times is having to run faster and faster to try to fill the gap left by declining advertising revenue, but even a rapidly growing subscription base doesn’t seem to be accomplishing that. Read more »
The exclusive provider of ad services to a host of Italian online publishers is taking on money to fund development of new ad formats. Read more at paidContent »
In the online local listings and reviews segment, US big boy Yelp is giving a five-star review to Hamburg-based peer Qype – and buying it to expand the breadth of its business overseas. Read more at paidContent »
Facebook’s mobile monetization efforts are just getting going but the company said it is now getting 14 percent of its ad revenue from mobile. That’s not where Facebook wants to be ultimately, but it’s a promising start, said CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Read more »
Facebook reported third-quarter earnings Tuesday, posting revenue of $1.26 billion and earnings of $0.12 per share, which were slightly above analyst expectations. The company said 14 perent of its advertising revenue in the quarter came from mobile. Read more »
While Yahoo pulls out of South Korea citing “challenging” conditions, Google is seeing strong mobile revenue growth. What is the difference leading to contrasting fortunes? Read more at paidContent »
Foursquare is opening up its desktop home page to all users, not just logged-in members. Visitors can now get Foursquare’s recommendations on local places and search for nearby bars, restaurants and businesses. That should open up Foursquare’s advertising opportunities as it goes after Yelp and Google. Read more »
US politicians want to outlaw Chinese mobile phones – but China’s state news agency is happy to use an American technology vendor to power its mobile advertising ambitions. Read more at paidContent »
A Columbia Journalism Review columnist argues that a free or advertising-supported news model inevitably leads to lower-quality journalism. But there is no reason why ads can’t co-exist with high-quality reporting just as easily as they can subsidize pageview-driven clickbait, despite the CJR’s claims to the contrary. Read more »
Google has apparently offered to indicate when its search results point to its own properties, in its ongoing negotiations with EC antitrust investigators. But that offer likely doesn’t neutralise the original complaints. Read more at paidContent »
