Internet

More Transparency Than Microsoft Bargained For

by Diane Farsetta — March 30, 2007 - 12:56pm

"While reporting a story on Microsoft's video blogging initiative -- something called Channel 9 -- the dossier that Microsoft and its outside public relations agency Waggener Edstrom keeps on me accidentally ended up in my email inbox," recounts Fred Vogelstein.

Main Source:

"Epicenter" Wired News blog, March 27, 2007

The Promised Land Goes Online

by Diane Farsetta — March 29, 2007 - 11:26am

"Israel's official MySpace page was launched in January under the direction of officials from the Foreign Ministry," reports Gregory Levey.

Main Source:

Salon.com, March 23, 2007

Don't Worry Your Pretty Heads, Says Cosmetics Industry

by Diane Farsetta — March 29, 2007 - 10:47am

In response to growing concerns about the safety of some cosmetics, the industry group Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association (CTFA) "has embarked on what it calls an 'education process' designed to reassure consumers." As the Center for Media and Democracy reported

Main Source:

Women's eNews, March 23, 2007

MoveOn Moves In With Pelosi

by John Stauber — March 23, 2007 - 2:33pm

Farhad Manjoo of Salon.com examines MoveOn's new role as power-broker for the Democratic Party. "MoveOn, which began with an e-mail petition opposing President Clinton's impeachment in 1998, has grown into one of the biggest and best-known netroots groups on the left. ...

Main Source:

Salon.com, March 23, 2007

Ads Becoming Smaller and Less Obvious

by Diane Farsetta — March 23, 2007 - 1:15pm

Main Source:

New York Times, March 22, 2007

Hello, Teens? Marketing Firms Are Calling

by Diane Farsetta — March 20, 2007 - 4:33pm

Retailers "eager to connect with teen and twentysomething shoppers" are increasingly marketing to them through their cell phones, reports USA Today. New marketing approaches include "coupons that go to shoppers' cellphones." The marketing firm Access 360 Media "saw redemption rates of about 40%" with cell-delivered coupons, as opposed to "less than 2% for many print or online coupon campaigns." Then there's GPShopper, "an Internet-style search engine that lets shoppers search a chain's entire inventory," with Best Buy, Toys R Us and Sports Authority among the chains using the service.

Main Source:

USA Today, March 20, 2007

News Media Aiming Low, Warns Report

by Diane Farsetta — March 15, 2007 - 11:49am

"We sense the news business entering a new phase heading into 2007 -- a phase of more limited ambition," the Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ) writes in the overview to its "State of the News Media 2007" report. News organizations are "starting to redefine their appeal and their purpose based on diminished capacity.

Main Source:

Project for Excellence in Journalism, March 12, 2007

Latest Version of Pay for Play: Bucks for Blogs

by Judith Siers-Poisson — March 12, 2007 - 11:49am

Beware the blog that gushes about a product, movie, or anything you might consider purchasing. There's a chance that the blogger is on the payroll of "new marketing middlemen such as PayPerPost Inc. that connect advertisers with mom-and-pop webmasters." PayPerPost alone pays 15,500 bloggers for inserting their clients into blog postings.

Main Source:

Los Angeles Times, March 9, 2007