The voice of Dan

Oggi inauguro una nuova rubrica che e' dedicata alla novita' da tutto il mondo che il mio collega Dan Calladine redige ogni mese e che ringrazio per il tempo che riesce a dedicare per tenerci aggiornati.
Credo sia un "cadeaux" apprezzabile che insieme a Dan ho deciso di rendere pubblico per gli aficionados del mio blog :-)
Thank you Dan!!!


TV
Bill Gates – The web will revolutionise TV within five years
http://articles.news.aol.com/business/_a/gates-says-web-will-revolutionize-tv/20070127110009990004?ncid=NWS00010000000001
""I'm stunned how people aren't seeing that with TV, in five years from now, people will laugh at what we've had," he told business leaders and politicians at the World Economic Forum.
The rise of high-speed Internet and the popularity of video sites like Google Inc.'s YouTube has already led to a worldwide decline in the number hours spent by young people in front of a TV set.
In the years ahead, more and more viewers will hanker after the flexibility offered by online video and abandon conventional broadcast television, with its fixed program slots and advertisements that interrupt shows, Gates said.
"Certain things like elections or the Olympics really point out how TV is terrible. You have to wait for the guy to talk about the thing you care about or you miss the event and want to go back and see it," he said."

Mobile
1bn Mobile ads served in 6 months
http://www.wirelessweek.com/article/CA6410949.html
"AdMob says that mobile Web users are drawn to mobile communities and downloading sites, where they have served 1 billion mobile Web advertisements in the last six months.
The United States and South Africa represented the top two countries in terms of mobile Web traffic, with 90 million and 66 million page views per month, respectively. India, the UK and Romania rounded out the top 5.
The top manufacturers’ devices being used to surf the mobile Web were, not surprisingly, Nokia, Motorola, Sony-Ericsson, Samsung and LG. What was surprising was the margin by which Nokia overshadowed Motorola. Three times as many users were surfing the Web on a Nokia device compared to a Motorola device."
Thanks to Christina Buck for the link!

Virtual Worlds
Nickelodeon launches Nicktropolis
http://www.marketingvox.com/archives/2007/01/30/nickelodeon-launches-nicktropolis-virtual-world-for-kids/?rss1
"Viacom's Nickelodeon is today launching a virtual world called Nicktropolis, which will allow kids to play games, watch TV and interact with Nickelodeon characters as well as each other online.
Nicktropolis, which has been in development for the last 18 months, will be aimed at 6-14-year-olds; Nickelodeon execs expect the site to be especially popular with 9-12-year-olds, given the number of online games available, CNET writes. Nickelodeon says there will be no advertising on the site at launch - but that ads will be added later."
Swedes to open embassy in Second Life
http://www.marketingvox.com/archives/2007/01/31/sweden-to-open-second-life-embassy/?rss1
"Sweden plans to be the first country to open an embassy in the virtual world.
According to Reuters, the embassy will be called House of Sweden and is modeled after the country's new embassy in Washington.
It will open in a couple of weeks, and "will have answers to questions on all aspects of Sweden," said Olle Wastberg, general director of the Swedish Institute."
Spanish Charity put homeless kid in Second Life
http://www.boingboing.net/2006/12/05/homeless_kid_in_seco.html
"From December 4 on, the Spain-based NGO Mensajeros de la Paz will be present in the virtual world of Second Life as a homeless teenager avatar named MensajerosDeLaPaz Jubilee. The kid hasn't any land nor properties, except for a cardboard box, some newspapers and a sign that says: 'Help a child have a second oportunity in his First Life.'"
"The action is intended to reach out for young people, and ask for help for abandoned and abused children in developing countries in South America and Africa," says Ana de la Calle, a communications representative of the organization."

Web 2.0
Mainstream adoption of Web 2.0 features is close
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/mainstream_media_web20.php
"It appears that we are nearing a tipping point for the mass adoption of prominent web 2.0 services, like digg and del.icio.us. Endorsement by mainstream media opens these services up to millions of people who otherwise would either not know about them, or not take them seriously. So these are not just links, these are literally endorsements - or recognition of additional value for mainstream media."
Thanks to Lynette Webb for the link!
28% of American web users ‘tag’
http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/201/report_display.asp
"Just as the internet allows users to create and share their own media, it is also enabling them to organize digital material their own way, rather than relying on pre-existing formats of classifying information.
A December 2006 survey has found that 28% of internet users have tagged or categorized content online such as photos, news stories or blog posts. On a typical day online, 7% of internet users say they tag or categorize online content."

Guerrilla Marketing
‘Adult Swim’ marketing devices cause bomb scares in Boston
http://www.lostremote.com/2007/01/31/boston-crippled-by-aqua-teen-hunger-force/
"It’s enough to make you rethink the term "guerrilla marketing." Police, bomb squads, the feds, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and more all converged on Boston Wednesday because of … a "mooninite." Viewers of Cartoon Network’s "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" immediately recognized the "devices" as LEDs put on a circuit board and powered by some batteries. The police and the media, however, had the event play out as though there were 10 bombs (and then 10 "hoax bombs") planted suddenly around Boston. Turns out the devices had been up for weeks. And not just in Boston, but in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Austin, San Francisco, and Philadelphia, according to Turner Broadcasting, the parent of the Cartoon Network."

Blogging
Newspaper blogs grow – as users look for more meaningful content
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/blake-fleetwood/exclusive-nytimescom-up_b_39948.html
"Traffic to the top ten newspaper blogs more than tripled over the last year, reaching 3.8 million in December. The implication from the data seems to be that the Internet audience is searching for meaning and analysis and a point of view, as opposed to mere breaking news. Whether newspaper blogs, with restricted access, will substantially BIGFOOT and drive out the independent - more inclusive and diverse - blogs is a question that the market will answer in time.
Are 1,000 bloggers posting more attractive than a half a dozen? Can they come up with new, uncovered and unexpressed opinions and facts not written about in the MSM?"

Yahoo
Yahoo to create special content areas for entertainment brands, independent of the producers
http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/yahoos-branded-universe-unfolding/#When:06:27:00Z
"Yahoo has announced some more details in a press junket at Sunnyvale, picked up by ClickZ. The idea is: Branded Universes will collect the various media within the Yahoo network at a single location focused on a brand selected by Yahoo.
It has selected the first six of the supposed 100 it plans: video games "The Sims" and "Halo," TV shows "Lost" and "The Office," and franchises Harry Potter and Transformers. Interestingly, Yahoo is not allowing marketers a voice in this, nor seeking licensing for the content. It will not try to monetize these sections until a later date, the company said."

Superbowl Weekend
NFL to sell highlights on iTunes
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/interactive/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003539489
"The NFL will begin selling highlight packages from Super Bowl XLI via Apple’s iTunes Music store beginning Monday Feb. 5, the day after the big game.
Fans will be able to purchase extensive highlights as well as exclusive NFL Network content for the standard $1.99 per download fee. Included will be a wrap-up show, hosted by NFL Network commentators Rich Eisen, Steve Mariucci and Deion Sanders, which features post-game reaction and analysis that will not be available to the majority of TV households, given the network’s limited distribution."

The Old, Old Thing
In the week of Vista, some screen shots of different Microsoft operating systems
http://blog.wired.com/wiredphotos31/2007/01/windows_10.html
Thanks to Dan Green for the link!

The New, New Thing
Senduit – a fantastic, free FTP service
http://www.senduit.com/
Works really well, but probably best not for confidential stuff…
Custom-print M&Ms
http://www.mymms.com/customprint/index.asp

Creatives
More at my blog:
http://digital-examples.blogspot.com
Sneak preview of the new Guinness TV campaign
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQDjynOzgCk
Guinness is to launch the next phase of its 'Good things come to those who wait' advertising campaign on 5th February, with a £2.5 million marketing push across TV, cinema, online, and digital out-of-home.
The new ad, called 'Hands' has been created by AMV BBDO using stop frame animation shot in black and white. It shows one pair of hands waiting in anticipation for a pint of the Irish stout. Media planning and buying is being handled by Carat.
Thanks to James Neill and James Gyngell for the info!
New Nokia Pjotro campaign
Nokia Nseries proudly presents: Pjotro vs. DJ eFFeX Pjotro - The man with the musical suit
has returned to stake his claim against a new challenger! Human beatbox prodigy
DJ eFFeX has appeared, and he wants in on the title of "I am my Music". Become a part of the
interactive online battle and create your own version of the outcome at www.pjotrovsdjeffex.com
There's also a cheesy theatrical trailer for the site here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSsB4SJ672c&eurl=
Thanks to Per Hansson for the info!
Wii want cricket – a viral campaign to persuade Nintendo to do a Wii cricket game
http://wiiwantcricket.com/

& Finally
San Francisco Chronicle put angry reader rants up as podcasts
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=5&entry_id=12853
"We listen to them and read them, and we think some of the more interesting and unusual ones are worth sharing. So, today, we're starting a new feature to showcase these communications. It's called, "Correct Me If I'm Wrong.""
Thanks to Lynette Webb & Steve Lawson for the link!