• by George Simpson , Featured Contributor, October 9, 2009

Maybe They Should've Checked the Control Room Staff, While They Were at It.
A lengthy report on ABC evening news discussed the new government study indicating that one in every 91 American children is affected by autism instead of the previously estimated number of one in 150. I was not sure just how alarmed I should be, since not once did ABC define what autism is. (Autism is a disorder of neural development that is characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior). Once again, saved by the Internet.

I Don't Care if it is Art. A Little Science Won't Hurt it.
In what would appear to be sufficient ammo to finally put an end to bloated forecasts of online ad spending once big brands "get it," a LinkedIn Research Network/Harris Poll of 1,015 advertisers from agencies or corporations that are involved in advertising decision-making revealed that four in five advertisers who use Internet advertising use it as a branding device (79%) and two-thirds use it to drive information-gathering for an offline transaction (65%). Slightly less than three in five advertisers (58%) use Internet advertising to drive online transactions, while 57% say they use it to promote community around their brand, through such things as message boards, memberships and fan clubs.

Love This Story, Absolutely Love It. Highest Recommendation. A Must Read.
The Federal Trade Commission this week announced its new "Guide Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." Of particular concern to the Feds are pay-per-post Web sites, where consumer bloggers receive direct income or in-kind gifts from companies in exchange for endorsements of their products, and official blogs and social media sites that companies set up to create buzz around their products. "The issue here," says an FTC guy, "is whether, if the consumer knew of the relationship between the advertisers and the blogger, would it affect the credibility of the blogger's statements?" As opposed, I suppose, to all those offline "journalists" and "celebrities" who have taken payola for the past 100 years. Yes, it's online, it must be more evil.

Milton, That Would Be Great if You Could Just, Yeah, Open That Screen You Scrambled to Close.
A majority of U.S. workplaces block access to social-networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, says a new survey. Fifty-four percent block social networks "completely," while another 19 percent only permit them "for business purposes." (See social media clause in aforementioned FTC Guidelines.) Imagine life at the office without Twitter. How, well, productive!

Hook Up My Internet to My Plasma and Ask Again.
Americans watch TV an estimated 130 hours per month. That's about 4 and a half hours every day of the week. According to a new survey by Harris Associates, only two hours a month are viewed on something other than the TV. Of that, 9% is viewed on desktop computers or laptops and 8% is on handhelds. Only 7% said they would drop their TV service if everything they wanted to watch was on the Internet. I don't know -- give me a 25-foot wireless mouse and the ability to watch what I want, when I want to watch it, and I'd kiss my cable provider a warm goodbye (if it wasn't also providing the broadband feed).

One More Reason to Shut Up Online.
Tax deadbeats are finding someone actually reads their MySpace and Facebook postings: the taxman. State revenue agents have begun nabbing scofflaws by mining information posted on social-networking Web sites, from relocation announcements to professional profiles to financial boasts. In Minnesota, authorities were able to levy back taxes on the wages of a long-sought tax evader after he announced on MySpace that he would be returning to his hometown to work as a real-estate broker and gave his employer's name. The state collected several thousand dollars, the full amount due.