• There's No Business Like Social Business: Actually, Study Finds It Ranks Second Only To TV For Entertainment by Joe Mandese

    Social media may or may not be advertising, according to some people on Madison Avenue, but according to the average consumer, it has emerged as a top form of media entertainment. That's the conclusion of new research being released today by PR industry giant Edelman, which surveyed 1,000 adults in the U.S. and the U.K., an found that social media now is deemed a "higher value experience compared with other forms of entertainment." ...Read the whole story

  • Sen. Rockefeller Targets 'Data Pass' Marketing by Wendy Davis

    A leading lawmaker introduced a bill on Wednesday aimed at preventing Web companies from duping consumers into signing up for paid subscriptions they don't want. The "Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act," proposed by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, would prohibit companies from enrolling consumers in paid-subscription programs unless the consumers entered their credit card numbers and agreed to the program -- and would restrict online companies' ability to use "negative options," which often involves offering people free trials and then charging them unless they cancel their accounts within a short time frame. ...Read the whole story

  • Lawmakers Ask FTC To Look Into Google's WiFi Data Collection by Wendy Davis

    Google is facing continuing fallout in the U.S. and abroad from its recent admission that its Street View cars inadvertently collected "payload" data from WiFi networks. On Wednesday, two lawmakers asked the Federal Trade Commission to state whether it is investigating Google for gathering WiFi users' data. And earlier this week, residents of Oregon and Washington filed a potential class-action lawsuit against the company for allegedly violating their privacy. ...Read the whole story

  • Yahoo Ramps Up World Cup Coverage by Mark Walsh

    Counting on a huge global audience online for what's billed as the world's biggest sporting event, Yahoo is rolling out a new content and marketing blitz for the World Cup tournament. The effort spans the desktop Web and mobile devices includes coverage from South Africa, fantasy games and new search tools for more than 20 countries. ...Read the whole story

  • Google Rallies Troops Around HTML5 At Google I/O by Laurie Sullivan

    Adobe, Mozilla, Opera and a variety of other industry players kicked off the Google I/O conference Wednesday pledging their devotion to HTML5, and support for the royalty free VP8 codec and WebM format available free to anyone. The video format billed as a technology that will revolutionize online video, got a nod from the magazine Sports Illustrated. But it's getting nods from advertising and marketing agencies, too. ...Read the whole story

  • Blip.tv Closes $10.1 M Funding Round by Gavin O'Malley

    Web TV network blip.tv on Tuesday said it closed $10.1 million in its third round of financing, led by Canaan Partners and existing investors Bain Capital Ventures. ...Read the whole story

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