Have you ever been to a Mexican restaurant when patrons at the table next to you receives their "sizzlin' fajitas"? I have always thought that the sizzle had a lot to do with the platter's special appeal....

The annual sales meeting is perhaps the most maligned of interactive industry events. But given the breakneck pace at which the industry is evolving, and the need that everyone in the industry has for current information, provocative perspectives and strategic focus, the annual sales meeting should be playing a more prominent role in publisher sales force management and education.

"Many small details have been included for the sole purpose of creating a familiar reading experience," explains Zabrina Sen, media relations manager at iPagez....

I'm a big believer that consumer media preferences are shaped pan-channel. I think that zipping through ads on TV makes consumers less tolerant of marketers' interruptions online, and that the ability to suppress pop-ups results in further TV commercial impatience. It follows, then, that if a 45-minute show costs $1.99 on iTunes, a 90-minute movie shouldn't cost $10.50 at the theatre, or $19.99 on DVD; it should cost $3.98. All right, it doesn't follow exactly, yet. But specific initiatives are shaping consumer expectations broadly.