• ONLINE SPIN
    Grokster... Supremely Sane? You Be the Judge
    "It's not about content versus technology, it's about what's right versus what's wrong," said Andy Lack, CEO of Sony BMG. He was referring to the June 27, 2005 Supreme Court decision which makes technology companies liable for how their technology is used. This is viewed as a big win for content creators and rights holders as this excerpt from a memo issued to members of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences by chairman of the board, Terry Lickona, illustrates nicely: "We are pleased that this morning, the court agreed with the opinion of the academy and the numerous …
  • ONLINE SPIN
    A Message for the Sales Folks - 2005
    Once or twice in my publishing career, I've taken a moment to write from the perspective of a planner/buyer and let the sales people of our industry know what the agency folks are thinking. This topic inevitably gets the most responses on the Spin board (as well as some of the more heated ones) as some people think I can be a little tough, while others thank me for my honest approach. I've left the topic alone for a couple years now, but the new rush of entrepreneurial spirit is making me think it's time to re-address the topic in …
  • ONLINE SPIN
    Consumers Abandon Channels, Not Publishers
    A business-to-business magazine we placed advertising with for a client had shown declining circulation numbers for the book for a few consecutive quarters. For any agency, this is a cause for concern. One might have suspected that the book's audience was fleeing the publication entirely, perhaps to a competitor, perhaps to some new standalone Web site chipping away at traditional publishers' audience numbers.
  • ONLINE SPIN
    And the Walls Came Tumbling Down
    Have you heard AOL's news recently? It seems the semi-sleeping giant has been awakened by reality. After years and years of AOL's exclusive "walled garden," the walls are coming down. According to Webopedia, a walled garden refers to a browsing environment that controls the information and Web sites the user is able to access. This is a popular method used by ISPs in order to keep the user navigating only specific areas of the Web, whether for the purpose of shielding users from information or directing users to paid content that the ISP supports.
  • ONLINE SPIN
    Why Ask Why?
    Then, that was a standard tag line in those annoying Bud Dry commercials from maybe 15 years ago, remember? Now, it's how many of us rant at our industry's sense of irony, or at what Cory Treffiletti insightfully identified last week as our industry's habit of making things hard on ourselves. What is it about interactive specifically, and the Web in general, that makes us look so silly at times?
  • ONLINE SPIN
    And Justice for Grokster!
    By the time you read this, the Supreme Court will probably have handed down its decision on the Grokster case. Most of the pundits say that the court will let the 1984 Betamax decision stand and single out Grokster's particular business model as illegal or semi-legal with some restrictions. This is considered by most to be the safe, middle ground.
  • ONLINE SPIN
    Ramblings on Streaming Video
    Streaming video is hot right now, and it's only getting hotter as broadband becomes more pervasive. I get to sit in many discussions that deal with this topic and in one of those conversations I had an epiphany as to how it gets sold in to clients, and I thought I'd share my epiphany with you.
  • ONLINE SPIN
    An Objective Look at Fraud
    Mark Naples wrote an interesting column last week that discussed the click fraud issue and the potential for advertiser fears to escalate. Accountability has been one of interactive media's selling points over the years - the idea that advertisers can account for every dollar spent, every impression, and every click. In many respects, it requires that interactive be held to a much higher standard than its offline cousins, which has generated no shortage of complaints from those of us who work on the interactive side of the business. Many of us tend to think there's a double standard at …
  • ONLINE SPIN
    Let's Talk About Sex
    Let's face it, whether you want to talk about it or not, sex sells... especially online. For years, the online porn industry has been a thriving business and those of us in online advertising have often shied away from the discussion. Don't get me wrong, this is not a column about the good, the bad, and the evil as it relates to this industry. However, it is meant to be an eye opener.
  • ONLINE SPIN
    What Will Erode Confidence in Online Next? Try Click Fraud
    Let's see now...consumers are so dismayed and frustrated with how online marketers track them around the internet, they download programs to sweep their hard drives of any programs they're unfamiliar with, including the harmless cookies that we use to quantify our campaigns, and their results.
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