Wired, October 29, 2004
Bloggers and journalists have been all over a Yankee Group study released Monday that predicts a $1 billion global market for mobile porn by 2008. On the off chance you missed the flurry, let me clarify. Mobile porn is not a big bus that travels to underserved rural areas a la mobile libraries or hearing test centers. Rather, it's the next logical step for adult content delivery. Or is it?
The New York Times, October 29, 2004
Four leading Internet service providers announced yesterday that they had filed a new round of lawsuits against senders of junk e-mail, or spam. The suits include the first filed by America Online against spammers who use instant messaging, a practice the online industry calls spimming.
HostReview, October 28, 2004
Vibrant Media, a pioneer in contextual keyword advertising, has evaluated customer results for its IntelliTXT, its innovative online advertising product that enables publishers to monetize previously untapped content portions of their websites.
Cnet, October 29, 2004
Here's a thought: A blogger might be the first to announce the winner of Tuesday's election. Pure speculation on my part, of course, but is it so crazy a guess? News organizations now abide by an agreement not to project a winner until after the polls close on the West Coast. The folks who conduct exit polling usually have a pretty good idea which candidate is going to come out on top.
ClickZ, October 29, 2004
More than 72 percent of online shoppers use general search engines nine or more times per month, and a growing portion of those searches are shopping-related or local in nature, according to a consumer search behavior study by BizRate.com and the Kelsey Group. The study found that 74 percent of respondents perform local searches, and 37 percent of online consumers are very familiar with shopping search sites.
Washingtonpost.com, via MSNBC, October 28, 2004
Internet TV is a mirage, seeming so close yet turning out to be far away or downright unreal when you try to watch it. At least that's my take on the many past plans for zapping motion pictures over the Internet.
Wired, October 28, 2004
In its latest study of Americans' online habits, the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that a substantial chunk of internet users want to voice their opinions online. Websites that want to remain relevant should strongly consider building in ratings systems that allow visitors to leave input about what they find on the site. More than 33 million Americans, or a quarter of all adult internet users in the country, have rated a product or service, the study said, underscoring the value of ratings systems that give users input about content or products they find online.
Reuters, October 28, 2004
Video game and mobile phone companies are set to make money this year as customers use phones to zap space invaders or sink game-winning golf putts, pushing the mobile gaming market over $1 billion, a study said.
ClickZ, October 28, 2004
You've heard the hype: Wi-Fi is booming. Businesses large and small are partnering with telecommunications and development companies to create Wi-Fi hotspots. The Yankee Group reports the U.S. will have 72,480 hotspots by 2007, and estimates the number of global wireless Internet users will grow to 1.78 billion by the same year. In-Stat/MDR puts the latter number even higher. The company says the market is likely to gain an average of 186 million new subscribers annually to reach a total of 2 billion by 2007.
ClickZ, October 28, 2004
E-mail service provider Lyris Technologies has acquired Piper Software, a small firm that makes hosted deliverability tools. Financial details weren't disclosed. Piper offers an array of products designed to ensure e-mail marketing messages get past spam filters and can be read in a variety of e-mail clients. Lyris hopes to cross-sell the products to its customer base of over 4,000 clients. The larger company made the purchase at least partially in response to a JupiterResearch report issued in August, which found deliverability to be an area of weakness for Lyris.