The press often says the ad industry is a dying business operating in crisis mode. We at MediaPost believe there's never been a more exciting time to be in this business, although we've understand that digital upheaval is forcing ad agencies to adapt their strategy to a phenomenon they don't completely understand. But advertising is far from dead--rather, it's moving ahead, thanks to the latest round of Web acquisitions. As ad dollars shift online--at a growth rate seven times faster than other media--an interesting thing has occurred (in the U.S., anyway): oligopoly. In this most democratic of mediums, Google, …

It's all about consolidation in the online advertising industry, which makes the recent decision of Innovation Interactive, parent company of search agency 360i, to buy itself out seem strange. However, in arranging a management-led buyout, the marketing services holding company may be dressing itself up for a resale. But why did Innovation pull out in the first place? Remember Livedoor? The Japanese Web portal crumbled nearly 18 months ago after it was revealed that a widespread accounting scandal might have misled shareholders. The sell-off following allegations of fraud was so massive, Japan's stock exchange, the TSE, was forced to …

As the Federal Trade Commission continues to solicit public comments on the Google-DoubleClick union, criticism and skepticism are piling up. Recently the advertising associations the ANA and four As questioned the fairness of the search giant's $3.1 billion acquisition, saying it would give Google an uncomfortably significant share of revenue generated by both search and display advertising. Later, a coalition of privacy advocacy groups called on the FTC to prohibit Google from compiling more detailed user information from its DoubleClick acquisition. In an amended complaint, the companies said Google should not be able to collect personal information …

Shopping social networks have become increasingly important in helping shoppers make decisions, and retailers are catching on. Indeed, stores and designers are launching pages and making product pitches on Shopbop, Shopstyle.com and Stylehive.com, which are serious drivers of sales. Department store giant Nordstrom's, Gap and boutique shops such as Lisa Kline and Ron Herman are all offering their catalog of wares on interactive pages at these sites. H&M, the popular discount clothier, this week partnered with the life-simulation game The Sims to create a store selling virtual replicas of real-world clothes. Users can purchase and wear on the runway …

Apple, Inc.'s market capitalization recently passed $100 billion for the first time in its 27-year history; it's stock doubled in the last year to $122 per share. Apple's share price -- like Google's -- trades highly on emotion, as in how investors' rate the company's product innovations and their capacity for success. Apple shares have boomed in the days since Steve Jobs and co. announced the Apple iPhone, the company's first cellular phone product, set to be released on June 29. Apple's most recent release, the Web-synced set-top box Apple TV, has so far been perceived as a …

It's been a looming change for so long that it seems TV's complete digital transformation can't come quickly enough. But even before TV's Next Big Thing (is it Joost? Is it Brightcove? Is it Apple TV?) fully establishes itself, media futurists are looking towards Television (Content) 2.0. By that time, TV will already be a fully interactive, on-demand, personalized experience, and the TV spot will either disappear completely or be scaled back to 15-seconds. The migration of TV content to the Web and Web-based devices is one thing, but imagine the resulting transformation of content. Consumers will one …

Times are certainly tough for the recording industry. Flagging CD sales and radio usage at the hands of the iPod and Web piracy have backed the mainstream industry into a corner. For an established rock star dependent on his or her label, it may be a particularly bad time, too, but for the aspiring set, it's a bonanza time. Word-of-mouth has never been so powerful, thanks to online chat rooms and social networks like MySpace, which means that bands can now make a name for themselves through self-promotion--whether it be through a social network profile, email lists, …

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) today announced that Internet advertising revenues reached a new record of $4.9 billion for the first quarter of 2007. The 2007 first-quarter revenues represent a 26% increase over 1Q 2006 at $3.8 billion and a 2% increase over the fourth quarter of 2006 at $4.8 billion. "The recent results are particularly impressive when the size of the advertising revenue base is taken into account," said Peter Petrusky, director, PricewaterhouseCoopers. "Given these results, we may expect continued strong revenue growth buoyed by an expanding broadband subscriber base, which could translate …

The talk in the Web industry these days is about Facebook, MySpace, Second Life and the virtual worlds catering to kids. Many may be wondering what happened to Friendster, the original Web 2.0 social network? It just moved to Asia (sort of). Incidentally, business is good, too-very good. Friendster is still live in the U.S., but nobody over here is taking much notice (including the company), because some 70% of the social network's traffic now comes from Southeast Asia. It's the most popular Web site in the Philippines and the second most popular site in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. …

Virtual worlds are hot. The press can't stop talking about their potential as acquisition targets, which surely means--if the myriad "unnamed sources" that likely come from VC firms and acquisition-happy Web companies are to be believed--that some action is in the offing. Virtual worlds are fast becoming the favorite pastime of kids across the globe. Parents, advertisers and now media companies, love them, too, because many are cute and safe. These sites are like Facebook and MySpace with training wheels. Many of the most successful ones cater to young girls. As one tyke tells says: "With Barbie, if you …