NBC is helping to redefine the upfront by letting advertisers get in on the ground floor developing projects, not just advertising against them. The network is now soliciting advertisers to help create Web content that includes some of its most recognizable--and marketable--A-list talent. Cameron Death, head of digital programming at NBC, is shopping a development slate of seven new original series to advertisers. The lineup includes reality competition series, as well as scripted dramas from well-known writers such as "The Bourne Ultimatum"'s Scott Burns, "Oz" creator Tom Fontana and "Big Fish" screenwriter John August. Despite the big-name talent, these series …

Stock market plunge got you down? Wondering whether you'll have a job tomorrow? Losing your home? Why not go where nobody knows your name--any of the dozens of virtual worlds where there is no Dow, no subprime mortgages and no Lehman Brothers (well, some things are the same in every world). Companies such as Gaia Interactive and Habbo that run interactive worlds are expecting a boost as the real world gets just a little too depressing for some to deal with. Such worlds also offer virtual goods that can be purchased for almost nothing, as opposed to the real world …

In better times, venture capital firm Sequoia Capital has funded everything from Apple to Cisco to YouTube. But these are not better times, and this week the firm invited about 100 executives from some companies it has already backed to what was essentially a funeral for the second Web boom, complete with a tombstone that read: "R.I.P.: Good Times." "They basically said: 'This is a business. This is not an excuse for you and a bunch of your friends to have a pool table and goof around with something you think is neat.' I didn't come away thinking that the …

Odds are you've agreed to at least one online privacy policy in the last month. How else to gain access to social networks, photo sites or even Fandango.com? But when was the last time you read one? Probably never. Who's got the time? Well, according to a new study, no one--least of all the American work force. According to Aleecia McDonald and Lorrie Faith Cranor of Carnegie Mellon University, if Americans took the time to read just one online privacy policy a year, it would take an average of 10 minutes per policy and cost $365 billion in lost …

Record label EMI is hoping to enter the crowded digital music space by this Christmas, launching a site that will market music from its stable of artists directly to consumers. EMI is keeping its plans close to the vest for now, but the site is expected to offer video content in addition to music, and some sections of the site will be free. Most record labels these days have some consumer-facing presence, but attempts to rival music download services like iTunes have had trouble gaining traction, largely because they failed to offer music from competing labels. Said one music industry …

It's been four years since left-leaning radio network Air America started broadcasting in hopes of chipping away at conservative domination of talk radio. The experiment has had its success, and its very public stumbles. But while terrestrial radio still holds major influence over voters in America, it's not the dominant media it once was. So Air America is trying to keep up with the times by hiring its first chief digital officer. The honor goes to Michael Bassik, most recently VP of interactive marketing for political direct marketing firm MSHC Partners. He is charged with making Air America more than …

It's become commonplace in recent years for advertisers to buy all the ad space in a single magazine or on a single TV show. But Honda is taking the sole-sponsor approach to a whole new level with a plan to buy all of Sony's Web and mobile ad space for one week starting today in order to promote the launch of the Fit. The idea, as with any sole-sponsor deal, is to break through the clutter. "It's more challenging to get your online display ads noticed in the first place, but once you do capture the site visitor's attention, the …

Developers and opponents of fascism everywhere rejoiced earlier this month when Apple suddenly and inexplicably decided to drop its requirement that anyone working on iPhone apps sign a non-disclosure agreement preventing them from discussing the technology with anyone. At the time, the company said the move was done to allow greater collaboration and mutual assistance among its developers--a suspiciously altruistic move for the famously secretive tech company. Now, the real reason seems to have emerged. Apple is planning a world tour of iPhone app developers, and as Venture Beat puts it, "It would be a shame if they had nothing …