AOL's $435 Million Gambit

'Tis the wedding season, and cash registers are ringing--especially online. Research conducted by Claria Corp.'s Feedback Research unit finds that 29 percent of Internet consumers purchase wedding gifts online.

So Clinton's book is on sale and the race is on to get a copy and devour all 957 pages. The tome already tops Amazon.com's Top 10, and it won't take long before excerpts begin appearing online--on blogs and in magazines. Well, maybe not on blogs.

It's the first day of summer and we can't say that work is on our minds. Right? Right. No matter, comScore Media Metrix wants to fill our minds with assorted online factoids today and we're grateful.

Blogging has entered mainstream discourse, and the awareness of marketers. Take Nike's "Art of Speed" blog created by Gawker Media. The recently anointed blog/advertorial links almost seamlessly to Nike Lab, the brand's innovative online product showcase. Nike Lab is expertly rendered by interactive design shop R/GA, New York.

Napster has come full circle, and in the process, has assumed a classic marketing model employed by some of the most traditional - and I might add, successful - consumer marketers.

Some interesting news coming from AdAge's annual AdWatch conference today. At the conference, market forecaster TNS Media Intelligence/CMR projected a nearly 16 percent growth rate for online advertising this year. TNS projected more than 14 percent growth for local television and 10 percent growth for cable TV, while network TV ad spending is expected to increase 9.8 percent.

Streaming media and Web video advertising are front and center these days. Today there is word from AccuStream iMedia Research that streaming media advertising and subscription revenue could reach $625 million this year and is projected to hit $864 million in 2005.

There are digital downloads for music, so why not for movies?

Today is an official day of mourning for the nation's 40th president. The markets may be closed, but the airwaves are loaded with commentary, tributes, interviews and live coverage. So is the Web.