Corporate Newsletter—Consists of email sent to customers on a regular schedule with promotional content. E-zine (aka Webzine)—Email magazine/newsletter sent frequently with editorial content, such as articles, news, and other useful information. Sponsored Newsletter—Web and print publishers’ email digests and newsletters that contain advertisements that target niche audience segments (both B2B and B2C). Discussion List—Email list in which members can discuss one or more topics by posting messages for other members viewing and response. Typically, a list moderator has to approve all posts in order to prevent Spam or off-topic message posts. Opt-in—Email list that consists of …

Michael Tchong and Jeffrey Graham read each other’s “opening salvos,” then engaged in the following exchange. The moderator was Andrew Madden, founder and editor of thealarmclock.com, a new online and print publication focusing on the intersection of culture and technology. Madden: Let’s start with some definitions. What does the term convergence mean to each of you? Tchong: Traditionally it’s always meant the mating of television with any other medium, but particularly the Internet, and providing people with some linked content. The interactive television people had their vision that this would be a separate virtual private network. But by the …

Media research is a cumbersome but necessary part of media planning, and some of the companies we rely on most don’t make the process of finding their research online particularly simple. But some do. Here’s a partial list of these companies and a rundown of what you can and cannot get from them online. A word of caution: If you do decide to use research studies from trade association sites, remember that part of any trade association’s goal is touting the glory of their medium over all others. Forrester Research (www.forrester.com) provides a comprehensive analysis of the global Internet …

Here’s another fancy word to add to the list of terms on your corkboard: “optimization.” Chances are, you’re hearing it from every online ad network as they explain their targeting capabilities. It sounds elaborate, important and somewhat intriguing when a rep says “we can optimize your ads,” doesn’t it? Your response, of course, should be, “so can every other network out there, so why should I pick you?” The word “optimization” when used in context of media planning obviously did not originate with online ad networks, nor is it web-centric. “During my 20 years of selling magazine, cable TV, …