If I asked all of you what your definition of new media was, I bet I would get a different answer from each one. So let's do something easier and talk about old new media. Then we can try to see if we can come to a consensus about what new media is, or if it's even worth trying.

As an admirer of TiVo and a guy who loves the media and research business, I was intrigued by TiVo's announcement this week that the mackdaddy of DVR services is launching a formal research division. TiVo Audience Research and Measurement (ARM) "will offer advertisers and advertising agencies, for the first time, second-by-second data and analysis on DVR viewing of advertising content." For a company like TiVo, which has so much rich data around a disruptive trend in our media and marketing landscape, this appears to be a natural byproduct, if not a major …

It's time to start planning for a future without page views. Their end is coming, aided by new technologies--and one that has been around for a while, but is only now catching on, RSS.

Finding and retaining online media talent is becoming a major challenge. What is now a staffing shortage could become a full-on crisis in the near future if we don't begin to increase the number of qualified candidates who are coming to our business....

Summertime is in full swing. I know this for a fact, because I played golf on Monday, and the course was packed--on a Monday! I wanted to mention the summer because I find that when you're away from your computer the most, that's when you realize just how digital the world has become, and how the terms we use to define it need to be updated.

Good morning, dear readers. I've been thinking a lot about the digital space many of us eat, sleep and breathe. Wow, has it changed--even in the past year. Nothing is "standard" anymore. More and more sites, blogs and podcasts are popping up. Netizens are sharing online music and videos more than ever. They IM, text, tag and surf faster than ever.

There's one troubling trend this industry must deal with: low minority representation, particularly at the agencies. The remainder of 2006 will see greater emphasis on this issue. In fact, the New York City Commission on Human Rights has scheduled hearings on how the advertising industry hires, retains and promotes minority employees.

Forced integration of online and offline entities is a hot concept at media and advertising companies these days. I think that it is being overdone, certainly in ad sales and marketing. To me, it makes little practical sense to force integration between the people that create, market, and sell online and offline ad products. I don't think that I have ever seen it done well.

Yes, believe it or not, there are other business models for community sites. The most interesting business model I heard of this past week emerges from the oft-discussed Facebook. It seems that beginning in September, Facebook will begin to allow politicians the chance to reach this valuable audience by permitting them to purchase a profile page for themselves and their efforts.

If you've spent years buying traditional media or overseeing a brand that does, that experience can make it even easier to forget about some of the fundamental differences between advertising online and advertising in broadcast media. One of those differences is how ads are targeted. Another is how ads are bought. If you're not aware of these two differences when you plan a campaign, you could wind up focusing your efforts too tightly.