The concept of the long tail is one that I find fascinating not only because of its applications to marketing, but also because of the speed at which it is being adopted by the publishers and content creators utilizing the Web today. One example of this is the Web site Brilliant But Cancelled.

Happy Independence Day, dear readers. I wanted to share a quick study with you regarding changes in search queries.

hy the heck are advertising and marketing agencies so often so late to invest in or experiment with new technologies and emerging media, while the marketers and clients demonstrate increasing interest and tendency to pursue them directly?

The battle for ownership and control of consumer data on the Internet took center stage last week when AT&T announced that it is changing its privacy policy. Now, the teleco giant will classify consumer Internet browsing patterns, including personally identifiable information, as AT&T proprietary "business records," thus subjecting the collected data to whatever use or disclosure that AT&T deems appropriate or necessary for the conduct of its business. In other words, AT&T has told consumers that it owns their data and can do what it wants with it.

You might be just as surprised as I was to hear that Nielsen announced plans last week to begin measuring how consumers watch television programming on the Web, cell phones and iPods as well as all other digital devices...

For many media planning professionals, a media plan isn't a plan until every dollar is allocated to a media vehicle. For others, there's a distinct advantage to having a certain percentage of the media budget set aside for media opportunities that may come up during the course of the quarter.

Let's face it, if you are reading this, you most likely crave to create the next online craze or the most mentions on blogs. Hell, I do. What amazes me is the impact blogs and online postings can have to generate buzz. Take the upcoming soon-to-be-released summer thriller "Snakes on a Plane"...

I deliver this dispatch from Kevin Werbach's Supernova 2006 conference, the gathering of "business, government, and technology thought leaders to understand how decentralization and pervasive connectivity are changing the world."

Newspapers are in a state of shock at the moment. Just as they try to come to terms with the digital revolution, they run face-first into declining stock valuations, fleeing talent, declining debt ratings, lots of new competition, falling readership, increasing self-doubt, and, most recently, shareholder revolts. Given these circumstances, it's hard for most to be very optimistic about the future of newspapers. As much as I like to be one of the hopeful, I'm very concerned these days as well.

Our dependence on data, while obviously a necessary element in today's world, has become frightening. It's noticeable everywhere in our society--and it's relatively disturbing, especially when it shows up on "Entourage."