Big Expectations For MySpace Music
From the sounds of it (no pun intended), MySpace Music should be beneficial for all parties involved – MySpace, record labels, artists, Users, advertisers and music e-Tailers. The service, which is due out any day now (sometime this month), will supposedly offer the entire catalogs of Universal, SonyBMG, and Warner Music (77% of all U.S. album sales come from these three according to Nielsen SoundScan as quoted by Fortune).
Public Searches For Gas Relief
It’s usually fun to see what’s on everybody’s mind by looking at Google Trends. Today, no so much, because gas is on their minds, and hurricanes, and not necessarily in that order, depending on where you live. In Texas, or near Texas, or if people have loved ones in Texas, they’re searching for news of Hurricane Ike, which is destined for landfall in Galveston. The rest of the country, while no doubt very concerned for their countrymen are also concerned about spiking gas prices as the hurricane makes for oil refineries.
Japan Is Future Internet Ready
It’s time for our periodic We-Suck-At-Internet rant, which entails comparing and despairing (thanks, Stewart Smalley) over how slow the Internet is in the US. Once again, Japan has us beat and is ready for next-generation applications like high-quality video streaming. But Slovenia? Lithuania? Latvia? They’re faster than us, too?
Politico.com Talks About Its New Ad Network
Popular political Web site Politico.com has partnered with Adify to launch an ad network and Murdok spoke to Roy Schwartz, VP of business development at Politico about the new ad network.
Google Caters to Lazy Texters
Google has added the "My Location" feature to its mobile search, which previously had only been available on Google Maps for Mobile. My Location recognizes your location (go figure) and gives you relevant search results based on where you are. Instead of having to enter your geographical information, you can just automatically receive geographically relevant results. This will be a lot easier than texting out more information. Google displays the concept in this silly video:
Scientists Ponder Galactic Internet
If you believe aliens are using special types of stars to create a galactic internet and transfer data at about 180 bits per year then I have TONS of stuff I’d like you to consider for exclusive purchases: an invisible suit; a magic rock; a stick that will heal you.
Politicians Battle For Narrative Control On The Web
There was a time, if your only source of information was the Internet, when it seemed Ron Paul was a shoe-in for the Republican nominee. Internet reality is not always true reality—then again, what’s reality matter in politics? What really matters is narrative, and in that sense, the Internet is a mirror of the brick-and-mortar world, and there are lessons in political campaigns for businesses about controlling your online story.
Tweets Of Remembering 9/11
Today is the anniversary of 7 years since 9/11 and there are signs all over that it is happening with a new memorial in DC being dedicated today and radio shows and TV programs all talking about the same thing here in the US. One of the most powerful commemorations is a meme that started up on Twitter and has been happening all day where people are taking 140 characters to share their simple stories of where they were 7 years ago when 9/11 happened.
Yahoo! Opens Up
Yahoo! kicked off Open Hack 2008 today at its headquarters in Sunnyvale. The company has already demonstrated new components of its "open strategy". The below video is a teaser for the event.
Google Looking for A Larger Presence in Asia?
Google has acquired Korean "blog specialty" company TNC (Tatter and Company). Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.