Why Porn and Gambling Could Be Good For Emerging Virtual Worlds

In his most recent podcast episode of Across The Sound, Joseph Jaffe reacted with irritation to a commenter downplaying Second Life because of its infiltration by porn, prostitution and gambling. Joseph responded by underscoring that that where there’s sex and gambling, there’s life.… Read the rest

Is Blog Advertising More About The Action Versus The Reach?

I noticed that Hitwise — the company which taps massive amounts of ISP data to provide deep and daily analytics on Web-site visits, searching behaviors, and visitor segmentation — is now advertising on blogs, or at least in feed networks.… Read the rest

The Assumption That People Who Love Their Media Are Going To Engage With The Ads Is Incorrect

AdAge today highlighted research from Starch Communications which underscored the false notion that users’ engagement with content in any medium determines their engagement with accompanying ads. Various online media outlets even show an inverse relationship between engagement with an online publication and engagement with the ads that surround it.… Read the rest

Evolution Of The Advertising Ecosystem: Microsoft Acquires Aquantive

The ambiguity of media, advertisers and agencies continues. On the heels of ad-agency holding company WPP’s announcement to acquire ad-network company 24/7, marketer and media play Microsoft just announced it will acquire ad-agency and -technology company aQuantive for $6 billion. … Read the rest

Google Wins Appeal on Copyright of Nude Images

The Washington Post confirms:

A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that Google did not infringe on the copyrights of an adult publishing company by displaying thumbnail images of its nude photographs, handing Internet search companies a victory by allowing the display of such miniature pictures in search results.

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