Wednesday, October 28, 2009
CBS Digital Boss Quincy Smith’s Not-Quite Exit Interview: “Hulu’s a Great Service. That’s Part of the Problem.”
The man who helped shape CBS’s standalone Web video strategy explains himself, for the record.
Looking for Microsoft’s Ad Exchange? Wait Until (Early) Next Year.
Microsoft bought ad exchange company AdECN more than two years ago. And unless you’ve been paying very close attention, that’s the last you ever heard of it.
This should finally change next year. People familiar with Microsoft’s plans say the company intends to open the exchange for business in January, which will allow online ad buyers and sellers to match up in real time. That will put it several months behind Google, which opened up its ad exchange in September.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
NBC Grabs a High-Profile Blogger to Boost Its Local Site: Eater Co-Founder Ben Leventhal
News for the foodie/NY blog scene: Ben Leventhal, co-founder of the influential Eater blog, is headed to GE’s NBC Universal, where he’ll oversee “lifestyle content” for NBC’s growing local Web unit.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Now on YouTube: David Letterman’s Amazing Extortion Video
This is the way the Internet is supposed to work: Something amazing happens on TV on Thursday night and everyone talks about it, and watches it, on the Web on Friday.
Today’s example: David Letterman’s startling admission, broadcast on his CBS show last night, that a network employee had tried to extort him.
That’s something you’re going to want to watch, right? And sure enough, the world’s largest video site obliges, even if it’s a little bit unwilling.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Amazon: We Won’t Delete Your Kindle Books Unless We Need to Delete Your Books
It took several months–and a lawsuit–but Jeff Bezos and company are finally explaining when, and why, they’ll take away books you bought for your Kindle. Pretty reasonable, really.
In Their Own Words: Comcast’s Case for–and Against–an NBCU Deal
Comcast says it doesn’t have a deal to buy NBC Universal. Does it want to buy NBC Universal? Ask COO Steve Burke and you’re going to get a confusing answer.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Gawker’s Nick Denton: I Paid Big Money for “McSteamy” Sex Tape
Earlier this year, Gawker Media’s Nick Denton announced that he was going to start paying for salacious clips, tips and other submissions, but that he hadn’t worked out the details. Looks like he figured it out: Denton says he paid the source who provided his blog network with the so-called “McSteamy” sex tapes that have earned him both a lot of traffic and a lawsuit.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Microsoft Goes Hunting for Malvertisers. Are They the Same Guys Who Hacked the New York Times?
The hackers who duped the New York Times into serving a bogus ad last week may be part of a growing trend. Or they may just be very active: Microsoft says it has been hit by a similar attack and is suing the people behind it.
But first the company needs to figure out who the culprits are.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Universal Music Gets Slapped in Court. What Does This Mean for Veoh–and YouTube?
Just how big a deal was a federal judge’s ruling Monday in the copyright-infringement fight between Veoh and Universal Music Group? Depends on who you ask, of course.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Are Ad Networks Coming Back? And Is That Good for Web Publishers?
When will the online ad market finally start bouncing back? We’ve yet to see it in Q2 earnings reports from the likes of Google and Yahoo.
But one observer says it’s already here: Ad optimization firm PubMatic reports that prices for ad-network inventory it sees have increased 35 percent since the beginning of the year.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
AT&T Adds Another Gadget: Would-Be Kindle Killer Plastic Logic Signs On
Here’s another set of customers for AT&T: People who buy e-book readers from Plastic Logic, the would-be Kindle killer due out next year.
Privately held Plastic Logic says it will rely on AT&T to supply its gadgets with a wireless connection, in the same way that Sprint is the network provider for Amazon’s Kindle.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Michael Jackson’s Last Performance on the Web: Big, but Not Obama Big
Depending on your perspective, this is either interesting news or heartening news: Michael Jackson’s funeral and memorial were indeed a giant Internet event. But they don’t seem to have been as big as Michael Jackson’s death, and they weren’t as big as Barack Obama’s inauguration. So, let’s call them the third-biggest Web event of the year. To date.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
CNN: We Don’t Need YouTube and Twitter to Tell Us What’s Going on in Iran–We’ve Got iReport
The “Iran is Twitter’s defining moment” meme is losing momentum to the “Iran is YouTube’s defining moment” meme. But CNN has a different spin. Time Warner’s cable news channel wants us to know that it isn’t dependent on either the micromessaging service or Google’s video site to report on what’s happening in Iran–it has iReport.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Another Twitter Business That Doesn’t Make Money for Twitter: Pay Per Twitterer
Yet another addition to the Twitter ecosystem of companies based on the microblogging service, but that don’t pay it a dime: Pontiflex, which is trying to charge marketers for each Twitter user name it collects.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Da! Facebook Takes $200 Million From Russian Investors at $10 Billion Valuation
Facebook is indeed taking money from Russian investors Digital Sky Technologies. As previously reported, the social network is selling $200 million of preferred stock at a $10 billion valuation; DST will also buy up to $100 million of common stock at a lower valuation later this year.
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About Peter
Peter Kafka has been covering media and technology since 1997, when he joined the staff of Forbes magazine. Most recently, he has been the managing editor of the tech and media Web site, Silicon Alley Insider.
Ethics Statement
Here is a statement of my ethics and coverage policies. It is more than most of you want to know, but, in the age of suspicion of the media, I am laying it all out.
