Thursday, February 17, 2011

internet marketing

With the announcement today that online media giant AOL will buy the Huffington Post for $315 million from entrepreneur and founder Arianna Huffington, online business owners everywhere should take note. Though Huffington certainly may have had more resources than most start-up entrepreneurs when she launched her venture six years ago, she used the same basic online marketing techniques available to all online entrepreneurs while building her business. What tools are available to grow your business in the online world?    


News

HuffPo sale shows online businesses viable. Whatever else the success of the Huffington Post demonstrates, it shows the value of online marketing in powering phenomenal growth. Today, small business owners must take heed of this fact whether their business is an online product, service or site or whether they simply use a product service or site to market it.  Slate.com


“Paid” vs. “organic” traffic and which is better for you. Blog entrepreneur Ana Hoffman spends her weekend Webcast discussing the differences in traffic, but admits there’s only one kind she’s really interested in. Hear more from this podcast of the show. Traffic Generation Cafe


Trends

How “user experience” equals branding in online businesses. Another way that virtual or online businesses (or just digital products in general) differ from more traditional products is in areas described with phrases like “user experience” or “user flow and virality.” This is the case even if your Website is the marketing tool for another product. If your Website doesn’t work, don’t expect sales or new clients. Fast Company


Online marketing means going viral. Gail Gardner talks about a major consideration in the world of digital marketing: owning or controlling your content versus sharing freely and letting your message spread. It’s clear which practice Gail prefers. GrowMap


Social Media

Blending social and location-based marketing online. Samuel Axon looks at how some brands are harnessing the combined social networking and check-in features of Facebook places to push brand awareness to the next level. Are you looking at incorporating all of the social media tools at your disposal to market your business. Sprout Social Insights


How to win Facebook friends and influence people. Tom Parnell’s post couldalmost be an update of the classic Dale Carnegie book adapted for the age of the Internet (and specifically Facebook. Tom suggests techniques and asks for suggestions on the way to becoming a social media influencer. What’s your tip? Kikolani.com


Twitterology

Are you being a good Twitter citizen? We’re not mentioning any names, but somebody around here *cough* (Big Cajun Man ) has come up with a list of things he thinks are rude for you to do on Twitter. We’re also pretty sure we’ve done one or two of them ourselves from time to time, so let’s review. Working Hard On The Internet


Getting the lingo down. Ever tried to communicate with another human being using only words incorporating 140 characters at a time? Thank heavens, then, that Twitter involves typing out your thoughts. And also, thank heavens for this comprehensive guide to the best in Twitter shortcuts. Sian Phillips


It’s all about the numbers? Here’s a completely different Twitter strategy than what you may have heard before. Also, in direct contradiction to a post above “tweet in blocks.” We’d like to hear your strategy for Tweeting. Go ahead and leave it below. Traffic Generation Cafe


Online Marketing

Learning the backlink basics. Aside from all the social media marketing, much online marketing comes down to simple research and implementation. Here a back link strategist gives us a look inside the impact back links or inbounds links (one of the most important factors in search results) will ultimately effect any sites marketing campaign. Have a look. DannyWhitehouse.com


From Small Business TrendsSmall Business News: Marketing Your Online Business Like Arianna Huffington




With the announcement today that online media giant AOL will buy the Huffington Post for $315 million from entrepreneur and founder Arianna Huffington, online business owners everywhere should take note. Though Huffington certainly may have had more resources than most start-up entrepreneurs when she launched her venture six years ago, she used the same basic online marketing techniques available to all online entrepreneurs while building her business. What tools are available to grow your business in the online world?    


News

HuffPo sale shows online businesses viable. Whatever else the success of the Huffington Post demonstrates, it shows the value of online marketing in powering phenomenal growth. Today, small business owners must take heed of this fact whether their business is an online product, service or site or whether they simply use a product service or site to market it.  Slate.com


“Paid” vs. “organic” traffic and which is better for you. Blog entrepreneur Ana Hoffman spends her weekend Webcast discussing the differences in traffic, but admits there’s only one kind she’s really interested in. Hear more from this podcast of the show. Traffic Generation Cafe


Trends

How “user experience” equals branding in online businesses. Another way that virtual or online businesses (or just digital products in general) differ from more traditional products is in areas described with phrases like “user experience” or “user flow and virality.” This is the case even if your Website is the marketing tool for another product. If your Website doesn’t work, don’t expect sales or new clients. Fast Company


Online marketing means going viral. Gail Gardner talks about a major consideration in the world of digital marketing: owning or controlling your content versus sharing freely and letting your message spread. It’s clear which practice Gail prefers. GrowMap


Social Media

Blending social and location-based marketing online. Samuel Axon looks at how some brands are harnessing the combined social networking and check-in features of Facebook places to push brand awareness to the next level. Are you looking at incorporating all of the social media tools at your disposal to market your business. Sprout Social Insights


How to win Facebook friends and influence people. Tom Parnell’s post couldalmost be an update of the classic Dale Carnegie book adapted for the age of the Internet (and specifically Facebook. Tom suggests techniques and asks for suggestions on the way to becoming a social media influencer. What’s your tip? Kikolani.com


Twitterology

Are you being a good Twitter citizen? We’re not mentioning any names, but somebody around here *cough* (Big Cajun Man ) has come up with a list of things he thinks are rude for you to do on Twitter. We’re also pretty sure we’ve done one or two of them ourselves from time to time, so let’s review. Working Hard On The Internet


Getting the lingo down. Ever tried to communicate with another human being using only words incorporating 140 characters at a time? Thank heavens, then, that Twitter involves typing out your thoughts. And also, thank heavens for this comprehensive guide to the best in Twitter shortcuts. Sian Phillips


It’s all about the numbers? Here’s a completely different Twitter strategy than what you may have heard before. Also, in direct contradiction to a post above “tweet in blocks.” We’d like to hear your strategy for Tweeting. Go ahead and leave it below. Traffic Generation Cafe


Online Marketing

Learning the backlink basics. Aside from all the social media marketing, much online marketing comes down to simple research and implementation. Here a back link strategist gives us a look inside the impact back links or inbounds links (one of the most important factors in search results) will ultimately effect any sites marketing campaign. Have a look. DannyWhitehouse.com


From Small Business TrendsSmall Business News: Marketing Your Online Business Like Arianna Huffington





bench craft company sales

Ten American Companies With The Best <b>News</b> For 2011 - 24/7 Wall St.

24/7 Wall St. chose the ten most important pieces of news for major US corporations so far this year. Our evaluation was based on the history of the company and industry involved and the likely long-term effects of the event.

Yahoo! Marketing, Tech and Management in the <b>News</b> | Yahoo <b>...</b>

A trio of stories from across the globe shows Yahoo!'s leadership.

Small Business <b>News</b>: SMBs and the Economy

Recently businesses have expressed concern over excessive regulations that have made conducting business ever more expensive, often with limited justification.


benchcraft company scam

Ten American Companies With The Best <b>News</b> For 2011 - 24/7 Wall St.

24/7 Wall St. chose the ten most important pieces of news for major US corporations so far this year. Our evaluation was based on the history of the company and industry involved and the likely long-term effects of the event.

Yahoo! Marketing, Tech and Management in the <b>News</b> | Yahoo <b>...</b>

A trio of stories from across the globe shows Yahoo!'s leadership.

Small Business <b>News</b>: SMBs and the Economy

Recently businesses have expressed concern over excessive regulations that have made conducting business ever more expensive, often with limited justification.


bench craft company sales

Ten American Companies With The Best <b>News</b> For 2011 - 24/7 Wall St.

24/7 Wall St. chose the ten most important pieces of news for major US corporations so far this year. Our evaluation was based on the history of the company and industry involved and the likely long-term effects of the event.

Yahoo! Marketing, Tech and Management in the <b>News</b> | Yahoo <b>...</b>

A trio of stories from across the globe shows Yahoo!'s leadership.

Small Business <b>News</b>: SMBs and the Economy

Recently businesses have expressed concern over excessive regulations that have made conducting business ever more expensive, often with limited justification.


bench craft company sales

Ten American Companies With The Best <b>News</b> For 2011 - 24/7 Wall St.

24/7 Wall St. chose the ten most important pieces of news for major US corporations so far this year. Our evaluation was based on the history of the company and industry involved and the likely long-term effects of the event.

Yahoo! Marketing, Tech and Management in the <b>News</b> | Yahoo <b>...</b>

A trio of stories from across the globe shows Yahoo!'s leadership.

Small Business <b>News</b>: SMBs and the Economy

Recently businesses have expressed concern over excessive regulations that have made conducting business ever more expensive, often with limited justification.


benchcraft company scam

Ten American Companies With The Best <b>News</b> For 2011 - 24/7 Wall St.

24/7 Wall St. chose the ten most important pieces of news for major US corporations so far this year. Our evaluation was based on the history of the company and industry involved and the likely long-term effects of the event.

Yahoo! Marketing, Tech and Management in the <b>News</b> | Yahoo <b>...</b>

A trio of stories from across the globe shows Yahoo!'s leadership.

Small Business <b>News</b>: SMBs and the Economy

Recently businesses have expressed concern over excessive regulations that have made conducting business ever more expensive, often with limited justification.


bench craft company scam

Ten American Companies With The Best <b>News</b> For 2011 - 24/7 Wall St.

24/7 Wall St. chose the ten most important pieces of news for major US corporations so far this year. Our evaluation was based on the history of the company and industry involved and the likely long-term effects of the event.

Yahoo! Marketing, Tech and Management in the <b>News</b> | Yahoo <b>...</b>

A trio of stories from across the globe shows Yahoo!'s leadership.

Small Business <b>News</b>: SMBs and the Economy

Recently businesses have expressed concern over excessive regulations that have made conducting business ever more expensive, often with limited justification.


bench craft company scam

Ten American Companies With The Best <b>News</b> For 2011 - 24/7 Wall St.

24/7 Wall St. chose the ten most important pieces of news for major US corporations so far this year. Our evaluation was based on the history of the company and industry involved and the likely long-term effects of the event.

Yahoo! Marketing, Tech and Management in the <b>News</b> | Yahoo <b>...</b>

A trio of stories from across the globe shows Yahoo!'s leadership.

Small Business <b>News</b>: SMBs and the Economy

Recently businesses have expressed concern over excessive regulations that have made conducting business ever more expensive, often with limited justification.


bench craft company scam

Ten American Companies With The Best <b>News</b> For 2011 - 24/7 Wall St.

24/7 Wall St. chose the ten most important pieces of news for major US corporations so far this year. Our evaluation was based on the history of the company and industry involved and the likely long-term effects of the event.

Yahoo! Marketing, Tech and Management in the <b>News</b> | Yahoo <b>...</b>

A trio of stories from across the globe shows Yahoo!'s leadership.

Small Business <b>News</b>: SMBs and the Economy

Recently businesses have expressed concern over excessive regulations that have made conducting business ever more expensive, often with limited justification.


benchcraft company scam

Ten American Companies With The Best <b>News</b> For 2011 - 24/7 Wall St.

24/7 Wall St. chose the ten most important pieces of news for major US corporations so far this year. Our evaluation was based on the history of the company and industry involved and the likely long-term effects of the event.

Yahoo! Marketing, Tech and Management in the <b>News</b> | Yahoo <b>...</b>

A trio of stories from across the globe shows Yahoo!'s leadership.

Small Business <b>News</b>: SMBs and the Economy

Recently businesses have expressed concern over excessive regulations that have made conducting business ever more expensive, often with limited justification.















Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Making Easy Money


I started writing TV recaps and reviews a few years ago when a friend of a friend at a major newspaper told me they were expanding their TV coverage and needed people do cover a few shows, so I picked up two programs I already watched a lot, 'The Office' and 'ER.' It sounded easy enough, writing my thoughts on shows I already had opinions on anyway, although it took several tries to get the tone right–sometimes it still does. Some publications want a lot of recap, and some prefer that you assume that the readers saw the show and just touch on the major points. Some editors encourage plenty of sassmouth and snark, whereas others won’t tolerate even a hint at a swear word.


Typically, I'm assigned to review either an episode or a series of a show. I watch the show, and as quickly as possible, but as thoughtfully and with as much "voice" as possible, record my impressions of the quality of the episode along with the recap.


It’s a fun job, one that I’m lucky to have, period, let alone make a few bucks off, but like any writing gig, it comes with its own writey lessons.


Long scripted dramas and reality TV shows are the easiest to cover. Half-hour comedies are some of the hardest. It can be difficult to stretch a recap of a half-hour show into several good paragraphs and you can only say “…and it was funny when…” so many times. Also really hard to turn into something: results shows that aren’t finales.They’re usually all filler except for the results–the best reality TV competition shows are figuring out how to make the results shows worth watching because otherwise people will just skip and read about what happened online. With a drama, though, you can usually find something to say about the season (or series) as a whole even if the episode didn’t give you a ton to work with.


Screeners make life so much easier. I think I automatically relax and like a show more if I know I have a day or two to think about it after I watch it than if I only have an hour or two to write it up. Knocking out a writeup on a two-hour episode of 'American Idol' an hour after seeing it and making it comprehensive, entertaining, and spelling-error free is sometimes a challenge.


Livechatting reality TV show finales is way more fun than writing about them. As great a job it is to write about television, actually talking to like-minded people in real time and trying to one-up each other with jokes and observations is more fun. They’re like TV-watching parties but without that pesky real live interaction that goes along with that whole having-to-put-on-a-bra thing.


If you truly love a show, don't review it. I get asked occasionally to review 'RuPaul's Drag Race' but I won't, at least not full-time, because I like saving that show as pure entertainment, just me and the TV and no notes or observations. Because even though writing about TV isn’t especially grueling work, it’s still work, and if you really love letting a show take you away for a little while, it’s best just to keep it as entertainment without turning it into an assignment, to remember what it’s like to just watch something without taking notes. I do like subbing for people who cover shows I watch just for fun, though. There’s less pressure to come up with something new to say, and you get to come at it from a fan’s perspective, not a critic’s. Plus, if for some reason you rub the readers the wrong way, it was just a one-time thing and they won't be back next week to tell you what an ass you are.


Commenters will eat your soul if you let them. I have other critic friends who can avoid comments completely or not let them get to them. I am not one of these people. Why do I read comments on my pieces? Because I’m a masochist, that’s why. I guess I should stop being surprised when people use the internet's anonymity to be jerks. Being told that your mother should have had aborted you when she had the chance because of your opinion on 'Lost' (this didn’t happen to me, it happened to a colleague) never goes down easy. I learn to laugh a day or two later but I’m still naively shaken sometimes by how rude people can be (My opinion on one episode of 'SNL' made one person decide that I am "literally retarded"). That said, I also feel crappy if a commenter politely points out that I made a mistake or missed something.


Whenever people find out you're a TV critic and ask you what’s good, without fail, you draw a blank and then you feel like an idiot. I feel like I can’t keep saying 'The Wire' for forever, I’m afraid to admit to how loyal a 'Bridezillas' viewer I am. Alternately, they haven't heard of any of the shows you do recommend. Or, they watched a few episodes of your favorite show and hated it and then you say “Oh, well,” and secretly judge them.


Network swag is fun to receive, and then you throw it away. It’s entertaining to receive a big silly package from a network in the mail, until I realize that I have to dispose of all the packaging that it came in and what do I need with some of this swag, anyway? Except the time that a network sent me some pancake mix and syrup for Christmas. That was great.


Going out and having a few drinks before you go home to write sounds like a much better and more enjoyable idea than it is. For something that sounds so fun and easy, you have to take it pretty seriously in order to do a decent job at it, especially since there are probably 200 people who would gladly take over covering for you. This goes double if you have a day job and can’t afford to sleep in because you started watching the two-hour 'Idol' “event” at 10 PM.


Change is good. 'American Idol' is only two episodes in but the consensus amongst reviewers is that, so far, it’s not too terrible. In my experience, a reality TV show changing up its format, if even slightly, is a good thing, at least from a writing perspective. When 'So You Think You Can Dance' incorporated its All-Stars last season, it might not have been for the best of the show, but at least I could evaluate the changes and ask the readers what they thought. When a show rests too long in format you can get too comfortable (Eventually I had a hard time finding much to say about 'Project Runway' for the first 75% of each episode, since it started to feel like everything prior to the runway was pretty irrelevant, unless Tim Gunn did something noteworthy).


Tim Gunn, over the phone, is as nice as you’d hope he’d be. Better, even. Classy, charming, intelligent, friendly: I was so excited after I interviewed him that I did a horrible job spell-checking the interview and let it get posted when it really shouldn’t have. I just wanted to brag to the world that I talked to him. Also very nice, despite probably being richer than anyone else I know: Nigel Lythgoe.




Claire Zulkey lives in Chicago. You can learn so much more about her here.


Photo by Powi, from Flickr.



App Store Classics: Game Dev Story, a game about making games.


Ever wondered what it’d be like to run your own game development house? Me neither, but don’t let that stop you getting involved with Game Dev Story (iTunes link), a little gem of a game from Japanese developers Kairosoft, currently on sale in the app store for $0.99.


The concept is straightforward – grow your development house from a tiny team of four staff churning out cheap and cheerful PC games to a revered coding powerhouse in swanky offices crafting masterpieces for the latest consoles.


At first you’ll probably be going over budget left right and centre, trying to figure out which game types work best and therefore shift more units, but once you get into the swing of it you can concentrate on hiring and training the best staff and purchasing licences to develop console games, resulting in better made and better selling games with higher profit margins.


It’s not just a question of hiring and firing, coming up with game ideas and watching your staff working their buns off though. Through the use of ‘boosts’ which are periodically made available to purchase as the game progresses (not in-app purchases I hasten to add), you can choose one of your coders to work on enhancing one specific aspect of the game. This pushes up the overall quality of the game you’re making and results in better reviews and sales, adding a further strategic element as you choose the right moment and category in which to use your boosts. At certain points within the development cycle you also get the chance to work on the graphics and sound specifically, either using one of your own staff or hiring in a freelancer, and this too gives you the opportunity to increase the overall quality of your virtual product.



When you make your first million seller it’s a satisfying moment but there’s no time to rest on your laurels. There are always new consoles appearing on the market, contract jobs to take on, new staff to hire and new game types to discover. If you leave too much of a gap between development cycles you start losing fans and therefore a few sales, but think carefully about what kind of games you make – my pirate simulation was a right turkey.



It’s all great fun, but it’s fair to say there are a few things here which need to be addressed by the time Game Dev Story 2 arrives in the app store. I know it’s a tall order on a phone but I couldn’t help thinking how nice it would be if I could play the games my team had made. Even a comedy cut sequence showing some aspects of the latest game would have been good. There are also some hugely expensive advertising options within this game that offer no feedback other than some numbers increasing on a stat page. If I’m sponsoring a racing team I’d like to see my company logo on the side of a formula one car at least!


Finally, the game is perhaps a bit on the easy side. I’m sure if developing a multi million selling game was this straightforward we’d all be at it. Well, maybe not, but it’s easy to make enough money that you don’t have to worry too much about how you spend it, and this negatively impacts the strategy element.


All things considered however, Game Dev Story is great fun. It’s a good natured game and from the cute graphics and retro sound to the amusing titles you can give your creations, it’s a rewarding experience which works perfectly whether in short bursts or longer play sessions. Did I mention that it’s currently only $0.99 on the app store?







bench craft company reviews

Lara Logan of CBS <b>News</b> Was Attacked and Sexually Assaulted in Egypt

Many of the scenes broadcast from Egpyt in recent days have been joyful, but events took a horrific turn for CBS News correspondent Lara.

Live blogging Obama&#39;s <b>news</b> conference – CNN Political Ticker - CNN <b>...</b>

The CNN Political and White House teams are bringing you the latest developments and reactions from President Obama's news conference. Please continually refresh this page for the latest updates (CTRL-R). UPDATE: Read the full CNN.com ...

Scientists, telescope hunt massive hidden object in space – This <b>...</b>

You know how you sometimes can sense that something is present even though you can't see it? Well, astronomers are getting that feeling about a giant, hidden object in space. And when we say giant, we mean GIANT.


bench craft company me

Lara Logan of CBS <b>News</b> Was Attacked and Sexually Assaulted in Egypt

Many of the scenes broadcast from Egpyt in recent days have been joyful, but events took a horrific turn for CBS News correspondent Lara.

Live blogging Obama&#39;s <b>news</b> conference – CNN Political Ticker - CNN <b>...</b>

The CNN Political and White House teams are bringing you the latest developments and reactions from President Obama's news conference. Please continually refresh this page for the latest updates (CTRL-R). UPDATE: Read the full CNN.com ...

Scientists, telescope hunt massive hidden object in space – This <b>...</b>

You know how you sometimes can sense that something is present even though you can't see it? Well, astronomers are getting that feeling about a giant, hidden object in space. And when we say giant, we mean GIANT.


bench craft company me

Lara Logan of CBS <b>News</b> Was Attacked and Sexually Assaulted in Egypt

Many of the scenes broadcast from Egpyt in recent days have been joyful, but events took a horrific turn for CBS News correspondent Lara.

Live blogging Obama&#39;s <b>news</b> conference – CNN Political Ticker - CNN <b>...</b>

The CNN Political and White House teams are bringing you the latest developments and reactions from President Obama's news conference. Please continually refresh this page for the latest updates (CTRL-R). UPDATE: Read the full CNN.com ...

Scientists, telescope hunt massive hidden object in space – This <b>...</b>

You know how you sometimes can sense that something is present even though you can't see it? Well, astronomers are getting that feeling about a giant, hidden object in space. And when we say giant, we mean GIANT.


bench craft company me

Lara Logan of CBS <b>News</b> Was Attacked and Sexually Assaulted in Egypt

Many of the scenes broadcast from Egpyt in recent days have been joyful, but events took a horrific turn for CBS News correspondent Lara.

Live blogging Obama&#39;s <b>news</b> conference – CNN Political Ticker - CNN <b>...</b>

The CNN Political and White House teams are bringing you the latest developments and reactions from President Obama's news conference. Please continually refresh this page for the latest updates (CTRL-R). UPDATE: Read the full CNN.com ...

Scientists, telescope hunt massive hidden object in space – This <b>...</b>

You know how you sometimes can sense that something is present even though you can't see it? Well, astronomers are getting that feeling about a giant, hidden object in space. And when we say giant, we mean GIANT.


bench craft company credit card

Lara Logan of CBS <b>News</b> Was Attacked and Sexually Assaulted in Egypt

Many of the scenes broadcast from Egpyt in recent days have been joyful, but events took a horrific turn for CBS News correspondent Lara.

Live blogging Obama&#39;s <b>news</b> conference – CNN Political Ticker - CNN <b>...</b>

The CNN Political and White House teams are bringing you the latest developments and reactions from President Obama's news conference. Please continually refresh this page for the latest updates (CTRL-R). UPDATE: Read the full CNN.com ...

Scientists, telescope hunt massive hidden object in space – This <b>...</b>

You know how you sometimes can sense that something is present even though you can't see it? Well, astronomers are getting that feeling about a giant, hidden object in space. And when we say giant, we mean GIANT.


bench craft company credit card

Lara Logan of CBS <b>News</b> Was Attacked and Sexually Assaulted in Egypt

Many of the scenes broadcast from Egpyt in recent days have been joyful, but events took a horrific turn for CBS News correspondent Lara.

Live blogging Obama&#39;s <b>news</b> conference – CNN Political Ticker - CNN <b>...</b>

The CNN Political and White House teams are bringing you the latest developments and reactions from President Obama's news conference. Please continually refresh this page for the latest updates (CTRL-R). UPDATE: Read the full CNN.com ...

Scientists, telescope hunt massive hidden object in space – This <b>...</b>

You know how you sometimes can sense that something is present even though you can't see it? Well, astronomers are getting that feeling about a giant, hidden object in space. And when we say giant, we mean GIANT.


bench craft company reviews

Lara Logan of CBS <b>News</b> Was Attacked and Sexually Assaulted in Egypt

Many of the scenes broadcast from Egpyt in recent days have been joyful, but events took a horrific turn for CBS News correspondent Lara.

Live blogging Obama&#39;s <b>news</b> conference – CNN Political Ticker - CNN <b>...</b>

The CNN Political and White House teams are bringing you the latest developments and reactions from President Obama's news conference. Please continually refresh this page for the latest updates (CTRL-R). UPDATE: Read the full CNN.com ...

Scientists, telescope hunt massive hidden object in space – This <b>...</b>

You know how you sometimes can sense that something is present even though you can't see it? Well, astronomers are getting that feeling about a giant, hidden object in space. And when we say giant, we mean GIANT.


bench craft company me

Lara Logan of CBS <b>News</b> Was Attacked and Sexually Assaulted in Egypt

Many of the scenes broadcast from Egpyt in recent days have been joyful, but events took a horrific turn for CBS News correspondent Lara.

Live blogging Obama&#39;s <b>news</b> conference – CNN Political Ticker - CNN <b>...</b>

The CNN Political and White House teams are bringing you the latest developments and reactions from President Obama's news conference. Please continually refresh this page for the latest updates (CTRL-R). UPDATE: Read the full CNN.com ...

Scientists, telescope hunt massive hidden object in space – This <b>...</b>

You know how you sometimes can sense that something is present even though you can't see it? Well, astronomers are getting that feeling about a giant, hidden object in space. And when we say giant, we mean GIANT.


bench craft company me

Lara Logan of CBS <b>News</b> Was Attacked and Sexually Assaulted in Egypt

Many of the scenes broadcast from Egpyt in recent days have been joyful, but events took a horrific turn for CBS News correspondent Lara.

Live blogging Obama&#39;s <b>news</b> conference – CNN Political Ticker - CNN <b>...</b>

The CNN Political and White House teams are bringing you the latest developments and reactions from President Obama's news conference. Please continually refresh this page for the latest updates (CTRL-R). UPDATE: Read the full CNN.com ...

Scientists, telescope hunt massive hidden object in space – This <b>...</b>

You know how you sometimes can sense that something is present even though you can't see it? Well, astronomers are getting that feeling about a giant, hidden object in space. And when we say giant, we mean GIANT.

















Friday, February 11, 2011

foreclosure victims

bench craft company

Delmonico's Building by Emilio Guerra


bench craft company

Scripting <b>News</b>: Why Twitter is so valuable

It's the prototype for the news system of the future. Under competent management with a longer-term view and deep experience with news, Twitter would sweep the whole news landscape into its domain. To have almost exclusive control of ...

Nokia and Microsoft form mobile partnership | <b>News</b>

Nokia and Microsoft have announced plans to form a partnership in the mobile space that the companies hope will help it c...

autosport.com - F1 <b>News</b>: Kubica vows to return this season

Robert Kubica is convinced he will return to the Formula 1 track a better driver once he has recovered for the injuries he picked up in last weekend's rally crash, as he insisted he 'must' get back this year.


bench craft company

Delmonico's Building by Emilio Guerra


bench craft company

Scripting <b>News</b>: Why Twitter is so valuable

It's the prototype for the news system of the future. Under competent management with a longer-term view and deep experience with news, Twitter would sweep the whole news landscape into its domain. To have almost exclusive control of ...

Nokia and Microsoft form mobile partnership | <b>News</b>

Nokia and Microsoft have announced plans to form a partnership in the mobile space that the companies hope will help it c...

autosport.com - F1 <b>News</b>: Kubica vows to return this season

Robert Kubica is convinced he will return to the Formula 1 track a better driver once he has recovered for the injuries he picked up in last weekend's rally crash, as he insisted he 'must' get back this year.


bench craft company

Scripting <b>News</b>: Why Twitter is so valuable

It's the prototype for the news system of the future. Under competent management with a longer-term view and deep experience with news, Twitter would sweep the whole news landscape into its domain. To have almost exclusive control of ...

Nokia and Microsoft form mobile partnership | <b>News</b>

Nokia and Microsoft have announced plans to form a partnership in the mobile space that the companies hope will help it c...

autosport.com - F1 <b>News</b>: Kubica vows to return this season

Robert Kubica is convinced he will return to the Formula 1 track a better driver once he has recovered for the injuries he picked up in last weekend's rally crash, as he insisted he 'must' get back this year.


bench craft company

Scripting <b>News</b>: Why Twitter is so valuable

It's the prototype for the news system of the future. Under competent management with a longer-term view and deep experience with news, Twitter would sweep the whole news landscape into its domain. To have almost exclusive control of ...

Nokia and Microsoft form mobile partnership | <b>News</b>

Nokia and Microsoft have announced plans to form a partnership in the mobile space that the companies hope will help it c...

autosport.com - F1 <b>News</b>: Kubica vows to return this season

Robert Kubica is convinced he will return to the Formula 1 track a better driver once he has recovered for the injuries he picked up in last weekend's rally crash, as he insisted he 'must' get back this year.


bench craft company bench craft company
bench craft company

Delmonico's Building by Emilio Guerra


bench craft company
bench craft company

Scripting <b>News</b>: Why Twitter is so valuable

It's the prototype for the news system of the future. Under competent management with a longer-term view and deep experience with news, Twitter would sweep the whole news landscape into its domain. To have almost exclusive control of ...

Nokia and Microsoft form mobile partnership | <b>News</b>

Nokia and Microsoft have announced plans to form a partnership in the mobile space that the companies hope will help it c...

autosport.com - F1 <b>News</b>: Kubica vows to return this season

Robert Kubica is convinced he will return to the Formula 1 track a better driver once he has recovered for the injuries he picked up in last weekend's rally crash, as he insisted he 'must' get back this year.


bench craft company

President Obama unveiled his massive program in order to assist homeowners now in threat of foreclosure throughout the nation. There is only one difficulty with all the bells and whistles both he and the media have attempted to place on this "rescue." Simply a case of too little, too late.

The American public by and large has been scared off homeownership and entering into any new debt due to the uncertainly of this economy at the present time. The former owner of homes which were foreclosed upon during the past two years as this crisis has continued now have credit ratings that preclude them from even renting an apartment, much less purchasing another home. The only ones who have profited from this past two years have been the banks, banking executives and foreclosure industry itself (See my prior article on Countrywide's former executives new career in partnership with the Treasury Department under the terms of the September bank "bailout"). These banks were and have been making money hand over fist due to most of the terms of the loans for these foreclosed properties, not bankrupted by them. How so, you say, since this banking crisis has been so promoted by both Washington and the media? As one who was affected by this crisis due to a refinanced loan taken out due to the escalating costs of my "ownership" in property taxes, insurance, and increasingly restrictive and industry favoring state statutes in Arizona with respect to homeowners associations and their powers over my property ownership and rights, the spins have left me breathless.

These "subprime loans" and teaser rates also did not come without a cost, which most forget. Included within them were added points, and higher down payments in order to get this "creative" funding in almost every instance. While the banks are being portrayed as the victims, and outraging the clueless American public, much is left out in the reporting. Also, these loans were resold on the secondary market as investments, so those banks secured those undermarket rates through Wall Street in their offerings. The banks were and are out nothing, and whatever they get for them now at foreclosure sales is simply more gravy. Gravy which they can then turn around and feed their local state or federal legislator come next election time.

So all you Americans who are buying the Washington and media propaganda, there is another agenda at work here in attempting to turn Americans against each other and point the fingers at your fellow countrymen rather than where it belongs.

Corrupted politicians, and a federal government gone beserk with it's power rather than protecting it's citizenry against corporate special interests. Collusion with those banks in marketing these mortgages at what is nothing more than "loan shark" rates as loans for home ownership, rather than simply foreclosure contracts with excessive interest rates, and over the top restrictive terms in the use of those properties and ownership. Many are states in which the only new homes you can purchase are those that come attached with restrictive use rights in so much as changing them in any manner from the date of sale, or even upgrading those properties without resulting in a lawsuit with either the banks or the homeowner's associations which now have more power than the banks due by state statutes with respect to foreclosures. Painting your house the wrong color can result in a court case that strips you of all your equity, in addition to your home in those states now with the highest foreclosure rates.

Don't buy the spins. Speak with the owners who have lost their homes, and find out the true facts that both the media, and Washington, are failing to mention.

And for all the monies that Obama is throwing, it is clear that most of his interest is in stimulating home sales for "new buyers." And after the last two years alone, thousands of citizens will not be so naive or stupid as to sign on that dotted line anytime in the future, even if they were able to at this point.

Obama's going to need more than throwing money around, and a good speech and sales pitch, to get many Americans back into the home buying market. And just how many investors are there in this country that will buy up these properties now also, with no guarantee of their ability to find a buyer in the immediate future.

I know they are advertising Arizona foreclosed properties for sale now in the Illinois local papers. I wonder how soon it will be before they are advertising "globally," at the banker's behest in order to get more bang for their buck after destroying the American economy?

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Making Free Money Online


Subscription Porn Site SLAPPed Down After Suing RedTube For Undermining Its Business Model

from the competing-isn't-undermining dept

We've joked in the past about how many of the complaints we see from companies about new, more innovative competitors, is that they somehow represent "felony interference of a business model." Some companies, it seems, like to believe that if they have a successful business model, any new competitor that changes the market around must be doing so illegally. Eric Goldman points us to just such a lawsuit in California, where the proprietor of a subscription based porn website sued RedTube, one of many, many porn-focused free streaming video sites, and many of RedTube's advertisers, arguing unfair competition. Basically, the argument was that by setting up a website and offering these porn videos for free, while making money on the advertising, RedTube was effectively "dumping" its product on the market below cost in order to harm the market and make money elsewhere.



RedTube, in response, filed an anti-SLAPP claim, saying that the lawsuit sought to silence RedTube exercising its First Amendment rights of speech. While a lower court mostly agreed, it did leave open one small piece of the unfair competition claim, related to the issue of the claim that someone at RedTube's parent company signed up for the plaintiff's subscription website, downloaded the videos, and posted them on RedTube. However, the California state appeals court rejects the lower court's argument, and agrees that even this claim should be tossed out, because it's only unfair competition if the plaintiff can show that he has, in fact, lost money or property as a result of the unfair competition. Since the plaintiff was unable to do so, the court ruled that this claim got tossed out too (though, if true, you do wonder if there might be a copyright issue -- which does not appear to have been raised here).



On the overall point of underpricing the market unfairly, the court points out how silly this is, noting that giving away free content in exchange for advertising is a business model that's been around for ages, and is hardly a form of unfair competition:


If Bright's business model sounds familiar it's because it's the business model
typical of broadcast radio and television stations in the United States not to mention
thousands of local newspapers and, more recently, tens of thousands of Internet websites
including Youtube, CNN and Video.Yahoo.

The court also points out, in its opening, that business models change, and companies need to keep up -- and they shouldn't expect the law to keep their old business models in place:

In the 21st century, businesses of all kinds are having to adapt to a constantly
changing commercial landscape. The business that the parties describe as the "adult
entertainment" industry is no exception. Websites that originally made their money by
offering such material on a subscription or pay-per-view basis are being replaced by
"tube" websites which offer their content for free and make their money through
advertising.

There's also an interesting discussion over whether or not RedTube qualifies for SLAPP protections, as the site's content must involve the "furtherance of their right of free speech on a public issue." The plaintiff said that his complaint had nothing to do with stopping speech, but from the "anti-competitive conduct." The court notes that even publishing videos of porn online is conduct in the furtherance of speech and, in fact, that there is a "substantial public interest in the kind of sexually explicit videos shown on tube-sites such as Redtube." That's one way to put it.



The final point that seemed worth discussing on this is just how silly some "anti-competitive" behavior laws and rulings can be. Part of the plaintiff's argument here was to bring up a bit of caselaw involving two competing San Fransisco tourist cruises, where one firm got in trouble for selling tickets below cost, even though the firm made it up elsewhere. The court rejects this, by claiming that the earlier ruling doesn't apply here because RedTube "does not sell two separate products." That seems silly to me, and if anything really just highlights the problem with the original court ruling about using the tickets as a loss leader. If you read the ruling this way, you get a nonsensical result: giving away the videos for free would be legal, but charging a penny for them could suddenly be seen as unfair competition, because now it would be "selling" two separate products. Bundling multiple products, such that some are given away free or cheaply in the interest of a larger business model should never be seen as anti-competitive on its own. While I agree with the outcome, it seemed like this was the most confused part of the court's ruling, in that it tapdanced around what was, basically, a really bad ruling. The real issue should be to get rid of any rule that says such kinds of bundles are against the law in the first place.






12 Comments | Leave a Comment..



The latest to try is Ongo, a two-year-old start-up that will introduce its Web site today, with an iPad app to follow.


Ongo is backed by three major media companies: The Washington Post Company, The New York Times Company and Gannett, which publishes USA Today. Each has invested $4 million.


Ongo is for readers who peruse a variety of publications every day and want to read them all in one place. It shows articles from about 20 publications, and is in talks with dozens more.


The catch: Readers pay $6.99 a month for the service, while most of the Web sites whose articles it shows are free. In exchange, readers see no ads or cluttered pages, and can search for articles, save them and share them with friends — all from one site.


“The key thing is they don’t have to go to the other sites” to read the stories, said Kevin Skaggs, Ongo’s chief content officer and a former producer for The San Francisco Chronicle’s Web site.


Many publications generally flinch at that idea, because they want readers to visit their sites and see their ads. But in this case, they are sharing their content with Ongo because Ongo will share its revenue with them. And, Ongo said, it may attract new readers when its editors highlight stories that readers may not have otherwise seen.


Other apps, like Pulse and Flipboard, offer mobile news readers for free. And people turn to Web sites like The Huffington Post, Twitter and Facebook to see stories aggregated by editors or acquaintances.


Ongo is different because it gathers stories from a large number of publications, people can access it on the Web or on mobile devices,  and professional editors choose the top stories, said Alex Kazim, Ongo’s founder and chief executive and a former eBay executive.


“I just don’t think my friends are as good as professional editors in finding stories for me to read,” he said.


For $6.99, readers get all articles from The Washington Post and USA Today and some from The New York Times, the Associated Press and The Financial Times, along with stories from one more publication of their choice. Adding other publications costs an additional fee, between 99 cents and $14 a month, which the publisher sets.


According to Ongo’s research, just 12 percent of people read enough publications online each day that they would want a service like Ongo, Mr. Kazim said. But if it is successful, he hopes to include blogs, magazines and video, making it a one-stop shop for the news.


Ongo looks like a newspaper, with headlines that a team of six editors chooses to highlight and sections like sports, business and opinion. Readers can search a topic in the news and see articles from a variety of publications.


Like other sites, Ongo lets people share articles with friends through e-mail, Facebook and Twitter. But it also lets people set up groups — family members or colleagues, for instance — for sharing, and facilitates chats about articles. If someone who is not an Ongo member signs up after reading a shared story, the sender gets a free month’s membership.


First-time Ongo users can get a free one-day trial pass, and if they register within a month, the first month is free.



bench craft company

Sigma announcements include 120-300mm F2.8 and 150mm F2.8 Macro <b>...</b>

Sigma announcements include 120-300mm F2.8 and 150mm F2.8 Macro pricing: CP+ 2011: In addition to its latest lens announcements, Sigma has announced the price and availability of its 120-300mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM and Macro 150mm F2.8 EX ...

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 2/9 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning Chiefs fans! A thank you to Joel and Chris for covering for me. Technology seems to hate me lately. Today's Kansas City Chiefs news covers a lot of topics: the national anthem, racial bias, Super Bowl odds, and pork. Enjoy.

GAME selling XBLA games and DLC Xbox 360 <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Xbox 360 news of GAME selling XBLA games and DLC.


bench craft company

Subscription Porn Site SLAPPed Down After Suing RedTube For Undermining Its Business Model

from the competing-isn't-undermining dept

We've joked in the past about how many of the complaints we see from companies about new, more innovative competitors, is that they somehow represent "felony interference of a business model." Some companies, it seems, like to believe that if they have a successful business model, any new competitor that changes the market around must be doing so illegally. Eric Goldman points us to just such a lawsuit in California, where the proprietor of a subscription based porn website sued RedTube, one of many, many porn-focused free streaming video sites, and many of RedTube's advertisers, arguing unfair competition. Basically, the argument was that by setting up a website and offering these porn videos for free, while making money on the advertising, RedTube was effectively "dumping" its product on the market below cost in order to harm the market and make money elsewhere.



RedTube, in response, filed an anti-SLAPP claim, saying that the lawsuit sought to silence RedTube exercising its First Amendment rights of speech. While a lower court mostly agreed, it did leave open one small piece of the unfair competition claim, related to the issue of the claim that someone at RedTube's parent company signed up for the plaintiff's subscription website, downloaded the videos, and posted them on RedTube. However, the California state appeals court rejects the lower court's argument, and agrees that even this claim should be tossed out, because it's only unfair competition if the plaintiff can show that he has, in fact, lost money or property as a result of the unfair competition. Since the plaintiff was unable to do so, the court ruled that this claim got tossed out too (though, if true, you do wonder if there might be a copyright issue -- which does not appear to have been raised here).



On the overall point of underpricing the market unfairly, the court points out how silly this is, noting that giving away free content in exchange for advertising is a business model that's been around for ages, and is hardly a form of unfair competition:


If Bright's business model sounds familiar it's because it's the business model
typical of broadcast radio and television stations in the United States not to mention
thousands of local newspapers and, more recently, tens of thousands of Internet websites
including Youtube, CNN and Video.Yahoo.

The court also points out, in its opening, that business models change, and companies need to keep up -- and they shouldn't expect the law to keep their old business models in place:

In the 21st century, businesses of all kinds are having to adapt to a constantly
changing commercial landscape. The business that the parties describe as the "adult
entertainment" industry is no exception. Websites that originally made their money by
offering such material on a subscription or pay-per-view basis are being replaced by
"tube" websites which offer their content for free and make their money through
advertising.

There's also an interesting discussion over whether or not RedTube qualifies for SLAPP protections, as the site's content must involve the "furtherance of their right of free speech on a public issue." The plaintiff said that his complaint had nothing to do with stopping speech, but from the "anti-competitive conduct." The court notes that even publishing videos of porn online is conduct in the furtherance of speech and, in fact, that there is a "substantial public interest in the kind of sexually explicit videos shown on tube-sites such as Redtube." That's one way to put it.



The final point that seemed worth discussing on this is just how silly some "anti-competitive" behavior laws and rulings can be. Part of the plaintiff's argument here was to bring up a bit of caselaw involving two competing San Fransisco tourist cruises, where one firm got in trouble for selling tickets below cost, even though the firm made it up elsewhere. The court rejects this, by claiming that the earlier ruling doesn't apply here because RedTube "does not sell two separate products." That seems silly to me, and if anything really just highlights the problem with the original court ruling about using the tickets as a loss leader. If you read the ruling this way, you get a nonsensical result: giving away the videos for free would be legal, but charging a penny for them could suddenly be seen as unfair competition, because now it would be "selling" two separate products. Bundling multiple products, such that some are given away free or cheaply in the interest of a larger business model should never be seen as anti-competitive on its own. While I agree with the outcome, it seemed like this was the most confused part of the court's ruling, in that it tapdanced around what was, basically, a really bad ruling. The real issue should be to get rid of any rule that says such kinds of bundles are against the law in the first place.






12 Comments | Leave a Comment..



The latest to try is Ongo, a two-year-old start-up that will introduce its Web site today, with an iPad app to follow.


Ongo is backed by three major media companies: The Washington Post Company, The New York Times Company and Gannett, which publishes USA Today. Each has invested $4 million.


Ongo is for readers who peruse a variety of publications every day and want to read them all in one place. It shows articles from about 20 publications, and is in talks with dozens more.


The catch: Readers pay $6.99 a month for the service, while most of the Web sites whose articles it shows are free. In exchange, readers see no ads or cluttered pages, and can search for articles, save them and share them with friends — all from one site.


“The key thing is they don’t have to go to the other sites” to read the stories, said Kevin Skaggs, Ongo’s chief content officer and a former producer for The San Francisco Chronicle’s Web site.


Many publications generally flinch at that idea, because they want readers to visit their sites and see their ads. But in this case, they are sharing their content with Ongo because Ongo will share its revenue with them. And, Ongo said, it may attract new readers when its editors highlight stories that readers may not have otherwise seen.


Other apps, like Pulse and Flipboard, offer mobile news readers for free. And people turn to Web sites like The Huffington Post, Twitter and Facebook to see stories aggregated by editors or acquaintances.


Ongo is different because it gathers stories from a large number of publications, people can access it on the Web or on mobile devices,  and professional editors choose the top stories, said Alex Kazim, Ongo’s founder and chief executive and a former eBay executive.


“I just don’t think my friends are as good as professional editors in finding stories for me to read,” he said.


For $6.99, readers get all articles from The Washington Post and USA Today and some from The New York Times, the Associated Press and The Financial Times, along with stories from one more publication of their choice. Adding other publications costs an additional fee, between 99 cents and $14 a month, which the publisher sets.


According to Ongo’s research, just 12 percent of people read enough publications online each day that they would want a service like Ongo, Mr. Kazim said. But if it is successful, he hopes to include blogs, magazines and video, making it a one-stop shop for the news.


Ongo looks like a newspaper, with headlines that a team of six editors chooses to highlight and sections like sports, business and opinion. Readers can search a topic in the news and see articles from a variety of publications.


Like other sites, Ongo lets people share articles with friends through e-mail, Facebook and Twitter. But it also lets people set up groups — family members or colleagues, for instance — for sharing, and facilitates chats about articles. If someone who is not an Ongo member signs up after reading a shared story, the sender gets a free month’s membership.


First-time Ongo users can get a free one-day trial pass, and if they register within a month, the first month is free.



bench craft company>

Sigma announcements include 120-300mm F2.8 and 150mm F2.8 Macro <b>...</b>

Sigma announcements include 120-300mm F2.8 and 150mm F2.8 Macro pricing: CP+ 2011: In addition to its latest lens announcements, Sigma has announced the price and availability of its 120-300mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM and Macro 150mm F2.8 EX ...

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 2/9 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning Chiefs fans! A thank you to Joel and Chris for covering for me. Technology seems to hate me lately. Today's Kansas City Chiefs news covers a lot of topics: the national anthem, racial bias, Super Bowl odds, and pork. Enjoy.

GAME selling XBLA games and DLC Xbox 360 <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Xbox 360 news of GAME selling XBLA games and DLC.


bench craft company
[reefeed]
bench craft company

Freelance Riches :: Now ANYBODY Can Make Money Online! by thenyouwin


bench craft company

Sigma announcements include 120-300mm F2.8 and 150mm F2.8 Macro <b>...</b>

Sigma announcements include 120-300mm F2.8 and 150mm F2.8 Macro pricing: CP+ 2011: In addition to its latest lens announcements, Sigma has announced the price and availability of its 120-300mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM and Macro 150mm F2.8 EX ...

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 2/9 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning Chiefs fans! A thank you to Joel and Chris for covering for me. Technology seems to hate me lately. Today's Kansas City Chiefs news covers a lot of topics: the national anthem, racial bias, Super Bowl odds, and pork. Enjoy.

GAME selling XBLA games and DLC Xbox 360 <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Xbox 360 news of GAME selling XBLA games and DLC.


bench craft company

Subscription Porn Site SLAPPed Down After Suing RedTube For Undermining Its Business Model

from the competing-isn't-undermining dept

We've joked in the past about how many of the complaints we see from companies about new, more innovative competitors, is that they somehow represent "felony interference of a business model." Some companies, it seems, like to believe that if they have a successful business model, any new competitor that changes the market around must be doing so illegally. Eric Goldman points us to just such a lawsuit in California, where the proprietor of a subscription based porn website sued RedTube, one of many, many porn-focused free streaming video sites, and many of RedTube's advertisers, arguing unfair competition. Basically, the argument was that by setting up a website and offering these porn videos for free, while making money on the advertising, RedTube was effectively "dumping" its product on the market below cost in order to harm the market and make money elsewhere.



RedTube, in response, filed an anti-SLAPP claim, saying that the lawsuit sought to silence RedTube exercising its First Amendment rights of speech. While a lower court mostly agreed, it did leave open one small piece of the unfair competition claim, related to the issue of the claim that someone at RedTube's parent company signed up for the plaintiff's subscription website, downloaded the videos, and posted them on RedTube. However, the California state appeals court rejects the lower court's argument, and agrees that even this claim should be tossed out, because it's only unfair competition if the plaintiff can show that he has, in fact, lost money or property as a result of the unfair competition. Since the plaintiff was unable to do so, the court ruled that this claim got tossed out too (though, if true, you do wonder if there might be a copyright issue -- which does not appear to have been raised here).



On the overall point of underpricing the market unfairly, the court points out how silly this is, noting that giving away free content in exchange for advertising is a business model that's been around for ages, and is hardly a form of unfair competition:


If Bright's business model sounds familiar it's because it's the business model
typical of broadcast radio and television stations in the United States not to mention
thousands of local newspapers and, more recently, tens of thousands of Internet websites
including Youtube, CNN and Video.Yahoo.

The court also points out, in its opening, that business models change, and companies need to keep up -- and they shouldn't expect the law to keep their old business models in place:

In the 21st century, businesses of all kinds are having to adapt to a constantly
changing commercial landscape. The business that the parties describe as the "adult
entertainment" industry is no exception. Websites that originally made their money by
offering such material on a subscription or pay-per-view basis are being replaced by
"tube" websites which offer their content for free and make their money through
advertising.

There's also an interesting discussion over whether or not RedTube qualifies for SLAPP protections, as the site's content must involve the "furtherance of their right of free speech on a public issue." The plaintiff said that his complaint had nothing to do with stopping speech, but from the "anti-competitive conduct." The court notes that even publishing videos of porn online is conduct in the furtherance of speech and, in fact, that there is a "substantial public interest in the kind of sexually explicit videos shown on tube-sites such as Redtube." That's one way to put it.



The final point that seemed worth discussing on this is just how silly some "anti-competitive" behavior laws and rulings can be. Part of the plaintiff's argument here was to bring up a bit of caselaw involving two competing San Fransisco tourist cruises, where one firm got in trouble for selling tickets below cost, even though the firm made it up elsewhere. The court rejects this, by claiming that the earlier ruling doesn't apply here because RedTube "does not sell two separate products." That seems silly to me, and if anything really just highlights the problem with the original court ruling about using the tickets as a loss leader. If you read the ruling this way, you get a nonsensical result: giving away the videos for free would be legal, but charging a penny for them could suddenly be seen as unfair competition, because now it would be "selling" two separate products. Bundling multiple products, such that some are given away free or cheaply in the interest of a larger business model should never be seen as anti-competitive on its own. While I agree with the outcome, it seemed like this was the most confused part of the court's ruling, in that it tapdanced around what was, basically, a really bad ruling. The real issue should be to get rid of any rule that says such kinds of bundles are against the law in the first place.






12 Comments | Leave a Comment..



The latest to try is Ongo, a two-year-old start-up that will introduce its Web site today, with an iPad app to follow.


Ongo is backed by three major media companies: The Washington Post Company, The New York Times Company and Gannett, which publishes USA Today. Each has invested $4 million.


Ongo is for readers who peruse a variety of publications every day and want to read them all in one place. It shows articles from about 20 publications, and is in talks with dozens more.


The catch: Readers pay $6.99 a month for the service, while most of the Web sites whose articles it shows are free. In exchange, readers see no ads or cluttered pages, and can search for articles, save them and share them with friends — all from one site.


“The key thing is they don’t have to go to the other sites” to read the stories, said Kevin Skaggs, Ongo’s chief content officer and a former producer for The San Francisco Chronicle’s Web site.


Many publications generally flinch at that idea, because they want readers to visit their sites and see their ads. But in this case, they are sharing their content with Ongo because Ongo will share its revenue with them. And, Ongo said, it may attract new readers when its editors highlight stories that readers may not have otherwise seen.


Other apps, like Pulse and Flipboard, offer mobile news readers for free. And people turn to Web sites like The Huffington Post, Twitter and Facebook to see stories aggregated by editors or acquaintances.


Ongo is different because it gathers stories from a large number of publications, people can access it on the Web or on mobile devices,  and professional editors choose the top stories, said Alex Kazim, Ongo’s founder and chief executive and a former eBay executive.


“I just don’t think my friends are as good as professional editors in finding stories for me to read,” he said.


For $6.99, readers get all articles from The Washington Post and USA Today and some from The New York Times, the Associated Press and The Financial Times, along with stories from one more publication of their choice. Adding other publications costs an additional fee, between 99 cents and $14 a month, which the publisher sets.


According to Ongo’s research, just 12 percent of people read enough publications online each day that they would want a service like Ongo, Mr. Kazim said. But if it is successful, he hopes to include blogs, magazines and video, making it a one-stop shop for the news.


Ongo looks like a newspaper, with headlines that a team of six editors chooses to highlight and sections like sports, business and opinion. Readers can search a topic in the news and see articles from a variety of publications.


Like other sites, Ongo lets people share articles with friends through e-mail, Facebook and Twitter. But it also lets people set up groups — family members or colleagues, for instance — for sharing, and facilitates chats about articles. If someone who is not an Ongo member signs up after reading a shared story, the sender gets a free month’s membership.


First-time Ongo users can get a free one-day trial pass, and if they register within a month, the first month is free.



bench craft company

Freelance Riches :: Now ANYBODY Can Make Money Online! by thenyouwin


bench craft company

Sigma announcements include 120-300mm F2.8 and 150mm F2.8 Macro <b>...</b>

Sigma announcements include 120-300mm F2.8 and 150mm F2.8 Macro pricing: CP+ 2011: In addition to its latest lens announcements, Sigma has announced the price and availability of its 120-300mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM and Macro 150mm F2.8 EX ...

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 2/9 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning Chiefs fans! A thank you to Joel and Chris for covering for me. Technology seems to hate me lately. Today's Kansas City Chiefs news covers a lot of topics: the national anthem, racial bias, Super Bowl odds, and pork. Enjoy.

GAME selling XBLA games and DLC Xbox 360 <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Xbox 360 news of GAME selling XBLA games and DLC.


bench craft company

Freelance Riches :: Now ANYBODY Can Make Money Online! by thenyouwin


bench craft company

Sigma announcements include 120-300mm F2.8 and 150mm F2.8 Macro <b>...</b>

Sigma announcements include 120-300mm F2.8 and 150mm F2.8 Macro pricing: CP+ 2011: In addition to its latest lens announcements, Sigma has announced the price and availability of its 120-300mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM and Macro 150mm F2.8 EX ...

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 2/9 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning Chiefs fans! A thank you to Joel and Chris for covering for me. Technology seems to hate me lately. Today's Kansas City Chiefs news covers a lot of topics: the national anthem, racial bias, Super Bowl odds, and pork. Enjoy.

GAME selling XBLA games and DLC Xbox 360 <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Xbox 360 news of GAME selling XBLA games and DLC.


bench craft company

Sigma announcements include 120-300mm F2.8 and 150mm F2.8 Macro <b>...</b>

Sigma announcements include 120-300mm F2.8 and 150mm F2.8 Macro pricing: CP+ 2011: In addition to its latest lens announcements, Sigma has announced the price and availability of its 120-300mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM and Macro 150mm F2.8 EX ...

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 2/9 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning Chiefs fans! A thank you to Joel and Chris for covering for me. Technology seems to hate me lately. Today's Kansas City Chiefs news covers a lot of topics: the national anthem, racial bias, Super Bowl odds, and pork. Enjoy.

GAME selling XBLA games and DLC Xbox 360 <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Xbox 360 news of GAME selling XBLA games and DLC.


bench craft company

Sigma announcements include 120-300mm F2.8 and 150mm F2.8 Macro <b>...</b>

Sigma announcements include 120-300mm F2.8 and 150mm F2.8 Macro pricing: CP+ 2011: In addition to its latest lens announcements, Sigma has announced the price and availability of its 120-300mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM and Macro 150mm F2.8 EX ...

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 2/9 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning Chiefs fans! A thank you to Joel and Chris for covering for me. Technology seems to hate me lately. Today's Kansas City Chiefs news covers a lot of topics: the national anthem, racial bias, Super Bowl odds, and pork. Enjoy.

GAME selling XBLA games and DLC Xbox 360 <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Xbox 360 news of GAME selling XBLA games and DLC.


bench craft company bench craft company
bench craft company

Freelance Riches :: Now ANYBODY Can Make Money Online! by thenyouwin


bench craft company
bench craft company

Sigma announcements include 120-300mm F2.8 and 150mm F2.8 Macro <b>...</b>

Sigma announcements include 120-300mm F2.8 and 150mm F2.8 Macro pricing: CP+ 2011: In addition to its latest lens announcements, Sigma has announced the price and availability of its 120-300mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM and Macro 150mm F2.8 EX ...

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 2/9 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning Chiefs fans! A thank you to Joel and Chris for covering for me. Technology seems to hate me lately. Today's Kansas City Chiefs news covers a lot of topics: the national anthem, racial bias, Super Bowl odds, and pork. Enjoy.

GAME selling XBLA games and DLC Xbox 360 <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Xbox 360 news of GAME selling XBLA games and DLC.


bench craft company

Have you been looking for fast, easy ways to make money online? I will give you 5 things to do, all of which I have personal experience with. Some involve eBay, some don't.

1. One of my favorite things to do to make money online, is the one that I'm doing right now! Write articles for Associated Content! There are a few people out there that make a full time living writing for Associated Content, but it takes tons of work to be able to do that. The best way is start off slow like I did. Write an article or two a day, and work from there. Start off by only writing about the things that you enjoy or know a lot about. Depending on the article, Associated content pays two ways. Depending on subject matter, Associated Content pays you for your article up front. This can be anywhere from $1-10 per article, but the average is about $3-4 per article.

Associated Content also pays you by how many views your article generates. They pay $1.50 per 1,000 page views, and the more views you get, the more money you make based on their clout system. It's not easy to make a living on Associated Content, but it is easy to make an extra $100 a month. That's a cable bill, or an energy bill!

2. When your looking for ways to make money online, you will here about eBay over and over again. This is a good way to get started with making money online. The best way to start with selling things around the house. Look around you right now. Do you see something just sitting around, never being used? Sell it! eBay is free to sign up, but they do charge small fees for listing (unless you start your auction under $0.99,) and they charge a fee when an item sells.

3. Another way to make money online is Amazon's Mechanical Turk. I use Mechanical Turk every day. Literally. Every day! Basically what it is, is companies that have you do tasks like finding businesses locations, or getting product information. It's all extremely easy, and some of them pay pretty well. You can easily make a few hundred bucks a month on mechanical turk, and if you have the dedication, you could probably make a living.

4. Here's another way to make money on eBay. Do you have a thrift store in your town? Why don't you head on down there and pick up a few things. You can make a lot more money than you think by picking up items at your local thrift store and selling them on eBay, but it can be tricky. Like writing articles, start with what you know about. For me, it was electronics. Find something you know is a good price, and you think you could make a few bucks with on eBay. Once you get the flow of things, you'll learn more about more items, and be making more money in no time.

5. This last one is another eBay one, but it's a little more time consuming. Go to the online auction site, auctionzip.com and sign up. This is not like eBay. It's real life, real time auctions that are broadcast online. You can bid on items and then pay with your credit card and have them shipped via UPS. I have made a tremendous amount of money doing this. I've bought items for $25 that have sold in the hundreds.

These 5 things are all great ways to make money online. I actively do all of these 5 things, and make a decent amount of money. However, I also keep my day job, and so should you! Hope you enjoyed this article, and hopefully you can start making some money online!





















































Tuesday, February 8, 2011

buy generic Free rental agreement forms


surface encounters

AOL-HuffPost: All The <b>News</b> Fit To Merge

As new media gains traction, more mergers will result.

Yahoo Prepping Personalized Mobile <b>News</b> Platform

Yahoo is reportedly preparing to launch a new publishing platform next week which will deliver personalized news content to mobile devices. The content will come from users' social ...

Comcast-NBC Deal Could Weigh on <b>News</b> Corp&#39;s Cable Programming <b>...</b>

Comcast-NBC Deal Could Mar News Corp's Cable Programming Margin.


surface encounters

AOL-HuffPost: All The <b>News</b> Fit To Merge

As new media gains traction, more mergers will result.

Yahoo Prepping Personalized Mobile <b>News</b> Platform

Yahoo is reportedly preparing to launch a new publishing platform next week which will deliver personalized news content to mobile devices. The content will come from users' social ...

Comcast-NBC Deal Could Weigh on <b>News</b> Corp&#39;s Cable Programming <b>...</b>

Comcast-NBC Deal Could Mar News Corp's Cable Programming Margin.


surface encounters

AOL-HuffPost: All The <b>News</b> Fit To Merge

As new media gains traction, more mergers will result.

Yahoo Prepping Personalized Mobile <b>News</b> Platform

Yahoo is reportedly preparing to launch a new publishing platform next week which will deliver personalized news content to mobile devices. The content will come from users' social ...

Comcast-NBC Deal Could Weigh on <b>News</b> Corp&#39;s Cable Programming <b>...</b>

Comcast-NBC Deal Could Mar News Corp's Cable Programming Margin.


surface encounters

AOL-HuffPost: All The <b>News</b> Fit To Merge

As new media gains traction, more mergers will result.

Yahoo Prepping Personalized Mobile <b>News</b> Platform

Yahoo is reportedly preparing to launch a new publishing platform next week which will deliver personalized news content to mobile devices. The content will come from users' social ...

Comcast-NBC Deal Could Weigh on <b>News</b> Corp&#39;s Cable Programming <b>...</b>

Comcast-NBC Deal Could Mar News Corp's Cable Programming Margin.


surface encounters

AOL-HuffPost: All The <b>News</b> Fit To Merge

As new media gains traction, more mergers will result.

Yahoo Prepping Personalized Mobile <b>News</b> Platform

Yahoo is reportedly preparing to launch a new publishing platform next week which will deliver personalized news content to mobile devices. The content will come from users' social ...

Comcast-NBC Deal Could Weigh on <b>News</b> Corp&#39;s Cable Programming <b>...</b>

Comcast-NBC Deal Could Mar News Corp's Cable Programming Margin.


surface encounters

AOL-HuffPost: All The <b>News</b> Fit To Merge

As new media gains traction, more mergers will result.

Yahoo Prepping Personalized Mobile <b>News</b> Platform

Yahoo is reportedly preparing to launch a new publishing platform next week which will deliver personalized news content to mobile devices. The content will come from users' social ...

Comcast-NBC Deal Could Weigh on <b>News</b> Corp&#39;s Cable Programming <b>...</b>

Comcast-NBC Deal Could Mar News Corp's Cable Programming Margin.


surface encounters

AOL-HuffPost: All The <b>News</b> Fit To Merge

As new media gains traction, more mergers will result.

Yahoo Prepping Personalized Mobile <b>News</b> Platform

Yahoo is reportedly preparing to launch a new publishing platform next week which will deliver personalized news content to mobile devices. The content will come from users' social ...

Comcast-NBC Deal Could Weigh on <b>News</b> Corp&#39;s Cable Programming <b>...</b>

Comcast-NBC Deal Could Mar News Corp's Cable Programming Margin.


surface encounters

AOL-HuffPost: All The <b>News</b> Fit To Merge

As new media gains traction, more mergers will result.

Yahoo Prepping Personalized Mobile <b>News</b> Platform

Yahoo is reportedly preparing to launch a new publishing platform next week which will deliver personalized news content to mobile devices. The content will come from users' social ...

Comcast-NBC Deal Could Weigh on <b>News</b> Corp&#39;s Cable Programming <b>...</b>

Comcast-NBC Deal Could Mar News Corp's Cable Programming Margin.


surface encounters

AOL-HuffPost: All The <b>News</b> Fit To Merge

As new media gains traction, more mergers will result.

Yahoo Prepping Personalized Mobile <b>News</b> Platform

Yahoo is reportedly preparing to launch a new publishing platform next week which will deliver personalized news content to mobile devices. The content will come from users' social ...

Comcast-NBC Deal Could Weigh on <b>News</b> Corp&#39;s Cable Programming <b>...</b>

Comcast-NBC Deal Could Mar News Corp's Cable Programming Margin.


surface encounters

AOL-HuffPost: All The <b>News</b> Fit To Merge

As new media gains traction, more mergers will result.

Yahoo Prepping Personalized Mobile <b>News</b> Platform

Yahoo is reportedly preparing to launch a new publishing platform next week which will deliver personalized news content to mobile devices. The content will come from users' social ...

Comcast-NBC Deal Could Weigh on <b>News</b> Corp&#39;s Cable Programming <b>...</b>

Comcast-NBC Deal Could Mar News Corp's Cable Programming Margin.