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New7Wonders becomes a global phenomenon

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Started in 2001 as inspired by Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber to “protect humankind’s heritage across the globe”, New7Wonders Web site is now part of the prestigious top 1 percent of the world’s most popular websites.

It is the first global election site poised to alter world history by choosing the New 7 Wonders of the world based on more than 45 million votes using modern communications technology like Internet and mobile phones. With only 46 days and 10 hours left as of this writing, official results of this exceptional campaign will be announced in Lisbon, Portugal and broadcasted globally on 07.07.07 (July 7, 2007).

“New7Wonders has one of the fastest-growing online communities. People from every country in the world have voted and continue to post photos and videos, submit slogans and spread the word. New7Wonders is a passionate movement that is making waves worldwide,” commented New7Wonders Founder and President, Bernard Weber.

New7Wonders has joined the ranks of other powerful Internet brands and organizations like Coke, Levis, UN, FIFA, Olympics, and BMW.

Originally posted on May 21, 2007 @ 10:03 am

Online marketing boosts obesity

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coke.jpg The Center for Digital Democracy (CDD), a consumer watchdog dedicated to preserving the openness and diversity of the Internet, has issued an open letter to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate youth-targeted marketing initiatives implemented by leading food and beverage companies.

According the group’s new report titled “Interactive Food & Beverage Marketing: Targeting Children and Youth in the Digital Age”, several online marketing efforts by these food and beverage companies contributed to the growing obesity in US.

“As this digital marketing system moves swiftly into place, we have a relatively brief period to establish policies and marketing standards that could help prevent today’s young people–and future generations–from suffering the serious health consequences of poor nutrition,” said CDD executive director, Jeff Chester.

Leading companies guilty of doing such act are McDonald’s Coca-Cola, Burger King, Mars, and Wendy’s.

The new report will also be delivered today to Congress and at the Federal Communications Commission.

Originally posted on May 19, 2007 @ 8:07 am

YouTube founders remain strong in the face of challenges

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youtube1.jpgYouTube co-founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen are unfazed despite several setbacks in the form of media’s recent legal and competitive challenges.

Although the Internet video pioneer is silent in last few months, they are very much active and keenly focused on developing different tools to police violation of copyrights.

Earlier this year, Viacom Inc. filed copyright infringement against YouTube with $1 billion claim. Other companies followed suit. To worsen the scenario, several media companies like NBC Universal and New Corp are also launching their own Internet video channel.

Nevertheless, YouTube believes its strength is firmly grounded on amateur, homemade videos. That’s why pulling out of professional videos will not completely erode its business.

Also, its much-anticipated new platform for showing video ads is expected to be out in a couple of months. Recently, YouTube is in talks with popular video contributors for revenue-sharing agreements. These initiatives are expected to expand customer base and increase its profitability.

Streaming more than 200 million videos daily, YouTube has become a cultural phenomenon.

“YouTube is becoming much more than an entertainment destination,” Hurley said, citing the political, news and instructional videos that have poured into YouTube in recent months. “We want to entertain, inform and empower people with video around the world.”

Originally posted on May 19, 2007 @ 9:06 am

Crack down against sex offenders from Myspace

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myspace2.jpgIn light of about 100 criminal incidents (sexual in nature) involving Myspace users, 8 attorneys general requested the popular social networking Web site to turn over the names of registered sex offenders using their site.

Led by North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, other states include Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Last December, Myspace has partnered with Sentinel Tech Holding Corp. to identify and remove sex offenders in US from the site.

“MySpace can certainly take its own action to remove those sex offender profiles from their site. They say they are doing that but we want to know … exactly what steps they are taking,” said Cooper.

Originally posted on May 15, 2007 @ 8:38 am

Online surfing now a routine activity in UK

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Gone are the days when Internet is the hub of techno-geeks and introverted young men. According to Nielsen NetRatings, net surfing in UK is now a mainstream activity across gender and age.

At this time, Internet usage is evenly divided between men and women – 48.4 percent female and 51.5 percent male. Moreover, men aged 50 and over are the largest male group online.

What’s more interesting is that women age 18-34 years old are the single most prevalent demographic group, accounting for 18% of all active online Britons.

“The Internet is no longer dominated by young male adults. Times have changed considerably and many will be very surprised to see that women aged 18-34 are now the most prevalent group online and that a quarter of the online population is at least 50 years of age. Companies who understand this composition when providing services or content through the web or simply advertising online will maximize their chances of success in the Internet of the future,” says Nielsen//NetRatings European Internet Analyst, Alex Burmaster.

Mature online markets like US and Europe attribute this seismic shift to high Internet access. Conversely, countries with limited Internet access are still dominated by young male adults.

Originally posted on May 19, 2007 @ 6:54 am