September 2011

Winners and Losers: The Changing Media Ad Landscape, 1980-2011

Anyone who follows the media business cannot fail to be impressed by how much -- and how fast -- the media landscape has changed in recent decades.

In addition to the rapid evolution of media technology and consumption habits, one of the most remarkable trends has been the upheaval in the advertising landscape. They include the rise of the Internet, the continued expansion of cable TV, and the dramatic decline of print -- especially newspapers. Plus, broadcast TV and radio are struggling to hold on to their share, in a situation where the only certainty is further change, as a continuing economic downturn accelerates long-term secular shifts.

Third Circuit Denies Full-Court Review of Media Ownership Decision

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has declined a broadcaster petition for en banc rehearing of its media ownership ruling. A three-judge panel of the court in July voted 2-1 to vacate the Federal Communications Commission's loosening of the newspaper-broadcast crossownership ban (though on procedural grounds), smacked down some of its ownership diversity efforts, and supported the decision not to loosen other ownership regulations.

Why Amazon’s Tablet Will Challenge Apple In A Way That Google Cannot

The rumors are unstoppable: Amazon is going to unveil a tablet in the next few weeks, and if the hands-on description of an internal prototype by MG Siegler over at Techcrunch are even vaguely correct, then it’s going to be a 7in device with a color touchscreen running a forked version of Android, at a price around $250. Note that “forked” bit, because it could be crucial. Why should it be that it’s only when Amazon comes to the tablet table that people think it will make a difference? Two simple reasons: Amazon is a conduit to lots of content; and, just as importantly, it already has a way for you to buy content from it.

Why New Patent Law Will Do Little To Halt The Smartphone Litigation Frenzy

The Senate votes Aug 6 on major changes to the U.S. patent system. The America Invents Act of 2011 is expected to pass and to be signed by President Obama in time for his jobs speech later this week. But while the bill brings major changes to patent law, it won’t do much to end the wave of litigation engulfing the mobile industry.

This week’s law comes after repeated efforts by Congress in the last decade to address a spike in undeserved patents and rise of “patent trolls” -- shell companies that make their living through litigation. These patent problems have produced an explosion of litigation in the smartphone sector and a fear among app developers that they will be sued out of existence. The problem has gotten so bad that in July, a group of UK app developers said they were bailing out of the American app market altogether due to the threat of lawsuits. But the extent of the problem became widely apparent as far back as 2007, when a blogger showed that Apple, Google and 35 other major firms had been hit with more than 500 patent suits in just two years, and that the majority of those were brought by firms that did not make or sell any products. In the short term, the America Invents Act won’t reduce the amount of litigation among mobile companies and patent trolls. The final version of the law drops earlier provisions that would have reigned in the out-sized jury awards that lead many companies to settle, and it does little to eliminate the proliferation of low-quality patents

Federal data breach legislation stalls

Bills that would strengthen notification laws in data breaches have stalled in Congress. Meanwhile, California -- which enacted the nation’s first data breach notification law in 2002 -- has passed its own legislation strengthening and clarifying requirements for notifying individuals when personal information has been compromised.

In Washington (DC) legislation is pending in both houses of Congress that would replace the current patchwork of 47 state laws for informing consumers when they are at risk of identity theft and other fraud. A House subcommittee passed a bill in July, but full committee has not acted on it and the chances of both houses agreeing on a bill in the face of what is becoming a two-year election season appear slim.

The Calm Before the Storm

[Commentary] The loss of personal information and related criminal fraud, intolerable as they are, are the least threatening face of electronic insecurity.

The U.S. military's secret network is penetrated. Americans' corporate pockets are being picked clean of the intellectual property that makes the United States tick. And the electricity grid that keeps the lights on and makes everything move is dangerously insecure. Important conclusions for public and corporate policy follow from this vulnerable state of affairs.

First, cyber insecurity has operational consequences.

Second, this risk cannot be eliminated -- but it can be reduced and managed.

Third, companies that wait for the government to "solve" their own security problems do so at their peril.

Fourth, in a world in which everything cannot be protected, companies must determine for themselves what intellectual property and physical assets to isolate and safeguard.

A digital 9/11 might be under way already

[Commentary] The impact of the 2001 terrorist attacks has been nearly universal, affecting everything from individual lives to global politics in ways that will be recounted, examined and analyzed everywhere as we approach the 10th anniversary of the attacks. In terms of IT, its impact can be summed up in three words: security, security and security.

In the past decade, IT systems have become more integral than ever to military and homeland security operations. The Defense Department has moved steadily toward integrated, networked operations, reaching from command centers to networked warfighters on the battlefield. Homeland security efforts — whether related to borders, travel, shipping or cross-jurisdictional data sharing — run on information systems. And security underpins every aspect of them.

Race is on to find best ways to use fast Google service

Google promises to wire Kansas City like no other place in the country. But what to do with all that rocket-fast Internet speed? A local technology start-up incubator isn't content to leave use of the 1-gigabit-per-second connections to chance. Instead, Think Big Partners is organizing the Gigabit Challenge to analyze ideas for applications of Google Fiber.

The Gigabit Challenge announced prizes totaling $200,000 in cash and services for ideas for making the best use of the super-fast hook-ups, including $100,000 worth for the best idea. “It will give you a jump start to help you with your great idea to get better, and get better faster,” said Tyler Prochnow, a founder of Think Big. The Gigabit Challenge aims to identify some of the best potential uses before the service cranks up. It seeks three- to five-page summaries of business ideas by Oct. 3, with subsequent deadlines for a winnowed field of finalists. It will announce winners in January.

28% of American adults use mobile and social location-based services

More than a quarter (28%) of all American adults use mobile or social location-based services of some kind. This includes anyone who takes part in one or more of the following activities:

28% of cell owners use phones to get directions or recommendations based on their current location.
A much smaller number (5% of cell owners) use their phones to check in to locations using geosocial services such as Foursquare or Gowalla. Smartphone owners are especially likely to use these services on their phones, with 12% doing so.
9% of Internet users set up social media services such as Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn so that their location is automatically included in their posts on those services.

Taken together, 28% of U.S. adults do at least one of these activities either on a computer or using their mobile phones—and many users do several of them.
Several groups have higher-than-average rates of location service usage, including:

Smartphone owners – One in ten smartphone owners (12%) have used a geosocial (“check in”) service such as Foursquare or Gowalla, and 55% of smartphone owners have used a location-based information service to get directions, recommendations, or other information based on their current location.
Almost six in ten smartphone owners (58%) use at least one of these services. These are all well above the average for cell owners as a whole.
Younger users – Smartphone owners ages 18-49 are more likely than those over 50 to use either geosocial or location-based services on their phones. There are no significant differences among social media users by age in regard to automatic location-tagging.
Non-whites – Geosocial services and automatic location-tagging are most popular with minorities, continuing a trend of mobile connectivity that has been seen in other Pew Internet surveys. Hispanics are the most active in these two activities, with a quarter (25%) of Latino smartphone owners using geosocial services and almost a third (31%) of Latino social media users enabling automatic location-tagging. However, though only 7% of white smartphone owners use geosocial services, 59% get location-based information on their phones, compared with 53% of blacks and 44% of Hispanics.

London 2012 athletes get speed boost with free fiber broadband from BT

BT plans to provide its fastest fiber broadband service boasting speeds of up to 100Mb/s to around 19,000 athletes and officials based at the Olympic Village in east London during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

BT Infinity broadband is being provided to Olympic and Paralympic athletes free of charge thanks to an agreement between BT, the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

BT will deliver the service as part of its role as the official communications services partner for London 2012. The availability of super-fast fibre broadband at the athletes’ apartments will allow them to keep in touch easily with their friends and family. At the Olympic Village, BT will provide its fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) technology to approximately 2,800 apartments across 65 blocks. With just under one year to go until the start of the Games, more than 75 per cent of the communications infrastructure has been completed already. All 550 athletes and officials staying at the Olympic Sailing Venue on the Isle of Portland, near Weymouth, will also receive free fibre broadband speeds of up to 40Mb/s. BT’s fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) technology will be used to deliver this service. Athletes based at both venues will receive the BT Infinity fiber broadband service for free.

Both fiber broadband networks will remain in place after the Olympic and Paralympic Games, with the infrastructure open to all UK communications providers on an open, wholesale basis. This will ensure that BT’s fibre infrastructure at these sites is re-used in the most sustainable way while allowing users to benefit from a range of broadband suppliers and low prices. Following the Games, any subsequent site owners can continue to offer super-fast broadband services via their chosen supplier to residents or businesses housed at the venues. In the case of the Olympic Village, the site will be transformed into a new neighborhood for east London, with 2,818 new homes, including 1,379 affordable homes.

Benton

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