Google is set to introduce a micro-blog search engine. The company reported on its blog that the users will soon be able to search Twitter and other micro-blog services through a channel similar to its Google blog and Google news search divisions. The service would give Google a leg up on the micro-blog search ad market.
Amazon will begin advertising on Television for the first time in seven years. The e-tailer, which stopped running ads on TV in 2002, will begin its campaign with a user-generated ad contest. VP of global marketing Steve Shure noted that that the UGC commercial is merely an experiment, and that if it succeeds, "we will buy airtime and let the customers see those ads."
The Government has begun subsidizing cell phone plans for low income Americans. While the group who benefits from such assistance is small (but growing), it proves how essential mobile phones have become in the 21st century. Assistance is provided through an old law that gave landline telephone subsidies to poor family's, however, the new plan allows certain citizens to get a free cell phone, such as a Motorola 175, and 68 minutes a month.
Nielsen is reporting that hit TV show Lost is the most streamed television show on the internet. The ABC hit garnered more than 36 million views in May, however, Nielsen's analytics do not account for content viewed on Hulu, nor the websites for NBC and Fox. While Lost's viewership is impressive, there needs to a be a standardized way of creating analytics that accounts for all online video, especially content on network sites and Hulu, the most popular destination for full length content on the web.
Warner Bros. The Hangover topped the box office for the second straight week. The Las Vegas comedy, which has grossed $105.3 million in just two weeks, earned $33.4 million this week, besting Disney Pixar's Up by approximately $3 million. While The Hangover has been successful, Pixar's Up has also performed well, grossing over $187.2 million in three frames.
Shelly Palmer is a consultant and the host of MediaBytes with Shelly Palmer a daily show featuring news you can use about technology, media & entertainment. He is Managing Director of Advanced Media Ventures Group LLC and the author of Television Disrupted: The Transition from Network to Networked TV. Shelly is also President of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. You can join the MediaBytes mailing list here. Shelly can be reached at shelly@palmer.net For information about Get Digital Classes, visit www.shellypalmer.com/seminars