Episode 0010, 08/10/2007
Title: Pearl Jam, State of the Net, and Game Ads
Welcome to Course Technology's CourseCast of the WEEK, Episode 10, recorded August 10th, 2007.
This is Ken Baldauf bringing you this week's technology news and information targeted at college students.
This CourseCast is brought to you by Course Technology. Check out www.course.com for innovative textbooks and creative electronic learning solutions for higher education.
Story 1 - Pearl Jam censored by AT&T
Pearl Jam's performance at Lollapalooza was web cast on AT&T's Blueroom Web site. The video stream included a few second delays to allow AT&T to censor out any profanity. During one song, lead singer Eddie Vedder improvised some anti-George Bush lyrics which AT&T censors decided to clip even though the lyrics didn’t contain any profanity. When the musicians found out, they issued a strongly-worded message on the band's Web site condemning AT&T's action as an infringement on their right to free speech. The band's message cautions society about the telecom companies acting as content "nannies" controlling what is suitable and accessible over the Internet. The message from Pearl Jam makes a strong case for the net neutrality approach to Internet governance, which denies telecom companies the right to control or prioritize content and services provided over the Internet. AT&T has responded with profuse apologies stating that the censorship was an error that does not represent its corporate policies. An interesting point is that AT&T's mistake has clearly drawn more attention to what the band had to say about the president than if it had not been censored.
Source: Pearl Jam censored by AT&T, calls for a neutral 'Net (ars technica), Censoring of Song Was an Error, AT&T Says (NYTimes)
Story 2 - The State of the Net
Consumer Reports just released its "State of the Net" survey, which analyzes the risks associated with using the Internet - and this year, its not looking good. The results indicate that viruses, spyware, and other computer threats have cost US households an estimated $7 billion over the last two years. Consumer Reports anticipates that 25 percent of all households are likely to become a "cybervictims" this year. The report indicates that our society has a ways to go when it comes to taking responsibility for information security. An estimated 3.7 million broadband-connected households are not using a firewall as a defense against hackers and viruses. Consumer Reports estimates that over the past two years, viruses and spyware have prompted 1.8 million US households to purchase new PCs, replacing their infected ones. It may be that PC manufacturers are the only ones that don't hate viruses.
Sources: The State of the Net is... not so strong (ars technica)
Story 3 - A New Place for Billboards
Everyone knows that the Web has become prime real estate for marketers promoting their products. Banner ads, pop-up ads, video ads, and a dozen other types are consuming as much as a third of many Web pages. Where will marketers turn next in their effort to boost the visibility of their products? Video games! There have been several articles in the news lately about advertising in video games. A Microsoft-owned marketing company by the name of Massive Incorporated, is matching sponsored ads with Internet connected games. EA Games has bought-in, hiring the company to place ads in its sports titles running on Xbox 360 and Windows PCs. Soon players will see ads while playing “Madden NFL,” NASCAR,” and "Tiger Woods PGA Tour.” Ads will be placed in a manner that lends a realistic aesthetic to the game. For example imagine driving your racecar past a billboard for Toyota; the next time you pass it may be for Dell computers. Or consider a shoot-out in a 7-11 convenience store where the shooter is hiding behind a Coke machine. Gamers surveyed said that the ads made the scenes more realistic. Game companies love it because it creates another stream of revenue. Corporations love it because it gets products noticed by individuals not watching TV.
Sources: Nielsen Study Finds In-Game Ads Drive Brand Recognition (ClickZ), Connected Consoles Benefit from Three Added Revenue Streams (Click Z)
New Briefs
That's it for this week's CourseCast. Links to this week's stories and many more news and information resources are provided at the CourseCast Web site at http://coursecasts.course.com. Until next time have a great week and be sure to take advantage of the Power -- of Technology!