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Sony, IODA Partner On Digital Music Network

Sony Music Entertainment has announced it has entered into a partnership with IODA, a digital distributor of independent music.

As part of the deal Sony has made a strategic investment in IODA. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Sony’s own independent distribution subsidiary RED and IODA will build on their existing technologies and increase the scope of sales and promotional opportunities that each currently offers.

“Sony Music is committed to offering independent labels and distributors the most compelling package of distribution services in the industry,” said Thomas Hesse, President, Global Digital Business, U.S. Sales and Corporate Strategy, Sony Music Entertainment.

“IODA has proven it has the expertise and ability to lead the independent market with groundbreaking digital solutions.”

Six year – old IODA has nearly two million songs that are licensed to more than 400 digital storefronts globally. The company also distributes independent film and video for over 2000 titles. IODA’S retail partner network includes major digital music services like iTunes, Amazon MP3 and MySpace Music.

Facebook Goes Twitter With a Real-time Comment Widget

In a move that looks and smells strangely like Twitter’s status feeds, Facebook has launched a new widget that may actually be better than Twitter’s status feeds. The new tool, the Live Stream Box, is intended for installation on any website, but particularly sites which are broadcasting a major event in real-time. According to Facebook’s Developer site, “The Live Stream Box works best when you are running a real-time event, like live streaming video for concerts, speeches, or webcasts, live Web chats, webinars, mass-multiplayer games, and more.” The Live Stream Box enables Facebook users to log in, post comments, check out friend’s comments about the event—all without leaving the website of the event that they are watching.

Facebook ran a successful test run of the program during Barack Obama’s inauguration. As Facebook’s Tom Whitnah blogged, “It was a significant moment for Facebook Platform. We realized how powerful it was to see what your friends were saying, not just on Facebook, but right in context on CNN.com.” And now that Facebook has seen how successful the program has been not only for a presidential inauguration, but also for a ball game, and an awards event, it’s time to roll it out to the general public.

The new widget is easy to use for website owners (check out Facebook’s Developer’s site to find out how to install it) and for Facebook users alike (just log in using Facebook Connect). Any input that users enter into the Live Stream Box will automatically show up as their Facebook status, and be shared with friends. Friends can then follow the link to the Live Stream Box themselves, or “like” what has been written.

Facebook’s Live Stream Box may just be a well-placed blow at a Twitter strategy, and by employing the widget on popular events, Facebook has defeinitely gained a huge advantage in real-time social networking.

U.S. Ad Spending Sees Q1 Drop

Overall U.S. advertising for the first quarter 2009 was down 12 percent compared to the first quarter of 2008, according to a new report from Nielsen.

Preliminary figures show that U.S. ad expenditures declined $3.8 billion to a total spend of $27.9 billion in the first quarter.

All measured media showed negative growth in this challenging economy, ranging from Spanish-Language Cable TV (-1.1%) to local Sunday supplements (-37.7%).

“These first quarter results will hardly come as a surprise to an advertising industry that’s struggling just like many other areas of the American economy,” said Annie Touliatos, VP of Sales Development for Monitor-Plus, Nielsen’s ad tracking service.

“Now more than ever it’s important for buyers and sellers to adjust to the changing competitive landscape by carefully analyzing the wide range of advertising intelligence that Nielsen can offer.”

Television remains the dominant medium for advertisers, accounting for two-thirds of all ad dollars. Network TV, the largest media category with $5.76 billion in ad dollars in the first quarter, declined 4.8 percent. Spanish-Language Cable TV fared best, falling only 1.1 percent, while syndication was hit the hardest at -18.8 percent. One positive area was African-American television (a subset of network, cable, sundicated and local), which grew a healthy 7.9 percent.

Online Ad Revenue Hits $5.5 Billion

In a challenging economic environment that has hit other media sectors with greater force, Internet advertising revenues in the U.S. were at $5.5 billion for the first quarter of 2009, according to the numbers released today by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). The figures represent a 5 percent decline over the same period in 2008.

“Interactive advertising has taken its rightful place as a fixture on marketing plans across sectors, which means we aren’t immune to broader economic trends,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO of the IAB.

“Nevertheless consumers are spending more and more time with interactive media. For this, and other reasons, interactive media continues to gain share of marketing spend. We’re confident that growth will resume as the U.S. economic climate improves. Interactive advertising is the most accountable way to reach consumers-and in this economy, digital media will be a core component of any successful marketing campaign.”

David Silverman, PwC Assurance partner, echoed the observation that interactive advertising has been less affected by economic conditions that other media.

“Current economic conditions are clearly challenging,” Silverman said. “Nonetheless, interactive media continues to consume a larger piece of the overall advertising pie.”

According to April data from comScore, AOL’s Platform-A remains the top ad network, reaching nearly 176.5 million U.S. Internet users, or 91.5 percent of the total audience, followed by Yahoo Network (167.1 million).

New ad network Fox Audience Network ranked sixth, reaching 149.2 million people. Several ad networks in the top 25 achieved double-digit growth during the past year, led by Turn Inc. (up 121 percent), CPX Interactive (up 88 percent) and 24/7 Real Media (up 48 percent).

Report: Smartphone Market Share And Mobile Web Usage

Mobile advertising platform, AdMob has released a report that compares smartphone market share to mobile Web usage and found that smartphones accounted for nearly 3 times more usage than their relative market share in April 2009.

The report also compared usage of mobile Web sites usage of HTML sites on mobile devices, finding that relative usage of both is highest on Apple and Android devices.

The emergence of devices such as the iPhone and HTC Dream (G1) that offer compelling Internet experiences has generated discussion of which Web consumers will use on mobile- mobile Web sites or HTML sites. The report compares requests in AdMob’s network to Net Applications.com Global Market Share Statistics for April 2009 to determine that iPhone and Android users both over index in their share of usage on both mobile Web and HTML websites.

Other highlights from the April 2009 AdMob Mobile Metrics Report:

While Gartner estimated global smartphone sales represented 12 percent of total device sales in 2008, 35 percent of AdMob’s worldwide ad requests in April 2009 came from smartphones. This means that smartphones accounted for nearly 3 times more usage than their relative market share.

The iPhone OS had 8 percent of the smartphone market, but generated 43 percent of mobile Web requests and 65 percent of HTML usage.

The Android OS share of the smartphone market was less than 1 percent, but generated 3 percent of mobile Web requests and 9 percent of HTML usage.

The Symbian OS had 52 percent of the smartphone market, but generated only 36 percent of mobile Web usage and 7 percent of HTML usage.

Usage of mobile Web sites greatly out paces usage of HTML sites on smartphones running the Symbian and RIM Operating System (OS).

24 percent of US requests were made over a Wi-Fi network. The top five Wi-Fi devices in terms of usage were the iPhone, iPod touch, Sony PSP, HTC Dream (G1), and HTC Dash.

Defense Department Launches Blogging Platform

The Defense Department has launched “DoDLive” a centrally linked platform from which services can create and maintain blogs.

“This blogging tool allows all branches of the military an opportunity to establish an official blog about their command, organization or unit,” said Brian Natwick, acting director of the Defense Media Activity’s emerging media directorate and general manager of the Pentagon Channel.

The blogging platform will help Defense Department organizations to communicate on a more personal level, and can be used as an extension to their websites.

“Having a central blogging capability means that not only can readers know they’re receiving reliable content, but it enables conversations through which the Department of Defense can learn and grow,” Natwick said.

Beta testing of the platform began in January. Since the beta launch, the Air Force and Army added service specific blogs, and the Coast Guard is expected to join in soon.

The department’s official blog is at http://DoDLive.mil and is managed by the emerging media directorate. Posts will cover a variety of topics, including first-person updates from Pentagon Channel reporters and senior Defense Department officials, “DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable” content, internal messages for military audiences and updates on military news stories.

The blog will also highlight the department’s other social media outlets such as the Wounded Warrior Diaries, “DoDvClips,” and the “Armed with Science” and “Dot Mil Docs” audio webcasts.

“We recognize our service members and organizations are blogging already, and we encourage that,” said Les Benito, director of the department’s public Web site.

“What ‘DoDLive’ gives us is the top-down support that will help the department dispel any lingering doubts about blogging and security and whether organizations should or shouldn’t engage. We hope the conversation expands because of it.”

With Memorial Day coming up take a minute to hear General Casey’s message in this video.

Elvis Gets iPhone App

If you are an Elvis fan then you might be “all shook up” over the release of Elvis Mobile, a free iPhone application for iPhone and iPod Touch users.

Elvis Mobile is available through the iTunes App Store. Features of the app allow fans to view newly released pictures and videos, listen to podcasts from Elvis Radio, provide Graceland Livecam access, and report Elvis sightings around the world. Content on Elvis Mobile will be maintained by Elvis Presley Enterprises and updated daily.

“Elvis always believed in embracing new technology and this new Elvis Mobile application is another unique way to continue Elvis’ legacy,” says Scott Williams, EPE Vice President of Marketing.

“Elvis has had a commanding online presence for a number of years with elvis.com. With Elvis Mobile on the iPhone and iPod Touch, we’re giving fans of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll another tool to experience Elvis in a new and interactive way.”

Elvis Mobile App Features:

• An “Elvis Sightings” section allows fans to submit their Elvis pictures, taken with their iPhone, directly to www.elvis.com from anywhere in the world and simultaneously update their Facebook pages with the same information.

• An “Image” section will be updated weekly and will feature never-before-seen and rare pictures of the life and times of Elvis Presley.

• A “Video” section will be updated periodically with clips of Elvis and special Elvis events/happenings.

• A “News” section features the latest information on all things Elvis from www.elvis.com.

• A “Livecam” section gives fans a real-time look at Elvis Presley’s Graceland mansion in Memphis, TN.

• A “Podcast” section allows users to listen to The Graceland Beat from Elvis Radio.

The Elvis Mobile app was created by Memphis-based RESOLUTE Games Corporation.

Women Trust Blogs More Than Social Networks

Women are nearly twice as likely to use blogs than social networking sites as a source of information (64%), advice and recommendations (43%) and opinion-sharing (55%), while they are 50 percent more likely to turn to social networking sites as a means of keeping in touch with friends and family (75%), according to a new BlogHer study.

The “2009 Women in Social Media Study” by BlogHer, iVillage and Compass Partners, found that while women who use social media platforms share a strong desire to connect and to entertain themselves, there are also ways in which the reasons for using various social media platforms differ.

Since last year, women are turning in even greater numbers to blogs (55%), social networks (75%) and online status updating (20%) as a primary sources of community interaction, entertainment and information.

Because they are viewed as trusted sources of information, blogs now carry considerable influence on consumer’s purchasing habits with 45 percent of survey respondents saying they purchased an item after reading about it on a blog.

“Social media continues to be a growing phenomenon, and bloggers, in particular, represent a highly engaged and influential segment of social media users for brand marketers looking to connect to consumers online,” said Susan Wright, President of Compass Partners LLC.

“Bloggers have a broad reach in the social media population and the survey demonstrates that women who blog are the most actively engaged social media participants — constantly seeking out new ideas and ways to share their opinions about those ideas.”

This study measured the habits of women who participate in any social media activity weekly or more often with about half participating daily. Of the 42 million women engaged in social media weekly, 55 percent of women participate in some form of blogging activity; 75 percent participate in social networks such as Facebook or MySpace and 20 percent use Twitter.

As a result of the increased activity, the study found that women online are now more than ever spending less time engaging in traditional media activities like watching TV (30%), listening to the radio (31%), and reading magazines (36%) or newspapers (39%).

“The scale of social media usage among U.S. women continues to grow, and blogs remain the go-to resource for those who want to gather information, share ideas and get reliable advice,” said Elisa Camahort Page, BlogHer co-founder and COO.

“At a time when the economy is top of mind for more than 70 percent of these active social media participants, women who blog are turning to online resources, including blogs, to help them make their day to day purchasing decisions.”

Satisfaction With Government Websites Dip

Citizen satisfaction with federal government websites fell in the first quarter, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) E-Government Satisfaction Index.

The report released from the University of Michigan and e-government sponsor ForeSee Results, finds that citizen satisfaction dropped half a point from the previous quarter’s all-time high to 73.6 on the ACSI 100-point scale.

The decline since last quarter may be due to high expectations for e-government in Obama’s first 100 days in office and to a fall in satisfaction with program sites, which are focused on a particular federal program rather than an agency or department.

Program sites overall declined 3 percent to a score of 74, while agency sites (74) and department sites (73) remain on par with the previous quarter.

“The appointment of the nation’s first chief technology officer, chief information officer and chief performance officer should be good news for e-government, as all have said they are dedicated to innovation and breaking through the red tape that hampers technological advancement,” said Larry Freed, president and CEO of ForeSee Results.

“As a candidate, Obama made his campaign accessible to voters, and as President he hopes to do the same for government. Change may have come to Washington, but it’s not going to happen overnight.”

Of the 107 sites measured, 24 websites (up from 22 last quarter) are top performers meaning they have scores of 80 or higher. With tow sites scoring 90, the Social Security Administration has a higher score than any private sector website measured by the ACSI. Overall, e-government trails private sector ecommerce (80) and e-business (79.3) websites.

“In many ways, government websites have it a lot tougher than private sector sites because they have to organize varied, complex, and extensive information. Also, government websites often have more first-time or infrequent users, making it more difficult to create a good user experience,” said Claes Fornell, head of the ACSI at the University of Michigan.

“Although the drop in user satisfaction is a reason for concern, there are obviously some e-gov successes that show it is possible to do very well.”

Social Network Usage Overtaking Email

Social networking activity increased significantly during an eight-month study of over two thousand home-based consumer Microsoft Windows PCs and several hundred home Apple Mac computers in the U.S. while email usage remained flat, according to ClickStream Technologies.

Comparing usage on Windows PCs of the top web mail sites and MS Outlook usage of leading social networking site Facebook, ClickStream found that the usage of Facebook nearly doubled among adult U.S. Internet users while email usage remained flat.

During the period between October 1, 2008 and ending February 28, 2009, usage of Facebook jumped from 16 percent to 32 percent among U.S. adult Windows Internet users while usage of MS Outlook remained flat.

Among 18-24 year olds MS Outlook usage averaged about 14 percent penetration per month while Facebook usage averaged 38 percent.

The study also compared all US Windows users’ use of web mail sites such as Google Mail and Microsoft Hotmail. Similar findings showed a steady combined penetration of about 80% during the study, but a decline in clicks and average minutes users spent interacting with the sites in these months.

While both web email and application-based email like MS Outlook is not showing a significant overall drop, new online social media applications such as Facebook and Twitter are experiencing a significant growth rate compared to email.