Category: Internet

The campaign is on to bring super-speed Internet service to Peoria.

Joining forces with Peoria County, Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis on Tuesday urged area residents to log onto www.googlepeoria.com on Wednesday to send a message to Google.

Google announced earlier this month it will build a handful of experimental networks around the country to connect consumers to the Internet, allowing for faster delivery of online video and other advanced applications the search company wants to deliver.

Communities have until March 26 to present their case to get the speedy service.

Peoria may have an advantage, Ardis said during a news conference at the Peoria NEXT Innovation Center. “We already have a built-in marketing slogan for the ages,” he said, referring to the “Will It Play In Peoria” line.

At-large City Councilman Ryan Spain said an area-wide wireless study the city did two years ago will complete the technical portion of the application to Google. “That means we can spend more time in energizing our citizens,” he said.

That is important, said Jeff Huberman, dean of Bradley University’s Slane College of Communications. “We have the need for speed. The Google program would connect all the resources across central Illinois for 300,000 people. This is a network far greater than each individual part,” he said, noting Bradley used high-speed Internet 2 service in recent years. “People expect technology to evolve but, with this initiative, we’d jump to the head of the line. It will be life-altering.”

Dr. Andy Chiou, a faculty member at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, said a more powerful Internet would better serve the area’s medical community. “A tremendous amount of bandwidth is needed for medical imaging,” he said.

Chiou likened the opportunity to use advanced Internet service with building a highway. “This is a game-changer for the community,” he said.

For Tim Couillard, an Internet marketer in Peoria Heights, the Google test would provide astounding speed for consumers. “You’ll be able to download a full-length movie in five minutes or over 250 songs in eight seconds,” he said.

Couillard said the Facebook page he set up last week to urge bringing Google fiber to Peoria already has more than 1,000 fans. “If we got (Google) in Peoria, I know 50 people who would move here just for the Internet,” said Couillard.

Peoria County Board member Mike Phelan said the county supports the Google campaign. “Faster connections would benefit public safety. A faster network means faster response times,” he said, adding that rural communities in the area also would benefit.

The Google project will get plenty of attention here over the next month. Look for billboards to sprout up across the community, encouraging residents to promote Peoria’s case online.

“I’ll be getting sore hands from banging the drum for this,” said Ardis. “Access to high-speed data is the most important infrastructure in the 21st century. Our research indicates there are over 1,200 employers that would benefit from this technology immediately and over 13,000 small businesses that would benefit from this in the next few years.”

Steve Tarter can be reached at 686-3260 or [email protected].

Read the original article from Journal Star.

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Gregory T. Huang wrote:

Redmond, WA-based Smilebox, a provider of software and photo services for electronic greeting cards, scrapbooks, and photo albums, has raised $2 million in equity financing, according to an SEC filing. The investors weren’t disclosed, but Paul Bialek, Rob Stavis, and Richard Wolpert are listed on the form as directors, and they are all previous investors in the company. Smilebox did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

We previously reported that Smilebox had raised $400,000 in equity financing last September (when it also acquired photo organizing and printing firm Preclick), but today’s funding looks to be new. Prior to that, the company had most recently raised a $7 million Series B round in late 2007. Its plan seems to be to keep building its leadership in the fast-growing e-card and online photo services sector.

Smilebox was founded in 2005 by Andrew Wright, the former vice president of games at RealNetworks (and a former Microsoftie before that). Wright remains president at Smilebox, according to the company website.

The company is backed by Frazier Technology Ventures (Bialek) and Bessemer Venture Partners (Stavis), as well as a distinguished list of angel investors including Rob Glaser from RealNetworks, Paul Thelen from Big Fish Games, Garr Godfrey from GameHouse, and Wolpert, who hails from Chance Technologies.

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For the record (emphasis added) from Adage, “Gaga, Oooh La La: Why the Lady Is the Ultimate Social Climber – Leveraging Digital Media and Creative Partnerships Makes Artist a Uniquely 2010 Pop Star”
By Andrew Hampp
Published: February 22, 2010

LOS ANGELES (AdAge.com) — As far as breakout musicians go, few artists have had quite the zero-awareness-to-ubiquity time-warp of Lady Gaga. And as far as brands go, few marketers of any kind have leveraged social media the way she has to drive sales of their core product — in her case, albums and digital singles.

Lady Gaga, with her army of nearly 2.8 million Twitter followers and more than 5.2 million Facebook fans, can move product. Since fall 2008, her digital-single sales have exceeded 20 million and her album sales hit 8 million, all at a time when no one under the age of 60 buys CDs anymore (see Susan Boyle breaking the record for highest first-week album sales last year). Now, she’s being courted by marketers to do the same for their products.

Gaga’s rapid ascent to the pop-culture stratosphere is often compared to Madonna’s, right down to their shared beginnings in the downtown New York club scene before their big record deals. But what makes Gaga’s star status, particularly in the marketing community, so uniquely 2010 is that she has achieved as many milestones (if not more) in 18 months than her idol did in nearly a decade. Madonna’s notorious endorsement for Pepsi in 1989 — cut short after her controversial “Like a Prayer” video aired on MTV — came seven years after the debut of her first single in 1982. Within a year of her out-of-the-box rise to fame in September 2008, Gaga had already lined up Virgin Mobile as a sponsor of her Monster Ball tour; created her own brand of headphones, Hearbeats by Lady Gaga, with record label Interscope; and landed her own (cherry pink) lipstick as a spokeswoman for Mac Cosmetics’ Viva Glam, benefiting Mac’s AIDS fund. And by January, she was tapped by Polaroid to become the brand’s creative director, hired specifically to create new products and inject life into a brand that hasn’t been hip for years — save for maybe a popular reference in Outkast’s “Hey Ya!”

Old school meets new media
How did a 23-year-old singer/songwriter achieve so much in so little time? Two words: social media. Sure, Gaga had a fair share of old-school artist development — radio play — to become the first artist to score four consecutive No. 1 singles from a debut album. But she’s also put a new-media spin on her distribution strategy. The November premiere of her video for “Bad Romance,” for example, debuted on LadyGaga.com before MTV or any other outlet could play it — resulting in a Universal Music server crash, a Twitter trending topic that lasted all week and a cumulative 110 million (and counting) views on YouTube to date, more than any viral music video of yore (OK Go, anyone?) could ever claim. Vevo, a music video site co-founded by Universal Music Group, also recently reported a whopping 20% of its traffic came from just Lady Gaga videos — as in 1 in 5 videos streamed on the site was likely to be a song such as “Poker Face,” “Just Dance” or “LoveGame.”

Gaga has already had a similar halo effect on her Mac Viva Glam lipstick. Less than a week into its launch, the lipsticks created by Gaga and her campaign cohort Cyndi Lauper have outsold any launch in Viva Glam’s 16-year history, said Estée Lauder Group President John Demsey, thanks to a groundswell of social-media impressions. The launch day of her Viva Glam lipstick ad campaign alone generated nearly 20 million unique views in traditional media, including print and web buys and an appearance on “The Today Show,” as well as an additional wellspring of social-media hits per Gaga’s tweets to her fans.

“Her fan base and our customer base are very similar in that they are drawn to the outrageous and outspoken, so we could not ask for a better partnership,” Mr. Demsey said.

Taking credit for Gaga’s sudden assault of the zeitgeist is a relatively easy task, as all parties who work with her on her label, management and marketing teams cite Gaga herself as the ultimate brains behind many of her creative and social-media ideas and tactics.

“When you’re dealing with someone as good as Gaga, a lot of it is how to stay the fuck out of the way,” said Steve Berman, Universal Music’s president of sales and marketing. “Gaga has worked tirelessly in keeping up daily if not hourly communication with her fans and growing fanbase through all the technology that exists now.”

Gaga in control
Troy Carter, Gaga’s manager since 2007, described their dynamic as “95-5.” “The only thing I do is manage the vision,” he said. “Ninety-five percent of the time I won’t comment on creative, and 95% of the time she lets me run the business. The other 5% is where we debate about things like, ‘Do you really want to bleed to death on stage at the [MTV] VMAs?’ She wins even when we do have those debates 5% of the time.“

Dyana Kass, who heads pop-music marketing for Universal, has teamed with marketing firms like Flylife for Gaga’s outreach to the gay community and ThinkTank to supplement her online efforts, but otherwise lets Gaga maintain a hands-on relationship with her fans and marketing empire.

“Lady Gaga has truly turned culture on its head and has done so from the ground up on her terms,” she said. “You can’t buy that kind of authenticity, and as a result the demand for her involvement in projects is staggering.”

Mr. Carter, who manages Gaga’s marketing partnerships, added that he doesn’t want Gaga to ever look like she’s endorsing a brand — hence why she’s created products for Universal’s Beats By Dre headphones line, Viva Glam and now Polaroid as its new creative director.

“You won’t see her face plastered on any packaging or anything. We’re comparing it to when Tom Ford went to Gucci or Steve Jobs went into Apple and brought a different thought process and taste level in. We’re looking for her to do the same exact thing at Polaroid,” he said. “It’s not about her putting her name on something — it’s reinvigorating a brand.“

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Filed under: advertising, blogging, Business, Economics, Entrepreneurship, Fashion, insightful, Internet, Love, media, Music, people, social media, social network, Television, united states, Video, World, YouTube

While President Obama was busy attempting to get his plan for a national health care system rolling, those folks at the FCC announced they will unveil their National Broadband Plan — which will provide Internet access to 93 million Americans who can’t currently look at home videos of cats — to Congress on March 17.

“In the 21st century, a digital divide is an opportunity divide,” FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said in a statement. “To bolster American competitiveness abroad and create the jobs of the future here at home, we need to make sure that all Americans have the skills and means to fully participate in the digital economy.”

The U.S. currently ranks far behind other world powers in terms of widespread access to broadband Internet access. According to the FCC’s own research, cost is the main impediment to getting online with millions unable to afford either a computer or monthly broadband subscription fees.

Expect the FCC to release more details of their plan in the coming weeks as they prepare to take it before Congress.

US to unveil broadband plan Mar 17, sees barriers [Reuters]

Here’s a quick look at what Thrive was up to last week.

School life for children after cancer takes a toll. Children’s Nelson Aquino, CRNA, reflects on his life-altering experience in Haiti. There are ways to confront bullying and cyberbullying head-on. Children’s injury prevention expert offers fire safety tips for your family. Learn how to make snacking a healthy time for your child. Are infants who swim more likely to get asthma? Girls’ soccer injuries are preventable. What are parents’ legal responsibilities when it comes to sexting? Is there such a thing as Internet overload for your child’s brain?

SocialDNS permite o registo gratuito de um domínio em qualquer língua utilizando o protocolo go:// e associar a este informação como tags ou geo-localização.

Para utilizar o protocolo go:// poderá instalar os plug-ins para o Firefox e para o Internet Explorer e desta forma aceder aos cerca de 2530 domínios já criados neste projecto.

Poderá por exemplo entrar no WebTuga através do go://webtuga ou no WebTuga Hosting pelo go://alojamento. Caso seja webmaster, poderá também criar os seus próprios domínios gratuitamente e inclusive sub-domínios como go://forum.webtuga que direcciona para o nosso fórum.

Poderá ler mais informações, criar os seus próprios domínios, utilizar as APIs e obter o software opensource para criar um servidor socialdns no site oficial do projecto (url).

WebTuga – SocialDNS – Domínios gratuitos usando o protocolo go://

CHAMPAIGN – Officials are still “cautiously optimistic” about the fate of their $31 million Big Broadband proposal after a federal agency announced its first Illinois award on Friday.

Gov. Pat Quinn was in Sycamore on Friday afternoon to announce that the federal government would release nearly $12 million to develop a high-speed Internet network there. Meanwhile, Champaign-Urbana officials were still wondering whether the governor would have an opportunity to make a similar trip to Champaign.

“It means that we’re still going to continue working on a Round Two application for infrastructure,” said Mike Smeltzer, director of networking for Campus Information Technologies and Educational Services at the University of Illinois.

The proposal would link 137 community-oriented buildings and a percentage of low-income, “underserved” homes to a high-speed network.

But when that decision will come is still a mystery.

“You’ll have to ask the federal government,” said Champaign information techonologies director Fred Halenar.

State and federal deadlines have come and gone, and a local broadband committee already is working on an application for the second and last round of awards before it knows the fate of its first-round application.

Friday’s announcement in Sycamore followed a windfall of awards on Thursday, when Indiana and Wisconsin preceded Illinois as the Midwestern winners. Other federal grants went to projects in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, among others.

Smeltzer said he “would assume they’re going to be hooking up all the small communities in DeKalb County,” whereas the local proposal focuses on connecting only Champaign-Urbana neighborhoods with a possibility for expansion in the future.

“That’s good for (DeKalb County), but it doesn’t necessarily decrease our chances,” Smeltzer said.

The U.S. Department of Commerce on Thursday alone committed $357 million of the available $7.2 billion to fund 10 high-speed Internet projects in eight states, according to a press release.

In Illinois, there are still dozens of pending applications and plenty of uncommitted money, Smeltzer said. He added that he expects five or six Illinois proposals will receive federal funds.

“I’m still hopeful and optimistic that this will turn out the way we want it to,” Smeltzer said.

Questions still loom about the practicality of the local broadband proposal, which would require local contributions of nearly $1 million from both Champaign and the UI. Urbana would be on the hook for about $555,000.

Whether or not the agencies – facing tight budgets themselves – can stomach the upfront contributions and the yearly maintenance costs has some Champaign City Council members worried.

The council likely will take a preliminary vote in March on whether they would be willing to accept the federal grant if it were awarded to Champaign-Urbana. They hope to pose their questions to Doug Dawson, a Maryland expert who audited the local broadband proposal, when he is present at a council meeting.

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Sezmi, a company that seeks to offer an affordable alternative to cable TV providers and their bloated packages, has now opened shop for those living in the Los Angeles area. For the last few months Sezmi has quietly been wrapping up beta testing, but now Californians in the area can head into a local Best Buy and free themselves from the chains of the TV tyrants.

The hardware costs $300, which includes an indoor antenna and a 1TB hard drive, and the montly fee is $5 for for the broadcast digital channels or $20 for basic cable, all of which are rolled into Sezmi’s DVR. The system includes on demand movies and YouTube content if you plug into ethernet, all of which is accessible through an individually-tailored homepage. If you’re fed up with your provider, Sezmi might be someone to turn to. [Sezmi via NY Times]

We’re all familiar with the myriad benefits of the Internet, a tool which has undeniably changed the way we communicate, learn and use entertainment. But how much of a good thing is too much? For a small fraction of kids, the Internet’s draw may prove too enticing, as Internet addiction (loosely defined as excessive use of the Internet that negatively impacts academic, social and family life) appears to be on the rise in much of the industrialized world.

We spoke to a neurologist specializing in the teen brain, media expert Michael Rich and a psychologist for this article about Internet addiction and its possible effects. Read on to find out what you need to know about your child’s Internet use–and how you can help them manage their screen time effectively.

That’s important to do, as a national survey recently found that the amount of time young people spend with entertainment media has risen dramatically: Today, 8 to 18 year olds spend an average of almost eight hours a day using digital media. And because they are often “media-multitasking” (like instant messaging on the computer while watching TV and texting friends on their cellphones) they actually manage to cram a total of 10 hours and 45 minutes worth of media content into those eight hours.

So, is it bad for kids and adults alike to spend so much time using digital media? The answer isn’t straightforward, as the article makes clear, and much more research needs to be done. A Frontline documentary also probes the question.

CHICAGO (STMW)  — Informercial and Internet health “cures” pitchman Kevin Trudeau won’t go to jail, for now.

An appeals court granted Trudeau’s emergency appeal Thursday and said it will hear it next week.

Trudeau appealed after a federal judge in Chicago ordered him to surrender this afternoon to serve a 30-day jail sentence for criminal contempt of court for urging supporters to flood the judge with e-mails.

Trudeau filed his appearl Wednesday night after U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman sentenced him to 30 days in prison after previously finding Trudeau in direct criminal contempt of court.

That finding came after Trudeau supporters deluged the judge with 300 e-mails, locking up Gettleman’s e-mail system and shutting down his BlackBerry for part of the day last week.

“This was an attempt by Mr. Trudeau to harass, intimidate and influence the court,” Gettleman said.

He said Trudeau posted the judge’s e-mail address online and asked listeners of his radio show and those who visit his Web site to e-mail Gettleman. Gettleman said Trudeau falsely told listeners the judge wanted to burn all of his books and fine him tens of millions of dollars.

Gettleman is presiding over a civil case filed by the Federal Trade Commission involving deceptive ads for a Trudeau weight-loss book.

Trudeau’s lawyers argued in their appeal that the jail sentence went too far. “Mr Trudeau still must suffer the ‘dark stain’ of a criminal conviction for what at worst was a foolish mistake,” the lawyers told the higher court.

Read the original article from WBBM News Radio.

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