Ex-AOLer Joins Startup That Wants To Put Ads In Images All Over The Internet (AOL)

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Image Space Media execs

New York City startup Image Space Media is one of a handful of companies working to monetize the last largely ad-free square inches on the web: images.

Display ads have long surrounded the content on most web pages. More recently, ads have worked their way into the content itself, with in-text ads from networks like Vibrant and Kontera and transparent in-video ads on services like YouTube. But, oddly, the vast majority of images on the web are ad-free.

Image Space Media in-image adISM lets publishers place ads that appear on images when users mouse over them; the ads, like the one shown below, are essentially the same as what you see in many YouTube videos: a transparent overlay which can be X'ed out. ISM uses data about the image, its tags, and the surrounding content to match images with ads that are contextually relevant.

ISM had been running largely under the radar until relatively recently, relying on word of mouth for its growth. In January, the company announced $2.9 million in series a funding from New Atlantic Ventures and Limelight's Mike Gordon. In February, it brought on former Sphere/AOL exec Jeff Yolen to head up sales, before relaunching itself publicly at SXSW last month.

ISM generated over 570,000 clicks last month, and now serves ads to 46 million unique monthly visitors, according to Quantcast. Growth has been strong, and companies in this space have room to expand quickly, since they're buying up unmonetized space, rather than competing with existing networks.

The big concern here, of course, is that if the biggest ad networks, especially Google, get into this space. They could probably do a lot of damage to ISM's growth in a hurry. There hasn't been any firm sign of this yet, but Google invested in Pixazza, an ISM competitor, last year.

Jesse Chenard, ISM's CEO, says there is plenty of market to go around. But margins and growth will no doubt start to look a little bleaker once the biggest players get involved, so ISM's best shot is to get very big very soon.

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How Online Advertising Reached A New All Time High -- CHARTS

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rocket

As we noted earlier, online advertising bounced back in the fourth quarter of 2009.

A new IAB report shows online advertising hit $6.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2009. That's a record for online ad spending.

But there's so much more to the online advertising story.

Click through for the 9 charts that explain the online advertising market >

Here's a look at ad growth on an annual basis. Last year was the first down year since 2002.

Here's a look at ad growth on an annual basis. Last year was the first down year since 2002.

Here it is on a quarterly basis

Here it is on a quarterly basis

Advertising spend remains pretty evenly split throughout the year. 52% was spent in the second half of 2009.

Advertising spend remains pretty evenly split throughout the year. 52% was spent in the second half of 2009.

The top ten ad sellers account for 71% of online ad revenues.

The top ten ad sellers account for 71% of online ad revenues.

Search is still the most popular ad format, but display made some gains, as did video ads.

Search is still the most popular ad format, but display made some gains, as did video ads.

Here's another look at the type, on a historical basis. Classifieds are sinking, search is growing, everyone is else is rather flat.

Here's another look at the type, on a historical basis. Classifieds are sinking, search is growing, everyone is else is rather flat.

Performance based advertising, or measurable results based advertising, continues its growth, while cost per thousand impressions (brand advertising) keeps sinking.

Performance based advertising, or measurable results based advertising, continues its growth, while cost per thousand impressions (brand advertising) keeps sinking.

Retailers spend more than anyone else. Telecoms are second.

Retailers spend more than anyone else. Telecoms are second.

Internet still has less annual advertising than newspapers by ~$2 billion.

Internet still has less annual advertising than newspapers by ~$2 billion.

Internet advertising is the fastest growing ad medium ever.

Internet advertising is the fastest growing ad medium ever.

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Google Earth Fills In The Blue Parts

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If you thought Google's Street View was ambitious, or even Google Earth, then the companies latest efforts to "fill in the 'blue' part of the planet" on Google Earth puts the rest to shame. That "blue part", after all, comprises more than 70% of the planet's surface.

Google started mapping the ocean last year and today is announcing that the ocean layer "will become part of the default set of annotations seen by all Earth users".

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google-earth-oceans.png

Over the past year, the company has worked with more than 100 partners adding hundreds of placemarks to more than 20 ocean layers. Google has worked with National Geographic, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, as well as the Mission Blue Foundation.

The Mission Blue Foundation is working to create a series of protected marine areas called Hope Spots, all of which will be included in today's release.

Google is also offering a "narrated tour" of eight of the proposed locations for "Hope Spots".

While we support the efforts of Google Earth to increase awareness, we have to chuckle, ever so slightly, at one phrase in today's announcement:

One of the greatest things about Earth is that it allows everyone to see and experience the fullness of their planet, from revisiting places they know well to venturing out to formerly unknown mountain peaks, desert vistas, and increasingly, the blue heart of life on Earth.

We know, for some of you out there, for whatever valid reason, you might not be able to get out there and see the world, but for the rest of you, get off your duff and go climb a mountain in person. Go get you some woods, don't let Google do it for you "via satellite".

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China-Based Hackers May Have Used Twitter, Google to Attack Dalai Lama, UN

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A group of researchers has linked a huge, China-based cyber espionage ring to the theft of thousands of documents — including classified information, visa applications, and personal identities — from “politically sensitive targets” around the world.

The command-and-control infrastructure of this so-called Shadow Network used platforms such as Twitter, Google Groups, Blogspot, Baidu Blogs, blog.com and Yahoo Mail to maintain persistent control of infected computers. They also used Tor, a system designed to grant online anonymity to political protesters, crime victims, journalists and others. The network then attacked targets ranging from the Offices of the Dalai Lama to the United Nations as well as officials of the Indian and Pakistani governments. Not all the attacked organizations can be positively identified, but researchers are confident that India was the primary target.

This graphic shows the relationship of social sites (red), web domains (blue) and servers (green) in the hackers’ network:

Of the documents the researchers were able to recover, one was “encrypted diplomatic correspondence,” two were marked “SECRET,” six were “RESTRICTED” and five were designated “CONFIDENTIAL.” They also discovered the hackers had gotten access to a year’s worth of the Dalai Lama’s personal email. According to the researchers’ report, “The profile of documents recovered suggests that the attackers targeted specific systems and profiles of users.” And, as one member of the team told the New York Times, “I’ve not seen anything remotely close to the depth and the sensitivity of the documents that we’ve recovered.”

The Shadow Network is not linked to earlier attacks uncovered this year by Google and also based in China, nor is it related to GhostNet, a network identified by the same researchers as having targeted the community of Tibetan exiles.

However, this new network is linked to two individuals and a core of stable servers in Chengdu, People’s Republic of China. Chinese officials have repeatedly denied any government connection to these cyber espionage activities.


SHADOWS IN THE CLOUD: Investigating Cyber Espionage 2.0

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, bunhill



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Tags: china, cyber crime, hacker


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LEAKED: HP Slate Gets Priced and Specced

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It was just earlier today we saw a new HP Slate demo video emerge, and now we’ve got a lot of new juicy details including pricing and official hardware specs.

Our friends at Engadget snagged an internal presentation that looks seemingly like HP’s way of pumping up its employees for the Slate amidst all the hoopla surrounding the iPad launch. The base version of the HP Slate will retail for $549, which includes 32 GB storage, 1 GB RAM, a 1.6 GHz Atom processor, and an 8.9-inch multitouch screen at 1024 x 600 pixel resolution. A 64 GB configuration will be available for $599.

Both versions will also include an SDHC card slot, USB port, two cameras (one external 3-megapixel and one front-facing VGA for videoconferencing usage), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, support for 1080p video playback, a dock connector for power, audio, and HDMI out to your TV, and a SIM card slot for optional 3G connectivity. They’ll both also be running Windows 7 Home Premium with a custom HP touch-optimized user interface. Battery life is reportedly five hours, which could be a point of concern as the Slate goes up against the iPad’s 10 hours.

What we still don’t know is When, although rumours have suggested a June launch for the HP Slate. This pricing scheme puts HP’s tablet device at a higher starting point than the iPad’s $499 base configuration, but you’d be shelling out that extra $50 for twice the storage (32 GB vs. 16) and arguably some other valuable features.

Now that we know the details of the iPad’s front-running Windows 7 tablet competitor, how do you think the HP Slate shapes up?



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Reviews: Bluetooth, Facebook, Twitter, Windows

Tags: 1080p, HP, HP slate, ipad, specs, tablets

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Microsoft to Unveil Social Networking Phones April 12

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The rumor mill has churned on a Microsoft mobile initiative dubbed Project Pink for some time now, and according to the Wall Street Journal we’ll finally see the official results of that unveiled at a press event this coming Monday, April 12.

Project Pink is reportedly a line of mobile phones featuring social networking integrations aimed at a young demographic. The “Pink” line will reflect Microsoft’s taking a more hands-on role in developing the hardware side of the mobile spectrum, as opposed to their more typical strategy of handling the software operating system and letting partners design the phones themselves. They’ve also designed some undetailed “online services” for Pink phones in addition to the software and hardware, while Japan’s Sharp Corp. will handle the actual manufacturing.

According to the WSJ’s sources, some of the new phones will be available already later in April on Verizon. Until we have more details it’s hard to speculate on how the Pink line might impact Microsoft’s overall lackluster showing in the mobile realm, although it and the upcoming Windows Phone 7 Series seem to be signs that Redmond is doing their best to put up a fight. We’ll be on hand at the event to get the details, so stay tuned for more news on Project Pink this Monday.



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Reviews: Facebook, Twitter

Tags: microsoft, Mobile 2.0, pink, Project Pink, Sharp, social networking, windows mobile, windows phone 7 series

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Apple to announce iPhone OS 4 this Thursday

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Apple to announce iPhone OS 4 this Thursday

Apple to announce iPhone OS 4 this ThursdayNo sooner has the iPad been launched than Apple is turning its attentions to its next big release.

Engadget is reporting that an iPhone OS4 event is to be held at Apple’s Cupertino HQ this Thursday, 8 April.

Don’t expect details of new iPhone hardware to be announced, this is likely to firmly be about the iPhone’s OS, but it should give us an idea of the direction the next iPhone will take. The question is, what new features will we see?

It’s highly likely that multitasking will make some kind of appearance. Push notifications, the only concession to allowing apps to run in the background allowed by Apple at present, don’t offer a great user experience. Given user demand, there’s a god chance that some form of limited, but real, multitasking will be introduced.

Don’t get too excited though. Apple iPhone OS announcement events don’t tend to be followed by an immediate release of the OS. It’s more likely that we’ll have to wait until the release of the next iPhone hardware (probably in June or July) to actually download OS4 onto our handsets.

What new features do you think Apple will announce? Leave a comment and let us know.

Original title and link for this post: Apple to announce iPhone OS 4 this Thursday

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Privacy Reset for Google Buzz Coming Later Today

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Later today, Google will ask all Google Buzz users to reconfirm their privacy settings. Since the launch of the service, which was quickly overshadowed by a major controversy around the default privacy settings, Google has made significant changes to the Buzz start-up process and privacy settings. A lot of people started using Buzz long before these changes were rolled out, however. Starting this afternoon, all existing Buzz users will see a confirmation screen that summarizes their current settings and gives them the option to change these settings, as well as the option to turn off Buzz altogether.

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The gradual roll-out of this confirmation screen will begin today and will likely take a while, so there is no need to be concerned if you don't actually get to see this screen today.

According to a blog post that will go up on the Gmail blog in the afternoon today, Google wants to ensure that even those users who joined Buzz long before Buzz automatically added people's email and chat contacts to their social networks will see these changes. After all, not every Buzz users kept up with the day-to-day news about Buzz after the launch and many of these users are probably unaware of the changes Google has made since then.

buzz_reconfirm_settings_dialog.jpg

The confirmation screen will include a link to a video that explains how Buzz works, a list of all the people you are following and who are following you. There will also be a switch that allows you to turn off the list of people you are following on your public Google profile, as well as a link to all the your sites and services that are currently connected to Buzz. At the bottom of the page, users will then be able to either accept these settings or turn off Buzz altogether.

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Expensive Newspaper iPad Apps Not Selling All That Well [Newspapers]

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Here's some more iPad news, fresh off the presses: Strangely, most consumers are not idiots, and will not pay exorbitant amounts of money to read newspaper iPad apps when they can find news cheaply and easily elsewhere. More »


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