Pay Per Play: The 5-Second Infestation

Pay Per Play, Pay-Per-Play, PayPerPlay, and PPP. However you spell it, advertisers and users will lose.

I just started hearing about a new form of advertising, Pay Per Play Ads. There's currently a big push to get Pay Per Play deployed and I was interested because unlike most advertising, site owners will get paid every time a page is viewed and a 5 second audio Pay Per Play ad is played, or seems to be played.

http://www.sellingppp.com/samples.html

But after hearing some samples, I see Pay Per Play as a bad implementation of a good idea. Recorded ads are good, but having them play automatically is bad.

I listen to music constantly while I am working on the computer, and that is about 10-16 hours a day on average. On many days I would never hear ANY of these ads, since I listen to the radio or a CD and must flip a switch on my stereo to hear any computer sound. When I do have my computer sound on, it's mostly because I am listening to Techno music, and when the ads play they are very hard to hear and understand over that hard-thumping beat I enjoy. And I would hate to be listening to more normal music, a Podcast, or classical music and have these Pay Per Play ads intrude upon my enjoyment. What's funny is one of the sites promoting these audio ads say these are "non-intrusive". Maybe to the eye, but not the ear!

So that is two problems for advertisers, users with no sound on or sound that drowns out their Pay Per Play ads. Advertisers should also worry about "page-view fraud", where pages are requested by automated scripts and no one ever sees them or hears the ads. Yes, a web page file request would not play an ad, but it would be easy enough to request the Flash media file and that would make it seem like the ad was played.

I would not be posting about this dumb Pay Per Play idea, but the promoters are looking for site owners to run the ads, and since it's "impression-based revenue", which means you could have any kind of traffic to your site and earn from it, the incentive will be high for webmasters to add it to their sites. Man if you search for "Pay Per Play" in Google you will see a flood of paid ads for the service, but all that I looked at all seem to be copies of the same affiliate site...!

http://www.sellingppp.com/
http://voice2page.com/info/gaa.html

So check it out and see what you think. I think this idea is headed right for the trash for any self-respecting webmaster that does not want to annoy their visitors, but I fear it will not die completely once it takes root. Contact me if you want to know a simple method to block Pay Per Play Ads on most Windows computers...!

(hris

Access a Cell Phone by PC

Oxygen Phone Manager Series: Bringing Access to a Cell Phone by Means of PC

It has become much easier and cheaper to register for Oxygen Phone Manager Series since the introduction of Software as a Service offer (5.95 Euro a month).

Moscow, Russia - December 11, 2007 -- Oxygen Software today announces the introduction of Software as a Service (SaaS), a highly beneficial service for Oxygen Phone Manager Series which allows the customers to save a considerable sum of money. This has been achieved by the introduction of the new licensing type of the product. The license for Oxygen Phone Manager Service from now on includes both of the applications: Oxygen Phone Manager II for Symbian OS smartphones and Oxygen Phone Manager II for Nokia phones. Moreover, a 1 month subscription for Oxygen Phone Manager is added to already existing licenses which have been updated for 1 year.

What is Oxygen Phone Manager?

Oxygen Phone Manager is an advanced PC Suite alternative and represents a series of programs (Oxygen Phone Manager II for Nokia phones. and Oxygen Phone Manager II for Symbian OS smartphones) which allows the user to control mobile phones or smartphones from PC in a simple and convenient way. The tools arsenal of the program in aggregate consists of more than 15 options and is really impressive: one could create and edit a phonebook any way they like, monitor all the calls made with Call Register, consult a calendar with all types of events supported (reminders, meetings, calls), make up a "To-do list" which allows to set a task name, priority, due date and alarm time; send, store and view all the SMS or MMS messages, incoming or outgoing; make up distinct and creative logos and tones; play various interesting Java games and applications.

The program also has the ability to load and play records from the phone. The user can save the best of them in standard WAV format and delete the unwanted ones easily. As phones with an FM tuner are popular in mobile world, Oxygen Phone Manager allows to edit the user's FM stations best list. It also stores several presets so one can update the phone active list according to their mood. But it is not the end of the irreplaceable and entertaining features of Oxygen Phone Manager. Work with pictures, sound and videos: load files from the phone, add new ones, delete the unwanted, move them between phones, save on PC in various formats. To crown it all, Oxygen Phone Manager II gives an access to WAP settings and bookmarks and allows their convenient editing. A similar operation could be carried out with GPRS settings.

Oxygen Phone Manager Series is perfect for the business people who frequently use mobile phones or smartphones as an organizer, telephone directory and for young people who take an active part in SMS and MMS communication and use multimedia content.

User Benefits of the Software as a Service Offer

The customer gets the ability to purchase a "cheap entrance ticket": quite a modest fee is required to get a fully-functional product for 1 month. As the month passes, the subscription could be prolonged or discontinued. In that way the product price is substantially cut down for those users who would not like to pay for the whole-year updates. The subscription price is essentially lower than that of a 1 year product license. The user could prolong the subscription or get a program with a 1 year license at any moment.

All in all, Software as a Service (SaaS) is another step of Oxygen Software towards the user. Now the customers can pay for the usage of a product only when they wish to do it.

Pricing and Availability

Oxygen Phone Manager II for Nokia phones and Oxygen Phone Manager for Symbian OS smartphones run under Windows Vista, XP, 2000, 2003. The subscription to Software as a Service costs 5.95 Euro a month. To get more information on the product, the SaaS offer and to learn its price, please, visit http://www.oxygensoftware.com.

About Oxygen Software
Founded in 2000, Oxygen Software is a Moscow, Russia-based company, targeting the mobile market with its PC software for cell phones and smartphones. For seven years of impeccable work, the company has received various awards from well-known Internet and print magazines and become famous worldwide. Among its leading titles are Oxygen Forensic Suite, Oxygen Express for Nokia phones and Oxygen Phone Manager II for Symbian OS smartphones (all Symbian smartphones supported - Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, Samsung, etc). The company is an official member of Nokia Trade point and Forum Nokia PRO. For more information, please, visit www.oxygensoftware.com.

Press Contact: NIKE GOLUBEV
Company Name: Oxygen Software
Phone: +7-985-102-9278
Website: http://www.oxygensoftware.com

FBI Wants Clear Channel Digital Billboards

Clear Channel Outdoor Enters into Agreement with FBI to Provide Clear Channel Outdoor Digital Billboards for FBI ``Most Wanted Messages''

Company president reveals on ``Today'' show that it's making over 150 digital displays across the country available for bureau's security messages

Initiative follows three successful criminal apprehensions in Philadelphia

PHOENIX--December 24, 2007--Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCO), today announced on NBC's "Today" morning news program an agreement with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) to display "wanted" messages on all of its digital billboards across the country. This national initiative will commence immediately and follows the successful apprehension of three criminals in Philadelphia as a direct result of information displayed on Clear Channel Outdoor's digital billboard network in that market. In addition to "wanted" bulletins, the FBI will be able to display high-security messages relevant to the communities in which Clear Channel Outdoor's digital billboards operate. A protocol also will be established for high priority "hot pursuit" messages to assist apprehending suspects in the immediate aftermath of the commission of a felony.

"The success of our 'wanted' messages on Clear Channel's digital billboards in Philadelphia was an impressive testament to this new technology's effectiveness in aiding law enforcement," stated Brett Hovington, FBI Community Relations Unit Chief. "The repetitive delivery of information to the public about the Philadelphia fugitives was key to prompting the calls that led to their surprisingly quick apprehension. Some of the most valuable information provided to law enforcement officials is anonymous, which is one of the advantages of billboards. They offer a degree of separation between the tipster and the authorities."

Paul Meyer, President and Chief Operating Officer of Clear Channel Outdoor, was interviewed earlier on "Today" and commented: "Since first launching our digital billboard networks, which are located in nearly 20 cities across the country, we have been committed to using this versatile technology to enhance public safety, from AMBER Alerts to quickly informing the travelling public in Minneapolis within 15 minutes of that City's tragic bridge collapse this past summer. Our partnership with the FBI to use our digital networks to assist in the apprehension of fugitives and provide other critical security messages is a logical extension of this invaluable community service. As more digital networks are deployed across the country, they will soon be an indispensable tool for reaching the travelling public in all national as well as local emergencies and, most importantly, for homeland security initiatives."

Many municipal governments have been quick to embrace digital billboard technology because it affords transportation agencies, police departments and other emergency services an extraordinarily effective means of quickly reaching people away from their homes with important public safety messages. Immediate notification of severe weather conditions, highway closures due to traffic incidents, disaster preparedness needs, or AMBER Alerts for missing or abducted children, can all be delivered to tens of thousands of motorists in real time by utilizing digital billboards.

About Clear Channel Outdoor

Clear Channel Outdoor (NYSE:CCO) is the world's largest outdoor advertising company with over 973,000 displays in more than 60 countries across 6 continents. In the United States, the company operates over 167,000 advertising displays and has a presence in 49 of the top 50 Designated Market Areas. It also operates airport, rail, taxi and mall advertising businesses worldwide. Its Spectacolor (U.S.) and DEFI (international) divisions are the global market leaders in spectacular sign displays, including in New York's Times Square. Clear Channel Adshel is the company's international street furniture division, which operates over 3,500 municipal advertising contracts worldwide. More information may be found by visiting www.clearchanneloutdoor.com.

Certain statements in this release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

Contacts

Clear Channel Outdoor
Tony Alwin, 602-381-5700
or
Brainerd Communicators, Inc.
Jennifer Gery or Brian O'Keefe, 212-986-6667

Advertising Intextication

In-Textification Or In-Text Infestation?

by Kory Kredit , Thursday, December 13, 2007
DEPENDING ON WHOM YOU ASK, the in-text ad is either an ingenious ad revenue-generation mechanism (an opinion typically shared by marketing and ad sales people), or pure unadulterated evil invented by Lucifer himself (popular opinion among journalists and editors). These two groups could be referred to as bottom-liners (not to be confused with bottom-feeders), and content purists (read: hopeless idealists).

The bottom-liner views the proliferation of in-text advertising, or in-textification, as a natural progression of the ad-supported Internet universe. In this world, Web sites exist to generate revenue, or at least that's what their job description says. These people are generally responsible for squeezing every last penny out of any available pixel they can confiscate from their editors and/or Web site designers.

Content purists, alternately, see the growing threat of in-text advertising as an unwanted infestation that crosses the line between their sacred words and the necessary evil that is advertising. While they subconsciously acknowledge that advertising pays their bills, they long for an Internet utopia void of banners, interstitials, rollovers, adwords, pop-ups and the like. (If only Al Gore could have foreseen the dark side of his creation, would he have done it differently, knowing what he knows now?)

The common ground for both of these groups is that they understand and embrace the reality that one cannot exist without the other -- or let's at least pretend they do, just for the sake of argument. Without the bottom-line focus of marketing and ad sales people, the Internet would most likely be an overgrown college message board. By the same token, ads without compelling content wouldn't draw eyeballs to visit a Web site (although that hasn't stopped a large number of video-sharing sites from adopting that model).

The lure of in-text advertising for bottom-liners is that it essentially creates prime real estate that didn't exist before. It offers a wonderful solution for Web sites that don't have any more ad inventory to sell. This newfound treasure trove can be turned into additional ad inventory that doesn't require any modifications to the layout of a page.

For the content purist, however, embedding ads into individual words in their articles can create an unwanted intrusion and a poor user experience for the reader.

This leads us to the issue at hand. Can in-text advertising provide additional ad revenue while not detracting from the user experience, or possibly even enhancing the user experience?

There are a number of companies like Yahoo, Snap, JargonFish and LingoSpot that have created a next generation of hybrid in-text applications that may offer an acceptable alternative that benefits the bottom-liner, the content purist and the Web site visitor.

This hybrid model displays related content from a variety of online resources (i.e. YouTube, flickr, IMDb, Wikipedia, Technorati...) along with a display or text ad. With this type of application, the ad unit is secondary to the content in the window. The added value of the related content provides the visitor with a compelling reason to click on the highlighted link and view the contents of the in-text window, including the ad.

The result is an in-text solution that could appease both the bottom-liners and the content purists. The ad unit generates revenue and the related content adds value to the overall user experience, or at least that is the intended goal.

While this solution may not completely bridge the gap between salespeople and journalists, maybe the two sides could view it as a small plot of common ground in the battle for Web page real estate. Sort of like the Switzerland of the Internet.

Post your response to the public Online Publishing Insider blog.

See what others are saying on the Online Publishing Insider blog.
Kory Kredit is director of marketing at AdOn Network.

Online Publishing Insider for Thursday, December 13, 2007: http://publications.mediapost.com/

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Music Download Site Offers 1 Million Songs

SpiralFrog Music Experience Offers 1 Million Songs

Free, legal music discovery and download site expands library

(PRWEB) December 13, 2007 -- SpiralFrog, Inc. (www.spiralfrog.com), the free, ad-supported Web-based music service, now offers 1 million tracks for free and legal downloading.

• Since its launch, SpiralFrog has been adding content weekly, increasing its music offerings by 25 percent in just the past two and a half months, bringing the total number of tracks to 1 million.
• The new additions build on SpiralFrog's intent to provide a comprehensive music experience that already allows music fans to get over 3,500 music videos, music news, artist bios, reviews, discographies and album art, among other rich content features.
• SpiralFrog lets users download a Facebook widget that lets them track the most popular downloads on the site.
• SpiralFrog's agreements with publishers and labels, including many of the leading independent labels, give the service the largest library of free, legal and downloadable music tracks and videos available in North America.

www.SpiralFrog.com

Quote:
Attribute to Joe Mohen, founder and chairman of SpiralFrog
"We are constantly adding new content and features to the site. Music fans want to be able to update and expand their music library on a continual basis and with our ever-expanding library and popular site features such as 'Buzz of the Day' and 'New Releases,' we're making it easier than ever to discover and catalog new music."

Contact:
Please contact Jocelyn Johnson jjohnson @ gravitas-pr.com or Brian Posnanski bposnanski @ gravitas-pr.com to arrange an interview and/or for additional quotes.

About SpiralFrog
Headquartered in New York, SpiralFrog (www.spiralfrog.com) is a Web-based advertising-supported music experience that combines music discovery tools with free and legal downloads of audio and video content licensed directly from the catalogs of the world's leading music owners. SpiralFrog offers music-lovers a compelling alternative to illicit file-sharing and pirate sites, with a secure environment for them to satisfy their unyielding passion and thirst for music and entertainment information at no cost except for their time and attention.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Act"). In particular, when used in the preceding discussion, the words "plan," "confident that," "believe," "scheduled," "expect," or "intend to," and similar conditional expressions are intended to identify forward looking statements within the meaning of the Act and are subject to the safe harbor created by the Act. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and actual results could differ materially from those expressed in any of the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, market conditions, general acceptance of SpiralFrog's products and website, competitive factors, timing, and other risks described in the Company's SEC reports and filings.

Press Contact: Jocelyn Johnson
Company Name: SpiralFrog
Phone: 917-406-5886
Website: www.spiralfrog.com

Network Spy Security Camera System

Revolutionary New Network Spy Securty Camera System From WiLife Now For Sale From Surveillance Video

From WiLife comes an amazing new network spy security camera system called the LukWerks that is both incredibly simple to install and very affordable. The camera and receiver both plug into electrical outlets so there is no wiring necessary. Your PC is used to view and store video. Surveillance video is proud to now carry the LukWerks Spy Camera system from WiLife.

New York, New York (PRWEB) June 28, 2007 -- The WiLife LukWerks Spy Security Camera system is the world's first ever networked spy security camera that delivers professional-grade video security in a package that is easy to setup and affordable. It's better than wireless cameras because it's not affected by walls or barriers. The Spy Secuirty Camera, which is truly plug and play, masquerades as a sleek, fully functioning digital clock. Surveillance Video is proud to now carry the WiLife Spy Security Camera system as well as other Wilife products.

According to WiLife, LukWerks was "designed ... to allow you to set up an entire spy surveillance system in less than 30 minutes. Using your Windows PC as the control center, you install a professional-grade system with no training, no long cables to run, and no complicated networks to configure." It really is that simple. There's no wiring required because the system uses existing electrical wires in a home or office. Simply plug the camera in any outlet. Plug one end of the receiver into another outlet, and the other end into your USB port. Use the included software to begin recording video on your PC anywhere in the house.

Users can receive e-mail and text alerts on a cellphone and can even view video remotely from any location using a standard web browser. Additional LuxWerks models include an indoor camera and an outdoor camera. Any LukWerks add-on camera will work with any LukWerks starter kit. Users can have as many as six cameras in one system. To place an order, or for more information, visit http://www.surveillance-video.com/wilife.html.

About Surveillance Video:
For over 35 years, Surveillance Video has earned the confidence of their valued customers by providing professional assistance on all of their video surveillance systems, home security cameras and security camera systems.

Contact:
Surveillance Video
1-800-955-5201
http://www.surveillance-video.com
Press Contact: Erion Kapllani
Company Name: Surveillance Video
Phone: 1800-955-5201
Website: www.surveillance-video.com

Cell Phone Ads To Infest Phones

SMS Media Group Launches 'Cell Phone Ads'

SMS Media Group announces the launch of Cell Phone Ads, the first of its kind network for advertisers to market to opt-in cell phone subscribers. Cell Phone Ads offers a non-intrusive way to advertise on cell phones due to the fact that subscribers have signed up to receive content they enjoy getting on a regular basis that is ad-supported.

Aliso Viejo, CA (PRWEB) December 3, 2007 -- SMS Media Group announces the launch of Cell Phone Ads, the first of its kind network for advertisers to market to opt-in cell phone subscribers.

The Cell Phone Ads network lets advertisers place up to 60 characters of text on mobile content such as news, entertainment, finance and other timely alerts.

Advertising on cell phones is predicted to be worth $10 billion by 2010, and SMS is expected to be the most widely used platform by wireless users. Over 350 billion text messages are sent each month around the world, with over 15 percent of these messages, according to Yankee Group, being commercial or marketing in nature.

Unlike mobile web or mobile search advertising, Cell Phone Ads offers direct SMS marketing to the wireless users inbox. These advertisements can be targeted according to user demographics and list preferences. "It's the next evolution of direct marketing, and it's virtually untapped by advertisers," says Gary Brooks President of SMS Media Group.

Cell Phone Ads offers a non-intrusive way to advertise on cell phones due to the fact that subscribers have signed up to receive content they enjoy getting on a regular basis.

"The Cell Phone Ads network was developed to fulfill three purposes," explains Brooks ... "First, to provide a way for advertisers to reach their mobile audience; second, to allow publishers to monetize their mobile content; and third, to allow subscribers to receive mobile content that is ad-supported."

According to Forrester Research, 43 percent of U.S. marketers are using or are about to use mobile marketing in the next 12 months, and nearly 90 percent of major brands plan to market on mobile phones by 2008.

To learn more about advertising on cell phones or to request a data card, go to CellPhoneAds.com.

About SMS Media Group
Founded in 2002, SMS Media Group (SMSMG) is a mobile media company specializing in permission-based SMS communications to cell phones, otherwise known as "text messaging." The company's focus and strategy is divided into three segments: messaging, advertising, and content. SMSMG's mobile messaging platform, SMSdelivery™, allows businesses to send text messages to wireless subscribers.

Press Contact: GARY BROOKS
Company Name: SMS Media Group Inc
Phone: 888-681-3965
Website: http://smsmediagroup.com