March 25, 2009 (Last of NTIA/RUS Meetings)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for WEDNESDAY MARCH 25, 2009
Following implementation of the American recovery and Reinvestment Act? See http://benton.org/node/20455
THE STIMULUS
FCC Seeks Input on Role in Broadband Grants
Perspectives on Selection Criteria Reflect Views on Stimulus Program's Purpose
Broadband Stimulus Grant Scorecard
Public Computing Broadband Grant Criteria
Advocates Seek Accountability in Expenditure of Broadband Stimulus Funds
How Much Bandwidth Does America Really Need?
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Media Harder On President This Time
Open for Questions: President Obama to Answer Your Questions on Thursday
THE TRANSITION
Senate approves Locke as commerce secretary
BROADCASTING/CABLE
A lack-of-reality program (DTV Coupons)
Update: House Oversight of the Digital Television Transition
NTIA: Stimulus funds and DTV Delay Act have fixed coupon program
Four Stations Waiting For FCC Approval On Early Analog Cut-Off
Nielsen: Video Games Approaching "5th Network" Status
CTAM Study: Economy Good For Cable
Cable, Phone Giants Use Community News to Lure Customers
Free online TV a threat to industry
JOURNALISM
Senate Bill Would Allow Tax-Exempt Status for Newspapers
Who Fared Best (and Worst) in 2008?
QUICKLY -- Supreme Court considers anti-Hillary Clinton movie; FCC Commences 2009 EEO Audits; Leaving PCs on overnight costs companies $2.8B a year; EU telecom revenues rise, regulatory hurdles remain; Blockbuster and TiVo Join to Deliver Digital Movies; Firms Seek Profit in Twitter's Chatter
THE STIMULUS
FCC SEEKS INPUT ON ROLE IN BROADBAND GRANTS
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act directs the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to consult with the Federal Communications Commission on five specific terms and concepts: 1) the definition of "unserved area," 2) the definition of "underserved area," 3) the definition of "broadband," 4) the non-discrimination obligations that will be contractual conditions of broadband grants, and 5) the network interconnection obligations that will be contractual conditions of broadband grants. People interested in commenting on the FCC's consultation on these definitions may do so in writing or in person. Written comments must be filed on or before April 13, 2009. Comments should reference GN Docket No. 09-40. Parties are encouraged to limit their comments to the five definitional issues named above. In addition, Commission staff will make themselves available for ex parte meetings with interested parties during the week of March 30 through April 3, 2009. [more at the URL below]
http://benton.org/node/23697
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PERSPECTIVES ON SELECTION CRITERIA REFLECT VIEWS ON STIMULUS PROGRAM'S PURPOSE
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Andrew Feinberg]
On the last day of public meetings on the broadband program by the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Agriculture Department's Rural Utilities Service stakeholders agreed that grant recipients should be selected in a way that honors the intent of the stimulus bill itself. But they had widely differing views on how to determine a proposal's worthiness. Industry representatives point to infrastructure projects, especially those that target schools, libraries, and other "public interest" institutions. Programs should also promote job creation by encouraging "affordable and sustainable" adoption, which he said would fulfill the overall congressional intent behind the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the official name for the law. Affordability should be the prime motivator in awarding grants, said Richard Murgon, president-elect of the Association of Public Safety Communication Officials International. Many organizations can't afford the $60 per month a wireless connection costs, he said. Selected programs should use off-the-shelf components and open protocols to keep costs down. "You gotta have standards," he said.
http://benton.org/node/23722
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BROADBAND STIMULUS GRANT SCORECARD
[SOURCE: Free Press, AUTHOR: ]
In a roundtable discussion on broadband stimulus at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today, Free Press Research Director S. Derek Turner outlined the five criteria policymakers should use to score potential broadband deployment projects: 1) Adoption and affordability: factors such as price, competition, openness and other potential consumer benefits. 2) Speed: based on actual -- not advertised -- upstream and downstream speeds, and how shared and potentially oversubscribed a network will be. 3) Civics: community benefits like broadband education and training, public safety, free public Wi-Fi and tele-health -- with special consideration given to whether an applicant is a socially disadvantaged business. 4) Job creation: the number of jobs directly created industry-wide by the project, with performance measured against economic criteria. 5) Efficiency: long-term feasibility of the business and the network's scalability and whether the network owner will forgo any claim to future ongoing universal service support, as we are very concerned about the potential for ratepayers having to subsidize networks paid for by taxpayers.
http://benton.org/node/23696
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PUBLIC COMPUTING BROADBAND GRANT CRITERIA
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Charles Benton]
[Commentary] The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) requires the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to establish the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (B-TOP). NTIA is to make at least $200 million available for expanding public computer capacity including community colleges and public libraries. NTIA is asking what criteria will help identify the best projects to award grants to. NTIA is also asking for public comment on what additional institutions other than community colleges and public libraries should be considered as eligible recipients under this program.
http://www.benton.org/node/23683
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ADVOCATES SEEK ACCOUNTABILITY IN EXPENDITURE OF BROADBAND STIMULUS FUNDS
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Jesse Masai]
At the final day of a six-day public forum about the federal government's $7.2 billion broadband stimulus funding on Tuesday morning, the discussion made a sharp turn toward a focus on oversight and post-award compliance. Beth McConnell, executive director of the Media and Democracy Coalition, a coalition of public interest media advocacy groups in the states and in Washington, said there was need to "ensure grantees are accountable to the congressional intent in the Recovery Act" and that "grantees are complying with the rules and agreements." "To address both, we need clear and concrete objectives in grant contracts, strong rules to hold them to, and good data to evaluate," she said. Companies should not be able to evade these conditions by selling their contracts, she said. Additionally, said McConnell, all funded projects should contain a component that will measurably increase adoption. She also said that the NTIA and RUS "should require that all grantees report their network management practices." She also said both NTIA and RUS should require that grantees report the actual speeds delivered, prices paid by customers, and adoption of services. McConnell also said that funds should not be awarded to any entity that purports to map broadband services yet withhold critical information. Instead, agencies should consider grantee reporting a critical opportunity to gather data to inform broadband data-collection and mapping, and that consideration should be given to robust post-grant assessment of the impact of projects.
http://benton.org/node/23721
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HOW MUCH BANDWIDTH DOES AMERICA REALLY NEED?
[SOURCE: App-Rising.com, AUTHOR: Geoff Daily]
[Commentary] We can't let private interests drive this discussion about what's needed for the public good. So how much bandwidth does America really need? Information Technology and Innovation Foundation research seems to suggest that the household of the near-future will require at least 90Mbps of symmetrical bandwidth. But given that broadband equals infrastructure, we can't only be thinking about things in terms of a few years into the future. We need to look ahead at least twenty so that we're not sinking money into investments that will be outdated before their lifespan is done. To fully support the technologies we have today to deliver HD video a household needs at least 90Mbps of symmetrical bandwidth. To fully support the technologies of ten years from now to deliver QuadHD video a household will need at least 360Mbps. To handle the technologies of twenty years from now to deliver UltraHD a household will need at least 1.5Gbps. With all this in mind it would be irresponsible to set goals for next-generation broadband at anything less than 100Mbps, and really we should leave the 100Mbps Nation behind and start talking about a 1Gbps Nation and beyond. And given these goals, we should be focusing government subsidies on networks capable of supporting these speeds moving forward.
http://benton.org/node/23694
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
MEDIA HARDER ON PRESIDENT THIS TIME
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Howard Kurtz]
At his press conference last night, President Barack Obama took questions from Ebony magazine, Stars and Stripes, Univision, Agence France-Presse, Politico and the Washington Times. Not picked were the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Wall Street Journal or USA Today. The result was a nearly hour-long session focused almost entirely on domestic policy. President Obama made clear during the transition that he did not plan to follow the usual journalistic pecking order. As president, he has broken with precedent by having his press office notify correspondents that they will be called on at upcoming news conferences. The more unorthodox approach was highlighted at his first evening session, when he took a question from a correspondent for the Huffington Post. Obama's selection process last night did not result in softball inquiries.
http://benton.org/node/23720
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OPEN FOR QUESTIONS: PRESIDENT TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS ON THURSDAY
[SOURCE: The White House]
President Barack Obama invites everyone to use a new feature on WhiteHouse.gov called "Open for Questions" to ask a question about the economy and rate other questions up or down. Then, on Thursday morning, the President will conduct a special online town hall on the economy and answer some of the most popular questions and the event will be streamed on WhiteHouse.gov. "Open for Questions" is a new experiment for WhiteHouse.gov, the President's latest effort to open up the White House and give Americans from around the country a direct line to the Administration. This first round will deal with a chief concern for all of us: the economy.
http://benton.org/node/23719
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THE TRANSITION
SENATE APPROVES LOCKE AS COMMERCE SECRETARY
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Doug Palmer]
The Senate voted on Tuesday to approve the nomination of former Gov Gary Locke (D-WA) to be the Secretary of Commerce. Sec Locke has promised to focus on "creating the jobs of the future" and enforcing US laws to counter unfair foreign trade practices. He also promised to complete the transition to digital television by the new June 12 deadline set by Congress. He was confirmed by the Senate on a voice vote. His approval filled one of the last slots in Obama's cabinet, with only Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius still awaiting confirmation as secretary of health and human services.
http://benton.org/node/23693
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BROADCASTING/CABLE
A LACK-OF-REALITY PROGRAM
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Leslie Cauley]
Was the NTIA's digital-to-analog TV converter box coupon program destined to fail? The coupon program "was supposed to help everyone who was losing a piece of equipment that was perfectly functional — their (analog) TV," says Kimmelman. "Instead, at every stage — from the drafting of the (DTV) bill to actual implementation — this program was set up to fail." As envisioned by Congress, digital TV was supposed to give "free" TV, a fixture in U.S. living rooms for more than 50 years, a much-needed face lift. Instead, the program got so bogged down that lawmakers, in the midst of dealing with an epic financial crisis, had to run to the rescue. Why did the program go off the rails so badly? Interviews with more than a dozen current and former NTIA officials, consumer advocates, White House personnel and others suggest a combination of factors. Among them: bureaucratic bumbling, penny-pinching, NTIA's narrow interpretations of provisions in the DTV bill, and relentless warring about money between Republicans, who wanted to spend as little as possible on the DTV transition, and Democrats, who had concerns about funding from the start. Some sources would speak only on the condition of anonymity because they're not authorized to comment publicly and fear retribution from current and former employers.
http://benton.org/node/23718
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UPDATE: HOUSE OVERSIGHT OF THE DIGITAL TELEVISION TRANSITION
[SOURCE: House of Representatives Commerce Committee]
The House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet will hold a digital television oversight hearing on Thursday, March 26, 2009. The hearing will examine the administration of the DTV Converter Box Coupon Program by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), outreach and consumer education efforts by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the status of the transition from the perspective of other stakeholders. The witness list: 1) Anna Gomez, Acting Secretary for Communications and Information, Department of Commerce; 2) Hon. Michael J. Copps, Acting Chairman, Federal Communications Commission; 3) Mark Lloyd, Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights; 4) Peter Morrill, General Manager, Idaho Public Television; 5) Robert S. Prather, Jr., President, Gray Television; 6) Gary Severson, Senior Vice President, General Manager, Entertainment, Wal-Mart Stores; 7) Gary Shapiro, President and CEO, Consumer Electronics Association; and 8) Christopher Wood, Vice President, Senior Legal Counsel, DTV Compliance Officer, Univision Communications.
http://www.benton.org/node/23493
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TV CONVERTER BOX COUPON PROGRAM NOW ACCEPTING REQUESTS TO REPLACE EXPIRED COUPONS
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration]
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has begun to accept replacement requests from eligible households whose coupons expired without being redeemed. Meanwhile, money allocated to the NTIA as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has allowed NTIA to clear the digital converter box coupon waiting list. NTIA is processing all coupon requests as they come in with a maximum 9 business day turnaround time.
http://benton.org/node/23690
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FOUR STATIONS WAITING FOR FCC APPROVAL ON EARLY ANALOG CUT-OFF
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
There are only four full-power TV stations whose analog cut-off dates the Federal Communications Commission still has to approve. They want to go earlier than the FCC is allowing without meeting conditions they say they can't meet. The four stations are: 1) Reiten Television's CBS-affiliated KXMB-TV Bismarck-Dicksinson (ND), 2) Hoak Media's CBS-affiliated KAUZ-TV Wichita Falls (TX), 3) Nexstar's Fox affiliate KARD(TV) West Monroe (LA), and 4) Mission Broadcasting's KTVE(TV) El Dorado, Arkansas.
http://benton.org/node/23689
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NIELSEN: VIDEO GAMES APPROACHING "5TH NETWORK" STATUS
[SOURCE: MediaWeek, AUTHOR: Mike Shields]
According to a new report issued by Nielsen PreView called The Video Game Handbook, Americans, as a whole, spend more time playing video games than they do watching the CW. And video games -- the real "5th Network" -- may even be closing in on NBC. But big time gamers are also big time TV viewers: The top quintile of gamers -- who average 93 minutes of console usage per day -- consumed as many minutes of TV as the weakest video game users. Interestingly, video game users appear to shift back and forth from video game mode to TV mode in a consistent pattern. Among console users, their gaming peaks around 7:00 p.m. while TV viewing peaks around 9:00 p.m. That perhaps indicates that advertisers should attempt to use both media to reach consumers in tandem.
http://benton.org/node/23688
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CTAM STUDY: ECONOMY GOOD FOR CABLE
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The economic meltdown may actually be a boon to cable, suggests a study by the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM). The study found that while 71% of respondents feel the economy is either in a recession or heading toward a depression, those same people aren't planning to cut back on cable or cable modem service. The study found that 95% planned to retain modem service, and 81% said they were not likely to drop cable TV service. That is compared to 71% who said they were unlikely to back in November. While 53% reported doing less shopping, 52% less eating out, and 51% fewer vacations, 35% said they would watch more TV at home, with only 5% saying they would watch less and the rest staying about the same.
http://benton.org/node/23687
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CABLE, PHONE GIANTS USE COMMUNITY NEWS TO LURE CUSTOMERS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Vishesh Kumar, Amol Sharma]
In the marketing battle between telephone and cable companies, both sides have found a surprisingly simple weapon: local-television offerings such as community news, traffic alerts and weather. Both cable and phone companies are vigorously marketing features such as super-fast Web access and on-demand movies. But investing in local-TV programming, replete with news of school closings and community politics, helps distinguish the companies from rivals to boost customer loyalty -- or steal away subscribers. This summer, Verizon Communications Inc. plans to launch its own local TV channel in New York City, according to people familiar with the matter. The move is a response to Cablevision Systems Corp. and Time Warner Cable. Their round-the-clock local news channels, News 12 and New York One, have helped the companies keep some customers in Long Island and New York City from bolting for Verizon. "Local-interest stories are the ones that people cling to and watch," said John Harrobin, vice president of digital media at Verizon.
http://benton.org/node/23717
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FREE ONLINE TV A THREAT TO INDUSTRY
[SOURCE: Variety, AUTHOR: John Hopewell]
More and more viewers will be lured away from broadcast and cable TV to ad-funded online entertainment, available to viewers for free. But online piracy -- another form of free-to-view digital entertainment -- is the industry's biggest threat. That was the opinion of industryites at London-based media research company Screen Digest's annual Peve Digital Entertainment Conference, according to a confab report released Tuesday. By 2011, ad-supported, online TV shows will account for 10 times more U.S. consumption than paid for online content, according to Screen Digest's broadband media senior analyst Dan Cryan. He warned that the challenge for digital rights holders was persuading consumers to pay for content available now for free.
http://benton.org/node/23712
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JOURNALISM
Senate Bill Would Allow Tax-Exempt Status for Newspapers
Who Fared Best (and Worst) in 2008?
SENATE BILL WOULD ALLOW TAX-EXEMPT STATUS FOR NEWSPAPERS
[SOURCE: Editor&Publisher, AUTHOR: Mark Fitzgerald]
Sen Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) introduced the Newspaper Revitalization Act, a bill that would explicitly include newspapers among organizations eligible for 501(c)(3) status. The non-profit status is the same that public radio and television have now. The legislation would give a national green light for newspapers to adopt the so-called Low Profit Limited Liability Company business model, often shortened to L3C. Under Cardin's legislation, newspaper revenue would be tax-exempt, and contributions to papers would be tax deductible. The status would also allow non-profits to invest in newspapers, something that is forbidden now. Sen Cardin said action is needed to help preserve local newspapers.
http://benton.org/node/23692
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WHO FARED BEST IN 2008?
[SOURCE: Project for Excellence in Journalism, AUTHOR: Mark Jurkowitz]
In an especially challenging year, some media sectors managed to post profits and increase audiences. But most of the news business saw declines in both. Cable news was the big winner in 2008. With both ad revenue and audience gains of more than 25%, the three cable news channels stood far above other news media. Online news also showed growth in both areas, but display advertising, on which news largely depends, grew a mere 4% through the first three quarter of 2008, and was expected to show declines. And, except for very slight audience growth in audio, all other sectors saw declines in both ad spending and audience, with newspapers and print magazines faring worst.
http://benton.org/node/23686
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QUICKLY
SUPREME COURT CONSIDERS ANTI-HILLARY CLINTON MOVIE
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: James Vicini]
The Supreme Court appeared divided on Tuesday over a challenge to a campaign finance law by a conservative group in a case that could open the door to fewer restrictions on political advertising. Liberal justices said the movie was a form of advocacy designed to sway voters and thus was covered by the law while conservatives questioned whether the government regulation went too far in violation of constitutional free-speech rights. Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts asked a hypothetical question of whether the government under the law could ban a book critical or supportive of a political candidate before the election. The liberal justices said the movie was filled with criticism of the former first lady, raising questions about her fitness and qualifications to be president and effectively urging people not to vote for her. Justice Anthony Kennedy, who often casts the decisive vote on the court, said that if there was no difference between the film and a 60-second political ad, then the part of the law regulating communications by corporations or labor unions right before an election might be struck down.
http://benton.org/node/23685
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FCC COMMENCES 2009 EEO AUDITS
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
The Federal Communications Commission annually audits the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) programs of randomly selected broadcast licensees and multi-channel video programming distributors (MVPDs). Each year, approximately five percent of all radio and television stations and MVPDs are selected for these EEO audits. On March 23, 2009, the FCC mailed the first of its EEO audit letters for 2009.
http://benton.org/node/23684
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LEAVING PCs ON OVERNIGHT COSTS COMPANIES $2.8B A YEAR
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Jon Swartz]
Even during an economic meltdown, when companies are scrambling to cut costs, businesses are wasting billions of dollars by leaving their PCs on at night. US organizations squander $2.8 billion a year to power unused machines, emitting about 20 million tons of carbon dioxide — roughly the equivalent of 4 million cars — according to a report to be released today. About half of 108 million office PCs in the USA are not properly shut down at night, says the 2009 PC Energy Report, produced by 1E, an energy-management software company, and the non-profit Alliance to Save Energy. The report analyzed workplace PC power consumption in the USA, United Kingdom and Germany. Wastefulness does not just affect a company's bottom line, it creates environmental concerns, the report says. If the world's 1 billion PCs were powered down just one night, it would save enough energy to light the Empire State Building — inside and out — for over 30 years, it says.
http://benton.org/node/23716
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EU TELECOM REVENUES RISE, REGULATORY HURDLES REMAIN
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Huw Jones]
European Union telecoms revenues rose 1.3 percent to above 300 billion euros last year but more consistent enforcement of competition rules would boost market efficiency, the bloc's executive body said on Wednesday. EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding said in her annual scorecard that Europe led the world in mobile phone services, with rising competition pushing down the average monthly mobile bill to 19.49 euros ($26.50) last year from 21.48 euros in 2007. The sector outperformed the broader EU economy but there was still a need for fully independent telecoms regulators at national level in some countries to enforce the bloc's telecom rules and ensure full competition.
http://benton.org/node/23715
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BLOCKBUSTER AND TIVO JOIN TO DELIVER DIGITAL MOVIES
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Brad Stone]
With its lingering debt problems resolved for now, Blockbuster is pinning some of its hopes on a digital future. The struggling video rental chain will announce a partnership with TiVo on Wednesday to deliver Blockbuster's digital movie library over the Internet directly to the televisions of people with TiVo digital video recorders. As with similar deals TiVo has struck to make digital video services from Amazon and Netflix accessible from its set-top boxes, no money will change hands between the companies. But Blockbuster also said it would sell TiVos at many of its 4,000 stores in the United States, taking a typical retailer's cut of sales. The two companies plan a joint marketing campaign to promote the new service, which will start in the second half of the year.
http://benton.org/node/23714
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FIRMS SEEK PROFIT IN TWITTER'S CHATTER
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Jessica Vascellaro]
In the three years since its launch, the messaging service Twitter has attracted millions of users, but its fast growth hasn't translated into significant revenue. Now, other companies are trying to profit from Twitter's popularity by experimenting with business models that incorporate parts of the free messaging service by brokering ads to appear alongside tweets filtered by topic or using Twitter updates to promote themselves. So far, none of the companies piggybacking on Twitter has reaped a windfall, but their strategies suggest some ways that Twitter -- which was valued at $255 million in connection with a recent round of venture funding, according to people familiar with the matter -- might go about cashing in on its growing ranks of users. But in pursuit of revenue, Twitter faces the same challenge that has dogged social-networking platforms like Facebook. If advertisers can tap into its network free of charge, why would they pay the company to do so?
http://benton.org/node/23713
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