August 2012

FCC prepares for communications outages from storm

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is working with federal and local officials to respond to communications outages that might occur as the southeast braces for Hurricane Isaac. An FCC official explained that cellular and landline phone providers are required to report outages to the FCC. The commission has also set up a voluntary online system, called the Disaster Information Reporting System, for broadcasters, cable providers and other communications companies to alert officials of outages.

Will Drones Take Flight for TV Stations?

The Federal Aviation Administration has begun writing licensing regulations and safety requirements that would allow unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) to be used for purposes including newsgathering by 2015. They would be a less costly and potentially more capable replacements for manned helicopters.

More Than Half of Online Ads Fail Viewability Standard

The online ad industry’s Making Measurement Make Sense (3MS) initiative calls for a new viewability metric that would only measure when 50 percent of an ad is in view for at least one second. The problem is, fewer than half of online ads meet that standard, according to a forthcoming study.

The study by AdSafe Media, which offers products that promise to safeguard brands' ads online, shows that 49.9 percent of ads sold directly hit the proposed requirement. The number shrinks to 41.2 percent in the case of ads sold through ad networks and 40.3 percent of ads sold through ad exchanges. And that’s only for a second-long peek. When extending the in-view window to 15 seconds, the stats dwindle to 21.1 percent for ads bought directly through the publisher, 16.4 percent for exchange buys and 16.3 percent for network buys. The findings are based on impressions examined during the first half of 2012.

How one man is bringing VoIP, Internet access where telecoms fear to tread

When he started getting complaints from relatives back home in Puerto Rico about the lack of reliable phone or Internet service in the mountainous center of the island, Jose Soto took things into his own hands and built his own wireless service—with a little help from his cousins. And with a little elbow grease, a few dollars, and a willing broadband provider, you could do the same. In the mountainous center of Puerto Rico, many cell phone users need to travel 30 to 40 minutes from home to get a reliable cell phone connection, Soto said. And fewer than 25 percent of people in the region have access to the Internet, despite government programs to subsidize networks. That absence of service is largely because of the topography of the area—it’s impractical and too expensive to run cables through the mountains and valleys. Soto is now six months into an effort to change that by creating a wireless ISP and Voice over IP service, with a little help from friends and family.

Schools urge dropouts: Text to connect

To convince high school dropouts to give education another chance, school districts first need to find them. That’s why the Boulder Valley School District is one of three districts partnering with Colorado Youth for a Change on a web-based pilot program, Drop In Colorado, that encourages dropouts and those who know them to make contact via text messages. Posters, stickers, and hangtags urge those who have dropped out to send a text message to Colorado Youth for a Change, which then provides information about an interactive website where they can see their education options—from a GED program, to online programs, to traditional high schools—and connect to outreach specialists.

Evening Edition, an afternoon paper for a mobile world

With most of our reading habits shifting to the mobile devices, it is time for mobile-first reading experiences and services. Designer Mike Monteiro has created Evening Edition, an afternoon paper that wraps up important stories of the day in a easy to read on commute package.

Netflix users object to video privacy settlement

Dozens of Netflix users are filing objections to a class action settlement that would see Netflix pay $9 million to be released from claims that it illegally retained customers video records.

The objectors, who are filing their protest with a California court, complain that subscribers receive none of the money. The settlement is meant to resolve dozens of lawsuits related to Netflix’s decision to retain subscribers’ rental histories for more than one year in violation of the Video Privacy Protection Act. The VPPA is a 1988 law that Congress passed to regulate video stores but, in recent years, it has become a headache for companies like Netflix and Facebook. The Netflix settlement, which affects tens of millions of subscribers nationwide, was proposed in February and a federal judge gave it a conditional green light in July. Since then, lawyers have been sending out millions of emails to notify customers. This notification process would normally pave the way for the court to rubber stamp the $9 million deal at a scheduled hearing in December. But that approval may now be at risk given that court records show more than 50 objection letters. The objections vary in length and sophistication but the underlying complaint is the same — that third party privacy groups and lawyers get the money while the subscribers get nothing.

Why newspapers need to get to know their readers better

Although the ad-driven business model behind Facebook looks similar to that of a newspaper, the crucial difference is that the social network knows a lot more about its users.

The more focus that newspapers put on doing the same, the better off they will be. In a post at the Nieman Journalism Lab about the New York Times, digital-content veteran Rex Sorgatz outlines some of the things that the newspaper could do to build more of a membership approach — or what I’ve called a “velvet rope” approach — to its business rather than relying solely on the blunt instrument of a paywall. Whether it’s e-books or live events or discounts on venues like the Museum of Modern Art, there are all kinds of ways the paper could get to know its readers and what they like, and then find ways of charging them for it. Newspapers like the Times of London are already doing this, and The Guardian seems to be moving in that direction as well (and we know that the NYT has looked into it before as well). The best part of this model is that it doesn’t just try to replace advertising revenue with a paywall or subscription revenue — getting to know your readers and their interests better can also help a newspaper or any other media entity target advertising better.

Who’s on the inside track for a Romney Cabinet

Mitt Romney said his Cabinet and White House staff will be stacked with men and women from the business world, but his top advisers sketched out a team composed of many familiar faces in Washington.

Already on the inside track: several veterans of George W. Bush’s administration and a number of women — but not necessarily a single Democrat. The choices are still months off — and behind in the polls, Romney is hardly preoccupied with his transition just yet — but it is possible to chart a more detailed early look at a potential Romney Cabinet than was possible for Bush or Barack Obama at this stage of their campaigns. And one name advisers return to time and again is a person little-known to most Americans: Mike Leavitt, a fellow Mormon who is creating a government-in-waiting plan for Romney. Leavitt is the prototypical Romney Cabinet pick — loyal, low-key and diligent, just the kind of person Romney likes to surround himself with. Leavitt did two jobs for Bush: ran the Environmental Protection Agency and the Health and Human Services Department and is a lock for one of the most important jobs if he wants it — White House chief of staff or Treasury secretary, the advisers said.

Groups Want Two Major US Parties to Support Internet 'freedom'

The Republican and Democratic parties in the U.S. should take a stand for Internet "freedom" during their upcoming national conventions, a group of Internet activists urged.

More than 36,000 people have signed a petition, started by Internet activist group Demand Progress in mid-August, calling on the two major parties to add Internet freedom language to their party platforms. Demand Progress reiterated its call for Internet freedom language in the platforms. "The next two weeks will determine which party is the party of the 'Net," David Segal, executive director of Demand Progress, said. "Internet start-ups, civil liberties groups, and Internet users generally will be paying close attention to who really represents us." US residents are becoming more concerned about threats to Internet freedom as their dependence on the Internet grows, Segal added. "It behooves both parties to demonstrate their support for that cause -- in their platforms, and in their legislative undertakings," he said. "If they fail to do so, the swelling number of Internet-savvy voters will start to look elsewhere."

Benton

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