web internet marketing

After all the shouting has died down, after the House elects its Republican leaders and after the Senate sorts itself out, the reality is that policy in the telecom sector will likely remain where it has been for the past two years -- in state of suspended animation. That's a shame, because the people who can most benefit by some reasonable and common-sense changes may not have the opportunity to do so.

The two issues at the top of the list are Net Neutrality and the wonky-sounding "reclassification" of broadband services. Net Neutrality is the simple concept that those who control the telecommunications networks shouldn't be able to play favorites with the content that is transmitted over those networks. It's an old concept, as Prof. Tim Wu pointed out in his book, Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires. The simple, fair idea is that everyone online should have the same ability to make his or her voice or service known to the rest of the world.

President Obama campaigned in part on restoring an Open Internet. Julius Genachowski, his chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) hasn't delivered, and probably won't. As his pattern of activity has developed, Genachowski has ducked the major issues to which the big telecommunications companies, aided by the congressional Democratic Blue Bells and by all congressional Republicans, have objected. He has the votes of the other two Democratic FCC commissioners, but that's not enough for him.

As a result, Genachowski has taken the pressure off of Congress to do anything to ensure an Open Internet, in which everyone, not simply the big phone and cable companies, can benefit. (The fact that 95 Democrats who signed a Net Neutrality pledge lost on Tuesday is irrelevant. They would have lost anyway in the GOP landslide.)

As with any issue when the battles are controlled by big companies, it's the small ones who get overlooked and/or crushed. In a recent blog post, Kevin Warhus, marketing manager for the Scottsdale, Ariz., digital marketing company StringCan Interactive, wrote about the link between a neutral Internet and what he sees as Web 3.0, which seeks to personalize the Web experience for consumers. Warhus is particularly concerned about telecom control over the mobile Web and the effect on small businesses his company helps to support. He wrote:

As we evolve into the age Web 3.0 in which our information, likes and dislikes, and online habits help create a personalized web experience, Net Neutrality stands as an important stepping stone to ensure the proper development of Internet interaction and the protections of our freedoms.

"Allowing a handful of powerful corporations to decide what websites and information we should be able to access defeats the purpose of this open source frontier. The Internet has always stood as an environment where anyone can make a website or blog and receive equal opportunities to be heard and to grow. By taking away those rights we are essentially handing over our freedoms and going against the foundational values that make The Internet what it is today and what it may or may not be tomorrow.

Congressional Self-Interest Should Be A Factor

But the larger issue, and the one in which the enlightened self-interest of all members of Congress should kick in, is the reclassification of broadband services. Again, the concept is fairly simple. Until 2005, the FCC had jurisdiction over the telecommunications connection that connected people to the Internet. The Bush-era FCC "reclassified" that service from one with explicit authority to gray areas -- without any outside huffing and puffing that it should be a congressional decision that such a thing be done.

Since then, the FCC has deregulated all but the most basic voice-line services and removed any requirements that may help consumers. This shaky structure survived until April 6 this year, when the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the FCC did not have authority over broadband services in the way the agency claimed it did.

After typically dithering around for a couple of months, the Commission proposed a compromise that would allow some regulatory authority but not the full slate of regulations. Typically, the industry and their congressional allies overreacted, starting the meme that the FCC wanted to "regulate the Internet" and that Congress had given the Commission no such authority.

That argument is total nonsense. No one is regulating the Internet. The FCC wants its jurisdiction back over broadband access. Members of Congress, particularly from rural districts, should want the FCC to have that authority. By denying the Commission that jurisdiction, representatives, particularly those from rural areas, are working against the interest of their constituents.

The Universal Service Fund, which provides financial support to rural phone companies, only is directed to help plain old dial-up service. If those members of Congress want their constituents to have the benefit of support for broadband, and to allow their constituents to participate in the broadband economy, then the FCC has to be able to make some changes, switching the support to broadband services. It can't do that unless it has the authority and jurisdiction.

Big telecom and cable companies and their ideological allies oppose reclassification. Interestingly, however, the Communications Workers of America, which sided with the industry opposing Net Neutrality, signed a letter endorsing reclassification.

If we needed any more evidence of how important broadband is to rural areas, a new study by the Strategic Networks Group for the e-North Carolina authority (e-NC) has some fascinating new statistics that show how crucial broadband is to the economy in general and to job-generating small business in particular. Some of the study's findings:

• Nearly one in five (18%) of new jobs were created as a direct result of Broadband Internet. Small businesses (less than 20 employees) are especially dependent on Broadband Internet as 28 percent of new jobs in that sector are attributed to using the Internet.
• More than half of all businesses (54%) said that they would not be in business if they did not have broadband while two in five (41%) would have to relocate if broadband was not available in their community;
• The number of households either currently running (31%) or planning to run a business from their home in the next twelve months (14%) is nearly half (45%) of North Carolina's broadband households;
• Even more broadband households are either now using (41%) or planning to use (24%) broadband to sell items online. That's nearly two-thirds (65%) of broadband households using it to at least supplement their income;
• Most (85%) of home-based businesses said that broadband was essential to their business.

The study also went into some detail about the problem of pockets of areas generally served with broadband that don't have it; how areas served with inferior broadband are at a competitive disadvantage, and lots of broadband service is really very slow and unhelpful.

The Authority the FCC Should Cede

Over the past few months, Genachowski has shown a willingness to cede his agency's authority to Congress. He wouldn't act on Net Neutrality or reclassification, wishing instead that a last-ditch effort by current House Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) to negotiate a Net Neutrality bill might come to fruition. It was a gallant effort, but the House Republicans killed it.

Genachowski sat out the blackouts of millions of TV viewers from favorite channels, including the most recent fight between Fox and Cablevision, which blacked out three million people in the New York City area and Philadelphia. He said the FCC doesn't have the tools to intervene. He declined to take any action on a petition for rulemaking filed by Public Knowledge and others to reform the retrans system, based on the part of the law that gives the FCC authority to "enact regulations as necessary" to carry out the law that gave broadcasters the right to exact payments from cable companies. Instead, he wants Congress to work out the problem.

So far, the one area in which Genachowski has not conceded congressional authority is the one he should -- universal service reform. Holding up USF reform until the agency's authority over broadband is clear will force those members of Congress who care more about their constituents' welfare than silly Tea Party talking points to take the Commission's authority seriously. If members of Congress don't give the FCC the authority it needs, the areas they represent suffer.

We shall wait for Congress to act (or for the FCC to act, for that matter) on these crucial issues as we wait for Godot.

This post originally appeared on Forbes.com, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about social media, business and technology.

The television is about to become the latest medium to get a major makeover at the hands of the class='blippr-nobr'>Internetclass="blippr-nobr">Internet. Already more than half of Americans are watching TV and surfing the web simultaneously. But another trend — giving connectivity to the device itself — is going to fundamentally change the business models around television and the way we consume and interact with content.

Yahooclass="blippr-nobr">Yahoo!, which has been an early mover in the space, anticipates that 8 million to 10 million devices with its Connected Television platform preinstalled will be in consumers’ hands by March 2011. That’s triple the amount in March 2010, according to Russ Schafer, Yahoo’s senior director of product marketing for the platform. Market research firm iSuppli estimates that by 2014 some 148 million televisions with Internet connectivity will be sold annually.

Millions of consumers who buy televisions from the likes of Samsung, LG and Sony won’t just be plugging into the programming offered by their satellite or cable provider, they’ll also be able to access applications ranging from Facebookclass="blippr-nobr">Facebook to eBayclass="blippr-nobr">eBay and view content from a limitless number of video publishers.

That represents a shift similar to what we saw in print media, where the Internet (and mobile phones) opened up the opportunity for anyone to become a content creator. Blip.tv, which bills itself as a “next generation television network,” has been eyeing this trend since 2005, hosting thousands of independently created shows. Now, according to cofounder Dina Kaplan, blip.tv is serving up nearly 100 million views each month (or, put another way, about 10% of the combined audience of the major TV networks) across the web, mobile devices and, increasingly, Internet-connected televisions.

The Growing Market for Internet-Enabled Televisions

class='blippr-nobr'>Blipclass="blippr-nobr">BLIP.tv is growing its audience by forming partnerships with traditional TV manufacturers and a new breed of company in the set-top box market that lets consumers connect to the Internet via their televisions. One of those companies is Roku, which sells its entry-level box for $60. CEO Anthony Wood told me the company is closing in on 1 million customers and that the average user is consuming 33 hours of content each month using the device.

Roku rival Boxeeclass="blippr-nobr">Boxee has amassed about 1.2 million users so far, says CEO Avner Ronen. That’s just through its downloadable app, which requires users to connect their computers to their televisions. The company plans to introduce its own box in November and bring with it a string of content partnerships, like BBC and Major League Baseball, as well as from companies like blip.tv and other purely digital outfits.

Boxee is planning to monetize the set-top box in part through a transaction platform that Ronen says will let publishers “offer content and charge for it without the need for users to enter payment information … [they can pay] with just one-click” for things like premium content, tickets or subscriptions. Roku has plans for a similar platform that will launch this fall. For now, both Roku and Boxee let their content providers control their own advertising and keep the revenue generated by it.

The Changing Advertising Landscape

The potential for new forms of advertising isn’t lost on any of these players, though. Experiments are still very early stage, but Yahoo’s Schafer says that, right now, “the basic ad formats are the same as we use on the web … and you’re just playing it to a different device. But the next stage is Yahoo bringing our own advertising offering further optimized for television … monetizing our service first and then offering it to third parties.”

class='blippr-nobr'>Pandoraclass="blippr-nobr">Pandora, the popular Internet radio service that also has millions of users across connected devices, recently extended its ad platform to Internet-enabled televisions. “Campaigns on this newest platform will primarily feature audio ads, which create a more lasting and emotive connection with consumers. The ability for brands to connect with consumers using audio ads on an in-home device is a new and exciting opportunity,” says Chief Revenue Officer John Trimble.

Meanwhile, blip.tv sees opportunities for targeting ads with unprecedented levels of precision. For example, the company recently developed a campaign for Electronic Arts that was able to target Xbox 360 owners with an interactive ad for NCAA Football ‘11 that allowed them to download a demo of the game to their console. Kaplan says that such complexity can’t yet be achieved across the dozens of different television and connected device manufacturers, but that “within a year we’ll see video advertising much more seamlessly transition from web video to the TV set.”

Such interactivity is already possible with so-called “second screen” providers, which are building social experiences on smartphones and tablets that allow users to interact with friends and content as they watch their favorite shows. They simultaneously create opportunities for engagement that have both the networks and advertisers excited.

Philo is a startup that, along with competitors like Miso and GetGlue, has taken the concept of “checking in” — popularized in recent months by location-based apps like class='blippr-nobr'>Foursquareclass="blippr-nobr">foursquare — and applied it to television shows. Users can check in to shows, interact with friends who are also watching and engage with ads in unique ways. For example, the company recently launched a promotion for the upcoming film You Again that enters users into a sweepstakes when they check in to shows like Glee or Dancing with the Stars and interacts with the ads through Philo’s app.

Prime Opportunities for Television Networks

The huge shift taking place in the TV landscape isn’t lost on the networks. CBS is getting its content on a multitude of connected devices and experimenting with a variety of content plays, social features and revenue models. Zander Lurie, SVP of strategic development at the company, doesn’t see new consumption models making networks like CBS irrelevant. “We’re excited by the fact that these services are offering consumers more ways to view our content. The priority [for us] is to create more opportunities for our content to be consumed than ever before. As long as we have a business model in place for that [type of] consumption, we win,” says Lurie.

Despite all of the activity, Internet-connected television will shift even more dramatically over the next year, with both Googleclass="blippr-nobr">Google and Apple introducing their own set-top box offerings this fall. While upstarts like Boxee and Roku might see that as validation of what they helped pioneer, it could significantly disrupt the business models emerging in the quickly evolving world of Internet-connected television.

More Tech Resources from Mashable:

- How a Physically Aware Internet Will Change the World/> - 10 Unique Headphones for Listening in Style/> - 10 Useful Apple iPad Tips and Tricks/> - 5 Tools for Keeping Track of Your Passwords/> - 7 Questions With AOL Co-Founder Steve Case

Image courtesy of iStockphotoclass="blippr-nobr">iStockphoto, CostinT, iStockphoto, subju

For more Business coverage:

class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Businessclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Business channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

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Apple sued over iPhone 3G performance under iOS 4 | iLounge <b>News</b>

iLounge news discussing the Apple sued over iPhone 3G performance under iOS 4. Find more Apple news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.

<b>News</b> Corp&#39;s Carey: MySpace&#39;s Ongoing Losses &#39;Not Acceptable Or <b>...</b>

Continued MySpace (NSDQ: NWS) declines pulled down News Corp.'s digital media group earnings again in its first quarter, meaning operating losses in the company's Other segment grew by $30 million from last year, to $156 million. ...

FOX <b>News</b> Propels <b>News</b> Corp to Profit Growth

News Corporation (News Corp) is the world's second-largest media conglomerate (behind The Walt Disney Company) as of 2008 and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009. The company's Chairman, Chief Executive. ...

bench craft company

After all the shouting has died down, after the House elects its Republican leaders and after the Senate sorts itself out, the reality is that policy in the telecom sector will likely remain where it has been for the past two years -- in state of suspended animation. That's a shame, because the people who can most benefit by some reasonable and common-sense changes may not have the opportunity to do so.

The two issues at the top of the list are Net Neutrality and the wonky-sounding "reclassification" of broadband services. Net Neutrality is the simple concept that those who control the telecommunications networks shouldn't be able to play favorites with the content that is transmitted over those networks. It's an old concept, as Prof. Tim Wu pointed out in his book, Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires. The simple, fair idea is that everyone online should have the same ability to make his or her voice or service known to the rest of the world.

President Obama campaigned in part on restoring an Open Internet. Julius Genachowski, his chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) hasn't delivered, and probably won't. As his pattern of activity has developed, Genachowski has ducked the major issues to which the big telecommunications companies, aided by the congressional Democratic Blue Bells and by all congressional Republicans, have objected. He has the votes of the other two Democratic FCC commissioners, but that's not enough for him.

As a result, Genachowski has taken the pressure off of Congress to do anything to ensure an Open Internet, in which everyone, not simply the big phone and cable companies, can benefit. (The fact that 95 Democrats who signed a Net Neutrality pledge lost on Tuesday is irrelevant. They would have lost anyway in the GOP landslide.)

As with any issue when the battles are controlled by big companies, it's the small ones who get overlooked and/or crushed. In a recent blog post, Kevin Warhus, marketing manager for the Scottsdale, Ariz., digital marketing company StringCan Interactive, wrote about the link between a neutral Internet and what he sees as Web 3.0, which seeks to personalize the Web experience for consumers. Warhus is particularly concerned about telecom control over the mobile Web and the effect on small businesses his company helps to support. He wrote:

As we evolve into the age Web 3.0 in which our information, likes and dislikes, and online habits help create a personalized web experience, Net Neutrality stands as an important stepping stone to ensure the proper development of Internet interaction and the protections of our freedoms.

"Allowing a handful of powerful corporations to decide what websites and information we should be able to access defeats the purpose of this open source frontier. The Internet has always stood as an environment where anyone can make a website or blog and receive equal opportunities to be heard and to grow. By taking away those rights we are essentially handing over our freedoms and going against the foundational values that make The Internet what it is today and what it may or may not be tomorrow.

Congressional Self-Interest Should Be A Factor

But the larger issue, and the one in which the enlightened self-interest of all members of Congress should kick in, is the reclassification of broadband services. Again, the concept is fairly simple. Until 2005, the FCC had jurisdiction over the telecommunications connection that connected people to the Internet. The Bush-era FCC "reclassified" that service from one with explicit authority to gray areas -- without any outside huffing and puffing that it should be a congressional decision that such a thing be done.

Since then, the FCC has deregulated all but the most basic voice-line services and removed any requirements that may help consumers. This shaky structure survived until April 6 this year, when the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the FCC did not have authority over broadband services in the way the agency claimed it did.

After typically dithering around for a couple of months, the Commission proposed a compromise that would allow some regulatory authority but not the full slate of regulations. Typically, the industry and their congressional allies overreacted, starting the meme that the FCC wanted to "regulate the Internet" and that Congress had given the Commission no such authority.

That argument is total nonsense. No one is regulating the Internet. The FCC wants its jurisdiction back over broadband access. Members of Congress, particularly from rural districts, should want the FCC to have that authority. By denying the Commission that jurisdiction, representatives, particularly those from rural areas, are working against the interest of their constituents.

The Universal Service Fund, which provides financial support to rural phone companies, only is directed to help plain old dial-up service. If those members of Congress want their constituents to have the benefit of support for broadband, and to allow their constituents to participate in the broadband economy, then the FCC has to be able to make some changes, switching the support to broadband services. It can't do that unless it has the authority and jurisdiction.

Big telecom and cable companies and their ideological allies oppose reclassification. Interestingly, however, the Communications Workers of America, which sided with the industry opposing Net Neutrality, signed a letter endorsing reclassification.

If we needed any more evidence of how important broadband is to rural areas, a new study by the Strategic Networks Group for the e-North Carolina authority (e-NC) has some fascinating new statistics that show how crucial broadband is to the economy in general and to job-generating small business in particular. Some of the study's findings:

• Nearly one in five (18%) of new jobs were created as a direct result of Broadband Internet. Small businesses (less than 20 employees) are especially dependent on Broadband Internet as 28 percent of new jobs in that sector are attributed to using the Internet.
• More than half of all businesses (54%) said that they would not be in business if they did not have broadband while two in five (41%) would have to relocate if broadband was not available in their community;
• The number of households either currently running (31%) or planning to run a business from their home in the next twelve months (14%) is nearly half (45%) of North Carolina's broadband households;
• Even more broadband households are either now using (41%) or planning to use (24%) broadband to sell items online. That's nearly two-thirds (65%) of broadband households using it to at least supplement their income;
• Most (85%) of home-based businesses said that broadband was essential to their business.

The study also went into some detail about the problem of pockets of areas generally served with broadband that don't have it; how areas served with inferior broadband are at a competitive disadvantage, and lots of broadband service is really very slow and unhelpful.

The Authority the FCC Should Cede

Over the past few months, Genachowski has shown a willingness to cede his agency's authority to Congress. He wouldn't act on Net Neutrality or reclassification, wishing instead that a last-ditch effort by current House Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) to negotiate a Net Neutrality bill might come to fruition. It was a gallant effort, but the House Republicans killed it.

Genachowski sat out the blackouts of millions of TV viewers from favorite channels, including the most recent fight between Fox and Cablevision, which blacked out three million people in the New York City area and Philadelphia. He said the FCC doesn't have the tools to intervene. He declined to take any action on a petition for rulemaking filed by Public Knowledge and others to reform the retrans system, based on the part of the law that gives the FCC authority to "enact regulations as necessary" to carry out the law that gave broadcasters the right to exact payments from cable companies. Instead, he wants Congress to work out the problem.

So far, the one area in which Genachowski has not conceded congressional authority is the one he should -- universal service reform. Holding up USF reform until the agency's authority over broadband is clear will force those members of Congress who care more about their constituents' welfare than silly Tea Party talking points to take the Commission's authority seriously. If members of Congress don't give the FCC the authority it needs, the areas they represent suffer.

We shall wait for Congress to act (or for the FCC to act, for that matter) on these crucial issues as we wait for Godot.

This post originally appeared on Forbes.com, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about social media, business and technology.

The television is about to become the latest medium to get a major makeover at the hands of the class='blippr-nobr'>Internetclass="blippr-nobr">Internet. Already more than half of Americans are watching TV and surfing the web simultaneously. But another trend — giving connectivity to the device itself — is going to fundamentally change the business models around television and the way we consume and interact with content.

Yahooclass="blippr-nobr">Yahoo!, which has been an early mover in the space, anticipates that 8 million to 10 million devices with its Connected Television platform preinstalled will be in consumers’ hands by March 2011. That’s triple the amount in March 2010, according to Russ Schafer, Yahoo’s senior director of product marketing for the platform. Market research firm iSuppli estimates that by 2014 some 148 million televisions with Internet connectivity will be sold annually.

Millions of consumers who buy televisions from the likes of Samsung, LG and Sony won’t just be plugging into the programming offered by their satellite or cable provider, they’ll also be able to access applications ranging from Facebookclass="blippr-nobr">Facebook to eBayclass="blippr-nobr">eBay and view content from a limitless number of video publishers.

That represents a shift similar to what we saw in print media, where the Internet (and mobile phones) opened up the opportunity for anyone to become a content creator. Blip.tv, which bills itself as a “next generation television network,” has been eyeing this trend since 2005, hosting thousands of independently created shows. Now, according to cofounder Dina Kaplan, blip.tv is serving up nearly 100 million views each month (or, put another way, about 10% of the combined audience of the major TV networks) across the web, mobile devices and, increasingly, Internet-connected televisions.

The Growing Market for Internet-Enabled Televisions

class='blippr-nobr'>Blipclass="blippr-nobr">BLIP.tv is growing its audience by forming partnerships with traditional TV manufacturers and a new breed of company in the set-top box market that lets consumers connect to the Internet via their televisions. One of those companies is Roku, which sells its entry-level box for $60. CEO Anthony Wood told me the company is closing in on 1 million customers and that the average user is consuming 33 hours of content each month using the device.

Roku rival Boxeeclass="blippr-nobr">Boxee has amassed about 1.2 million users so far, says CEO Avner Ronen. That’s just through its downloadable app, which requires users to connect their computers to their televisions. The company plans to introduce its own box in November and bring with it a string of content partnerships, like BBC and Major League Baseball, as well as from companies like blip.tv and other purely digital outfits.

Boxee is planning to monetize the set-top box in part through a transaction platform that Ronen says will let publishers “offer content and charge for it without the need for users to enter payment information … [they can pay] with just one-click” for things like premium content, tickets or subscriptions. Roku has plans for a similar platform that will launch this fall. For now, both Roku and Boxee let their content providers control their own advertising and keep the revenue generated by it.

The Changing Advertising Landscape

The potential for new forms of advertising isn’t lost on any of these players, though. Experiments are still very early stage, but Yahoo’s Schafer says that, right now, “the basic ad formats are the same as we use on the web … and you’re just playing it to a different device. But the next stage is Yahoo bringing our own advertising offering further optimized for television … monetizing our service first and then offering it to third parties.”

class='blippr-nobr'>Pandoraclass="blippr-nobr">Pandora, the popular Internet radio service that also has millions of users across connected devices, recently extended its ad platform to Internet-enabled televisions. “Campaigns on this newest platform will primarily feature audio ads, which create a more lasting and emotive connection with consumers. The ability for brands to connect with consumers using audio ads on an in-home device is a new and exciting opportunity,” says Chief Revenue Officer John Trimble.

Meanwhile, blip.tv sees opportunities for targeting ads with unprecedented levels of precision. For example, the company recently developed a campaign for Electronic Arts that was able to target Xbox 360 owners with an interactive ad for NCAA Football ‘11 that allowed them to download a demo of the game to their console. Kaplan says that such complexity can’t yet be achieved across the dozens of different television and connected device manufacturers, but that “within a year we’ll see video advertising much more seamlessly transition from web video to the TV set.”

Such interactivity is already possible with so-called “second screen” providers, which are building social experiences on smartphones and tablets that allow users to interact with friends and content as they watch their favorite shows. They simultaneously create opportunities for engagement that have both the networks and advertisers excited.

Philo is a startup that, along with competitors like Miso and GetGlue, has taken the concept of “checking in” — popularized in recent months by location-based apps like class='blippr-nobr'>Foursquareclass="blippr-nobr">foursquare — and applied it to television shows. Users can check in to shows, interact with friends who are also watching and engage with ads in unique ways. For example, the company recently launched a promotion for the upcoming film You Again that enters users into a sweepstakes when they check in to shows like Glee or Dancing with the Stars and interacts with the ads through Philo’s app.

Prime Opportunities for Television Networks

The huge shift taking place in the TV landscape isn’t lost on the networks. CBS is getting its content on a multitude of connected devices and experimenting with a variety of content plays, social features and revenue models. Zander Lurie, SVP of strategic development at the company, doesn’t see new consumption models making networks like CBS irrelevant. “We’re excited by the fact that these services are offering consumers more ways to view our content. The priority [for us] is to create more opportunities for our content to be consumed than ever before. As long as we have a business model in place for that [type of] consumption, we win,” says Lurie.

Despite all of the activity, Internet-connected television will shift even more dramatically over the next year, with both Googleclass="blippr-nobr">Google and Apple introducing their own set-top box offerings this fall. While upstarts like Boxee and Roku might see that as validation of what they helped pioneer, it could significantly disrupt the business models emerging in the quickly evolving world of Internet-connected television.

More Tech Resources from Mashable:

- How a Physically Aware Internet Will Change the World/> - 10 Unique Headphones for Listening in Style/> - 10 Useful Apple iPad Tips and Tricks/> - 5 Tools for Keeping Track of Your Passwords/> - 7 Questions With AOL Co-Founder Steve Case

Image courtesy of iStockphotoclass="blippr-nobr">iStockphoto, CostinT, iStockphoto, subju

For more Business coverage:

class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Businessclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Business channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

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Apple sued over iPhone 3G performance under iOS 4 | iLounge <b>News</b>

iLounge news discussing the Apple sued over iPhone 3G performance under iOS 4. Find more Apple news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.

<b>News</b> Corp&#39;s Carey: MySpace&#39;s Ongoing Losses &#39;Not Acceptable Or <b>...</b>

Continued MySpace (NSDQ: NWS) declines pulled down News Corp.'s digital media group earnings again in its first quarter, meaning operating losses in the company's Other segment grew by $30 million from last year, to $156 million. ...

FOX <b>News</b> Propels <b>News</b> Corp to Profit Growth

News Corporation (News Corp) is the world's second-largest media conglomerate (behind The Walt Disney Company) as of 2008 and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009. The company's Chairman, Chief Executive. ...

bench craft company

bench craft company

bench craft company

Apple sued over iPhone 3G performance under iOS 4 | iLounge <b>News</b>

iLounge news discussing the Apple sued over iPhone 3G performance under iOS 4. Find more Apple news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.

<b>News</b> Corp&#39;s Carey: MySpace&#39;s Ongoing Losses &#39;Not Acceptable Or <b>...</b>

Continued MySpace (NSDQ: NWS) declines pulled down News Corp.'s digital media group earnings again in its first quarter, meaning operating losses in the company's Other segment grew by $30 million from last year, to $156 million. ...

FOX <b>News</b> Propels <b>News</b> Corp to Profit Growth

News Corporation (News Corp) is the world's second-largest media conglomerate (behind The Walt Disney Company) as of 2008 and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009. The company's Chairman, Chief Executive. ...

bench craft company

After all the shouting has died down, after the House elects its Republican leaders and after the Senate sorts itself out, the reality is that policy in the telecom sector will likely remain where it has been for the past two years -- in state of suspended animation. That's a shame, because the people who can most benefit by some reasonable and common-sense changes may not have the opportunity to do so.

The two issues at the top of the list are Net Neutrality and the wonky-sounding "reclassification" of broadband services. Net Neutrality is the simple concept that those who control the telecommunications networks shouldn't be able to play favorites with the content that is transmitted over those networks. It's an old concept, as Prof. Tim Wu pointed out in his book, Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires. The simple, fair idea is that everyone online should have the same ability to make his or her voice or service known to the rest of the world.

President Obama campaigned in part on restoring an Open Internet. Julius Genachowski, his chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) hasn't delivered, and probably won't. As his pattern of activity has developed, Genachowski has ducked the major issues to which the big telecommunications companies, aided by the congressional Democratic Blue Bells and by all congressional Republicans, have objected. He has the votes of the other two Democratic FCC commissioners, but that's not enough for him.

As a result, Genachowski has taken the pressure off of Congress to do anything to ensure an Open Internet, in which everyone, not simply the big phone and cable companies, can benefit. (The fact that 95 Democrats who signed a Net Neutrality pledge lost on Tuesday is irrelevant. They would have lost anyway in the GOP landslide.)

As with any issue when the battles are controlled by big companies, it's the small ones who get overlooked and/or crushed. In a recent blog post, Kevin Warhus, marketing manager for the Scottsdale, Ariz., digital marketing company StringCan Interactive, wrote about the link between a neutral Internet and what he sees as Web 3.0, which seeks to personalize the Web experience for consumers. Warhus is particularly concerned about telecom control over the mobile Web and the effect on small businesses his company helps to support. He wrote:

As we evolve into the age Web 3.0 in which our information, likes and dislikes, and online habits help create a personalized web experience, Net Neutrality stands as an important stepping stone to ensure the proper development of Internet interaction and the protections of our freedoms.

"Allowing a handful of powerful corporations to decide what websites and information we should be able to access defeats the purpose of this open source frontier. The Internet has always stood as an environment where anyone can make a website or blog and receive equal opportunities to be heard and to grow. By taking away those rights we are essentially handing over our freedoms and going against the foundational values that make The Internet what it is today and what it may or may not be tomorrow.

Congressional Self-Interest Should Be A Factor

But the larger issue, and the one in which the enlightened self-interest of all members of Congress should kick in, is the reclassification of broadband services. Again, the concept is fairly simple. Until 2005, the FCC had jurisdiction over the telecommunications connection that connected people to the Internet. The Bush-era FCC "reclassified" that service from one with explicit authority to gray areas -- without any outside huffing and puffing that it should be a congressional decision that such a thing be done.

Since then, the FCC has deregulated all but the most basic voice-line services and removed any requirements that may help consumers. This shaky structure survived until April 6 this year, when the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the FCC did not have authority over broadband services in the way the agency claimed it did.

After typically dithering around for a couple of months, the Commission proposed a compromise that would allow some regulatory authority but not the full slate of regulations. Typically, the industry and their congressional allies overreacted, starting the meme that the FCC wanted to "regulate the Internet" and that Congress had given the Commission no such authority.

That argument is total nonsense. No one is regulating the Internet. The FCC wants its jurisdiction back over broadband access. Members of Congress, particularly from rural districts, should want the FCC to have that authority. By denying the Commission that jurisdiction, representatives, particularly those from rural areas, are working against the interest of their constituents.

The Universal Service Fund, which provides financial support to rural phone companies, only is directed to help plain old dial-up service. If those members of Congress want their constituents to have the benefit of support for broadband, and to allow their constituents to participate in the broadband economy, then the FCC has to be able to make some changes, switching the support to broadband services. It can't do that unless it has the authority and jurisdiction.

Big telecom and cable companies and their ideological allies oppose reclassification. Interestingly, however, the Communications Workers of America, which sided with the industry opposing Net Neutrality, signed a letter endorsing reclassification.

If we needed any more evidence of how important broadband is to rural areas, a new study by the Strategic Networks Group for the e-North Carolina authority (e-NC) has some fascinating new statistics that show how crucial broadband is to the economy in general and to job-generating small business in particular. Some of the study's findings:

• Nearly one in five (18%) of new jobs were created as a direct result of Broadband Internet. Small businesses (less than 20 employees) are especially dependent on Broadband Internet as 28 percent of new jobs in that sector are attributed to using the Internet.
• More than half of all businesses (54%) said that they would not be in business if they did not have broadband while two in five (41%) would have to relocate if broadband was not available in their community;
• The number of households either currently running (31%) or planning to run a business from their home in the next twelve months (14%) is nearly half (45%) of North Carolina's broadband households;
• Even more broadband households are either now using (41%) or planning to use (24%) broadband to sell items online. That's nearly two-thirds (65%) of broadband households using it to at least supplement their income;
• Most (85%) of home-based businesses said that broadband was essential to their business.

The study also went into some detail about the problem of pockets of areas generally served with broadband that don't have it; how areas served with inferior broadband are at a competitive disadvantage, and lots of broadband service is really very slow and unhelpful.

The Authority the FCC Should Cede

Over the past few months, Genachowski has shown a willingness to cede his agency's authority to Congress. He wouldn't act on Net Neutrality or reclassification, wishing instead that a last-ditch effort by current House Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) to negotiate a Net Neutrality bill might come to fruition. It was a gallant effort, but the House Republicans killed it.

Genachowski sat out the blackouts of millions of TV viewers from favorite channels, including the most recent fight between Fox and Cablevision, which blacked out three million people in the New York City area and Philadelphia. He said the FCC doesn't have the tools to intervene. He declined to take any action on a petition for rulemaking filed by Public Knowledge and others to reform the retrans system, based on the part of the law that gives the FCC authority to "enact regulations as necessary" to carry out the law that gave broadcasters the right to exact payments from cable companies. Instead, he wants Congress to work out the problem.

So far, the one area in which Genachowski has not conceded congressional authority is the one he should -- universal service reform. Holding up USF reform until the agency's authority over broadband is clear will force those members of Congress who care more about their constituents' welfare than silly Tea Party talking points to take the Commission's authority seriously. If members of Congress don't give the FCC the authority it needs, the areas they represent suffer.

We shall wait for Congress to act (or for the FCC to act, for that matter) on these crucial issues as we wait for Godot.

This post originally appeared on Forbes.com, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about social media, business and technology.

The television is about to become the latest medium to get a major makeover at the hands of the class='blippr-nobr'>Internetclass="blippr-nobr">Internet. Already more than half of Americans are watching TV and surfing the web simultaneously. But another trend — giving connectivity to the device itself — is going to fundamentally change the business models around television and the way we consume and interact with content.

Yahooclass="blippr-nobr">Yahoo!, which has been an early mover in the space, anticipates that 8 million to 10 million devices with its Connected Television platform preinstalled will be in consumers’ hands by March 2011. That’s triple the amount in March 2010, according to Russ Schafer, Yahoo’s senior director of product marketing for the platform. Market research firm iSuppli estimates that by 2014 some 148 million televisions with Internet connectivity will be sold annually.

Millions of consumers who buy televisions from the likes of Samsung, LG and Sony won’t just be plugging into the programming offered by their satellite or cable provider, they’ll also be able to access applications ranging from Facebookclass="blippr-nobr">Facebook to eBayclass="blippr-nobr">eBay and view content from a limitless number of video publishers.

That represents a shift similar to what we saw in print media, where the Internet (and mobile phones) opened up the opportunity for anyone to become a content creator. Blip.tv, which bills itself as a “next generation television network,” has been eyeing this trend since 2005, hosting thousands of independently created shows. Now, according to cofounder Dina Kaplan, blip.tv is serving up nearly 100 million views each month (or, put another way, about 10% of the combined audience of the major TV networks) across the web, mobile devices and, increasingly, Internet-connected televisions.

The Growing Market for Internet-Enabled Televisions

class='blippr-nobr'>Blipclass="blippr-nobr">BLIP.tv is growing its audience by forming partnerships with traditional TV manufacturers and a new breed of company in the set-top box market that lets consumers connect to the Internet via their televisions. One of those companies is Roku, which sells its entry-level box for $60. CEO Anthony Wood told me the company is closing in on 1 million customers and that the average user is consuming 33 hours of content each month using the device.

Roku rival Boxeeclass="blippr-nobr">Boxee has amassed about 1.2 million users so far, says CEO Avner Ronen. That’s just through its downloadable app, which requires users to connect their computers to their televisions. The company plans to introduce its own box in November and bring with it a string of content partnerships, like BBC and Major League Baseball, as well as from companies like blip.tv and other purely digital outfits.

Boxee is planning to monetize the set-top box in part through a transaction platform that Ronen says will let publishers “offer content and charge for it without the need for users to enter payment information … [they can pay] with just one-click” for things like premium content, tickets or subscriptions. Roku has plans for a similar platform that will launch this fall. For now, both Roku and Boxee let their content providers control their own advertising and keep the revenue generated by it.

The Changing Advertising Landscape

The potential for new forms of advertising isn’t lost on any of these players, though. Experiments are still very early stage, but Yahoo’s Schafer says that, right now, “the basic ad formats are the same as we use on the web … and you’re just playing it to a different device. But the next stage is Yahoo bringing our own advertising offering further optimized for television … monetizing our service first and then offering it to third parties.”

class='blippr-nobr'>Pandoraclass="blippr-nobr">Pandora, the popular Internet radio service that also has millions of users across connected devices, recently extended its ad platform to Internet-enabled televisions. “Campaigns on this newest platform will primarily feature audio ads, which create a more lasting and emotive connection with consumers. The ability for brands to connect with consumers using audio ads on an in-home device is a new and exciting opportunity,” says Chief Revenue Officer John Trimble.

Meanwhile, blip.tv sees opportunities for targeting ads with unprecedented levels of precision. For example, the company recently developed a campaign for Electronic Arts that was able to target Xbox 360 owners with an interactive ad for NCAA Football ‘11 that allowed them to download a demo of the game to their console. Kaplan says that such complexity can’t yet be achieved across the dozens of different television and connected device manufacturers, but that “within a year we’ll see video advertising much more seamlessly transition from web video to the TV set.”

Such interactivity is already possible with so-called “second screen” providers, which are building social experiences on smartphones and tablets that allow users to interact with friends and content as they watch their favorite shows. They simultaneously create opportunities for engagement that have both the networks and advertisers excited.

Philo is a startup that, along with competitors like Miso and GetGlue, has taken the concept of “checking in” — popularized in recent months by location-based apps like class='blippr-nobr'>Foursquareclass="blippr-nobr">foursquare — and applied it to television shows. Users can check in to shows, interact with friends who are also watching and engage with ads in unique ways. For example, the company recently launched a promotion for the upcoming film You Again that enters users into a sweepstakes when they check in to shows like Glee or Dancing with the Stars and interacts with the ads through Philo’s app.

Prime Opportunities for Television Networks

The huge shift taking place in the TV landscape isn’t lost on the networks. CBS is getting its content on a multitude of connected devices and experimenting with a variety of content plays, social features and revenue models. Zander Lurie, SVP of strategic development at the company, doesn’t see new consumption models making networks like CBS irrelevant. “We’re excited by the fact that these services are offering consumers more ways to view our content. The priority [for us] is to create more opportunities for our content to be consumed than ever before. As long as we have a business model in place for that [type of] consumption, we win,” says Lurie.

Despite all of the activity, Internet-connected television will shift even more dramatically over the next year, with both Googleclass="blippr-nobr">Google and Apple introducing their own set-top box offerings this fall. While upstarts like Boxee and Roku might see that as validation of what they helped pioneer, it could significantly disrupt the business models emerging in the quickly evolving world of Internet-connected television.

More Tech Resources from Mashable:

- How a Physically Aware Internet Will Change the World/> - 10 Unique Headphones for Listening in Style/> - 10 Useful Apple iPad Tips and Tricks/> - 5 Tools for Keeping Track of Your Passwords/> - 7 Questions With AOL Co-Founder Steve Case

Image courtesy of iStockphotoclass="blippr-nobr">iStockphoto, CostinT, iStockphoto, subju

For more Business coverage:

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All of you owners of home based businesses that are trying to make a living working from home know the difficulties encountered through Internet marketing and trying to get your web page noticed in order to increase traffic and ultimately revenues. Some people just blindly pay a lot of money for advertising, and those who dont have an advertising budget often times do not advertise at all. Both of these are detrimental to your business, and it does not have to be as difficult as you are making it.

For instance, there are many ways to market your products and services inexpensively if not free, so spending a lot of money on it could be wasteful. If you have no money to spend, you are asking your business to fail by not advertising. People in this situation should be diliginet about searching out all the options for free advertising.

When it comes to advertising, there are many options online and offline that will help you spread the word about your Web page and your product and you will increase traffic and revenues because of it.

First, check out offline venues for free advertisement like local newspapers, television stations, radio stations and the like. Often times these mediums are looking for new local businesses to highlight in their business sections and/or discussions. This is free advertisement and something you should cash in on immediately.

Also, make sure your URL is on every printed material you use in regard to your business whether it is stationary or free gifts. Having your URL out there will help people remember your address and be more likely to check out what you have to offer.

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Advertising online also does not have to be expensive. You can trade links with other relevant web pages, submit newsletters to online ezines and the like with a resource box with your information, and other ideas similar to this.
Certainly, you can do banners and other advertising, but if you dont have much of a budget try all of the free options before you start paying money you do not have. As you grow, your advertising budget can grow as well.

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