Making Money Online Easy

To summarize an hour of dialogue, you should at some point have a product that your readers will want. You should give a lot of free content away, but even when it comes to content, you can charge for some amount, and if your content is good enough, people will pay for the premium stuff. "You can tell them about ninety percent, and they'll pay money just to get the final ten percent," so they know they have the whole picture, Clark says.



Making money blogging will not happen overnight. Sometimes it may seem like this is possible, but in reality, it takes a lot of work. "Build something that is real and something that matters to people," Rowse advises. He shared a story about how he launched a product one day and literally watched the sales roll in. It was as if he had hit a button, and the cash just started flowing, but then he realized he had been working hard up to that point for over two years, promoting the blog, writing two posts a day, doing SEO, press releases, etc. It wasn't overnight. 



You're not scalable, meaning that as your audience grows and more people want to connect with you, there will be a point where it just becomes too much. You have to set boundaries, otherwise you will have no time for yourself and your family. 



Eventually, you're going to have to "get real" about how many meaningful connections you can make in a day, Simone says, adding, "That's part of growing up in social media.”



When they say "no one actually wants that much authenticity," they mean that nobody cares about what you did last night, who you were with, what you had for breakfast, etc. In other words, don't show everybody everything about yourself, because you're not writing for you. You're writing for them. Be who you want to be for your audience. 



Ultimately, you're blogging and using social media to sell, but you can't just go around selling to people, because they won't have it. It just doesn't work. You have to make them want to buy. "You're selling yourself," says Clark. If you provide enough value to your audience, they will want to buy what you have to offer if it expands upon the value you're already giving them. "The content is the marketing," he says. 



Just having a blog is not a business. If you want it to be a business you have to treat it like one, Rowse says. This is basically an extension of number 2. 



The most important of the seven points is that no one is reading your blog. As Simone says, there are hundreds of millions of blogs, and that includes blogs on your topic. You have to write it in a way that is fresh, and either entertaining or informative. The good news is that you don't need "monster traffic". You just need a good, steady core audience for advertising to do well. 

Starting in January 2011 the IRS is no longer mailing paper filings for taxes, credit card spending has hit a 31 year decline while debit card transactions have  increased nearly 7.9% overall.  It’s estimated that credit card usage will drop below 50%while frauds drops quickly due to new detection systems.  Consumers are using less credit and wanting less credit. In a world where traditional credit has evaporated, consumers have changed not how they spend money but how they perceive and attain credit- this time without banks.

Facebook the New Credit Database?

It used to be that credit scores were good indicators of risk associated with consumers.  Looking at outstanding debt, previous history of payments, previous history of spending transactions you could evaluate the worth of someone’s credit and assign a credit score.  For years banks had massive transactional data and tried to figure out the best way to calculate risk both for major fraud (on a criminal level) and minor fraud (personal, potentially accidental level).  Obviously systems are in place now with algorithms that formulate risk.  This isn’t a secret, it’s the bones behind why your debit or credit card has been declined: your cardholder information is processed against which ever authorization program being used and an answer is sent back to the originating terminal from either ‘approving” or “declining” that particular transaction. You know who is also really good at making algorithms and understanding user behavior? Facebook.

A Transaction is a Transaction

Transaction amounts and types are quickly categorized which is why with online banking many times a larger amount than spent at a gas station will be held against a checking account or why with some business debit cards a small transaction will be declined at one restaurant but not another. Many times transactions limits are set higher than they should be, as it allows banks to rack up fees for overdrawn or accounts improperly used.  Americans poor spending habits have been nurtured by banks, it’s been a way to make money but with recent court cases like this one against Wells Fargo, banks are being forced to tighten the rope on spending and on granting credit.  Tightened financial regulation has been needed for years just as paper checks are being phased out of Europe.  Banks have less incentive to give money and consumers have less reasons to use banks.  The bank and consumer relationship has become a hostile one coming and social media is becoming the catalyst for divorce.

Who Needs Money Anyway?

Already online holiday  spending is up 7-9%.  Credits can be earned taking surveys online, money can be made and spent playing games, loans can be given via websites like ZestCash and Prosper. The joke has always been and will increasingly become true  that one day you can pay rent with Farmville points.  This isn’t far fetched:  earlier this year Zynga partnered up with a Softbank a Japanese venture, while SponsorPay continues to dominate the Europe virtual currency market.  and the U.S banking system quickly falls behind the mark, or even worse can’t keep up.  Mobile payments make taking money on the go easy, Paypal allows prepaid cards for cashing out accounts, and Facebook is partnered with Amazon for social shopping.  Facebook credits the new money?

Klout Score the New Credit Score

Every time you use your credit card transaction information is being stored and used to evaluate risk.  Everytime you like or share something on Facebook its being tracked. Retweets, tracked. Friends, tracked. With Facebook opt-in many other things you do online are tracked and associated with your Facebook user account, we know this thus how Klout is now able to give a “influence” score for Facebook as well as Twitter.  Your Klout score tells the world the power you have online.  It shouldn’t be long before the same principals behind traditional electronic spending can be applied to online influence. Want to get a homeloan?  Did your car insurance rates go up? All of this, could, be measured against your online score.

What will consumers be doing this winter retail season? Besides shopping online, it may just be the beginnings of building online credit, social media style.

bench craft company

Britain Orders Inquiry Into <b>News</b> Corp.&#39;s BSkyB Bid - NYTimes.com

Vince Cable, the British business secretary, ordered the communications regulator Ofcom to conduct an inquiry into News Corp.'s bid to take over the satellite television company BSkyB.

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.

Tonino Lamborghini Spyder Series Luxury Mobile Phones | iTech <b>News</b> <b>...</b>

Following CULV notebooks, Tonino Lamborghini releases in Hong Kong its Spyder line of luxury mobile phones. There are six models, S-600, S-610, S-620,

bench craft company

To summarize an hour of dialogue, you should at some point have a product that your readers will want. You should give a lot of free content away, but even when it comes to content, you can charge for some amount, and if your content is good enough, people will pay for the premium stuff. "You can tell them about ninety percent, and they'll pay money just to get the final ten percent," so they know they have the whole picture, Clark says.



Making money blogging will not happen overnight. Sometimes it may seem like this is possible, but in reality, it takes a lot of work. "Build something that is real and something that matters to people," Rowse advises. He shared a story about how he launched a product one day and literally watched the sales roll in. It was as if he had hit a button, and the cash just started flowing, but then he realized he had been working hard up to that point for over two years, promoting the blog, writing two posts a day, doing SEO, press releases, etc. It wasn't overnight. 



You're not scalable, meaning that as your audience grows and more people want to connect with you, there will be a point where it just becomes too much. You have to set boundaries, otherwise you will have no time for yourself and your family. 



Eventually, you're going to have to "get real" about how many meaningful connections you can make in a day, Simone says, adding, "That's part of growing up in social media.”



When they say "no one actually wants that much authenticity," they mean that nobody cares about what you did last night, who you were with, what you had for breakfast, etc. In other words, don't show everybody everything about yourself, because you're not writing for you. You're writing for them. Be who you want to be for your audience. 



Ultimately, you're blogging and using social media to sell, but you can't just go around selling to people, because they won't have it. It just doesn't work. You have to make them want to buy. "You're selling yourself," says Clark. If you provide enough value to your audience, they will want to buy what you have to offer if it expands upon the value you're already giving them. "The content is the marketing," he says. 



Just having a blog is not a business. If you want it to be a business you have to treat it like one, Rowse says. This is basically an extension of number 2. 



The most important of the seven points is that no one is reading your blog. As Simone says, there are hundreds of millions of blogs, and that includes blogs on your topic. You have to write it in a way that is fresh, and either entertaining or informative. The good news is that you don't need "monster traffic". You just need a good, steady core audience for advertising to do well. 

Starting in January 2011 the IRS is no longer mailing paper filings for taxes, credit card spending has hit a 31 year decline while debit card transactions have  increased nearly 7.9% overall.  It’s estimated that credit card usage will drop below 50%while frauds drops quickly due to new detection systems.  Consumers are using less credit and wanting less credit. In a world where traditional credit has evaporated, consumers have changed not how they spend money but how they perceive and attain credit- this time without banks.

Facebook the New Credit Database?

It used to be that credit scores were good indicators of risk associated with consumers.  Looking at outstanding debt, previous history of payments, previous history of spending transactions you could evaluate the worth of someone’s credit and assign a credit score.  For years banks had massive transactional data and tried to figure out the best way to calculate risk both for major fraud (on a criminal level) and minor fraud (personal, potentially accidental level).  Obviously systems are in place now with algorithms that formulate risk.  This isn’t a secret, it’s the bones behind why your debit or credit card has been declined: your cardholder information is processed against which ever authorization program being used and an answer is sent back to the originating terminal from either ‘approving” or “declining” that particular transaction. You know who is also really good at making algorithms and understanding user behavior? Facebook.

A Transaction is a Transaction

Transaction amounts and types are quickly categorized which is why with online banking many times a larger amount than spent at a gas station will be held against a checking account or why with some business debit cards a small transaction will be declined at one restaurant but not another. Many times transactions limits are set higher than they should be, as it allows banks to rack up fees for overdrawn or accounts improperly used.  Americans poor spending habits have been nurtured by banks, it’s been a way to make money but with recent court cases like this one against Wells Fargo, banks are being forced to tighten the rope on spending and on granting credit.  Tightened financial regulation has been needed for years just as paper checks are being phased out of Europe.  Banks have less incentive to give money and consumers have less reasons to use banks.  The bank and consumer relationship has become a hostile one coming and social media is becoming the catalyst for divorce.

Who Needs Money Anyway?

Already online holiday  spending is up 7-9%.  Credits can be earned taking surveys online, money can be made and spent playing games, loans can be given via websites like ZestCash and Prosper. The joke has always been and will increasingly become true  that one day you can pay rent with Farmville points.  This isn’t far fetched:  earlier this year Zynga partnered up with a Softbank a Japanese venture, while SponsorPay continues to dominate the Europe virtual currency market.  and the U.S banking system quickly falls behind the mark, or even worse can’t keep up.  Mobile payments make taking money on the go easy, Paypal allows prepaid cards for cashing out accounts, and Facebook is partnered with Amazon for social shopping.  Facebook credits the new money?

Klout Score the New Credit Score

Every time you use your credit card transaction information is being stored and used to evaluate risk.  Everytime you like or share something on Facebook its being tracked. Retweets, tracked. Friends, tracked. With Facebook opt-in many other things you do online are tracked and associated with your Facebook user account, we know this thus how Klout is now able to give a “influence” score for Facebook as well as Twitter.  Your Klout score tells the world the power you have online.  It shouldn’t be long before the same principals behind traditional electronic spending can be applied to online influence. Want to get a homeloan?  Did your car insurance rates go up? All of this, could, be measured against your online score.

What will consumers be doing this winter retail season? Besides shopping online, it may just be the beginnings of building online credit, social media style.

bench craft company

Britain Orders Inquiry Into <b>News</b> Corp.&#39;s BSkyB Bid - NYTimes.com

Vince Cable, the British business secretary, ordered the communications regulator Ofcom to conduct an inquiry into News Corp.'s bid to take over the satellite television company BSkyB.

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.

Tonino Lamborghini Spyder Series Luxury Mobile Phones | iTech <b>News</b> <b>...</b>

Following CULV notebooks, Tonino Lamborghini releases in Hong Kong its Spyder line of luxury mobile phones. There are six models, S-600, S-610, S-620,

bench craft company

bench craft company

bench craft company

Britain Orders Inquiry Into <b>News</b> Corp.&#39;s BSkyB Bid - NYTimes.com

Vince Cable, the British business secretary, ordered the communications regulator Ofcom to conduct an inquiry into News Corp.'s bid to take over the satellite television company BSkyB.

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.

Tonino Lamborghini Spyder Series Luxury Mobile Phones | iTech <b>News</b> <b>...</b>

Following CULV notebooks, Tonino Lamborghini releases in Hong Kong its Spyder line of luxury mobile phones. There are six models, S-600, S-610, S-620,

bench craft company

To summarize an hour of dialogue, you should at some point have a product that your readers will want. You should give a lot of free content away, but even when it comes to content, you can charge for some amount, and if your content is good enough, people will pay for the premium stuff. "You can tell them about ninety percent, and they'll pay money just to get the final ten percent," so they know they have the whole picture, Clark says.



Making money blogging will not happen overnight. Sometimes it may seem like this is possible, but in reality, it takes a lot of work. "Build something that is real and something that matters to people," Rowse advises. He shared a story about how he launched a product one day and literally watched the sales roll in. It was as if he had hit a button, and the cash just started flowing, but then he realized he had been working hard up to that point for over two years, promoting the blog, writing two posts a day, doing SEO, press releases, etc. It wasn't overnight. 



You're not scalable, meaning that as your audience grows and more people want to connect with you, there will be a point where it just becomes too much. You have to set boundaries, otherwise you will have no time for yourself and your family. 



Eventually, you're going to have to "get real" about how many meaningful connections you can make in a day, Simone says, adding, "That's part of growing up in social media.”



When they say "no one actually wants that much authenticity," they mean that nobody cares about what you did last night, who you were with, what you had for breakfast, etc. In other words, don't show everybody everything about yourself, because you're not writing for you. You're writing for them. Be who you want to be for your audience. 



Ultimately, you're blogging and using social media to sell, but you can't just go around selling to people, because they won't have it. It just doesn't work. You have to make them want to buy. "You're selling yourself," says Clark. If you provide enough value to your audience, they will want to buy what you have to offer if it expands upon the value you're already giving them. "The content is the marketing," he says. 



Just having a blog is not a business. If you want it to be a business you have to treat it like one, Rowse says. This is basically an extension of number 2. 



The most important of the seven points is that no one is reading your blog. As Simone says, there are hundreds of millions of blogs, and that includes blogs on your topic. You have to write it in a way that is fresh, and either entertaining or informative. The good news is that you don't need "monster traffic". You just need a good, steady core audience for advertising to do well. 

Starting in January 2011 the IRS is no longer mailing paper filings for taxes, credit card spending has hit a 31 year decline while debit card transactions have  increased nearly 7.9% overall.  It’s estimated that credit card usage will drop below 50%while frauds drops quickly due to new detection systems.  Consumers are using less credit and wanting less credit. In a world where traditional credit has evaporated, consumers have changed not how they spend money but how they perceive and attain credit- this time without banks.

Facebook the New Credit Database?

It used to be that credit scores were good indicators of risk associated with consumers.  Looking at outstanding debt, previous history of payments, previous history of spending transactions you could evaluate the worth of someone’s credit and assign a credit score.  For years banks had massive transactional data and tried to figure out the best way to calculate risk both for major fraud (on a criminal level) and minor fraud (personal, potentially accidental level).  Obviously systems are in place now with algorithms that formulate risk.  This isn’t a secret, it’s the bones behind why your debit or credit card has been declined: your cardholder information is processed against which ever authorization program being used and an answer is sent back to the originating terminal from either ‘approving” or “declining” that particular transaction. You know who is also really good at making algorithms and understanding user behavior? Facebook.

A Transaction is a Transaction

Transaction amounts and types are quickly categorized which is why with online banking many times a larger amount than spent at a gas station will be held against a checking account or why with some business debit cards a small transaction will be declined at one restaurant but not another. Many times transactions limits are set higher than they should be, as it allows banks to rack up fees for overdrawn or accounts improperly used.  Americans poor spending habits have been nurtured by banks, it’s been a way to make money but with recent court cases like this one against Wells Fargo, banks are being forced to tighten the rope on spending and on granting credit.  Tightened financial regulation has been needed for years just as paper checks are being phased out of Europe.  Banks have less incentive to give money and consumers have less reasons to use banks.  The bank and consumer relationship has become a hostile one coming and social media is becoming the catalyst for divorce.

Who Needs Money Anyway?

Already online holiday  spending is up 7-9%.  Credits can be earned taking surveys online, money can be made and spent playing games, loans can be given via websites like ZestCash and Prosper. The joke has always been and will increasingly become true  that one day you can pay rent with Farmville points.  This isn’t far fetched:  earlier this year Zynga partnered up with a Softbank a Japanese venture, while SponsorPay continues to dominate the Europe virtual currency market.  and the U.S banking system quickly falls behind the mark, or even worse can’t keep up.  Mobile payments make taking money on the go easy, Paypal allows prepaid cards for cashing out accounts, and Facebook is partnered with Amazon for social shopping.  Facebook credits the new money?

Klout Score the New Credit Score

Every time you use your credit card transaction information is being stored and used to evaluate risk.  Everytime you like or share something on Facebook its being tracked. Retweets, tracked. Friends, tracked. With Facebook opt-in many other things you do online are tracked and associated with your Facebook user account, we know this thus how Klout is now able to give a “influence” score for Facebook as well as Twitter.  Your Klout score tells the world the power you have online.  It shouldn’t be long before the same principals behind traditional electronic spending can be applied to online influence. Want to get a homeloan?  Did your car insurance rates go up? All of this, could, be measured against your online score.

What will consumers be doing this winter retail season? Besides shopping online, it may just be the beginnings of building online credit, social media style.

bench craft company

bench craft company

Britain Orders Inquiry Into <b>News</b> Corp.&#39;s BSkyB Bid - NYTimes.com

Vince Cable, the British business secretary, ordered the communications regulator Ofcom to conduct an inquiry into News Corp.'s bid to take over the satellite television company BSkyB.

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.

Tonino Lamborghini Spyder Series Luxury Mobile Phones | iTech <b>News</b> <b>...</b>

Following CULV notebooks, Tonino Lamborghini releases in Hong Kong its Spyder line of luxury mobile phones. There are six models, S-600, S-610, S-620,

bench craft company

bench craft company

Britain Orders Inquiry Into <b>News</b> Corp.&#39;s BSkyB Bid - NYTimes.com

Vince Cable, the British business secretary, ordered the communications regulator Ofcom to conduct an inquiry into News Corp.'s bid to take over the satellite television company BSkyB.

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.

Tonino Lamborghini Spyder Series Luxury Mobile Phones | iTech <b>News</b> <b>...</b>

Following CULV notebooks, Tonino Lamborghini releases in Hong Kong its Spyder line of luxury mobile phones. There are six models, S-600, S-610, S-620,

bench craft company

Britain Orders Inquiry Into <b>News</b> Corp.&#39;s BSkyB Bid - NYTimes.com

Vince Cable, the British business secretary, ordered the communications regulator Ofcom to conduct an inquiry into News Corp.'s bid to take over the satellite television company BSkyB.

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.

Tonino Lamborghini Spyder Series Luxury Mobile Phones | iTech <b>News</b> <b>...</b>

Following CULV notebooks, Tonino Lamborghini releases in Hong Kong its Spyder line of luxury mobile phones. There are six models, S-600, S-610, S-620,

bench craft company

Britain Orders Inquiry Into <b>News</b> Corp.&#39;s BSkyB Bid - NYTimes.com

Vince Cable, the British business secretary, ordered the communications regulator Ofcom to conduct an inquiry into News Corp.'s bid to take over the satellite television company BSkyB.

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.

Tonino Lamborghini Spyder Series Luxury Mobile Phones | iTech <b>News</b> <b>...</b>

Following CULV notebooks, Tonino Lamborghini releases in Hong Kong its Spyder line of luxury mobile phones. There are six models, S-600, S-610, S-620,

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bench craft company

Britain Orders Inquiry Into <b>News</b> Corp.&#39;s BSkyB Bid - NYTimes.com

Vince Cable, the British business secretary, ordered the communications regulator Ofcom to conduct an inquiry into News Corp.'s bid to take over the satellite television company BSkyB.

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.

Tonino Lamborghini Spyder Series Luxury Mobile Phones | iTech <b>News</b> <b>...</b>

Following CULV notebooks, Tonino Lamborghini releases in Hong Kong its Spyder line of luxury mobile phones. There are six models, S-600, S-610, S-620,

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There are so many different ways to make money online that many of them have yet to be explored yet. While the majority of ways to make money online are for people who are well educated marketing, advertising and computer languages like HTML, which is used to make things like websites. To many people, the option of making money online doesn't even come up because they think their not smart enough which is simply not true. Anybody can make money online given that what you are selling is a necessity to people, its something people need and or want, for instance a cell phone, or cell phone accessories.

The first thing you need to do if you're going to be successful online is find your niche. A niche is a category or, something you're going to thrive off of. What you need to do from there is decide how you're going to sell your product.

For step two, you will need to figure out is how to get your hands on your product. How will I get my hands on a bunch of cell phones that I can resell? Seeing how making them is not a very good option, how about buying them from a cheap source. Craigslist and Kijiji are great for this exact thing. You simply search "cell phones" in your local area and ads for selling cell phones will appear. The reason Craigslist and Kijiji are great for this is because many of the people selling on the two sites want quick cash now. In other words, the sellers are not willing to wait for an eBay auction because they need the money right then and there. Arrange a meeting spot with the seller and offer to pay cash, sellers usually like that.

Step three is simply go home, take a picture of your newly acquired cell phone and put it up for bid on eBay with a starting bid of more then you paid for it. I recently came across a used Nokia camera phone on Craigslist for $60.00, I searched the exact same used Nokia camera phone on eBay and it sold for $110.00, a profit of $50.00 for just the one phone.

Buying and selling using Kijiji and Craigslist is a great way to start off an online business. Remember you don't necessarily need to use cell phones, any electronics in general work great such as video game systems or IPods. If you can make roughly $50.00 in profit per sale you make, this is definitely one of the best ways to start off a business or to get some extra cash.

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:

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>

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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.

Additionally, while you are making your URL well known, make sure your web page is professional and accommodating to consumers. Make sure that the checkout process is easy and convenient as well as secure. Using payment systems like Paypal might be a good idea for you as well because it allows a variety of payment methods in many different currencies.

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.

As long as you are creative and proactive in finding inexpensive and/or free advertising your business will grow, your revenues will grow and you will not be spending much at all on advertising. Remember, the more people that are aware of your web page increases traffic, referrals and ultimately purchases. Make sure your URL is visible to as many people as possible in as many places as possible.

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Facebook &quot;Unlike&quot; Button Comes to the <b>News</b> Feed

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Northwest <b>News</b>: Is Boise State in trouble against the pass? And <b>...</b>

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Facebook &quot;Unlike&quot; Button Comes to the <b>News</b> Feed

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Why Facebook Deals is Bad <b>News</b> for Foursquare - Techland - TIME.com

Foursquare just got Facebooked. And it's more than just a poking. It might be a body blow to one of the location-based service's killer features. When I first covered Foursquare for TIME in January, I gave the (then) pint-sized start-up ...

eric seiger

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Why Facebook Deals is Bad <b>News</b> for Foursquare - Techland - TIME.com

Foursquare just got Facebooked. And it's more than just a poking. It might be a body blow to one of the location-based service's killer features. When I first covered Foursquare for TIME in January, I gave the (then) pint-sized start-up ...

eric seiger

Northwest <b>News</b>: Is Boise State in trouble against the pass? And <b>...</b>

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Foursquare just got Facebooked. And it's more than just a poking. It might be a body blow to one of the location-based service's killer features. When I first covered Foursquare for TIME in January, I gave the (then) pint-sized start-up ...

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Debt solutions are a top priority for many Americans. The recession has forced many people to reassess their priorities and take control of personal finance. The only way to overcome mountains of debt is to develop a get out of debt plan and commit to sticking to it.

A variety of debt solutions exist. The type of strategy used depends on the types of debts involved. Debt relief can be obtained through household budgeting, credit counseling, debt consolidation, debt settlement, or personal bankruptcy.

Each option presents advantages and disadvantages. Not all options are available to everyone. For example, debt consolidation is usually reserved for property owners with accrued home equity. Some programs, such as credit counseling and debt settlement require debtors to pay fees for services rendered.

Debtors carrying minimal amounts of debt may find relief through household budgeting. This can be an effective way to get personal finances back on track, as long as debtors adhere to the plan. The only requirements of budgeting involve making a list of income vs. expenses. If expenses are more than income, debtors must find a way to increase income or reduce expenses.

People oftentimes do not realize how much money they waste. Nickel-and-dime expenses can quickly destroy a household budget and leave debtors wondering where their money has gone. An easy way to reveal spending habits is to track every penny spent for an entire month.

Consumers who use credit cards to cover the cost of living expenses and only pay minimum payments will be enslaved to credit card debt for eternity. Creating a workable budget can free up funds being spent elsewhere and allow debtors to pay off credit cards more quickly.

Debt consolidation is a strategy that allows property owners to use their real estate as collateral to secure a home equity loan. Some homeowners take out a second mortgage to pay off high interest loans, while others use a home equity line of credit (HELOC).

Transferring high-interest debts to a home equity loan can save borrowers a considerable amount in interest fees. Real estate loans are assessed between 5- and 18-percent less than credit cards or unsecured loans. However, using real estate as collateral can place the property at risk for foreclosure if borrowers default on loan terms.

Debt settlement is typically reserved for borrowers carrying $10,000 or more in debts. Debt settlers negotiate with creditors to reduce outstanding balances or interest rates. Consumers may first want to attempt creditor negotiations on their own. Creditors will sometimes accept less than the amount owed when debtors can provide lump sum cash payment and a reasonable payment plan.

Debtors who enlist the help of debt settlement companies are required to pay a start-up fee and monthly maintenance fee until debts are fully paid. There is no guarantee that debt settlers will be successful in creditor negotiations.

It is important to conduct due diligence before signing a debt settlement contract. Consumers should request a list of referrals and contact each of them. It is also important to understand fee structures and calculate the true cost of services. Debt settlement can be a costly debt solution if caution is not exercised.

Credit counseling can be a good option for debtors struggling to make ends meet. Credit counselors can review finances and offer advice regarding the most suitable debt solution. Individuals can locate credit counselors via phone directories, online search, or through the Trustee Program offered through the U.S. Department of Justice.

Regaining control of debt may seem impossible, but can be accomplished with the right resources and tools. Take time to research available debt relief options to determine which is best suited for your needs. Then make a plan to eradicate debt once and for all.

Sources:
Trustee Program Credit Counselors

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More thoughts on <b>news</b> from abroad | Media | guardian.co.uk

Martin Moore's study of the decline of international reporting in British newspapers raises questions about what readers really want.

Probably Bad <b>News</b>: Warning FAIL - Epic Fail Funny Videos and Funny <b>...</b>

Login Cancel. Click to see G-Rated Pics and Movies Only. « Previous License Plate FAIL | Favorite Fan FAIL Next ». Probably Bad News: Warning FAIL. Probably Bad News: Warning FAIL. Submitted by: Unknown. Incorrect source or offensive? ...

Northwest <b>News</b>: Is Boise State in trouble against the pass? And <b>...</b>

Northwest News is a daily roundup of what is making headlines in the Pacific Northwest.

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eric seiger

More thoughts on <b>news</b> from abroad | Media | guardian.co.uk

Martin Moore's study of the decline of international reporting in British newspapers raises questions about what readers really want.

Probably Bad <b>News</b>: Warning FAIL - Epic Fail Funny Videos and Funny <b>...</b>

Login Cancel. Click to see G-Rated Pics and Movies Only. « Previous License Plate FAIL | Favorite Fan FAIL Next ». Probably Bad News: Warning FAIL. Probably Bad News: Warning FAIL. Submitted by: Unknown. Incorrect source or offensive? ...

Northwest <b>News</b>: Is Boise State in trouble against the pass? And <b>...</b>

Northwest News is a daily roundup of what is making headlines in the Pacific Northwest.

eric seiger

More thoughts on <b>news</b> from abroad | Media | guardian.co.uk

Martin Moore's study of the decline of international reporting in British newspapers raises questions about what readers really want.

Probably Bad <b>News</b>: Warning FAIL - Epic Fail Funny Videos and Funny <b>...</b>

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Northwest <b>News</b>: Is Boise State in trouble against the pass? And <b>...</b>

Northwest News is a daily roundup of what is making headlines in the Pacific Northwest.

eric seiger

More thoughts on <b>news</b> from abroad | Media | guardian.co.uk

Martin Moore's study of the decline of international reporting in British newspapers raises questions about what readers really want.

Probably Bad <b>News</b>: Warning FAIL - Epic Fail Funny Videos and Funny <b>...</b>

Login Cancel. Click to see G-Rated Pics and Movies Only. « Previous License Plate FAIL | Favorite Fan FAIL Next ». Probably Bad News: Warning FAIL. Probably Bad News: Warning FAIL. Submitted by: Unknown. Incorrect source or offensive? ...

Northwest <b>News</b>: Is Boise State in trouble against the pass? And <b>...</b>

Northwest News is a daily roundup of what is making headlines in the Pacific Northwest.

eric seiger
eric seiger

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eric seiger

More thoughts on <b>news</b> from abroad | Media | guardian.co.uk

Martin Moore's study of the decline of international reporting in British newspapers raises questions about what readers really want.

Probably Bad <b>News</b>: Warning FAIL - Epic Fail Funny Videos and Funny <b>...</b>

Login Cancel. Click to see G-Rated Pics and Movies Only. « Previous License Plate FAIL | Favorite Fan FAIL Next ». Probably Bad News: Warning FAIL. Probably Bad News: Warning FAIL. Submitted by: Unknown. Incorrect source or offensive? ...

Northwest <b>News</b>: Is Boise State in trouble against the pass? And <b>...</b>

Northwest News is a daily roundup of what is making headlines in the Pacific Northwest.

Throughout my life I have wanted a get rich scheme, and a quick route to success. This however seemed difficult to obtain after searching through scam after scam on the internet. It seemed as if I could never find a good source of money using the internet as a base. After hours of weeding out the scams, I came up with a list of websites that I know from experience will pay out, even though it may not be as much of a copious amount as I would like.

1. Associated Content: This is by far my favorite site for making money online. It basically pays you to write about anything, whether it be a review or a short story. Although the pay is good, what really makes the site is the community. They are very helpful and seem passionate about writing. AC is also a create place to showcase your work if you are an aspiring author and want a place where an audience can review and enjoy your work.

2. Vindale Research: As I searched for money making schemes on the web, I came across this site, which enables anyone to make money for simply filling out surveys. My only complaint is that some of the surveys require you to use your credit card for free trials. This can be a problem if you forget that you subscribed and a month later find a $30 charge on your credit card. Believe me, I speak from experience.

3. Moola: Moola is a great concept. It enables someone to start with a penny and double it and then double it again by playing games online. This may seem like a petty amount at first, but when you think about the fact that a penny doubled 30 times is over a million dollars, your preconceptions go out the window. My only complaint is that it is too addicting.

4. Make a Blog!: Blogs are not only surprisingly fun and entertaining, but they are also a create form of of income if your blog becomes popular enough. I have heard many stories of people who were surprised by the number of views their blog got and even more surprised when they initiated a pay per click ad to make thousands.

5. Google Adwords: Google Adwords is a great advertising program. Anyone who has used google has probably seen these ads on the side of the search page. This is a great way to advertise anything from a blog to a new company. The program, to my surprise was actually quite user friendly. Leave it to Google to take something complex and make it simple.

Stay tuned, more to come