What is a publishers responsability for user generated content? May 31, 2007
Posted by Mark Blei in : Uncategorized , add a commentWhat is a publisher’s responsibility for user generated content on their websites?
By Mark Blei
Today one of LiveJournal’s executives had to publish a mea culpa after taking down about 500 LiveJournal pages that were supposedly containing references to pedophilia. Some of them did, and some of them were taken down mistakenly though having been targeted by other people as obscene. This raised a large scale user revolt along the lines of what occurred at Digg when they were served with a notice to remove a posting of a copyrighted cracked HD-DVD encryption key.
In that case the supposed crackdown on free speech through Digg resulted in thousands of users and bloggers republishing the key thousands of times a minute. It spread like wildfire throughout the Blogosphere and eventually the owners of the Digg site were forced to choose between alienating their user base or possibly facing serious repercussions in legal channels . The Digg folks decided to stick with their user base and damn the torpedoes .
In the case of LiveJournal some of the content clearly was appropriately targeted, and some of it clearly was not appropriately targeted. What is considered acceptable casualties of lost or suppressed content when publishers like LiveJournal are trying in good faith to remove not only illegal but damaging content?
So who draws the line and where? As is becoming more and more obvious the model of user generated content is becoming the dominant player in direct engagement with consumers and so the advertising dollars are following as they should. But the dialog that comes to my mind is where is the line in the sand? Of course we should applaud every effort to remove and moderate those who would post or try to engage in activities that are illegal and most certainly the ones that are harmful , but in the end, who is at fault if it slips through the cracks?
The fact that user generated content is an income generator and also can be used to successfully engage a consumer for branding purposes is out of the bag and it can’t be stopped. But at what point does it reach critical mass in that an publisher has to throw up his hands and say that there inevitably will be materials that go online that will slip through? If I am an advertiser using such sites for either viral or branding engagement purposes how much control do I have or should I expect once the content is out there?
How much blame should be pushed onto a publisher or an agency if my advertisement or branding content appears next to content that is illegal, obscene or possibly just politically incorrect or just in bad taste? Once an image, sound clip or video goes out there how much control should I expect anyone to have, and who says what is and is not a reasonable amount of precaution, moderation or what is or is not a reasonable effort?
If I have a channel that is specifically for user generated content and I have millions of users and in a good faith attempt to remove copyrighted, illegal and or dangerous content from my website, and in the end I mistakenly remove some material that has nothing to do with those activities, where does my liability come in with hundreds of thousands or millions of users? And what should be expected of me from a legal standpoint and how much control should I have in place on a site that gives those millions of people the ability to upload or post content?
As was clearly shown in the case of Millennium Act huckster Michael Crook this power that consumers, grassroots, watchdog groups and legal entities have can be abused. In the cases of even some of the smaller portals though they occasionally fight and win , but at what cost? And who decides how much bandwidth, effort, or time should be spent in verifying that each individual posting or upload of content meets with the site’s terms of service and legal obligations?
I think that as we expand out, and user generated content becomes more and more accessible to people with nefarious purposes an industry wide dialog has to take place as to how much responsibility lies with whom and where that line is. I certainly remember the dialog that the direct marketing folks had that took place in the 2003 over the Canned Spam Act and we can certainly see how effective that was.
I think it’s time the leaders in the Publisher, Advertiser, Agency and Legal world had a powwow and lit up the peace pipe and hashed this out so that there are clear guide lines as to what a reasonable expectation that any one entity has over millions of users when you have an open portal that allows anyone with an account or the BugMeNot extension to login and upload or post anything that comes to mind. We all think that repression of ideas and speech are bad things. Who should be responsible for protecting us from ourselves though?
This posting is a personal opinion article by Mark Blei who is in international business development for Dynamic Logic Inc and the author of this blog. None of the content of this article is meant to be an opinion of Dynamic Logic, It’s parent company Millward Brown or anybody but the writer.
Media Life Web Shorts May 31, 2007
Posted by Mark Blei in : Uncategorized , add a comment Apple TV gets sweeter with new YouTube deal
Couch potatoes could soon be watching Ask A Ninja and lonelygirl15 in wide screen. Apple said yesterday it plans to stream YouTube videos from the internet through its Apple TV set-top box to home televisions starting in mid-June. Right now only movies, television shows, music and other media saved onto the wireless set can be shown. The move comes after reportedly sluggish initial sales for Apple TV, which was introduced earlier this year. However, it’s unclear how Apple will contend with a $1 billion lawsuit that Viacom has thrown at video sharing site YouTube, which is owned by Google. Viacom, which owns MTV Networks, sued after finding that thousands of Viacom-owned movies had been uploaded to the file-sharing site without permission. Apple also said yesterday it will be selling Apple TV systems with 160 gigabyte drives, four times more than the original system.
Webcasters file stay in latest e-radio rights skirmish
Internet radio is not going down without a fight. Yesterday the U.S. Digital Media Association, National Public Radio and the association of Small Commercial Webcasters filed an emergency stay in the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., to stop the royalty rate increases scheduled to take effect July 15 that they claim will force some webcasters offline. In March the Copyright Royalty Board retroactively increased royalty rates for webcasters in 2006 starting at $0.0008 per song and rising to $0.0019 per song by 2010. The webcasters say the rate hikes represent a 300 percent cost increase for the biggest companies and up to a 1,200 percent increase for the smallest operators. Internet radio operators hope the stay will buy time for legislation introduced to Congress in April that would reverse the CRB decision. But copyright holders say the bill would result in a windfall of more than $50 million going to webcasters instead of U.S. recording artists, according to SoundExchange, an organization that collects performance royalties for copyright owners.
Study: Movie watching via computers is growing
The big screen is, more than ever, moving to the small screen, and it’s the small screen on top of the keyboard that’s getting a major increase in cinematic play. According to a new study from Solutions Research Group, 47 percent of American PC users have watched a DVD on their computers, a jump from 29 percent who had done so back in October of 2006. The study also found that 15 percent of Americans had downloaded a full-length film in the last month, up from 11 percent in October. Moreover, 66 percent of respondents agreed with the statement “one day all movies will be available to download at the click of a mouse,” while only 15 percent disagreed. Still, a majority of consumers are either still not aware of what offerings they can find online or not ready to partake: only 30 percent said they had visited iTunes’ movie download section, 10 percent Amazon’s movie downloads, and 8 percent had been to walmart.com’s movie download area.
Ming dynasty: Yao drives foreign NBA.com traffic
He’s a big star in more ways than one. People in China and around Asia are flocking to NBA.com to follow the career of 7-foot, 6-inch Houston Rockets center Yao Ming. According to new numbers from comScore, the online measurement company, 12.4 million visitors from around the world visited the site last month, with 36.6 percent from Asia Pacific. That was second to North America at 46 percent. While Americans ranked as the top visitors at almost 4.8 million, Chinese fans accounted for the largest number of international visitors, with 2.8 million, or 22.8 percent of visits. Canada came third with 928,000 or 7.5 percent. Europe accounted for almost 1.5 million visitors, or 11.7 percent of share. “The combination of strong global marketing efforts and the influx of several highly marketable international stars – such as [German player] Dirk Nowitski and Yao Ming – has succeeded in building awareness of the NBA brand across the world,” said Bob Ivins, managing director of comScore Europe, in a statement.
Political networking: MySpace’s fundraising tool
This time around, the internet has become far more important for presidential candidates than ever before. Now MySpace is making moves to make it even more so. The company, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., has created a viral tool that will allow candidates to raise money through MySpace, according to the Financial Times. What’s more, the tool could also be used to track how much money is being donated to each candidate through the social network. So far, despite the fact that the tool can track donations, it hasn’t been decided whether that capability will be used, according to reports. It also remains to be seen just how much money will be plonked down for the candidates through MySpace – each person will be able to donate no more than $500 through the site.
One last big push for Anheuser-Busch’s Bud.TV
Anheuser-Busch isn’t quite ready to give up on Bud.TV, contrary to prior reports. The company’s online network aimed at young men who drink beer and spend a lot of time online is being revamped with a social networking area and shorter video content. The changes come a week after the company indicated that it had given up on the site, on which it spent loads of money but saw traffic drop off quickly. “The Joe Buck Show,” for example, which showed the Fox Sports play-by-play man interviewing celebrities in taxis, will likely be scrapped in favor of one-minute shorts. The site will also draw on content from other web sites and distribute its own on video-sharing sites like YouTube. To this point, Bud.TV has featured more than 2,000 minutes of original programming and cost the brewer $15 million. But traffic to the site dropped 40 percent in March, according to comScore, and declined even further in April. A-B has blamed some of the slow traffic on a complicated admittance system designed to weed out surfers under age 21.
G-strung: Web site suspends Buddha undies sales
How does Buddha look on a G-string? To many Thais, not very good. California-based online seller CafePress.com has removed G-strings and dog T-shirts with pictures of Buddha on them after receiving protests from the mostly Buddhist nation of Thailand. “It is a good thing they understand our sensitivity,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Piriya Khempon told Reuters, which originally reported the story. CafePress’ tag line at its site is “Shop, sell or create what’s on your mind.” Other religious and potentially irreverent items there include a host of T-shirts, beer mugs and teddy bears sporting mantras like “when you get raptured I’m taking all your stuff” and “karma happens.”
Britney bares all (emotionally) in latest web posting
Ever wonder what led Britney Spears to chop off her locks and do impersonations of Sharon Stone in “Basic Instinct?” She’s trying to explain. In a note posted yesterday on her web site, Spears says she was in shock following her divorce last year and “was like a bad kid running around with ADD.” The 25-year-old mother of two filed for divorce from Kevin Federline in November before hitting the party scene, shaving her head and checking into rehab, which she described as “a very humbling place.” “I truly hit rock bottom,” Spears added. The pop star goes on to say people around her were trying to control and take advantage of her. “They knew I was beginning to use my brain for a change and cut some ties, so they wanted to be in more control of my life than me,” she said. However, Spears appears to be unrepentant about her partying. “I think it is actually normal for a yo
ung girl to go out after a huge divorce.”
About Online Surveys, Traditional Pollsters Are: (C) Somewhat Disappointed May 31, 2007
Posted by Mark Blei in : Uncategorized , add a commentPARIS, May 27 — To traditional pollsters, a random survey adjusted to reflect the general population is the only way to measure public opinion properly.
First developed in the 1940s by George Gallup, the father of modern polling, random sampling requires hours of costly legwork by an army of specially trained pollsters.
But some survey companies that offer an Internet-based alternative to traditional polls are trying to make inroads, including a British one, YouGov, which plans to introduce its methods in the United States for the next presidential election.
Working with a large panel of respondents who answer a range of questions through an online questionnaire, YouGov says it can predict election outcomes and consumer preferences with greater accuracy for far less money than ever before.
To reflect a broad spectrum of opinion, the online panelists are recruited from all walks of life, and efforts are made to reach out to people who are less likely to be online, like the elderly and people with low incomes. Panelists are paid to participate — which is a big no-no in conventional polling — and their identities are validated by their home addresses and other personal details.
To be sure, traditional pollsters and political consultants do not view online surveys as scientifically acceptable. The sampling of consumer opinion tapped through an online questionnaire cannot be as random as traditional measures, they argue, and it is easier for people to misrepresent themselves and their opinions online. Another critical difference is that in traditional polls, participation is voluntary, not paid.
“Voter polling by the Internet is not yet viable,” said Joel Benenson, a Democratic pollster working for the presidential campaign of Senator Barack Obama of Illinois. “There are some uses for online polling, but it still misses out on too much of the population for us.”
Despite the strong skepticism, Internet-based survey results are likely to get some publicity during the 2008 elections, and executives from companies that conduct these surveys hope that they can use the attention to gain credibility for their methods.
YouGov, for example, has formed a partnership with Polimetrix, an online survey company based in Palo Alto, Calif., for surveys in the United States. Polimetrix, with a panel of one million people, plans to track the 2008 presidential election with a 50-state survey covering a minimum of 1,000 panelists in each state.
“State-by-state election results are an important way for us to prove that our methodology delivers accurate results,” said Douglas Rivers, a Stanford University political science professor who founded Polimetrix in 2004. “You can be lucky once, but not 50 times.”
Professor Rivers said that the margin of error for Polimetrix surveys is similar to that of polls conducted by telephone. YouGov said that its own results in recent British elections were as close or closer to the actual votes than traditional polling methods.
Mr. Benenson of the Obama campaign said that the Internet can be an effective way to test ad campaigns for specific populations, but that the variables are too great for judging the views of the general population. Polls on which public policy decisions are based still require walking the streets, said Leendert de Voogd, managing director of TNS Opinion in Brussels, one of the world’s largest polling companies.
“It is still way too early for public opinion polling to go online,” Mr. de Voogd said. “Internet polling is like the Far West, with no rules, no sheriff and no reference points.”
Among the surveys run by TNS Opinion is Eurobarometer, a survey of public opinion across Europe conducted for the European Commission since 1973.
“The decisions made on the basis of our polls are far too important to be left to an online survey,” Mr. de Voogd said. “Online polls can miss very important parts of the population.”
For YouGov, developing a balanced panel of regular respondents from all sectors of the population is a priority, said Nadhim Zahawi, YouGov’s chief executive. “We expend a lot of effort reaching older people and other demographics” of people who are less likely to use the Internet, he said.
Mr. Zahawi added that modern technology has made old-fashioned polls more cumbersome and unreliable. “Thanks to the increased use of mobile phones, the traditional pollsters face a growing problem of how to track down people at home,” he said.
In London, The Daily Telegraph, which uses YouGov’s services roughly twice a month, appreciates the ability to query a large number of people in a short time.
“They allow us to ask twice the number compared with most polls,” said Anthony King, a professor of government at the University of Essex who commissions surveys for The Daily Telegraph. “The bottom line is that they get results faster and as good or better than other polling agencies.”
But to Mr. de Voogd of TNS Opinion and other polling company executives, nothing less than classic polling methodology will deliver results. This technique calls for a country like Britain to be divided into 150 cells, or sampling points, with a starting address chosen at random for the pollsters to begin their walk.
“You cannot replace wearing down shoe leather to do good polls,” Mr. de Voogd said. “It does take money and time walking house to house, but quality has a price.”
From the starting address, the interviewer follows a random route that could resemble this: Walk left away from the first address, turning left on the first street, then count three blocks and turn right. On that block, count five houses and knock on the door of the sixth house. Ask to speak with the person whose birthday is closest to the date of the interview.
If the person is not there, the interviewer must attempt to contact that same person up to eight times or until the person declines to participate.
A separate person does a follow-up interview with 20 percent of those polled to verify that the interviews were conducted strictly according to the methodology.
The technique is different at YouGov, where a panel of 175,000 Britons is developed, nourished and surveyed. Each member of the panel, who is confirmed to fit a certain demographic category, receives points for answering questions posed — and answered — on the Internet. When enough points are accrued, the panelist receives £50, or about $99. Individual respondents may be contacted up to once every two weeks.
YouGov has also set up a partnership with a brokerage firm, Execution Limited, to analyze the impact of consumer trends on the imminent financial results of companies. This would, for example, allow a company to determine whether consumers prefer clothes this season from Gap or Marks & Spencer, a British retailer, Mr. Zahaw
i said.
For all these advantages, online polling cannot work in places with low Internet penetration, Mr. de Voogd said.
“Perhaps you could do an online poll in the Netherlands, where almost everyone has Internet, but that’s about it,” Mr. de Voogd said. “Only eight European countries even have half the population online.”
The problem, according to both Mr. de Voogd and Mr. Benenson of the Obama campaign, is that Internet users do not necessarily reflect a nation’s population.
“Rural voters, older voters and lower-income voters tend to be underrepresented on the Internet,” Mr. Benenson said. “By the mere fact that someone in these categories is on the Internet thus makes them unrepresentative for extrapolating views of their demographic.”
But Professor King of the University of Essex does not agree with this argument.
“There is no evidence to suggest that people who use the Internet are fundamentally different from those without it,” he said. “One mad, awful lady living in a poor neighborhood without Internet does not differ much from her mad, awful friend next door who goes online.”
Welcome Back, Tom Deierlein May 31, 2007
Posted by Mark Blei in : Uncategorized , add a comment| Welcome Back, Tom Deierlein | |
| by Dave Morgan, Thursday, May 31, 2007 11:45 AM ET | |
| This past weekend in the U.S. we celebrated Memorial Day, a day when we honor those who have lost their lives in military service for our country. It’s also a time when we reflect on the sacrifices made by all those who’ve served. Fortunately, this past Memorial Day also marked the welcoming back of one of the top leaders in our industry — Tom Deierlein, the COO of Dynamic Logic, about whom I have written a number of times. Tom was called up for duty almost two years ago, put his career on hold, was stationed in Sadr City in Baghdad to support civil affairs activities, was seriously wounded by a sniper and spent many months recovering and rehabbing at Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital and the Tampa Veterans’ Administration Rehabilitation Facility. The great news is that Tom is healed and now back in New York; next week he starts work again at Dynamic Logic. Here are excerpts from Tom’s final “Update” letter, which he sent around at the end of last month: This is my last update letter. I am leaving the Tampa, Va. facility tomorrow and heading back to NYC. I am stopping by FortBragg to welcome my buddies back, as they arrived home this past Tuesday. It has been a long, strange journey and yet now I face my hardest challenge of all in the past year and half — finding a decent affordable apt in New York!! … I start back at work on Monday, June 4. Prior to that I will be getting settled in, spending time with friends and family, conducting my follow-up medical appts and starting rehab…. oh yeah, and sneaking down to Club Med for a week of fun in the Caribbean sun. I arrived here in Tampa on Feb 1 in a wheelchair. I am leaving three months later on my own two feet without a cane. I still move slowly, have trouble with my balance at times, have a noticeable limp and some pain when I sit for an extended period of time. But I will continue my rehab at least one hour everyday at the VA in NYC on 23rd and 1st. They claim to have a poly-trauma rehab team and a gym with state-of-the-art equipment, so I will start there and see how it goes. I am also exploring private care options just in case. I am officially medically retired from the military on May 31, 2007 – 18 years and 7 days after graduating West Point. This time it is permanent. Although I am far from back to normal, I can get around fine and even did a 20-yard dash in 5.99 seconds. Not exactly ready for the NFL Combine, but definitely better than last fall. I went to the golf range last weekend just to see what would happen — I only managed to get three balls into the air. Those that have played with me in the past will know that is probably not injury-based. Along with an actual round of golf, my next big goal is to actually run. The deficiencies in my left foot and leg prevent that right now, but hopefully by year’s end I will manage a trot. I also threw out the first pitch at a Yankees game. My two goals were to not fall down off the mound and get it over the plate. I did not fall over, but the pitch was high and outside. I kept telling everyone that the guy gave me the “pitch out” sign. Joe Torre has invited me to be his special guest at a Yankee game of my choice this summer.I am lucky to be alive with a second chance at life and blessed to have gotten some of the best medical care available anywhere in the world. Yes, there were issues at Walter Reed and here in Tampa, but they were paperwork- and bureaucracy-based, not medical-care-based. All the doctors, nurses, technicians, and therapists I have had the pleasure to deal with were true professionals and compassionate, caring individuals. My rapid recovery is my proof. I still owe some anonymous doctor in Baghdad last September a debt of gratitude. I learned only recently that apparently as I nearly bled to death (they gave me over 8 pints of blood) he administered a new drug called Factor 7. Thank goodness that is all behind me now. On the brighter side, during Tom 2.0 I will no longer take my health or fitness for granted and may in the end lead a longer more healthier life by staying focused on eating well and staying physically active. Many, many people sent me letters, notes, email and gifts. Tons of folks dropped by for visits over the past seven months. I cannot thank everyone in this note, but rest assured they were a CRITICAL part of the healing process. I am fortunate to have friends and family like you. Welcome back, Tom! We’ve missed you.
|
Apple Launches DRM-free 'Plus' Store May 31, 2007
Posted by Mark Blei in : Uncategorized , add a commentApple Launches DRM-free ‘Plus’ Store…
Apple Launches DRM-free ‘Plus’ Store
Apple has finally pulled the long-anticipated trigger and begun selling DRM-free songs from EMI on iTunes, reports InformationWeek.
The non-copyright-protected files will be sold through a sub-section of the iTunes Music Store, dubbed iTunes Plus. Songs in this section are priced at $1.29 per track versus the standard $0.99 fee.
Records from classic rock artists like Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd, as well as newer artists Joss Stone and Norah Jones, are all available as DRM-free tracks.
The move is meant to encourage iTunes compatibility with any MP3 player on the market and increase the iTunes share of the digital music download market.
Amazon has a similar DRM-free music store in the planning stages for later this year.
Newspaper Online Ad Spend Jumps 22% May 31, 2007
Posted by Mark Blei in : Uncategorized , add a commentNewspaper Online Ad Spend Jumps 22%…
Newspaper Online Ad Spend Jumps 22%
Ad expenditures for newspaper websites increased 22.3 percent, to $750 million, in the first quarter compared with the first quarter of 2006, according to preliminary estimates from the Newspaper Association of America, writes MarketingCharts.
The increase is the 12th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth for online newspaper advertising since NAA started reporting online ad spending in 2004, the NAA said.
Advertising on newspaper sites made up 7.1 percent of total newspaper ad spending in the first quarter, compared with 5.5 percent for the same period a year earlier.
Click to enlarge
Overall, advertising expenditures at newspapers and their websites totaled $10.6 billion for the first quarter of 2007, a 4.8 percent decrease from the year-earlier period.
MarketingCharts offers more data in its write-up.
Is it …can it be? I can have advertising now? May 31, 2007
Posted by Mark Blei in : Uncategorized , add a commentOLcat Fever Sweeps the Internet…
LOLcat Fever Sweeps the Internet
A new form of entertainment and communication currently sweeping the Internet is simple, funny and mind-numbing. It’s called “lolcats,” or images of cats with poor, grammatically-unsound exclamations attached to them, reports Globe and Mail. For example, one cat exclaims, “IM IN UR FRIDGE EATIN UR FOODZ.”
Arguably the most famous involves a cat asking, “I CAN HAS CHEEZBURGER?,” an irreverent question that also serves as the URL for a site at which users submit similar such photos.
The source of the “lolcats” phenomenon is the ease of user participation – anyone with a camera and a cat can participate – coupled with the humor. Dubbed “kitty pidgin,” it has spun off to pictures of walruses, Star Trek and George W. Bush (”I HAS A BUDGET?”).
AOL Looking To Captuire Elusive Luddite Demographic May 31, 2007
Posted by Mark Blei in : Uncategorized , add a commentAOL Unveils Switched, for the Non-Techie
Mike Shields
MAY 30, 2007 -
AOL has launched a new stand-alone consumer electronics Web site geared for less-than-tech-savvy consumers.
The newly launched Switched.com mixes user-friendly service information on products like digital cameras and MP3 players with celebrity and entertainment news (Switched’s tagline is “Digital Stuff for the Rest of Us”). In fact, the site is being run by AOL’s news division, rather that AOL Shopping.
“We realized there were plenty of sites targeting hardcore technology users, but none existed that cut through industry jargon to serve the average consumer,” said Lewis D’Vorkin, senior vp, AOL News & Sports. “Switched.com provides users with basic gadget news they need to navigate the wired and unwired world and delivers compelling content to mainstream consumers.”
Besides offering buying advice through sections such as “Just Tell Me What to Get” or “Hype Check,” Switched also borrows from the successful AOL formula of using news and celebrities to attract traffic. The site features technology themed celebrity interviews along with photos of various stars using tech gadgets (for example, currently Switched has a photo of Andre 3000 holding a BlackBerry).
Current Switched advertisers include the Microsoft Zune and OnStar.
Fox Acquires Photobucket.com May 31, 2007
Posted by Mark Blei in : Uncategorized , add a commentFox Acquires Photobucket.com
Mike Shields
MAY 30, 2007 –
Fox Interactive Media has announced a pair of acquisitions that deepen the company’s commitment to user-generated content. As has been rumored for several weeks, the News Corp.-owned Web division has snatched up the photo sharing site Photobucket.com, which reached 19 million unique users based on the April 2007 figures from comScore Media Metrix, making it one of the larger remaining independent properties on the Internet.
In addition, FIM has landed Flektor, a complementary startup firm that produces several digital photo and video editing tools. Financial terms were not disclosed for either deal.
Though its been challenging to monetize photo sharing on the Web, the most obvious way FIM can utilize its two new assets will be to enhance MySpace, which is increasingly a multimedia playground for its millions of users. Already, according to Fox executives, 47 percent of all Photobucket users link their Web-posted digital photos to social networks like MySpace.
Besides MySpace, FIM officials said that Photobucket and Flektor will be used to bolster the company’s other Web brands, including the gamer-centric IGN and FoxSports.com. “The acquisition of these two companies is a perfect strategic fit for us that reinforces FIM’s leadership in user-generated content,” said Fox Interactive Media president Peter Levinsohn. “As a leading site for creative expression Photobucket extends our reach among personal media sharing enthusiasts and the innovative new entrant Flektor brings highly-differentiated new tools to the table that will drive the next generation. Together, they represent a powerful combination and we are thrilled for them to join our network.”
The Onion Logs In On Strange But Compelling Celebrity Endorsment's May 31, 2007
Posted by Mark Blei in : Uncategorized , add a commentThere’s No More Reassuring Voice In Retirement Planning Than Dennis Hopper
By Diane Rohde
There’s no denying it anymore: I’m getting to that point in my life where I should start thinking seriously about my retirement. I’ll be living on a fixed income, so careful management of my assets will be crucial. That’s why Dennis Hopper’s television spots for Ameriprise Financial are so reassuring. Retirement planning means a lot of decision making, and thank God I have the soothing presence of that amyl nitrate–huffing, obscenity-screaming, psychosexual lunatic from Blue Velvet to guide me through it.
I don’t think I’m alone in saying that when I first saw Frank Booth dry hump, humiliate, and otherwise violently sexually assault Isabella Rossellini while calling her Mommy, I couldn’t help but think stability, tranquility, and, most of all, security. The authoritative, crazed wheeze of this boozing, womanizing, rage-driven actor is a guiding light in the unpredictable, confusing world of investing.
That’s why I know I can trust Ameriprise. I’m sure that Dennis Hopper wouldn’t represent a company that was anything other than a rock of respectability. When I hear him in those commercials, it’s the familiar voice of a coke- dealing, LSD-fueled hippie cowboy biker putting me at ease.
I can almost picture him now, right before he gets blown away by shotgun-toting rednecks and dies in flames in a ditch by the side of the road, reminding me that, sure, I have to retire someday, but my dreams never do.
I think that the biggest mistake people make these days regarding investing is not getting all the information. Retirement planning can be tricky and there are a lot of factors involved. You have to provide for your own needs, as well as the needs of your family. Definitely not a decision to be taken lightly. It’s one of those milestones in life where you say to yourself “I’d really like the town drunk from Hoosiers to weigh in on this one.”
Or the alcoholic, welfare-dependent dad from Rumble Fish.
Or the gentleman who, in 1983, after having become completely addled by two decades of drugs and alcohol, tried to blow himself up with 20 sticks of dynamite rigged to a folding chair in the middle of a Houston speedway as a performance piece.
That’s the kind of sound, fiscally prudent mind I’m seeking when it comes to my future.
In fact, the scowling face of unconscionable war criminal Victor Drazen from 24 is such a reassurring sight, I doubt other iconic countercultural media figures from the baby boom generation could fill his shoes. True, Jack Nicholson would definitely give Hopper a run for his money. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone my age who doesn’t still have the occasional nightmare about his turn as an ax-wielding murderer in The Shining. I’m sure he could impart some valuable views about possible retirement investment opportunities. And let’s not rule out Tim Curry. The murderous, cannibalistic alien transvestite from The Rocky Horror Picture Show would be more than up to the task of delivering sage counsel on Roth IRAs.
But when it comes down to it, Hopper beats them all for reliability in building a sound financial future. It’s pretty safe to say that anyone nearing retirement age would look back on that burned-out, hypomanic cult member who nonsensically sings the praises of the brutally homicidal and delusional Colonel Kurtz, and ask themselves the question, “How would that man plan for his retirement?”
Because in the end, Dennis Hopper is more than just the one-eyed, filthy megalomaniac villain from Waterworld: He’s a symbol of smart, responsible preparation for one’s golden years. I mean, I certainly wouldn’t take this type of advice from Wilford Brimley. Brimley? Gimme a break: Who’s he ever killed in a psychopathic rage?
To be fair, he did go nutso with a fire-ax after being driven temporarily insane with paranoia and panic by the shape-shifting alien killer in John Carpenter’s The Thing. He does have that going for him. But he’s essentially a stodgy old man who wears sweater vests and recommends oatmeal to children; he’s not a screeching lunatic like Dennis Hopper with whom you’d like to sit down to map out a solid financial plan for the last decades of your life.
When it comes to these kinds of decisions, sometimes you just have to go with your gut.
