HHR New Media, Entertainment and Technology Group

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• According to a new research study by Nielson Online, social sites like Facebook have surpassed e-mail as the number one online activity, with two-thirds of the world’s population visiting social networking or blogging sites.  What’s more, the “stickiness” of these sites is expanding, with one of every 11 minutes spent online being devoted to social networking activities.  And, in a finding to confirm the frustration and consternation of many teenagers, the fastest growing audience on Facebook is the 35-49 age group.  Which may explain such Facebook groups as “Cool Parents Who Have Facebooks”, although we at digitalhhr can proudly say we have avoided joining that one.) Continue Reading »

The proliferation of Internet use by children has undoubtedly challenged online service providers and technology providers alike.  Protecting children from the various risks posed by Internet use has been, and continues to be, a major concern, as safety issues including sexual solicitation, online harassment, bullying and exposure to illegal content become more and more prevalent.

On Wednesday, the Internet Safety Technical Task Force, led by The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, issued a report entitled “Enhancing Child Safety & Online Technologies.”  The report was compiled at the request of the Multi-State Working Group on Social Networking, comprised of 50 state Attorneys General.  The task force includes representatives from several well-known Internet social network and online service providers, including Google, AOL, Facebook and MTV Networks/Viacom.  The report, which was a year in the making, sought to determine the extent to which currently-available technology could help to address online safety risks to youths in the U.S., with a primary focus on social networking. 

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With the proliferation of social networking website use, the concept of “data portability” is influencing the development of solutions to allow users to access multiple online profiles and social utility networks all in one place . . . it’s all about the easy access these days.  In addition, technology that enables a users particular online profile to “follow” them around the web, tracking certain activity, where interaction among “friends” will occur on websites that, thus far, have not been considered social is becoming more and more popular. Continue Reading »

What’s new in digital media?   Subscribe to digitalhhr.com to receive today’s news:

• The New York Times has a piece on Facebook Connect, a new initiative to extend the web’s most popular social networking service to other web sites. 
• The Huffington Post just closed a new round of financing totaling $25 million, bringing the company’s valuation to $100 million.  More info here. 
• Digital music sales will continue to grow, reaching 41 percent of total sales by 2013, according to a report by Jupiter Research.  However, overall growth will continue to drop from annual sales of $10.2 billion to $9.8 billion.
• A new study on web video viewing habits may help marketers refine their ad strategies.  According to TubeMogul, only 16.62% of folks who click on a three-minute video will watch it all the way through.  While this sounds like a nail in the coffin for post-rolls, marketers seeking “true believers” (i.e. those sitting through an entire video) may see the post-roll as a cost-effective approach.
• Microsoft and Blockbuster collaborate to deliver video on demand to mobile devices.  Click here for more info.