AFI BLOG: Media and Technology

I launched this “Media and Technology” blog last year as a more efficient way of sharing information about the subjects that AFI staff and other interested parties should know about in the expanding world of online media, social networking, nonprofit management, and related topics. The AFI “Media and Technology” blog is more a record of [...]

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Wall Street Journal - Portals Column by Lee Gomes
Had PowerPoint been around 150 years ago, Thoreau might have warned us to beware not only of enterprises that require new clothes, but also of those that require new paradigms.
A book from 2006, “The Long Tail,” was one of those that appear periodically and demand that we [...]

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LA Times “Web Scout” blog
Enter a cineplex this summer and you’re basically wandering into a giant circus. Each tent pole — the biz term for a colossally expensive movie — is sure to include at least one outlandish, or even freakish, main character. Step right up. On your left, watch an old man — incredibly! [...]

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Google
We’ve received numerous requests to improve our indexing of Adobe Flash files. Today, Ron Adler and Janis Stipins—software engineers on our indexing team—will provide us with more in-depth information about our recent announcement that we’ve greatly improved our ability to index Flash.
Q: Which Flash files can Google better index now?
We’ve improved our ability to index [...]

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Lost Remote
Using data from Hitwise, which roughly estimates online traffic, PBS.org says it’s beating ABC.com, NBC.com, CBS.com and Fox.com in share of online visits since late May. PBS says traffic is up 25% from the 2006-07 season to the 2007-08 season. “Much of this growth has been driven by enhancements to PBS.org’s video offerings and [...]

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The Wall Street Journal
The organization that oversees Internet addresses on Thursday approved a proposal to create an unlimited number of so-called top-level domains — the familiar suffixes like “.com” at the end of Web addresses.
Under the plan, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers will allow organizations to apply for any top-level domain. Businesses, [...]

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The Wall Street Journal
Stringer Sees Growth In Download Services, Connected Electronics
After spending the past three years restructuring, Sony Corp. set a new growth strategy centered on video-downloading services and electronic products that can be connected to each other and to the Internet.
The Japanese electronics maker said Thursday that it plans to offer a video-downloading service [...]

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LA Times Blogger David Sarno discovers online sensation Fred, here:
Last week, someone in the online video business gave me a simple tip.
“Fred,” the guy said.
“Fred?” I said.
“Yes,” he said. “Kids love Fred.”
I had not heard of Fred, much less known that kids loved him. But that would swiftly end. As soon as I could, [...]

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Seeking Alpha
If NBCU gets Weather.com, it propels itself into a Top 10 media property… From Alley Insider:
Google (GOOG) / 128 million unique visitors
Microsoft (MSFT) / 123 million
Yahoo (YHOO) / 116 million
Time Warner (TWX) / 108 million
News Corp. (NWS) / 79 million
eBay (EBAY) / 66 million
InterActiveCorp. (IACI) / 65 million
Wikimedia Foundation / 57 million
Amazon (AMZN) / [...]

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Not an OS
Last Thursday I tweeted: “I strive to maintain an open mind when nontechnical people talk about the ‘Internet OS’ or ‘Web OS’. Sometimes it’s tough.” I got some grumbles by email and I think the subject is worth more discussion. Let me be more specific: Neither the Internet nor the Web is much [...]

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