LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–MySpace today announced its second annual “MySpace Citizen Journalist” program in partnership with The Wall Street Journal and the World Economic Forum, giving one MySpace user the opportunity to become a special correspondent at the world’s most prestigious conference, the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2010 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland. The “MySpace Citizen Journalist” winner, chosen by a panel of experts, will join the Davos press corps and leverage the MySpace platform to report on conference news and interview world leaders about issues relevant to the global MySpace community. This year MySpace will expand the contestant pool and accept entries from users in the United States and the United Kingdom.

“We’re pleased to offer one MySpace user the assignment of a lifetime”

“We’re pleased to offer one MySpace user the assignment of a lifetime,” said Owen Van Natta, CEO of MySpace. “MySpace, The Wall Street Journal and the World Economic Forum are providing the unique opportunity to allow one user to experience one of the world’s most thought provoking events from the front row. The bar was set incredibly high last year and we’re thrilled to see what exceptional entries we receive this year.”

The “MySpace Citizen Journalist” competition encourages users in the US and the UK to upload a video at http://www.myspace.com/myspacejournal explaining why they should be chosen to travel to Davos and represent the global MySpace community as the special correspondent. A panel of expert judges including Robert Thomson (Managing Editor of The Wall Street Journal), Adrian Monck (Managing Director and Head of Communications of the World Economic Forum), Owen Van Natta (CEO of MySpace), Rebekah Brooks (CEO of News International) and Rebecca McQuigg (2009 winner of “MySpace Journal” contest) will select the winner while the MySpace community rates their favorite submissions.

Applicants must explain why they deserve to report from the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos as well as answer one of the below questions:

• Name two issues – one global and one local – in which you’ve been actively engaged over the past year. What have they taught you about your impact in the world?
• Which country caught your attention most this year? What are the primary issues facing its citizens and how would you resolve them?
• What pressing global issue has been underreported? Why is the international community neglecting the topic? How would you draw attention to mobilize support?

“Recognizing the continued influence of social media, the World Economic Forum has extended a call to action to our online community at MySpace. This year’s theme, ‘Improve the State of the World: Rethink, Redesign, and Rebuild,’ represents the diversity of voices at Davos, and we are thrilled that MySpace users can play such a large part,” said Adrian Monck, Head of Communications of the World Economic Forum.

“MySpace Citizen Journalist” winner will receive:

• All expenses paid travel to/from Davos, Switzerland
• Invitations to the Young Global Leaders opening conference and various media events
• Attendance at private meetings with editors from The Wall Street Journal and News Corp executives
• The opportunity to document the experience in written and video blogs on MySpace and The Wall Street Journal online
• Syndication of their MySpace blog via WSJ.com

“MySpace Citizen Journalist” winner will submit daily blogs and video logs documenting their Davos experience via http://www.myspace.com/myspacejournal. The winner will upload conference pictures and interact with other reporters on-site including top Wall Street Journal reporters and the hundreds of global leaders attending the event.

For more information on the “MySpace Citizen Journalist” competition please visit http://www.myspace.com/myspacejournal.

About MySpace

MySpace is a technology company connecting people through personal expression, content, and culture. MySpace empowers its global community to experience the Internet through a social lens by integrating personal profiles, photos, videos, mobile, messaging, games, and the world’s largest music community. MySpace is a division of News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV). For more information, visit our press room.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6123746&lang=en

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) today announced that its board of directors has approved a 2.4 percent increase in the company’s quarterly dividend. AT&T has increased its quarterly dividend for 26 consecutive years, a record unmatched among major telecom companies.

“Our 26th consecutive annual dividend increase underscores the Board’s continued commitment to stockholders and confidence in our strong financial position”

AT&T directors increased the dividend rate from $0.41 to $0.42 per share on a quarterly basis and from $1.64 to $1.68 per share on an annual basis.

Source Business Wire

Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20091218005744/en

The dividend will be payable Feb. 1, 2010, to common stockholders of record on Jan. 8, 2010.

comScore Online Credit Card Report December 2009, published today, reported that consumers remain cautions despite signs of economic recovery.

The report analysis the changes in consuming spending in the face of the challenging economic environment.

“While consumers continue to struggle with economic factors such as lack of credit and rising unemployment, they are showing a slightly more optimistic outlook when compared to last year. In the comScore State of the U.S. Online Retail Economy Report (October 2009), 91 percent of survey respondents believe the economy is in either poor or fair condition, down 2 percentage points from the previous year (Figure 1). However, 12 percent of individuals upgraded their evaluation of the economy from poor to fair, indicating a slight improvement in consumer sentiment from 2008.”

comScore added that the effect of changes in loyalty and terms of conditions continue to drive negative sentiment towards their credit card issuer.

“Although approximately one-third of respondents said that they took none of the actions listed below,55 percent claim that they now spend less on their card. In addition, 27 percent said that they no longer use that card at all and 12 percent said that they closed the account completely (Figure 8). Card issuers that can provide additional value to consumers while complying with changing credit card regulations may encourage customers to continue spending on their credit cards.”

Key Findings and Conclusion

• As a result of current economic conditions, optimistically cautious consumers continue to spend less on their credit cards, shifting spending toward cash and debit. At the same time, changes made by issuers to card accounts have caused consumers to lose confidence in their issuer.

• Nine out of 10 consumers believe that the economy is in poor or fair condition, and 4 out of 10 are more likely to use cash or debit for purchases compared to last year.

• Of customers who have noticed changes to their card account in the last year, 54 percent said that their perception of their card issuer has worsened, and 81 percent said that they would consider switching credit cards.

• Online interaction with consumers on the account management site has remained stable over the past year, with 7 out of 10 card holders accessing their accounts online at least once.

• As credit card issuers invest in tools and services to help consumers better manage their accounts online, over half of consumers are unaware of these products.

• Four out of 10 consumers would use services that help them sort transactions and pay off their credit card

• While most consumers prefer to pay their bills through traditional methods such as checks, there is an opportunity for card issuers to gain share of wallet by offering a variety of value propositions.

• Only 25 percent of consumers prefer to pay most bills with a credit card, but 56 percent actually pay at least one bill with their credit card.

• Well over half of consumers said that they would be willing to pay their bills through their credit card issuer’s website for rewards points or cash back incentives.

• Despite strong growth in the popularity of online social networking, card issuers have yet to raise consumers’ awareness of their presence and engage consumers in the social networking space.

• Visitation to social networking sites has grown 19 percent over the past year, compared to 4 percent growth across the total internet.

• Currently, only 1 out of 10 consumers are aware of the presence credit card issuers on social networking.

• However, at least 4 out of 10 users would engage with their issuer on a social networking site, and 2 out of 10 would do so if presented with exclusive offers and promotions.

AT&T revealed yesterday at UBS 37th Annual Global Media and Communications Conference that it has surpassed the two million subscriber mark for its IPTV U-Verse service.

AT&T added 240,000 new U-Verse TV customers in Q3 09. 

Verizon announced yesterday that it’s on track to exceed its one million subscriber addition goal for 2009 for FiOS TV.

In a webcast of the event Ralph de la Vega, chief executive officer of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets during the conference said ”This has been an outstanding year for U-verse, and we’re glad that customers are responding to the value, choice and simplicity we’re adding to this service. Customers love that they can get a complete and integrated quad-play of services with U-verse, and that’s why we continue to enhance our entire bundle with new apps and more broadband choices. We’ve shown what we can do with our advanced IP platform, and we’re not done yet.”

These strong subscriber number growth demonstrate that bundled services are the key to competing with cable operators who are in the process of targeting the RBOC territories with enhanced DOCSIS 3.0 service.

IDC reports that there were more than 450 mobile Internet users worldwide in 2009, they expect this number to double by the end of 2013.

“The number of mobile devices with Internet access has simply exploded over the last several years,” said John Gantz, chief research officer at IDC. “With a wealth of information and services available from almost anywhere, Internet-connected mobile devices are reshaping the way we go about our personal and professional lives. With an explosion in applications for mobile devices underway, the next several years will witness another sea change in the way users interact with the Internet and further blur the lines between personal and professional.”

Highlights from IDC’s Worldwide Digital Marketplace Model and Forecast (an IDC Database service) include the following:

• More than 1.6 billion people – a little over a quarter of the world’s population – used the Internet in 2009. By 2013, over 2.2 billion people – more than one third of the world’s population – is expected to be using the Internet.
• More than 1.6 billion devices worldwide were used to access the Internet in 2009, including PCs, mobile phones, and online videogame consoles. By 2013, the total number of devices accessing the Internet will increase to more than 2.7 billion.
• China continues to have more Internet users than any other country, with 359 million in 2009. This number is expected to grow to 566 million by 2013. The United States had 261 million Internet users in 2009, a figure that will reach 280 million in 2013. India will have one of the fastest growing Internet populations, growing almost two-fold between 2009 and 2013.
• Presently, the United States has far more total devices connected to the Internet than any other country. China, however, is the leader in the number of mobile online devices with almost 85 million mobile devices connected to the Internet in 2009. The number of Internet devices in India, both mobile and fixed, is expected to grow commensurate with the number of Internet users.
• Worldwide, more than 624 million Internet users will make online purchases in 2009, totaling nearly $8 trillion (both business to business and business to consumer). By 2013, worldwide eCommerce transactions will be worth more than $16 trillion.
• Worldwide spending on Internet advertising will total nearly $61 billion in 2009, which is slightly more than 10% of all ad spending across all media. This share is expected to reach almost 15%% by 2013 as Internet ad spending grows surpasses $100 billion worldwide.

(Source: Business Wire)

The FCC has requested comment on “Video Device Innovation” and is seeking to encourage innovation in the market for video devices.

The document relates to one of the FCC’s spectacular failures and ineffectual areas of regulation the Set-Top Box.  In 1996 congress instructed the FCC to create rules that would allow people to buy devices that would standardize the set-top box and allow you to buy a device from a consumer electronics store rather than your cable company.  The FCC solution to this was the CableCard, these devices first became available in 2004 and five years later there are less than half a million devices in service today.

However the FCC is trying it again, however this time its seeking comment on the following questions?

• What technological and market-based limitations keep retail video devices from accessing all forms of video content that consumers want to watch?

• Would a retail market for network agnostic video devices spur broadband use and adoption and achieve Section 629’s goal of a competitive navigation device market for all MVPDs?

• Can the home broadband service model be adapted to allow video networks to connect and interact with home video network devices such as televisions, DVRs, and Home Theater PCs via a multimedia home networking standard?

• What obstacles stand in the way of video convergence?

It would appear that the FCC is taking a more aggressive stance to look at what is the most efficient way to promote convergence of broadcast media and internet media.

The comments are additional tied to the development of a National Broadband Plan, which has received funding under the American and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to the tune of nearly $8 Billion of our tax dollars.

Whilst the specific document doesn’t not mention Net Neutrality, the FCC  has announced a public workshop for comments on the Open Internet Proceedings on the same day

Homework/ Comments are due by Dec 21’st, 2009 at http://www.fcc.gov

British Telecom announced today that it is working with rival ISP’s (Internet Service Providers) to provide an open online video delivery network to improve the delivery of video over the network.

Online video growth is by far the leading usage growth of traffic on the Internet today. Sandvine recently reported that peak traffic usage of the internet had increased 60% from a 5 hour spread between 6pm-11pm in 2008 to a 3 hour spread 7-10pm in 2009, it attributed real-time media growth as the cause.

Network service providers have warned us that the demand of this new media delivery channels such as Netflix, Hulu, Vudu and Apple are putting pressure on their networks. The same problems that exist in the terrestrial based broadband networks, only get worse when you move to the wireless world, the floods of complaints from iPhone users regarding AT&T’s 3G network coverage and performance show that the demand of high bandwidth services are out striping supply of bandwidth in certain areas. The ongoing lawsuits between Verizon and ATT show the extent of consumer dissatisfaction with the issue.

Most media companies commonly use content delivery networks (CDN) such as Akamai and CDNetworks to deliver quality streaming and media performance to their end users. Typically a CDN does this by “moving” or “caching” the content closer to the end user location. The theory behind this is, that the closer the content is to the end user, the less of the “backbone” network is used in transmission of the content. Most CDN providers have proprietary Intellectual Property, this enables them to make sure that the most popular content is available as close to the end user as possible, thus reducing the chances of any delays in delivery.

However there are limits to how close you can get to the end user and, as BT contends, these services only go to the edge of the ISP’s network and the final stages or “last mile” of delivery is transmitted “over the top” with no guarantee.

BT Wholesale unit is working on a open platform, which will use the ISP network to reach all the way to viewers and therefore guarantee a good service all the way to the end user.

According to Associated Press “Under BT’s plan, viewers could have uninterrupted access to content, even at peak times, and it could also allow the ISP’s to recoup some of the cost of providing online video from the media groups which have produced it.”

So is BT trying to bypass CDN’s and capture Akamai’s revenue or trying to create an economic ecosystem that is a win/win for both media provider and network operator?

Most network and telecom providers such as Verizon and AT&T have been looking for ways to finance the build of their network expansion projects to keep up with online broadband traffic growth. Whilst it’s hard to feel sorry for the big telco’s there is definitely an issue as to whom should be paying for what proportion of the network deployment bill. Google has for a long time insisted on “network neutrality” and has lobbied and supported user community groups that support the interest. Why? Because its in their fiscal interest.

Google’s business model, of being able to technologically reduce their bandwidth bill and get as much as a free ride as possible has allowed them to capture an economic advantage in the marketplace. For every mile of fiber that Verizon of AT&T lay, it would appear that market cap of Google increases.  If as reports show that Google and YouTube traffic make up 20% of Internet traffic, it would only make sense that their costs be more in line with the usage.

Details have not yet been forthcoming on BT’s new Open Video Delivery network, so only time will tell as to whether “BT Wholesale’s plan … will open up new market opportunities for both content providers and ISPs and enable ISPs to maintain their end user relationships, by addressing the bandwidth issues that will put a strain on any network,” however it would seem that BT at least is attempting to change the dynamics of bandwidth pricing and delivery costs of media delivery.

BT has not announce its other partners at this time.