Captivating Connections.

vevo rocks a solid start.

"The music industry doesn't really do subtle, which is why the Vevo launch party in lower Manhattan on Dec. 8 had all the pomp and glitz of an internet launch party circa 1999.

Because three of four major labels are playing nicely in the venture, attendees got to see Bono sharing the stage with John Mayer, 50 Cent, Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Universal Music Group CEO Doug Morris, Lady Gaga and Queen Rania, just to name a few.

The difference between now and when Napster was decimating the music business is that the artists themselves fully realize what's at stake, even if they have a misplaced notion that advertising will save their ailing industry. 'Let's hope Vevo can help salvage something that used to be amazing,' Mariah Carey told the crowd.

One thing Vevo has going for it right out of the gate is quantifiable traffic. Somehow, Mr. Morris persuaded Mr. Schmidt to allow all YouTube views of Vevo videos to accrue to Vevo -- a move that will likely make it the No. 3 video site in the U.S. straight out of the gate. 'Now we have a platform, and it's our platform,' Mr. Morris said."

It'll be interesting to see how it fully unfolds in the next 6-8 months.

introducing: vevo.

"In the beleaguered music industry’s latest bid to generate more money from its content, two top music labels on Tuesday will introduce Vevo, a Web site for music videos.

Vevo is co-owned by the Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and the Abu Dhabi Media Company. Vevo said Monday that it had signed up a third major music label, EMI Music, as a video provider, leaving only one holdout among the big four labels, Warner Music. Vevo said conversations with Warner were continuing.

Videos on Vevo will be hosted and streamed by YouTube, the video site owned by Google.

The site will come online in the United States and Canada on Tuesday evening.

'It will be a higher-quality experience around music and videos than anything else that’s currently out there,' Rio Caraeff, Vevo’s chief executive, said in an interview. Mr. Caraeff said the site would host 30,000 music videos by the end of the year. To underscore the exclusive nature of the Web site, Vevo will also carry original programs by artists for their fans."

droids selling like, uh, droids.

"A quarter of a million Droid handsets were sold in the first week after the Motorola smartphone from Verizon Wireless was released Nov. 6, according to a new estimate by mobile app analytics firm Flurry.

That makes the much-hyped Droid easily the bestselling Android-based phone to date, far surpassing the opening week performance of the T-Mobile myTouch, which sold 60,000 units. In comparison to the latest iPhone model, however, the Droid's debut was not quite as impressive. The iPhone 3G S sold 1.6 million in its first week in June."

making 'connections'.

"To help marketers boost their reach on Facebook, the company has added an option that lets companies advertise to friends of their brand fans on the social network.

The new 'Friends of Connections' targeting feature allows you to 'expand your audience reach by delivering your ads to the friends of people already connected with your Page, Application, Group or Event,' according to a a post on the Facebook Ads Page. So when someone sees the ad, they will see which of their friends is a fan.

Previously, advertisers could only target people who 'fanned' their pages, used their applications, or signed up to any company groups or events via the site.

The new targeting capability "should lead to increased conversion on Facebook Ads (Facebook's performance advertising system), because users will find the social context and implied endorsement more interesting," according to the Inside Facebook blog. That's the idea, anyway."

the new biz traveler. minus the travel.

"Two of the world’s biggest hotel companies, Starwood Hotels and Resorts and Marriott International, are outfitting some of their meeting rooms with telepresence suites, a high-end system that leapfrogs typical videoconferencing technology. Their goal is to rent the rooms to customers who are already embracing virtual alternatives to travel, but do not have telepresence suites everywhere they would like to use them.

'Major multinational companies have this technology in their corporate headquarters,' said David Townshend, Marriott’s senior vice president for sales. 'But it’s expensive, so they’ve looked to Marriott and some other providers to really extend their footprint into regional locations.'

Telepresence technology has been around for several years, but analysts say the business model for public rooms, which rent for about $500 an hour, is converging with tight travel budgets to create a more compelling reason for companies to give it a try. The technology itself has also improved, eliminating the delays that can make the typical videoconferencing experience awkward."

introducing: sonic solutions.

"Best Buy Co., the world’s largest electronics retailer, will start an online store for movies and television shows that will compete with Apple Inc.’s iTunes.

The service will use technology licensed from Sonic Solutions Inc., according to a statement today from both companies. Sonic’s Roxio CinemaNow system will be installed on televisions, computers, Blu-ray players, set-top boxes and mobile phones sold by Richfield, Minnesota-based Best Buy. T

he digital video store expands Best Buy’s foray into services, helping the company increase customer loyalty, Chief Executive Officer Brian Dunn said in the statement. The content will be stored on servers so people can watch on any device, similar to how Web-based e-mail can be viewed on different computers, said Sonic Chief Executive Officer Dave Habiger.

'What we’re creating is movies in the cloud that play back anywhere,' Habiger said in an interview."

google & facebook get musical.

"Music fans are about to get two new ways to find and sample songs on the Web, as Google and Facebook introduce new features on their services.

Google, the search giant, plans to announce a music initiative at an event it will hold at the Capitol Records building in Hollywood next Wednesday, according to three people briefed on the details, who asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about the service before it was announced.

The service will give users a more efficient way to find, learn about and sample music after they search for information about bands, albums or songs, said a person who has seen an early demonstration.

Google, based in Mountain View, Calif., will not host any music, nor has it forged any new relationships with the major music labels. But it has struck deals with several streaming music services to let people easily sample music directly from the search engine."

conde nast goes app.

"Conde Nast is introducing a slick platform for selling, displaying and enhancing its titles' regular print issues on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Issues rendered for the iPhone screen will sell as apps, starting with this December's issue of GQ, priced at $2.99 in the app store.

Users will be able to see every page as it appears in print as well as renderings of all the content tailored for display on the small screen. They will also be able to watch related videos, hear audio and visit advertisers' sites without leaving the app.

It's a potentially significant step in print publishers' efforts to make something positive out of digital media. For one thing, the iPhone app puts Conde in position to play on new e-readers and tablets, the company said today. 'If you can get here, you're ready to go there,' President-CEO Charles H. Townsend said in a presentation to reporters. 'That's what this is about.'"

B&N joins the e-reader fray.

"Barnes & Noble which has long left open the possibility of introducing its own electronic reader, is expected to unveil on Tuesday at a news conference in Manhattan what it is calling the Nook.

The device features color touch-screen controls and a gray-and-white reading display. It will cost $259, matching Amazon.com's most recent price cut for its latest edition of the Kindle.

According to an advertisement that Barnes & Noble placed in the Oct. 25 issue of The New York Times Book Review and which was distributed to publishers on Monday, the Nook will permit readers to lend their digital books to friends and download books wirelessly.

hoops & yoyo go big time!

Anyone who knows me knows I'm a fan of Hallmark's stars, Hoops & Yoyo.Now it looks like they're going big time...

"In a crosspromotion strategy seemingly plucked from a Hallmark marketer’s dream, two characters from a popular line of Hallmark Cards will be hosts of the Hallmark Channel’s holiday movie nights on Fridays from Thanksgiving to Christmas.

The characters, Hoops and Yoyo — they evidently spell their names lowercase without any spaces, as 'hoops&yoyo' — will introduce the movies and banter about them during commercial breaks. They will also act as mascots for the movie nights, which are part of the channel’s 'Countdown to Christmas' programming month.

The eight-year-old Hallmark Channel is best known for its original movies. Card characters like Hoops and Yoyo could help promote the Hallmark Channel in a way that movies cannot — the same way Miley Cyrus steers viewers to the Disney Channel and 'The Simpsons' lures viewers to Fox.

'We want to utilize the Hallmark Cards assets as well as our own,' said Susanne McAvoy, the senior vice president for marketing for the channel."