Welcome

Welcome to another edition of the Prompt newsletter. Google is making headlines this week (although when isn't it?), by demonstrating a willingness to clean up its act and go green. But that's not all - we've got stories about genotyping, geeky gifts and a very special whale.

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Technology News

Whale 2.0
By Lance Concannon

When Greenpeace recently started an online poll to allow its website visitors to choose a name for an adopted whale, the list of thirty options mostly consisted of names like Echo, Amal, and Yarrindi. In amongst all this drippy new age pap, some joker threw in a more entertaining option, Mr Splashy Pants. It didn’t take long for the users of popular social media site, Reddit, to start a campaign to “save a whale from suffering a hippy name at the hands of Greenpeace” and soon enough Mr Splashy Pants became the clear favourite by thousands of votes.

The best thing about this story is that instead of crying foul and nullifying the vote, Greenpeace got into the spirit of things and seized the opportunity to win further support for its anti-whaling campaign. This is a great example of how the power of social media can cause an organisation’s messaging to run out of control in ways they probably never imagined, and also it shows that this doesn’t always have to be a bad thing.

UK Broadcasters Form Historic Internet Alliance
By Duncan Heaney

Web-surfing couch potatoes of the world rejoice! BBC News is reporting that the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 are all set to launch a combined on-demand web TV service, which will collect hundreds of television programmes from the three broadcasters and make them available over the internet.

Currently, each of the companies offers their own unique web TV service. Channel 4 has achieved some success with 4oD, ITV operate their own catch up service, and the BBC has the much publicised, and much criticised, iPlayer. When the new service is launched, the BBC and ITV will continue to operate their own services alongside the new combined site, while 4oD will cease to be.

The TV shows will be accessible in a variety of ways. Free downloads, streaming, rentals and purchases will all be available, though the specifics have not yet been revealed. There is suggestion that the ultimate goal is to get the programmes delivered straight to the TV via a freeview box.

The name of this new service is also unknown, and plans still have to be approved by the BBC trust, but this looks like it could be a major step towards a widespread adoption of web TV services.

But where’s poor old Channel 5?

US Media News

By Tarryn Morley

US

Daniel Roth has resigned as a senior writer for Conde Nast Portfolio to join Wired as a senior writer. He has also previously worked for Fortune , Forbes , and the Triangle Business Journal. Roth will start his new role Dec. 24.

The Wall Street Journal has decided to expand the distribution of Pursuits, the glossy monthly magazine about the lifestyles of the rich, when it debuts next September. In addition to the 800,000 copies planned for Journal subscribers in the United States, Pursuits is expected to be inserted into about 80,000 copies each of the Europe and Asia editions. The total expected circulation for Pursuits is 960,000. The WSJ already publishes a glossy magazine in Europe called Style Journal and another in Asia called Weekend, although there are plans for Pursuits to be established as a single glossy brand for the WSJ around the globe.

Debbie Gage will leave Baseline magazine on Dec. 10 to join the San Francisco Chronicle as senior technology reporter. Gage has been covering high technology since 1994 and has won multiple journalism awards for her documentary work. At Baseline, she covered various topics surrounding IT deployment and implementation.

UK Media News

By Tarryn Morley

UK

Reed Business Information’s computerweekly.com has been redesigned. Visitors to the website will now have access to whitepapers, podcasts, webinars and video, a research category, and an improved jobs service. The revamped computerweekly.com is also more interactive and easier to navigate. Computerweekly.com, edited by James Garner, aims to provide key information for all IT professionals.

There have been several recent changes at Future Publishing's T3 brands, which include the T3 magazine, T3 Home magazine, and the website T3.co.uk. T3.co.uk, a website covering gadgets and consumer technology, is changing names in two weeks time to T3.com. In further changes at the website, deputy editor James Holland is leaving, former staff writer Joe Minihane is now news writer and Rhiain Morgan has been appointed staff writer. T3 Home, a quarterly lifestyle and home interest magazine for men, has closed. T3 Home was edited by Jim Hill.

Rosamund Urwin has joined the Evening Standard as a graduate trainee business reporter. This is Urwin's first job in journalism. Urwin studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford University and has a masters from the London School of Economics.

Minister promises to keep Britain in fast lane
By Dave Wilby

This week a broadband summit chaired by ‘competitiveness minister’ Stephen Timms agreed a plan of action for rolling out next generation ultra-fast broadband networks to stop Britain lagging behind mainland Europe. Timms applauded Virgin Media’s plans for a 50Mbps service in the UK in 2008 and claimed a competitive ISP market would ensure rival pilots throughout next year.

Although more than half of all UK homes now have an average broadband connection of 4Mbps, the summit was quick to point out other countries were now rolling out 100Mbps schemes and suggested further delays in following suit would damage the country’s future economy. "We must ensure our industry stays ahead and is well placed to make the most of the hi-tech, knowledge-based economy," urged Timms. A "vision statement" will now be drawn up by the government to establish investment priorities for UK broadband.

Everything’s Gone Green
By Dave Wilby

Google is continuing its mission to take over the world by doing its bit to save it - by funding 'cheaper than coal' green energy projects. On Tuesday, according to ZDNet and others, the software giant pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to make renewable energy “cheaper than coal” (or ‘RE<C’ for short).

Google will invest in companies already developing clean-energy technologies while investing further millions into solar-thermal technology, wind power, and geothermal R&D of its own - ultimately turning all its datacentres and power-hungry facilities green in the process. Google's philanthropic arm, Google.org, already has more than $2bn (£970m) of Google stock burning a (low-emission) hole in its substantial pocket.

And finally, geeky gift giving guides!
By Dave Wilby

CNET, an amusing muddle of leading edge technology and old-fashioned buffoonery at the best of times, is at its bumbling best at Christmas. Not that it would ever actually entertain the notion of ‘Christmas’ of course. Instead, a ‘Holiday Gift Guide’ portal urges us to buy our loved ones plasma HDTVs, DVRs, SLRs and STBs, while some unmissable programming on CNETtv offers ‘Secrets of Tech Gift Giving’ for “your unspecified Winter gift giving holiday”.

Particularly seasonal is the advice to ensure all holiday guests have access to your home WiFi network, as long as you remember to change passwords after they leave to stop them “falling into Uncle Ernie the hacker’s hands”. Ah, the true spirit of, um, an unspecified holiday…

23andMe and Google Offer Personal Genotyping Service
By Duncan Heaney

An article on Guardian Unlimited has put the spotlight on a fascinating new start-up company based in Silicon Valley. 23andMe is offering the public a personal genotyping service. The company, named for the number of chromosomes in human DNA, charges $1000 (£483) to analyse a user’s DNA, supplied through a small vial of saliva, with a specialised microchip that the company claims is able to identify almost 600,000 data points on the genome. The genetic code is uploaded to the 23andMe website, where a variety of tools are available that let you track ancestral origins and see the likelihood of contracting hereditary diseases.

An early investor in the company is the mighty Google. The internet giant has a personal connection to 23andMe – Google co-founder Sergey Brin is married to 23anMe co-founder Anne Wojcicki. With the financial clout of Google behind it, 23andMe has the opportunity do expand their business and offer other services. The company intends to offer the DNA on their database to outside groups to allow them to research correlations between genetic variations and health conditions. The customers would remain anonymous.

The company also claims that it will give users the ability to connect with other customers through ‘sharing features’. The Guardian article suggests that the site could become a social network, allowing genetically similar people to interact.

Show me the money
By Reshma Raghavani

So England has failed to qualify for Euro 2008. Digital media and sports agencies (as reported in NMA) have been quick to raise alarm bells for dips in next year’s profits.

The increase in online and mobile promotional activity has gained momentum because traditional sponsorship is expensive. Even though England will not compete in Euro 2008, sports marketers can still think outside the box. What about ambient media and guerrilla marketing?

Granted revenues of newspaper (and their football related competitions), Euro 2008 merchandising, supermarket offers on junk food and alcohol may be affected the rest of the retail and leisure industries could capitalise on this chance to promote hotels with special holiday deals; pubs and restaurants could organise ‘No Euro 2008’ night offers; and museums and theatres could arrange similar offers to increase their attendance.

This could also be the perfect opportunity for sports marketers to consider other sports in the UK which are in need of sponsorship support too. How about supporting local community sports groups which are preparing for the Olympics in 2012 and who need good training facilities? Or helping with Wheel appeal which raises funds to provide wheelchairs for young athletes with disabilities?

Of course, as a colleague rightly commented, we can hopefully look forward to a summer of less loutish behaviour on the streets and fewer sports widows meaning more quality time with the family.

Website of the Week

By Sean McManus

Storm Thorgerson

Storm Thorgerson is the designer behind such well-known record sleeves as the Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon and Led Zepelin's Houses of the Holy. On his website, you can browse his portfolio, including his remarkable installation photography. If it whets your appetite, there's an exhibition of his Pink Floyd photography in London until the 5th December. The website's great, but there's nothing quite like seeing the photos blown up huge so you can truly appreciate all the visual puns and details.

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