If you were happy wasting hours in front of everyone's favorite (mostly clean) amateur video sharing website, YouTube, before, you've got a reason to cheer- this past week, it was acquired by search engine giant Google.com for $1.6 billion.

It seems as if the latest business model for an internet startup these days is not bent on longevity. Rather, the general theme on the World Wide Web is to come up with a quirky idea, build lots of buzz and interest, and then be acquired by a media giant like Google. With a check such as that now in the hands of YouTube co-founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen potentially waiting for nerdy grad students working on their senior theses, perhaps those Silicon Valley skeptics were wrong about the fleeting nature of success in the .com world. Last year, Google bought up thirteen smaller corporations, and continues to roll on over competitors in the tier just below their largest rival, Yahoo.

So, there is a business side to all this, but the average bored dorm room denizen wasting his life on YouTube is most likely not thinking about mergers and acquisitions. The biggest question to end users (as it always is with these types of deals) is "What does this mean for me, and how will it change my use of both sites?"

Despite all the buzz about a whole new way to search on GooTube.com, Google's representatives have made it a point to reassure users that each site will maintain its own brand identity. YouTube will still run as a free shareware site, and Google will still know what type of underpants Albert Einstein was wearing when he was working on the Theory of Relativity. Also, in case you were wondering about Google's recent foray into the video sharing market- Google Video," that will still be around as well. Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin (sensing a pattern here?) justify this by explaining that Google Video is merely a search engine for video files on the entire internet. They admitted that it does not allow for file sharing, one of YouTube's best selling points, and that they started to seriously consider turning the wheels on acquiring YouTube when research showed that a comparatively large number of searches on Google Video were hitting YouTube anyway.

This merger comes at a hefty price for America's widest-used search engine. $1.6 billion has been spent at a great risk. Page admits that YouTube will be the company's most risky venture to date. As it is currently, the video sharing site is not geared at all to generate the profit it needs to pay for itself and eventually put Google in the green.

/sjuhawknews.com/

Efforts to Increase Confidence in Online Marketing Channels

The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) has announced that it will begin requiring its member organizations to adhere to a new guideline for how marketers should provide notice and choice regarding software that may be downloaded onto a consumers personal computer or similar devices (such as PDAs or MP3 players). The new guideline was approved last week by DMA's Board of Directors and immediately becomes part of DMA's comprehensive Guidelines for Ethical Business Practice, adherence to which is a requirement for DMA membership.
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"While software technology by itself is neutral, substantial harm, including "modem hijacking," identity theft and significant decreases in performance can result from deceptive and unethical uses of downloadable software," said Louis Mastria, DMA's vice president for interactive and emerging media. "We are committed to taking a strong stand against such practices in order to increase confidence in the online channel."

The guideline states that marketers should not install, have installed, or use, software or other similar technology on a computer or similar device that initiates deceptive practices or interferes with a user's expectation of the functionality of the computer and its programs. Such practices could include software that takes control of a computer (e.g., relaying spam and viruses, modem hijacking, denial of service attacks, or endless loop pop-up advertisements). Also prohibited would be programs that deceptively modify or disable security or browser settings or prevent the user's efforts to disable or uninstall the software.

The guideline also lays out what marketers should do when offering software or other similar technology that is installed on a computer for legitimate marketing purposes. Specifically, such programs must give the user clear and conspicuous notice and choice at the point of joining a service or before the software or other similar technology begins operating on the user's computer, including notice of significant effects of having the software or other similar technology installed. Marketers must also give the user an easy means to uninstall the technology and/or disable all functionality. Finally, marketers should always provide an easily accessible link to privacy policies and contact information, as well as clear identification of company making the offer.

"DMA members represent some of the nation's largest and best-known consumer and nonprofit brands. Protecting those brands -- and the consumers who place their trust in them -- is vitally important," said Patricia Kachura, DMA's senior vice president for ethics and consumer affairs.

About DMA

The Direct Marketing Association (http://www.the-dma.org) is the leading global trade association of business and nonprofit organizations using and supporting direct marketing tools and techniques. DMA advocates industry standards for responsible marketing, promotes relevance as the key to reaching consumers with desirable offers, and provides cutting-edge research, education, and networking opportunities to improve results throughout the entire direct marketing process. Founded in 1917, DMA today has more than 4,800 corporate, affiliate, and chapter members from the US and 46 other nations, including 55 companies listed on the Fortune 100.

In 2005, companies will spend more than $161 billion on direct marketing in the United States. Measured against total US sales, these advertising expenditures are expected to generate $1.85 trillion in increased sales in 2005, or 7% of the $26 trillion in total sales in the US economy (which includes intermediate sales). All together, direct marketing will account for 10.3% of total US GDP in 2005.

The Power of Direct: Relevance. Responsibility. Results.

Source: The Direct Marketing Association