Things I've Missed At iMedia

iMedia Agency Summit started this past weekend here in Austin, TX.

These are the great things I missed so far:

William Hung

Russel Simmons


This list better not get longer!

Apparently Facebook Still Isn’t Making Money

This isn’t necessarily newsworthy to anyone in marketing, but interesting to see that Facebook still charges about $0.15 CPM (cost per thousand impressions) for its ad inventory, and continues to make absolutely no revenue compared to it’s unreal $15 Billion valuation.

It’s always funny to try and explain to someone outside the ad world that Facebook makes no money.

Today’s story from CNN Money gives a glimpse into the world of Mark Zuckerberg and how the young CEO plans to prove Facebook’s worth.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/12/technology/cracks_facebook_hempel.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008051308

Kobe's Moment; Long Overdue

Nice branding play by Kia...I'm actually not going to tie this to marketing. It just makes me happy.

Me and My Friends Are Keepin' Our Jobs

Media Post’s OMMA Magazine’s May edition got dropped on my desk about 45 minutes ago. Needing some reprieve from my computer, I kicked my feet up at the desk and took in some old fashioned reading.

Lynn Russo Whylly wrote a fantastic article entitled “What Lies Beneath.” It’s an attempt to track the amount of money being spent in digital media “below the line.” Where is money being spent that can’t be immediately tracked by an ROI number. Great article, take it when you get a moment. I finished the article feeling good thanks to this solid opening excerpt:

As Wall Street continues its bumpy ride, the media industry is itself bracing for a downturn. While there are plenty of bad things about a recession - like people losing all of their savings, their jobs and in many cases, their homes - it's not all negative. The bright side? Digital media joins the good company of porn, alcohol and cosmetics as industries that do well during tough times.

iPhone's 1 Year Birthday

It's starting to look more and more certain that Apple will release the 3G iPhone this coming June, on the 1 year anniversary of it's original release. MacRumors reports today that AT&T is limiting vacation time in prep for the upcoming release:

Last year, AT&T limited employee vacation requests between June 15-July 15 in anticipation of the original iPhone launch which took place on June 29th, 2007.Today, Boy Genius Report publishes another AT&T memo that is again restricting vacation requests, this time between June 15th and July 12th 2008. The reason for the restriction is "to ensure adequate store staffing and to give everyone an equal opportunity to benefit from an exciting product launch." AT&T expects "heavier than normal customer traffic" in their stores due to an "exciting Summer Promotional Launch". Of course, speculation points to Apple launching their new 3G iPhone during that time. The timeframe is consistent with a previous report that claimed that Apple was targeting "on or around June 27th" to approximately coincide with the one year anniversary of the iPhone launch. Meanwhile, the NYTimes believes that the European launch for the 3G iPhone will be "by the August summer holidays" according to a person close to the situation.Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference takes place between June 9-13th in San Francisco, and could serve as the launching ground for the next generation iPhone.

As a dedicated Mac user and iPhone owner, I have mixed feelings on the release. The life of the iPhone has not been without its ups and downs. The original debocales regarding number of units produced, price varations, etc. have left some with a skewed viewed of Apple's usual customer friendly outlook.

Personally, I'm just pissed that I'll have to shell out $400 for an updated phone later this year.

In unrelated news, I just hid an empty soda can in one of my colleagues drawers. Will he find it? Come back tomorrow to find out.

Who's Tired?