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Online marketing boosts obesity

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coke.jpg The Center for Digital Democracy (CDD), a consumer watchdog dedicated to preserving the openness and diversity of the Internet, has issued an open letter to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate youth-targeted marketing initiatives implemented by leading food and beverage companies.

According the group’s new report titled “Interactive Food & Beverage Marketing: Targeting Children and Youth in the Digital Age”, several online marketing efforts by these food and beverage companies contributed to the growing obesity in US.

“As this digital marketing system moves swiftly into place, we have a relatively brief period to establish policies and marketing standards that could help prevent today’s young people–and future generations–from suffering the serious health consequences of poor nutrition,” said CDD executive director, Jeff Chester.

Leading companies guilty of doing such act are McDonald’s Coca-Cola, Burger King, Mars, and Wendy’s.

The new report will also be delivered today to Congress and at the Federal Communications Commission.

Originally posted on May 19, 2007 @ 8:07 am

New7Wonders becomes a global phenomenon

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Started in 2001 as inspired by Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber to “protect humankind’s heritage across the globe”, New7Wonders Web site is now part of the prestigious top 1 percent of the world’s most popular websites.

It is the first global election site poised to alter world history by choosing the New 7 Wonders of the world based on more than 45 million votes using modern communications technology like Internet and mobile phones. With only 46 days and 10 hours left as of this writing, official results of this exceptional campaign will be announced in Lisbon, Portugal and broadcasted globally on 07.07.07 (July 7, 2007).

“New7Wonders has one of the fastest-growing online communities. People from every country in the world have voted and continue to post photos and videos, submit slogans and spread the word. New7Wonders is a passionate movement that is making waves worldwide,” commented New7Wonders Founder and President, Bernard Weber.

New7Wonders has joined the ranks of other powerful Internet brands and organizations like Coke, Levis, UN, FIFA, Olympics, and BMW.

Originally posted on May 21, 2007 @ 10:03 am

OpenNet: 25 countries blocking Web sites

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block.jpg Studying 40 countries including Palestinian territories, Internet censorship and surveillance group OpenNet Initiative has concluded that at least 25 countries exert extra effort to block Web sites catered to political, social, and pornographic topics. This is a clear indication of Internet’s increasing importance in shaping culture and trends worldwide.

However, the study did not observe the effectiveness of these blocking efforts. Additionally, it did not cover countries like US, Western Europe, North Korea, and Cuba.

Top Countries Blocking Political Sites
China
Iran
Myanmar,
Syria
Tunisia
Vietnam

Top Countries Blocking Porno, Gay, and Lesbian sites
Iran
Oman
Saudi Arabia
Sudan
Tunisia
United Arab Emirates
Yemen

Conversely, researchers discovered there is no filtering in Russia, Israel, and Palestinian territories notwithstanding the political tension surrounding these countries.

Originally posted on May 18, 2007 @ 10:23 am

Online surfing now a routine activity in UK

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Gone are the days when Internet is the hub of techno-geeks and introverted young men. According to Nielsen NetRatings, net surfing in UK is now a mainstream activity across gender and age.

At this time, Internet usage is evenly divided between men and women – 48.4 percent female and 51.5 percent male. Moreover, men aged 50 and over are the largest male group online.

What’s more interesting is that women age 18-34 years old are the single most prevalent demographic group, accounting for 18% of all active online Britons.

“The Internet is no longer dominated by young male adults. Times have changed considerably and many will be very surprised to see that women aged 18-34 are now the most prevalent group online and that a quarter of the online population is at least 50 years of age. Companies who understand this composition when providing services or content through the web or simply advertising online will maximize their chances of success in the Internet of the future,” says Nielsen//NetRatings European Internet Analyst, Alex Burmaster.

Mature online markets like US and Europe attribute this seismic shift to high Internet access. Conversely, countries with limited Internet access are still dominated by young male adults.

Originally posted on May 19, 2007 @ 6:54 am

HBO taps Internet for its new comedy series

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conchords.jpg Premium cable television network HBO has taken advantage of Internet, for the first time, to promote its new comedy series called “Flight of the Conchords”. The company forged partnership with Time Warner subsidiary, Deep Focus, for this experimental online marketing campaign.

Realizing the power of Internet as a powerful buzz marketing tool, HBO will allow users to share the pilot episode across different social networking sites, blogs, and video-sharing sites.

Tagged as the new comedy series that makes love to your ears, The Flight of the Conchords is New Zealand’s fourth most popular folk-parody duo. In this new 12-part series, the story focuses on the duo’s adventure to be famous in New York City.

Originally posted on May 17, 2007 @ 10:05 am