Apple tightens up on apps again, frustrating developers.

Blip.tv gets fresh funding, drops .tv from brand name.

Chrysler CMO personally approached Clint Eastwood about Super Bowl ad just as he did Eminem a year ago.

Corona supports cancer research with promo.

Google nears launch of cloud-storage service.

Groupon reports net loss in first quarterly filing after IPO.

Honda aims to reclaim its luster.

Mattel launches new global campaign for Barbie.Continue reading...

AARP unveils a new ad campaign targeting boomers this week.

Apple will unveil iCloud Android-fighter today at WWDC, as brand leads tablet market in China.

Bank of America and Goldman Sachs lead US bank stocks taking a beating.

Blip.tv ramps up original content to complete with YouTube.

Boeing faces labor strife.

Coca-Cola resists increasing prices.

Demi Moore adds "CNN reporter" to her credits with sex trafficking doc, a subject near and dear to her DNA Foundation.

E3 starts tommorow, where Nintendo will unveil its new Wii console, Sony will tout NGP (its new handheld gaming device) and Microsoft will promote Kinect and position Xbox as the hub of the home entertainment system.Continue reading...

Web video programmers are getting better at promoting their wares, borrowing a well-worn page from the analog playbook that TV programmers have mastered.

Case in point: Lionsgate and Hudsun Media signed a deal to run Trailer Trash (watch the trailer above) on Hulu, partly because the video portal is mastering the art of scheduling, programming and marketing.

"Crossing your fingers and hoping people will find out about a show isn't really a business model," commented Curt Marvis, Lionsgate president of digital media, to the Wall Street Journal.Continue reading...

More people are now watching Web video series – and at night, in lieu of primetime TV programming – marking a seachange for consumers and brand marketers alike.

Online viewing of longform content is on a steady increase, increasing 11.3% between 2008 and 2009. eMarketer projects annual growth in longform video viewing of 8% to 9% a year from 2010 through 2012, dropping to about 5.2% growth from 2013 to 2014, when 77% of US Internet users will be watching online video at least once a month.

A key factor in this trend is broadband proliferation and online audience demographics. Not surprisingly, the highest penetration of Web video consumption is with 18-24-year-olds, followed closely by teens and 25-34-year-olds. This audience grew up not tethered to the TV set, but plugged in to PCs, laptops, cellphones and mobile devices.

They also weathered the early days of negligible online content as the burgeoning platform found its legs. Consider the first Web series to catch worldwide attention, the lonelygirl15 viral video phenomenon on YouTube.Continue reading...

As if Slurpees weren't enough, get ready for the “7-Eleven Road Trip Rally.” A sort of Amazing Race meets Survivor, the Web series (produced in partnership with Blip.TV) will trail two cross-country teams who feed, water and gas-up only at 7-Eleven stores.

The contest begins May 10 and ends May 28 when the winning team crosses the finish line at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The team with the most points – from ‘Pit Stop’ challenges completed along the way – wins.

Follow the Red Team and Green Team, (teams actually auditioned for the part, and their screen tests and outtakes are available on the site), and track every mile, purchase, and wrong turn, on 7-Eleven’s Twitter and Facebook accounts.

The show’s final challenge will take place at Indy, where Tony Kanaan and Danica Patrick will announce the winners.Continue reading...

Behold, above, YouTube's first-ever video. Stunning, no?

Four years ago, when YouTube was in its infancy, I pondered its future:

"With a potentially crippling copyright lawsuit on the horizon, it's almost impossible not to compare YouTube to Napster. It's easy to see a future in which YouTube will exist as a brand in recovery, scrapping for survival in a flooded marketplace it basically built."

As YouTube celebrates its fifth birthday, it turns out I could not have been more wrong.Continue reading...