Ning, the social network software company, has raised a venture round of $15 million, putting the company's private valuation at $750 million, Kara Swisher reports tonight.
Last September at MIT's EmTech conference, I asked my old pal Jason Pontin, editor of Technology Review, to interview Ning CEO and co-founder Gina Bianchini. We have republished the interview tonight.
Yesterday, Fortune.com published Gina's history of social media essay.
Andy Plesser, Managing Editor
Millions of U.S. households have connected their televisions directly to the internet, and YouTube has become the most popular platform with its vast and diverse range of video content. There have been several episodes when marketers have shied away from YouTube because of concerns about placing ads within objectionable content, but newer tools are helping […]
LONDON – What constitutes a high-quality, “premium” TV viewing experience in the eyes of audiences? It’s a question that is hotly debated in the TV and advertising industries. To get a handle on it, NBCUniversal and FreeWheel conducted research putting a range of content and ad experience options to 8,000 viewers. The research, “Prescribing Premium“, […]
SANTA MONICA, Calif. – Contextual advertising has been around for years, but its role was somewhat diminished as marketers relied on tracking cookies to improve their audience targeting online. With connected television, which is a cookieless environment, contextual advertising is getting supercharged with advances in technology. “Contextual targeting is going to play a significant role […]
With another Consumer Electronics Show just around the corner, professionals are set to flock to Las Vegas, including those from advertising and media. Serina Spencer, SVP, Enablement, PMX Lift, Publicis Media, is no stranger to CES. In this video interview with Beet.TV, she shared her advice for first-time attendees: comfortable shoes, hydration, and careful scheduling […]
Addressable TV advertising has hit an inflection point. More marketers are turning to it as a “must-buy” to achieve better performance, even as overall TV ad spend remains under pressure. That was the view of one ad industry executive speaking at the Go Addressable summit this week. The summit, which brought together hundreds of attendees […]
LONDON – TV may have traditionally played a largely brand-building role for advertisers, but the new-look TV supports both branding and performance marketing. “I think it’s true that the lines between brand awareness and performance are starting to blur, particularly on streaming TV,”said John Tigg, SVP, Buyer Development EMEA, Index Exchange, in this video interview […]
LONDON – The advertising industry is grappling with a paradox. As premium video content flourishes, accessing it can sometimes seem like a labyrinthine process, particularly for smaller advertisers seeking to expand their reach. No wonder many in advertising are technology are trying to simplify the complexity that has grown up. “The number one change or […]
LONDON – Every major brand of smart television has its own operating system to run apps for connected television, but this predicament isn’t ideal for consumers who want a user-friendly experience. TiVo developed a neutral operating system intended to avoid creating another walled garden. “There’s the need in the industry for a new independent operating […]
Women in the past 50 years have steadily risen into top managerial roles in the advertising and media industries, but there’s still more work to be done in terms of equal pay and greater diversity in the C-suite. Amid these efforts, women can help each other, a key theme of the “Lift As You Climb” […]
SANTA MONICA, Calif. – While Publishers Clearing House is well known as a sweepstakes company, it has evolved in the past decade into a digital marketing and commerce company that has vast troves of opt-in data about consumers. This information is considered valuable as more households connect their televisions to the internet, opening up another […]
The death of linear TV may have been greatly exaggerated, says a UK executive who has an expanding portfolio of live sport, coupled with a growing range of ad-tech products. “We talk a lot about the demise of linear TV and I certainly don’t see or feel that,” said Ruth Cartwright, Investment Director, Sky Media, […]
SANTA MONICA, Calif. – As CEOs, CMOs and agency clients demand AI strategies, marketing executives are grappling with how to harness the potential of artificial intelligence in its early, fast-evolving days. So, how have the early forays shaken-out, as we head in to 2025? “The smartest marketers that I talk with are really thinking about […]
CES 2025 is expected to showcase the ways that technology companies and makers of consumer electronics are adopting artificial intelligence to improve their products and services. For AI to be effective for advertisers and marketers, it needs high-quality data. “One of the things that hasn’t been talked about enough, perhaps, is the data that goes […]
Addressable advertising is making great strides in fulfilling its promise to show different commercials to different households during the same television programming. These capabilities rely on various sources of first-party data, which advertising data and insights platform Blockgraph brings together. “Having really accurate first party data is critical for advertisers who want to reach their […]
The worlds of television and streaming have blurred, and many children no longer recognize the difference between traditional television and apps, according to Travis Scoles, EVP, Advanced Advertising at Paramount. Scoles highlighted how this generational shift has influenced viewing habits and challenged the traditional definition of television. Speaking at Beet Retreat, he said TV advertising […]
SANTA MONICA, Calif. – The software tools to automate the buying and selling of digital and mobile advertising are transforming the connected television ad market. The adoption of these programmatic tools are helping startup CTV apps to sell ads and making the television advertising more accessible to marketers with smaller media budgets. Programmatic is “lowering […]
SANTA MONICA, Calif. – Generative artificial intelligence, the technology that powers popular apps such as ChatGPT, is changing the way brands and agencies develop campaigns, and the reshaping has only just begun. “Generative AI is going to be the most transformational technology in our lifetime,” Sam Garfield, head of digital strategy for communications, media and […]
SANTA MONICA, Calif. – The fragmentation of media has made it much harder for marketers to achieve the kind of reach and scale they once enjoyed through traditional linear channels. But an omnichannel approach, informed by audience data, can help brands connect with customers more effectively across a range of different media experiences. That’s the […]
CES showcases the latest electronic hardware such as high-definition televisions, gaming computers, wearable devices and WiFi gear, but they all need software including videogames for the fullest “wow” effect. “We love going to CES. It sets the tone in a lot of ways for the rest of the year,” Gabrielle Heyman, vice president of global […]
SANTA MONICA, Calif. – Programmatic ad-buying has long relied on carefully selecting digital properties and packaging them for buyers. Traditionally, supply-side platforms (SSPs) like OpenX have curated ad inventory by choosing websites and apps, bundling them and making the packages available to DSPs through deal IDs. Advertisers then would apply their own first- or third-party […]
Perceptions of women business leaders may have shifted in recent years — but is there still a misunderstanding about female leadership? In this video interview with Beet.TV, Kristi Argyilan, SVP, Retail Media, Albertsons Companies, said the distinction between the perceived styles of men and women leaders remains an open item for business to address. Meanwhile, […]