Blogging via Phone: Sony Ericsson, Google Partner

Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications is partnering with Google to integrate Blogger and Google search into Sony Ericsson mobile phones, reports CNET (via MarketingVox). Preloaded software on phones will allow Blogger users to update their blogs, including posting photos, from their phones. Also Google search will be the standard engine for all Sony Ericsson phones and is tightly integrated, allowing searches from within any page being viewed on the phone.

Nielsen Bows out of PPM Measurement

Nielsen announced today that it will not go into business with Arbitron to deploy the PPM (portable people meter, which automatically registers radio and TV signals within a given range of the subject), choosing to take a “portfolio” approach to TV ratings. That approach will be a combination of its LPMs (local people meters, which viewers have to log in to) with DVR data and the expansion of its national sample to include out-of-home viewing by college students.

Lyris: Email Delivery Rates Increase

Email delivery rates in the U.S. and Europe reached 89 percent in 4Q05, up from 87 percent in 3Q05 - increasing to 92 percent in the U.S. and 86 percent in Europe - reports Internet Retailer (via MarketingVox), citing figures from email marketing services provider Lyris. Users having email addresses with top 10 U.S. providers on average received 97.5 percent of their opt-in email, compared with 76.4 percent for those using a bottom 10 provider.

Internet Saturation Not Far Away

Though some thought the saturation point of the internet would arrive many years from now when all American households were wired, a study by Park Associates - a Dallas-based market research firm - suggests that saturation has nearly arrived, reports Media Life. According to the study, internet penetration growth will rise from 63 percent to 64 percent this year, meaning only 2 million of the 39 million homes without internet service plan to go online in 2006.

Ratings for Most Top 25 Shows Increase with Nielsen DVR Data

Nielsen’s new DVR ratings are starting to show substantial increases for most of the shows in the top 25 when DVR playback viewing is added to live viewing, Mediapost writes. For the week ending Feb. 12, 19 of the top 25 shows among adults 18-49 saw a boost in ratings with the addition of DVR playback data. NBC’s The Office saw the most growth, with 5 percent, followed by ABC’s Lost, Fox’s 24, and NBC’s My Name is Earl, all of which rose 4 percent.

Internet Gaining on Newspapers for Morning Sports Content

Local newspapers are still the primary source for people seeking sports information in the morning before 9 a.m. (22.8 percent), but the internet is rapidly catching up (21.1 percent), according to a new Burst Media survey of more than 6,700 web users 18 years and older.

AOL Faces Ruckus from Email ‘Tax’ Protestors

A diverse bunch comprising civic and political groups has begun what it hopes will turn into a protest movement against AOL’s plan to charge marketers for some email - rather, to ensure bulk email delivery into inboxes (rather than junk folders) in return for a fee, MarketingVox writes. Red Herring reports that nearly 50 groups - ranging from the National Humane Society to the Gun Owners of America - have set up a web site, www.dearaol.com, which declares, “Stop AOL’s Email Tax”; an online petition on the site demands that AOL keep email free for all.

Laser Display May Create 3D Ads in the Sky

Japanese researchers have developed a laser display which can produce “real” 3D images in the air, instead of the pseudo-3D images on two-dimensional planes created by current devices, according to an article in New Scientist (via Roland Piquepaille in his Emerging Technology Trends blog). While these displays are still in demonstration stage, they could soon be used to shine giant 3D ads in the air.

The system has been built by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and Keio University, in collaboration with Burton Inc.

Revenue Science Brings Behavioral Targeting to Japanese Market

Revenue Science and Digital Advertising Consortium Inc., a Japanese advertising business integrator that represents major Japanese websites including Yahoo Japan, MSN Japan, and Infoseek, announced yesterday that the two companies have signed an exclusive contract for DAC to deliver Revenue Science’s behavioral targeting services to Japanese advertisers and publishers. The agreement marks the first time that behavioral targeting will be enabled for the Japanese Kanji alphabet.

Feb. Cable Ratings: Discovery, USA Up; ESPN, Comedy Central, Lifetime Down

The month of February brought an end to Discovery’s ratings slide with an increased viewership up 11 percent over last year, averaging 1.09 million viewers, and brought USA Network up 13 percent to an average 2.54 million viewers in prime, writes Mediaweek. The Disney Channel had a 20 percent ratings surge, while FX continued to grow, attracting 22 percent more viewers.