online

'Hello Kitty' MMO goes into beta

Usually when you hear the awkward acronym "MMORPG," which stands for massively multiplayer online role-playing game, it's referring to some title in which elves take on dragons, or orcs battle with giant swords against shamans.

You know, your typical World of Warcraft stuff.

But on Wednesday, the newest MMORPG went into private beta, and there's not a battle axe in sight.

We bring you, courtesy of famous blogger and investor, Joi Ito: Hello Kitty Online, the new online game from Sanrio Digital.

In addition to many of the regular features of an online game, like a … Read more

Blog traffic and a question for online media

I was looking through the visitor traffic to The Open Road this afternoon, interested to see from which sources most of the traffic derives. It turns out that CNET is the first and second most important source of traffic for my blog.

This may not be a good thing.

On the one hand, it means that CNET is delivering additional content to its existing customers, keeping them with the brand. I don't have access to CNET's data but I'd hope it means that people stay on CNET's site longer and therefore end up "spending" more advertising clicks with CNET.

But on the other hand, could it also mean that rather than creating net new customers it's simply cycling its existing customer base, pushing readers around to different pages within its content network but not necessarily generating additional page views. If true, it's a phenomenon that must be common to all websites: keeping customers is easier than finding new ones.… Read more

Sony Online turns Station Exchange over to Live Gamer

After three years of running its own system to let some players of EverQuest II conduct trades of in-game assets for real money, Sony Online Entertainment is turning it over to a new partner, Live Gamer.

In 2005, SOE, the publisher of the groundbreaking online game, EverQuest, as well as EverQuest II, Star Wars Galaxies, and other titles, decided to try an experiment that took its industry's traditional approach to players buying and selling in-game assets for real money and turned it on its ears.

Previously, the industry standard was to scream loudly that such activity was illegitimate and … Read more

A design week in NYC: friendlier cabs, greener gadgets, thick crusts, and disco balls

Having just returned from New York City, I wonder whether I find it so intense because that's just how it is or because I tend to overbook my schedule, trying to squeeze in an ambitious number of meetings, rushing back and forth between midtown and downtown. In almost every cab ride I took on this trip, I noticed that many cabs now have a touch screen infotainment system that lets you pay with a credit card, watch TV, or access local city info (including a GPS tracker). I like the credit card option and the GPS but had mixed … Read more

Add online ticket sellers to Hannah Montana's fan group

It's not just screaming little tweens who are buzzing about Disney's Hannah Montana 3D concert film, which open in theaters Friday for a one-week run.

Having already sold out during popular show times in certain markets, Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: The Best of Both Worlds Concert, is no doubt making online ticket sellers happy, too.

For example, Fandango.com, the largest online movie ticket seller, is likely to mark January as one the most--if not the most--trafficked month in its eight-year history. "Most of the traffic is due to Hannah Montana," said Fandango spokesman Harry … Read more

Microsoft sees future of ads beyond search

Microsoft is hoping to get advertisers to think beyond search.

In an e-mail sent to reporters and analysts on Thursday, Microsoft's Brian McAndrews said the company is working on a new technology that will better measure the indirect role that online ads play in leading to a sale, a field known as "conversion attribution." McAndrews, who was chief executive of Aquantive when Microsoft bought it for $6 billion last year, said Microsoft has a new product that will enable advertising that is better at "giving credit where credit is due."

McAndrews, who heads Microsoft's … Read more

MIT professor on social responsibility in China's gaming culture

Henry Jenkins, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor who is perhaps academia's leading fanboy, spent part of January in Shanghai and has been posting observations on his blog. I want to highlight one of his better contributions: on social responsibility in Chinese video game culture.

Video games, "freedom," and "addiction"

Jenkins was attending the International Games and Learning Forum, organized by MIT and Beijing University. There, the focus was on "serious games," those that might potentially be used to promote learning. His most frequently repeated observation was that, while U.S. experts on … Read more

Microsoft to serve up ads to Wall Street Journal online

Microsoft landed another ad-serving deal on Tuesday, announcing it will be the exclusive third-party provider of contextual and paid search ads for the Wall Street Journal online and several other Dow Jones-owned sites.

The move is the latest in a string of deals, following Microsoft's expanded ad-serving deal with Facebook in October. In December, Microsoft announced a deal with Viacom that it valued at $500 million, though it didn't provide specific details on how it came to that figure. Last month, Microsoft signed a deal with another financial information company, Edgar Online.

In addition to WSJ.com, the … Read more

On the eve of OnMedia NYC: media and advertising industries still optimistic about 2008

I'm off to New York for the OnMedia conference from January 28-30. The two-and-a-half day event features technology CEOs from Silicon Valley leading presentations and debates with their counterparts in global advertising and media. It will be a dynamic crowd that's coming together to discuss emerging user trends and new opportunities in the marketing, branding, advertising, and public relations industries.

The list of speakers includes web 2.0 entrepreneurs such as Steve Rosenbaum (CEO, Magnify.net), Ami Kassar (Chief Innovation Officer, ideablob), and Matt Colebourne, (CEO, coComment); established content players such as Jim Spanfeller (President, Forbes.com) and … Read more