The switch to digital, what about white spaces?

With the date for the switch to all digital programming in the United States approaching closer and closer each day, the issue of white spaces has grown into a concern for many.  White space is the frequencies that are not currently being used by television or radio when they broadcast to viewers or listeners.  The issue that companies such as Microsoft, Google, and Dell argue is that with such available frequencies, there should be the opportunity for individuals to use certain devices that can pick up and use white spaces for their own needs so long as they do not interfere with television signals.  However, the counter argument that stands is that such devices in fact do interfere with the frequencies that television and radio companies need.  Some have even argued that it would be wise to allocate such frequencies in the case of emergencies so that police officers, fire fighters and public officials could communicate through the frequencies.

rabbit ears from Google

The Wall Street Journal said this week that The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has decided to allow stations to apply for additional frequencies.  This is probably  because the stations will hypothetically lose viewers once the digital switch is officially put into place (it was supposed to happen nationwide in February of this year).  The Wall Street Journal also said that the opportunity for stations to acquire these frequencies would be beneficial because a test in Wilmington, N.C. last year showed that certain individuals would permanently lose certain stations because the digital and analog range is different. 

from Google

 

 

 

This decision by the FCC is another example of the complications that the country is facing in attempting to become all digital.

Internet Ads: The future is now or never

Online advertising is facing as many struggles as advertising in newspapers.  With so many ways to target Internet users it’s a wonder how such companies aren’t generating record revenues.  But alas, with the economic recession, there are few companies that are generating any substantial profits when compared to previous years.

The New York Times bits blog says that one method certain companies have been employing is to change the size and appearance of ads on websites so that some could be floating in a given space and grab the reader’s eye, while others would just be larger.  They state that MSNBC has already begun to use this model.  When viewing the MSNBC site, it is apparent that when viewing certain pages, one is bombarded with a video ad that pops up onto the screen, but is specifically only contained within that page.  Upon clicking the back button or a link to another page the ad disappears with it.

The company that supplied the ad, Vibrant, promotes its “in-text” ads on its site.  It lets the viewer roll over a specific word to see what the ad would look like when it pops up, kind of like the blogroll section of someone’s blog on this site.

 

Yahoo in-text-ad from Google

 

Another method that has grown in popularity particularly on Hulu‘s video site is the 30 second or one-minute video ad that comes up before the site lets you watch the show you clicked on.  When watching a re-run of house the other day, I was brought to a page that gave me the option of viewing the show uninterrupted if I watched a one-minute Chanel ad instead of 30 second ads dispersed between every 10 minutes of the show. This new option may begin to prove more effective for advertisers on other popular sites, depending upon what those sites offer.  Since Hulu is a video service, it makes sense that people shouldn’t mind viewing one longer snippet of a video ad since they were already set on watching their program and they are used to seeing such ads on regular television.  It will be a matter of time before a new standard for Internet advertising is set.