Mediaboss Marketing

PLAINFIELD, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Infycosm, Inc., a division of Infutor Data Solutions Corp. and market leader in providing data and database marketing solutions to organizations that support local small to medium businesses, announced today a partnership with Automotive Internet Media, Inc. (AIM), a premier integrated media and lead distribution company to deliver Lead Enrichment services to automotive dealers.

Incomplete or inaccurate sales leads are a costly problem for business to consumer sales organizations. Many times, customer or background information is insufficient for sales professionals to respond to leads. This problem is so common that the Yankee Group estimates that 70% of all new business sales leads deliver incomplete or inaccurate customer information.

The Lead Enrichment service solves this problem for dealers that depend on online automobile dealer websites to drive sales traffic. Lead Enrichment is a real-time web service that enhances the sales lead generated from automobile sales websites and sends it to the local automobile dealer’s CRM system or email inbox. The enhanced lead includes validated customer information and appended missing email, address, demographic and automobile history information that sales people need to accelerate the sales cycle and turn valuable leads into car sales.

“An incomplete or inaccurate sales lead costs auto dealers thousands of dollars,” stated Tony French, President & Co-Founder, Automotive Internet Media. “Our Lead Enrichment service leverages Infycosm’s comprehensive databases to ensure that superior information is provided for each new sales opportunity.”

“Automotive Internet Media is a leading online marketing company that produces thousands of online leads for automobile dealers,” stated Karen Kovaleski, General Manager of Infycosm. “We are looking forward to bringing our collective expertise to deliver the most comprehensive lead validation solution to automotive dealers in the local market.”

To learn more visit http://www.leadenrichment.com.

About Infycosm, Inc.

Infycosm, Inc (http://www.infycosm.com) provides solutions that help small-medium businesses acquire, validate or maintain customer contact. Infycosm delivers these capabilities through a vast set of deep, rich databases powered by Infutor Data Solutions Corp. Infycosm maintains its headquarters in Plainfield, IL, with business offices in San Francisco, CA and San Rafael de Escazú, Costa Rica, and consultant teams across the U.S.

About Automotive Internet Media, Inc.

Automotive Internet Media, Inc. (AIM, http://www.automotiveinternetmedia.com) headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, is a premier integrated media and lead distribution company. AIM encompasses an integrated network of highly specialized consumer websites that leverages search engine optimization to drive online traffic and connects digital advertising with their clients' brand objectives. With a solid foundation for growth, AIM is simultaneously building its current brands while continuing to grow through launching and managing other properties and providing online marketing and SEO services to automotive dealerships.

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Automotive Internet Media and Infycosm Enrich Online Auto Leads

The Hawaii politician behind a proposed Internet tracking law acknowledged defeat today, saying that he recommends "that we kill this bill" this year.

State Representative John Mizuno, the lead sponsor of H.B. 2288 (PDF), bowed to what he described as an "incredible" national outcry that arose after a CNET article last week. His proposal would have required virtual dossiers to be compiled on state residents: two years' worth of their Internet browsing.

John Mizuno, Dem. state legislator in Hawaii and a sponsor of the bill, wanted to require virtual dossiers to be compiled on state residents: two years' worth of their Internet browsing.

(Credit: Hawaii.gov)

"It's generated a lot of national attention," Mizuno, a Democrat from Oahu, told CNET this afternoon. "I've taken into consideration the thousands of e-mails (which were often) colorful and passionate, which is absolutely fine... This bill just isn't ready. It needs a lot of work."

What would have normally been a routine committee hearing last week on H.B. 2288 was marked by a broad outcry against Mizuno's legislation -- an echo of the recent protests over the Stop Online Piracy Act -- which went further than other data retention proposals to date. Members of Hawaii's Internet community showed up to warn against the legislation, while industry representatives and groups including the ACLU wrote letters (PDF) opposing it.

H.B. 2288 says "Internet destination history information" and "subscriber's information" such as name and address must be saved for two years.

Mizuno said he believes that approach -- recording both the origin and destination Internet address of Aloha State residents -- is valuable and plans to return to it in 2013.

Police would then have a record of pedophiles "going after the kids, trolling for the kids," he said. "I think both would be very strong pieces of evidence if there's going to be a criminal proceeding."

"While I respect Rep. Mizuno's attempt to assist law enforcement in catching dangerous criminals, his approach is dangerously flawed," Daniel Leuck, chief executive of Honolulu-based software design boutique Ikayzo, told CNET this afternoon. "There is no question that having two years of browsing history for every resident would make it easier for law enforcement. So would warrantless searches of people's homes."

Aryn Nakaoka, president of Hawaii Internet provider Lava.net, who reassured customers last week that his company will "never" store customer data, says he's happy to hear that H.B. 2288 has been withdrawn. Though even if it became law, he said, you wouldn't be able to know what a criminal was doing without "looking at their content or subpoenaing websites which would be the next and very scary step of content monitoring.

Last summer, U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) managed to persuade a divided committee in the U.S. House of Representatives to approve his data retention proposal, which doesn't go nearly as far as Hawaii's. (Smith, currently Hollywood's favorite Republican, has become better known as the author of SOPA.)

Mizuno's proposal specified no privacy protections, such as placing restrictions on what Internet providers can do with this information (like selling user profiles to advertisers) or requiring that police obtain a court order before perusing the virtual dossiers of Hawaiian citizens. Also absent were security requirements such as mandating the use of encryption.

Because the wording was so broad and applies to any company that "provides access to the Internet," Mizuno's legislation could sweep in far more than AT&T, Verizon, and Hawaii's local Internet providers. It could also impose sweeping new requirements on coffee shops, bookstores, and hotels frequented by the over 6 million tourists who visit the islands each year.

NetChoice, a trade association in Washington, D.C. that counts eBay, Facebook, and Yahoo as members, sent a letter (PDF) to the state legislature warning that H.B. 2288's data collection requirements "could be misused in lawsuits," including in divorce cases.

Even the Justice Department has only lobbied the U.S. Congress to record Internet Protocol addresses assigned to individuals--users' origin IP address, in other words. It hasn't publicly demanded that companies record the destination IP addresses as well.

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Hawaii politico behind Internet dossier bill nixes idea

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A city panel in the U.S. capital voted on Wednesday to repeal a first-in-the-nation Internet gambling law for Washington, D.C., a spokeswoman said.

Support for online gambling had dried up as details surfaced about the roundabout way a contract was awarded to Greece's Intralot, the District of Columbia's lottery operator.

Stepping back from the online project, the city council's Finance Committee voted 3-2 to repeal a 2010 law that would have allowed it, said Denise Tolliver, chief of staff for Councilman Phil Mendelson, a sponsor of the bill.

The full 12-member council will hold the first of two votes on repeal on Tuesday, she said.

"They may start over. I don't think they are that far yet," Tolliver said.

Internet gambling received a blow this week when Mayor Vincent Gray, who has generally supported the plan, backed repeal.

Resistance to the plan had grown as details surfaced about how the law came about. Internet gambling was added to the city's lottery contract months after the contract passed a 2009 council vote. It was legalized through a 2010 spending bill.

No date had been set for launch. Washington would have been the first U.S. jurisdiction to have its own site dedicated to games such as online poker and blackjack.

Gray and other supporters had argued that the District of Columbia needed millions of dollars in revenues from online gambling. But that argument was weakened with the city's announcement in December that revenue in the current fiscal year was expected to top forecasts by $42 million.

Byron Boothe, Intralot's vice president for government affairs, said Washington "was really leading the (online gambling) charge and obviously they dropped the baton."

He said it would be difficult for the District of Columbia to revive the online gambling initiative since congressional sentiment has swung against state or local government oversight in favor of federal regulation.

A number of states are looking at Internet gambling, including Illinois, New York and Hawaii, he said. Nevada's Gaming Commission last year passed a framework to regulate online poker.

(Reporting By Ian Simpson; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)

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Washington D.C. steps back from Internet gambling launch

Two weeks after Internet users helped sideline controversial online piracy legislation, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., urged the Internet community on Tuesday to again rally to push Congress to free up more unlicensed spectrum for Wi-Fi and other new wireless technologies.

“It’s going to take your voices and the voices of a whole bunch of folks similar to what happened a few weeks ago ... to just rise up and make clear that that freedom, that the accessibility, capacity for innovation is vital to our future competitive position,” Kerry, chairman of the Senate Commerce Communications Subcommittee, said at an event sponsored by the Wireless Innovation Alliance and the New America Foundation. 

Kerry was discussing concerns about a provision included in House spectrum legislation that would limit the ability of the Federal Communications Commission to free up more spectrum for unlicensed uses such as Wi-Fi.

Almost anyone who uses a tablet computer, laptop, or smartphone has likely taken advantage of the availability of unlicensed spectrum the FCC has provided in the past by using one of the growing Wi-Fi spots available at coffee shops, stores, and other places around the country. Kerry and other lawmakers, as well as tech companies, public-interest groups, and others, would like to see the FCC free up even more unlicensed spectrum for Wi-Fi and new technologies but worry the provision in the spectrum bill approved by the House Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee could derail that effort.

Kerry argued that the need for unlicensed spectrum for a whole range of current and future innovations is as important as the concerns raised in recent weeks about online-piracy legislation. Earlier this month, thousands of websites blocked part or all of their sites in protest over the online-piracy legislation, which critics said would stifle innovation and free speech on the Internet. The protest helped push congressional leaders to shelve the online piracy legislation for now. 

House and Senate negotiations on extending a payroll-tax cut may include spectrum legislation in the compromise package to help pay for the cost of tax legislation. Supporters of unlicensed spectrum don’t want conferees to include the House’s language if they include spectrum legislation in the final payroll-tax package. The House GOP spectrum bill would bar the FCC from reserving some spectrum from the so-called incentive auctions authorized by the legislation for unlicensed uses and would restrict the ability of the FCC to structure the auctions as they see fit. Incentive auctions are aimed at getting broadcasters to give up some of their spectrum for a share in the revenues. 

Reed Hundt, who served as FCC chairman during the Clinton administration, described the House spectrum bill as “the single worst telecom bill I have ever seen.” Hundt, however, said he is concerned it could get passed as part of the payroll-tax package because many members want to see payroll-tax cut extended.

The House Communications and Technology Subcommittee approved its spectrum bill, which was drafted by subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., late last year despite opposition from the panel’s top Democrats. The spectrum bill was included in the payroll-tax package approved by the House. The Senate Commerce Committee approved its own spectrum legislation last summer. The Wireless Innovation Alliance, a coalition of tech companies, public-interest groups and others, prefers Senate Commerce’s language on the issue but the Senate did not include spectrum legislation in its payroll-tax measure. 

Supporters of the House spectrum language may have the upper hand in negotiations with the Senate on the payroll-tax package. Both Walden and Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., are among the House conferees on the payroll-tax measure as is Energy and Commerce ranking member Henry Waxman, D-Calif. However, no Senate Commerce Committee members are on the payroll-tax conference panel, which would allow them to directly push for their version of the spectrum legislation.

“I’m worried … about the dynamics of the payroll-tax process because I’m not sure everybody engaged in that shares quite the same sensitivity that is represented in this room and elsewhere,” Kerry said.

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Kerry Seeks Internet Help on Spectrum

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) -- North Dakota's lottery may pursue using the Internet to sell tickets directly to buyers, a move touted as the "wave of the future" that some retailers fear will cost them business.

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said any move would be explored gingerly and the Legislature would have to approve it.

"I certainly want to be careful that we're not interfering with the good relationship we've developed with the retailers in North Dakota," Stenehjem said. "We want to make sure we're not cutting them out of the process."

The concept isn't popular with the lottery's network of about 400 retailers, which sell most of the tickets for Powerball, Mega Millions and three smaller multistate games.

If North Dakota allows Internet lottery ticket sales, there is little point to keeping the lottery's existing network of convenience stores, grocers and other outlets that now market the tickets, said Mike Rud, president of the North Dakota Retail Association. He said stores could use space taken up by lottery equipment for other things.

"If (Internet sales are) what we want to do, let's do it full bore. Take away the machines, let's do it all online," Rud said. "We kind of view it as an all-or-nothing proposition."

State lotteries across the country have been looking into Internet ticket sales after a U.S. Department of Justice legal opinion, made public last month, declared that state lotteries could use their websites to sell individual tickets to their states' residents, said David Gale, director of the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries.

The opinion came at the request of officials in Illinois and New York state. The Justice Department had previously asserted that federal law barred Internet gambling, a position that lottery advocates had vigorously disputed.

"It's the wave of the future. That's very obvious," Gale said of Internet sales. "It's a key element in attracting the emerging market that's out there."

Michael Jones, superintendent of the Illinois Lottery, said the agency hopes to begin marketing tickets for its Powerball and Lotto games on its website by early April.

Jones hopes to add Mega Millions to the sales lineup as well. Both Powerball and Mega Millions are played in 42 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

When jackpots for either game rise above $100 million, 300,000 to 500,000 additional players are drawn in, he said. Market research indicates that Internet sales would not hurt lottery ticket demand at traditional retailers, Jones said.

"Illinois and New York have kind of led the way, but I think everybody is looking at it now," Jones said.

The Illinois Legislature has already authorized a trial run to test the system's ability to ensure that players younger than 18 and those outside Illinois are blocked from buying tickets. In any case, ineligible players who won large prizes would not be paid, Jones said.

"Our lottery, and most lotteries, have not had any mechanism for many years to create new demand among people who don't play the lottery now," Jones said. "The lottery's been concentrating on selling more tickets to the same people, as opposed to selling tickets to a lot of people."

The North Dakota Lottery already sells ticket subscriptions in 13-, 26- and 52-week increments, which can be bought online using a credit card. Subscriptions make up only about 2 percent of the lottery's ticket sales, lottery director Randy Miller said Tuesday. During its last budget year, the lottery sold $23 million worth of tickets.

North Dakota players cannot buy individual tickets on the Internet, which prevents them from using the lottery website to jump in when jackpots exceed $100 million.

Stenehjem said any lottery's reliance on the Justice Department opinion to begin Internet lottery ticket sales carries its own risk. The opinion does not have the weight of a court ruling, and it could be trumped if Congress decides to change existing federal law, he said.

"This is an interpretation that is new," Stenehjem said. "It could just as easily switch back ... If the (presidential) administration changes, perhaps the interpretation will change, too."

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ND could explore Internet lotto sales