Mediaboss Marketing

When news broke that regulators had approved the Comcast/NBCU mega-merger in January 2011, I was at the annual State of the Net meeting on Capitol Hill. I missed most of the conference to hole up in my hotel room and write about the deal; the monster transaction would have more impact on the state of internet access in America than any panel discussion at the conference.

Heres why: With the addition of control over NBCUs wildly profitable cable channels (and NBC sports programming) to its existing commanding lead in territory for the provision of high-speed internet access, Comcast can make it just too expensive for any private-sector wired competitor to show up as a cheaper distributor of information, entertainment, data, and voice services.

High-speed internet is the stuff of modern life and the infrastructure America needs to thrive as a global competitor. But many of Americas great cities are now Comcast country when it comes to wired high-speed internet access. (And if youre not in Comcast country, youre probably in Time Warner or Cablevision country these companies dont enter each others territories.) The consumers bank account is suffering and were lagging as a nation, but Comcast is doing well.

Last December, the other shoe dropped: Verizon Wireless and Comcast agreed to market each others services. Verizon waved a white flag, implicitly agreeing not to compete with Comcast on the wired side of high-speed internet access by recognizing that the moat around Comcasts (and Time Warners) business was just too wide to cross. (As a practical matter, only Verizons FiOS can compete with Comcasts DOCSIS 3.0 services, but in 85% of Comcasts footprint there are no FiOS services. Because its too expensive to rip out copper and install fiber, Verizon isnt going to expand, leaving Comcast customers with no choice.)

The prospects Comcast are targeting with Internet Essentials arent customers it wants in the long run; the program, in a sense, filters out people who cant pay by readying them to pay later.

Comcast was also implicitly agreeing not to build its own wireless facilities, making Verizon Wirelesss business plans more certain.

And so the private providers of internet access in America are dividing the market you take wired, Ill take wireless which is all to the good for their shareholders, but not so great for the rest of us.

Now that it faces no competition from other private wired providers and is conceding that wireless was always a complementary service not a substitute for its wires even Comcast has to be just slightly worried that someone will notice that it is selling an essential commodity with zero oversight. Its as if a single company was providing water or electricity in your town and could choose whom to serve and how much to charge not something most Americans would think was a good idea.

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Water, Internet Access and Swagger: These Guys Are Good

Teen Internet addiction can predict past or present drug abuse. (Credit: Thinkstock/Getty Images)

Parents already panicky about the amount of time their teenage children spend online may now have something new to worry about: All those hours spent Web surfing, chatting, gaming, texting and posting to Facebook could be a warning sign of substance abuse, according to a new study in the March issue of the Journal of Addiction Medicine.

Greek researchers found that teenagers with pathologic Internet use were more likely to admit to drug abuse, and as excessive Internet use increased, so did the likelihood of substance abuse. The study also linked substance abuse and excessive Internet use to such personality traits as nonconformity, aggressiveness, recklessness and impulsiveness.

Not only did we find that specific personality attributes were important in both substance abuse and Internet addiction, but that Internet addiction remained an important predictor of substance abuse, study co-author Georgios Floros, at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, said in an email to ABCNews.com.

Floros and colleagues surveyed 1,271 students between the ages of 14 and 19 on the Aegean island of Kos about their Internet use, substance use and personality. To determine who was Internet addicted, the researchersadministereda 20-question Internet addiction test that asked how often the students stayed online longer than theyd intended, how often their grades or studiesslipped because of the amount of line spent online, how often theyd yell, snap or act annoyed if someone bothered them while they were online.

When they compared the mean values of illicit substance abuse among the teenage participants, the researchers found that those who reported substance abuse had significantly higher mean scores on the Internet addiction test, and that those scores were important predictors for substance use, either past or present.

The predictive element showed an interesting new finding, said Floros.

Its not a shocking result to me, David Greenfield, a Connecticut psychologist and founder of the Center for Internet and Technology Addiction, told ABCNews.com. The study offers another set of variables to look at when doing a workup.

Dr. Megan Moreno, a pediatric and adolescent medicine specialist at UW Health in Madison, Wis., said, Ive definitely seen kids who showed signs of problematic Internet use. Some of them do go on to have other problem behaviors. Sometimes thats substance abuse, sometimes its other addictive behaviors, like excess exercise or excess shopping.

Parents might wonder when they should start to worry about their Internet addict kids. At what point does mere gadget fixation morph into something more pathologic or addictive?And what is pathologic Internet use?

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Internet Addiction Linked to Drug Abuse

MARQUEE VALUE: End of the Rainbow

By Matthew Blank 09 Mar 2012

Judy Garland's final days will play out at the Belasco Theatre when the hit End Of The Rainbow makes its Broadway debut there March 19, 2012. Michael Cumpsty, Tom Pelphrey and Jay Russell will join Olivier Award nominee Tracie Bennett.

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As previously reported, Bennett, who earned an Olivier Award nomination for her portrayal of Garland in the final year of her life, will repeat her performance for American audiences. Peter Quilter's music-filled drama will officially open at the Belasco April 2, 2012, under the direction of Tony Award-winning La Cage aux Folles director Terry Johnson.

photos by Monica Simoes

Joining Bennett will be Cumpsty (The Constant Wife, Democracy) as Garland's accompanist, Anthony, with Emmy winner Pelphrey ("Guiding Light") as her husband, Mickey Deans, and Russell (Our Town, The Play What I Wrote) in a variety of roles.

Prior to their Broadway arrival, the American cast of End of the Rainbow will first play Minneapoliss Guthrie Theater Jan. 28-March 11, 2012.

According to the producers, "End of the Rainbow is set in December 1968 and Judy Garland is about to make her comeback... again. In a London hotel room preparing for a series of concerts, with both her new young fianc and her adoring accompanist, Garland struggles to get 'beyond the rainbow' with her signature cocktail of talent, tenacity, and razor-sharp wit. This savagely funny drama offers unique insight into the inner conflict that inspired and consumed one of the most beloved figures in American popular culture. End of the Rainbow features some of Garlands most memorable songs, performed with the show-stopping gusto for which she will always be remembered."

Bennett previously worked with Johnson in the London revival of La Cage aux Folles. She earned Olivier Awards for her performances as Velma Von Tussle in Hairspray and as Ilona Ritter She Loves Me. Her stage credits also include Les Miserables and Cash On Delivery. Numerous screen appearances include "Vincent," "The Long Firm," "Heroes and Villains," "Next of Kin," "Coronation Street," "Going Out," "Shirley Valentine," "Knights and Emeralds" and "Deep Red Instant Love."

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MARQUEE VALUE: End of the Rainbow

Ribbun Software Has Grown Rapidly Since Its Inception and Is Now One of the Best SEO Company Worldwide

Jaipur, Rajasthan (PRWEB) March 10, 2012

At present, Ribbun offers several SEO services that include one-way link building, linkwheels, profile link building, bookmarking, on-page optimization, and off-page optimization. The company is also an ISO 9001:2008 certified company, which is a rarity among SEO and SMO firms.

What makes Ribbun the best SEO company is that it does not sacrifice the quality of its services, even though so many are offered. Ribbun SEO is the number one link building service in the United States, Australia, United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, and Brazil. The company has the resources, skills, and expertise to increase traffic to a website by up to 90 percent.

Mr. Mohit, spokesperson of Ribbun SEO, says, There are very few SEO companies that can guarantee a top-10 rank in search engine results pages, but we offer it to our clients. The sheer number of services offered and our consistency in delivering results makes us the best SEO Company, and our clients share this belief too.

Ribbun SEO lays significant emphasis on client satisfaction. Its mission is to create and strengthen the online presence of its clients in the best possible way. It does so with the help of the latest technology and SEO trends. Moreover, the services offered by Ribbun are based on their customers needs. However, the company has not stopped introducing new services. It has recently launched monthly SEO services that allow websites to not only improve their search engine rankings, but also sustain the high rankings for a low monthly fee.

Another important aspect of Ribbun that makes it the best SEO Company is that it utilizes Web 2.0 as well as traditional Search Engine Optimization techniques. One of the latest services offered by Ribbun that uses Web 2.0 is its five-phased SERP (Search Engine Results Page) Snatcher service. This service is one of the few interlinking services that use Web 2.0 technology efficiently.

About Ribbun:

Ribbun is an SEO and SMO company that offers a number of service packages to cater to its customers requirements. The company also offers customized SEO services to suit the specific needs of its clients. The extensive service listing offered by Ribbun includes blog commenting, RSS feed submission, blog directory submission, classified ads posting, content writing, directory submission, hub-page creation, Squidoo Lens creation, video creation, press release submission, profile link building, bookmarking, one-way link building, and monthly SEO services.

Vikas Singal RIBBUN Software Pvt Ltd 91 766 555 3 555 Email Information

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Your Search for Best SEO Company Ends Here

One of the first questions companies noodle through when hiring an SEO practitioner is where SEO should reside.This is nowhere truer than in organizations that are hiring an SEO for the first time.

A couple of things determine these decisions as to where SEOs reside: One is budget for head count and the other and the most important factor: Ownership of site (who is responsible for the corporate website).

Before we go into listing all the areas within a company where an in-house SEO should reside, lets get some definitions out of the way.

As mentioned earlier there are many polarizing opinions as to where the best place in the organization for an in-house SEO to reside.Let's consider the most likely options and some of the things to watch out for.

It can seem confusing at first as to why SEO should be part of a companys IT infrastructure group. The rationale behind this is since they have ownership of site from an infrastructure point of view then it would serve best if SEO is part of this group.

Also, as this group is about technology and ensuring the site is working well it seems like a logical place for SEOs to be, correct? Not necessarily. Often the first mistake is letting infrastructure group decide the fate of marketing your site.

If you place SEO in this group then the marketing aspect of SEO will be lost and you may have employee turnover on your hands. Plus, SEO will be fighting battles with marketing and other groups to get SEO changes pushed through whereas it should be the other way around where SEO is fighting battles with the infrastructure group.

Depending on the size of your company, many tend to have a separate Design & Development team. Now, it also depends on the influence of this team as to whether they have ownership of the site or solely operate as an agency within the company.

If the site ownership falls under their purview then chances are SEO could be part of this group. Placing SEO in this group seems to be natural since SEO is all about making changes to the site.

A few SEOs report to this group and it's honestly always puzzling as to why. Many companies still view website as a communications platform hence the corporate communications team end up with website responsibility. The inclusion of SEO here is flawed in so many ways in my opinion as they would be cut off from the main functions like marketing, development, and other teams.

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Where Should In-House SEO Reside?