Starbucks VIA: Introducing Starbucks' Instant Brewed Coffee

It looks as though Starbucks is chasing the instant coffee market... which is typically aimed at bargain, price-based shoppers (far cheaper than getting a $2-$4 coffee in the stores). Convenience is also a factor as brewing coffee can be a hassle during the morning rush.

But instant coffees taste more like coffee-flavored water than a great cup of joe. Perhaps Starbucks' new VIA will change that (I will update once my free sample arrives). The price per cup comes out to be about 50% of an in-store coffee: a 12 pack costs $9.95 and a grande coffee is $1.85. If the taste is up-to-par - and I assume it will be - this is a great fit for hotel chains and included in-room amenities. It is also an opportunity for Starbucks can also upsell the VIA Tumblr.

VIA™ Ready Brew Italian Roast Coffee by Starbucks Coffee

A big, bold, full-bodied cup of coffee, with an aroma that lingers all day.

We know. We say the words "instant coffee" and you immediately think of something lifeless and flat. No smell. Even less taste.

We're about to change all that. Now you can enjoy our bold and roasty-sweet Italian Roast in an instant. Just tear open a pack of Starbucks VIA™ Ready Brew and add water. Let the coffee brew 10 seconds, stir, breathe it all in and enjoy.

It's not instant coffee the way you know it. This is genuine, dark-roasted Starbucks® coffee. 100% arabica and ethically sourced. Isn't it wonderful? There's now an instant coffee that you can start a whole new tradition with.

Perez Hilton Asks for Facebook "Boycott" Amidst Content Ownership Controversy

The buzz on a slow Monday of tech news is around Facebook and who owns the content uploaded / created by their users.

Facebook Techmeme PerezHilton

But lost in this is that Perez Hilton covered it early this afternoon... before TechCrunch and linking to Mashable.

Perez Hilton Facebook

Three things strike me about this:

1. Techmeme isn't picking up on Perez Hilton... who may not be a technology blogger - but is more influential than any of the blogs listed in this Techmeme 'discussion'. And perhaps more influential / powerful than all of them combined.

2. Perez's influence - whether it is well informed or not - may well be the kind of pop-coverage that has driven a flurry of bad user feedback. When Perez tells users to "Boycott Facebook" - that is scary and certainly worthy of a well constructed response. Now whether Mark Zuckerberg's letter was a response directly to this (of course not), it is clearly noticed.

3. This really isn't shocking or news... the "complication" of who owns the data is complicated for all major sites and platforms. This was bound to become an issue as Facebook grew in popularity and functionality... and it will pass as well. Users may be upset on the surface - but it will not change their reliance on Facebook or their social network (unless something egregious happens).

beRecruited Helps Bemidji State Football Recruiting Class

beRecruited continues to have great press. Today's Bemidji Pioneer and Post-Bulletin describes how beRecruited helped the Bemidji State's football program recruit players from across the nation:

In this Feb. 4 photo, Bemidji State head football coach Jeff Tesch announces the 2009 recruiting class on national signing day during a press conference at Bemidji State University. Tesch and the Bemidji State coaching staff relied on beRecruited.com to help reach student-athletes and fill their class.

For Collin Stoffel, Internet networking played a big role in picking the Bemidji State football team on national signing day.

Stoffel, a linebacker out of Willow Canyon High School in Surprise, Ariz., took a proactive approach to reach college football through the Web site beRecruited.com.

"For me, I was looking to outsource the information about me any way I could," Stoffel said. "It was a way that I could reach as many coaches as I possibly could."

Similar in Facebook's ability to be an Internet social networking tool, beRecruited.com is a bridge connecting high school athletes wishing to play a collegiate sport to recruiting collegiate coaches.

Each athlete on the site has a personal page that showcases abilities. Coaches can then search the site looking at the database of athletes without leaving the office.

Among the items viewable on Stoffel's beRecruited.com page is his biography, academic achievements, game photos, athletic testing information and football highlight video.

That page was where Bemidji State running backs coach Bryan Stoffel noticed Collin, who is listed at 5-foot-11 and 209 pounds.

"Coach Stoffel contacted me by e-mail initially and told me that he loved my info and loved what he saw on the page," Collin Stoffel said. "He also said he liked my name and it seemed like destiny that I would be coming to Bemidji after seeing that."

NBA Borrows $175M for 15 Teams ($11.66M Each)

Professional sports are not immune to the economic downturn.We saw the Arena Football League close indefinitely. MLB free agents are signing shorter, smaller deals (except for Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia). And several NBA teams are shopping star players to save money (ie the Phoenix Suns and New Orleans Hornets.

Now word comes out that the NBA has secured $175,000,000 to help support 15 teams who apparently need the assistance. It will be interesting to see how this affects the trade deadline (expect lots of major contracts to move) and this summer's free agency. The financing comes at over 8% interest - so it is clear that this was a needed move... and considering the NBA's health as compared to Major League Baseball - I wonder what will happen when (not if) MLB attendance and advertising falls... big names and contracts will move quickly and at pennies on the dollar.

The NBA is set to borrow $175 million Feb. 26, marking one of the first league financings since the implosion of the credit markets last fall. The money, which will be available to 15 teams, supplements an existing $1.7 billion leaguewide credit facility that uses the NBA's media contracts as collateral to secure loans for the clubs. The NBA surveyed its teams, and 15 responded they would like to tap into the new borrowing.

While the league said it is pleased to borrow in an extremely illiquid credit market, the deal came at a cost, with interest rates up to 8.27 percent, hammering home the notion that the era of cheap money in sports is over. The 15 teams can use the money for any purpose, but covering operating losses may be high on the list.

Each of the 15 teams can borrow a maximum of $11.66 million from the debt proceeds. -- Sports Business Journal

Sony Closes Metreon Playstation Store

Sign of the economic apocalypse part 153:Sony's landmark Metreon Playstation store is closing.

I walk by the Sony Metreon every day on my way to and from work. And I have certainly noticed the decline in foot-traffic and visitors inside the Playstation store (which sits on 4th Street and Mission). I am surprised, however, that the closure will only affect the Playstation store - after all, the Sony store beside it has always been empty (economic downturn or not). The store is well laid out - but it baffles me as to why you would ever purchase anything directly from the Sony Store when you can buy it online and save dramatically on price and tax. It's akin to buying a movie at Borders or Barnes & Nobles - why would you ever pay $29.99 for a DVD or more for a Blu Ray?

ESPN.com Wants to Make Sure You Know Valentines is Coming

I spend a lot of time on ESPN - particularly their mobile properties... which for big media brands - really are the best available. And while I have been critical of ESPN.com's relaunch, I respect their ability to land big advertising deals (though skeptical of the advertisers' results). Today's campaign is the most in-your-face yet...

If you have somehow forgotten that Valentines Day is on the horizon - ESPN and JC Penny are certain to make sure that you won't forget. After all, about 70% of the homepage is covered in Valentine's promotions. The ads are nicely aligned and build on one another (a major complaint of using AdSense or other contextual networks that result in disjointed units).

I hope that ESPN is getting a very solid CPM deal here, because as a reader, this is a major turn-off. I am all for advertising - particularly on great, free content. But at a point, two things happen:

1. You get irritated, and/or 2. It takes too long to get to the content

ESPN Valentines Day

Star Trek Takes Over ESPN.com... Four Months too Early

On Super Bowl weekend, ESPN was able to sell its homepage with two massive rich-media Star Trek advertisements... you know, the new iMax move that comes out May 8th, 2009. On a weekend when ESPN likely expects greater-than-normal traffic... and when television ad-spots are notoriously expensive... and in an economy where those Super Bowl ads *still* are not sold out... this campaign is both impressive for the publisher and questionable for the advertiser.

Even for Hollywood - advertising four months out on the web seems strange. Usually Hollywood advertises online to reinforce campaigns already airing on television, in theaters, and so forth. And usually the campaigns are more targeted and within a couple weeks from the movie's release. For instance, the week leading up to Bride War's release, PerezHilton.com was covered in full-page units.

That makes total sense. This, however, is completely bizarre.

ESPN Star Trek The MOvie

Real-Time Sports Scores Widget by InGameNow

You can already take InGameNow on the go with our iPhone Apps and Google Talk / AOL Instant Messanger integration. Now you can take InGameNow directly to your website with our new live sports scores and scoreboard widgets. On an aside, InGameNow is starting to gain serious momentum. During Sunday's AFC Championship game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens (two small/medium-sized markets), over 2,500 InGameNow posts were exchanged specifically about the game. And the day before, we launched a full scoreboard on the homepage that we are continuing to roll-out thorughout the site and team pages... much more to come in the next couple weeks.

Google AdSense Rich Media Inventory Growing?

Quietly, it appears that Google AdSense's rich media inventory is growing nicely... even despite the economic climate which has many online advertisers scaling down. I don't have any hard data to prove the point - but when you default AdSense to display image-only ads, you'll find that video and rich-media units are appearing more quickly and with greater rotation. Many of the ads are pop-culture focused (see the movie preview unit below) - which means that the ads rotate regularly as new shows, movies, etc are being promoted.

Although the screenshot below is at about a 50% size reduction, you'll notice the top leaderboard which is a GM / Google promotion that installs iGoogle gadgets. The "add to iGoogle" button pulses on mouse hover. It's a terrific promotion and the creative is superbly done - enticing users to engage with the unit and explore what the action does (in one case, "adding to iGoogle" and in the other, previewing the movie).

As a publisher, I'm excited about seeing richer, more engaging units on my content.... because, as a consumer, I prefer to see this kind of content.... consequently satisfying the advertiser and making him/her more inclined to grow their campaigns.

Google AdSense Promotion