Politico isn't a newspaper. But it might be the future of print.

Interesting article in yesterday's Observer by Peter Preston, commenting on the US political news specialist that employs 175 people to broadcast in print, on video and over the internet.  And according to Preston, in doing this, it focuses on subject, not medium - and makes a profit doing so.

For the full article go to:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/nov/07/peter-preston-politico

Google predictions to 2015

Google have been making some predictions on their blog:

1. 50 percent of ad campaigns will include video ads bought on a cost-per-view basis (that means that the user will choose whether to watch the ad or not, and the advertiser will only pay if the user watches). That’s up from very little today.

2. Today, advertisers are starting to deliver ads that are tailored to particular audiences. Many are using real-time bidding technology, so that they can bid on the ad space that they think is most valuable. In 2015, 50 percent of these ads will be bought using this real-time technology.

3. With smartphone growth skyrocketing, mobile is going be the number one screen through which users engage with advertisers’ digital brands.

4. Today, the “click” is the most important way that advertisers measure their display ad campaigns, but it’s not always the best measure—especially if an ad campaign is designed to boost things like brand awareness or recall. With new measurement technologies emerging, in five years, there will be five metrics that advertisers commonly regard as more important than the click.

5. Just like most news articles on the web today can be commented on, shared, discussed, subscribed to and recommended, in 2015, 75 percent of ads on the web will be “social” in nature—across dozens of formats, sites and social communities.

6. Rich media formats work. They enable great creativity and interaction between users and advertisers, but today they only represent about 6 percent of total display ad impressions. Rich media formats will increase to 50 percent, for brand-building ad campaigns.

7. All the investments that are making display advertising smarter and sexier will help publishers increase their revenues. Display advertising is going to grow to a $50 billion industry in five years.

MIT Technology Review Top 10

From implantable electronics and engineered stem cells to the less sci-fi real time search and "social" TV, MIT's Technology Review's top ten tips for emerging technologies makes interesting reading. These are the things the boffins believe will change the world:

Real-time search
Mobile 3-D
Engineered stem-cells
Solar Fuel
Light-trapping photovoltaics
Social TV
Green Concrete
Implantable Electronics
Dual-action anitbodies
Cloud Programming

Interesting to see how many of these relate to communication rather than physics, medicine or engineering.

Mobile trends 2020

Mobile Trends 2020

View more documents from rudydw.

There are some great ideas and predictions in this recently published 'm-trends' Mobile Trends 2020 presentation, which asks 38 experts what audiences will be doing with their phones in the next decade:

Bus stops, but not as you know them

It seems that the Italians' reputation for doing it better is entirely founded.

This month saw the unveiling of the EyeStop, a new, state-of-the-art bus stop designed for the city of Florence that looks set to revolutionise bus stop advertising.

Outdoor planners, steel yourselves...

The solar-powered, glass, steel and stone structure is partially covered with touch-sensitive screens and features a range of interactive services. Passengers can plan their journey on an interactive map, surf the web and even monitor their real-time exposure to pollutants.

Best of all, the Eyestop allows passengers to track the exact location of the next bus and 'glows' at varying degrees of intensity as it approaches - surely the nirvana of bus travel?

A more formal prototype will be rolled out in October - ample time to get ahead of the game and start thinking about how you might use it for future campaigns.

Advertising inside our homes?

As crazy as it sounds, it may be a future outlet for marketers, and a revenue source for homeowners. David Gianatasio at Adfreak speculates that the success of “sponsored cities”, where ads support, and are plastered on all manner of local buidlings / property, in combination with the struggling economy will create a demand for ad supported homes. Would you agree to let ads invade your home for some money off the rent or free WiFi? In a way, we’re almost there already. Think of all the advertising that sneaks into your home anyway: telemarketers, internet-mobile-television ads - why not make them pay you for taking up mind-space? To explore Gianatasio's idea further please visit http://adweek.blogs.com/adfreak/2009/03/advertising-is-everywhere-or-it-soon-will-be.html .

PS Thanks to psfk.com / Adfreak for the tip off