The online audience
Social media
Entertainment

Internet on the move

Blogging

Broadband

Online creative

	Online shopping will quadruple by 2020 and account for 40% of all UK sales. Phenomenal growth when you consider it will have risen from just 2% in 2002 Feb 16, Guardian (registration required)

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Throughout the last few years online has become an increasingly important political tool. 2007, however is shaping up to be the year that online becomes an essential communication channel for any politician looking to gain the popular vote. A number of the US 2008 presidential candidates chose online as the place to announce their political ambitions. Also, in February, the Downing Street website was brought to its knees as nearly 2 million people attempted to sign an epetition against proposed future road taxing. This month's comment piece looks at the internet political future and asks whether policy could soon be created via user generated content. Read on for this and all February's news.

Kind regards



Guy Phillipson
IAB, CEO

Does the internet really have a meaningful role to play in political debate? After the epetition opposing the road pricing policy crashed the Downing Street website due to the number of contributors and as the US gears up for the first internet presidential elections in 2008, the IAB looks into the role online is playing in modern politics. Get the full story on the IAB website

The online audience

Yip edemocracy 1.8 million people signed up to a petition on the Downing Street website opposing road tax and in the process raised questions regarding the power of edemocracy. The epetitions facility was set up in November and the road pricing issue has proved to be the most popular of the 3,000 plus petitions currently active. February For more on epetitions please read our comment piece on the IAB website Tesco Flowers come up smelling of roses Those renowned purveyors of romance, Tesco Flowers topped the flowers and gifts website charts for most visits up to Valentines Day this year. The market share of visits to the site increased two and a half times in the two weeks leading up to the big day. February 14 For more on Tesco flowers, please visit Netimperative

Social media

NSPCC check into Habbo Hotel The NSPCC have taken up a 3-month residence in Habbo Hotel, the virtual community site for children. In an effort to get young people involved in its anti-bullying campaign, the children's charity will host events and activities on the website. "It is imperative that we talk to teenagers in their own environment, much of which is online," said Emily Knee, ex-IAB-er and new NSPCC digital project manager. February 27 For more on the NSPCC/ Habbo Hotel collaboration please visit the BBC Chelsea's newest signing Not new to signing deals with young media superstars worth millions, Chelsea FC have struck a deal with YouTube. Archive footage and club news will be shown in a branded area of the video-sharing site in the first deal of its kind with a premiership football club. February 16 The Media Guardian has more on Chelsea's latest signing (registration required)

Entertainment

Video

BitTorrent goes straight BitTorrent has done a Napster and gone ligit. The peer-to-peer media sharing site, long the nemesis of the film industry has launched a service that will allow internet users to legally download film and TV shows from many major studios. Broadcast media from 20th Century Fox News Corp, Warner Bros, Paramount and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. amongst others will be available for individual download costs from the BitTorrent Entertainment Network service. February 26 Netimperative has more on the BitTorrent Entertainment Network service Pimp your blog Before turning their attention to Google and YouTube, Viacom - the media company responsible for MTV and Paramount - announced they are to allow internet users to take videos from a number of its websites for posting on their own blogs and websites. The new scheme will make clips from MTV shows such as Pimp My Ride available... the bomb! eh? February 13 The BBC has more on the Viacom video scheme

Internet on the move

Wireless internet users show "deeper engagement with cyberspace" Far from being just those annoying fellows who take up all the seats in Starbucks, people who use wireless internet actually "show deeper engagement with cyberspace" an American study has revealed. Just under half of wi-fi fans get news online everyday, compared to the 31% who are chained to their desktops and while 54% of internet users check email on an average day that figure rises to 72% for wireless users. February 26, BBC The BBC has more on wi-fi fans on its website Cash, cheque, credit card and mobile? The latest payment method So as well as being a camera, an MP3 player and opening the only entrance to Narnia other than the wardrobe, it seems you will soon be able to pay for purchases with your mobile phone too. The Japanese mobile operator NTT DoCoMo is working with McDonalds to offer electronic payments so mobile phone users in Japan can pay for their burgers with their handsets. February 27 For more on paying by phone, please visit the IAB website The mobile phone key to worldwide internet growth Vinton G. Cerf, chief internet evangelist at Google has predicted that it will be mobile phones not PCs that will fuel the growth of the internet, as developing countries such as India experience an influx of mobile handsets. As the number of applications increase on mobile phones, they have been identified as being key to getting the five sixths of the world's population who are not yet online, connected. February 20 For more on how the mobile phone can grow worldwide internet usage please visit the Times online Vodafone deal creates MobileSpace Vodafone loves the internet, fact! The mobile phone giant announced its third internet partnership in February. The new deal with MySpace will enable users to update their MySpace page via their mobile handsets. February 9 For more on the Vodafone/ MySpace deal please visit the BBC website

Blogging

Presidential candidate's blogger logs off The first casualties of the 2008 presidential candidates' blogs have been reported. Following rightwing and religious pressure two staff of the Democrat hopeful John Edwards have resigned. Edwards' blogmaster, Amanda Marcotte and a part-time technical adviser left to spare the candidate further damage after Marcotte's personal blog, Pandagon, was criticised by the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. Marcotte did refer to god in one entry as a "sadistic bastard". February 15 guardian The Guardian has more on the Edwards' bloggers (registration required)

Broadband

Barriers to switching internet providers are broad-banned New rules were introduced in February to make it easier for UK consumers to switch broadband suppliers. We've all been there... trying to change phone/gas/ electricity providers or wanting to quit the gym. Thankfully there are now no such worries with your broadband ISP and the new rules mean that firms charging customers for switching or trying to create other barriers to the process will face heavy fines from regulator Ofcom. February 13, For more on the possible fines facing broadband suppliers please visit BBC

Online Creative

Online campaigns

Vaseline's 'Amazing Skin' viral As part of the Vaseline, 'Keep Skin Amazing' campaign, Unilever launched a viral film in February. The film created by BBH positions Vaseline as the brand with the mission to 'Keep Skin Amazing' by focusing on the numerous functions and qualities of the skin. February 1 The Revolution site has more on the Vaseline viral I am the passenger To promote their new multimedia car kit, Nokia is launching an online game featuring real footage. The Passenger is a driving game created by digital agency, Hyper and mixes video and game play in an original way. February 25 Netimperative has more on the Nokia viral Save the world with online game for a book called Malice Poke have conducted an online treasure hunt to support the launch of the new Penguin book the Malice Box. Players were set the task of saving the world for eternal damnation by breaking codes and completing puzzles in The Quest, which drew upon themes of the book. February 1 For more on the Penguin quest please visit the Revolution website

Online awards, events and polls

The winner of January's Creative Showcase Awards is AKAQ for the Nike 'festival of air' campaign. The 'Festival of Air' experience at NikeTown London was created to launch and celebrate the arrival of the Nike Air Max 360, the ultimate evolution of Nike Air technology. For five weeks the store hosted a series of events, shows and interactive experiences, and AKQA helped ensure the success of the festival with groundbreaking cross-media activity. You can now enter for March's Creative Showcase. For more details visit the Creative Showcase site