I don’t know about you, but I needed that three day weekend, and I’m not particularly pleased it’s over. However, I’ll be spending the balance of my week at the D conference in Los Angeles, and while that might seem rather posh, networking is still working. Steve Jobs will be there, as will Steve Ballmer, and both have made news this past weekend. Read on for why:

Apple Sold Two Million iPads in Two Months (Mashable) That’s a lot of units, and it will make for a happy Jobs at D. However, I am not moving from my position about the iPad: I do not believe its model can scale and succeed over time. It’s simply too opposed to the Web. For more, read this:

Will Apple Embrace the Web?  No. (OSNews) A very technical piece, but in the end, worth pushing through if you want to understand a developer’s point of view on why Apple, over time, may well fail.

Apple To Face Regulatory Probe Over iAd Mobile Ad Product (ClickZ) And if the web won’t kill you, a misunderstanding of how advertising works just might.

I Prefer Safari to Content Apps On The iPad (AVC) And failing that, listen to Fred. Why on earth wouldn’t anyone prefer the web on an iPad, assuming it works as the web honestly should work? I really don’t see Steve Jobs’ strategy working, long term. Short term, hey, he’s selling a shitload of tablets! Long term, he’s got to change his policies or he’s a niche player, yet again.

Foursquare: The Bright Idea that “Just Didn’t Work Out” (TNW) Coverage of Time Magazine’s ridiculous link bait piece which pegs several of the web’s most promising innovations as failures, lumping them in with the Ford Pinto and the Betamax (which, by the way, revolutionized professional TV, not that anyone at Time cares).

Putting Online Privacy in Perspective (Tim O’Reilly) Tim re-posts key portions of an email written by Danny. We’re inching toward a more nuanced discussion here, thankfully.

Ballmer just opened the Second Envelope (MondayNote) JLG takes Ballmer to the woodshed.

Web Start-Ups Making Deals for Users’ Private Data (NYT) Well, you could put it that way. Or you could say, we’re pretty smart as consumers, and we understand how to reveal what we are willing to reveal, if it gets us something we want.

Julian Assange And WikiLeaks (New Yorker) I read this piece and thought, man, I need to get this guy to Web 2. Anyone know him?

When Facebook Says: You Have Too Many Friends (NYT) I have been bumped up against the 5000 “friend” rule for two years. I’ve also found it very hard to figure out how to migrate to a “fan” page, and also, socially awkward to do so. The piece isn’t much more than fluff, but we can use that from time to tiem.

–

If it suits your information consumption goals, sign up for Signal’s email newsletter on the Signal home page (upper right box). You’ll get an exclusive, email only weekly roundup of Signals.

One week left! 500 have registered already, and we’re nearly full!!!! If you enjoy reading FM’s Signal, then you’ll want to come to the CM Summit this June 7-8 in New York City. Join the founders of AdMob, Boxee, Foursquare, and the CEOs of Razorfish, Moxie, GroupM, AOL, as well as top execs from American Express, Adobe, Google, The New York Times, Starbucks, AT&T and more.

Sorry for the late post, Signal lovers. To the links:

Ad Nauseum (AdExchanger) “…the problem isn’t that ad targeting is too good; the problem is that it’s not good enough.” I agree. Only when the value exchange is clear will the consumer be OK with their data being leveraged. And that exchange needs transparency to boot.

Social Media Ad Spend Trails (MarketingProfs) Deeper dive into social media spend data in the Razorfish report. I think this is going to change, and fast.

EU Slams Google, Microsoft and Yahoo Over Data Retention (ATD) European regulators sending letters to all three US search engines, with Google singled out for a spanking.

Privacy Advocates: Facebook Changes Are ‘Superficial’(ClickZ) Well, this was predictable. I think there’s a lot more to talk about here. Overall, the cycle has repeated – Facebook went too far, pulled back a bit, mollified the masses but not those on either extreme of the issue, and on we go. And the cycle will repeat again.

Yahoo, Facebook side with Google against Viacom (Cnet) It’s a fascinating, shifting ecosystem of connections here.

Google Lists Top 1,000 Sites On The Web & Then Lets You Advertise On Them (SEL) This is interesting, as it takes what is supposed to be a “blind” network, and makes it a bit less so.

—

If it suits your information consumption goals, sign up for Signal’s email newsletter on the Signal home page (upper right box). You’ll get an exclusive, email only weekly roundup of Signals.

ALERT! 500 have registered already, and we’re nearly full!!!! If you enjoy reading FM’s Signal, then you’ll want to come to the CM Summit this June 7-8 in New York City. Join the founders of AdMob, Boxee, Foursquare, and the CEOs of Razorfish, Moxie, GroupM, AOL, as well as top execs from American Express, Adobe, Google, The New York Times, Starbucks, AT&T and more.

A day of contrition over at Facebook, celebration at Apple, and anger at Microsoft. Read on for the details:

How Facebook’s New Privacy Controls Work (Mashable) Facebook rolled new privacy controls today. Here’s a guide.

Related: Making Control Simple (Facebook Blog) A very long post for such a simple headline!

Dell Streak: The versatile 5-inch Android tablet (Dell.com) Dell is one of many, many companies that are coming out with tablets. I am very hopeful that one or more of them gets traction.

U.S. Is Said to Scrutinize Apple’s Online Music Tactics (NYT) Apple, welcome to the world of Google and Microsoft. (BTW, Apple now has a larger market cap than Microsoft: New King of Technology: Apple Overtakes Microsoft – NYT) I can only imagine how pissed off Gates is. Honestly.

Q&A: Microsoft’s Bach on his exit, and the future of the company (TechFlash) A major shakeup at Microsoft. Some say it’s because of a lack of clear strategy for Windows mobile.

Should Government Take On Facebook? (NYT) I love opinion pieces that start with a question. That’s opinion? Turns out, it’s four opinions, all varying. Worth a look.

LinkedIn Beefs Up Its Twitter Integration (Mashable) Good for Jeff and LinkedIn, and for Ev and Twitter. Both will be at Web 2 this Fall.

10 signs it’s time for a social media makeover (iMedia) First sign: You don’t read Signal on a regular basis.

Internet Users Hold Privacy Dear (eMarketer) Wow. Whodathunk that? “the vast majority of Internet users were not willing to stint on quality or give access to their private data in return for free content.” We are more than willing to “give up privacy” if the value exchange means connection to others. That’s the primary lesson of Facebook.

Congress: It’s Time to Rewrite the Telecommunications Bible (Ars via ATD) This is important. Watch this space.

Billionaire funds web news rival to San Francisco Chronicle paper (The Independent) I’ve met that billionaire, last week in fact, and he’s one helluva good guy. And the Editor is a dear friend. I am thrilled the Bay Citizen exists.

—-

If it suits your information consumption goals, sign up for Signal’s email newsletter on the Signal home page (upper right box). You’ll get an exclusive, email only weekly roundup of Signals.

ALERT! 500 have registered already, and we’re nearly full!!!! If you enjoy reading FM’s Signal, then you’ll want to come to the CM Summit this June 7-8 in New York City. Join the founders of AdMob, Boxee, Foursquare, and the CEOs of Razorfish, Moxie, GroupM, AOL, as well as top execs from American Express, Adobe, Google, The New York Times, Starbucks, AT&T and more.

Today’s Signal points just to one link, my appreciation of the chance to work at FM for the past five years. I am traveling this week, in Atlanta, and I’ll return to Signal later today. For now, however, please read my thoughts on five years at FM. And thank you for helping make it possible.

What a day – Facebook says “sorry”, sort of, Twitter lays down the law on ads in tweetstreams, and someone besides me writes an open memo to Apple! Read on for the linkages (and forgive the brevity here, but I have a flight to Atlanta to catch at 6 AM)….

Vivaki Predicts $100M Market for Choose-Your-Own-Ad Format (Ad Age) Pick your advertisers? What a novel idea.

Media play the waiting game over iPad (FT) I find it impossible to believe! Media NOT falling over themselves to give the iPad love? Say it ain’t so.

From Facebook, answering privacy concerns with new settings (WaPo) Zuckerberg responds to the brouhaha. And we all move forward….

New Media, Old Media (Pew Research) “How Blogs and Social Media Agendas Relate and Differ from Traditional Press.”

Memo to Steve Jobs: the IAd Is No Miracle Worker (AdAge) “Agency execs one after another deflected questions about Apple’s iAd platform and one after another began admitting it was all due to non-disclosure agreements. We’re talking about an ad unit here, not the plans to a stealth bomber and it’s just odd when an industry that focuses on communication goes silent due to Apple’s power in the market.” You want details? Read this: The ROI of iAds – A Lot of Unanswered Questions (Searchblog)

Razorfish Outlook Report (Razorfish) Really good report that comes out each year. Guy’s take here: How Brands are Investing in Social Media

LinkedIn Top Social Site in Corporate America (MarketingProfs) Well if you didn’t know that, you do now.

Twitter Outlaws Third-Party Ad Providers (ClickZ) Twitter decides it needs to protect its ecosystem. And make money. If you are surprised by this, don’t be next time.

—-

If it suits your information consumption goals, sign up for Signal’s email newsletter on the Signal home page (upper right box). You’ll get an exclusive, email only weekly roundup of Signals.

ALERT! Nearly 500 have registered already, and we’re nearly full!!!! If you enjoy reading FM’s Signal, then you’ll want to come to the CM Summit this June 7-8 in New York City. Join the founders of AdMob, Boxee, Foursquare, and the CEOs of Razorfish, Moxie, GroupM, AOL, as well as top execs from American Express, Adobe, Google, The New York Times, Starbucks, AT&T and more.

The weekend brings us news of Facebook admittting its mistakes, Yahoo pushing deeper into original content, Google winning AdMob approvals, all out war between Apple and Google, and tons of other interesting links. It’s shaping up to be a very quiet summer, folks. Kidding. To the links:

Facebook CEO: “We’ve Made a Bunch of Mistakes” (Mashable) A private email, now public with Zuckerberg’s permission.

My Contrarian Stance on Facebook and Privacy (Tim O’Reilly) Tim says give Facebook a chance to fail fast and course correct. I agree.

Location-Based Content Draws Mobile Users (eMarketer) Now there’s a stunner. MOLRS, anyone?

FTC Closes Its Investigation of Google AdMob Deal (FTC) The official press release in which the gov’t says to Apple and Google: Go forth, and fight it out, folks.

Monsanto’s seeds of discord (Fortune) A really interesting read, demonstrates how our industry is strikingly similar to the agribusiness industry. Read this, it’s worth it.

Social Media Users More Positive About Brands (MarketingProfs) Those who engage with brands in social media are twice as likely to believe that brands actually care about them. Now there’s a good proof point that joining the conversation is a damn good idea.

Yahoo Aims to Double Original Content in Ambitious Publishing Strategy (AdAge) Top down publishing strategy for the bottom up. Hmmm.

Google TV: everything you ever wanted to know (Engadget) Google TV sounds very difficult to use, which is not what TV should be. But then again, it’s all in the delivery – and we won’t know much till the Fall. I’ll be very interested to see how terrestrial cable companies respond to this.

—

If it suits your information consumption goals, sign up for Signal’s email newsletter on the Signal home page (upper right box). You’ll get an exclusive, email only weekly roundup of Signals.

ALERT! Nearly 500 have registered already, and we’re nearly full!!!! If you enjoy reading FM’s Signal, then you’ll want to come to the CM Summit this June 7-8 in New York City. Join the founders of AdMob, Boxee, Foursquare, and the CEOs of Razorfish, Moxie, GroupM, AOL, as well as top execs from American Express, Adobe, Google, The New York Times, Starbucks, AT&T and more.

Welcome to another Friday, may it be filled with the sweet anticipation of a well deserved weekend rest. Or, tons of links and news, take your choice:

New P&G Online Store Takes Off In US (Smart Money) A major marketer with the stated goal of closing the loop – IE, driving value from its marketing machine to its conversion engine. Always worth watching. “P&G doesn’t expect the site to be a material source of sales, but sees it as a way to get smarter about consumer shopping habits.”

Google TV turns on at I/O: runs Android and Flash, partnered with Sony, Logitech, and Intel (Engadget) Also, Announcing Google TV: TV meets web.  Web meets TV (Google Blog) Google is taking aim at just about everything – including TV. See more here: Live from the Google I/O 2010 day 2 keynote! Google really hit Apple hard in its keynotes and executive commentary. Like Microsoft and Apple, it’s trying to boil every ocean on Earth (well at least every ocean that has a chip in it).

Is This the Dawn of the Facebook Credit Economy? (AdAge) A consideration of the impact of Facebook Credits.

QOTD: But We’re Just Fine With the Two Men, One Company, One Search Engine Model (ATD)

Facebook, MySpace Confront Privacy Loophole (WSJ) “The sites may have been breaching their own privacy policies as well as industry standards, which say sites shouldn’t share and advertisers shouldn’t collect personally identifiable information without users’ permission. Those policies have been put forward by advertising and Internet companies in arguments against the need for government regulation.” Here we go, folks. The conversation is joined …

Why iAds will fail (iMedia) “When I look at the lessons of history, Apple’s own past, and how things work out, it seems to me inevitable that within 5-10 years the iPhone will hold around 5 percent of the smartphone market at best.” Not sure he’s right. But not sure he’s wrong either.

Fear Is A No No – Except at Night (Searchblog) Who is that guy?! And why can’t he sleep?

Social Media a Top Lead-Gen Channel for Tech Marketers (MarketingProfs) I have certainly noticed this in our work at FM.

Facebook Privacy Makes The Cover of Time Magazine (Mashable) Not a flattering piece, says Mashable. Then again, once you’ve made the cover of Time, it’s all downhill from there. So maybe this story has played out.

We, Robot (Slate) A look at the way we fight wars – with technology and robots.

Enter God, Stage Left (The Guardian) Because it’s Friday, which means we’re open to a few bigger picture thoughts.

—

If it suits your information consumption goals, sign up for Signal’s email newsletter on the Signal home page (upper right box). You’ll get an exclusive, email only weekly roundup of Signals.

ALERT! Nearly 500 have registered already, and we’re nearly full!!!! If you enjoy reading FM’s Signal, then you’ll want to come to the CM Summit this June 7-8 in New York City. Join the founders of AdMob, Boxee, Foursquare, and the CEOs of Razorfish, Moxie, GroupM, AOL, as well as top execs from American Express, Adobe, Google, The New York Times, Starbucks, AT&T and more.

If you’re coming to the CM Summit in a few weeks, or if you’re just curious about the lineup and content (which is sure to drive quite a conversation in the world of marketing), you should download the CM Summit mobile app. The app provides access to speaker, attendee, agenda, and sponsor information as well as twitter and news feeds. I’ve used it in beta and it’s pretty darn slick. Check it out!

Rachel Ford joins Federated Media as a Regional Sales Manager based in Chicago (YEAH!).  Born and raised in the Windy City, she received her Bachelors of Science degree in Journalism (future publisher??) from Southern Illinois University in………Carbondale, IL.  Rachel comes to FM with a wealth of ad sales experience from MTV Networks, Time Inc. & ESPN – working with great brands such as Kellogg’s, Nintendo & HP.  In her free time, she’s either hanging out with friends and family or enjoying a good book with a glass of Tempranillo. Welcome to FM, Rachel!

The big news today is that Google, foe of Apple (and Microsoft, and Facebook, and a few others, at least in theory) has announced its intentions to get into the app store business. This is a war for how the web should work – open and messy vs. closed and well manicured. See my thoughts on this here.

To the links, James:

Video: Sports Illustrated Shows Off a Google-Ready Digital Magazine (ATD) Look! Its just like the iPad edition, sans…the iPad!

Are Marketers Finally Embracing Bigger Digital Picture? (AdAge) Yes. They are.

Top Marketers to Silicon Valley: Help Us Get Ahead of Consumer (AdAge) Good piece in terms of identifying a shift we leverage all day at FM: from campaign and impression to program and relationship.  “That shift in vision and philosophy calls for some sellers to think differently. Take Facebook, for example. While it primarily makes money selling engagement ads that drive people to brand pages, marketers and agencies want it to focus less on selling media and more on helping them solve problems and create big ideas. One agency executive suggested Silicon Valley companies should be incentivized less on ad sales and more on creating bigger programs. In other words, when marketers want to be more than ad buyers, tech companies need to be more than ad sellers.”

Facebook Privacy Exec: Changes in Two Weeks (ClickZ) As I expected, Facebook will about face some of its approach to privacy over the next few weeks. Then, we’ll move on. For now.

CEOs Rethink Customer Relationships as Business Complexity Grows (MarketingProfs) My ongoing line about what I call the Conversation Economy is this: Companies that learn to have conversations with their customers at scale will win. Those that fail, will lose. This study shows CEOs are starting to realize this – and they are concerned. There is a major opportunity to help companies make this transition.

WebOS Coming to Slates and Printers – HP CEO (IntoMobile) And you thought it was all about the iPad, right?! Kidding…

Android and iPhone OS Pave the Way for Huge Smartphone Growth (Mashable) We love us some stats. Especially in the mobile space.

DSPs: What they really are and why you should care (iMedia) It’s not easy reading, but you should care if you buy or sell media.

Facebook Privacy? Who Cares? (Mark Cuban via BI) Well, again, not quite the nuanced view, but something to think about. I’m trying to write about this. But I have another board meeting Thursday (Web 2) and will try to do it Friday. Then again, I owe you all my iAds ROI post too. Sigh.

Computer Algorithm Can Recognize Sarcasm (Which Is Just Soooo Cool) (PopularScience via TechMeme) First off, this is the only time, in the history of my writing, I’ve pointed to Popular Science. Which pretty much explains the decline of that magazine, at least for me and my network of connections. Second, the accuracy is 77 percent. Which ain’t good enough. But I love this stuff….

—-

If it suits your information consumption goals, sign up for Signal’s email newsletter on the Signal home page (upper right box). You’ll get an exclusive, email only weekly roundup of Signals.

ALERT! More than 450 have registered already, and we’re nearly full!!!! If you enjoy reading FM’s Signal, then you’ll want to come to the CM Summit this June 7-8 in New York City. Join the founders of AdMob, Boxee, Foursquare, and the CEOs of Razorfish, Moxie, GroupM, AOL, as well as top execs from American Express, Adobe, Google, The New York Times, Starbucks, AT&T and more.