The Association for Downloadable Media (ADM) plans to hold its first in-person meeting at the Podcasting & New Media Expo in Ontario, CA. The meeting will be held at 7:30 a.m. PDT on Friday, September 28, 2007 in Ballroom A. The meeting is open to any expo attendee.

Agenda items include:

• the goals of the organization;
• the continued membership drive;
• committee formation action plans;
• first priority deliverables as an organization;
• potential membership benefits for podcasters; and
• the process for the nominations for board seats and committees

This is the first in-person meeting of ADM paid and prospective members. ADM currently has a roster of 50 publishers, agencies, vendors and metrics companies as members.

A new survey has found that the Internet has become an obsession for many Americans, with the majority of U.S. adults feeling they cannot go for a week without going online and one in three giving up friends and sex for the Web.

The online survey, conducted by advertising agency JWT, asked 1,011 American adults how long they would feel OK without going on the Web, to which 15 percent said a just a day or less, 21 percent said a couple of days and another 19 percent said a few days.

“It is taking away from offline activities, among them having sex, socializing face-to-face, watching TV and reading newspapers and magazines. It cuts into that share,” said JWT’s Ann Mack. “I don’t suppose their partners are too pleased about it.”

Ouch!

Report Highlights:

• 28 percent admitted spending less time socializing face-to-face with peers because of the amount of time they spend online.
• 20 percent said they spend less time having sex because they are online.
• The Internet won out over cell phones and television in a question asking which device people couldn’t go without.

NBC has announced a new service, NBC Direct, which will let you download and view NBC’s primetime and late-night programming to Windows PCs to watch for up to a week after the shows are broadcast.

The service, which will begin beta testing in October, promises to let you download full-length episodes of Heroes, The Office, Bionic Woman, Late Night With Conan O’Brien, The Tonight Show and other popular shows. The downloads will be DRM’d so that they can only be viewed on authorized systems and they will expire after one week.

NBC also plans to offer a subscription option for the service. You’ll be able to subscribe to the shows you want and have them automatically downloaded to your computer. Sound familiar? In effect, NBC is introducing a closed video podcast platform.

While this is a huge leap forward for a major network, the system’s closed nature means that you won’t be able to view shows on Macs, iPods, iPhones or other portable media players, shows will “expire” and you’ll need another system if CBS or ABC starts offering downloads.

“With the creation of this new service, we are acknowledging that now, more than ever, viewers want to be in control of how, when and where they consumer their favorite entertainment,” said Vivi Zigler, Executive Vice President, NBC Digital Entertainment. “Not only does this feature give them more control, but it also gives them a higher quality video experience.”

Zune Scene and others are reporting that Microsoft will release its second-generation Zune portable media players on October 16th. And while Microsoft tried to use the first-generation Zunes to turn “squirting” into a trendy term, this time around it’s “squircle”.

Here’s the specs, via Zune Scene:

“We have also verified that in addition to the pink, red, and black colors an “Army Jeep Green” color will also be available for the smaller flash Zunes. Although the Zunes in the leaked image appear glossy, they will actually have the same doubleshot surface as the original Zune. The navigation button has been replaced with a new “squircle” shaped button, which is a square with rounded edges. It will not have a separate center button as the original Zune does, but the functionality will be the same. The current launch date is scheduled for October 16th, exactly 3 weeks after the Halo 3 launch. Based on our previous leaks, the memory sizes will be 4 GB, 8 GB, and 80 GB. “

Based on these specs, it doesn’t look like the 2G Zunes will offer much in the way of hardware innovation. The specs appear to be about two years behind the latest iPods, with Apple offering 16 GB flash players and 160 GB hard drive players.

The squircle button promises to make the 2G Zunes a source of ridicule. According to Wikipedia, a squircle is a mathematical shape with properties between those of a square and those of a circle. Is a new button shape the biggest innovation Microsoft can bring to portable media players?

Unless Microsoft has some amazing new software to go along with their new portable media players, it looks like the Zune will remain a 2nd-string portable media platform.

Fusa Capital, a media company that owns and operates a network of search engine websites, has launched the latest entrant into the podcast search engine and directory melee, Podanza.com.

Podanza bills itself as a podcast search engine and directory which aggregates free audio and video podcasts from over 5,000 international producers. When searching for podcasts, search results can be limited by video or audio podcasts only.

New podcasts are added to Podanza daily by a team of editors, as well as through direct submissions from podcast producers. Podcast producers interested in submitting a podcast to Podanza can submit their podcast feed.

The Podanza site, part of the Fusa Consumer Search Network, is based on the same underlying proprietary search engine technology that is used to operate Fusa’s other popular search services, Searchforvideo and Newstowatch.

“Our move into the podcast search space underscores how easily our search technology can extend across video and audio. [W]e’ll continue to expand our network to include additional search services in … newly emerging markets for content owners and advertisers to target,” said Jenifer Osterwalder, CEO of Fusa Capital.

GCap Media, operators of radio stations such as Capital Radio, Xfm and Classic FM recently announced that it has joined UK Podcasters Association. This move is seen as a big step toward radio industry integration with digital and online media. GCap is the first radio/media company to join the UKPA since the association’s creation in April 2006.

Speaking about GCap Media, who produce more podcasts than any other media company in the UK, joining the UKPA, Chairman Dean Whitbread said:

“This is a major endorsement of the UKPA’s work and status as the leading body to establish podcasters’ rights. We’ve done a lot of work to establish podcasting as a medium in itself and we are really pleased to welcome GCap as a prominent member from the radio industry. It shows that they recognise both the value of the Association and the importance of podcasting.”

John Hirst, Head of GCap’s podcasting company, Creation, said:

“Over the past three years we have seen millions of consumers subscribing and downloading compelling podcasts from our radio stations and our customers’ websites. We create podcasts for our radio brands, our commercial clients and other third party customers, such as The Sun. It’s now part of our core business and content offering to consumers and commercial customers alike. We are delighted to join the UKPA as it’s a neutral body set-up to support all podcasters.”

Apple and T-Mobile today announced that T-Mobile will be the exclusive carrier of the iPhone when it makes its debut in Germany on November 9.

The iPhone is scheduled to go on sale on November 9 and will be sold in Germany through Telekom Shops of Deutsche Telekom and the T-Mobile web shop. The phone will require a new 2-year T-Mobile tariff and will be available in an 8GB model for  Ǩ399 including V.A.T..

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with T-Mobile to bring the iPhone to Germany,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Customer response to iPhone in the US has been incredible, and we can’t wait to introduce T-Mobile customers to the most revolutionary mobile device on the planet.”

“We are convinced that we can get our customers excited about experiencing the mobile internet with the iPhone,” said Hamid Akhavan, CEO, T-Mobile International. “I am proud that Apple and T-Mobile have become partners. The best mobile device currently on the market will soon be operating on the best network in the country.”

Some forty years after it first revolutionized children’s television programming, Sesame Workshop (the makers of public tv’s Sesame Street) has announced the launch of a video podcast series.

The short weekly episodes focus on a single “word on the street” (literally, a word chalked onto blacktop). The recent podcast about squid featured grown-ups and children talking about and dancing like squid, and included a newsroom feature about squid by NBC anchor Brian Williams.

‚ÄúIn previous research, Sesame Workshop has learned that parents are eager to have portable educational media content that they can use with their young children at any time and wherever they might be — helping to fill time on a car ride or while waiting in line at the grocery store while building children’s literacy skills at the same time,‚Äù said Glenda Revelle, vice president for research and creative development, digital media at Sesame Workshop, in a statement.

The only fault we found with the podcast was Elmo’s annoying manner of speech, but that’s just our personal taste. We miss the olden Sesame Street days with the original Gordon, our pal Grover, and Cookie Monster when he was still cookie-obsessed.

More information about the podcast is available at http://www.sesameworkshop.org/podcasts/ , and the feed is here.

Podcast¬†hosting provider¬†Wizzard Software¬†announced today a partnership with Nielsen//NetRatings to offer certified download data. According to Wizzard, certified download numbers will bring “a new level of accountability to podcast ad sales.”

“Our adoption of the Nielsen//NetRatings solution….will elevate our participating publishers‚Äô podcasts to an entirely new level of consideration by advertisers and agencies as a viable, measured tool for reaching highly targeted, opt-in consumers,” said Chris Spencer, chief executive officer, Wizzard.

“In the few months that we have been meeting with agencies and advertisers, we have repeatedly heard that they want to see reputable, third-party measurement of podcast downloads,” said Jim Else, vice president of sales, Wizzard Media. “Measurement via Nielsen//NetRatings‚Äô SiteCensus addresses these concerns in a big way, and we believe it will have a very positive impact on our podcast ad sales efforts.”

“Third-party measurement is absolutely essential to the future of podcast advertising,” adds Page Thompson, chief executive officer North America for ad agency OMD. “From a media planning standpoint, it is critical that we have credible data from a known source. This will help us evaluate podcast advertising alongside other forms of measured media.”

According to Wizzard, the company handled more than 85 million download requests in July.

Apple and O2 announced today that the iPhone – aka the “Jesus phone” – will debut in the UK November 9th. O2 will be the exclusive UK carrier for the iPhone.

Unique to the UK, iPhone users will have free access to the UK’s largest single public Wi-Fi network, covering over 7,500 cafes, restaurants, airport lounges, pubs and other locations across the UK.

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with O2 to offer our revolutionary iPhone to UK customers,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “US iPhone customer satisfaction is off the charts, and we can’t wait to let UK customers get their hands on it and learn what they think of it.”

‚ÄúOur strategy at O2 is to bring our customers the best products and experiences,‚Äù said Matthew Key, CEO, O2 UK.¬† ‚ÄúThe iPhone is a breakthrough that is changing the way people use their mobiles forever, and we’re thrilled to have it exclusively for O2 customers in the UK.‚Äù

iPhone users in the UK will be able to activate their iPhones using iTunes software running on a PC or Mac computer. iTunes guides the user through steps to choose their tariff, undertake a credit check and activate their iPhone.

iPhone users in the UK will have access to Apple’s latest music offerings on iPhone including the recently launched iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store. The iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store offers customers the ability to browse, search, preview, purchase and download songs and albums from iTunes over the built-in Wi-Fi on their iPhone. No computer is required and when the customer connects their iPhone back with their PC or Mac, their music automatically syncs back into their iTunes library.¬†¬†

Pricing & Availability

The iPhone is scheduled to go on sale on November 9 and will be sold exclusively in the UK through Apple‚Äôs retail and online stores, O2 and The Carphone Warehouse’s retail and online stores. iPhone will be available in an 8GB model for ¬£269 (inc VAT) and will work with either a PC or Mac. iPhone tariffs will be available from O2 starting at ¬£35, which all include unlimited anytime, anywhere mobile data usage and, in a market first, free unlimited use of the UK‚Äôs largest single public Wi-Fi network, covering over 7,500 cafes, restaurants, airport lounges, pubs and other locations across the UK.

iPhone requires a new 18-month contract with O2. Existing O2 customers will have the option of keeping their existing phone number and upgrading their account to work with iPhone while new customers can also transfer their current mobile number to O2.