Twitter is awash with celebs anxious to tweet about the minute-by-minute details of their lives. To help cut through the clutter Empire Online has provided a Top 50 Hollywood Celebs That Matter. Influence is hard to fathom. Webster defines it as the “the power or capacity of causing an effect in indirect or intangible ways”. According to an empirical study; to have influence on Twitter it is not just a matter of indegree, but also retweets and mentions. Us mere civilians can gain influence by posting high quality tweets and staying on topic in an effort to be perceived as in the know. However, WOM proponents believe we make decisions based on our peers and friends’ opinions. So if you’re not part of the persuasive minority or don’t have that many opinionated friends and you are wondering what people in the entertainment industry are saying here’s the list of who tweets what.

Rupert Murdoch knows a bit about news and his view that the internet is “broken” is well known. His Wall Street Journal purchase taught him pay walls had a role to play in the future of media and today he’s extended them to The Times. You Tube has got the comedy sketches, Gordon Brown stepped into the debate during the 2010 Election and Murdoch’s competitors have lined up to say they’re ready to reap the rewards as readers abandon News International sites; but you know the media execs (all readers of the Financial Times, who have had successful pay walls since 2002) are watching and waiting… Old media companies lose money online. Murdoch wants a fraction of the online audience reach enjoyed by The Guardian in return for profits. When he gets them (soon) it’s all change, whatever the current hyperbole.

We loved the new SATC2 “i-trailer” from Warner Brothers. It’s a rich-media interactive trailer a load of clickable “hot spots” that allows viewers to take a look inside the girls’ fabulous closets full of designer clothes, shoes and accessories, giving you background information and where to buy. Some reviewers have expressed their delight at this production from  i-Traliers whilst others are a little less than enthusiastic about the direction movie marketing might take. We’re just pleased the movie industry is catching up. The Times reported on the music industry’s efforts in this space a year ago. No surprise I suppose that such a greater need for ancillary revenues forces them ahead of the curve, like the video for Breakeven by Irish band The Script produced by Click Through.

We have all watched as music and film copyright has been eroded as the digital age has exploded. It’s an emotive issue which touches on elements of human rights, ethics, finances and legality. There is an argument that the modern generation is growing up with a sense that music and film should be accessible to them at no cost. And there is also a fair point that making product accessible allows the best new artists to emerge and prosper quickly. And following this their t-shirt and ticket sales will balance out the lack of product revenue. Whichever way you spin it, downloading material is illegal and there are a variety of positive and negative consequences for both artists and those who profit from their work.

And in June the Digital Economy Act comes into being. This new legislation will see a major shift in UK digital policy that mainly attacks online piracy. And the key element of the act is   likely to have repercussions generally in the Western world. The bill basically allows for the suspension of Internet connections for those who repeatedly infringe copyright (following warnings from their ISP). The entertainment industry has been pushing for this kind of move, and many major studios and record labels will be very happy if it succeeds in reducing piracy.

But how is this going to work? Well if file-sharing is identified and warnings made then the piracy need to drop by 70%. If it doesn’t then technical measures like internet disconnection for individuals and families can be used. Websites deemed as offenders can also be blocked. Indeed, if piracy is related to a business then there is a possible fine of up to £50,000. This is pretty heavy stuff, and it will be interesting to see how strictly – and broadly – these methods will be enforced.

With a new UK government potentially looming and some controversy at the speed that bill was passed – it is possible that some of these elements will be tempered. But either way it is quite possible that this bill will set a precedent for other countries to follow. And one thing is for sure, the entertainment industry will be very happy that some action is being taken. Thousands of film and music makers will also be watching this development with great interest.

On Monday, the UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown appeared to be making the universal availability of superfast broadband a big election issue. His idea is to use a small landline tax and some BBC license fee to provide 100 megabit coverage for the whole country (the current average is 4Mbps). The Conservatives plan is for this system to be built through commercial competition.

The Prime Minister said, “We say that Britain’s digital future must be a future for all, not just for some. But if every household is to benefit, then it is fair that every household contributes to meeting this goal.” It’s true that some rural communities already lack even basic broadband access, and they may also miss out on this super fast internet for commercial reasons under the Tory plan.

However it’s created, the UK government thinks this new fibre-optic network will have a big impact on public services and jobs. “Superfast broadband is the electricity of the digital age. And I believe it must be for all – not just for some,” Brown said, arguing that it goes beyond the convenience of online shopping. Although there is no argument that there would be a lot of shopping! Not to mention changes in games and entertainment.

A speedy internet is useful for many things (sadly this definitely includes illegal file-sharing) but how much use is it really to governmental sites and processes? It could well save the government a lot of money in paperwork and man-hours. But the average local council website is fairly basic so it’s hard to see how huge internet speeds are necessary. One thing we can assume is that some jobs will be lost as more services go online, but with luck, many more could be created and Gordon’s dream can be realised.

Things are set to change that’s for sure. And, we should find out what happens very quickly online!

With the ongoing dominance of Facebook and the still expanding reach of Twitter, it was no surprise that Google jumped into the social media ring with their Google Buzz platform. Buzz popped up literally underneath the Inbox folder on everyone’s Google Mail email folders recently. Google execs say it’s not a direct competition to these dominant sites as it’s more about ‘engagement’. They argue that these potentially wider conversations, chats, buzz, separate it from the obvious competition.

But does it actually do anything that Facebook and Twitter don’t do? Will it? Does it matter? We’ll see if people get onboard soon enough. It’s hard to bet against Google and its many successful launches. But there has been one PR set back already. That is, whether the technical openness they want from the platform could be in opposition to the private nature of our email in-boxes.

The initial launch version of Buzz automatically published Gmail users email networks without seeming to have any sensitivity to interpersonal issues arising from this. Needless to say this led to a lawsuit and various tweaks to the service. We will have to see if this controversary harms Buzz or if perhaps other teething problems arise. Either way, it has brought the issue of personal information access to the worlds attention. There is a huge general move towards transparent information share and Buzz is just the latest device to push the boundary of what defines ‘private’. It seems likely that many of us will opt into this service too. We probably just needed to feel like we have a choice.

After a massive amount of pre-release press and chatter, Apple’s iPad launches today. The companies successful track record with new tech - and particularly the iPhone -means various media industries are nervously watching the launch and public reaction.
Sitting somewhere between a fancy phone and a small laptop, the touch-screen device is more portable than a laptop but sits in a no-mans land that has never taken off with the public before. But it’s hard to write Apple off - despite a few notable failures in the past.
Depending on price, this new device could at least annihilate the competition in the burgeoning virtual book market led by Amazon’s Kindle. But not just that… the iPad will likely mix smooth internet use with video, music, books and… newspapers?
The rumour is that online newspaper formats will be very suited to devices of this type. In this way the timing could be perfect for a publishing industry that has been hit hard by advertising drop off and by having to put all content online for free. The idea being that subscription for online broadsheets might sit well with a device of this sort.
Either way it’s all very exciting! With new tech like this it’s likely that the results on will be a little different to that which is predicted. One thing we can be fairly certain of… based on previous Apple launches, it seems prudent to wait for the 2nd generation model before buying.

First of all, happy new year from all the Way To Blue guys and gals! Now, Avatar, the most expensive film ever made? Unofficially yes, various sources put the cost at $500 million including production and marketing, and that’s a lot of money.
Reviews and conversation have been coming in thick and fast across the globe, from every corner, our view? We couldn’t possibly comment! What we’re really interested in right now is that another spike of conversation has peaked with the announcement that the film has just made 1.3 billion dollars.

That’s $1,300,000,000! Now, movies have taken money of a similar amount previously, but Avatar has a few differences. Firstly it did it in 17 days, that’s the fastest any movie has ever grossed a billion, and secondly it’s done it with a story about blue aliens and a smoking Sigourney Weaver. This raises the question does it have the legs to top Titanic?
Titanic was a timeless story millions went to see over and over again, can Avatar bring people back? People are suggesting the heart warming story and groundbreaking visuals what is going to do it, but what do you think? The high gross is fuelled by 3D and IMAX sales, which are naturally higher than regular tickets, but will it beat the $1,848,813,795 Titanic made? Either way James Cameron is laughing all the way to the bank!

It’s not going away, in fact, it’s getting bigger, the thing that the environmentalists love but the studio execs across the world fear, ‘the cloud’ and it absorbing all digital content. A world without little shiny discs, well, apart from hanging from the rear view mirror of exceptionally dodgy taxi drivers.

The ever interesting Ars Technica recently put together a great article commenting on how Hollywood might, ‘plan to keep prices up as movies go online’ there’s some neat graphs and interesting insight, particularly, on how, whilst Blu-ray has plugged a bit of a whole in the market, disc sales are still dropping and digital is rising.

Of course, studios can charge for digital downloads, they already do, but the real battle comes in when looking at the increasing number of digital rental services, and streaming services. With the expansion of services like Netflix and Epix, bandwidth increasing, and consumers fine with the concept of ‘watch once’ it’s going to be an interesting time to see how Hollywood keeps the price up, in the same battle that music has been fighting for years now.