Smallest billboards fit LittleBIGPlanet’s contradictions
Los Angeles is the biggest canvas for the art of the billboard, but the latest kind being deployed by Sony would not make much of an impact at Sunset and Vine.
To promote its forthcoming game LittleBIGPlanet, Sony has been planting probably the smallest billboards in the world all over LA, under palm trees and in public parks, and actually not minding if someone picks one up and takes it home. Read more
Goog-hoo deal finds a few friends in Washington
Another sign the Yahoo/Google pact is on a razor’s edge: a group of 11 House Democrats from California has written to attorney general Michael Mukasey pleading with him not to block the advertising partnership. They’re led by Anna Eshoo (pictured), whose Silicon Valley district encompasses the HQs of both companies. Extract:
“The competitive and disruptive nature of the Internet makes it extraordinarily difficult for any company to dominate. The rapid growth of the market and the increased potential in this space invites more and more competition.” Read more
Getting ready for the Mobile Broadband Wars
This week’s official outbreak of the Mobile Broadband Wars (see my colleague Chris Nuttall’s description of the rival WiMAX and GSM initiatives to be announced in the next couple of days) has not come soon enough for many consumers.
Demand for high-speed mobile access has already become a big source of new business for Orange, according to Olaf Swantee, head of the French group’s mobile division. I caught up with Swantee when he was in San Francisco last week, and this seemed to be just about the brightest spot for his business right now. One in eight customers signing up for a new Orange account is doing so by buying a laptop computer in one of the company’s stores along with a broadband “dongle”, he said. Read more
| About this blog | Blog guide |
Richard Waters has headed the FT's San Francisco bureau since 2002 and covers Google and Microsoft, among other things. A former New York bureau chief for the FT, he is intrigued by Silicon Valley's unique financial and business culture, and is looking forward to covering his second Tech Bust.
Chris Nuttall has been online and messing around with computers for more than 20 years and since 2004 has reported from the FT's San Francisco bureau on semiconductors, video games, consumer electronics and all things interwebby.
Maija Palmer has been writing about technology for the FT since 1999 and is fascinated by cybercrime, privacy and all the other issues of the information society. Based in London, she covers European tech companies and hopes that they won't all get acquired by American rivals.
Robin Kwong is the FT's technology, media and telecoms page editor in London. Formerly he was the Taipei correspondent and wrote about the companies that manufacture the vast majority of the world's computers and gadgets. He is interested in the intricacies of the technology supply chain and how China is increasingly changing the tech landscape.
Tim Bradshaw is the FT's digital media correspondent, and has just moved from London to join our team in San Francisco. He has covered start-ups such as Twitter and Spotify, as well as the online ambitions of more established media companies, such as the BBC iPlayer. He also covers the advertising, marketing and video-game industries. Tim has been writing about technology, business and finance since 2003.
