According to the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, the internet has now surpassed all other media except television as a main source for national and international news.

Even though we have large cracks in our economic floor, innovation and product development have not gone by the wayside in the Tech industry (Apple and Google). Of course, these products were in the development queue before our country noticed its' maxed-out credit cards, dwindling bank accounts and dried-up LOCs. Companies will be cutting advertising budgets and it will have an impact on our digital strategies (less advertising revenue, less budget for growing online functions and features); however, we should be focused on coming out strong in 2009.

Two channels to pay attention to in 2009 are IPTV and 2D barcodes.

Esquire's 75th anniversary edition won't make you a frothy, skim espresso but it will entertain and even slightly fascinate you. Esquire is the first consumer publication to utilize E-Ink's technology; the technology is also utilized by E-book devices and Motorola's MOTOPHONE.

Impossible to believe, but July is upon us.

Please join Media Future Now for our July lunch meeting scheduled for Tuesday, July 22, from 12:15 - 1:45pm. Please mark your calendars now as we look forward to your participation.

More details to come...

Today's nugget o' interest:

Happy Earth Day or, as some may say, welcome to the dawn of the Green Eon!

Please spend your lunch hour(s) with Media Future Now and join us on Thursday, May 1st, at USTelecom from 12:15 until 1:45pm.
We have an engaging and relevant program focused on INNOVATION in Advertising.

We are pleased to present and host:

Ernie Mosteller, Blattner Brunner, VP, Interactive Creative Director

Jeff Mascott, Adfero Group, Managing Director

We're very excited to be here at Google's DC office. Today's panelists bring us insight, experience, thoughts, ideas and success stories about operating in DC's "inside the beltway" environment.

We continue this month with our series on "Old and New", the transition of old media to digital media. Is there a way to successfully combine the "walled garden" and the "read-write web" in Washington?

PANEL:Charlie Mitchell, Editor, Roll Call

Michael Petruzzello, Partner, Qorvis Communications

Jack Quinn, Founder and Co-Chairman, Quinn Gillespie and Associates

Our first presenter is Peter Corbett, the CEO of iStrategyLabs. Peter is currently talking about the world of Social Media (everyone's favorite buzz word - at least for the moment) - 6 of the top 10 sites on the Internet are Social Media focused websites. Is Social Media a "trend of the moment"? No. According to Peter, this rise is a Tsunami. People are going to join these sites, people are going to be active and contribute interesting content.What does this mean?

Thank you to our panel participants and moderator - we had an engaging discussion about content, distribution channels: TV, Mobile, laptops, etc., advertising strategies, challenges, successes, bundled ad buying, advertising in today's economy, Social Media strategies, "Beltway Buying Trends", and more:

Our Panel Participants:

Shopping is a personal experience, even if you have a friend, loved one or random person in the dressing room's opinion. The buying decision should come down to what you like and what you want, even if you're purchasing a gift. Sometimes there's a voice in our head that wants to know..."what did other buyers think?", "are other buyers happy with this same purchase?", "is this item going to last, even beyond the warranty period?".