CNM Short Takes

Henry, Clay Henry, likely subject of name disputeHenry, Clay Henry, the fireman featured in Subway commercials will be sent up as a clay-mation, disabled and profane London subway dweller within a few days as Halifax’s Collideascope Inc. posts a new web site devoted to the character at www.clayhenry.com. Collideascope’s president, Steven Comeau, tells CNM he’s purchased the domain name and will have the satirical content posted shortly. He doesn’t expect, however, that the move will go entirely unnoticed by the Subway chain. Watch for news of litigation or other legal action in this space soon. Canadian Museum of Nature outlines future plansA Canadian Museum of Nature spokesperson tells Canadian NEW MEDIA that interactive exhibits and virtual collections are definitely in the future for the Ottawa-based museum known widely for both its geological and dinosaur collections. The institution announced a new $70-million investment from Canadian Heritage and private funding on Jan. 30. Boyd doesn’t expect Iceberg copyright woesIceberg Media.com Inc. has launched its new Internet radio station merged with Bonzaroo.com (CNM, Nov. 29/01). Former Bonzaroo listeners are being invited through an email campaign to re-register with the site, this time entering a Canadian postal code to qualify for membership. Boyd tells CNM the postal code requirement isn’t intended to avoid copyright regulations even though the site is only authorized to stream music in this country. Rather, he says, the economics of addressing both the U.S. and Canadian markets are prohibitive. "We’re in the business of selling a Canadian advertiser on a Canadian audience," he says. "The days of global ad buys may be coming, but they’re not here today." To advertise the site, the company has also begun making use of the advertising inventory it acquired from partner Standard Broadcasting Corp. Ltd. during the Bonzaroo acquisition. In a media release on Feb. 4, Iceberg announced that it has used $178,560 of that inventory. Boyd adds that Iceberg is now reaching 60% of the country with its radio advertising campaign, and that the push has resulted in significant upticks in user traffic. ILoveTV hires Ogilvy to market firm in partnership dealILoveTV Entertainment Inc., freshly trading on the Canadian Venture Exchange (CNM, Jan. 23/02), has signed OlgivyInteractive to develop a series of marketing resources including a web site, corporate videos, sales tools and others. The web site, according to a Feb. 5 media release, is expected to be launched next week. In return, OgilvyInteractive will take advantage of ILoveTV’s convergence platform for other clients. OgilvyInteractive’s managing director is also a founding member of ILoveTV’s board of directors. Exact terms of the deal were not disclosed. ILoveTV’s Ian Park will discuss the implications of this latest agreement with Canadian NEW MEDIA for an article in an upcoming issue. Next-generation wireless US/Canada deal cementedRogers Wireless and its U.S. partner AT&T Wireless have inked a deal to provide GSM/GPRS roaming between the two companies’ networks. GPRS is a wireless technology which offers fast Internet connections for wireless devices, and, along with the competing 1XRTT standard touted by Bell Mobility and Telus Mobility, is a key driver for new applications on the wireless Internet. The agreement means the combined Rogers/AT&T networks will reach up to 93% of the Canadian network by mid-2002, and more than 20 U.S. centres. Several Canadian companies are already part of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association’s Wireless Internet Council, including Airborne Entertainment (CNM, Dec. 21/01), developing applications for next generation networks. OMDC, Telefilm fund MILIA trips for new mediaSeveral Canadian new media producers have received the combined help of Telefilm Canada and the Ontario Media Development Corp. to attend the MILIA market in Cannes, France. The companies are: Big Orbit Inc., Bitcasters, DC Studios, Dream Mechanics, ecentricarts inc., Hemera Technologies, Marble Media Inc., Primitive Entertainment, SRP Inter@ctive, Strategy First and Trapeze Media Ltd. Primitive’s Ian Kelso tells Canadian NEW MEDIA that the company doesn’t have high hopes of selling product, but that the experience is invaluable from an education and networking perspective. BC Securities Commission launches business-in-BC surveyThe British Columbia Securities Commission is asking high-tech and other new economy companies to help it identify the regulatory barriers that entrepreneurs and firms face in raising capital and doing business in the province. The organization has posted a survey to its web site at www.bcsc.bc.ca asking high-tech and new economy entrepreneurs, as well as their advisors, to share their financing experiences and to identify barriers to raising capital in B.C. Besides the survey, the BCSC will also be conducting focus groups and interviews with industry participants, and a report of the group’s findings is expected this spring. Virtual Universe launches new Internet audio productsToronto’s Virtual Universe Corp. has introduced three new Internet audio conferencing products designed to make its flagship technology, Virtual Talker, commercially viable. That product has only operated on a demonstration basis to date, used by thousands of testers without charge. The company has now introduced a fee structure that begins at $0.05/minute. Along with the product announcement, the company has also launched a re-designed web site, and a new stock option plan for its directors and employees. Cultural workers see slight wage increase in NovemberStatistics Canada has released figures which show a 0.3% increase in seasonally adjusted weekly earnings for those employed in the information and cultural industries in the month of November, 2001. Last year, employees took home an average of $801.07 in that month, up from $774.13 in 2000. On a seasonally-adjusted basis, employment in the sector fell from 346,000 jobs to 345,000 from October 2001 - November 2001. Mediagrif acquires Flow Systems from NurunMediagrif Interactive Technologies Inc. has acquired Flow Systems Corp. from Nurun Inc. on undisclosed terms. Flow Systems’ products allow businesses to build and maintain a product information database for all its catalog publishing needs including automatic updating of ecommerce systems, web, print and CD-ROM catalogs. Ontario releases privacy protection consultation paperOntario’s Ministry of Consumer and Business Services has released a consultation paper on privacy in advance of developing draft legislation. If passed, the law would establish rules to let individuals decide when, how, and to what extent their personal information is communicated to others. The proposed legislation is based on the Canadian Standards Association model code for the protection of personal information, recognized by the European Union and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Deadline for comments in the consultation is March 6. New media projects Green-lighted by CIFVFThe Canadian Independent Film & Video Fund has agreed to make grants to a handful of new media products following its 18th evaluation round. Funding winners include: Nexus Media Inc., NS, for its title, Bishop’s Nova Scotia; Vent d’Est Films, QC, for its title Prostitution Inc.; Macumba International Inc., QC, for its title Site Internet Extremis; and CineFocus Canada Prod., ON, for its title, Visions From the Wilderness: Paul Kane. Bell Zinc acquires Montreal-based Cesart CreationBell Zinc Corp. has bought a controlling interest in Cesart Creation, a Montreal-based e-marketing and web development firm on undisclosed terms. Cesart was founded in 1996, and has been serving large and medium-sized enterprises from key sectors in Ontario and Quebec, including government, business services and education.

CNM Short Takes

News | 02/07/2002 5:00 am EST

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