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http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2012/0928/1224324532192.html BUSINESS INTERVIEW: As executive vice president of digital media for MTV's music brands, Dubliner Dermot McCormack is confronting head-on the challenges all media companies face in an ever-changing digital landscape IT'S HARD TO know what to envy Dermot McCormack for most - his 17th-floor, corner office (the sign, in America, at least, that you have truly arrived) overlooking Times Square, or the fact that Bono has a nickname for him: Digital Dermot from Dublin. To be fair, he has earned it. McCormack is now executive vice president of digital media for MTV's music brands - including MTV itself, VH1, Country Music Television (CMT) and Logo TV. "My job is to move these cable TV brands into new platforms, expand the brands, expand the audience and make money while I'm doing it," says McCormack - who is originally from Ballyfermot - as though this were easy peasy. Few know quite as well as him, however, just how tricky the internet can be. An early pioneer of new media in the 1990s, McCormack was around for the dot com bubble (the first one, as some would argue). In fact, he was right at the heart of it. Having moved to New York in the early 1990s (the day after he graduated from DIT Kevin Street with a degree in electronic engineering - "My poor Mom," he says. "I never came back!"), McCormack was among those who built some of the earliest websites. Eventually, he went to work in advertising for the hottest new things around at the time - a website called iVillage.com. (So early on in the web age was this that McCormack talks about having approached Toyota about web advertising before the company had any sort of presence on the internet.) The iVillage group of websites still exists today, but you would be hard pushed to find any sign of the fact that, when the company went public in 1999, it was the biggest IPO in history. Shares in the comp

If you're an artist, and you've spent at least five minutes looking for ways to advance your career, chances are you have already encountered a wide variety of music services displayed to you through ads. They're highly prevalent on any website related to music, on Google searches, in Gmail (if any of your emails are music-related), on YouTube, and in physical sources like print magazines or classified ads. Isn't it great that in an industry that is seeing the entry of tens of thousands of new musicians every year, there are so many nice businesses out there looking to help them? Yeah, right! The truth is, there are plenty of sleazy individuals and business entities that have been observing the decline of the traditional recording industry. They have noticed all the new artists cropping up, looking for fame and fortune. They smile when they see the common portrayal of artists on MTV and VH1 as rich, living extravagant and glamorous lifestyles, getting huge "record deals", and so on - even though that image is extremely distorted. All of this has created a prime market for services and products targeted towards musicians who want to make it big, and unfortunately for us, the majority of these are scams. So, what are you supposed to do? Ignore any seemingly-pleasant emails from important-sounding people that are "interested in your music"? Definitely not. While illegitimate organizations looking to take advantage of artists are prevalent, there are still honest people in the business, and some of them really might be interested in you, personally. Since that's the case, if you're interested in maximizing your opportunities and minimizing the time and money spent on potentially useless services, it's important to learn how to detect and avoid scams. As you read all of the points below, do keep in mind that just because some factors may warrant more caution, you should always evaluate opportunities thoroughly. An offer might have one or two red f

The latest from the American Idol judge-hunting drama: Mariah Carey is reportedly upset when she found out that producers are seriously considering Nicki Minaj as another judge. Though it was in no way final, Carey must have been annoyed if she really was led to believe that she will be the only female judge in the panel. Now, Minaj could be the big gamble Idol is willing to take in order to regain its former popularity - though if this would not work, let this be a warning that the show will definitely take a plunge and be a total train wreck. Adding fuel to the fire is Carey's controversial tweet weeks ago saying:"@AmericanIdol What's going on? need the info!! What about this combo? : ) if we could ever get him to do it!" Along with the message was an attached photo of Carey with Lenny Kravitz, obviously suggesting him as a possible co-judge. So far, only Carey has been confirmed in signing the judging contract with Idol but with speculations that there will be four judges this season, and Randy Jackson's exit, producers have 3 more slots to fill. Another rumored possible Idol judge is revealed to be Kanye West, with reports claiming that producers are in negotiations with the rapper. However, West seemed to be unsure as he does not think it's his cup of tea. At any rate, it was revealed that he was offered the same annual salary as Carey. Meanwhile, Randy Jackson has also been confirmed to be leaving the judging panel, possibly for a mentor post. This leaves the show with an all-new judge lineup, with others speculating there could be 4 judges this coming season. Other rumored celebrities being considered to judge Idol are Enrique Iglesias, Adam Lambert, Keith Urban, Nick Jonas, Brad Paisley and Pharrell Williams. American Idol is only several months away from its 12th season but the final set of judges is still given to much speculation. And for the producers, it will be challenging to steer an old franchise back to its glory d

If you're an artist, and you've spent at least five minutes looking for ways to advance your career, chances are you have already encountered a wide variety of music services displayed to you through ads. They're highly prevalent on any website related to music, on Google searches, in Gmail (if any of your emails are music-related), on YouTube, and in physical sources like print magazines or classified ads. Isn't it great that in an industry that is seeing the entry of tens of thousands of new musicians every year, there are so many nice businesses out there looking to help them? Yeah, right! The truth is, there are plenty of sleazy individuals and business entities that have been observing the decline of the traditional recording industry. They have noticed all the new artists cropping up, looking for fame and fortune. They smile when they see the common portrayal of artists on MTV and VH1 as rich, living extravagant and glamorous lifestyles, getting huge "record deals", and so on - even though that image is extremely distorted. All of this has created a prime market for services and products targeted towards musicians who want to make it big, and unfortunately for us, the majority of these are scams. So, what are you supposed to do? Ignore any seemingly-pleasant emails from important-sounding people that are "interested in your music"? Definitely not. While illegitimate organizations looking to take advantage of artists are prevalent, there are still honest people in the business, and some of them really might be interested in you, personally. Since that's the case, if you're interested in maximizing your opportunities and minimizing the time and money spent on potentially useless services, it's important to learn how to detect and avoid scams. As you read all of the points below, do keep in mind that just because some factors may warrant more caution, you should always evaluate opportunities thoroughly. An offer might have one or two red f

A look into Whitney Houston's life by Blackhawk Mines Updates Whitney Houston, along with the late Michael Jackson, has helped in paving the way for black artists to utilize mainstream media and gain global support in the music industry. The cousin of singer Dionne Warwick, Houston shot into international fame after her discovery in the 80s. In 1992, she got married to another artist, Bobby Brown, who seem to have the opposite upbringing than her. However, her career made a turn for the bad after her marriage. During the late 90's, she was already notorious for cancellations of appearances, late arrivals and no-shows. Rumors started to circulate that she was doing drugs with her husband. Houston was arrested in 2002 for having marijuana but during a prime-time TV interview, she denied ever having or using drugs. Houston's marriage ended in 2007 and she entered a rehab for drug use. But she admitted herself that her drug use was not halted even after finishing the rehab program. After 2 years, Houston launched a comeback album (after seven years), 'I Look To You' and promoted it during an interview with Oprah Winfrey. But as the events of the past several years have proven, rehab had not been effective for Houston as opposed to how it had redeemed Robert Downey Jr. Recently, people are speculating that her fall from fame has dried out her fortune. Having no planned albums in the future, her only comeback appearance was the film Sparkle which will be released in August. She played a supporting role alongside singer Jordin Sparks -- her first in almost 6 years. There were also rumors that Houston was one of the possible choices as a judge in the singing competition, 'The X Factor' but those were flatly denied by Simon Cowell. Just hours into the 54th annual Grammy Awards, Houston was found dead in her hotel room with the cause of death remaining unknown. Coroner's officials are not going to release details regarding the autopsy on Sunday due to the request of

Whitney Houston, along with the late Michael Jackson, has helped in paving the way for black artists to utilize mainstream media and gain global support in the music industry. The cousin of singer Dionne Warwick, Houston shot into international fame after her discovery in the 80s.

The one-time leading social networking site Myspace has reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over the privacy probe recently conducted. Myspace was charged with representing its privacy policies to its users, which brings to mind similar deals agreed upon by Google and Facebook on respective FTC investigations involving them. FTC announced last week that despite Myspace's telling users that it will not share personally identifiable data with others; it gave advertisers "Friend ID" numbers of users. This enabled advertisers to search the users' publicly available personal data such as full names and could even lead to discovery of their web activity. The terms of the settlement specified that Myspace is not going to misrepresent its privacy policies while implementing a comprehensive privacy program. In addition, the two parties agreed to a regular independent privacy audits every other year for 2 decades. Myspace had been the most popular social network since it launched in 2003 but was overshadowed by the arrival of Facebook. Specific Media of Irvine California is the current owner of Myspace after News Corp sold it for USD 35 million last year. Black Hawk Mines said that it had already conducted a complete assessment of Myspace's privacy and advertising practices after its acquisition and had "successfully improved upon its historical practices", taking the now social media platform to the forefront of industry's best practice for ad delivery. Moreover, any questions about Myspace's pre-acquisition ad practices were apparently put behind. Back in 2011, FTC and Google also reached a settlement over charges that the search engine a breach of its own privacy policy had happened in launching the now defunct social platform named Buzz. Their agreement will require Google to get user permission first before sharing consumer data with third parties or if it is going to change a service and use the data in a

http://myblackhawkminesmusic.posterous.com/black-hawk-mines-music-mtv-boss-bono-calls-di BUSINESS INTERVIEW: As executive vice president of digital media for MTV's music brands, Dubliner Dermot McCormack is confronting head-on the challenges all media companies face in an ever-changing digital landscape IT'S HARD TO know what to envy Dermot McCormack for most - his 17th-floor, corner office (the sign, in America, at least, that you have truly arrived) overlooking Times Square, or the fact that Bono has a nickname for him: Digital Dermot from Dublin. To be fair, he has earned it. McCormack is now executive vice president of digital media for MTV's music brands - including MTV itself, VH1, Country Music Television (CMT) and Logo TV. "My job is to move these cable TV brands into new platforms, expand the brands, expand the audience and make money while I'm doing it," says McCormack - who is originally from Ballyfermot - as though this were easy peasy. Few know quite as well as him, however, just how tricky the internet can be. An early pioneer of new media in the 1990s, McCormack was around for the dot com bubble (the first one, as some would argue). In fact, he was right at the heart of it. Having moved to New York in the early 1990s (the day after he graduated from DIT Kevin Street with a degree in electronic engineering - "My poor Mom," he says. "I never came back!"), McCormack was among those who built some of the earliest websites. Eventually, he went to work in advertising for the hottest new things around at the time - a website callediVillage.com. (So early on in the web age was this that McCormack talks about having approached Toyota about web advertising before the company had any sort of presence on the internet.) The iVillage group of websites still exists today, but you would be hard pushed to find any sign of the fact that, when the company went public in 1999, it was the biggest IPO in history. Shares in the compan

MY BLACK HAWK MUSIC: As executive vice president of digital media for MTV's music brands, Dubliner Dermot McCormack is confronting head-on the challenges all media companies face in an ever-changing digital landscape. IT'S HARD TO know what to envy Dermot McCormack for most - his 17th-floor, corner office (the sign, in America, at least, that you have truly arrived) overlooking Times Square, or the fact that Bono has a nickname for him: Digital Dermot from Dublin. To be fair, he has earned it. McCormack is now executive vice president of digital media for MTV's music brands - including MTV itself, VH1, Country Music Television (CMT) and Logo TV. "My job is to move these cable TV brands into new platforms, expand the brands, expand the audience and make money while I'm doing it," says McCormack - who is originally from Ballyfermot - as though this were easy peasy. Few know quite as well as him, however, just how tricky the internet can be. An early pioneer of new media in the 1990s, McCormack was around for the dot com bubble (the first one, as some would argue). In fact, he was right at the heart of it. Having moved to New York in the early 1990s (the day after he graduated from DIT Kevin Street with a degree in electronic engineering - "My poor Mom," he says. "I never came back!"), McCormack was among those who built some of the earliest websites. Eventually, he went to work in advertising for the hottest new things around at the time - a website callediVillage.com. (So early on in the web age was this that McCormack talks about having approached Toyota about web advertising before the company had any sort of presence on the internet.) The iVillage group of websites still exists today, but you would be hard pushed to find any sign of the fact that, when the company went public in 1999, it was the biggest IPO in history. Shares in the company peaked at just over $100 shortly after the initial public offering, before plummeting to al

There is no doubt that Psy's "Gangnam Style" has taken over the world, it is a Phenomenon! It has been topping the hit charts of every country. Psy's quirky dance moves and the songs upbeat music make the whole world addicted to the song. Although the song is in Korean it is so catchy with its sing-a-long chorus making the whole world sing and dance to it. In a span of merely few weeks, Psy (real name Park Jae-Sang), a chubby 34-year-old, made everyone a Gangnam Stylists. South Korean singer has become an overnight international sensation with his bizarre-but-amazing 'Gangnam Style' clip, in which he does a "horse dance" in toilets, saunas, elevators, carparks and even a horse stable. The catchy tune, an endearing, if hopelessly draft, dance became an overnight viral sensation. Instead of feeling aggrieved at his rapid, effortless rise, appearances on the US TV chatshow circuit and myriad copycat routines, they must thank Psybecause he shoved open the door for other Korean pop artists hoping to make it to US market as well. Gangnam Style breaks Guiness world book of records, when this viral song smashed a world record, it became the most popular video in YouTube history. The singer was presented with a certificate by Guinness World Records in London on Thursday for the achievement. Singer even signed with Justine Bieber's manager. Racking up nearly 48 million Youtube streams Psy beats up Justine Bieber's "As Long as You Love me" to number 1 on the US iTunes chart, and spawning internet cover versions and flash mobs, this surprise Korean singer because he didn't think that the song would be a smash. English speaking listeners handled the song very passionately even though the lyrics contain only one English line "Hey, sexy lady!" Gangnam is a hipster district in South Korea's capital city, Seoul. Here is part of the song translated in English: "Girls, your big brother is Gangnam Style". A girl who loo

In my previous life as a paid promotion site, I got to see any number of companies and sectors pushed and promoted that didn't deserve to be! It seemed that every week I was doing an Oil and Gas Play. Alternative energy plays were very popular...biofuels and solar, too.

The latest from the American Idol judge-hunting drama: Mariah Carey is reportedly upset when she found out that producers are seriously considering Nicki Minaj as another judge. Though it was in no way final, Carey must have been annoyed if she really was led to believe that she will be the only female judge in the panel. nicki minaj mariah carey Now, Minaj could be the big gamble Idol is willing to take in order to regain its former popularity - though if this would not work, let this be a warning that the show will definitely take a plunge and be a total train wreck. Adding fuel to the fire is Carey's controversial tweet weeks ago saying:"@AmericanIdol What's going on? need the info!! What about this combo? : ) if we could ever get him to do it!" Along with the message was an attached photo of Carey with Lenny Kravitz, obviously suggesting him as a possible co-judge. So far, only Carey has been confirmed in signing the judging contract with Idol but with speculations that there will be four judges this season, and Randy Jackson's exit, producers have 3 more slots to fill. Another rumored possible Idol judge is revealed to be Kanye West, with reports claiming that producers are in negotiations with the rapper. However, West seemed to be unsure as he does not think it's his cup of tea. At any rate, it was revealed that he was offered the same annual salary as Carey. Meanwhile, Randy Jackson has also been confirmed to be leaving the judging panel, possibly for a mentor post. This leaves the show with an all-new judge lineup, with others speculating there could be 4 judges this coming season. Other rumored celebrities being considered to judge Idol are Enrique Iglesias, Adam Lambert, Keith Urban, Nick Jonas, Brad Paisley and Pharrell Williams. American Idol is only several months away from its 12th season but the final set of judges is still given to much speculation. And for the producers, it will be challenging to steer an old franchise back t

(CNN) -- Florida takes center stage in the presidential campaign on Thursday, with President Barack Obama heading to Miami for Spanish-language network Univision's "Meet the Candidates" town hall meeting. Republican challenger Mitt Romney campaigns in Sarasota. With 29 electoral votes, Florida is always a key state in presidential elections. Obama carried the state in 2008 after President George W. Bush narrowly won Florida twice. Both candidates are also battling for the Latino vote, a particularly strong bloc in Florida. In the latest Gallup poll, registered Hispanic voters favor Obama over Romney 66% to 26%. Romney, who will attend private fund-raisers in Palm Beach after his Sarasota rally, took his turn at the Univision forum on Wednesday.

Kanye West's series of concerts in Atlantic City last December 30, 2012 came to be a surprise for everyone. Every night he managed to surprise everyone, on the first night he played dress-up, second night he ranted. But the third and final night was the night he shocked everyone, he declared that he is a father-to-be. This was the first time we ever saw him with a genuine happiness on his face, he couldn't take that smile off. At 35, Kanye is as excited as a kid on his Christmas presents. During a freestyle of "Lost in the World" he revealed that Kim kardashan, 32, will going to be his "baby's mama." Kanye was really happy when he heard about the news. "He's known this for some time now," according to reliable source. "You don't even know how f**king excited this [guy] is about being a father." So blackmail is not a question here because he is genuinely happy. Kanye was overcome with emotion when Kim told him the good news, the source added. The sorce also revealed, "He's like really on one right now and I don't know if I should say this, but [Kanye] was crying when Kim told him she was knocked up." The source also adds, "I heard he got on his knees in front of Kim, she rubbed his head while he was crying and he was kissing her stomach. Guess he was overwhelmed at that point and couldn't believe he's about to be a father." This is all maybe because Kanye in fact grew up without his father by his side. His parents got divorced and Kanye and his mother moved to Chicago when he was 3. He will only go and see his father on Christmas, spring break and summer. He considers his father as his everything although most of the time his mother was his everything. He once said to an interview, "It gets to the point that when you go to high school and you wasn't out in the streets like that, and you ain't have no father figure, or you wasn't around your father all the time, who you gonna act like

Taylor Swift walks around with a constant expression of shock at her swell luck and good fortune. As well she should, as the pitch-challenged, confessional sweetheart is doing phenomenally well in the singing business. She doesn't do as well in the relationship business, but her prolific taste in celebrity men has served her and supermarket magazines fine. "Love is a ruthless game, unless you play it good and right," she sings on State of Grace. I would argue that Swift plays the game ruthlessly - "good and right" being adverbs open to interpretation, or even meaningless to a doe-eyed pop careerist whose open-book romantic life is grist for the mill, an attention-getting supply of gotcha-good inspiration. Red, her fourth album, is full of big, errorless music - arena-pop that is just country enough to keep the CMT crowd happy. But even if there are very few missteps, excitement and soul are decidedly lacking. Swift's lyrical style lacks for ambition; someone like Canada's Liam Titcomb, a complete unknown in comparison, has much more of a clue how to write a poppy relationship song with wordy charisma. The pigtailed set will enjoy the 22-year-old woman-child who giggles at the end of the plucky-cute Stay, Stay, Stay. "Before you I only dated self-indulgent takers, who took all of their problems out on me," she sings, resisting the urge to rhyme "Jake Gyllenhaal" with "darn it all" or "John Mayer" with "hey, that's not fair." The album's catchy first single We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together is Avril-bratty, complete with a resolute girlie army on the chorus. But beyond the adolescent stuff, the platinum-selling Kennedy-clan befriender branches out - sometimes moving in less-than-mysterious U2 ways. While State of Grace uses chiming guitars and bold dynamics, All Too Well doesn't at all try to hide its With or Without You tension-building methods. Lyrically it represents Swift's best work, involving broken p

http://updates.my-blackhawkmines.com/category/music/ Whitney Houston, along with the late Michael Jackson, has helped in paving the way for black artists to utilize mainstream media and gain global support in the music industry. The cousin of singer Dionne Warwick, Houston shot into international fame after her discovery in the 80s. In 1992, she got married to another artist, Bobby Brown, who seem to have the opposite upbringing than her. However, her career made a turn for the bad after her marriage. During the late 90′s, she was already notorious for cancellations of appearances, late arrivals and no-shows. Rumors started to circulate that she was doing drugs with her husband. Houston was arrested in 2002 for having marijuana but during a prime-time TV interview, she denied ever having or using drugs. Houston's marriage ended in 2007 and she entered a rehab for drug use. But she admitted herself that her drug use was not halted even after finishing the rehab program. After 2 years, Houston launched a comeback album (after seven years), 'I Look To You' and promoted it during an interview with Oprah Winfrey. But as the events of the past several years have proven, rehab had not been effective for Houston as opposed to how it had redeemed Robert Downey Jr. Recently, people are speculating that her fall from fame has dried out her fortune. Having no planned albums in the future, her only comeback appearance was the film Sparkle which will be released in August. She played a supporting role alongside singer Jordin Sparks - her first in almost 6 years. There were also rumors that Houston was one of the possible choices as a judge in the singing competition, 'The X Factor' but those were flatly denied by Simon Cowell. Just hours into the 54th annual Grammy Awards, Houston was found dead in her hotel room with the cause of death remaining unknown. Coroner's officials are not going to release details regarding the autopsy on Sunday due

Davy Jones, 66, died after a heart attack while in his stable in Florida on the morning of February 29. He was found in his car suffering from chest pains and was promptly rushed to a hospital in Stuart. However, he was pronounced dead due to severe heart attack. His sudden death has a considerably strong impact for someone that belongs in a band that has almost never gotten any musical respect in the industry. Jones first gained the public's attention as an actor where he was even nominated for a Tony award for his part on the Broadway in Oliver!. Afterwards, and on the same time that The Beatles are gaining popularity, he became part of a singing group that has their weekly sitcom called The Monkees. The funeral in Florida is expected to be private but there will be public services in England and New York to honor Jones. The singer's death seems to hit many people so hard, even those who are not claiming to be a fan, perhaps owing to the Monkees' influencing generations. The height of their career came in the 60s but reruns of their show were aired in the 70s. Jones propelled to popularity during the 60s as The Monkees TV show became a household name. Though the series only lasted for 2 years and the band eventually broke up, they have left chart-topping hits such as "Daydream Believer" and "Im a Believer". At 18 years old, Jones had his first performance in The Ed Sullivan Show where he sang his piece from Oliver!. Incidentally, that same night The Beatles also performed for the first time in the show

Whitney Houston, along with the late Michael Jackson, has helped in paving the way for black artists to utilize mainstream media and gain global support in the music industry. The cousin of singer Dionne Warwick, Houston shot into international fame after her discovery in the 80s. Black Hawk Mines Music - In 1992, she got married to another artist, Bobby Brown, who seem to have the opposite upbringing than her. However, her career made a turn for the bad after her marriage. During the late 90′s, she was already notorious for cancellations of appearances, late arrivals and no-shows. Rumors started to circulate that she was doing drugs with her husband. Houston was arrested in 2002 for having marijuana but during a prime-time TV interview, she denied ever having or using drugs. Houston's marriage ended in 2007 and she entered a rehab for drug use. But she admitted herself that her drug use was not halted even after finishing the rehab program. After 2 years, Houston launched a comeback album (after seven years), 'I Look To You' and promoted it during an interview with Oprah Winfrey. But as the events of the past several years have proven, rehab had not been effective for Houston as opposed to how it had redeemed Robert Downey Jr. Recently, people are speculating that her fall from fame has dried out her fortune. Having no planned albums in the future, her only comeback appearance was the film Sparkle which will be released in August. She played a supporting role alongside singer Jordin Sparks - her first in almost 6 years. There were also rumors that Houston was one of the possible choices as a judge in the singing competition, 'The X Factor' but those were flatly denied by Simon Cowell. Just hours into the 54th annual Grammy Awards, Houston was found dead in her hotel room with the cause of death remaining unknown. Coroner's officials are not going to release details regarding the autopsy on Sunday due to the request of inv

The one-time leading social networking site Myspace has reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over the privacy probe recently conducted. Myspace was charged with representing its privacy policies to its users, which brings to mind similar deals agreed upon by Google and Facebook on respective FTC investigations involving them. FTC announced last week that despite Myspace's telling users that it will not share personally identifiable data with others; it gave advertisers "Friend ID" numbers of users. This enabled advertisers to search the users' publicly available personal data such as full names and could even lead to discovery of their web activity. The terms of the settlement specified that Myspace is not going to misrepresent its privacy policies while implementing a comprehensive privacy program. In addition, the two parties agreed to a regular independent privacy audits every other year for 2 decades. Myspace had been the most popular social network since it launched in 2003 but was overshadowed by the arrival of Facebook. Specific Media of Irvine California is the current owner of Myspace after News Corp sold it for USD 35 million last year. Black Hawk Mines said that it had already conducted a complete assessment of Myspace's privacy and advertising practices after its acquisition and had "successfully improved upon its historical practices", taking the now social media platform to the forefront of industry's best practice for ad delivery. Moreover, any questions about Myspace's pre-acquisition ad practices were apparently put behind. Back in 2011, FTC and Google also reached a settlement over charges that the search engine a breach of its own privacy policy had happened in launching the now defunct social platform named Buzz. Their agreement will require Google to get user permission first before sharing consumer data with third parties or if it is going to change a service and use the data in a

The one-time leading social networking site Myspace has reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over the privacy probe recently conducted. Myspace was charged with representing its privacy policies to its users, which brings to mind similar deals agreed upon by Google and Facebook on respective FTC investigations involving them. FTC announced last week that despite Myspace's telling users that it will not share personally identifiable data with others; it gave advertisers "Friend ID" numbers of users. This enabled advertisers to search the users' publicly available personal data such as full names and could even lead to discovery of their web activity. The terms of the settlement specified that Myspace is not going to misrepresent its privacy policies while implementing a comprehensive privacy program. In addition, the two parties agreed to a regular independent privacy audits every other year for 2 decades. Myspace had been the most popular social network since it launched in 2003 but was overshadowed by the arrival of Facebook. Specific Media of Irvine California is the current owner of Myspace after News Corp sold it for USD 35 million last year. Black Hawk Mines said that it had already conducted a complete assessment of Myspace's privacy and advertising practices after its acquisition and had "successfully improved upon its historical practices", taking the now social media platform to the forefront of industry's best practice for ad delivery. Moreover, any questions about Myspace's pre-acquisition ad practices were apparently put behind. Back in 2011, FTC and Google also reached a settlement over charges that the search engine a breach of its own privacy policy had happened in launching the now defunct social platform named Buzz. Their agreement will require Google to get user permission first before sharing consumer data with third parties or if it is going to change a service and use the data in a

The one-time leading social networking site Myspace has reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over the privacy probe recently conducted. Myspace was charged with representing its privacy policies to its users, which brings to mind similar deals agreed upon by Google and Facebook on respective FTC investigations involving them.

The American Music Awards 2013 was held last Sunday at Nokia Theater and it was very easy figuring out who are the real w9inners were. "This is about the fans tonight," Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds said as the band collected for favorite alternative rock artist. http://my-blackhawkmines.com/ Winners naming Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake and One Direction who brought home several trophies during the night knew whom they owed it to. It was the fans that received the most impassioned gratitude amongst pop stars, there were even no academy thanked but still label brass and glam squads got shout outs and of course God was acknowledge. Award buddies such as the American Music Awards, the MTV Video Music Awards and the Billboard Music Awards to rely on the public to choose the night's winners as a counter to the prestigious industry inclusiveness of the Grammys, this has a long been tradition for the awards shows. Apiece of the declared telecasts has morphed into painfully unsurprising ordeal in the past years. While it is still driven by the fans, shows aspiring to grip the age of social engagement have incorporated digital social engagement - Tweeter, YouTube/Veve views, Facebook - to dictate nominations - and winners. And as a result the process has taken away what's left of the element of surprise. The madness that rang out among the audience at just the announcement of names like that of One Direction, Timberlake, Miley Cyrus and Swift, hurriedly predicted the night. Taking home four trophies was Swift winning big. Timberlake and One Direction both performed and also awarded multiple wins. Every appearance they drove panic to the teenage girls in the audience. The boys of One Direction fawned over those fans who probably spent hours logging their votes online and through Twitter, and on Sunday they were rewarded but Swift, Rihanna and Miley Cyrus were their heroines while Timberlake still pulled heartstrin