ReadWriteWeb

This is the second post in a multi-part series about integrating the internet with the real world.

In "The Scannable World: Mobile Phones As Barcode Scanners," we introduced the concept of using your phone to scan barcoded objects in the real world. We also touched on some of the history surrounding this technology. One of the issues with barcoded ads today is where you find them: newspapers, arguably a dying medium whose subscriber base isn't necessarily composed of cutting-edge early adopters. So how can barcodes make their way to the people who actually use the web and other modern technologies? One company thinks they have the answer.

In June, we reported that Google had signed a deal with the creator of Family Guy, Seth MacFarlane. Under this deal, Google was going to syndicate a series of 50 short cartoon by MacFalrlane through AdSense and the Google Content network. Now, the first series of these cartoons is available on YouTube. This first wave of videos is sponsored by fast food chain Burger King, though we assume that other parts of the series will feature different sponsors.

Today, Bloglines has unveiled a new skin for its public beta site and has announced that it will start displaying ads on its start page. The new skin for the beta is is quite well done and definitely an improvement over the regular Bloglines interface, as well as the last version of the beta skin. The really interesting news, however, is that Bloglines now, for the first time, features advertising on its service after it had originally abandoned the idea when it created a major controversy back in 2005.

Yahoo today announced that it will allow its customers to opt out of customized advertising on Yahoo.com. Yahoo made this announcement in a response to the an inquiry by U.S. Congressman John Dingell (D- Mich.). Just yesterday, Google had announced a similar opt-out program for its DoubleClick advertising network. Yahoo's opt-out program won't take effect until the end of this month and will be an enhancement of Yahoo's current privacy policies with regard to customized advertising.

After a rocky start which involved post-launch outages and subsequent apology letter not to mention the big reveal that MobileMe wasn't exactly the "push" service they advertised, Apple finally has MobileMe up and running. But now, after updating iTunes to the latest version, many Windows users were surprised to find a new MobileMe icon in their Control Panel. Apple is once again sneaking software onto our PCs - the question is, why are we letting them get away with this?

Roofarena is basically the Million Dollar Homepage concept built as a graphical layer on top of Google Maps. The idea is that any roof in Manhattan is for sale and users can "virtually" purchase a roof and add their own design. In a post about copycat ideas last year, we advised that if you "do feel the need to borrow an idea, you should definitely make changes and try to innovate and push the concept in new directions." Roofarena definitely does that, but we also advised that you do something to "ensure a greater chance of success" -- we're not sure that the site does that.

The perennial debate surrounding Twitter's revenue model continues to live on. The micro-blogging service has succeeded in building a strong, loyal following, but failed to capitalize on it. Such a scenario, which lacks a revenue model, isn't sustainable over the long-term, especially when investors begin to question the company's intentions. If an acquisition isn't shaping up, monetization will be necessary to keep Twitter afloat. Having said that, leveraging context may prove to be a great way to drive revenues while maintaining the integrity of the platform.

Identified Hits is a new Facebook ad network that is taking a page from the Beacon play book. Beacon, you'll remember, is Facebook's endorsement-based ad service that uses user actions on outside sites to endorse products and services in the News Feed. Identified Hits is utilizing the same concept to push Facebook applications with a concept it calls App Endorsements.