The National Football League has banned players from using Twitter. The NFL noted that players who use the micro-blogging network from meetings, coaching sessions or games would be fined. While the league has not adopted an official policy, most teams have outlawed the social network, under the guise that players may leak information that could hurt the team.
Google CEO Eric Schmidt has stepped down from his position on the board of directors at Apple. Schmidt, who served on Apple's board for three years, resigned due to a conflict of interest between Google and Apple, specifically over browsers and mobile phones. Steve Jobs noted that Schmidt had "been an excellent board member for Apple, investing his valuable time, talent, passion and wisdom to help make Apple successful."
Radio Shack is set to begin rebranding itself as "The Shack." The consumer electronics retailer, which has been struggling to stay afloat, hopes that its new image will make customers think of the store as less than a radio and stereo store and more as a mobile phone and wireless outlet. The move comes after The Shack signed a deal with T-Mobile, making it an official retailer for both AT&T, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile.
CBS executive David Poltrack believes that online video distribution will be a viable second stream of revenue for broadcasters. Poltrack noted that the "cable authentication essentially establishes the process" of getting users to pay for content online. Poltrack's presentation at the Television Critics Association was another attempt by the networks to figure out a way for users to pay for content online.
YouTube is trying to work with broadcasters to develop an online destination for local news. Dubbed News Near You, the new service will serve newsworthy videos to users by identifying their IP address. YouTube believes that the hyper-local online news service will give broadcasters another stream of revenue.
Shelly Palmer is a consultant and the host of MediaBytes with Shelly Palmer a daily show featuring news you can use about technology, media & entertainment. He is Managing Director of Advanced Media Ventures Group LLC and the author of Television Disrupted: The Transition from Network to Networked TV. Shelly is also President of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. You can join the MediaBytes mailing list here. Shelly can be reached at shelly@palmer.net For information about Get Digital Classes, visit www.shellypalmer.com/seminars