And you thought the banner was dead, well think again! With millions of people now inhabiting their own personal webspace I can see why the personlized banner will gain some momentum. New Media Maze have come up with the ‘cool’ customizable banner.

What the idea would however benefit from is a plug-in for posting into WP.

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Consumer Electronic Show (CES) — Leslie Moonves, President and Chief Executive Officer of CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS - News and CBS.A - News), gave the keynote address at the 40th Annual International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas today, sharing the stage with a wide range of stars from the interactive community. Joining Moonves were talent from within the CBS Corporation, followed by several partners and associates that CBS is working with in the digital space.

“There’s no such thing as old or new media anymore. We’re just media,” Moonves said. “Whether ‘programming’ means CSI or C++, we’re all playing on the same big digital field.” In his remarks, Moonves emphasized CBS’s multi-faceted approach to embracing the digital opportunity. “In some cases, we’re developing our ideas entirely in house. And in other cases we’re forming partnerships to bring ideas to life,” he said.

Moonves cited a recent CBS report that showed 53% of fans who watched a TV show online turned around and watched the show on the network. “The more the public becomes connected to digital media, the more engaged they become with the content, and with each other.” Introducing those from within the CBS Corporation, Moonves said, “These individuals represent all kinds of perspectives and expertise, and are some of CBS’s most visionary intrapraneurs.”

Featured were:

* Anthony Zuiker, Creator of CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION, the world’s
largest television franchise. Zuiker described the transformation of his
initial idea into the multi-platform global hit that it is today,
stressing how audience participation has added to the show’s success.

* College Sports Television Founder and President Brian Bedol. Bedol
showcased CSTV’s sports community platform FansOnly, which allows
friends to create their own viewing groups in a virtual Skybox.

* Radio personalities Gregg Hughes and Anthony Cumia, hosts of THE OPIE &
ANTHONY SHOW. Hughes and Cumia explained how online video is turning the
entire world into a virtual studio by inviting listeners to participate
in real-time and by allowing them to stay with the show even when it’s
not on the airwaves.

* Ilene Chaikin and Jennifer Beals, creator and star of Showtime’s THE L
WORD. Chaikin and Beals provided a demonstration of OurChart.com, a new
social networking web site for the lesbian community inspired by the
show.

Moonves then invited several companies that CBS is working with to share the stage. Highlighting the pivotal role of collaboration in shaping the future of content, Moonves said, “These companies are helping us extend the digital and interactive reach of our world class assets, and to build deeper connections with our audiences.” Featured were:

* Linden Lab Founder and CEO, Philip Rosedale. Rosedale showcased the
online virtual world Second Life, where users can create and shape their
content experience each time they enter the space. Rosedale also showed
a machimina, produced by Electric Sheep, featuring two impassioned Star
Trek fans. Following Rosedale’s remarks, Moonves announced that CBS will
be partnering with Electric Sheep to build a Star Trek environment
within Second Life.

* Sling Media Co-Founder and CEO Blake Krikorian. Krikorian introduced a
new application and service from Sling Media called Clip+Sling. Together
with CBS, Sling Media is beta testing a new technology designed to help
audiences share short segments of programming. See related release:
“Sling Media and CBS Announce Beta Test Of New Delivery System for
Video.”

* Chad Hurley, Co-Founder and CEO of YouTube. Hurley talked about the
success of CBS Corporation content on YouTube, and highlighted a contest
that gives YouTube users a chance to have their 15-second personal
message broadcast during CBS Sports Coverage of Super Bowl XLI on
Sunday, Feb. 4, 2007. “Seeing YouTube evolve into a centerpiece of
CBS’s entertainment plans makes me incredibly proud,” Hurley said. (See
related release: “User Generated Video Goes from Online to On-Air in New
CBS/YouTube Campaign.”)

“Anything is possible,” Moonves said. “Audiences know that, content people know that, and innovators in the digital space know that. In the weeks and months to come, we’ll have a lot more news on how we’ll be working with the interactive community in ways both big and small,” Moonves concluded.

Boys will be boys, the target age was 18-35 but I bet most men would find this most wildly entertaining. Before you think this in in any way sexist let me tell you its the only agency I know with over 80% female staff.

We are currently looking for media industry contacts to deploy SeeStorm technology in New Media campaigns. This is a great company and very easy to work.
This is a Russian company based in Moscow delivers cutting edge Avatar technology. Innovative yet already accepted by the industry and deployed, SeeStorm Synthetic Video is a state-of-the-art voice-to-video trans-coder that animates 3D talking heads based on real-time voice stream or recorded speech, using speech phonemes recognition for lips synchronization.
Check out a demo here: http://demo.seestorm.com/content/avatarvideo.wmv

Synthetic Video will come after and in addition to the plain streaming video, as it allows you to choose how to be seen in communication. SeeStorm Synthetic Video works tightly with TeamSpiritTM Voice Conferencing Engine.

The parent company is Spirit, they are endorsed by TWESTC and have are especially active in the Far East with Mobile operators. They have the capability to convert to Flash  dynamically.
I have personally spoken to a few people on their development team and I have to say they have been very cooperative and creative. A very good partner for new campaigns.

Please do not hesitate to contact me or Andrew Paklin at See Storm directly if you need more information. http://www.seestorm.com