The 19th Century: Machine-Assisted Manufacturing

Eli Whitney's proposal for a simplification and standardization of component parts marked a further milestone in the advance of the automation of work processes. In 1797 he suggested the manufacture of muskets with completely interchangeable parts. As opposed to the older method under which each gun was the individual product of a highly skilled gunsmith and each part hand-fitted, his method permitted large production runs of parts that were readily fitted to other parts without adjustment and could relatively easy be performed by machines.

By the middle of the 19th century the general concepts of division of labor, assembly of standardized parts and machine-assisted manufacture were well established. On both sides of the Atlantic large factories were in operation, which used specialized machines to improve costs, quality and quantity of their products.

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Advertising and the Content Industry - The Coca-Cola Case

Attempts to dictate their rules to the media has become a common practice among marketers and the advertising industry. Similar as in the Chrysler case, where the company demanded that magazines give advance notice about controversial articles, recent attempts to put pressure on content providers have been pursued by the Coca-Cola Company.

According to a memo published by the New York Post, Coca-Cola demands a free ad from any publication that publishes a Coke ad adjacent to stories on religion, politics, disease, sex, food, drugs, environmental issues, health, or stories that employ vulgar language. "Inappropriate editorial matter" will result in the publisher being liable for a "full make good," said the memo by Coke advertising agency McCann-Erickson. Asked about this practice, a Coke spokes person said the policy has long been in effect.

(Source: Odwyerpr.com: Coke Dictates nearby Editorial. http://www.odwyerpr.com)

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On-line Advertising and the Internet Content Industry

Applied to on-line content the advertising model leads to similar problems like in the traditional media. Dependence on advertising revenue puts pressure on content providers to consider advertising interests. Nevertheless new difficulties caused by the technical structure of online media, missing legal regulation and not yet established ethical rules, appear.

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Actual Findings on Internet Advertising

Although Web advertising becomes a significant portion of marketing budgets, advertisers are still unsure on how to unlock the potential of the Internet. Current findings show that:

- Consumer brands spend only a fraction of their advertising budget on on-line advertising.

- Technology companies spend five times more on advertising in the WWW.

- While banner campaigns are still popular, there is no standardized solution for on-line advertising.

- Ad pricing is based on CPM (costs per 1.000 visitors), rather than on results.

- Personalized targeting has not yet taken hold. Instead advertisers mainly target on content.

At the moment three dominant models are used for Internet advertising:

Destination Sites: They use entertainment, high production values and information to pull users in and bring them back again.

Micro Sites: Content sites or networks host small clusters of brand pages.

Banner Campaigns: Those include other forms of Web advertising like sponsorships.

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FEED

http://www.feed.com/

http://www.feed.com/
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RTMark

RTMark is a group of culture jammers applying a brokerage-system that benefits from "limited liability" like any other corporation. Using this principle, RTMark supports the sabotage (informative alternation) of corporate products, from dolls and children's learning tools to electronic action games, by channelling funds from investors to workers. RTMark searches for solutions that go beyond public relations and defines its "sbottom line" in improving culture. It seeks cultural and not financial profit.

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Division of labor

The term refers to the separation of a work process into a number of tasks, with each task performed by a separate person or group of persons. It is most often applied to mass production systems, where it is one of the basic organizing principles of the assembly line. Breaking down work into simple, repetitive tasks eliminates unnecessary motion and limits the handling of tools and parts. The consequent reduction in production time and the ability to replace craftsmen with lower-paid, unskilled workers result in lower production costs and a less expensive final product. The Scottish economist Adam Smith saw in this splitting of tasks a key to economic progress by providing a cheaper and more efficient means of producing economic goods.

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CIA

CIA's mission is to support the President, the National Security Council, and all officials who make and execute U.S. national security policy by: Providing accurate, comprehensive, and timely foreign intelligence on national security topics; Conducting counterintelligence activities, special activities, and other functions related to foreign intelligence and national security, as directed by the President. To accomplish its mission, the CIA engages in research, development, and deployment of high-leverage technology for intelligence purposes. As a separate agency, CIA serves as an independent source of analysis on topics of concern and works closely with the other organizations in the Intelligence Community to ensure that the intelligence consumer--whether Washington policymaker or battlefield commander--receives the adaequate intelligence information.

http://www.cia.gov

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