Microsoft to acquire in-game advertising pioneer Massive Inc.

Quoted from: http://www.finfacts.com/

'By Finfacts Team
May 5, 2006, 07:37

Massive's technology for weaving dynamic, relevant ads into video games will extend next-generation advertising across Microsoft properties and beyond

[Article begins...]

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announces launch of Microsoft adCenter, the company's online advertising platform. Redmond, Wash., May 4, 2006

[Article continues ...]

I was in the U.K. last week, and now my mind is just blanking. I was in the U.K. last week, and I met with the manager of one of the most popular musicians - apparently outside the United States, whose name I did not know, and my mind is completely blanking, British singer, appeals to teenage girls.
OFFSTAGE VOICE: (Off mike).
STEVE BALLMER: Say again.
OFFSTAGE VOICE: (Off mike).
STEVE BALLMER: Robbie Williams. That shows my age, and the fact that I have three boys. (Laughter.) Both were revealed there.

But I met with the manager of Robbie Williams, and we were talking about his fan site, they charge money, it's an incredible business actually for him. They have a good number of people who pay just to get to the Robbie Williams fan site.
And we were talking about how what they'd really like to do is kind of integrate - if Robbie Williams could get access to the information that's in our buddy list so that when I go visit the Robbie Williams site I could say, hmm, which of my friends are also at the site, what have they viewed recently, what was cool to them, what was exciting, and kind of mash together some of what we know from the IM experience with what they know about Robbie Williams and what people are doing on the site, that would be a fantastic kind of new experience that they could deliver.
And so as we think about kind of what I'll call the platform aspect, it gets to this issue of how do you, as they like to say these days, mash up some of these experiences on the platform in really a very strong way.

[article continues...]'