On today’s TenSpot - counting down to Vevo’s launch - how can it improve on the Hulu model and get subscriptions/micro and macro (macro being monthly/yearly subscriptions?) transactions; MySpace backgrounder from FT; Aardvark (Vark.com) social search eyed by Google - a blocking move for Eric Schmidt (@ericschmidt) on Twitter?; a brilliant NYT article on Jerry Maguire as “Representative Man”; niche private sale site OneKingsLane.com’s funded by Kleiner Perkins; Peter Liguori to Discovery to grown OWN; and Mahalo reaching 13M uniques quickly…

via I want my Vevo: Will video site be next-gen MTV? - CNET News

[Note: New Medici is working on Vevo's launch campaign with client MP+G] Rio Caraeff, Vevo’s CEO, says the music video is only one of the site’s features. The obligatory playlists will be available but music lyrics will also be offered. Vevo’s mission is to attract [cpm] rates of $25 to $40.  “What we’re really doing is taking back control of everything,” said [Doug] Morris, who operates the largest of the top four recording companies. “This is us taking control of our future…Vevo enables us to provide consumers with about 80 percent of all the music videos in the world. So, this is really like MTV on steroids. We’re starting with that kind of audience. But now we’re in control of it. We don’t have to go through a middleman anymore.”

via The rise and fall of MySpace - FT

[Long article but light in reporting from FT - doesn't talk about why things went haywire, Levinsohn's reason for departing, but good overview for newbies] But by the beginning of 2008, things began to sour. Facebook, a rival social network that was simpler and easier to use, was gaining momentum and starting to grow more quickly than MySpace. Murdoch confidently told the world that MySpace would make $1bn in advertising revenues in 2008 – but the company missed its target. Users began to desert the site, which had become cluttered with unappealing ads for teeth straightening and weight-loss products.

Ken Auletta’s new book is a journalist’s take on the Google phenomenon. He conducted interviews with some 150 current and former Google employees as well as the CEO Eric Schmidt and the normally media-shy founders Larry and Sergey.

Read the transcript from the Charlie Rose interview. And the addendum of 25 media maxims to create a consequential media empire in the digital age. Full download after the jump…

25 Media Maxims

1. Passion wins
2. Focus is required
3. Vision is required
4. A team culture is vital
5. Treat engineers as kings
6. Treat customers like kings
7. Brand often means trust
8. Every company should strive to take the risks out of capitalism
9. Every company is a frenemy
10. The speed of change accelerates
     

One of the better jobs in the Google economy (and yes, that ‘Googleconomy’ has been halved, but is still backed by some of the most innovative minds in tech and beyond) - running Google.org’s active philanthropic arm - just got a little more active for Larry Brilliant, who’s transitioning to “Chief Philanthropic Evangelist.” Per Google’s blog earlier this week, Brilliant (luckily an appropriate, not ironic name) set out that he is more the ‘ideas and partnership’ maker than the operational executive. His long-time colleague Megan Smith takes over day-to-day running of Google.org. I’ve met Larry a few times at Google Zeitgeist conferences and via my past role at Participant Media; and, as a “rainmaker of change,” it’s good to see Larry move into a more idea-centric role. What made this announcement interesting to New Medici was: when should a thought leader move away from day-to-day operations and concentrate on advancing/innovating the company’s cause directly?  

In 2008, many of our national billionaires gave much of their fortunes away, involuntarily. From Sheldon Adelson, the Vegas and Macau casino billionaire who lost $24 billion ($24B) to Warren Buffet, Bill Gates and the Google guys, last year was a very difficult year to amass. Now who’s to say that losing “a few personal billion” when you still have “a few” is an innovation problem - it matters when these entrepreneurs pull back on progress and humanitarian giving to stem private losses.

Per Forbes, Warren Buffet lost $16.5B, Gates was down $12.3B and Google’s Larry Page lost more than half of his g-trove: $11.9B.