PMOG, the Passively Multiplayer Online Game, has come out of its 15,000 player beta (of which I was a part of) and is now open to the public.

In a nutshell, this game requires you to install a Firefox toolbar (a la stumbleupon) that enables you to plant ‘mines’ on sites, entrap other players, and otherwise generally score points.

You’ve seen passive games before, but maybe didn’t realize it. Like Scrabulous, for example. Action in the game may happen while you’re away, but you can always come back to it — it’s just that gameplay probably advanced while you were away.

This non-committal style of gameplay can be the perfect balance for the average busy (or just multitasking) individual.

So while PMOG might not be a full-blown revolution in online gaming, its fundamental strategy of being ‘just enough’ to challenge, entertain, and engage over an extended period of time may be something that you and your brand can take a lesson or two from.

So go ahead. Give it a whirl.

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I could be wrong, but I haven’t seen a single ad for the Smart car online. Nor have I seen any other online effort by the manufacturer.

The Smart car’s been a big hit overseas, and was expected to find lots of support here in the U.S. And it seems that that support would logically come from some tech-savvy, highly-connected, vocal groups of people that use the web to find each other.

So if the Smart car is so smart, where’s the love of the people that it needs to succeed? Where’s the embrace of the (measurable) medium that can jumpstart a revolution?

If anyone’s seen a Smart car online effort, please let me know. I’d like to follow along…

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Today, MySpace announced “Data Availability” with partners Yahoo!, eBay, Photobucket, and Twitter. Check out the press release here.

To summarize:

Yahoo

Information on a user’s MySpace profile may be integrated into Yahoo! services in a variety of ways. For example, users that have chosen to share their MySpace content and data with Yahoo! Instant Messenger might find their MySpace default photo, interests, and favorite music displayed to their Messenger contacts directly in the IM client. Additionally, MySpace users will be able to choose to display their data within Yahoo!’s universal profile or leverage it in Yahoo! Mail’s smarter inbox, both launching later this year.

eBay

eBay profiles will be able to be enhanced with MySpace bios, interests, pictures, and videos. When browsing or transacting on eBay, the availability of external social information can help users make decisions quickly about whom they can do business (and forge relationships) with.

Photobucket

Photobucket users will be able to have a single view of their photos across multiple services, as well as opt-in to displaying their MySpace profile data in their Photobucket albums. Users will also be able to leverage their existing connections on MySpace to share their content on Photobucket more easily, without having to re-establish connections and friend lists.

Twitter

Twitter profiles at present are primarily focused on current updates and are relatively sparse on user information. Users will be able to incorporate their MySpace profile content and data points previously not included in the Twitter product suite. Once the implementation is complete, a user will be able to bring in their MySpace content and data including their bio, blogs, and photos, ultimately making the Twitter site a more enriching site with content previously unavailable in its interface.

Say want you want about whether or not anyone really wants to see MySpace information elsewhere, but this is part of the ‘3.0′ stuff that everyone’s been talking about…and other properties will follow suit.

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If you were wondering what was said on my panel at the IAB’s Leadership Forum on Online Video, check out OnlineVideoWatch’s recap here.

It was a lively (and often humorous — that Patrick Keane @ CBS is a hoot, I say) discussion about whether the future of video is online, on-air, or both. I tried to be as disagreeable as possible to keep things interesting.

Check out the coverage here.

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Don’t miss the IAB Leadership Forum on Online Video @ 11:30 am on Monday, 5/5. You’ll see me participating in what is likely to be a lively one-on-one debate on future of video, online and/or off.

The Great Debate: Buy Broadcast? Buy Online? Buy Both?

There’s been plenty of discussion in the industry about a perceived tension between buyers of online and broadcast video. But is it real? Does it matter? Hear this point-counterpoint debate between two senior executives as they argue from opposing perspectives about the value and future of broadcast versus online.

Moderator: Patrick Keane, Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer, CBS Interactive

Ian Schafer, CEO, Deep Focus

Steve Robinson, President & Founder, Panache

Register here.

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My latest advisory, yet still optimistic tale contribution to Advertising Age’s Digital Next is live. Hopefully it will be in the next print issue as well.

Here’s a sneak preview:

When Habits Change Faster Than Ad Models
Venture capital and big-media acquisitions can’t bankroll social media forever

Posted on 05.02.08 @ 09:32 AM

Ian Schafer Ian Schafer also blogs at IanSchafer.com.
Technology is a funny thing. It enables humans to be capable of so much. It raises our potential to improve our lives and the lives of those around us.

But so much of technology is hidden from plain view because it doesn’t make money. Financial gain is arguably the most important aspect of technological innovation, because without it, all but the most altruistic of reasons cease to exist.

We are living in a time in which the media we consume are undergoing the most rapid technological transformation since the advent of TV. Back then, there was a lot for companies to gain by having a TV in every home in America. It gave advertisers the ability to pitch their wares to TV’s captive audience. And over the years, those advertisers have shelled out billions upon billions of dollars continuing to do so because it was perhaps the best-performing media, but one that delivered a passive audience.

We are now witnessing a migration of ad dollars from lesser-performing media to online’s active audience.

Even within a rapidly growing medium such as the web, there is a still more-quickly growing form of online media that we call social media. This includes social networks, blogs, virtual worlds, widgets, applications, communities and any other format where the individuals who use it create or distribute the majority of the content.

Read the rest over at AdAge.com by clicking here.

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I’ve been traveling my rear off. But regular posting will resume momentarily, with a sneak preview of a busy, busy June of some very interesting speaking engagements…

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