Entertainment’s stock, like lipstick sales and hemlines, tends to go up in troubled times. With its immersive vibe and interactive allure, new media entertainment offers new forms of escapism. And after the dotcom market meltdown, which in retrospect almost seems quaint, it’s nice to be on the outside looking in rather than the eye of the economic maelstrom. Even better, digital media fundamentals appear stronger than ever. A recent study reports that people would rather keep Internet, video and voice services in their budgets than any other type of expense, including personal care products, gym memberships and apparel. ...

To help you understand the whats, whys and hows of Twitter, FanTrust has published "Boost your Brand with Twitter" with our top tips for deploying real-time short messages to advance your entertainment business in the marketplace. Through linking and social networking features, Twitter offers excellent viral marketing and content sharing - in February 2009, Web measurement firm Hitwise reported that Twitter sent nearly 20% of traffic to entertainment sites. Read or download "Boost Your Brand with Twitter - FanTrust's Top Tips"

It used to be a screen test propelled an actress from the casting couch to the big screen. Now we need a different kind of screen test: one that features her to advantage on all types of screens. Or, even better, a test that proves once and for all what type of content looks good on what type of screen. Until then, here are FanTrust’s picks and pans for screens large and small. The rationale not so much to answer: “can we cross-purpose our content?” (yes we can) or “does anyone really want to watch long shows on small screens?” (yes ...

Speaking on today’s Women in Film New Media Day (on a panel entitled "Getting Your Feet Wired"), I was asked by the moderator how FanTrust got started. FanTrust opened about 8 years ago, a consequence of my desire to put audiences first when it comes to movies, TV and games -- and to use interactivity to connect committed communities with content in more profound ways. Strangely, the entertainment industry didn’t seem to understand the power of consumers: Hollywood counted only bums on seats, broadcasters tracked only Nielsen ratings, and game publishers saw ...

Digital media continues to thrive when it comes to financings, despite the global economic downturn. . New York-based Peachtree Media Advisors has released its annual report outlining mergers, acquisitions and capital raised by the online sector in 2008. Some key points of interest: The online media sector raised $3.5 billion USD in venture capital in 2008, a 22% increase over the $2.9 billion in capital raised in 2007. The "enabling" sector saw the largest increase in capital raised, up 124% with $892 million in 2008. The mobile sector also saw big gains in investment capital, with $341 million – ...