Internet

Univision Online, Inc., the interactive subsidiary of Univision Communications Inc., the nation’s leading Spanish-language media company, today announced the launch of a groundbreaking music microsite on Univision.com called “En Directo” with a free online concert by Colombian Latin GRAMMY(R) artist Fonseca. The Fonseca concert will stream on Thursday, June 12 at 7 p.m. ET. The concert will be available on Univision.com (Keyword: En Directo).

“This event marks Univision.com’s first-ever full-length video streaming of a concert, giving fans the chance to view top-tier concerts recorded live and streamed on Univision.com,” said Cesar Conde, executive vice president and chief strategy officer of Univision Communications Inc.

The “En Directo” microsite includes:
– Video streaming of concerts recorded live
– Exclusive video of the backstage footage and pre/post concert
– Downloadable songs from featured artists
– Photo galleries

Toyota is the exclusive launch partner of “En Directo,” which features the Fonseca concert with 10 songs from his latest release, Gratitud. This exclusive event allows Fonseca fans to connect with him online, while providing a digital platform for the launch of the all-new Toyota Corolla.

Univision.com is the #1 most-visited Spanish-language website among U.S. Hispanics(1) for the 7th year in a row.(2) It attracted over 17 million unique browsers, 38 million visits and nearly 13 million video streams in May.(3) Currently Univision.com delivers 11 channels on topics ranging from health and entertainment, to finance and sports. The website also includes a video portal providing instant access to thousands of free videos from one central location, extending Univision’s most popular TV programming to broadband users across the Internet.

About Univision Online, Inc.
Univision Online, Inc. is the interactive division of Univision Communications Inc., the premier Spanish-language media company in the United States. Univision Communications Inc. owns and operates Univision Online, Inc., the premier Spanish-language Internet destination in the U.S., located at www.univision.com , and Univision Móvil, the most relevant Spanish-language mobile content and video, which includes in-show wireless integrations, PSMS programs and the industry’s most comprehensive downloadable content catalog. Univision Communications Inc.’s operations include Univision Network, the most-watched Spanish-language broadcast television network in the U.S. reaching 97% of U.S. Hispanic Households; TeleFutura Network, a general-interest Spanish-language broadcast television network, which was launched in 2002 and now reaches 85% of U.S. Hispanic Households; Galavisión, the country’s leading Spanish-language cable network; Univision Television Group, which owns and operates 63 television stations in major U.S. Hispanic markets and Puerto Rico; and Univision Radio, the leading Spanish-language radio group which owns and/or operates 70 radio stations in 16 of the top 25 U.S. Hispanic markets and 5 stations in Puerto Rico. Univision Communications also has a 50% interest in TuTv, a joint venture formed to broadcast Televisa’s pay television channels in the U.S. Univision Communications has television network operations in Miami and television and radio stations and sales offices in major cities throughout the United States.

For more information, visit www.univision.net . “*

Two hundred thirty pages of widely used heart disease and stroke information has been translated into Spanish, Vietnamese and Simplified Chinese and is now available on the American Heart Association’s Web site at www.americanheart.org . Traditional Chinese is coming soon.

The Vietnamese and Simplified Chinese content are new offerings from the association, which currently has a Spanish Web site. The new pages will enhance that content.

“This newly translated content will provide potentially lifesaving information to people who have not been reached before,” said Daniel Jones, M.D., president of the American Heart Association and dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

The translated content comes from three highly trafficked areas of the American Heart Association’s Web site:

– Diseases and Conditions - information that helps people who have heart
disease or stroke understand and better manage their disease.
– Healthy Lifestyle - information to help people reduce their risk of
heart disease and stroke.
– Heart and Stroke Encyclopedia - a quick-reference guide with brief,
authoritative information on a wide range of cardiovascular topics.

“As the cultural profile of the United States becomes more diverse, we also become more linguistically diverse,” Jones said. “That’s why it’s extremely important to increase the amount of foreign-language content that we provide, in particular via the Internet.”

To access the translated content, go to www.americanheart.org and click on the Spanish, Vietnamese or Chinese link. These links are also at the top right corner of every Web page so those who enter the Web site without going to the homepage can still get the heart-health information in their preferred language.

Founded in 1924, the American Heart Association today is the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary health organization dedicated to building healthier lives, free of heart diseases and stroke. These diseases, America’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers, and all other cardiovascular diseases, claim nearly 870,000 lives a year. In fiscal year 2006-07 the association invested more than $554 million in research, professional and public education, advocacy and community service programs to help all Americans live longer, healthier lives. To learn more, call 1-800-AHA-USA1 or visit www.americanheart.org . “*

Award-winning reporter/blogger/columnist Ramiro Burr has left the San Antonio Express-News to launch his own company, Ramiro Burr Communications.

Burr’s latest move follows a solid professional trajectory that includes stints as an entertainment writer, newspaper reporter, freelance writer, book author, snd regionally syndicated columnist. Most recently, he was recognized as No. 1 blogger at Mysa.com. Burr says he is ready for the next level.

“I will continue to write and blog about music. I think the community, especially the Latino community, is still underserved when it comes to news and information,” he said. “I have always emphasized the need for all media to be well-balanced and fully represent their communities, including the Latino community. By being inclusive, it enriches all of us.”*

As reported previously, Hispanic-Americans are heavy media consumers. New data from Vertis Communications reveals that in 2007 they were also more likely than the total US population to be influenced by media. “*

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View more “Did You Know?” facts in our “Did You Know?” section

The FeedRoom, a leading provider of Web video solutions for media companies, corporations and government agencies, today announced that Saber Hacer, the nation’s first bilingual/bicultural video on-demand web destination has deployed the FeedRoom’s solutions to power its new web-based content offering. Saber Hacer (which equates to “know-how” in Spanish) squarely targets the Latino community and provides high-quality, expert-driven “edu-tainment” videos on a range of topics relevant to Latinos in both English and Spanish including, but not limited to: US citizenship, personal finance and computer skills.

Created by Latinos for Latinos, Saber Hacer was established to fill a significant void in the Latino community of expert-driven instructional, self-help and educational information, for the fastest growing population in the U.S. Utilizing the most emotive form of communication – video – Saber Hacer aims to empower Spanish speaking, bilingual, and English dominant members of the Hispanic community with high-quality instructional videos that offer a window into everyday and essential activities, such as purchasing a new computer, keeping children safe on the internet and purchasing a new home.

“With studies showing Hispanics’ use of the Internet rapidly on the rise, online video presents an opportunity for us to provide a very unique experience. With a focus on essential topics and by using bilingual video formats, Saber Hacer will help Latino families achieve their personal and professional goals by providing them with access to experts and relevant content,” said Michele Ruiz, president and co-founder of Saber Hacer. “We are thrilled to be working with The FeedRoom as we develop a new model of media company. Their proven track record of success and execution provides great comfort for us in knowing that a true industry leader is powering our offerings.”

Saber Hacer will create and house original content on the site and has developed a series of bilingual DVDs which are obtainable through their online store, offering more resources to consumers looking to extend their educational experience.

“Saber Hacer represents a new type of web destination exclusively using video to communicate messages to a targeted group of people. We feel that this is an exceptionally effective use of broadband video and are proud to be powering this initiative. We will continue to deliver the best possible service for Saber Hacer and all of our customers in the web video space,” said Mark Portu, president and CEO of The FeedRoom.”*

A new Hispanic Event Planning Online Directory was launched this week to serve meeting and event planners with a major focus on small businesses and the Hispanic market. LatinoSpeakersBureau.com brings together Hispanic vendors and professionals often unseen and overlooked that are valuable to Meeting & Event Planners who seek diversity resources in their online searches.

Latino Speakers Bureau founder, Leonor McCall-Rodriguez, built the website directory with the needs of event and meeting professionals in mind, adding listings of keynote speakers, meeting locations and a wider variety of resources in a one-stop-shop online tool geared to showcase not only Hispanic speakers, but a broader offering of women and minority-owned small businesses.

“After 6 years of work with the Speakers Bureau and out in the Hispanic business community, we met many vendors who were not connecting with event planners and meeting professionals, so we did the same thing we did with the Bureau: we created our own online solution”, said McCall-Rodriguez, whose career spans the U.S. and Latin America with marketing and business development projects, including several Fortune 100 companies.

In this industry, she tackled the challenge of Hispanic speaking professionals to increase visibility, because they tend to operate as sole proprietorships or small businesses and compete against large scale general market bureaus. Visibility is critical in a market where speakers must highlight their programs, resumes and seminars in different languages before potential corporate, government, conference and non-profit event planners. Today, the Latino Speakers Bureau group boasts multiple sites and includes successful Latinos who travel the world with their best sellers and keynotes. Among them are Jimmy Cabrera, Joachim de Posada, Dr. Jo Ann Pina, Victor Antonio Gonzalez, Simon Silva, Maria Marin and David Gonzalez.

On LatinoSpeakersBureau.com, other small businesses and professionals such as photographers, lawyers, chefs, producers, emcees and comedians will now be part of the online directory. The new portal includes an Event calendar, Articles page, and a Classifieds section, sure to grow as minority businesses build their ads for the event and meeting industry. It has aroused a lot of interest in other countries, where event planners and speakers see this as a business networking opportunity. It is also expected to attract corporate advertisers who offer travel, production services and event locations.

One category that has aroused interest because of its cultural twist is Weddings & Quinceañeras, that will showcase professionals and services related to these life events, including culturally relevant seminars for young women and couples from Hispanic professionals.

The site will also allow McCall-Rodriguez to showcase many non-profits that constantly reach out to the Latino Speakers Bureau, including those that provide Spanish assisted services for the community across the U.S.. “One of the things I love the most about America is our volunteer spirit and non-profit activity. Our Bureau gives back to our community by providing visibility to non-profits and their causes”, she explains.

Leonor concluded, “When you see a market need, you can wait for the market to solve it, or jump in and develop your own. We feel this one was long overdue.”

Latino Speakers Bureau is a division of Mira Promo Inc., California Corporation serving the Hispanic market since 2002, with Hispanic market and multicultural business development solutions. Latino Speakers Bureau is a trademark of Mira Promo Inc.

///

Contact:
Leonor McCall-Rodriguez
310-937-2789
speakers@latinospeakersbureau.com

Yahoo! Telemundo today announced its Top 10 Searches for the month ending May 31 (

Top Trends in Search for May include:

Top 10 Overall Searches
1. Tattoos
2. Dog breeds
3. Medicinal plants
4. How to clean a keyboard
5. Luis Miguel
6. Vicente Fernandez
7. International Day Against Homophobia
8. Chaitén volcano
9. Marilyn Monroe
10. Premature ejaculation

An eclectic mix of people, places and things dominated The Top 10 list of the most searched for on Yahoo! Telemundo with tattoos, dog breeds and medical plants earning the top three spots in May. Two of Mexico’s most famous singers were next on the list –Mexican megastar crooner Luis Miguel released his latest and much anticipated album “Cómplices,” earning him the number five slot on the Top Searches list. Cómplices became Miguel’s eighth No. 1 album and the most of any artist in Top Latin Albums chart’s history. The 38-year-old heartthrob is also reportedly separating from the mother of his one-year old child, Mexican actress Aracely Arambula. Legendary Vicente Fernandez, hailed as “el rey” of mariachi, can still sell tickets. In May, 68-year-old Vicente toured the U.S. to sold out crowds; no surprise that during Fernandez’s 40-year career, he has recorded close to 100 albums and starred in more than 20 Mexican films.

International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO), observed on May 17, marked the anniversary of an important step taken by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1991 when it removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses. Unfortunately, prejudice remains deep-rooted, so IDAHO has now become an annual global campaign to rally people against all forms of homophobia, with events taking place from Turkey to Cuba in order to combat and eliminate the tragic consequences of homophobia. The Chaitén volcano in the southern Andes in Chile had been quiet for nearly 10,000 years before it suddenly erupted on May 2. The town of Chaitén was evacuated, and a column of ashes was released into the atmosphere. Smaller eruptions have followed daily, interrupting flights and adversely affecting agriculture and wildlife. Now experts warn that another, bigger explosion is possible and the area might become permanently unlivable because of the possibility of the volcano’s collapse.

Although she died in 1962, Marilyn Monroe has never ceased to be buzz worthy. This past month, a New York businessman claimed to have copy of a film allegedly held by the FBI, with Monroe allegedly engaged in a sex act with a man whose face could not be seen. Of course it ended up a hoax, but the buzz on the web had reached the point where the FBI issued its denial. The iconic sex symbol would have turned 82 on June 1st.

Rounding off the Top 10 — On May 19th The International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM) formally unveiled a written definition for “premature ejaculation”, or PE - the bane of millions of men worldwide - at the 103rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA).

Top 10 Image Searches
1. Screen savers
2. Naruto
3. Jennifer Love Hewitt
4. Cristiano Ronaldo
5. Mafalda
6. Miley Cyrus
7. Hello Kitty
8. Ovnis
9. Anime
10. Iron man

Screensavers nabbed the number one slot again for the most searched image category in May, but overall, pop-culture figures and cartoons ruled this category with Naruto and anime hanging on strong. The popular Japanese anime character, Naruto, has become a global phenomenon with kids the world over. Not to be outdone, the iconic Latin American comic strip heroine “Mafalda” also earned a top spot in images as a “Mafalda” exhibit opened its doors in Tokyo last month to rave reviews. And to round out the Japanese anime theme of Yahoo! Top images — beloved Hello Kitty, who was number 7 on this month’s image search — was named a goodwill envoy to represent Japan in China and Hong Kong. Sticking to the pop-culture theme for May, UFO photos were heavily sought after, as well as images of the blockbuster film “Iron Man,” based on the retro Marvel comic.

Recent photos of two Hollywood beauties, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Miley Cyrus, caused a stir this month. Love Hewitt’s curvy beach body was the subject of recent paparazzi scrutiny for being called “fat.” Teen sensation Cyrus came close to quitting show business following the fuss surrounding her provocative Vanity Fair photos. Her wholesome image has come under fire since the photos were released this past month.

Top 10 WomenSearches
1. Jessica Alba
2. Jennifer Lopez
3. Aracely Arambula
4. Megan Fox
5. Kate Moss
6. Maria Sharapova
7. Katie Holmes
8. Naomi Watts
9. Valeria Mazza
10. Fergie

The most searched for Women on Yahoo! Telemundo for the month of May were gorgeous celebrities such as new moms, Jessica Alba and Argentine supermodel Valeria Mazza. Luis Miguel’s soon-to-be ex, Aracely Arambula was the No. 3 most searched for, followed by super-babe Megan Fox of Transformers fame, who was recently voted as the number one sexiest woman in the world by readers of FHM magazine. British mega-model Kate Moss, tennis champ Maria Sharapova, Oscar-nominated actress Naomi Watts and Mrs. Tom Cruise - Katie Holmes– were all popular faces to search for this month as was three-time Grammy Award winner pop-star Fergie, who performs the theme song to the new “Sex and the City” movie.

Every month the Yahoo! Telemundo Top 10 Searches showcases the diverse interests and concerns of U.S. Hispanics around the net, from gorgeous celebrity sightings and salacious political news to funny jokes and the latest consumer obsessions. The monthly list includes a recap of the Top 10 Overall Searches, Top 10 Image Searches and Top 10 Searches in a revolving category, which changes monthly. To come up with the Yahoo! Top Searches list, Yahoo! scans anonymous query logs from Yahoo! Search across a variety of categories to see what themes and trends bubble up to the surface. Individual searches are never used to develop these lists. For more information on Yahoo! Telemundo’s Top 10 Searches, visit www.yahootelemundo.com/lomasbuscado.

“*

Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO), a leading global Internet company, today announced that it has launched sites in four new markets in Latin America. The new sites consist of Yahoo! Chile (www.yahoo.cl), Yahoo! Peru (www.yahoo.com.pe), Yahoo! Colombia (www.yahoo.com.co) and Yahoo! Venezuela (www.yahoo.com.ve) and will include Yahoo! Home Pages, Search, Mail, Messenger, Answers, and Toolbar among other popular Yahoo! content and products.

“Yahoo! has always been popular among Internet users in Chile, Peru, Colombia and Venezuela. Today we are excited to be able to provide these users with locally relevant versions of Yahoo! services as well as introduce a new generation of users to the broader Yahoo! online community,” said Jose Rivera Font, vice president and general manager, Yahoo! Hispanic Americas. “At the same time, these new Yahoo! home pages will provide local advertisers a targeted means for reaching their customers by using leading-edge technologies and innovative marketing solutions.”

So did you know this? If you didn’t, perhaps you could send it to someone you know to help spread the knowledge and please tell them about HispanicTips.

View more “Did You Know?” facts in our “Did You Know?” section

Eyeing U.S. expansion beyond the Hispanic market, Spanish portal Terra is starting to add English on its Spanish-language site and has picked the U.S. as the first market for the launch of an English-language social-video bookmarking site called Kazivu.

“We’ve started to draw a new strategic plan for the U.S. domestic market, and our content is becoming more English-language,” said Fernando Madeira, CEO of Terra Latin America. “*

Hispanic adults in the United States are more likely to spend money on electronic gadgets like Apple iPods, Samsung HDTV and Canon digital cameras than their non-Hispanic counterparts, even during a down economy, according to a recent study from Vertis Communications, Baltimore.

The Customer Focus Opiniones study released this month reveals that 28% of Hispanics will purchase a large-screen or HDTV within the next 12 months, compared with 23% of non-Hispanics. The study also indicates that 22% of Hispanics are more likely to invest in a new laptop or a notebook computer within the next year, compared with only 18% of non-Hispanics.”*

Direct link to study PDF

So did you know this? If you didn’t, perhaps you could send it to someone you know to help spread the knowledge and please tell them about HispanicTips.

View more “Did You Know?” facts in our “Did You Know?” section

State lawmakers, in response to Congressional inaction on immigration law, are giving local authorities a wider berth. In 2007, 1,562 bills related to illegal immigration were introduced nationwide and 240 were enacted in 46 states, triple the number that passed in 2006, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. A new law in Mississippi makes it a felony for an illegal immigrant to hold a job. In Oklahoma, sheltering or transporting illegal immigrants is also a felony.

It remains unclear how the new laws will be enforced. Yet at the very least, say both advocates and critics, they are likely to lead to more of what occurred here: more local police officers demanding immigrants’ documents; more arrests for identity theft; more accusations of racial profiling; and more movement of immigrants, with some fleeing and others being sent to jail.

“It is a way to address illegal immigration without calling it that,” said Jessica Vaughan, a senior policy analyst at the Center for Immigration Studies, which supports intensified local enforcement. She added, “They don’t just have to sit and wait for Washington.””*

I am kind of perplexed at the different titles (image below of the front page)

*From: http://www.nytimes.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

LegalMatch has begun translating a few of the 4,000 pages on its legal matching website into Spanish with the goal of targeting Spanish speaking Latinos searching for legal advice, especially for immigration issues. So far the company has translated its homepage, intake processes for each category of law and some pages of its law library. Plans are in place to translate the remaining pages in the coming months.

“Finding the right lawyer in the United States is difficult enough if you speak English and know something about the law,” said Anna Ostrovsky, general counsel and co-founder of LegalMatch. “If you are not familiar with the United States legal system, and don’t speak English, it’s even harder. We created LegalMatch to empower consumers seeking the right attorney for their legal needs. Making LegalMatch available in Spanish was a logical next move for us.””*

Speaking before a packed audience at Miami’s Ad-Tech on Tuesday, La Nacion’s Online Marketing Manager Francis Petty told the audience of its new reader engagement initiative, which has been implemented to great effect in recent months.

“With the widespread usage of digital cameras and mobile phones, regular citizens are in the position to capture compelling images of news as it happens.” He pointed to a recent story involving a large fire, in which a reader photographed the incident and submitted it to the website. The image ran on the front page of the next day’s print edition.”*

Hispanics make up the largest minority consumer presence online, but 60 percent of the top advertisers are missing out on reaching that audience.

It’s a problem marketers have been facing for years, but have only begun to address.

That’s where Ad:Tech Miami comes in. Tuesday kicked off the second year of the conference at the Miami Beach Convention Center, and hundreds of attendees discussed the challenges in reaching the 19.5 million U.S. Hispanics online as well as non-U.S. Latin Americans.”*

Sonico, a Buenos Aires-based social network which we covered last month as it announced a substantial growth milestone within the Latin American market, has announced today that it has closed its Series A funding round. The network raised a total $4.3 million from DN Capital, a venture capital firm Boats-for-Busy-Sailors located in London, as well as private investors Fabrice Grinda (Zingy, OLX), Alec Oxenford (DeRemate, also OLX), and Martin Varsavsky (FON, Ya.com).”*

comScore, Inc. released an overview f Internet usage in Latin America, a region that is home to nearly 62 million of the 850 million worldwide Internet users (age 15 and older at home and work locations), as measured by the comScore World Metrix audience measurement service. “*

Russ Berrie and Company, Inc. (NYSE: RUS) and its subsidiary Russ Berrie U.S. Gift, Inc. have announced that the popular Shining Stars website is now available in Spanish. To enter the Spanish Shining Stars universe, guests simply visit www.shiningstars.com, click on ‘International’ in the bottom right hand corner, and select ‘Espanol’ as the language.

This spring, RUSS upgraded the Shining Stars website, www.shiningstars.com, to make the site even more interactive, engaging and exciting for members while maintaining a fun and safe environment. The latest features and upgrades include a brand new home page, improved game area and a section just for parents. These new features are now available on the Spanish site.

“The Shining Stars concept is universal — kids can go online anywhere in the world and name a star in the sky,” said Bruce Crain, President & CEO of RUSS. “Now that the Shining Stars site is in Spanish, children and parents who speak Spanish can take full advantage of all the site has to offer.”

A parent’s section has also been added to www.shiningstars.com. The section explains to parents the website and its major features including Star Chat, the Starcade and ‘glow points,’ the official currency of www.shiningstars.com.

Through RUSS’s partnership with the Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation(TM), kids can donate their ‘glow points’ to Starlight knowing that they are helping to make a difference for seriously ill children and their families. To date, more than 9.8 billion ‘glow points’ have been donated.

Introduced in 2007, Shining Stars — a line of interactive plush — quickly became one of the best-selling collectibles on the market. Receiving high accolades during the 2007 holiday season, Shining Stars was named to the Toys”R”Us “Fabulous 15″ list, the KB toys Hot Holiday List and was an All-Star on the Toy Wishes Magazine holiday list. On February 7, 2008, www.shiningstars.com registered its one millionth member.

Shining Stars are now available in stores nationwide for an approximate retail value of $15.00 each. Visit www.shiningstars.com for retail locations near you.

Russ Berrie and Company, Inc., a leader in the infant, juvenile, and gift industries, and its wholly owned subsidiaries design, develop, and distribute a variety of innovative gift, infant and juvenile products to specialty and mass market retailers worldwide. Known for its teddy bears and other plush animals, the Company’s gift, infant, and juvenile lines are comprised of a diverse range of everyday, seasonal, and occasion-themed products that help people celebrate the milestones in their lives. The Company operates offices, showrooms, and distribution centers all over the world and trades on the NYSE under the symbol RUS.

SHINING STARS is a registered trademark owned by and used under license from AGE, Inc.

ISR trademarks are owned by and used under license from International Star Registry of Illinois, Ltd. “*

Despite the much cited “digital divide,” many multicultural consumers in the U.S. are getting much more active online but in different ways, according to new research from global market research firm Synovate. Though younger people across all groups are much more likely to be online, there are major differences, including between males and females of the same age and ethnic group.
To find out more about online behavior among multicultural consumers, Synovate recently surveyed a total of 4,000 males and females ages 18+ across the U.S., including approximately 1,000 general market respondents, 1,000 African-Americans and 2,000 Hispanics.
Though approximately one in four Hispanics, African-Americans and general market consumers have visited YouTube.com in the past six months, African- American and Hispanic males ages 18-34 were more likely to have visited YouTube than their female counterparts. Among African-Americans, 55% of males and 33% of females visited YouTube, while among Hispanics, 41% of males and 20% of females visited the site. This differs from the general market, for which visiting this website was equally popular between males and females in the same age group.
For Hispanics, this gender disparity also extends to social networking sites such as MySpace.com and Facebook.com. Hispanic females were significantly less likely than Hispanic males to have visited social networking websites recently, with 18% of women and 27% of men claiming to have visited them. This is in sharp contrast to African-American and general market men and women, who were equally as likely to have visited MySpace or Facebook.
The differences in online behavior are especially prevalent with online shopping. Among general market consumers, 57% have made a recent purchase online while only 42% of African-Americans and one quarter of Hispanics have done the same. The gap is even larger with eBay visits. Less than three out of ten African-Americans and Hispanics have visited eBay in the past six months versus 41% of the general market population.
According to Denise Marks, Vice President of Diversity Research at Synovate, “For many multicultural consumers, Internet usage is about connecting with friends and family, and to keep up on the latest trends and news. As more Hispanics and African-Americans spend time online, marketing efforts should be directed towards building trust among these consumers to help them feel comfortable about online commercial transactions.”
Hispanics also lag behind other groups in adopting online banking, with only 24% claiming to have paid monthly bills online recently compared to 38% of general market consumers and 34% of African-Americans. While Hispanics overall are less likely to own financial products such as bank accounts and credit cards, their lower use of online banking may also be due to the fact that only 59% of Hispanics have Internet access at home, work, school, or through other means. This is substantially lower than the African-American and general market populations, of which at least 80% have Internet access.
Marks said, “Although Internet access is steadily increasing among Hispanics, basic necessities still come first for many in this group, the majority of whom are immigrants. Buying a computer is not always at the top of their shopping list, especially with the current jump in food and gas prices.”
Use of instant messaging, and posting to blogs and other online forums is similar across all groups, and again skews towards younger respondents. Instant messaging is more popular among Hispanic males than females, at 32% versus 24%, but there are no differences between the sexes for blogging.
With overall activity online, there are many differences among Hispanics depending on the language spoken at home. Overall, Hispanics that speak Spanish at home all or most of the time are much less likely to spend time online than those who are bilingual or English-dominant. The largest divide in online activities for the two language groups are engaging in commercial transactions or visiting social networks such as MySpace or Facebook. Those who speak English at least as much as Spanish are more likely to participate or visit these websites.
For more information on Synovate’s 2008 U.S. Diversity Markets Report, with data on buying power, language use profiles, and media, product, and service usage information for Hispanics, African-Americans and Asian-Americans, visit www.synovate.com/knowledge/publications/#diversity2008. To learn more about Synovate diversity research, visit

Apartments.com, the leading online apartment search resource, today announced its exclusive partnership with Univision.com, the number one most-visited Spanish-language website among U.S. Hispanics.(1) As part of this partnership, Apartments.com will provide Univision.com users with complete access to more than 16,000 apartment communities nationwide.
Minority renter households have grown remarkably over the last 10 years. From 1995 to 2005, this segment of renters has increased by more than 40 percent and is projected to reach 50 percent of all renter households by 2015. Hispanics will account for more than 50 percent of the growth.(2)
“Our partnership with Univision.com is paramount to connecting with Hispanic renters,” said Kevin Doyle, senior vice president and general manager of Apartments.com. “With roughly one out of two Hispanics online and half of them renting, Apartments.com now has a far-reaching platform to provide this vast audience with a user-friendly and robust tool to seamlessly conduct their apartment search online.”
Univision.com users can easily search Apartments.com listings from a variety of access points on the website, including keywords: alquilar apartamentos (rent apartments), exclusive placement within the “Casa” (House) and “Alquilar” (Rent) sections, home page links found under “Servicios” (Services) and direct links from Univision.com’s local websites.
“Univision.com continues to partner with industry leaders such as Apartments.com to provide our users the best tools and services,” said Cesar Conde, executive vice president, chief strategy officer of Univision Communications Inc.
Over the past seven years, Univision.com continues to be the most-visited Spanish-language website among US Hispanics,(1) and currently reaches more than 17 million unique browsers on average per month.(3) Earlier this month, Univision.com released a study by Forrester Research that found it was the most-visited Spanish-language portal(1) for the seventh consecutive year.(4)”

The Harry Fox Agency, Inc. (HFA), a leading U.S. music rights licensing organization, has added a Spanish language section to its website, www.harryfox.com/espanol. HFA en Espanol has answers to frequently asked questions regarding HFA and music licensing, along with a direct email, esp@harryfox.com, which goes directly to the company’s Latin Licensing agents.

“HFA is aware of the significant demand for Spanish language recordings in the U.S., and we have a dedicated team of licensing agents for the Latin market who are fluent in Spanish and are ready to assist labels and publishers with their mechanical licensing needs,” said Gary Churgin, President & CEO, HFA. “We will continue to develop our specific Spanish language service as needed to best serve this market.”

According to RIAA reports, almost 7% of CDs shipped in the U.S. in 2007 were in the Latin music genre, defined as having 51% of material in Spanish. Mechanical licenses are required under U.S. Copyright Law if one wants to duplicate and distribute a recording of a song that is owned by someone else. U.S. mechanical licenses are also required for recordings made abroad and imported into the country. Through proper licensing, the publisher, and ultimately, the songwriter, are compensated for the use of their work.

About HFA
Established in 1927 by the National Music Publishers’ Association, HFA represents over 35,000 music publishers for their licensing needs in the United States, issuing licenses and collecting and distributing the associated royalties. In addition to being the premier mechanical licensing agent in the U.S., which includes CDs, ringtones, digital downloads, interactive streams, limited downloads and more, HFA is dedicated to finding new ways for its affiliates publishers to recognize value for their catalogs, including lyrics and tablature. Further, HFA provides collection and monitoring services to its publisher clients for music distributed and sold in over 95 territories around the world. For more information about HFA, or to become an affiliate publisher or a licensee, see www.harryfox.com. “*

George Burciaga Chief Executive Officer of smarTECHS.net

What do you need to be an entrepreneur?
You need a great idea as well as the focus and passion to turn that idea into reality. You have to be ready to risk everything to win it all.”*

A new Hispanic Event Planning Online Directory was launched this week to serve meeting and event planners with a major focus on small businesses and the Hispanic market. LatinoSpeakersBureau.com unites unseen and overlooked vendors that are valuable to Meeting & Event Planners who need diversity resources and search online while preparing corporate workshops, conventions, sales meetings, trade shows or galas and fundraisers.

Latino Speakers Bureau founder, Leonor McCall-Rodriguez, built the website directory based on the needs of event and meeting professionals with listings of keynote speakers, meeting locations and a wider variety of resources in a one-stop-shop online tool geared to showcase not only Hispanic motivational and business speakers, but a broader offering of women and minority-owned small businesses.

“After 6 years of work with the Speakers Bureau, we met many business owners who were not connecting with event planners and meeting professionals, so we did the same thing we did with the Bureau: we created our own online solution”, said McCall-Rodriguez, whose career spans the U.S. and Latin America with marketing and business development projects, including several Fortune 100 companies.

In this industry, she tackled the challenge of Hispanic speaking professionals to increase visibility, because they tend to operate as sole proprietorships or small businesses and compete against large scale general market bureaus. Visibility is critical in a market where speakers must highlight their programs, resumes and seminars in different languages before potential corporate, government, conference and non-profit event planners. Today, the Latino Speakers Bureau group boasts multiple sites and includes successful Latinos who travel the world with their best sellers and keynotes. Among them are Joachim de Posada, Dr. Jo Ann Pina, Jimmy Cabrera, Victor Antonio Gonzalez, Simon Silva, Maria Marin and Manny Medrano.

With the new LatinoSpeakersBureau.com, other small businesses and professionals such as photographers, lawyers, chefs, producers, emcees, comedians amd musicians will be part of the online directory. The new portal includes an event calendar, articles, and a Classifieds section, sure to grow as minority businesses build their ads for the event and meeting industry. It is also expected to attract corporate advertisers who offer travel, production services and event locations.

The category that stands out as a cultural twist on this site is Weddings & Quinceañeras, that will showcase professionals, locations and services related to these life events, including culturally relevant seminars from Hispanic professionals for them. “We see wedding planners as well as event planners across the U.S. finding a home online at LatinoSpeakersBureau.com“, the founder explained.

The site will also showcase many non-profits that reach out to the Latino Speakers Bureau, including those that provide Spanish assisted services for the community across the U.S..

“This is just one more tool for integrating Hispanic businesses with the mainstream market. And when you see a market need, you can wait for the market to solve it, or jump in and blaze your own solution. We’ve found that the latter is much faster and more fun,” concluded McCall-Rodriguez.

Latino Speakers Bureau is a division of Mira Promo Inc., California Corporation serving the Hispanic market since 2002, with Hispanic market and multicultural business development solutions. Latino Speakers Bureau is a trademark of Mira Promo Inc.

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