Audiences want to interact with media brands on mobile devices—via “untethered digital content”  said John Loughlin, Hearst Magazines EVP and general manager, at the recent Digital Innovators' Summit in Berlin.

The most helpful productivity tools are the tools that have tools. This has become a lot more visible lately with "App Stores" popping up everywhere; however, the concept of extending an initial framework has been around for a while, often through third-party use of APIs.

My top two production tools are of this variety: frameworks that are impressive as standalone products and extremely helpful when augmented. (Disclosure: much of my equipment is Mac-based though many of the programs I work with are universally accessible).

Angel investor and serial entrepreneur David S. Rose asked the startups of the Incubator at Rose Tech Ventures, "Who owns a customer in today's world of Twitter, iTunes, Facebook and Google?" The debate that followed focused on the rise of APIs and marketplaces and their impact on business transactions. The conclusion? We are heading towards a world where no one owns a customer.

Last week, as the media blogosphere analyzed the announcement of a paywall at the New York Times, I was more fascinated with another recent obsession of mine: Foursquare.

Sure we all know about the iPhone and the Flip Camera, but there are lots of other gadgets and applications that are under-appreciated by publishers. Here are nine (plus one) apps and gadgets that help the emediavitals.com staff work smarter.

If you are a local publisher still reeling from Craigslist and the collapse of display advertising, grab your helmet. Google is coming to town.

In recent months the search giant has released a dangerous trio of local services that newspapers and local publications should begin planning their counterattack (or their partnership agreements).

The media game is changing faster than publishing can get its feet under itself. No one is certain of what will be hot six months from now, so media budgeting decisions remain tense and uncertain. The good news is that during these shadowy periods, new seeds of opportunity sprout and the air crackles with ideas.

During last month's Advertising Week events, agency thought leaders gathered and buzzed about social media and applications for various mobile devices, indicating that these are the areas of focus in terms of media budgeting for 2010.