Finding Mika: Where the hell is MTV's President of Global Digital Media Mika Salmi?

-YOSH Talk about staying under the radar. MTV's Prexy of digital media Mika Salmi seems to be a pro at doing so. He sold off his Atom Entertainment to MTV and took over their digital business then fell off the face of the earth. Even recent press releases about digital related deals by MTV don't mention his name. Is this Mika's style of management? Is he one of those who believe that a low profile builds a big profile? Wat has he been up to? Does anyone know? Give us a holla.

And now this morning's worth mentioning media business news

-YOSH Sumner Redstone's Williamsburg Brooklyn Connection Viacom is doing all it can to make sure it keeps it's feet planted in digital media. Thet dumped some cash into a new online network and in return they got 3 guys working out of media lab somewhere in Williamsburg Brooklyn producing digital shorts. But where does Viacom's digital Czar Mika Salmi fit into all this? Did he even have anything to do with this deal? NBC Universal continues to expand it's online presence doggystyle KNOWING that you can never underestimate people’s love for their cats and dogs, NBC Universal and Procter & Gamble have set up a Web portal that looks something like a Yahoo or AOL for pet owners, with a bit of Facebook and MySpace thrown in. The site, Petside.com, offers a full menu of information about dogs and cats, from the serious (how to diagnose your pet’s illnesses) to the silly (funny animal videos). There are links to shopping sites (like Petco.com) and articles about topics like what to do if visitors are allergic to your pet (hint: vacuum). Visitors are encouraged to set up social networking profiles in order to meet other pet owners. In London, Google Skype rumors running wild Is eBay tired of Skype, the online telephony firm already? According to the Guradian's 'The digital content blog" Google is in talks to take the company of eBay's hands for a nice chunk of cash no doubt.

The Salmi-nization or the Dauman-ization of Viacom?

We guess at this point it’s safe to credit MTV/Viacom digital czar Mika Salmi with Viacom's alleged successful digitalization. Grandpa Sumner's company has been getting bashed left and right over its failed attempt at Myspace, but it has been working hard to make up for it through loads of online acquisitions and a new online strategy. The company brought in Atom Entertainment founder Mika Salmi in a newly created position late last year to ramp up it's digital efforts and we guess since then Salmi has been doing what they hired him to do. But could we be crediting the wrong man? Viacom seems to be getting their hands around this Digital thing and all this seems to have gained traction when Redstone loyalist Philippe Dauman took over. So should Dauman get some or all the credit? -SHOMARI HINES Viacom is the first major media company to launch a series of virtual worlds that seamlessly integrate television programming with emerging virtual world technology, e.g. Nicktropolis, a new virtual destination for kids, which offers kids the opportunity to engage in a virtual world full of activities, and safely connect with friends. Considering the fact that the social networking space for adults is overcrowded, Nicktropolis is a brilliant strategy to build a community around a segment in which it has a competitive advantage and across channels (TV, Internet). Viacom: Successfully Transitioning to the Digital Era [SeekingAlpha]

With Sumner's balls less about face on the Tom Cruise thing, we wouldn't be surprised

-Shomari Hines Viacom may be taking steps to not be Youtube dependant, but some think the media giant will go running and falling at Chad Hurley's feet in the long run. Hopefully digital czar Mika Salmi will make us all eat our words. The bottom line: YouTube does not need Viacom or NBC. For the moment, Viacom and NBC can tell themselves that they do not need YouTube. In another year or two, however, when every other content producer on the planet has set up a dedicated "channel" on YouTube, it will be the stubborn old media conglomerates' turn to say "please." YouTube Doesn't Need Viacom and NBC - But They'll Need It [SeekingAlpha]

Is Mika Salmi, behind Viacom's beef with Youtube?

Going their own way since parent company Viacom yanked all its content of Youtube's tubes, MTV digital prexy Mike Salmi is already whoring MTV's websites by letting users have their way with content. Makes us wonder if Mika is the brains behind Viacom's recent outburst with Youtube. Mika, lets hope this one hits big with MTVers and other entertainment content addicts, because if not, its only a matter of time before you kiss and make up with Chad Hurley. “We need to open up our Web sites and content both for consumers and for other companies,” Mika Salmi, MTV Networks’ president of global digital media, told Reuters, which said the move was “part of a strategy to bring Viacom’s Web sites up to ‘Web 2.0’ standards.” If so, it is a new strategy. For most of its history, the MTV sites have been anything but open. Until recently, clips from Comedy Central were available only to those using the Internet Explorer browser, and Macintosh users who wanted to watch a video on VH1’s VSpot broadband service were out of luck. And even now, trying to find a clip from, say, “The Daily Show” often requires an infuriating amount of searching and drilling down through several clicks. And forget about sending your friend a link directly to the video — it cannot be done. Sharing the Wealth at MTV [NYT]