U.S. Gets First Internet Addiction Center

By Mike Sachoff

Located near Microsoft headquarters

A new Internet addiction center has opened in Fall City, Washington, that claims it is the first of its kind in the U.S.

The center called reStart is a 45-day program costing $14,500 and is located near Microsoft's Redmond headquarters. reStart says its program is specifically designed to help Internet and video game addicts overcome their dependence on gaming, gambling, chatting, texting and other aspects of Internet addiction.

The center was co-founded by Cosette Rae, MSW, and Hilarie Cash, PhD.
According to reStart, current research indicates that anywhere from 6-10 percent of the online population is dependent on the Internet. Among gamers, those playing MMOGs (like World of Warcraft) appear to be addicted at much higher levels.
reStart argues that the United States has been slow to recognize the problem of Internet addiction and its program is part of the process of drawing attention to the issue.
The mission of the program is helping people, addicted to video games and the Internet, find balance, and reconnect to the real world. The program includes individual and group therapy, life-skills coaching, cooperative living, physical and nutritional education, mindfulness training, skill building and 12-step meetings.
The American Psychiatric Association currently does not have a listing for Internet addiction in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The possibility of Internet addiction making it into the manual will not happen until its next update in 2012.

Paid Search Marketplace

We hear and talk all the time about the evolution of the search market and the opportunities that it brings. In this video specifically, James Colborn of Microsoft talks about the opportunities created for advertisers in the area of paid search.

James says the main stumbling block for advertisers is finding how to integrate search into the media mix. Advertising and searching used to be based on one keyword, but now searchers have become smarter and therefore, so have their queries.

For search engines, the challenge is to address the user’s motive for going to search. As search has developed, they are better able to detect user behavior and also the information a user readily provides to social networks.

James says search integration is the key to uncovering the right solution for advertisers. Microsoft strives to find the right mix of media to provide an effective result for advertisers. They are also making sure that their solutions are compatible with what people are doing online.

According to Virginia Nussey and her liveblog of the Orion Panel James spoke on, there is growth potential in search engines offering new outlets for the advertisers. She also reports that Microsoft is “very interested in becoming the key search provider for Facebook and offering educational opportunities to advertisers…”

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