Monday, March 28, 2005
Arutz Sheva - Israel National News:
"Hamas Exploits Google
19:27 Mar 27, '05 / 16 Adar 5765
(IsraelNN.com) The Hamas terrorist organization has bought advertising on the Google internet search site and has boosted itself to near the top of the list in searches in Arabic for the words Gaza, Palestine, Jihad and Jerusalem.
Google representatives said they are investigating the matter and will remove the advertising, which shows pictures of tunnels that terrorist have exploded. The Hamas group is on the United States government list of terror organization."
"Hamas Exploits Google
19:27 Mar 27, '05 / 16 Adar 5765
(IsraelNN.com) The Hamas terrorist organization has bought advertising on the Google internet search site and has boosted itself to near the top of the list in searches in Arabic for the words Gaza, Palestine, Jihad and Jerusalem.
Google representatives said they are investigating the matter and will remove the advertising, which shows pictures of tunnels that terrorist have exploded. The Hamas group is on the United States government list of terror organization."
Lawsuits may dent Google ad revenue -report - Internet Services - Media - Internet:
"Suits may dent Google ads - report
By Alistair Barr, MarketWatch - Last Update: 7:32 PM ET March 27, 2005
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- A growing number of lawsuits against Google Inc. may dent the Internet search giant's revenue, the International Herald Tribune newspaper reported Sunday.
The lawsuits challenge Google's practice of selling online keyword advertisements to the rivals of companies that own trademarks covering those words, the newspaper explained.
So-called keyword advertising is a main source of revenue for Google (GOOG: news, chart, profile) , which generated $3.2 billion in sales last year largely by charging a few cents each time a user clicks on an ad, the newspaper said..."
"Suits may dent Google ads - report
By Alistair Barr, MarketWatch - Last Update: 7:32 PM ET March 27, 2005
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- A growing number of lawsuits against Google Inc. may dent the Internet search giant's revenue, the International Herald Tribune newspaper reported Sunday.
The lawsuits challenge Google's practice of selling online keyword advertisements to the rivals of companies that own trademarks covering those words, the newspaper explained.
So-called keyword advertising is a main source of revenue for Google (GOOG: news, chart, profile) , which generated $3.2 billion in sales last year largely by charging a few cents each time a user clicks on an ad, the newspaper said..."
Search Engine Showdown News:
"Google News Source List
March 27, 2005: While Google still does not release a list of its sources for Google News (apparently secrecy is 'not evil'), an interesting hack is available from PrivateRadio.org that runs a PHP script every 15 minutes and records the sources on the Google News home page. Started March 24, 2005, by today it lists over 1,000 sources which can be sorted alphabetically or by frequency of inclusion on the Google News home page. "
"Google News Source List
March 27, 2005: While Google still does not release a list of its sources for Google News (apparently secrecy is 'not evil'), an interesting hack is available from PrivateRadio.org that runs a PHP script every 15 minutes and records the sources on the Google News home page. Started March 24, 2005, by today it lists over 1,000 sources which can be sorted alphabetically or by frequency of inclusion on the Google News home page. "
Om Malik on Broadband:
"How Yahoo Got Its Mojo Back
A handful of blog-evangelists, a couple of key buys and some libertarian friendly moves have turned Yahoo from a dot.has.been to the new darling of the chattering classes. It is only a matter of time when mainstream media rediscovers Yahoo, and a stock market resurgence follows...
For Yahooligans, 2004 was a year of frustration. No one noticed the fact that company's stock posted a hefty 72% gain, ending the year at about $38 a share. Overlooked was the fact that it had sales of $3.6 billion and net income of $834 million. That's twice as much money it raked in 2003, and nearly three times the profit. It is no surprise that many Yahoo insiders felt like the Yankee fans - no matter what they did, they were going to be overshadowed by Google..."
"How Yahoo Got Its Mojo Back
A handful of blog-evangelists, a couple of key buys and some libertarian friendly moves have turned Yahoo from a dot.has.been to the new darling of the chattering classes. It is only a matter of time when mainstream media rediscovers Yahoo, and a stock market resurgence follows...
For Yahooligans, 2004 was a year of frustration. No one noticed the fact that company's stock posted a hefty 72% gain, ending the year at about $38 a share. Overlooked was the fact that it had sales of $3.6 billion and net income of $834 million. That's twice as much money it raked in 2003, and nearly three times the profit. It is no surprise that many Yahoo insiders felt like the Yankee fans - no matter what they did, they were going to be overshadowed by Google..."
Ask Jeeves gets Diller's cash, keeps staff - 2005-03-28 - East Bay Business Times:
"Eric Lai
Ask Jeeves Inc.'s acquisition by media mogul Barry Diller's IAC/InterActive Corp. this week for $1.85 billion in stock will lead to some layoffs at the Oakland Web search engine but it will also bring more resources for Jeeves to compete with market leaders Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc.
The fifth most-popular search engine, Jeeves will become the prime search gateway for IAC's 40-plus Web stores and portals, including entertainment guide CitySearch.com, dating site Match.com and travel ticket vendors Expedia.com and Hotwire..."
(http://www.bizjournals.com/eastbay/stories/2005/03/28/story4.html)
"Eric Lai
Ask Jeeves Inc.'s acquisition by media mogul Barry Diller's IAC/InterActive Corp. this week for $1.85 billion in stock will lead to some layoffs at the Oakland Web search engine but it will also bring more resources for Jeeves to compete with market leaders Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc.
The fifth most-popular search engine, Jeeves will become the prime search gateway for IAC's 40-plus Web stores and portals, including entertainment guide CitySearch.com, dating site Match.com and travel ticket vendors Expedia.com and Hotwire..."
(http://www.bizjournals.com/eastbay/stories/2005/03/28/story4.html)
Ask Jeeves gets Diller's cash, keeps staff - 2005-03-28 - East Bay Business Times:
"Eric Lai
Ask Jeeves Inc.'s acquisition by media mogul Barry Diller's IAC/InterActive Corp. this week for $1.85 billion in stock will lead to some layoffs at the Oakland Web search engine but it will also bring more resources for Jeeves to compete with market leaders Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc.
The fifth most-popular search engine, Jeeves will become the prime search gateway for IAC's 40-plus Web stores and portals, including entertainment guide CitySearch.com, dating site Match.com and travel ticket vendors Expedia.com and Hotwire..."
(http://www.bizjournals.com/eastbay/stories/2005/03/28/story4.html)
"Eric Lai
Ask Jeeves Inc.'s acquisition by media mogul Barry Diller's IAC/InterActive Corp. this week for $1.85 billion in stock will lead to some layoffs at the Oakland Web search engine but it will also bring more resources for Jeeves to compete with market leaders Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc.
The fifth most-popular search engine, Jeeves will become the prime search gateway for IAC's 40-plus Web stores and portals, including entertainment guide CitySearch.com, dating site Match.com and travel ticket vendors Expedia.com and Hotwire..."
(http://www.bizjournals.com/eastbay/stories/2005/03/28/story4.html)
Yahoo! News - Search Advertising's Success Finds Rates Rising Rapidly:
"Pete Barlas
The price of search engine ads keeps rising, but analysts say advertisers will continue to prime the pump.
Paid search has become the fuel that drives companies to advertise online.
In the last year, prices for ads placed on search results pages have risen about 25%, say several research sources. While some companies balk at the prices and, in some cases, hire consultants to help them get better results with free, natural search (see related story, A4), many companies will simply pay higher prices for search engine advertising..."
"Pete Barlas
The price of search engine ads keeps rising, but analysts say advertisers will continue to prime the pump.
Paid search has become the fuel that drives companies to advertise online.
In the last year, prices for ads placed on search results pages have risen about 25%, say several research sources. While some companies balk at the prices and, in some cases, hire consultants to help them get better results with free, natural search (see related story, A4), many companies will simply pay higher prices for search engine advertising..."
Yahoo! News - Search Advertising's Success Finds Rates Rising Rapidly:
"Pete Barlas
The price of search engine ads keeps rising, but analysts say advertisers will continue to prime the pump.
Paid search has become the fuel that drives companies to advertise online.
In the last year, prices for ads placed on search results pages have risen about 25%, say several research sources. While some companies balk at the prices and, in some cases, hire consultants to help them get better results with free, natural search (see related story, A4), many companies will simply pay higher prices for search engine advertising..."
"Pete Barlas
The price of search engine ads keeps rising, but analysts say advertisers will continue to prime the pump.
Paid search has become the fuel that drives companies to advertise online.
In the last year, prices for ads placed on search results pages have risen about 25%, say several research sources. While some companies balk at the prices and, in some cases, hire consultants to help them get better results with free, natural search (see related story, A4), many companies will simply pay higher prices for search engine advertising..."
MediaPost Publications Home of MediaDailyNews, MEDIA and OMMA Magazines:
"Report: One In Seven Affiliates Generates High Conversions
by Gavin O'Malley, Monday, Mar 28, 2005 7:00 AM EST
FOR ALL THE HYPE ABOUT affiliate marketing, is it effective? A new study by Shawn Collins Consulting suggests that affiliate programs can lead to business, with 14 percent of affiliates generating conversion rates of more than 5 percent. For the study, more than 130 affiliate managers--ranging from small mom-and-pops to Fortune 100 companies--were surveyed on their overall strategies, as well as a number of issues about their affiliate marketing channels such as staffing, recruiting, and management.
About one in seven affiliate marketers--14 percent--reported that conversion rates on such programs were greater than 5 percent, according to the study. An additional 10 percent reported rates of between 3.1 and 5 percent, while 13 percent reported conversion rates of 2.1 to 3 percent.
One out of four marketers with affiliate marketing programs report that recruiting new affiliates is their biggest challenge. One out of four respondents also said that e-mail is their most effective recruiting technique, but 18 percent preferred the old-fashioned telephone, while 14 percent considered advertising in affiliate program directories to be their best bet.
The majority--59 percent--said they do allow their affiliates to bid on their trademark names in pay-per-click search engines; 28 percent still do; while 9 percent did not know. Sixty-nine percent said they do not permit adware affiliates into their affiliate programs; 19 percent do; while 12 percent said they do not know. "
"Report: One In Seven Affiliates Generates High Conversions
by Gavin O'Malley, Monday, Mar 28, 2005 7:00 AM EST
FOR ALL THE HYPE ABOUT affiliate marketing, is it effective? A new study by Shawn Collins Consulting suggests that affiliate programs can lead to business, with 14 percent of affiliates generating conversion rates of more than 5 percent. For the study, more than 130 affiliate managers--ranging from small mom-and-pops to Fortune 100 companies--were surveyed on their overall strategies, as well as a number of issues about their affiliate marketing channels such as staffing, recruiting, and management.
About one in seven affiliate marketers--14 percent--reported that conversion rates on such programs were greater than 5 percent, according to the study. An additional 10 percent reported rates of between 3.1 and 5 percent, while 13 percent reported conversion rates of 2.1 to 3 percent.
One out of four marketers with affiliate marketing programs report that recruiting new affiliates is their biggest challenge. One out of four respondents also said that e-mail is their most effective recruiting technique, but 18 percent preferred the old-fashioned telephone, while 14 percent considered advertising in affiliate program directories to be their best bet.
The majority--59 percent--said they do allow their affiliates to bid on their trademark names in pay-per-click search engines; 28 percent still do; while 9 percent did not know. Sixty-nine percent said they do not permit adware affiliates into their affiliate programs; 19 percent do; while 12 percent said they do not know. "
MediaPost Publications Home of MediaDailyNews, MEDIA and OMMA Magazines: "Universal Finds Blogger Universe Small, But Big Among Young Adults
by Wendy Davis, Monday, Mar 28, 2005 7:00 AM EST
WEB BLOGGING MAY HAVE COMMANDED a large share of news headlines last year, but bloggers themselves are still a rare breed, amounting to less than 2 percent of the adult population, according to a recent study by Universal McCann and Media in Mind. The research is detailed in 'The Rise of the Consumer-Generated Media Machine,' Media magazine's April cover story, which explores how blogs, forums, and usergroups are changing marketers' relationships with consumers. But, although the ranks of bloggers are small, demographic trends suggest that history is on their side. Young adults ages 18-24 are almost three times as likely as the general population to have blogged: When asked if they had ever kept an online journal, 5.2 percent of respondents in the 18-24 bracket responded yes, compared to 1.9 percent of all adults.
Do bloggers use media differently than their less expressive counterparts? Apparently so, according to the study. Bloggers over age 18 spend 14 hours and 14 minutes each week online, compared to non-bloggers' 8 hours and 47 minutes.
Adult bloggers also spend less time reading newspapers than non-bloggers--2 hours and 53 minutes a week for bloggers, compared to 3 hours and 7 minutes. Among young adults--who, as a group, spend less time reading the newspaper--the blogger/non-blogger distinction is even more pronounced. Bloggers between the ages of 18 and 24 spend just 46 minutes a week reading the paper, compared to 1 hour and 37 minutes for the non-bloggers. "
by Wendy Davis, Monday, Mar 28, 2005 7:00 AM EST
WEB BLOGGING MAY HAVE COMMANDED a large share of news headlines last year, but bloggers themselves are still a rare breed, amounting to less than 2 percent of the adult population, according to a recent study by Universal McCann and Media in Mind. The research is detailed in 'The Rise of the Consumer-Generated Media Machine,' Media magazine's April cover story, which explores how blogs, forums, and usergroups are changing marketers' relationships with consumers. But, although the ranks of bloggers are small, demographic trends suggest that history is on their side. Young adults ages 18-24 are almost three times as likely as the general population to have blogged: When asked if they had ever kept an online journal, 5.2 percent of respondents in the 18-24 bracket responded yes, compared to 1.9 percent of all adults.
Do bloggers use media differently than their less expressive counterparts? Apparently so, according to the study. Bloggers over age 18 spend 14 hours and 14 minutes each week online, compared to non-bloggers' 8 hours and 47 minutes.
Adult bloggers also spend less time reading newspapers than non-bloggers--2 hours and 53 minutes a week for bloggers, compared to 3 hours and 7 minutes. Among young adults--who, as a group, spend less time reading the newspaper--the blogger/non-blogger distinction is even more pronounced. Bloggers between the ages of 18 and 24 spend just 46 minutes a week reading the paper, compared to 1 hour and 37 minutes for the non-bloggers. "
Caution Sign for Yellow Pages: "
Published: March 28, 2005
(After April 04, 2005, this article will only be available to eStat Database subscribers.)
A new survey shows that more consumers are going to Internet search engines for local shopping information rather than their phone books.
For the last few years, one of the big stories in advertising has been the battle between online search engines and newspapers and phone book publishers for local ad dollars. At first, it looked like the Internet didn't stand a chance. That is changing.
New research from the Kelsey Group and ConStat shows that 70% of US adults use the Internet as an information source when shopping locally for products and services - up from 60% in October 2003.
These figures put the Internet on par with newspapers as a local shopping information resource, and suggest that the Internet is on track to surpass newspapers as a consumer influencer in the very near future.
"Use of the Internet as a shopping resource is already changing the face of local advertising," says Neal Polachek of the Kelsey Group. "Traditional local advertising media must find ways to evolve or risk losing dollars to the new advertising options available to local and small businesses."
AdWeek reported that the survey found that the Yellow Pages was the biggest loser, with usage declining from 75% in 2003 to 62% now. Not surprisingly, the study concluded, "The decline in printed Yellow Pages use was significant among households with Internet access at home, but no growth was seen for this medium among households who are not online."
Results of another study may help explain why shoppers are shifting to online advertising sources. BizRate Research found that of nearly 1,000 online shoppers surveyed, 71% reporting that they were able to find better sales and discount offers online than offline from retail stores or catalogs"
Published: March 28, 2005
(After April 04, 2005, this article will only be available to eStat Database subscribers.)
A new survey shows that more consumers are going to Internet search engines for local shopping information rather than their phone books.
For the last few years, one of the big stories in advertising has been the battle between online search engines and newspapers and phone book publishers for local ad dollars. At first, it looked like the Internet didn't stand a chance. That is changing.
New research from the Kelsey Group and ConStat shows that 70% of US adults use the Internet as an information source when shopping locally for products and services - up from 60% in October 2003.
These figures put the Internet on par with newspapers as a local shopping information resource, and suggest that the Internet is on track to surpass newspapers as a consumer influencer in the very near future.
"Use of the Internet as a shopping resource is already changing the face of local advertising," says Neal Polachek of the Kelsey Group. "Traditional local advertising media must find ways to evolve or risk losing dollars to the new advertising options available to local and small businesses."
AdWeek reported that the survey found that the Yellow Pages was the biggest loser, with usage declining from 75% in 2003 to 62% now. Not surprisingly, the study concluded, "The decline in printed Yellow Pages use was significant among households with Internet access at home, but no growth was seen for this medium among households who are not online."
Results of another study may help explain why shoppers are shifting to online advertising sources. BizRate Research found that of nearly 1,000 online shoppers surveyed, 71% reporting that they were able to find better sales and discount offers online than offline from retail stores or catalogs"
Thursday, March 24, 2005
Yahoo Offers Creative Commons Search Engine - Search Engine Journal:
"Yahoo has released a search service for searching the Creative Commons database of content which is available for reuse and redistribution. Most material on the Internet comes with a full copyright, Yahoo Creative Commons search helps developers and site owners find content published by authors that want sites to share or reuse it, under certain conditions. The new search service was announced on the Yahoo Search Blog today, with a special guest post by Creative Commons creator Larry Lessig..."
"Yahoo has released a search service for searching the Creative Commons database of content which is available for reuse and redistribution. Most material on the Internet comes with a full copyright, Yahoo Creative Commons search helps developers and site owners find content published by authors that want sites to share or reuse it, under certain conditions. The new search service was announced on the Yahoo Search Blog today, with a special guest post by Creative Commons creator Larry Lessig..."
AOL Launches Pinpoint Travel:
"By Chris Sherman, Associate Editor - March 21, 2005
AOL's new Pinpoint Travel is an ambitious effort to provide truly comprehensive travel search that consumers can trust to provide the best options, not just inventory a travel provider or agency is anxious to sell.
'Pinpoint travel is the culmination of a year of work and research, trying to understand the behavior of users in the travel space,' said Jim Riesenbach, senior vice president and group general manager of AOL's search and directional media group.
Risenbach says that most people use three or more sites when making travel decisions due to the widely different offerings at different prices found at online travel agencies and travel provider web sites. There's no single site yet available that consumers trust to provide preferred options at the best price—and that's something Pinpoint Travel aims to offer.
"The challenge for us is to provide a meta search experience for the travel environment bringing together all of the options into a single environment that helps users walk through the process of filtering their query to the most logical choice," said Risenbach..."
Also see; http://corp.kayak.com/about.html
"By Chris Sherman, Associate Editor - March 21, 2005
AOL's new Pinpoint Travel is an ambitious effort to provide truly comprehensive travel search that consumers can trust to provide the best options, not just inventory a travel provider or agency is anxious to sell.
'Pinpoint travel is the culmination of a year of work and research, trying to understand the behavior of users in the travel space,' said Jim Riesenbach, senior vice president and group general manager of AOL's search and directional media group.
Risenbach says that most people use three or more sites when making travel decisions due to the widely different offerings at different prices found at online travel agencies and travel provider web sites. There's no single site yet available that consumers trust to provide preferred options at the best price—and that's something Pinpoint Travel aims to offer.
"The challenge for us is to provide a meta search experience for the travel environment bringing together all of the options into a single environment that helps users walk through the process of filtering their query to the most logical choice," said Risenbach..."
Also see; http://corp.kayak.com/about.html
Just the Facts, Please:
"By Mary Ellen Bates, Guest Writer - March 22, 2005
While the major search engines continue to dabble with shortcuts to reference sources, Wikipedia and Answers.com have quietly evolved into two of the most comprehensive online search resources for quick, free and reliable ready reference information..."
"By Mary Ellen Bates, Guest Writer - March 22, 2005
While the major search engines continue to dabble with shortcuts to reference sources, Wikipedia and Answers.com have quietly evolved into two of the most comprehensive online search resources for quick, free and reliable ready reference information..."
Google Placing Less Emphasis On Link Popularity? -> High Rankings Search Engine Optimization Forum: "Hi,
I don't know if this is true or not, but as Google is updating PRs, there is a rumor being circulated that they're now placing less emphasis on link popularity. Can someone point to a credible source on this topic?
Link popularity initially may have seemed like a good idea, albeit a flawed one, as a factor for relevancy, but as we all know, as soon as the word gets around, people would try to exploit the SE algorithm, sometimes through questionable means (eg. link farming, link buying, etc). I don't see any ethical problems with SEO in general, but since SEs have to constantly evolve to keep their systems from being abused, I wonder if many of us are allocating too much of our time & resources to gain higher link popularity? "
I don't know if this is true or not, but as Google is updating PRs, there is a rumor being circulated that they're now placing less emphasis on link popularity. Can someone point to a credible source on this topic?
Link popularity initially may have seemed like a good idea, albeit a flawed one, as a factor for relevancy, but as we all know, as soon as the word gets around, people would try to exploit the SE algorithm, sometimes through questionable means (eg. link farming, link buying, etc). I don't see any ethical problems with SEO in general, but since SEs have to constantly evolve to keep their systems from being abused, I wonder if many of us are allocating too much of our time & resources to gain higher link popularity? "
Search, the Next Generation: "NEWS ANALYSIS
By Olga Kharif
A rash of specialized search engines may actually boost Google and Yahoo in the short term. But in the long run, it's another story
In September, 2003, Michael Yang flew to his native Korea for what he thought would be a brief dinner with Yeogirl Yun, co-founder of shopping search site MySimon.com. The two had lost touch since selling their business to CNet (CNET ) for $700 million in 2000. Yang had married and spent time with his son. Yun took up law and was studying for his bar exam. Advertisement
A lot, of course, had changed in the search market over those two years. The window of opportunity through which Yang and Yun crawled with MySimon.com had closed, as heavyweights Google (GOOG ), Yahoo (YHOO ), and Microsoft's (MSFT ) MSN became the dominant players. But during their dinner, the two former collaborators had an epiphany. They decided someone could still improve on the technology of Google, Yahoo, MSN -- and, yes, MySimon.com. The window of opportunity, they decided, was wide open after all.
TRICKLE TO FLOOD. They aren't the only ones coming to that conclusion. Increasing numbers of Web surfers are going to alternative search engines, which specialize in finding certain kinds of information or offering additional capabilities to well-known search sites..."
By Olga Kharif
A rash of specialized search engines may actually boost Google and Yahoo in the short term. But in the long run, it's another story
In September, 2003, Michael Yang flew to his native Korea for what he thought would be a brief dinner with Yeogirl Yun, co-founder of shopping search site MySimon.com. The two had lost touch since selling their business to CNet (CNET ) for $700 million in 2000. Yang had married and spent time with his son. Yun took up law and was studying for his bar exam. Advertisement
A lot, of course, had changed in the search market over those two years. The window of opportunity through which Yang and Yun crawled with MySimon.com had closed, as heavyweights Google (GOOG ), Yahoo (YHOO ), and Microsoft's (MSFT ) MSN became the dominant players. But during their dinner, the two former collaborators had an epiphany. They decided someone could still improve on the technology of Google, Yahoo, MSN -- and, yes, MySimon.com. The window of opportunity, they decided, was wide open after all.
TRICKLE TO FLOOD. They aren't the only ones coming to that conclusion. Increasing numbers of Web surfers are going to alternative search engines, which specialize in finding certain kinds of information or offering additional capabilities to well-known search sites..."
InformationWeek Weblog:
"No Big Winners In Search-Engine Wars
You don't need to be the top dog to be a winner. Barry Diller understands that as his media company IAC/InterActiveCorp seeks to acquire search engine Ask Jeeves for $1.85 billion.
Today, Google and Yahoo dominate the search market; they account for nearly 70% of all searches, according to comScore. Internet users conduct about one-quarter of Web searches on sites operated by MSN/Microsoft and AOL/Time Warner. Ask Jeeves accounts for only 5% of searches.
But, as Diller points out, searches represent a very small slice of American media, even less so overseas. He compares the search market to other media, such as cable TV, where no one company dominates but scores of businesses are profitable. Despite its rapid growth, the Internet remains a relatively young industry. And search is even younger.
Appearing on CNBC the other day, Diller addressed the search-engine sector: "It's the very beginning of its growth. ... This is going to be a world, just like the media world, where there will be many players, many people providing service."
Diller plans to grow Ask Jeeves by placing a search bar on Web pages of IAC's other sites such as the online travel agency Expedia, Home Shopping Network, Ticketmaster, CitySearch, and Match.com. Diller said IAC sites attract 44 million unique visitors, and expects many of them to use the Ask Jeeves search bar instead of going to another site to conduct a search, such as Google.
Too many people are infatuated with companies like Google. They're judging this sub-sector by the number of searches. True, search and portal companies do reach out through acquisitions and partnerships to create synergies, but that doesn't explain how the market got so out of whack. How else could Google have a market cap topping $49 billion on only $3.2 billion in sales last year when IAC generated nearly twice that amount in revenue but has a market cap of $15.4 billion, less than one-third of Google’s?
Industries change, and no one can accurately predict where the rapidly evolving Internet sector heads. Few would have imagined a generation ago that AT&T would become the footnote in the telecom sector that it is today. Google may never become a asterisk in Internet history E-books of the future, but who can say we’ll view search as the media force it’s now perceived as in the years to come?"
"No Big Winners In Search-Engine Wars
You don't need to be the top dog to be a winner. Barry Diller understands that as his media company IAC/InterActiveCorp seeks to acquire search engine Ask Jeeves for $1.85 billion.
Today, Google and Yahoo dominate the search market; they account for nearly 70% of all searches, according to comScore. Internet users conduct about one-quarter of Web searches on sites operated by MSN/Microsoft and AOL/Time Warner. Ask Jeeves accounts for only 5% of searches.
But, as Diller points out, searches represent a very small slice of American media, even less so overseas. He compares the search market to other media, such as cable TV, where no one company dominates but scores of businesses are profitable. Despite its rapid growth, the Internet remains a relatively young industry. And search is even younger.
Appearing on CNBC the other day, Diller addressed the search-engine sector: "It's the very beginning of its growth. ... This is going to be a world, just like the media world, where there will be many players, many people providing service."
Diller plans to grow Ask Jeeves by placing a search bar on Web pages of IAC's other sites such as the online travel agency Expedia, Home Shopping Network, Ticketmaster, CitySearch, and Match.com. Diller said IAC sites attract 44 million unique visitors, and expects many of them to use the Ask Jeeves search bar instead of going to another site to conduct a search, such as Google.
Too many people are infatuated with companies like Google. They're judging this sub-sector by the number of searches. True, search and portal companies do reach out through acquisitions and partnerships to create synergies, but that doesn't explain how the market got so out of whack. How else could Google have a market cap topping $49 billion on only $3.2 billion in sales last year when IAC generated nearly twice that amount in revenue but has a market cap of $15.4 billion, less than one-third of Google’s?
Industries change, and no one can accurately predict where the rapidly evolving Internet sector heads. Few would have imagined a generation ago that AT&T would become the footnote in the telecom sector that it is today. Google may never become a asterisk in Internet history E-books of the future, but who can say we’ll view search as the media force it’s now perceived as in the years to come?"
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
InfoWorld: Beyond the blog hype: March 18, 2005: By Chad Dickerson :
"...Despite the mass-media blog overkill, I find that when I meet IT professionals and ask them if they have their own blogs, the answer is usually "no." IT professionals know what blogs are, but my sense is that whereas IT might be overrepresented in the universe of blog creators -- estimated in one study to be 7 percent of adult Internet users -- the vast majority of people who do IT for a living have taken a pass. On a recent trip to the East Coast, I was talking to two professionally accomplished CTOs who practically grimaced when I mentioned the word "blog." Blaring blog stories on TV leave them scratching their heads. How are blogs useful to IT managers who are less interested in taking down network news anchors than running an IT operation? Yet I think IT pros might be missing useful signals amid the noise.
One key aspect of blogs that's often ignored is the basic technical architecture, which makes information in blogs uniquely accessible. Most blogging software (such as Movable Type and Radio Userland) issues a "ping" for each new blog post to ping servers that allow blog-specific search engines and services to index or otherwise process content in near real time. ( Technorati, which runs its own ping servers, has claimed that the median time for a new blog post to enter its index is 7 minutes.) This rapid inclusion into search indexes means that blog-specific search tools such as Technorati, Feedster, and PubSub beat the pants off the seemingly all-powerful Google (Profile, Products, Articles) when it comes to aggregating and indexing blog content quickly..."
"...Despite the mass-media blog overkill, I find that when I meet IT professionals and ask them if they have their own blogs, the answer is usually "no." IT professionals know what blogs are, but my sense is that whereas IT might be overrepresented in the universe of blog creators -- estimated in one study to be 7 percent of adult Internet users -- the vast majority of people who do IT for a living have taken a pass. On a recent trip to the East Coast, I was talking to two professionally accomplished CTOs who practically grimaced when I mentioned the word "blog." Blaring blog stories on TV leave them scratching their heads. How are blogs useful to IT managers who are less interested in taking down network news anchors than running an IT operation? Yet I think IT pros might be missing useful signals amid the noise.
One key aspect of blogs that's often ignored is the basic technical architecture, which makes information in blogs uniquely accessible. Most blogging software (such as Movable Type and Radio Userland) issues a "ping" for each new blog post to ping servers that allow blog-specific search engines and services to index or otherwise process content in near real time. ( Technorati, which runs its own ping servers, has claimed that the median time for a new blog post to enter its index is 7 minutes.) This rapid inclusion into search indexes means that blog-specific search tools such as Technorati, Feedster, and PubSub beat the pants off the seemingly all-powerful Google (Profile, Products, Articles) when it comes to aggregating and indexing blog content quickly..."
InfoWorld: Novell preps Linux Desktop 10:
"Desktop search, note taking features will surpass Windows, execs say
By Cathleen Moore - March 22, 2005
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- Linux is ready for the corporate desktop, and the forthcoming version of Novell's (Profile, Products, Articles) Linux Desktop offering will go head-to-head against Windows, Novell executives said here this week at the company's annual BrainShare gathering.
Novell is currently developing Linux Desktop 10, which will lift the application suite from its current role targeting specific workgroups to mainstream enterprise deployment, according to Nat Friedman, vice president of desktop and collaboration engineering at Novell... "
"Desktop search, note taking features will surpass Windows, execs say
By Cathleen Moore - March 22, 2005
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- Linux is ready for the corporate desktop, and the forthcoming version of Novell's (Profile, Products, Articles) Linux Desktop offering will go head-to-head against Windows, Novell executives said here this week at the company's annual BrainShare gathering.
Novell is currently developing Linux Desktop 10, which will lift the application suite from its current role targeting specific workgroups to mainstream enterprise deployment, according to Nat Friedman, vice president of desktop and collaboration engineering at Novell... "
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
MediaPost Publications Home of MediaDailyNews, MEDIA and OMMA Magazines:
"DoubleClick Report: E-Mail Conversions Increase 14 Percent
by Gavin O'Malley, Wednesday, Mar 16, 2005 7:00 AM EST
ORDERS-PER-E-MAIL-DELIVERED RATES REACHED AN ALL-TIME high of 0.35 percent in the fourth quarter of 2004--up from the previous high of 0.3 percent in the second quarter of 2003, DoubleClick reported this week. In addition, click-to-purchase conversion rates in e-mail marketing campaigns increased 14 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2004--from 4.2 to 4.8 percent. As e-mail volume rose, however, the average revenue per e-mail remained at 26 cents, which resulted in an 11 percent year-over-year decline in average order size to $89, DoubleClick found. 'E-mail delivery has remained a major focus for marketers in recent years due to the backlash to the spam onslaught,' read DoubleClick's fourth-quarter 2004 E-mail Trend Report. 'However, many marketers have realized that by focusing on delivery as a primary goal, they risk losing sight of the true goal of building relationships with their customers and increasing email productivity.'
Bounce-back rates declined to an all-time low of 9.4 percent in the fourth quarter, while open rates declined to 32.6 percent and click rates declined to 8 percent.
DoubleClick bases its report on aggregate data, including billions of permission-based e-mails, from hundreds of clients of its DARTmail e-mail delivery system. "
"DoubleClick Report: E-Mail Conversions Increase 14 Percent
by Gavin O'Malley, Wednesday, Mar 16, 2005 7:00 AM EST
ORDERS-PER-E-MAIL-DELIVERED RATES REACHED AN ALL-TIME high of 0.35 percent in the fourth quarter of 2004--up from the previous high of 0.3 percent in the second quarter of 2003, DoubleClick reported this week. In addition, click-to-purchase conversion rates in e-mail marketing campaigns increased 14 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2004--from 4.2 to 4.8 percent. As e-mail volume rose, however, the average revenue per e-mail remained at 26 cents, which resulted in an 11 percent year-over-year decline in average order size to $89, DoubleClick found. 'E-mail delivery has remained a major focus for marketers in recent years due to the backlash to the spam onslaught,' read DoubleClick's fourth-quarter 2004 E-mail Trend Report. 'However, many marketers have realized that by focusing on delivery as a primary goal, they risk losing sight of the true goal of building relationships with their customers and increasing email productivity.'
Bounce-back rates declined to an all-time low of 9.4 percent in the fourth quarter, while open rates declined to 32.6 percent and click rates declined to 8 percent.
DoubleClick bases its report on aggregate data, including billions of permission-based e-mails, from hundreds of clients of its DARTmail e-mail delivery system. "
MediaPost Publications Home of MediaDailyNews, MEDIA and OMMA Magazines: "eMarketer: Online Scams Cost Merchants $2.6 Billion
Wednesday, Mar 16, 2005 7:00 AM EST
ONLINE FRAUD COST MERCHANTS $2.6 billion in 2004, according to a report released by research company eMarketer Tuesday. But, except for online auctions, fraud accounted for just one-tenth of 1 percent of total business-to-consumers sales last year, according to the report. Forty-eight percent of the Internet fraud complaints to the Federal Trade Commission last year were related to Web auctions, while 17 percent concerned catalog sales and 10 percent were related to Internet access services. "
Wednesday, Mar 16, 2005 7:00 AM EST
ONLINE FRAUD COST MERCHANTS $2.6 billion in 2004, according to a report released by research company eMarketer Tuesday. But, except for online auctions, fraud accounted for just one-tenth of 1 percent of total business-to-consumers sales last year, according to the report. Forty-eight percent of the Internet fraud complaints to the Federal Trade Commission last year were related to Web auctions, while 17 percent concerned catalog sales and 10 percent were related to Internet access services. "
Blog Readers Say Blogging Is Big:
"Published: March 16, 2005
(After March 23, 2005, this article will only be available to eStat Database subscribers.)
According to a new survey, blog readers are more likely to be Democrats than Republicans, are predominantly male, and are politically active�and influential. But, as is so often the case in the blogosphere, the reliability of the information is up for debate.
Blog advertising service blogads offers a refreshing disclaimer in the introduction to its survey of more than 30,000 blog readers, saying, 'responses are a fragment of a sample of a subset.' But blogads founder Henry Copeland nonetheless is confident about one thing: 'Clearly the blogosphere is crawling with certified grade A opinion makers.'
Perhaps not surprisingly, users rated blogs more 'useful' than other media. Well more than half report reading more than five blogs daily. More than 20% said they had their own blogs.
Over the past year, bloggers have grabbed headlines and attention as never before, and some blogs are actually challenging the established media for scoops and clout. There is a new stridency in bloggers' attitude. As The New York Times wrote in an article about political bloggers on March 14, 'Online pundits criticize traditional news organizations as slow, biased and technologically challenged.'
There are many reasons why bloggers should not be ignored. For one, according to the survey, bloggers are affluent:
Bloggers love blogs. They read them every day:
And they spend a lot of time reading them:
All are impressive numbers, but the question remains: Can bloggers be trusted to report on blogs?
Here is what blogads concluded: "How much credence should you give this survey? The survey was designed as much to provoke as to prove…so wield a salt shaker as you munch on this data."
If you need more information on this subject, you can click to "blog" in the eStat Database to view all available records. "
"Published: March 16, 2005
(After March 23, 2005, this article will only be available to eStat Database subscribers.)
According to a new survey, blog readers are more likely to be Democrats than Republicans, are predominantly male, and are politically active�and influential. But, as is so often the case in the blogosphere, the reliability of the information is up for debate.
Blog advertising service blogads offers a refreshing disclaimer in the introduction to its survey of more than 30,000 blog readers, saying, 'responses are a fragment of a sample of a subset.' But blogads founder Henry Copeland nonetheless is confident about one thing: 'Clearly the blogosphere is crawling with certified grade A opinion makers.'
Perhaps not surprisingly, users rated blogs more 'useful' than other media. Well more than half report reading more than five blogs daily. More than 20% said they had their own blogs.
Over the past year, bloggers have grabbed headlines and attention as never before, and some blogs are actually challenging the established media for scoops and clout. There is a new stridency in bloggers' attitude. As The New York Times wrote in an article about political bloggers on March 14, 'Online pundits criticize traditional news organizations as slow, biased and technologically challenged.'
There are many reasons why bloggers should not be ignored. For one, according to the survey, bloggers are affluent:
Bloggers love blogs. They read them every day:
And they spend a lot of time reading them:
All are impressive numbers, but the question remains: Can bloggers be trusted to report on blogs?
Here is what blogads concluded: "How much credence should you give this survey? The survey was designed as much to provoke as to prove…so wield a salt shaker as you munch on this data."
If you need more information on this subject, you can click to "blog" in the eStat Database to view all available records. "
CNET News.com: "Yahoo 360 takes spin through blogosphere
Published: March 16, 2005, 9:20 AM PST- By Evan Hansen - Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Yahoo is stepping into social networking and blogging, with a new service that promises to offer a simpler way to keep in touch with people.
Dubbed Yahoo 360, the new service is accepting invitation-only beta testers for now, the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Web giant said Wednesday. The test will be opened to a broader audience on March 29..."
Published: March 16, 2005, 9:20 AM PST- By Evan Hansen - Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Yahoo is stepping into social networking and blogging, with a new service that promises to offer a simpler way to keep in touch with people.
Dubbed Yahoo 360, the new service is accepting invitation-only beta testers for now, the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Web giant said Wednesday. The test will be opened to a broader audience on March 29..."
About Nutch:
"Overview
Nutch is open source web-search software. It builds on Lucene, adding web-specifics, such as a crawler, a link-graph database, parsers for HTML and other document formats, etc.
For more information about Nutch, please see the Nutch wiki..."
"Overview
Nutch is open source web-search software. It builds on Lucene, adding web-specifics, such as a crawler, a link-graph database, parsers for HTML and other document formats, etc.
For more information about Nutch, please see the Nutch wiki..."
How to Hack Your Own Search Engine:
"How to Hack Your Own Search Engine
By Chris Sherman, Associate Editor - March 15, 2005
Got the itch to go head-to-head with Google, Yahoo and all of the other big search players on the web? A new book provides a detailed blueprint for using and customizing Lucene, open-source search engine software that's freely available online..."
"How to Hack Your Own Search Engine
By Chris Sherman, Associate Editor - March 15, 2005
Got the itch to go head-to-head with Google, Yahoo and all of the other big search players on the web? A new book provides a detailed blueprint for using and customizing Lucene, open-source search engine software that's freely available online..."
TechWhack News - Google seems to be testing image search integration with regular search :: Tech Food for Geeks:
"16th Mar 2005
Things like this generate excitement for people who keeps track of how search engines are enhancing their capabilities to attract and keep the users attached to them. Google seems to be testing image integration with their normal search engine today as we found out at TechWhack. Searching for famous Indian Celebrities in the web search showed us top image search results from the Google Image Search for the same keyword..."
"16th Mar 2005
Things like this generate excitement for people who keeps track of how search engines are enhancing their capabilities to attract and keep the users attached to them. Google seems to be testing image integration with their normal search engine today as we found out at TechWhack. Searching for famous Indian Celebrities in the web search showed us top image search results from the Google Image Search for the same keyword..."
A9.com Opens Search to Syndication
"By Matt Hicks - March 15, 2005
SAN DIEGO—Amazon.com's search startup, A9.com, is embracing the concept of vertical search by broadly opening its search site to specialized search engines.
During a presentation Tuesday at the O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference here, Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos introduced a new feature for A9.com that lets other search engines syndicate their search services to the site.
Dubbing the concept OpenSearch, Bezos said that A9.com launched the feature so users can eventually select among thousands of vertical search options and manage them through the search columns that appear on the right-side of A9.com's interface..."
"By Matt Hicks - March 15, 2005
SAN DIEGO—Amazon.com's search startup, A9.com, is embracing the concept of vertical search by broadly opening its search site to specialized search engines.
During a presentation Tuesday at the O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference here, Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos introduced a new feature for A9.com that lets other search engines syndicate their search services to the site.
Dubbing the concept OpenSearch, Bezos said that A9.com launched the feature so users can eventually select among thousands of vertical search options and manage them through the search columns that appear on the right-side of A9.com's interface..."
WebSourced Adds Affiliate Power:
"By Zachary Rodgers | March 15, 2005
CGI Holding Corp. has made its second acquisition of an affiliate marketing player in five days. The company purchased KowaBunga! Marketing, operator of an affiliate platform and an upstart affiliate network serving approximately 2,000 merchants. CGI is the holding company for Web marketing firm WebSourced.
Terms of the acquisition weren't disclosed.
The purchase follows on a letter of intent from CGI to acquire affiliate marketing player PrimaryAds in a deal worth $10 million, plus performance incentives. Taken together, the two purchases amount to a big play in affiliate marketing for CGI and WebSourced.
KowaBunga!'s union with WebSourced is likely to strengthen the former company's fledgling affiliate network, called Kolimbo, affiliate marketing experts say. The result could be a strong competitor to dominant affiliate networks LinkShare and Commission Junction (CJ), which is owned by ValueClick.
'LinkShare and CJ have an effective monopoly,' said one seasoned affiliate manager, who asked not to be named. 'I used to be able to get deals out of CJ that I can't anymore. Here you have a third player shaking up the space. The competition is good for merchants, it's good for publishers, it's good for affiliates.'
CGI CEO Gerry Jacobs said the company will bundle its new affiliate marketing holdings with other online marketing products, including WebSourced's SEO (define) offering.
'We're very excited about entering the affiliate marketing space,' he said. 'We view it as a logical extension for our companies. A lot of the publishers PrimaryAds is delivering ads to are also potential candidates for search engine optimization services. Also, many of the companies WebSourced represents would make good clients for KowaBunga!'
Westland MI.-based KowaBunga! serves 2,000 merchants through its affiliate network. In keeping with CGI's decentralized model, it will continue to operate separately. No layoffs or executive changes are planned.
CGI, which is in the process of changing its name to Think Partnership, also picks up search and e-mail marketing technologies as part of the acquisition."
"By Zachary Rodgers | March 15, 2005
CGI Holding Corp. has made its second acquisition of an affiliate marketing player in five days. The company purchased KowaBunga! Marketing, operator of an affiliate platform and an upstart affiliate network serving approximately 2,000 merchants. CGI is the holding company for Web marketing firm WebSourced.
Terms of the acquisition weren't disclosed.
The purchase follows on a letter of intent from CGI to acquire affiliate marketing player PrimaryAds in a deal worth $10 million, plus performance incentives. Taken together, the two purchases amount to a big play in affiliate marketing for CGI and WebSourced.
KowaBunga!'s union with WebSourced is likely to strengthen the former company's fledgling affiliate network, called Kolimbo, affiliate marketing experts say. The result could be a strong competitor to dominant affiliate networks LinkShare and Commission Junction (CJ), which is owned by ValueClick.
'LinkShare and CJ have an effective monopoly,' said one seasoned affiliate manager, who asked not to be named. 'I used to be able to get deals out of CJ that I can't anymore. Here you have a third player shaking up the space. The competition is good for merchants, it's good for publishers, it's good for affiliates.'
CGI CEO Gerry Jacobs said the company will bundle its new affiliate marketing holdings with other online marketing products, including WebSourced's SEO (define) offering.
'We're very excited about entering the affiliate marketing space,' he said. 'We view it as a logical extension for our companies. A lot of the publishers PrimaryAds is delivering ads to are also potential candidates for search engine optimization services. Also, many of the companies WebSourced represents would make good clients for KowaBunga!'
Westland MI.-based KowaBunga! serves 2,000 merchants through its affiliate network. In keeping with CGI's decentralized model, it will continue to operate separately. No layoffs or executive changes are planned.
CGI, which is in the process of changing its name to Think Partnership, also picks up search and e-mail marketing technologies as part of the acquisition."
MSN Search Ads May Not Be Auction Based:
"MSN Search Ads May Not Be Auction Based
Andrew Goodman | Contributing Writer | 2005-03-15
Goldman Sachs makes a good point: if and when MSN comes out with its own paid search advertising program to repatriate revenues on sponsored listings near search results ...
... it might not be an auction lest it infringe Overture's patents. Google's penalty for infringing (or should I say being accused of infringing, since the settlement is not an admission of guilt), in the form of a settlement which handed IPO shares to Yahoo!, was several hundred million dollars. Microsoft probably wouldn't get off that lightly. Then again, isn't FindWhat still running an auction?
Back to flat-rate CPM search ads? Won't that be fun..."
"MSN Search Ads May Not Be Auction Based
Andrew Goodman | Contributing Writer | 2005-03-15
Goldman Sachs makes a good point: if and when MSN comes out with its own paid search advertising program to repatriate revenues on sponsored listings near search results ...
... it might not be an auction lest it infringe Overture's patents. Google's penalty for infringing (or should I say being accused of infringing, since the settlement is not an admission of guilt), in the form of a settlement which handed IPO shares to Yahoo!, was several hundred million dollars. Microsoft probably wouldn't get off that lightly. Then again, isn't FindWhat still running an auction?
Back to flat-rate CPM search ads? Won't that be fun..."
Slowplay.com - Google Suggests:
"Google suggests."
{Note: if not personalized in some way this is of little help. That is, if I start typing a word that starts with 'p', I can assure you that Google Suggest's offering of 'Paris Hilton' will not help me. However, if this was "focused" on a enterprise setting, where 'p' called up "products competitors etc., etc.", and a list of terms others had searched for appeared, this could be very helpful. Or, if a list of terms was suggested based on my personal search history, more of a context sensitive list of terms (sort of like Watson), then this could be very helpful. As is, it's little more than a curiosity. What you bet that Google's figured this out too?}
"Google suggests."
{Note: if not personalized in some way this is of little help. That is, if I start typing a word that starts with 'p', I can assure you that Google Suggest's offering of 'Paris Hilton' will not help me. However, if this was "focused" on a enterprise setting, where 'p' called up "products competitors etc., etc.", and a list of terms others had searched for appeared, this could be very helpful. Or, if a list of terms was suggested based on my personal search history, more of a context sensitive list of terms (sort of like Watson), then this could be very helpful. As is, it's little more than a curiosity. What you bet that Google's figured this out too?}
Google Preps Enterprise-Ready Desktop Search:
"By Matt Hicks - March 8, 2005
Having released a full version of its desktop search application, Google Inc. next wants to hone the software's enterprise features.
The Mountain View, Calif., company is working on an enterprise version of the application, officials confirmed to eWEEK.com. Google is providing few details about its features, but the enterprise edition will include the ability for organizations to install and run Google Desktop Search on multiple Windows accounts on one machine.
'We fully understand the needs of the enterprise and are trying to address them with new features,' said Nikhil Bhatla, a Google product manager.
He declined to say when the enterprise version will be available or go into beta testing but indicated that Google wants to make desktop search more appealing to corporations..."
"By Matt Hicks - March 8, 2005
Having released a full version of its desktop search application, Google Inc. next wants to hone the software's enterprise features.
The Mountain View, Calif., company is working on an enterprise version of the application, officials confirmed to eWEEK.com. Google is providing few details about its features, but the enterprise edition will include the ability for organizations to install and run Google Desktop Search on multiple Windows accounts on one machine.
'We fully understand the needs of the enterprise and are trying to address them with new features,' said Nikhil Bhatla, a Google product manager.
He declined to say when the enterprise version will be available or go into beta testing but indicated that Google wants to make desktop search more appealing to corporations..."
Google Data Mining (Big Brother)
"If you wander about the Internet long enough, connections appear, sometimes answers to questions. Last fall I wondered about what Google is going to do with all the databases and information it collects on all the users of its various businesses. Also noted was addition of a sort of ‘zine to Google’s social networking the eternally-in-beta, Orkut. Keeping an eye on Orkut Media paid off. An ostensible contributer, Ellen Spertus, is dropping in interesting little tidbits about the vast interconnections among Orkut members. Although she doesn’t mention how she comes by the data, it’s obvious she’s either a Google plant or someone who’s acquired access to the data. A blurb on her at the bottom of her articles states that she “moonlights at Google”, whatever that means.
She is a member of Orkut, and started her column on Orkut data in January with an article about the groups the system recommends (like Amazon.com's book recommendations--If you like this, you might like that.) Pretty innocuous stuff. In February she asked, "Which orkut users most successfully obey the request to "stay beautiful"? This column takes you into the data mine to find out." My ears perked up. Data mine? She began giving percentages of members who describe themselves a certain way, and then she broke it down by country. She also started a new Orkut group, Too Much Information, "For discussion of internal Orkut data mining, as described in occasional Orkut media columns. Comment on past research or propose new research here."
In this month's offering Spertus digs deeper into the personal ranking system that Orkut calls "karma", breaking out some features by ethnicity. She says she'll give us more next month and warns, "Don't try to game the system, though. I've already extracted the numbers, and new measurements won't affect them." Sounds like more than moonlighting to me.
"If you wander about the Internet long enough, connections appear, sometimes answers to questions. Last fall I wondered about what Google is going to do with all the databases and information it collects on all the users of its various businesses. Also noted was addition of a sort of ‘zine to Google’s social networking the eternally-in-beta, Orkut. Keeping an eye on Orkut Media paid off. An ostensible contributer, Ellen Spertus, is dropping in interesting little tidbits about the vast interconnections among Orkut members. Although she doesn’t mention how she comes by the data, it’s obvious she’s either a Google plant or someone who’s acquired access to the data. A blurb on her at the bottom of her articles states that she “moonlights at Google”, whatever that means.
She is a member of Orkut, and started her column on Orkut data in January with an article about the groups the system recommends (like Amazon.com's book recommendations--If you like this, you might like that.) Pretty innocuous stuff. In February she asked, "Which orkut users most successfully obey the request to "stay beautiful"? This column takes you into the data mine to find out." My ears perked up. Data mine? She began giving percentages of members who describe themselves a certain way, and then she broke it down by country. She also started a new Orkut group, Too Much Information, "For discussion of internal Orkut data mining, as described in occasional Orkut media columns. Comment on past research or propose new research here."
In this month's offering Spertus digs deeper into the personal ranking system that Orkut calls "karma", breaking out some features by ethnicity. She says she'll give us more next month and warns, "Don't try to game the system, though. I've already extracted the numbers, and new measurements won't affect them." Sounds like more than moonlighting to me.
Press Releases - Viapoint Organizer Adds Google Desktop Search Integration and Free Version :: PR Releases Database:
"BURLINGTON, Mass.-(BUSINESS WIRE)- New free release recruits desktop search to help users organize contacts, companies, email, files, RSS feeds, and web favorites.
Viapoint Corporation, the pioneer in desktop organization software, today announced the availability of Viapoint Smart Organizer 1.3. The new release includes the addition of new full text search features made available through integration to Google Desktop Search and a free license model. The free download is available at www.viapoint.com..."
"BURLINGTON, Mass.-(BUSINESS WIRE)- New free release recruits desktop search to help users organize contacts, companies, email, files, RSS feeds, and web favorites.
Viapoint Corporation, the pioneer in desktop organization software, today announced the availability of Viapoint Smart Organizer 1.3. The new release includes the addition of new full text search features made available through integration to Google Desktop Search and a free license model. The free download is available at www.viapoint.com..."
The New Zealand Herald:
"Google launches new 'local search' tool
SAN FRANCISCO - Google Inc released on Tuesday a free tool that allows businesses to add or update business listing information, such as operating hours and addresses, that appears within its local search results.
Google, the leader in the Web search sector, said its new Local Business Centre tool is available to US businesses, including those that do not operate an internet site, potentially expanding the reach of its service.
Search providers aim to have consumers use local search to find nearby restaurants, stores or service providers, like dry cleaners or plumbers..."
"Google launches new 'local search' tool
SAN FRANCISCO - Google Inc released on Tuesday a free tool that allows businesses to add or update business listing information, such as operating hours and addresses, that appears within its local search results.
Google, the leader in the Web search sector, said its new Local Business Centre tool is available to US businesses, including those that do not operate an internet site, potentially expanding the reach of its service.
Search providers aim to have consumers use local search to find nearby restaurants, stores or service providers, like dry cleaners or plumbers..."
Yahoo Project Builds Market Around Search Popularity:
"By Matt Hicks - March 16, 2005
{Note: the full article also talks about the latest from Google and MSN}
SAN DIEGO- Technology soothsayers can put their predictions to the test as part of a research project merging search-query data with a virtual, online marketplace.
Yahoo Inc. unveiled a project called the Tech Buzz Game during a research labs presentation Tuesday at the O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference here.
Players who sign up can buy and sell virtual shares in emerging technologies. The game pits competing products, companies and technologies against each other in a series of preset categories.
O'Reilly Media Inc., a partner in the project, created such technology categories as digital media players, programming languages, operating systems and wikis. Yahoo also partnered with NewsFutures for the prediction-markets software.
'What led us to this game was the recognition that as the Internet matures it more closely approximates what happens in the physical world,' said Gary Flake, principal scientist at Yahoo, during an interview with eWEEK.com.
'We want to know, 'Can a bunch of alpha geeks collectively predict the future trends in search?'' ..."
"By Matt Hicks - March 16, 2005
{Note: the full article also talks about the latest from Google and MSN}
SAN DIEGO- Technology soothsayers can put their predictions to the test as part of a research project merging search-query data with a virtual, online marketplace.
Yahoo Inc. unveiled a project called the Tech Buzz Game during a research labs presentation Tuesday at the O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference here.
Players who sign up can buy and sell virtual shares in emerging technologies. The game pits competing products, companies and technologies against each other in a series of preset categories.
O'Reilly Media Inc., a partner in the project, created such technology categories as digital media players, programming languages, operating systems and wikis. Yahoo also partnered with NewsFutures for the prediction-markets software.
'What led us to this game was the recognition that as the Internet matures it more closely approximates what happens in the physical world,' said Gary Flake, principal scientist at Yahoo, during an interview with eWEEK.com.
'We want to know, 'Can a bunch of alpha geeks collectively predict the future trends in search?'' ..."
Netimperative - Seekport partners search consultancy for B2B drive:
"By Robin Langford - 16-03-2005 11:51 AM
Related: Search
European search engine company Seekport has inked a business development partnership with Cogito, a UK search engine consultancy, to help drive the B2B roll-out of its UK search engine.
Cogito will work with Seekport to help identify and develop B2B opportunities for its search engine technology in key market areas such as media and publishing.
Seekport recently launched the beta-version of its UK-specific search engine www.seekport.co.uk. It is already established in Germany and France with an aggressive plan to roll-out across Europe in 2005..."
"By Robin Langford - 16-03-2005 11:51 AM
Related: Search
European search engine company Seekport has inked a business development partnership with Cogito, a UK search engine consultancy, to help drive the B2B roll-out of its UK search engine.
Cogito will work with Seekport to help identify and develop B2B opportunities for its search engine technology in key market areas such as media and publishing.
Seekport recently launched the beta-version of its UK-specific search engine www.seekport.co.uk. It is already established in Germany and France with an aggressive plan to roll-out across Europe in 2005..."
PC Pro: News: Fast launches mobile search tool:
"Norwegian search developer Fast Search & Transfer (FAST) has come up with what it claims is the world's first search product for mobile devices.
FAST says that mSearch will offer commonly searched for mobile content such as music, games, ring tones, and images as well as content from the mobile Web, providing users with more relevant personal search for their mobile devices such as localised search..."
"Norwegian search developer Fast Search & Transfer (FAST) has come up with what it claims is the world's first search product for mobile devices.
FAST says that mSearch will offer commonly searched for mobile content such as music, games, ring tones, and images as well as content from the mobile Web, providing users with more relevant personal search for their mobile devices such as localised search..."
Forbes.com: Google Goes Down:
"Matt Rand; data provided by Marketocracy, 03.15.05, 4:55 PM ET
NEW YORK - The best 100 investors at Marketocracy were net sellers last week. A substantial portion of the portfolio trimming, which was at a sell-to-buy ratio of 7 to 5, included technology stocks. In their place, gurus were tentative, buying stocks from a variety of industries.
Looking for high yielding preferred stocks? Click here for the latest picks from Forbes/Lehmann Income Securities Investor.
They sold shares of Internet search leader Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ) of Mountain View, Calif. The stock topped $200 in January, but has since slipped back to the 170s, closing at $174.99 on Monday. Gurus sold as Yahoo! (nasdaq: YHOO - news - people ) announced that it would be ramping up its targeted advertising offerings, sending Google to levels just above its 2005 low. Even after the drop, however, Google still trades at a steep 121 times earnings. By contrast, Yahoo! trades at 54 times earnings.
Herndon, Va.-based Eplus (nasdaq: PLUS - news - people ) was another sale. The company, which sells Internet software applications, is up 9% in 2005, to $12.89. In November 2004, the company had announced a $7.5 million stock buyback program, but said early this month that it was increasing the amount of stock it would buy back to $12.5 million. Gurus sold half their holdings anyway last week. The stock trades at book value. "
"Matt Rand; data provided by Marketocracy, 03.15.05, 4:55 PM ET
NEW YORK - The best 100 investors at Marketocracy were net sellers last week. A substantial portion of the portfolio trimming, which was at a sell-to-buy ratio of 7 to 5, included technology stocks. In their place, gurus were tentative, buying stocks from a variety of industries.
Looking for high yielding preferred stocks? Click here for the latest picks from Forbes/Lehmann Income Securities Investor.
They sold shares of Internet search leader Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ) of Mountain View, Calif. The stock topped $200 in January, but has since slipped back to the 170s, closing at $174.99 on Monday. Gurus sold as Yahoo! (nasdaq: YHOO - news - people ) announced that it would be ramping up its targeted advertising offerings, sending Google to levels just above its 2005 low. Even after the drop, however, Google still trades at a steep 121 times earnings. By contrast, Yahoo! trades at 54 times earnings.
Herndon, Va.-based Eplus (nasdaq: PLUS - news - people ) was another sale. The company, which sells Internet software applications, is up 9% in 2005, to $12.89. In November 2004, the company had announced a $7.5 million stock buyback program, but said early this month that it was increasing the amount of stock it would buy back to $12.5 million. Gurus sold half their holdings anyway last week. The stock trades at book value. "
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
AOL clarifies IM privacy guarantee | CNET News.com:
Published: March 14, 2005, 4:54 PM PST - By Declan McCullagh - Staff Writer, CNET News.com
America Online said late Monday that it plans to revise its user agreement in response to concerns that instant messages sent through the company's service could be monitored.
The new policy for AOL Instant Messenger, or AIM, will stress that the company does not eavesdrop on customer's conversations except in unusual circumstances such as a court order, an AOL spokesman said.
AIM's terms of service have been in place since at least February 2004, but nobody appears to have raised an alarm until a few days ago. Over the weekend, a brushfire of sorts flared among bloggers alarmed about six words embedded deep in the policy: 'You waive any right to privacy.' ..."
Published: March 14, 2005, 4:54 PM PST - By Declan McCullagh - Staff Writer, CNET News.com
America Online said late Monday that it plans to revise its user agreement in response to concerns that instant messages sent through the company's service could be monitored.
The new policy for AOL Instant Messenger, or AIM, will stress that the company does not eavesdrop on customer's conversations except in unusual circumstances such as a court order, an AOL spokesman said.
AIM's terms of service have been in place since at least February 2004, but nobody appears to have raised an alarm until a few days ago. Over the weekend, a brushfire of sorts flared among bloggers alarmed about six words embedded deep in the policy: 'You waive any right to privacy.' ..."
Study: CIOs see looser purse strings | CNET News.com:
"Published: March 14, 2005, 1:59 PM PST
Technology managers in North America are showing a renewed willingness to open up their wallets.
Nearly 45 percent of chief information officers told Forrester Research that IT spending at their companies will exceed this year's budget, or that they expect to find new sources of funding. Forrester's CIO Poll, conducted each quarter, surveys approximately 200 executives at North American companies.
In the first quarter of 2004, by comparison, only 25 percent of CIOs expected to outspend their IT budgets. The boost this year seems to be coming from small enterprises that have 1,000 to 5,000 employees, Forrester said Monday.
The outlook for the business climate as a whole remains positive among the survey group, with 57 percent of CIOs describing the climate as strong or very strong. That compares with 36 percent in the first quarter of last year. In the current quarter, the most optimistic of the executives are at companies with at least 5,000 employees.
Only 3 percent of the executives foresee a more-challenging business climate three quarters from now, but the number who expect it to be much better edged down slightly. "
"Published: March 14, 2005, 1:59 PM PST
Technology managers in North America are showing a renewed willingness to open up their wallets.
Nearly 45 percent of chief information officers told Forrester Research that IT spending at their companies will exceed this year's budget, or that they expect to find new sources of funding. Forrester's CIO Poll, conducted each quarter, surveys approximately 200 executives at North American companies.
In the first quarter of 2004, by comparison, only 25 percent of CIOs expected to outspend their IT budgets. The boost this year seems to be coming from small enterprises that have 1,000 to 5,000 employees, Forrester said Monday.
The outlook for the business climate as a whole remains positive among the survey group, with 57 percent of CIOs describing the climate as strong or very strong. That compares with 36 percent in the first quarter of last year. In the current quarter, the most optimistic of the executives are at companies with at least 5,000 employees.
Only 3 percent of the executives foresee a more-challenging business climate three quarters from now, but the number who expect it to be much better edged down slightly. "
Contextual Advertising With the Advertiser in Control:
"...Enter true, advertiser-controlled pay-per-click (PPC) contextual ads. Networks such as Quigo's AdSonar Exchange, IndustryBrains, and Kanoodle's ContextTarget and newly launched LocalTarget, plus smaller providers such as ContextWeb and BidClix all offer advertisers far more control over their contextual ad campaigns and contextual ad dollars. These networks, still in their naissance, address the advertiser's need for more and better control...."
"...Enter true, advertiser-controlled pay-per-click (PPC) contextual ads. Networks such as Quigo's AdSonar Exchange, IndustryBrains, and Kanoodle's ContextTarget and newly launched LocalTarget, plus smaller providers such as ContextWeb and BidClix all offer advertisers far more control over their contextual ad campaigns and contextual ad dollars. These networks, still in their naissance, address the advertiser's need for more and better control...."
FT.com / Industries / IT - Microsoft adds search-linked ads to arsenal:
"By Richard Waters in San Francisco Published: March 14 2005
Microsoft will on Wednesday signal a direct assault on one of the main profit-generators of Google and Yahoo when it unveils an advertising service that lets users link their messages to the results of internet searches.
Though widely expected, confirmation of the software giant's plan to build its own advertising network around its search engine will intensify competition in the fastest-growing corner of the online advertising market. Microsoft officially launched its own search engine this year, although it has continued to rely on Yahoo to sell advertising on the service."
"By Richard Waters in San Francisco Published: March 14 2005
Microsoft will on Wednesday signal a direct assault on one of the main profit-generators of Google and Yahoo when it unveils an advertising service that lets users link their messages to the results of internet searches.
Though widely expected, confirmation of the software giant's plan to build its own advertising network around its search engine will intensify competition in the fastest-growing corner of the online advertising market. Microsoft officially launched its own search engine this year, although it has continued to rely on Yahoo to sell advertising on the service."
DSL Growing Fast: "DSL Growing Fast
Published: March 15, 2005
(After March 22, 2005, this article will only be available to eStat Database subscribers.)
There are more than 100 million DSL subscribers worldwide, according to new data from Point Topic.
With a new subscriber signing up for DSL every second, the technology grew by 60% overall in 2004, totaling 96 million subscribers worldwide by year-end, and 100 million by February 2005. Generally, 'new' broadband markets grew faster than established broadband nations. For example, the number of DSL subscribers in Turkey grew by 725% in 2004, while the Czech Republic's subscriber base expanded by 589% and Ireland's grew by 351%. The actual number of subscribers in these countries was still low, however -- Turkey had only 500,000 DSL lines at the end of 2004. Some countries with large DSL markets did grow at 100% or greater, including the UK, France and China.
Although established DSL markets may be growing at a slower pace, they continue to add large numbers of subscribers. China added 8.56 million DSL subscribers in 2004, retaining its place as the largest DSL population in the world. Almost 4 million subscribers were added in the US, while France added 3.25 million DSL lines and the UK's subscriber base grew by 2.28 million.
Europe is still the largest single market both in terms of subscribers and revenues. According to Infonetics Research, the EMEA region accounted for 36% of DSL revenues in 2004, followed closely by the Asia-Pacific region with 33%. North America comprised 23% of the market, with CALA (Central America and Latin America) making up the remaining 8%.
Point Topic reports that DSL technology usage is beginning to expand beyond ADSL. A faster variant of asymmetrical DSL, ADSL2, is growing in countries like France, Norway and Sweden, and is set to roll out in the Netherlands and the US in the next couple of years. VDSL connections, which allow downstream rates of about 5 times those of conventional ADSL, numbered over 5 million by the end of 2004, primarily in countries like China, Japan and, especially, South Korea, where VDSL is used for the majority of connections. Additionally, Infonetics notes that shipments of VDSL ports in IP DSLAMs (digital subscriber line access multiplexers) have grown from 12% of IP DSLAM ports in 2003 to 52% in 2008. Finally, symmetrical DSL (SDSL), in which upload and download speeds are equally fast but cannot be used simultaneously with voice on phone line, accounted for 1.2 million subscribers by the end of 2004.
To learn more about this topic, see eMarketer's recently released the North America Broadband report. Our report covering the European market will be released later this month — Sign up to be notified when it is released. "
Published: March 15, 2005
(After March 22, 2005, this article will only be available to eStat Database subscribers.)
There are more than 100 million DSL subscribers worldwide, according to new data from Point Topic.
With a new subscriber signing up for DSL every second, the technology grew by 60% overall in 2004, totaling 96 million subscribers worldwide by year-end, and 100 million by February 2005. Generally, 'new' broadband markets grew faster than established broadband nations. For example, the number of DSL subscribers in Turkey grew by 725% in 2004, while the Czech Republic's subscriber base expanded by 589% and Ireland's grew by 351%. The actual number of subscribers in these countries was still low, however -- Turkey had only 500,000 DSL lines at the end of 2004. Some countries with large DSL markets did grow at 100% or greater, including the UK, France and China.
Although established DSL markets may be growing at a slower pace, they continue to add large numbers of subscribers. China added 8.56 million DSL subscribers in 2004, retaining its place as the largest DSL population in the world. Almost 4 million subscribers were added in the US, while France added 3.25 million DSL lines and the UK's subscriber base grew by 2.28 million.
Europe is still the largest single market both in terms of subscribers and revenues. According to Infonetics Research, the EMEA region accounted for 36% of DSL revenues in 2004, followed closely by the Asia-Pacific region with 33%. North America comprised 23% of the market, with CALA (Central America and Latin America) making up the remaining 8%.
Point Topic reports that DSL technology usage is beginning to expand beyond ADSL. A faster variant of asymmetrical DSL, ADSL2, is growing in countries like France, Norway and Sweden, and is set to roll out in the Netherlands and the US in the next couple of years. VDSL connections, which allow downstream rates of about 5 times those of conventional ADSL, numbered over 5 million by the end of 2004, primarily in countries like China, Japan and, especially, South Korea, where VDSL is used for the majority of connections. Additionally, Infonetics notes that shipments of VDSL ports in IP DSLAMs (digital subscriber line access multiplexers) have grown from 12% of IP DSLAM ports in 2003 to 52% in 2008. Finally, symmetrical DSL (SDSL), in which upload and download speeds are equally fast but cannot be used simultaneously with voice on phone line, accounted for 1.2 million subscribers by the end of 2004.
To learn more about this topic, see eMarketer's recently released the North America Broadband report. Our report covering the European market will be released later this month — Sign up to be notified when it is released. "
MediaPost Publications Home of MediaDailyNews, MEDIA and OMMA Magazines: "AOL Predicts Fast Ad Growth
Tuesday, Mar 15, 2005 7:00 AM EST
AMERICA ONLINE'S ONLINE AD REVENUE in 2005 will grow faster than the overall industry, Ted Leonsis, vice chairman of AOL, said Monday. The company expects online ad revenue growth to exceed the projected 20 to 25 percent average growth for the U.S. online ad industry, Leonsis said. --G.O. "
Tuesday, Mar 15, 2005 7:00 AM EST
AMERICA ONLINE'S ONLINE AD REVENUE in 2005 will grow faster than the overall industry, Ted Leonsis, vice chairman of AOL, said Monday. The company expects online ad revenue growth to exceed the projected 20 to 25 percent average growth for the U.S. online ad industry, Leonsis said. --G.O. "
MediaPost Publications Home of MediaDailyNews, MEDIA and OMMA Magazines: "Claria Rates Major Search Engines
Tuesday, Mar 15, 2005 7:00 AM EST
CLARIA CORP. UNVEILED RESEARCH TODAY showing that Yahoo! returns more relevant travel-related search results than MSN or Google. Yahoo!'s Overture currently powers sponsored search results on Claria's SearchScout toolbar. The Claria research, conducted in February using panelists from Claria's database of 40 million consumers, showed that Yahoo! returned the most relevant results for the terms 'cheap tickets,' 'travel,' 'Las Vegas,' 'airline tickets,' 'Florida,' and 'Jamaica.' Google returned the most relevant results for 'hotels,' 'cruise,' 'Hawaii,' and 'Mexico.' Scott Eagle, Claria's director of marketing, said that relevancy was determined based on factors including how long consumers searched, how many pages they visited per link, and whether they converted.
-- Wendy Davis "
Tuesday, Mar 15, 2005 7:00 AM EST
CLARIA CORP. UNVEILED RESEARCH TODAY showing that Yahoo! returns more relevant travel-related search results than MSN or Google. Yahoo!'s Overture currently powers sponsored search results on Claria's SearchScout toolbar. The Claria research, conducted in February using panelists from Claria's database of 40 million consumers, showed that Yahoo! returned the most relevant results for the terms 'cheap tickets,' 'travel,' 'Las Vegas,' 'airline tickets,' 'Florida,' and 'Jamaica.' Google returned the most relevant results for 'hotels,' 'cruise,' 'Hawaii,' and 'Mexico.' Scott Eagle, Claria's director of marketing, said that relevancy was determined based on factors including how long consumers searched, how many pages they visited per link, and whether they converted.
-- Wendy Davis "
MediaPost Publications Home of MediaDailyNews, MEDIA and OMMA Magazines: "Yahoo! Move Spurs Google Downgrade
by Wendy Davis, Tuesday, Mar 15, 2005 7:00 AM EST
REPORTS THAT YAHOO! WILL SOON release a contextual marketing product to compete with Google's AdSense spurred analyst David Garrity of Caris & Co. to downgrade the Mountain View, Calif.-based search giant's investment rating to 'average' from 'above average.' Yahoo!'s anticipated offering will give the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company 'a presence in an SME [small- to medium-enterprise] market heretofore dominated by Google,' wrote Garrity in a report issued Monday.
Yahoo! two weeks ago announced it was releasing revised application protocol interfaces--which would make it easier for search marketing agencies and smaller publishers to participate in Yahoo!'s search offerings. That announcement fueled speculation that the company will offer small and mid-sized businesses new opportunities to receive pay-per-click contextual ads, in direct competition with Google's AdSense.
The Caris & Co. report recommended that investors 'prudently assume a more conservative position' toward Google until the impact of Yahoo!'s contextual product becomes apparent..."
by Wendy Davis, Tuesday, Mar 15, 2005 7:00 AM EST
REPORTS THAT YAHOO! WILL SOON release a contextual marketing product to compete with Google's AdSense spurred analyst David Garrity of Caris & Co. to downgrade the Mountain View, Calif.-based search giant's investment rating to 'average' from 'above average.' Yahoo!'s anticipated offering will give the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company 'a presence in an SME [small- to medium-enterprise] market heretofore dominated by Google,' wrote Garrity in a report issued Monday.
Yahoo! two weeks ago announced it was releasing revised application protocol interfaces--which would make it easier for search marketing agencies and smaller publishers to participate in Yahoo!'s search offerings. That announcement fueled speculation that the company will offer small and mid-sized businesses new opportunities to receive pay-per-click contextual ads, in direct competition with Google's AdSense.
The Caris & Co. report recommended that investors 'prudently assume a more conservative position' toward Google until the impact of Yahoo!'s contextual product becomes apparent..."
MediaPost Publications Home of MediaDailyNews, MEDIA and OMMA Magazines: "Yahoo! Move Spurs Google Downgrade
by Wendy Davis, Tuesday, Mar 15, 2005 7:00 AM EST
REPORTS THAT YAHOO! WILL SOON release a contextual marketing product to compete with Google's AdSense spurred analyst David Garrity of Caris & Co. to downgrade the Mountain View, Calif.-based search giant's investment rating to 'average' from 'above average.' Yahoo!'s anticipated offering will give the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company 'a presence in an SME [small- to medium-enterprise] market heretofore dominated by Google,' wrote Garrity in a report issued Monday.
Yahoo! two weeks ago announced it was releasing revised application protocol interfaces--which would make it easier for search marketing agencies and smaller publishers to participate in Yahoo!'s search offerings. That announcement fueled speculation that the company will offer small and mid-sized businesses new opportunities to receive pay-per-click contextual ads, in direct competition with Google's AdSense.
The Caris & Co. report recommended that investors 'prudently assume a more conservative position' toward Google until the impact of Yahoo!'s contextual product becomes apparent..."
by Wendy Davis, Tuesday, Mar 15, 2005 7:00 AM EST
REPORTS THAT YAHOO! WILL SOON release a contextual marketing product to compete with Google's AdSense spurred analyst David Garrity of Caris & Co. to downgrade the Mountain View, Calif.-based search giant's investment rating to 'average' from 'above average.' Yahoo!'s anticipated offering will give the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company 'a presence in an SME [small- to medium-enterprise] market heretofore dominated by Google,' wrote Garrity in a report issued Monday.
Yahoo! two weeks ago announced it was releasing revised application protocol interfaces--which would make it easier for search marketing agencies and smaller publishers to participate in Yahoo!'s search offerings. That announcement fueled speculation that the company will offer small and mid-sized businesses new opportunities to receive pay-per-click contextual ads, in direct competition with Google's AdSense.
The Caris & Co. report recommended that investors 'prudently assume a more conservative position' toward Google until the impact of Yahoo!'s contextual product becomes apparent..."
MediaPost Publications Home of MediaDailyNews, MEDIA and OMMA Magazines: "SPG Solutions Enters Pay-Per-Call Arena
by Shankar Gupta, Tuesday, Mar 15, 2005 7:00 AM EST
MARKETING TECHNOLOGY COMPANY SPG SOLUTIONS is launching its own pay-per-call technology for online publishers, the company said Monday. The company intends to sell the product, called ZiffLeads, to publishing sites, which will be able to offer this marketing option to advertisers. Pay-per-call is aimed at serving the millions of small and medium businesses in America that don't have Web sites, but still want to benefit from online advertising and e-commerce. It follows a similar model to pay-per-click, with ads posted on a publisher's Web site, but the advertiser doesn't pay unless the customer makes a telephone call.
Another pay-per-call player, Ingenio, signed a deal with AOL in January to provide technology for pay-per-call ads served on AOL's search pages, starting in April. 'AOL's stepping up because we have a lot of confidence in the model,' AOL's Executive Director for Search and Navigation, Brendan Benzing, said during a panel on pay-per-call at this month's Search Engine Strategies Conference. 'At the end of the day, businesses know the value of a call, and they're willing to pay.'... "
by Shankar Gupta, Tuesday, Mar 15, 2005 7:00 AM EST
MARKETING TECHNOLOGY COMPANY SPG SOLUTIONS is launching its own pay-per-call technology for online publishers, the company said Monday. The company intends to sell the product, called ZiffLeads, to publishing sites, which will be able to offer this marketing option to advertisers. Pay-per-call is aimed at serving the millions of small and medium businesses in America that don't have Web sites, but still want to benefit from online advertising and e-commerce. It follows a similar model to pay-per-click, with ads posted on a publisher's Web site, but the advertiser doesn't pay unless the customer makes a telephone call.
Another pay-per-call player, Ingenio, signed a deal with AOL in January to provide technology for pay-per-call ads served on AOL's search pages, starting in April. 'AOL's stepping up because we have a lot of confidence in the model,' AOL's Executive Director for Search and Navigation, Brendan Benzing, said during a panel on pay-per-call at this month's Search Engine Strategies Conference. 'At the end of the day, businesses know the value of a call, and they're willing to pay.'... "
MediaPost Publications Home of MediaDailyNews, MEDIA and OMMA Magazines: "Study Showing Consumers Purge PCs Of Cookies Casts Doubt On Analytics, Targeting
by Gavin O'Malley, Tuesday, Mar 15, 2005 7:00 AM EST
IN NEWS THAT UNSETTLED MANY in the online advertising world, a new study by Jupiter Research revealed that four out of 10 Internet users delete cookies from their primary computers at least once a month. The report found that about 12 percent of Internet users delete cookies on a monthly basis, 17 percent do so weekly, and 10 percent purge cookies every day. What's more, more than half--52 percent--said they had rid their computers of cookies at least once in the last year. For the study, announced yesterday, Jupiter Research surveyed 2,337 U.S. online consumers in March.
This study marks the first time Jupiter has examined how Internet users react to the cookies that wind up on their personal computers, said Eric Peterson, Jupiter Research analyst and author of the report. 'It was commonly assumed, before this study, that users didn't have the sense or the inclination to fool with cookies,' Peterson said, 'so advertisers and marketers didn't factor the possibility into their tracking and targeting measurements.' ..."
by Gavin O'Malley, Tuesday, Mar 15, 2005 7:00 AM EST
IN NEWS THAT UNSETTLED MANY in the online advertising world, a new study by Jupiter Research revealed that four out of 10 Internet users delete cookies from their primary computers at least once a month. The report found that about 12 percent of Internet users delete cookies on a monthly basis, 17 percent do so weekly, and 10 percent purge cookies every day. What's more, more than half--52 percent--said they had rid their computers of cookies at least once in the last year. For the study, announced yesterday, Jupiter Research surveyed 2,337 U.S. online consumers in March.
This study marks the first time Jupiter has examined how Internet users react to the cookies that wind up on their personal computers, said Eric Peterson, Jupiter Research analyst and author of the report. 'It was commonly assumed, before this study, that users didn't have the sense or the inclination to fool with cookies,' Peterson said, 'so advertisers and marketers didn't factor the possibility into their tracking and targeting measurements.' ..."
Friday, March 11, 2005
MediaPost Publications Home of MediaDailyNews, MEDIA and OMMA Magazines:
"Yahoo! Mulls Expansion Of Contextual Program
by Gavin O'Malley, Wednesday, Mar 9, 2005 7:00 AM EST
YAHOO! IS EXPLORING EXPANDING ITS current contextual advertising program, confirmed a Yahoo! source Tuesday. Rumors that Yahoo! has been quietly testing a contextual advertising program for blogs and small publishers to rival Google's Adsense have been circulating the blogosphere in part because of contextual ads that were spotted on the blog of Ken Rudman, a product manager at Overture.
UBS also released a report upgrading Yahoo!'s stock to 'buy' from 'neutral,' based partly on UBS's expectation 'that Yahoo will aggressively expand its Content Match product to compete with Google's Adsense product.' ..."
"Yahoo! Mulls Expansion Of Contextual Program
by Gavin O'Malley, Wednesday, Mar 9, 2005 7:00 AM EST
YAHOO! IS EXPLORING EXPANDING ITS current contextual advertising program, confirmed a Yahoo! source Tuesday. Rumors that Yahoo! has been quietly testing a contextual advertising program for blogs and small publishers to rival Google's Adsense have been circulating the blogosphere in part because of contextual ads that were spotted on the blog of Ken Rudman, a product manager at Overture.
UBS also released a report upgrading Yahoo!'s stock to 'buy' from 'neutral,' based partly on UBS's expectation 'that Yahoo will aggressively expand its Content Match product to compete with Google's Adsense product.' ..."
Google Admits To Cloaking; Bans Itself:
"No, it's not April Fool's Day. Google has indeed cloaked pages on its own search engine and now banned those pages from its index.
Earlier I posted about Google cloaking pages as spotted on Threadwatch (and updated here). Turns out, Google says it's an accident that happened due to it trying to optimize its internal search engine used by AdWords support people. Nevertheless, the company's now banned its own pages from its own search engine for cloaking..."
"No, it's not April Fool's Day. Google has indeed cloaked pages on its own search engine and now banned those pages from its index.
Earlier I posted about Google cloaking pages as spotted on Threadwatch (and updated here). Turns out, Google says it's an accident that happened due to it trying to optimize its internal search engine used by AdWords support people. Nevertheless, the company's now banned its own pages from its own search engine for cloaking..."
Marketers Split on Contextual Ad Effectiveness:
"By Kevin Newcomb | March 10, 2005
Despite early criticism of contextual ads, more marketers are turning to them to extend the reach of their search campaigns. But experts warn there are pitfalls if the campaign is not managed properly.
'We've seen a shift in perception and performance. We were bullish on the idea originally, but disappointed with the results out of the gates,' said Ron Belanger, VP of search marketing at Carat Interactive. 'We expected traditional search conversion rates, but what we got was much lower.'
Still, Carat Interactive now uses contextual ads for about half its clients, mostly as a supplemental tool for incremental reach. Belanger will use contextual ads to create awareness, mostly for things like product launches or branding campaigns that are not tied to specific performance metrics. He suggests avoiding the technique for newer campaigns or keywords that are ultra-competitive, where there's a thin margin..."
"By Kevin Newcomb | March 10, 2005
Despite early criticism of contextual ads, more marketers are turning to them to extend the reach of their search campaigns. But experts warn there are pitfalls if the campaign is not managed properly.
'We've seen a shift in perception and performance. We were bullish on the idea originally, but disappointed with the results out of the gates,' said Ron Belanger, VP of search marketing at Carat Interactive. 'We expected traditional search conversion rates, but what we got was much lower.'
Still, Carat Interactive now uses contextual ads for about half its clients, mostly as a supplemental tool for incremental reach. Belanger will use contextual ads to create awareness, mostly for things like product launches or branding campaigns that are not tied to specific performance metrics. He suggests avoiding the technique for newer campaigns or keywords that are ultra-competitive, where there's a thin margin..."
Big Software's Blood Sport:
"...The dirty little secret about enterprise applications is that once businesses have spent the large sums necessary to get them up and running, they have little incentive to continue making investments. The big gains in process automation come fairly early, and then the returns diminish steadily. Why go through the pain of buying and installing a new package if the old one works?
As their traditional markets have tapped out, enterprise-software makers have had to seek new avenues for growth. One way that has worked in the past involves simply jacking up the maintenance fees charged to existing customers. Over recent years, according to Computerworld, maintenance charges for enterprise systems have jumped from about 10% of licensing fees to as much as 25%. But customers are beginning to rebel against such tactics. A 2004 study by AMR Research revealed that corporate software buyers are 'furious' about escalating maintenance costs, and at least a third of them are planning to demand changes in their software contracts..."
"...The dirty little secret about enterprise applications is that once businesses have spent the large sums necessary to get them up and running, they have little incentive to continue making investments. The big gains in process automation come fairly early, and then the returns diminish steadily. Why go through the pain of buying and installing a new package if the old one works?
As their traditional markets have tapped out, enterprise-software makers have had to seek new avenues for growth. One way that has worked in the past involves simply jacking up the maintenance fees charged to existing customers. Over recent years, according to Computerworld, maintenance charges for enterprise systems have jumped from about 10% of licensing fees to as much as 25%. But customers are beginning to rebel against such tactics. A 2004 study by AMR Research revealed that corporate software buyers are 'furious' about escalating maintenance costs, and at least a third of them are planning to demand changes in their software contracts..."
IT Spending Trends in North America: "Published: March 10, 2005
(After March 17, 2005, this article will only be available to eStat Database subscribers.)
Although optimism about future business prospects has moderated, Forrester Research's newest quarterly survey of CIO confidence signals that IT spending in North America is likely to expand this year.
Just under one-half of North American CIOs surveyed expect to outspend their current IT budget or get new funding as the year progresses, compared to 29% who say it is too early to tell, and 26% who feel that spending beyond the current budget will not occur. This is an increase from the first quarter of 2004, when only 25% of CIOs expected to outspend their IT budgets.
But a report by Ipsos-Reid indicates that the IT spending forecast is not as sunny in colder parts of North America. Ipsos-Reid finds that IT spending by businesses in Canada is declining, falling from about $46.7 billion CAD in 2003 to around $44.6 billion CAD in 2005. Declines will be in the applications, hardware and infrastructure sectors, while services will remain about the same and security spending will increase.
At the same time, the outsourcing of IT needs has risen from 2003 levels, with 49% of IT spending being outsourced in 2005 compared to 44% in 2003. Ipsos-Reid notes that the combination of declining IT spending and increased outsourcing will result in a buyers market that will challenge vendors.
As noted in the recent article Slower Growth For IT Budgets, the last survey from CIO Magazine, conducted in January 2005, found that chief information officers in the US expected IT spending to increase about 5.4% over the coming year. However, expectations for growth were lower in January 2005 than a year earlier. "
(After March 17, 2005, this article will only be available to eStat Database subscribers.)
Although optimism about future business prospects has moderated, Forrester Research's newest quarterly survey of CIO confidence signals that IT spending in North America is likely to expand this year.
Just under one-half of North American CIOs surveyed expect to outspend their current IT budget or get new funding as the year progresses, compared to 29% who say it is too early to tell, and 26% who feel that spending beyond the current budget will not occur. This is an increase from the first quarter of 2004, when only 25% of CIOs expected to outspend their IT budgets.
But a report by Ipsos-Reid indicates that the IT spending forecast is not as sunny in colder parts of North America. Ipsos-Reid finds that IT spending by businesses in Canada is declining, falling from about $46.7 billion CAD in 2003 to around $44.6 billion CAD in 2005. Declines will be in the applications, hardware and infrastructure sectors, while services will remain about the same and security spending will increase.
At the same time, the outsourcing of IT needs has risen from 2003 levels, with 49% of IT spending being outsourced in 2005 compared to 44% in 2003. Ipsos-Reid notes that the combination of declining IT spending and increased outsourcing will result in a buyers market that will challenge vendors.
As noted in the recent article Slower Growth For IT Budgets, the last survey from CIO Magazine, conducted in January 2005, found that chief information officers in the US expected IT spending to increase about 5.4% over the coming year. However, expectations for growth were lower in January 2005 than a year earlier. "
InternetRetailer.com - Daily News for Thursday,�March�10, 2005
"Site search could get a lot more personal, experts say
As retailers continue to learn to use site search to better serve customers and increase sales and profit margins, they’ll also move more into offering search results personalized to each shopper’s known shopping behavior, experts say.
“Personalization is the next logical direction for site search,” says Eric Peterson, web site operations and technology analyst at Jupiter Research.
Combining site analytics and search functions, for example, can let a retailer tailor search results based on where a site visitor came from, says John Squire, vice president of product management for Coremetrics Inc., whose web analytics technology can be used to improve site search results..."
"Site search could get a lot more personal, experts say
As retailers continue to learn to use site search to better serve customers and increase sales and profit margins, they’ll also move more into offering search results personalized to each shopper’s known shopping behavior, experts say.
“Personalization is the next logical direction for site search,” says Eric Peterson, web site operations and technology analyst at Jupiter Research.
Combining site analytics and search functions, for example, can let a retailer tailor search results based on where a site visitor came from, says John Squire, vice president of product management for Coremetrics Inc., whose web analytics technology can be used to improve site search results..."
Technology News: Special Reports: Search Industry Facing Evolution: "By Jennifer LeClaire - 03/10/05 5:00 AM PT
This year marks the coming of age for search, and as it passes, a plethora of new search opportunities will come about. In this three-part special report, the E-Commerce Times explores how the search industry is evolving, who the winners and losers will be, and what new developments are in store for users..."
This year marks the coming of age for search, and as it passes, a plethora of new search opportunities will come about. In this three-part special report, the E-Commerce Times explores how the search industry is evolving, who the winners and losers will be, and what new developments are in store for users..."
E-Commerce News: Special Reports: Experts Predict Where Search Will Go in 2005:
"...Clustering Catches On
Another common prediction, and one that falls in line with usability, is for the increased adoption of clustering technology. America Online is already offering clustering via its Vivisimo partnership. Weiner, for one, said he's hooked on clustering, and he expects to see major search engine players add clustering features in 2005 to make search more user-friendly.
'Clustering is an elemental way of taking people through a more direct path to what they are looking for,' Weiner said. 'If you type in the world 'polish,' the search engine might not know if you are looking for information about Poland or products that make your car shiny. With clustering technology, you have on-the-fly categories and you can immediately choose 'car-related accessories.''
Jim Jansen, assistant professor of information sciences and technology at Penn State University, expects the personalization search trend to expand beyond natural search and into paid-advertising results.
'Results will be clustered into like items,' Jansen told the E-Commerce Times. 'Certainly, in the area of advertising there is a move to localized and directed advertising.'
Meanwhile, while many search trends revolve around new technologies, others focus on ideas that use existing search technologies to present information in a new way.
Clare Hart, president and CEO of Factiva, a Dow Jones and Reuters company, told the E-Commerce Times that the future of search does not lie in one particular technology, but in the way that individuals use and consume search-generated information.
'As search continues to evolve, it will become less about simply giving information and more about users being able to garner valuable insight and meaning from that information more quickly,' Hart said. 'Emerging search applications will use technology to uncover trends, comparisons, discoveries and sentiments and then feed this information into applications that can present these findings using visuals and analytics.'..."
"...Clustering Catches On
Another common prediction, and one that falls in line with usability, is for the increased adoption of clustering technology. America Online is already offering clustering via its Vivisimo partnership. Weiner, for one, said he's hooked on clustering, and he expects to see major search engine players add clustering features in 2005 to make search more user-friendly.
'Clustering is an elemental way of taking people through a more direct path to what they are looking for,' Weiner said. 'If you type in the world 'polish,' the search engine might not know if you are looking for information about Poland or products that make your car shiny. With clustering technology, you have on-the-fly categories and you can immediately choose 'car-related accessories.''
Jim Jansen, assistant professor of information sciences and technology at Penn State University, expects the personalization search trend to expand beyond natural search and into paid-advertising results.
'Results will be clustered into like items,' Jansen told the E-Commerce Times. 'Certainly, in the area of advertising there is a move to localized and directed advertising.'
Meanwhile, while many search trends revolve around new technologies, others focus on ideas that use existing search technologies to present information in a new way.
Clare Hart, president and CEO of Factiva, a Dow Jones and Reuters company, told the E-Commerce Times that the future of search does not lie in one particular technology, but in the way that individuals use and consume search-generated information.
'As search continues to evolve, it will become less about simply giving information and more about users being able to garner valuable insight and meaning from that information more quickly,' Hart said. 'Emerging search applications will use technology to uncover trends, comparisons, discoveries and sentiments and then feed this information into applications that can present these findings using visuals and analytics.'..."
MediaPost Publications Home of MediaDailyNews, MEDIA and OMMA Magazines: "Google News Adds Customization
Friday, Mar 11, 2005 6:30 AM EST
GOOGLE NEWS THURSDAY ADDED A function that allows users to customize their own page, letting them rearrange the sections and create new keyword sections. The new feature allows Google users to create their own news page--rearranging the ordering of the sections in the lower half of the page--and to create entirely new sections, which search Google News with user-supplied keywords, and display headlines related to those keywords. Once created, the new sections can be arranged like the standard, Google-provided sections. The function also allows users to cut out the summary text of articles, and opt instead to see just headlines. --Shankar Gupta "
Friday, Mar 11, 2005 6:30 AM EST
GOOGLE NEWS THURSDAY ADDED A function that allows users to customize their own page, letting them rearrange the sections and create new keyword sections. The new feature allows Google users to create their own news page--rearranging the ordering of the sections in the lower half of the page--and to create entirely new sections, which search Google News with user-supplied keywords, and display headlines related to those keywords. Once created, the new sections can be arranged like the standard, Google-provided sections. The function also allows users to cut out the summary text of articles, and opt instead to see just headlines. --Shankar Gupta "
MediaPost Publications Home of MediaDailyNews, MEDIA and OMMA Magazines: "OPA: Spending Up On Entertainment, Down On Business Advice
by Wendy Davis, Friday, Mar 11, 2005 6:30 AM EST
THE GROWTH OF BROADBAND, COMBINED with the emergence of music download sites, spurred consumers to spend $413.5 million on online entertainment and lifestyle content last year--nearly double the $217.6 million spent in 2003, according to an Online Publishers Association report released Thursday. That increase marks a huge shift from the year before, when consumer spending on online entertainment fell 6 percent from 2002. OPA President Michael Zimbalist said the uptick in spending was indicative of the trend of consumers increasingly turning to the Internet for entertainment--and especially for MP3s. 'It reflects the success of legitimate paid music services over the past year,' Zimbalist said.
Overall, spending on online content reached $1.8 billion last year--a 14 percent increase from 2003
Other Web sites showing gains included sports-related sites--such as ESPN.com and SportingNews.com--and gaming sites--including niche sites such as Pogo.com and the games section of portals such as Yahoo! and MSN. Spending on sports grew by 38 percent, to $52.8 million, while spending on games rose 21.8 percent, to $88.8 million.
by Wendy Davis, Friday, Mar 11, 2005 6:30 AM EST
THE GROWTH OF BROADBAND, COMBINED with the emergence of music download sites, spurred consumers to spend $413.5 million on online entertainment and lifestyle content last year--nearly double the $217.6 million spent in 2003, according to an Online Publishers Association report released Thursday. That increase marks a huge shift from the year before, when consumer spending on online entertainment fell 6 percent from 2002. OPA President Michael Zimbalist said the uptick in spending was indicative of the trend of consumers increasingly turning to the Internet for entertainment--and especially for MP3s. 'It reflects the success of legitimate paid music services over the past year,' Zimbalist said.
Overall, spending on online content reached $1.8 billion last year--a 14 percent increase from 2003
Other Web sites showing gains included sports-related sites--such as ESPN.com and SportingNews.com--and gaming sites--including niche sites such as Pogo.com and the games section of portals such as Yahoo! and MSN. Spending on sports grew by 38 percent, to $52.8 million, while spending on games rose 21.8 percent, to $88.8 million.
The category posting the largest decline was credit help, including sites that offer consumers assistance with obtaining their credit records. Consumers spent $27.1 million on such sites last year, down 26 percent from 2003. Spending on community-made directories, where consumers generate much of the content--such as IMDB.com and Classmates.com--fell to $70.5 million, down 19 percent from last year. And consumers spent less on business and investment news sites, such as WSJ.com, which saw a decline of 6 percent to $312.9 million.
Spending for general news sites, such as NYTimes.com, came to $87.9 million--nearly flat from last year's $87.5 million."
InfoWorld: Update: Microsoft's Groove buy has ramifications for Longhorn: :
"Deal raises questions about how Groove's collaboration software will fit in with Microsoft's upcoming releases
By Ed Scannell - March 10, 2005
Hoping to boost its collaboration software strategy, Microsoft (Profile, Products, Articles) on Thursday announced its intention to acquire Groove Networks (Profile, Products, Articles), naming Groove founder Ray Ozzie a CTO of the company.
The deal calls for Microsoft to add Groove's products into Microsoft's Office System lineup of products and services, along with bringing over Groove's core management and development team. Ozzie, the creator of Lotus Notes, will report directly to Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates..."
"Deal raises questions about how Groove's collaboration software will fit in with Microsoft's upcoming releases
By Ed Scannell - March 10, 2005
Hoping to boost its collaboration software strategy, Microsoft (Profile, Products, Articles) on Thursday announced its intention to acquire Groove Networks (Profile, Products, Articles), naming Groove founder Ray Ozzie a CTO of the company.
The deal calls for Microsoft to add Groove's products into Microsoft's Office System lineup of products and services, along with bringing over Groove's core management and development team. Ozzie, the creator of Lotus Notes, will report directly to Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates..."
Thursday, March 10, 2005
More Strong Ad Numbers
" Published: March 10, 2005
(After March 17, 2005, this article will only be available to eStat Database subscribers.)
Another report adds to the chorus: advertising expenditures across all media showed steady growth in 2004 — and Internet advertising led the way.
According to a new report from TNS Media Intelligence, total advertising expenditures for all media increased 9.8% to $141.1 billion in 2004.
"Advertising spending expanded steadily throughout 2004 and has now grown at a faster rate than the general economy in nine of the last 10 quarters," said Steven Fredericks, TNS Media Intelligence CEO. Almost all forms of media registered growth, he said, and the increases were not driven solely by the Olympics and the presidential election.
Internet advertising showed the strongest gain, followed by outdoor, cable TV and national syndication.
Local newspapers continued to be the largest segment at $24.5 billion, a 6.7% increase. Internet advertising rose 21.4% to $7.4 billion.
TNS Media Intelligence's 9.8% overall growth figure is higher than some other firms' estimates:
* Merrill Lynch — 6.7%
* Universal McCann — 7.4%
* ZenithOptimedia — 6.0% "
" Published: March 10, 2005
(After March 17, 2005, this article will only be available to eStat Database subscribers.)
Another report adds to the chorus: advertising expenditures across all media showed steady growth in 2004 — and Internet advertising led the way.
According to a new report from TNS Media Intelligence, total advertising expenditures for all media increased 9.8% to $141.1 billion in 2004.
"Advertising spending expanded steadily throughout 2004 and has now grown at a faster rate than the general economy in nine of the last 10 quarters," said Steven Fredericks, TNS Media Intelligence CEO. Almost all forms of media registered growth, he said, and the increases were not driven solely by the Olympics and the presidential election.
Internet advertising showed the strongest gain, followed by outdoor, cable TV and national syndication.
Local newspapers continued to be the largest segment at $24.5 billion, a 6.7% increase. Internet advertising rose 21.4% to $7.4 billion.
TNS Media Intelligence's 9.8% overall growth figure is higher than some other firms' estimates:
* Merrill Lynch — 6.7%
* Universal McCann — 7.4%
* ZenithOptimedia — 6.0% "
Brainboost Unveils New Version of Its Search Engine: "Brainboost Unveils New Version of Its Search Engine
Brainboost, which has the cutest logo I've seen in a while, yesterday announced a new version of its 'Answer Engine,' which you might call a natural language search engine. It's available at http://www.brainboost.com ..."
Brainboost, which has the cutest logo I've seen in a while, yesterday announced a new version of its 'Answer Engine,' which you might call a natural language search engine. It's available at http://www.brainboost.com ..."
Jon Udell: Collaborative Feedburner stats project:
"I've been wanting to calibrate my Bloglines-based analyses of RSS subscriptions [1, 2] with other sources of data. Feedburner came first to mind, and Richard McManus had the same thought:.. "
"I've been wanting to calibrate my Bloglines-based analyses of RSS subscriptions [1, 2] with other sources of data. Feedburner came first to mind, and Richard McManus had the same thought:.. "
InfoWorld: Oracle announces availability of BI upgrade: March 07, 2005: :
"Stand-alone BI product offers tools for queries, analysis, data integration, and app dev
By Laura Rohde, IDG News Service
Oracle (Profile, Products, Articles) on Monday released its stand-alone Business Intelligence 10g product, which offers tools for queries, reporting and analysis, data integration and management, and application development.
The price tag for Oracle BI 10g is $20,000 per processor or $400 per named user, the company said..."
"Stand-alone BI product offers tools for queries, analysis, data integration, and app dev
By Laura Rohde, IDG News Service
Oracle (Profile, Products, Articles) on Monday released its stand-alone Business Intelligence 10g product, which offers tools for queries, reporting and analysis, data integration and management, and application development.
The price tag for Oracle BI 10g is $20,000 per processor or $400 per named user, the company said..."
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Phishers using DNS servers to lure victims? | CNET News.com:
"By Robert Lemos -Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Online thieves looking for personal data may be moving to more active measures by redirecting people from legitimate sites to malicious ones, security experts said this week.
The warning follows reports Friday that some people's computers were being redirected from sites such as eBay and Google to malicious Web servers that attempted to install spyware. The compromises affected 30 to 40 networks, according to Jason Lam (PDF file), incident handler for the Internet Storm Center, which tracks network threats.
'It's hard to tell how many people were impacted by this, but it wasn't very widespread,' Lam said Tuesday..."
"By Robert Lemos -Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Online thieves looking for personal data may be moving to more active measures by redirecting people from legitimate sites to malicious ones, security experts said this week.
The warning follows reports Friday that some people's computers were being redirected from sites such as eBay and Google to malicious Web servers that attempted to install spyware. The compromises affected 30 to 40 networks, according to Jason Lam (PDF file), incident handler for the Internet Storm Center, which tracks network threats.
'It's hard to tell how many people were impacted by this, but it wasn't very widespread,' Lam said Tuesday..."
Top News Article | Reuters.com: "RESEARCH ALERT - UBS upgrades Google, Yahoo
Tue Mar 8, 2005 08:36 AM ET
NEW YORK, March 8 (Reuters) - UBS on Tuesday raised its rating on Yahoo Inc. (YHOO.O: Quote, Profile, Research) to 'buy' from 'neutral' and on Google Inc. (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research) to 'neutral' from 'reduce.'
UBS raised Yahoo's price target to $41 from $38, saying the current weakness in the stock is not in line with valuation. The brokerage cited confidence in Yahoo's branded advertising, content partnerships and international growth.
It raised Google's price target to $190 from $160 citing growth in the Internet search company's Web sites and slower-than-expected rises in capital and operating expenses. "
Tue Mar 8, 2005 08:36 AM ET
NEW YORK, March 8 (Reuters) - UBS on Tuesday raised its rating on Yahoo Inc. (YHOO.O: Quote, Profile, Research) to 'buy' from 'neutral' and on Google Inc. (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research) to 'neutral' from 'reduce.'
UBS raised Yahoo's price target to $41 from $38, saying the current weakness in the stock is not in line with valuation. The brokerage cited confidence in Yahoo's branded advertising, content partnerships and international growth.
It raised Google's price target to $190 from $160 citing growth in the Internet search company's Web sites and slower-than-expected rises in capital and operating expenses. "
Haaretz - Israel News - GuruNet surges another 25 percent after inking revenue-sharing deal with Google:
"The Israeli star on Wall Street yesterday was GuruNet.
The Jerusalem start-up has managed to snare a huge number of headlines since its October 2004 IPO, but not just because of its meteoric share price rise.
The company employs only 25 people, and its revenues, at least for now, are still quite small. GuruNet has yet to even turn a profit.
But the Internet arena is once again hot, and announcements and news about the firm have managed to raise its share price from $5 to over $20.
Another announcement made by the company yesterday pushed GuruNet's stock up another 25 percent during trading on large turnover.
GuruNet reported it has signed an agreement with the Google search engine firm. GuruNet's site, Answers.com, has started to include links to advertisements managed by Google, and the company now has become a distributor for the popular search engine's ads and be paid for it..."
"The Israeli star on Wall Street yesterday was GuruNet.
The Jerusalem start-up has managed to snare a huge number of headlines since its October 2004 IPO, but not just because of its meteoric share price rise.
The company employs only 25 people, and its revenues, at least for now, are still quite small. GuruNet has yet to even turn a profit.
But the Internet arena is once again hot, and announcements and news about the firm have managed to raise its share price from $5 to over $20.
Another announcement made by the company yesterday pushed GuruNet's stock up another 25 percent during trading on large turnover.
GuruNet reported it has signed an agreement with the Google search engine firm. GuruNet's site, Answers.com, has started to include links to advertisements managed by Google, and the company now has become a distributor for the popular search engine's ads and be paid for it..."
Haaretz - Israel News - GuruNet surges another 25 percent after inking revenue-sharing deal with Google:
"The Israeli star on Wall Street yesterday was GuruNet.
The Jerusalem start-up has managed to snare a huge number of headlines since its October 2004 IPO, but not just because of its meteoric share price rise.
The company employs only 25 people, and its revenues, at least for now, are still quite small. GuruNet has yet to even turn a profit.
But the Internet arena is once again hot, and announcements and news about the firm have managed to raise its share price from $5 to over $20.
Another announcement made by the company yesterday pushed GuruNet's stock up another 25 percent during trading on large turnover.
GuruNet reported it has signed an agreement with the Google search engine firm. GuruNet's site, Answers.com, has started to include links to advertisements managed by Google, and the company now has become a distributor for the popular search engine's ads and be paid for it..."
"The Israeli star on Wall Street yesterday was GuruNet.
The Jerusalem start-up has managed to snare a huge number of headlines since its October 2004 IPO, but not just because of its meteoric share price rise.
The company employs only 25 people, and its revenues, at least for now, are still quite small. GuruNet has yet to even turn a profit.
But the Internet arena is once again hot, and announcements and news about the firm have managed to raise its share price from $5 to over $20.
Another announcement made by the company yesterday pushed GuruNet's stock up another 25 percent during trading on large turnover.
GuruNet reported it has signed an agreement with the Google search engine firm. GuruNet's site, Answers.com, has started to include links to advertisements managed by Google, and the company now has become a distributor for the popular search engine's ads and be paid for it..."
labs.google.com - Papers by Googlers:
"Below is a partial list of papers written by people now at Google, showing the range of backgrounds of people in Google Engineering.
* algorithms
* compiler optimization
* information retrieval
* artificial intelligence
* file system design
* machine learning
* profiling
* computer architecture
* user interface design
* data mining
* genetic algorithms
* web information retrieval
* search engine design
* data compression
* computer graphics
* robotics
* text processing
* natural language processing
* software engineering and design
* operating systems and distributed systems
* various other topics"
"Below is a partial list of papers written by people now at Google, showing the range of backgrounds of people in Google Engineering.
* algorithms
* compiler optimization
* information retrieval
* artificial intelligence
* file system design
* machine learning
* profiling
* computer architecture
* user interface design
* data mining
* genetic algorithms
* web information retrieval
* search engine design
* data compression
* computer graphics
* robotics
* text processing
* natural language processing
* software engineering and design
* operating systems and distributed systems
* various other topics"
Google practices dividing to conquer | Tech News on ZDNet:
"By Stefanie Olsen, CNET News.com
SAN FRANCISCO--Google's 8 billion-plus Web document index may not multiply, but its search engine will learn to better divide the data.
That was part of the message from Peter Norvig, Google's director of search quality, who on Tuesday gave a keynote speech here at the Semantic Technology Conference. Norvig, a former NASA employee and an author of books on artificial intelligence, highlighted several research projects the company is developing to help classify data and improve the relevance of search results...
Norvig highlighted a research paper written by a Google employee last year regarding a classification engine the company is testing. The technology can parse a proper noun or compound nouns into several categories in order to deliver clustered results, for example. For a query on "ATM," or asynchronous transfer mode, the engine would be able to use the terms "such as" on Web pages indexed with the term to discover that it can be linked to the expression "high-speed networks." As a result, a search for high-speed networks might pull up a cluster on ATM.
Norvig said the same technology could be used to mine factual answers from the Web for queries like "President Lincoln's birth date." The technique could offer an edge over Microsoft's recent addition of encyclopedic answers to its database, thanks to its Encarta software, Norvig said. That's because MSN's engine could miss the chance to deliver the desired factual answer if the searcher's query is inexact. In contrast, Google draws on the semantic Web and various language sets from pages to find a match..."
"By Stefanie Olsen, CNET News.com
SAN FRANCISCO--Google's 8 billion-plus Web document index may not multiply, but its search engine will learn to better divide the data.
That was part of the message from Peter Norvig, Google's director of search quality, who on Tuesday gave a keynote speech here at the Semantic Technology Conference. Norvig, a former NASA employee and an author of books on artificial intelligence, highlighted several research projects the company is developing to help classify data and improve the relevance of search results...
Norvig highlighted a research paper written by a Google employee last year regarding a classification engine the company is testing. The technology can parse a proper noun or compound nouns into several categories in order to deliver clustered results, for example. For a query on "ATM," or asynchronous transfer mode, the engine would be able to use the terms "such as" on Web pages indexed with the term to discover that it can be linked to the expression "high-speed networks." As a result, a search for high-speed networks might pull up a cluster on ATM.
Norvig said the same technology could be used to mine factual answers from the Web for queries like "President Lincoln's birth date." The technique could offer an edge over Microsoft's recent addition of encyclopedic answers to its database, thanks to its Encarta software, Norvig said. That's because MSN's engine could miss the chance to deliver the desired factual answer if the searcher's query is inexact. In contrast, Google draws on the semantic Web and various language sets from pages to find a match..."
Search Engine Lowdown :: News: Google Cloaking:
"Sometimes, we just don't think that a story is big news. However, enough of you have pinged me about the 'Is Google Cloaking' debate, that we thought we'd share it with readers..."
"Sometimes, we just don't think that a story is big news. However, enough of you have pinged me about the 'Is Google Cloaking' debate, that we thought we'd share it with readers..."
Hackers 'poison' search engine results - PC Magazine:
"Users being directed to webpages containing malware
Iain Thomson
Hackers are increasingly using websites rather than email attachments to spread malicious code, security watchers have warned.
In its six-monthly Web Security Trends Report, Websense noted that online criminals may be subverting search engines in a bid to direct unwitting internet users to web pages containing malware..."
"Users being directed to webpages containing malware
Iain Thomson
Hackers are increasingly using websites rather than email attachments to spread malicious code, security watchers have warned.
In its six-monthly Web Security Trends Report, Websense noted that online criminals may be subverting search engines in a bid to direct unwitting internet users to web pages containing malware..."
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Search going loco for local | CNET News.com:
"By Stefanie Olsen - Staff Writer, CNET News.com
NEW YORK--Local search is a central focus of all the players at the annual Search Engine Strategies conference here.
Google, for one, updated its local search tool Wednesday to include Google Maps, a graphical guide to regional addresses and directions. In addition, it now provides editorial reviews for local businesses, including such data as hours of operation or whether Wi-Fi access is available..."
"By Stefanie Olsen - Staff Writer, CNET News.com
NEW YORK--Local search is a central focus of all the players at the annual Search Engine Strategies conference here.
Google, for one, updated its local search tool Wednesday to include Google Maps, a graphical guide to regional addresses and directions. In addition, it now provides editorial reviews for local businesses, including such data as hours of operation or whether Wi-Fi access is available..."
Internet Daily: GuruNet integrates Google advertisements :
"By Bambi Francisco, MarketWatch - Last Update: 1:26 PM ET March 8, 2005
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- GuruNet Corp., a provider of online reference information, said it is including Google's contextual AdSense advertising on its pages and integrating search into its Answers.com product.
On the news, GuruNet (GRU: news, chart, profile) soared more than 10 percent to $18 in Tuesday midday trading. The inclusion of Google (GOOG: news, chart, profile) advertisements is likely to help GuruNet's revenue.
"Our revenue stream is based on including advertising alongside the million topics in our library," said Bob Rosenschein, chief executive of GuruNet, in a statement. "We are pleased to be working with the industry leader and leveraging their broad ad inventory and strong technology." "
"By Bambi Francisco, MarketWatch - Last Update: 1:26 PM ET March 8, 2005
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- GuruNet Corp., a provider of online reference information, said it is including Google's contextual AdSense advertising on its pages and integrating search into its Answers.com product.
On the news, GuruNet (GRU: news, chart, profile) soared more than 10 percent to $18 in Tuesday midday trading. The inclusion of Google (GOOG: news, chart, profile) advertisements is likely to help GuruNet's revenue.
"Our revenue stream is based on including advertising alongside the million topics in our library," said Bob Rosenschein, chief executive of GuruNet, in a statement. "We are pleased to be working with the industry leader and leveraging their broad ad inventory and strong technology." "
Netimperative - Google desktop is 'war on Microsoft':
"By Editorial - Last modified 07-03-2005 03:32 PM
Google's move to go official with its desktop search product and open up the product for outside developers is a direct attack on Microsoft.
Mike Grehan of Smart-Interactive said Google's announcement that the API features will be released, allowing developers to add other products to the search function, is 'squarely aimed at the Microsoft developer audience.'
'This is something that MS hinted at for the Longhorn version of Windows. So it probably caused a little stir in Redmond. The idea of having a floating search window on your screen all of the time suggests that Google is hoping to win over the MS Windows audience,' he said..."
"By Editorial - Last modified 07-03-2005 03:32 PM
Google's move to go official with its desktop search product and open up the product for outside developers is a direct attack on Microsoft.
Mike Grehan of Smart-Interactive said Google's announcement that the API features will be released, allowing developers to add other products to the search function, is 'squarely aimed at the Microsoft developer audience.'
'This is something that MS hinted at for the Longhorn version of Windows. So it probably caused a little stir in Redmond. The idea of having a floating search window on your screen all of the time suggests that Google is hoping to win over the MS Windows audience,' he said..."
Goofy Goings on at Google : Internet Search Engine News:
"Last modified: March 7, 2005, 7:58 PM - Contributed By: Jim Hedger
Google can be seen as one of the great magic-mirrors of the Internet, reflecting vast sections of content back to its users based on their immediate interests as stated through their searches. The existence of magic makes for an interesting and often spiritually laced discussion that is best held outside the realm of business. A mirror, on the other hand, is a physical object that, at least once in its existence, was treated as a commodity. If you break it, you've bought it, and we all know the mystical fate that befalls those unfortunate enough to break mirrors..."
"Last modified: March 7, 2005, 7:58 PM - Contributed By: Jim Hedger
Google can be seen as one of the great magic-mirrors of the Internet, reflecting vast sections of content back to its users based on their immediate interests as stated through their searches. The existence of magic makes for an interesting and often spiritually laced discussion that is best held outside the realm of business. A mirror, on the other hand, is a physical object that, at least once in its existence, was treated as a commodity. If you break it, you've bought it, and we all know the mystical fate that befalls those unfortunate enough to break mirrors..."
Goofy Goings on at Google : Internet Search Engine News:
"Last modified: March 7, 2005, 7:58 PM - Contributed By: Jim Hedger
Google can be seen as one of the great magic-mirrors of the Internet, reflecting vast sections of content back to its users based on their immediate interests as stated through their searches. The existence of magic makes for an interesting and often spiritually laced discussion that is best held outside the realm of business. A mirror, on the other hand, is a physical object that, at least once in its existence, was treated as a commodity. If you break it, you've bought it, and we all know the mystical fate that befalls those unfortunate enough to break mirrors..."
"Last modified: March 7, 2005, 7:58 PM - Contributed By: Jim Hedger
Google can be seen as one of the great magic-mirrors of the Internet, reflecting vast sections of content back to its users based on their immediate interests as stated through their searches. The existence of magic makes for an interesting and often spiritually laced discussion that is best held outside the realm of business. A mirror, on the other hand, is a physical object that, at least once in its existence, was treated as a commodity. If you break it, you've bought it, and we all know the mystical fate that befalls those unfortunate enough to break mirrors..."
Search giants hear voices - News - CNETAsia:
"By Jim Hu, CNET News.com - Tuesday, March 8 2005 8:50 AM
As the Net phone business starts to take off, can Web portals such as Yahoo be far behind?
That's one of the big questions that will be on the minds of Internet and telecom luminaries as they gather Monday in San Jose for Voice on the Net, a conference dedicated to promoting and exploring VoIP, the fast-growing technology for delivering voice calls over Internet Protocol.
Signs of activity in the space are growing, with America Online planning to enter the crowded VoIP arena later this month with its own phone service. That move has heightened speculation that on the horizon are similar announcements from AOL's biggest Web rivals--Yahoo, Microsoft's MSN and Google..."
"By Jim Hu, CNET News.com - Tuesday, March 8 2005 8:50 AM
As the Net phone business starts to take off, can Web portals such as Yahoo be far behind?
That's one of the big questions that will be on the minds of Internet and telecom luminaries as they gather Monday in San Jose for Voice on the Net, a conference dedicated to promoting and exploring VoIP, the fast-growing technology for delivering voice calls over Internet Protocol.
Signs of activity in the space are growing, with America Online planning to enter the crowded VoIP arena later this month with its own phone service. That move has heightened speculation that on the horizon are similar announcements from AOL's biggest Web rivals--Yahoo, Microsoft's MSN and Google..."
A New F-Word for Google Search Results:
"By Chris Sherman, Associate Editor - March 8, 2005
A new study has added tangible evidence to the widely held view that top-ranking search results get the most attention from users, and that lower-ranking results are all but invisible to most people.
The joint study conducted by search marketing firms Enquiro and Did-it and eye tracking firm Eyetools examined the eye movements of users viewing Google search result pages.
The study found that most viewers looked at results in an 'F' shaped scan pattern, with the eye travelling vertically along the far left side of the results looking for visual cues (relevant words, brands, etc) and then scanning to the right, as if something caught the participant's attention..."
"By Chris Sherman, Associate Editor - March 8, 2005
A new study has added tangible evidence to the widely held view that top-ranking search results get the most attention from users, and that lower-ranking results are all but invisible to most people.
The joint study conducted by search marketing firms Enquiro and Did-it and eye tracking firm Eyetools examined the eye movements of users viewing Google search result pages.
The study found that most viewers looked at results in an 'F' shaped scan pattern, with the eye travelling vertically along the far left side of the results looking for visual cues (relevant words, brands, etc) and then scanning to the right, as if something caught the participant's attention..."
Yahoo! News - Yahoo to Invest in Blogs, Analyst Says:
"Fri Mar 4, 8:24 PM ET Technology - Internet Report
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Internet media company Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - news) is likely to build and buy tools that help its users create, publish and search blogs, Susquehanna Financial Group Marianne Wolk said in a note on Friday.
Wolk also said she also expects the company to expand into social networking software, which lets users share and organize content..."
"Fri Mar 4, 8:24 PM ET Technology - Internet Report
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Internet media company Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - news) is likely to build and buy tools that help its users create, publish and search blogs, Susquehanna Financial Group Marianne Wolk said in a note on Friday.
Wolk also said she also expects the company to expand into social networking software, which lets users share and organize content..."
Google opens APIs in Desktop 1.0 - Computer Business Review:
"Google Inc, after what is probably the laid-back company's fastest beta test to date, yesterday released version 1.0 of its Google Desktop Search application after less than five months, and has opened up some APIs for developers to add plug-ins..."
"Google Inc, after what is probably the laid-back company's fastest beta test to date, yesterday released version 1.0 of its Google Desktop Search application after less than five months, and has opened up some APIs for developers to add plug-ins..."
Monday, March 07, 2005
Broadband Barrels Ahead:
"As noted by eMarketer in the recent US Broadband report, 2004 was the year when the number of broadband Internet users came to outnumber dial-up users.
A new study by Ipsos-Insight concurs with this analysis, though it puts the percentage of broadband users, as a percentage of all Internet users, at almost 60%, higher than eMarketer's estimate of 50.8%. The US still trails some other countries in terms of broadband adoption, however. For example, France, urban Brazil and the UK grew by 59%, 50% and 45%, respectively, between the end of 2003 and 2004. In these countries, as in the global market overall, DSL is the dominant type of broadband service.
While DSL operators in the US upped their subscriber base by 4.2 million in 2004, an increase of 43% from 2003, it wasn't enough to catch up with cable operators, who expanded their base by 4.4 million, according to the Leichtman Research Group.
As a result, the number of cable subscribers in the US is still significantly greater than the number of DSL subscribers. Leichtman reports that there were 19.9 million cable subscribers at year-end 2004, compared to 13.3 million DSL subscribers.
These numbers concur with the latest figures from eMarketer, which peg cable households at around 60% of all broadband homes in the US, with ADSL comprising 37.6% and other technologies accounting for 2.6% (ADSL, or Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line, is by far the most common type of DSL service in the US). Though subscriber numbers and household numbers aren't directly comparable, translating them into market percentages should give an accurate picture of the marketplace.
Despite not gaining more subscribers than cable in 2004, DSL is still growing faster, and if this growth rate continues, it should narrow the gap significantly by 2008. eMarketer estimates that ADSL will grow at a compound annual rate of 22.7%, compared to only 14.9% for cable, between 2004 and 2008.
For further findings and analysis by eMarketer on this subject, read our latest report, North America Broadband, which examines the changing dynamic of the broadband market in the US and Canada."
"As noted by eMarketer in the recent US Broadband report, 2004 was the year when the number of broadband Internet users came to outnumber dial-up users.
A new study by Ipsos-Insight concurs with this analysis, though it puts the percentage of broadband users, as a percentage of all Internet users, at almost 60%, higher than eMarketer's estimate of 50.8%. The US still trails some other countries in terms of broadband adoption, however. For example, France, urban Brazil and the UK grew by 59%, 50% and 45%, respectively, between the end of 2003 and 2004. In these countries, as in the global market overall, DSL is the dominant type of broadband service.
While DSL operators in the US upped their subscriber base by 4.2 million in 2004, an increase of 43% from 2003, it wasn't enough to catch up with cable operators, who expanded their base by 4.4 million, according to the Leichtman Research Group.
As a result, the number of cable subscribers in the US is still significantly greater than the number of DSL subscribers. Leichtman reports that there were 19.9 million cable subscribers at year-end 2004, compared to 13.3 million DSL subscribers.
These numbers concur with the latest figures from eMarketer, which peg cable households at around 60% of all broadband homes in the US, with ADSL comprising 37.6% and other technologies accounting for 2.6% (ADSL, or Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line, is by far the most common type of DSL service in the US). Though subscriber numbers and household numbers aren't directly comparable, translating them into market percentages should give an accurate picture of the marketplace.
Despite not gaining more subscribers than cable in 2004, DSL is still growing faster, and if this growth rate continues, it should narrow the gap significantly by 2008. eMarketer estimates that ADSL will grow at a compound annual rate of 22.7%, compared to only 14.9% for cable, between 2004 and 2008.
For further findings and analysis by eMarketer on this subject, read our latest report, North America Broadband, which examines the changing dynamic of the broadband market in the US and Canada."
Tentative ruling favors Apple in blog case | CNET News.com:
"By Dawn Kawamoto - Staff Writer, CNET News.com
A California judge has issued a tentative ruling that Apple Computer can force three blogging sites to divulge their sources, according to reports.
In the preliminary ruling, issued Thursday, a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge said that the three blogging sites, which had disclosed information about Apple's upcoming products, did not have the same legal protections that shield journalists, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
A hearing in the case, which is scheduled for Friday, could have a significant ripple effect on all blogging sites that disclose information about companies.
Judge James Kleinberg tentatively declined to extend to the Web sites the protections of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment and the California Shield Law, which is designed to protect journalists from having to divulge the names of sources or supply unpublished materials.
In the past four months, Apple has subpoenaed PowerPage, Apple Insider and Think Secret, seeking to discover their sources of information about a yet-to-be released product code-named Asteroid and Q97.
Apple is subpoenaing the three Web sites to ascertain the identity of those who leaked the information and is suing the 'John Does' who allegedly did so for trade secrets violation. "
"By Dawn Kawamoto - Staff Writer, CNET News.com
A California judge has issued a tentative ruling that Apple Computer can force three blogging sites to divulge their sources, according to reports.
In the preliminary ruling, issued Thursday, a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge said that the three blogging sites, which had disclosed information about Apple's upcoming products, did not have the same legal protections that shield journalists, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
A hearing in the case, which is scheduled for Friday, could have a significant ripple effect on all blogging sites that disclose information about companies.
Judge James Kleinberg tentatively declined to extend to the Web sites the protections of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment and the California Shield Law, which is designed to protect journalists from having to divulge the names of sources or supply unpublished materials.
In the past four months, Apple has subpoenaed PowerPage, Apple Insider and Think Secret, seeking to discover their sources of information about a yet-to-be released product code-named Asteroid and Q97.
Apple is subpoenaing the three Web sites to ascertain the identity of those who leaked the information and is suing the 'John Does' who allegedly did so for trade secrets violation. "
Ad Spending up 6.3% in 2004:
"Nielsen reports advertising spending in the US grew 6.3% in 2004 over the previous year, with the automotive industry representing the greatest chunk of spending.
According to Nielsen Monitor-Plus, advertising spending in the US grew by 6.3% in 2004 over 2003. Specifically, Nielsen finds the automotive industry, including both factory- and dealer-generated advertising, experienced the greatest dollar rise in spending last year. Other notable industries included the credit card services sector which experienced a growth of 32.4% and the prescription drugs industry which upped its ad spending by 27.6% over the year.
Looking at the top 10 advertisers for 2004, Nielsen finds Procter & Gamble in first place spending over $3 billion in 2004. However, the top company increased spending by 9.5% while other companies in the top 10 experienced double-digit increases like automotive giants General Motors, DaimlerChrysler and Ford Motors, major health care products brand Johnson & Johnson and telecom giant SBC Communications. Total spending from the top 10 surpassed $16.6 billion for 2004.
Where does online fit into the overall ad spending picture? eMarketer estimatest that media spending in the US was over $264 billion in 2004, with online accounting for 3.6% or $9.5 billion. Benchmarked against numbers from the IAB and PwC, eMarketer projects online ad spending will grow to over $17 billion by the end of 2008."
"Nielsen reports advertising spending in the US grew 6.3% in 2004 over the previous year, with the automotive industry representing the greatest chunk of spending.
According to Nielsen Monitor-Plus, advertising spending in the US grew by 6.3% in 2004 over 2003. Specifically, Nielsen finds the automotive industry, including both factory- and dealer-generated advertising, experienced the greatest dollar rise in spending last year. Other notable industries included the credit card services sector which experienced a growth of 32.4% and the prescription drugs industry which upped its ad spending by 27.6% over the year.
Looking at the top 10 advertisers for 2004, Nielsen finds Procter & Gamble in first place spending over $3 billion in 2004. However, the top company increased spending by 9.5% while other companies in the top 10 experienced double-digit increases like automotive giants General Motors, DaimlerChrysler and Ford Motors, major health care products brand Johnson & Johnson and telecom giant SBC Communications. Total spending from the top 10 surpassed $16.6 billion for 2004.
Where does online fit into the overall ad spending picture? eMarketer estimatest that media spending in the US was over $264 billion in 2004, with online accounting for 3.6% or $9.5 billion. Benchmarked against numbers from the IAB and PwC, eMarketer projects online ad spending will grow to over $17 billion by the end of 2008."
Click fraud roils search advertisers | Tech News on ZDNet:
"By Stefanie Olsen, CNET News.com
NEW YORK--Tammy Harrison, president of a medical billing software company, says she's a victim of click fraud and needs support.
Harrison had detected a rival company repeatedly clicking on her sponsored listings in Google and Yahoo search results--a tactic meant to deflate her ad budget and boost the competitor's ranking on the page. After sending the corroborating data to the two search engines--which maintain policies against fraud--she managed to get some refunds and the rival bumped from one service..."
"By Stefanie Olsen, CNET News.com
NEW YORK--Tammy Harrison, president of a medical billing software company, says she's a victim of click fraud and needs support.
Harrison had detected a rival company repeatedly clicking on her sponsored listings in Google and Yahoo search results--a tactic meant to deflate her ad budget and boost the competitor's ranking on the page. After sending the corroborating data to the two search engines--which maintain policies against fraud--she managed to get some refunds and the rival bumped from one service..."
� Search Engines Open Up With Blogs - Search Engine Journal
"You can’t look very far online without seeing a weblog, or blog. They’re increasing in popularity and many companies are starting to use them to communicate with their customers about latest projects or new products in a “human voice.”
The major search engines have taken hold of this new technology with a vengeance and many have launched their own blogs. This is really a great way to keep up with their latest comings and goings..."
"You can’t look very far online without seeing a weblog, or blog. They’re increasing in popularity and many companies are starting to use them to communicate with their customers about latest projects or new products in a “human voice.”
The major search engines have taken hold of this new technology with a vengeance and many have launched their own blogs. This is really a great way to keep up with their latest comings and goings..."
