Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Google unveils Office rival | InfoWorld | News | 2006-08-28 | By Ted Samson:
"With Microsoft Office clearly in its long-range sights, Google today launched a package of Web-based productivity apps.
The offering, called Google Apps for Your Domain, comprises Google services that all have seen the light of day: Gmail, Google Talk, Google Calendar, and Google Page Creator.
Notably absent from the menu are Writely and Google Spreadsheets, which respectively provide basic word-processing and spreadsheet functions that would be essential for a productivity suite, a la the more feature-rich Microsoft Word and Excel. Also, Google has yet to unveil an application that could rival Microsoft PowerPoint.
With Google Apps for Your Domain, organizations can tailor the included applications' UIs with their own branding, and they can pick and choose which services to use. Moreover, there's a Web-based management interface through which admins can manage their user account list, set up aliases and distribution lists, and enable the services they want for their domain. End-users will be able to access their apps from any Web-connected computer.
For the time being, there's one package available: the Standard Edition. Still in beta and free to use, it offers 2GB of e-mail storage per user as well as customer service for admins via e-mail or an online help center. According to Google's announcement, organizations that sign up during the beta period will not ever have to pay for users accepted during that period (provided Google continues to offer the service).
The Standard Edition may meet the needs of mom-and-pop Web sites and other such small organizations, but not larger companies. However, Google says that a premium version of the package is under development "for organizations with more advanced needs. More information, including details on pricing, will be available soon."
Google acknowledges in its announcement that it will eventually reach out for the enterprise, as well as ISPs and universities..."
"With Microsoft Office clearly in its long-range sights, Google today launched a package of Web-based productivity apps.
The offering, called Google Apps for Your Domain, comprises Google services that all have seen the light of day: Gmail, Google Talk, Google Calendar, and Google Page Creator.
Notably absent from the menu are Writely and Google Spreadsheets, which respectively provide basic word-processing and spreadsheet functions that would be essential for a productivity suite, a la the more feature-rich Microsoft Word and Excel. Also, Google has yet to unveil an application that could rival Microsoft PowerPoint.
With Google Apps for Your Domain, organizations can tailor the included applications' UIs with their own branding, and they can pick and choose which services to use. Moreover, there's a Web-based management interface through which admins can manage their user account list, set up aliases and distribution lists, and enable the services they want for their domain. End-users will be able to access their apps from any Web-connected computer.
For the time being, there's one package available: the Standard Edition. Still in beta and free to use, it offers 2GB of e-mail storage per user as well as customer service for admins via e-mail or an online help center. According to Google's announcement, organizations that sign up during the beta period will not ever have to pay for users accepted during that period (provided Google continues to offer the service).
The Standard Edition may meet the needs of mom-and-pop Web sites and other such small organizations, but not larger companies. However, Google says that a premium version of the package is under development "for organizations with more advanced needs. More information, including details on pricing, will be available soon."
Google acknowledges in its announcement that it will eventually reach out for the enterprise, as well as ISPs and universities..."
eMarketer.com - What Do 'Heavy Users' Do Online?:
"What Do 'Heavy Users' Do Online?
AUGUST 30, 2006
Americans are using the Internet more and more, and advertisers want to know how.
The subtitle of "The New Digital Divide" study from Universal McCann (UM) says it all: "How the New Generation of Digital Consumers Are Transforming Mass Communication." In other words, things are changing in Adland.
"No longer can we simply broadcast our messages to a mass audience and hope that our standard metrics of reach and frequency will guarantee success," said David Cohen, the author of the report.
The vanguard of the new digital consumer is the heavy Internet user, and UM defines a "heavy" Internet user as someone who has accessed the Web at least 11 times in the previous seven days, and estimates that close to 100 million people in the US, or about one-third of the country's population, fit that description.
To gauge the impact of new media on communication and advertising, a group of 1,000 heavy users — all between the ages of 16 and 49 — was asked what new technologies they currently use online and what they intend to use in the future. The most-used technology was instant messaging (IM), followed by price-comparison sites and social networks.
Although podcasting and IPTV are garnering a great deal of media attention, only 13% of heavy Internet users currently download podcasts and less than 7% watch or download video content — though almost 20% said they would use them in the future.
The most common activities of heavy users were shopping and buying, with a solid 84% of respondents claiming to have done both.
Blogging is also an online activity that has received a lot of press, and according to UM there is good reason for it. In fact, 62% of respondents said they have participated in some kind of blogging activity.
Only 7% of heavy Internet users ages 35 to 49 have their own blog, but 22% of heavy users between 16 and 34 do.
With over one-third of bloggers against the practice, UM advises advertisers to be cautious when using blogs to sell a product.
Because of the survey's concentration on heavy Internet users, you might expect respondents to be drifting away from other media. But that wasn't the case. When asked which information source they would miss most, television topped off the list, with 28% of users still wanting their TVs. Web sites were second and e-mail was third on the list. Radio and newspapers followed.
The report concluded: "It is clear from this research that emerging technology is having a big influence on U.S. consumer behavior, methods of social interaction and media consumption. Nearly 90% of heavy Internet users are shopping online and researching future purchases. A good majority of frequent online visitors are already using instant messenger to interact with others and nearly half of younger heavy Internet users are active in online social networking. Additionally, an increasing number of younger online consumers are creating content with their own blogs."
But balancing that point of view, the report's authors stated: "However, this does not mean the end of traditional advertising. Despite the substantial impact, our study also indicates that consumers are still relying on traditional media formats such as TV and magazines for entertainment as well as information sources."
For more information on digital marketing, read the eMarketer report E-Mail and Word-of-Mouth: Connect with Your Best Customers..."
"What Do 'Heavy Users' Do Online?
AUGUST 30, 2006
Americans are using the Internet more and more, and advertisers want to know how.
The subtitle of "The New Digital Divide" study from Universal McCann (UM) says it all: "How the New Generation of Digital Consumers Are Transforming Mass Communication." In other words, things are changing in Adland.
"No longer can we simply broadcast our messages to a mass audience and hope that our standard metrics of reach and frequency will guarantee success," said David Cohen, the author of the report.
The vanguard of the new digital consumer is the heavy Internet user, and UM defines a "heavy" Internet user as someone who has accessed the Web at least 11 times in the previous seven days, and estimates that close to 100 million people in the US, or about one-third of the country's population, fit that description.
To gauge the impact of new media on communication and advertising, a group of 1,000 heavy users — all between the ages of 16 and 49 — was asked what new technologies they currently use online and what they intend to use in the future. The most-used technology was instant messaging (IM), followed by price-comparison sites and social networks.
Although podcasting and IPTV are garnering a great deal of media attention, only 13% of heavy Internet users currently download podcasts and less than 7% watch or download video content — though almost 20% said they would use them in the future.
The most common activities of heavy users were shopping and buying, with a solid 84% of respondents claiming to have done both.
Blogging is also an online activity that has received a lot of press, and according to UM there is good reason for it. In fact, 62% of respondents said they have participated in some kind of blogging activity.
Only 7% of heavy Internet users ages 35 to 49 have their own blog, but 22% of heavy users between 16 and 34 do.
With over one-third of bloggers against the practice, UM advises advertisers to be cautious when using blogs to sell a product.
Because of the survey's concentration on heavy Internet users, you might expect respondents to be drifting away from other media. But that wasn't the case. When asked which information source they would miss most, television topped off the list, with 28% of users still wanting their TVs. Web sites were second and e-mail was third on the list. Radio and newspapers followed.
The report concluded: "It is clear from this research that emerging technology is having a big influence on U.S. consumer behavior, methods of social interaction and media consumption. Nearly 90% of heavy Internet users are shopping online and researching future purchases. A good majority of frequent online visitors are already using instant messenger to interact with others and nearly half of younger heavy Internet users are active in online social networking. Additionally, an increasing number of younger online consumers are creating content with their own blogs."
But balancing that point of view, the report's authors stated: "However, this does not mean the end of traditional advertising. Despite the substantial impact, our study also indicates that consumers are still relying on traditional media formats such as TV and magazines for entertainment as well as information sources."
For more information on digital marketing, read the eMarketer report E-Mail and Word-of-Mouth: Connect with Your Best Customers..."
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Valley Boys:
"...Digg's stature changed dramatically that day. It is now the 24th-most popular Web site in the U.S., nipping at the The New York Times' (No. 19) and easily beating Fox News (No. 62), according to industry tracker Alexa.com. More than 1 million people flock to Digg daily, reading, submitting, or 'digging' some 4,000 stories. As on many Web 2.0 sites, people register and create online profiles. Then these 'diggers' can upload links to stories and blogs they want to share from other news portals like Yahoo! (YHOO ) News or mainstream media sites like The Washington Post. Users can click a 'digg it' button that essentially casts a vote for the content. They can also hit the 'bury' button. The stories with the most 'diggs' zoom to the top of the page. Of the free labor that is the 'Digg Army,' 94% are male; more than half are IT types in their 20s and 30s making $75,000 or more. It's a demographic advertisers lust after.
COMMUNITY FIRST, ADS LATER
That's why some smart money is on Digg to become an ad magnet � la MySpace.com. (NWS ) Some even refer to Digg as the new New York Times. News sites are discovering they can benefit too: Get a story on Digg's front page, and in comes a flood of traffic from people clicking on the link to read the story on your site. Digg gets advertising via Federated Media, the company Silicon Valley veteran John Battelle created to pair Web sites with advertisers (Digg sparingly places ads in a narrow band at the top of the Web page). So far, Digg is breaking even on an estimated $3 million annually in revenues. Nonetheless, people in the know say Digg is easily worth $200 million.
It's not as dot-com déjà vu as it sounds. YouTube, the enormously popular video site, posts similarly fledgling revenues, but some experts say it could easily fetch $500 million. What's more, Digg registered users have been doubling every three months. As such, Digg is attempting to follow the path laid out by Google Inc (GOOG ). and now being adopted by many Web 2.0 companies: focus on building a user community, and the ads will follow. "It's one of those things where we know we could put crazy ads all over the site and clutter it up, but we don't want to do that," says Rose. "We have a clear path toward becoming a profitable company, and we're fully funded. We don't have to worry about it now, as long as we keep hitting our numbers."..."
"...Digg's stature changed dramatically that day. It is now the 24th-most popular Web site in the U.S., nipping at the The New York Times' (No. 19) and easily beating Fox News (No. 62), according to industry tracker Alexa.com. More than 1 million people flock to Digg daily, reading, submitting, or 'digging' some 4,000 stories. As on many Web 2.0 sites, people register and create online profiles. Then these 'diggers' can upload links to stories and blogs they want to share from other news portals like Yahoo! (YHOO ) News or mainstream media sites like The Washington Post. Users can click a 'digg it' button that essentially casts a vote for the content. They can also hit the 'bury' button. The stories with the most 'diggs' zoom to the top of the page. Of the free labor that is the 'Digg Army,' 94% are male; more than half are IT types in their 20s and 30s making $75,000 or more. It's a demographic advertisers lust after.
COMMUNITY FIRST, ADS LATER
That's why some smart money is on Digg to become an ad magnet � la MySpace.com. (NWS ) Some even refer to Digg as the new New York Times. News sites are discovering they can benefit too: Get a story on Digg's front page, and in comes a flood of traffic from people clicking on the link to read the story on your site. Digg gets advertising via Federated Media, the company Silicon Valley veteran John Battelle created to pair Web sites with advertisers (Digg sparingly places ads in a narrow band at the top of the Web page). So far, Digg is breaking even on an estimated $3 million annually in revenues. Nonetheless, people in the know say Digg is easily worth $200 million.
It's not as dot-com déjà vu as it sounds. YouTube, the enormously popular video site, posts similarly fledgling revenues, but some experts say it could easily fetch $500 million. What's more, Digg registered users have been doubling every three months. As such, Digg is attempting to follow the path laid out by Google Inc (GOOG ). and now being adopted by many Web 2.0 companies: focus on building a user community, and the ads will follow. "It's one of those things where we know we could put crazy ads all over the site and clutter it up, but we don't want to do that," says Rose. "We have a clear path toward becoming a profitable company, and we're fully funded. We don't have to worry about it now, as long as we keep hitting our numbers."..."
Search Engine Journal - Social Media Optimization : 13 Rules of SMO:
"Cameron Olthuis at Pronet Advertising has a nice write up on optimizing for social media, dubbed Social Media Optimization (SMO) by Rohit Bhargava.
The concept behind SMO is simple: implement changes to optimize a site so that it is more easily linked to, more highly visible in social media searches on custom search engines (such as Technorati), and more frequently included in relevant posts on blogs, podcasts and vlogs.
There has been some cross blogging back and forth between Rohit, Cameron, and Jeremiah Owyang on the rules of Social Media Optimization, and I’ll add a couple more.
Here’s a summary of what they’ve put together to date:
1. Increase your linkability : Think blogs, content, aggregation & linkbait.
2. Make tagging and bookmarking easy : Include calls to action for users to tag, bookmark and Digg your stuff. I’d suggest the Sociable Plugin if you have a Wordpress powered blog.
3. Reward inbound links : List blogs which link back to you via permalinks, trackbacks or recently linking blogs (like the Yahoo & Google blogs do).
4. Help your content travel : Content diversification can lead to mobility of your content beyond the browser.
5. Encourage the mashup : Let others use your content or tools to produce something a bit different or outside of the box with your stuff, even RSS.
6. Be a User Resource, even if it doesn’t help you : Add value and outbound links, even if it doesn’t help in the short term, it will in the long.
7. Reward helpful and valuable users : Give your contributors and readers the recognition they deserve.
8. Participate : Get in there and get involved in the discussions going on among the blogs and sites of others, and do it organically. Earn your rep on Digg.com, don’t try and force it.
9. Know how to target your audience : Understand your appeal and those people you wish to attract.
10. Create content : A little bit of rules 1 & 4 here, but the underlying message is know the form of content working for you.
11. Be real : Transparency pays off and no one likes a fake.
And mine:
12. Don’t forget your roots, be humble : Sometimes it can be easy to get carried away being a BlogStar or industry talking head. Remember those who helped you along the way, and that respect will help all involved.
13. Don’t be afraid to try new things, stay fresh : Social Media is changing and morphing by the minute, keep up on new tools, products and challenges in your social sphere..."
"Cameron Olthuis at Pronet Advertising has a nice write up on optimizing for social media, dubbed Social Media Optimization (SMO) by Rohit Bhargava.
The concept behind SMO is simple: implement changes to optimize a site so that it is more easily linked to, more highly visible in social media searches on custom search engines (such as Technorati), and more frequently included in relevant posts on blogs, podcasts and vlogs.
There has been some cross blogging back and forth between Rohit, Cameron, and Jeremiah Owyang on the rules of Social Media Optimization, and I’ll add a couple more.
Here’s a summary of what they’ve put together to date:
1. Increase your linkability : Think blogs, content, aggregation & linkbait.
2. Make tagging and bookmarking easy : Include calls to action for users to tag, bookmark and Digg your stuff. I’d suggest the Sociable Plugin if you have a Wordpress powered blog.
3. Reward inbound links : List blogs which link back to you via permalinks, trackbacks or recently linking blogs (like the Yahoo & Google blogs do).
4. Help your content travel : Content diversification can lead to mobility of your content beyond the browser.
5. Encourage the mashup : Let others use your content or tools to produce something a bit different or outside of the box with your stuff, even RSS.
6. Be a User Resource, even if it doesn’t help you : Add value and outbound links, even if it doesn’t help in the short term, it will in the long.
7. Reward helpful and valuable users : Give your contributors and readers the recognition they deserve.
8. Participate : Get in there and get involved in the discussions going on among the blogs and sites of others, and do it organically. Earn your rep on Digg.com, don’t try and force it.
9. Know how to target your audience : Understand your appeal and those people you wish to attract.
10. Create content : A little bit of rules 1 & 4 here, but the underlying message is know the form of content working for you.
11. Be real : Transparency pays off and no one likes a fake.
And mine:
12. Don’t forget your roots, be humble : Sometimes it can be easy to get carried away being a BlogStar or industry talking head. Remember those who helped you along the way, and that respect will help all involved.
13. Don’t be afraid to try new things, stay fresh : Social Media is changing and morphing by the minute, keep up on new tools, products and challenges in your social sphere..."
Search Engine Journal - Cyworld vs. MySpace.com:
"Cyworld, the Korean import which has just launched in the US yesterday, is all set to give MySpace a run for its money with new twist on social networking. While MySpace is a bit behind in its look, template features and basic technology, Cyworld is beyond cool; with virtual rooms, worlds and Asian influenced mobile social networking.
Cyworld users can construct profiles and upload photos, just like MySpace (well, except for using 2006 technology and admin) and also keep journals (blogs) & guest books while also building their own minirooms, minivaults (for files & such), sketchbooks for doodling, and favorite links (think bookmarking).
All of this information is kept within a user’s “Minihome.”
Best of all, and reminiscent of Yahoo’s Social Identity efforts which are in themselves influenced by the Asian web, Cyworld also lets its members construct their own Minime - an avatar in Cyworld..."
"Cyworld, the Korean import which has just launched in the US yesterday, is all set to give MySpace a run for its money with new twist on social networking. While MySpace is a bit behind in its look, template features and basic technology, Cyworld is beyond cool; with virtual rooms, worlds and Asian influenced mobile social networking.
Cyworld users can construct profiles and upload photos, just like MySpace (well, except for using 2006 technology and admin) and also keep journals (blogs) & guest books while also building their own minirooms, minivaults (for files & such), sketchbooks for doodling, and favorite links (think bookmarking).
All of this information is kept within a user’s “Minihome.”
Best of all, and reminiscent of Yahoo’s Social Identity efforts which are in themselves influenced by the Asian web, Cyworld also lets its members construct their own Minime - an avatar in Cyworld..."
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
[Sharing eclipses shopping on the Internet]
Technology News : Google removes text link to Froogle:
"On Wednesday, Google removed a text link to its comparison-shopping site, Froogle, and replaced it with one pointing to Google Video, where amateur spoofs uploaded by users mingle with episodes of Dave Chappelle's show.
While Google explained the switch as a philosophical one - more about helping users find new video content than driving traffic to any particular section - some bloggers and Web watchers saw the change as more strategically significant.
'Froogle Dumped for Hot New Girlfriend,' wrote Michael Arrington, who follows Silicon Valley on a blog called TechCrunch. His post also noted that Google has been testing a new layout for the video section. 'We sure don't see this kind of product attention showered on Froogle,' he wrote..."
Technology News : Google removes text link to Froogle:
"On Wednesday, Google removed a text link to its comparison-shopping site, Froogle, and replaced it with one pointing to Google Video, where amateur spoofs uploaded by users mingle with episodes of Dave Chappelle's show.
While Google explained the switch as a philosophical one - more about helping users find new video content than driving traffic to any particular section - some bloggers and Web watchers saw the change as more strategically significant.
'Froogle Dumped for Hot New Girlfriend,' wrote Michael Arrington, who follows Silicon Valley on a blog called TechCrunch. His post also noted that Google has been testing a new layout for the video section. 'We sure don't see this kind of product attention showered on Froogle,' he wrote..."
Search Engine Journal - Google's Direction in Content & Video Distribution:
"Kevin J. Delaney of the Wall Street Journal looks into Google’s latest content deals with Viacom’s MTV Networks and Fox Interactive Media’s MySpace.com (two vicious competitors) and how this new Google Video and Advertising direction is key to the company for long term growth.
From Google Sees Content Deals As Key to Long-Term Growth :
Google’s improved relationships with media and entertainment companies reflects the confidence those companies have gained in online distribution in the past year, amid rapid growth in Americans’ consumption of Web video and other Internet content.
But just as importantly, it illustrates a coming of age in Google’s approach to the owners of content it wants to search. One key development: Google has recruited executives from the media and entertainment industries in the past year to negotiate with those companies. Led by David Eun, a Time Warner Inc. and NBC alum who joined Google in February, these teams are prowling for deals and courting potential content partners with visits to Google’s Silicon Valley headquarters.
Now “we can approach them (the media and entertainment firms) in a way that we can actually do business together and not screw things up,” said Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt at a press conference Wednesday.
Making such tie-ups work is crucial to Google’s long-term advertising revenue growth, providing the company with additional places to display lucrative ads, such as alongside video clips. It’s also key to Google’s mission of letting consumers search the world’s information. For years, individuals could access billions of Web pages through Google, which the company indexed without their owners’ explicit permission. Now the company is trying to extend that search to diverse sets of commercial information, including movies and books.
This is a good, public read on Google, content, and its competition with Yahoo and others while appeasing the content and entertainment companies, from the Wall Street Journal..."
"Kevin J. Delaney of the Wall Street Journal looks into Google’s latest content deals with Viacom’s MTV Networks and Fox Interactive Media’s MySpace.com (two vicious competitors) and how this new Google Video and Advertising direction is key to the company for long term growth.
From Google Sees Content Deals As Key to Long-Term Growth :
Google’s improved relationships with media and entertainment companies reflects the confidence those companies have gained in online distribution in the past year, amid rapid growth in Americans’ consumption of Web video and other Internet content.
But just as importantly, it illustrates a coming of age in Google’s approach to the owners of content it wants to search. One key development: Google has recruited executives from the media and entertainment industries in the past year to negotiate with those companies. Led by David Eun, a Time Warner Inc. and NBC alum who joined Google in February, these teams are prowling for deals and courting potential content partners with visits to Google’s Silicon Valley headquarters.
Now “we can approach them (the media and entertainment firms) in a way that we can actually do business together and not screw things up,” said Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt at a press conference Wednesday.
Making such tie-ups work is crucial to Google’s long-term advertising revenue growth, providing the company with additional places to display lucrative ads, such as alongside video clips. It’s also key to Google’s mission of letting consumers search the world’s information. For years, individuals could access billions of Web pages through Google, which the company indexed without their owners’ explicit permission. Now the company is trying to extend that search to diverse sets of commercial information, including movies and books.
This is a good, public read on Google, content, and its competition with Yahoo and others while appeasing the content and entertainment companies, from the Wall Street Journal..."
Poynter Online - E-Media Tidbits:
"A Dutch dating site for farmers, Farmdate, is suing Google in an effort to stop sponsored sex links from appearing next to search results that lead to its site.
The owner of the site, Pieter Bosch, supported by the Dutch trade union FNV Bondgenoten, claims that the links are very damaging for the image of the site.
Bosch claims it is easy for search engines to prevent sex-related contextual ads (supplied automatically via Google's Adwords program) to show up. His lawyer, Van der Schaft, has in the past two months negotiated such a deal with Google.
The Dutch daily Het Parool quoted Van der Schaft: 'Google refuses, although it is technically very easy to do. Google uses double standards since in the U.S. and France. It does offer possibilities to object against those unwanted associations.'
Google did not want to respond on the case. The court case is expected to come to a close on Aug. 24, 2006..."
"A Dutch dating site for farmers, Farmdate, is suing Google in an effort to stop sponsored sex links from appearing next to search results that lead to its site.
The owner of the site, Pieter Bosch, supported by the Dutch trade union FNV Bondgenoten, claims that the links are very damaging for the image of the site.
Bosch claims it is easy for search engines to prevent sex-related contextual ads (supplied automatically via Google's Adwords program) to show up. His lawyer, Van der Schaft, has in the past two months negotiated such a deal with Google.
The Dutch daily Het Parool quoted Van der Schaft: 'Google refuses, although it is technically very easy to do. Google uses double standards since in the U.S. and France. It does offer possibilities to object against those unwanted associations.'
Google did not want to respond on the case. The court case is expected to come to a close on Aug. 24, 2006..."
IAC Acquires Controlling Interest in Connected Ventures, LLC, Parent of Leading Comedy Site CollegeHumor.com:
"IAC Acquires Controlling Interest in Connected Ventures, LLC, Parent of Leading Comedy Site CollegeHumor.com
NEW YORK - August 15, 2006 - IAC/InterActiveCorp (Nasdaq: IACI) announced today that it has acquired a 51% stake and full voting control of Connected Ventures, LLC, parent of leading comedy site CollegeHumor.com. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. CollegeHumor is the first site to join IAC Programming, launched earlier this year to buy and build branded online content properties that engage passionate communities.
CollegeHumor delivers comedic content, including videos, pictures, articles and jokes to its core audience of college students and recent graduates. Attracting more than 6 million monthly unique users and generating more than 200 million monthly page views,* the site provides online advertisers across a variety of categories with an efficient vehicle for reaching the desirable young adult demographic..."
"IAC Acquires Controlling Interest in Connected Ventures, LLC, Parent of Leading Comedy Site CollegeHumor.com
NEW YORK - August 15, 2006 - IAC/InterActiveCorp (Nasdaq: IACI) announced today that it has acquired a 51% stake and full voting control of Connected Ventures, LLC, parent of leading comedy site CollegeHumor.com. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. CollegeHumor is the first site to join IAC Programming, launched earlier this year to buy and build branded online content properties that engage passionate communities.
CollegeHumor delivers comedic content, including videos, pictures, articles and jokes to its core audience of college students and recent graduates. Attracting more than 6 million monthly unique users and generating more than 200 million monthly page views,* the site provides online advertisers across a variety of categories with an efficient vehicle for reaching the desirable young adult demographic..."
Thursday, August 10, 2006
John Battelle's Searchblog: NYT Finds An AOL Searcher:
"A very important piece of reporting, and a powerful reminder of the data corporations and the Govt. have access to.
NYT: A Face Is Exposed For AOL Searcher No. 4417749.
From it:
And search by search, click by click, the identity of AOL user No. 4417749 became easier to discern. There are queries for �landscapers in Lilburn, Ga,� several people with the last name Arnold and �homes sold in shadow lake subdivision gwinnett county georgia.�
It did not take much investigating to follow that data trail to Thelma Arnold, a 62-year-old widow who lives in Lilburn, Ga., frequently researches her friends� medical ailments and loves her three dogs. �Those are my searches,� she said, after a reporter read part of the list to her.
I spoke with one of the authors, Tom Zeller, late yesterday, and when he told me they'd easily found this woman, I was, in an odd sense, thrilled. In a way, this advances one of my goals - the silver lining of a data leak like this is that it allows the culture to have a conversation about what we're getting into here by tracking all this data (the Times quotes me saying as much.) Kudos to the Times..."
"A very important piece of reporting, and a powerful reminder of the data corporations and the Govt. have access to.
NYT: A Face Is Exposed For AOL Searcher No. 4417749.
From it:
And search by search, click by click, the identity of AOL user No. 4417749 became easier to discern. There are queries for �landscapers in Lilburn, Ga,� several people with the last name Arnold and �homes sold in shadow lake subdivision gwinnett county georgia.�
It did not take much investigating to follow that data trail to Thelma Arnold, a 62-year-old widow who lives in Lilburn, Ga., frequently researches her friends� medical ailments and loves her three dogs. �Those are my searches,� she said, after a reporter read part of the list to her.
I spoke with one of the authors, Tom Zeller, late yesterday, and when he told me they'd easily found this woman, I was, in an odd sense, thrilled. In a way, this advances one of my goals - the silver lining of a data leak like this is that it allows the culture to have a conversation about what we're getting into here by tracking all this data (the Times quotes me saying as much.) Kudos to the Times..."
John Battelle's Searchblog: Topix:
"Topix expands its News Search ---providing access to article archives long past their expiration in Google or Yahoo news services. From a year of results, you can browse through a graphic timeline of stories relating to you search. Caps sensitive searches are also now a go, 'for the true search geek' (very useful)..."
[See graphic of articles over time]
"Topix expands its News Search ---providing access to article archives long past their expiration in Google or Yahoo news services. From a year of results, you can browse through a graphic timeline of stories relating to you search. Caps sensitive searches are also now a go, 'for the true search geek' (very useful)..."
[See graphic of articles over time]
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
BREITBART.COM - Google, News Corp. Sign Search, Ad Deal:
"Google Inc. reached a deal Monday with the owner of MySpace.com to pay at least $900 million in shared advertising revenue and become the exclusive search provider for the popular online hangout.
The deal, which marries the Internet's leading search engine with the top social-networking site, means News Corp. will have essentially paid off the bulk of the $1.2 billion it spent last year to acquire both MySpace and the online video-game company IGN Entertainment Inc.
Under the multiyear deal, News Corp.'s Fox Interactive Media unit will add Google search boxes to MySpace and other sites, likely by the end of the year, and Google will provide search results and keyword ads targeted to people's search terms. Google will also get first rights to sell any display ads not sold by Fox directly.
Because the primary reason people leave MySpace now is to conduct searches on Google, according to Fox executives, letting MySpace users enter such queries directly on the site allows it to retain visitors longer and thus boost its advertising potential..."
"Google Inc. reached a deal Monday with the owner of MySpace.com to pay at least $900 million in shared advertising revenue and become the exclusive search provider for the popular online hangout.
The deal, which marries the Internet's leading search engine with the top social-networking site, means News Corp. will have essentially paid off the bulk of the $1.2 billion it spent last year to acquire both MySpace and the online video-game company IGN Entertainment Inc.
Under the multiyear deal, News Corp.'s Fox Interactive Media unit will add Google search boxes to MySpace and other sites, likely by the end of the year, and Google will provide search results and keyword ads targeted to people's search terms. Google will also get first rights to sell any display ads not sold by Fox directly.
Because the primary reason people leave MySpace now is to conduct searches on Google, according to Fox executives, letting MySpace users enter such queries directly on the site allows it to retain visitors longer and thus boost its advertising potential..."
Monday, August 07, 2006
New lease on life for Friendster? | CNET News.com:
"Is some patent medicine the prescription Friendster needs to get back on its feet?
A pioneer in the area of online social networking, the company and its Web site quickly fell from grace. Now it's hoping that a combination of site improvements and a newly granted patent--with others waiting in the wings--can help it get back into the fray. High
The patent is what's garnering Friendster its new notoriety these days.
Granted in June, the patent (7,069,308) describes the use of online computer systems to help people connect and communicate with each other, and to see and manage those relationships, 'within social networks.' It had been filed in June 2003..."
"Is some patent medicine the prescription Friendster needs to get back on its feet?
A pioneer in the area of online social networking, the company and its Web site quickly fell from grace. Now it's hoping that a combination of site improvements and a newly granted patent--with others waiting in the wings--can help it get back into the fray. High
The patent is what's garnering Friendster its new notoriety these days.
Granted in June, the patent (7,069,308) describes the use of online computer systems to help people connect and communicate with each other, and to see and manage those relationships, 'within social networks.' It had been filed in June 2003..."
