Articles of the Day
What Yahoo Needs To Do Now - A myriad of suggestions abound for Yahoo’s next steps after its CEO shuffle–but technology spending and mergers/acquisition activity are the areas for improvement that are center stage with financial analysts, marketing executives and search specialists.
Agencies: Yahoo Consolidation Would Hurt Industry - Agency executives are hardly mourning the loss of Terry Semel. The heightened risk of a Yahoo merger, however, brings many of them to tears.
Exponential Launches Free Ad Server - Exponential Interactive, parent company of the Tribal Fusion ad network announced the launch of Expo9, a free ad server for publishers currently serving a reported 20 billion ads for more than 100 clients.
Real Girls Media Adds Independent Film Channel - Real Girls Media, the brainchild of digital agency vet Kate Thorp, has launched an independent film channel on its female-focused Web portal DivineCaroline.com. The portal has also begun running its first video ads, though they will not accompany the film footage for now.
Podcast Listeners Still Like Radio - Nearly 20 million US consumers will download and listen to podcasts at least once a week by 2010, according to interviews with Bridge Ratings’ “Podcast Panel.” Based on extrapolations from the interviews, a projected seven million Americans download and listen to podcasts every week, with an additional 21.4 million listening to a minimum of four podcasts every month.
Yahoo Looks Into Strategic Alternatives - Yahoo CEO Terry Semel is already out, Jerry Yang in in, but neither Wall Street nor the news media is convinced the move will spark a positive turnaround. The stock has suffered badly because it’s constantly being compared to high-flying Google. Yahoo may soon face an activist group that attempts to force the company into exploring strategic alternatives–a possible sale, merger or partnership. Should that occur, Yahoo might find itself in bed with News Corp., AT&T, AOL, Microsoft or Comcast.
MySpace Eyes eBay Partnership - News Corp. has enjoyed a good deal of publicity for its 2005 acquisition of the social network MySpace, and while it will no doubt pay for itself one day, it hasn’t enjoyed the kind of wildfire revenue growth befitting a site that attracts 70 million users per month. Management is constantly looking for new ways to monetize, and the company’s latest move could bring eBay into the fold.
Blinkx Beats Google With Speech-Based Video Ad Net - Google has been working on AdSense for video, but little is reported about its progress. That may be because it’s original partner, Viacom, is now suing the company for $1 billion. Big G’s legal problems have opened the door for smaller guys to create the much-needed networking products that could make online video advertising a force.
Easy Syndication Of Online Video - Joost, the online TV service that utilizes peer-to-peer technology, is outmoded, says Dmitry Shapiro, CEO of rival video upstart Veoh. Joost is a closed system that only shows video from the producers it has deals with. Shapiro thinks Internet TV should be something more open–like the Web itself–that draws content from both professional producers and the greater online community.
Google Wins Antitrust Battle Vs. Microsoft - Google has prevailed in its antitrust complaint against rival Microsoft Corp. The latter agreed to change a feature in its Windows Vista operating system that Google said was anticompetitive. The out-of-court settlement means there will be no trial.
