Articles of the Day
Facebook Unveils New Advertising Program - With all the hype and secrecy surrounding a New York fashion show, social networking site Facebook unveiled its new advertising program at a high-toned affair on Manhattan’s West Side. Standing before a packed room of top media and ad executives, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg told audience members the media industry was on the cusp of a once-in-a century change because of the myriad interconnections among people made possible by the Internet.
Congress Calls For Hearing On GoogleClick Deal - Republican Congress members Tuesday called for a hearing into whether Google’s proposed $3.1 billion buyout of DoubleClick would compromise Web users’ privacy.
Microsoft Lifting the Lid On Windows Live - Microsoft is set to embark on an aggressive marketing campaign for its Windows Live services from McCann WorldGroup and released research indicating that 60% of the service users are ages 18 to 34.
Internet Users Also Watching TV - People who use the Internet are increasingly layering their online time with other kinds of media consumption, according to an online survey of 2,700 Web users ages 18 and up conducted by Burst Media in October.
Online Advertising on a Rocket Ride - eMarketer projects that US online advertising will more than double as a percentage of total media, rising from only a 6% share of total media in 2006, to slightly more than a 12% share in 2010. In roughly the same period, online spending will nearly triple, rising from $16.9 billion in 2006 to $42 billion in 2011.
Internet User Attention Often Divided - More than eight in 10 Internet users also do some offline activity while online, according to Burst Media. Burst found that nearly three out of five Internet users watched television while online. “TV and the Internet have long been multitasking buddies,” said Debra Aho Williamson, senior analyst at eMarketer. “It makes sense to create ad messages that resonate across media.”
Ad Exchanges To Take 30 Percent Of Current Ad Spend By 2011: Report - Over the next five years, online ad exchanges, like the ones run by Google, (NSDQ: GOOG) Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) and AOL, (NYSE: TWX) are expected to take about 30 percent of the share currently spent on traditional media, according to a global survey of more than 2,400 consumers and 80 ad executives by IBM Global Business Services.
Alibaba: Biggest IPO Since Google - Shares of Chinese Web firm Alibaba.com skyrocketed in its first day of trading, opening at more than double the B2B firm’s initial public offering price and making it the largest technology debut since Google in 2004. Alibaba’s IPO raised $1.5 billion at $1.73 per share; yesterday its stock soared to $4.58 per share and figures to go even higher today. The B2B portal is now trading at 281.5 times its 2007 earnings per share, making it far pricier–pound for pound–than, say, Google, whose shares trade at 58.8 times this year’s earnings.
Google Mobileverse Still Several Years Away - Google clearly aims to reform the mobile wireless industry with Android–its new mobile software platform–and the so-called Open Handset Alliance, by making the mobile Web experience more like surfing the traditional Internet. To be sure, it’s a worthy, lofty goal–but it won’t be so easy, says CNET.
Facebook’s Beacon Raises Privacy Concerns - Facebook yesterday revealed its new three-pronged advertising strategy to mixed reviews. The most common reaction among bloggers was one of confusion–particularly with regard to Beacon, the program that “empowers” users to become product endorsers. Advertisers pay to put a little piece of javascript on their site that sends user interaction information back to Facebook. The user has to agree to allow the Web site to do this, and if they do, their purchase information is sent to their friends via a Facebook news feed.
AOL Ads Up Thirteen Percent - Time Warner reported disappointing third-quarter earnings on Tuesday, citing a 38 percent drop in revenue from its Internet unit, AOL. The company lost 851,000 dial-up subscribers as part of its ongoing transition into a free, ad-supported online services company. However, not all is going according to plan, as ad revenue grew just 13 percent in the quarter. Overall, Time Warner’s net income sunk more than 57 cents a share to $1.09 billion, from $2.32 billion a year earlier–although that met most analysts’ expectations.
