Articles of the Day
Content Network Click Fraud Hits 28% - In the third quarter, more than 1 of 4 clicks on ads running on content networks like Google’s AdSense and the Yahoo Publisher Network was fraudulent, according to new stats from Click Forensics. The Austin, Texas-based click quality monitoring firm released its quarterly Click Fraud Index on Thursday. While overall click fraud inched up by less than 1%, click fraud on the content networks hit 28.1%–about a 3-point increase from the second quarter and an almost 10-point surge from the end of 2006.
WPP’s Sorrell: Agencies Within Agencies Needed To Serve Clients - Loose integration and teamwork within agencies won’t be enough to satisfy clients in the future, said WPP Group CEO Martin Sorrell. Instead, fully integrated “agencies within agencies” will increasingly be created from scratch, and cater to the specific needs of clients–which is exactly what WPP is doing with its newest client, computer giant Dell.
Wi-Fi On Planes In ‘08 - American Airlines, Virgin America and Alaska Airlines will begin offering in-flight Web service over the next few months for approximately $10 per flight. JetBlue Airways will start offering free email and instant messaging on one of its planes this Tuesday. “In a few years time, if you get on a flight that doesn’t have Internet access, it will be like walking into a hotel room that doesn’t have TV,” says Henry Harteveldt, an analyst with Forrester Research.
Controversy Leaves Game Sites In Jeopardy - Niche publishers always walk a fine line between the editorial and promotional sides of the business, and right now there’s an interesting bit of controversy happening to video game publisher Gamespot.com. Last week, long-time Gamespot editor Jeff Gertsmann was fired after giving a harsh review to “Kane & Lynch: Dead Man,” a high-profile title from Eidos Interactive, one of Gamespot’s biggest advertisers. Gamespot owner CNET fervently denies the firing has anything to do with the review, but the industry is asking questions.
Vivendi Acquires Activision, Creates New Company - Vivendi Games and Activision are combining to create the world’s biggest third-party maker of video games. The creation of the new company, called Activision Blizzard, comes at a time of record game sales for both developers. Activision expects 2007 revenue of $1.7 billion. Vivendi’s strength, meanwhile, is massively multiplayer online gaming, particularly World of Warcraft, with more than nine million worldwide subscribers who each pay $15 per month.
Fox negotiating to buy Adconion - News Corp. to buy Adconion, the German ad network? — We’re hearing that News Corp.’s Fox Interactive is negotiating to buy the company, and that its a big number. Fox has been building its own ad network (see our coverage, initially here, and then most recently here ) to help it monetize its disparate properties, including the huge network MySpace. Its efforts have been slow though, and we hear that its desperate to own a network. FIM said it wouldn’t comment. Hedge funds and PE firms are also apparently mulling an offer, we’re told.
Six Apart Selling LiveJournal - The nearly three-year marriage is dissolving with Six Apart’s sale of LiveJournal to Russia-based SUP a deal expected to be announced Monday. The financial terms aren’t being disclosed. SUP, which already been running LiveJournal in Russia as part of a licensing agreement, plans to set up a new company in San Francisco to steer LiveJournal’s global growth. Kommersant business daily in Russia places the price-tag at around $30 million.
News Corp. Buys Beliefnet.com - Steve Waldman’s belief paid off today when News Corp. purchased Beliefnet.com, the spirituality-based Web site Waldman founded in 1999 and has run as editor-in-chief since. Beliefnet.com, which boasts over 3.1 million unique visitors a month, won the General Excellence Online Ellie in 2007 this past May, beating out Slate and ESPN.com. On November 12, they launched a beta social networking portal aimed at religious devotees, spiritual leaders, and faith-based groups.
Walt Disney Internet Group Acquires iParenting Media - The Walt Disney Internet Group has acquired iParenting Media, operator of an Internet community for parents and parents-to-be at www.iParenting.com. The acquisition adds to Disney’s stable of family-targeted Web properties within Disney Online, including Disney Family.com, FamilyFun.com and Wondertime.com. iParenting’s content and services will be integrated into Disney’s network of family targeted sites. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
D&B Acquires AllBusiness.com - Another acquisition for this week: AllBusiness.com has been taken on by Dun & Bradstreet for $55 million. The business information company has acquired the online resource for a healthy amount, and has raised its 2008 revenue outlook in order to account for the acquisition. Because no matter which way you slice it, $55 million isn’t a drop in the bucket for too many people or companies. As it currently stands, Dun & Bradstreet has forecast $10 million of incremental revenue for 2008, and the company is looking to 2009 to see an ROI for the purchase of AllBusiness, reports CNN Money.
