| Google joins effort to make more Web sites more sociable | Associated Press/AP Online May 12, 2008 | MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - The effort to make it easier for Web surfers to connect with their friends is attracting a crowd.
Following similar moves by the two biggest online hangouts, Internet search leader Google Inc. is introducing tools that are supposed to make any Web site more sociable.
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| | Google Stronger Than Ever After Difficult Stretch | | Chicago TribuneMay 11, 2008 | It's hard to believe Google Inc. actually looked vulnerable just two months ago.
Its stock is hot again and Microsoft has scrapped its plans to buy Yahoo, with Google playing the spoiler's role.
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| Yahoo Comes Up Short Among a Group That Matters | | Los Angeles TimesMay 11, 2008 | There's been no shortage of opinion about what went wrong with Microsoft's "failed" $47.5-billion takeover of Yahoo (I'm hedging because a lot of people still think the deal could go through, once cooler heads prevail).
But amid all the analysis and punditry since talks between the two companies fell apart last week, the one angle that's proved elusive is what avid users of Microsoft's and Yahoo's products have to say.
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| | Microsoft Appeals EU Antitrust Fine | | Los Angeles TimesMay 10, 2008 | Microsoft Corp. said Friday that it had appealed a $1.39-billion fine imposed in February by the European Commission for failing to comply with a 2004 antitrust order.
The fine had marked the tentative end to a long-running fight between the European Union and Microsoft, triggered by a 1998 complaint by Sun Microsystems Inc. Sun alleged Microsoft was refusing to supply all the information that servers need to work with its market-dominating Windows operating system.
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| Yahoo! Launches Glue Pages Beta in India. | | AsiaPulse NewsMay 09, 2008 | MUMBAI, May 9 Asia Pulse - Betting on India, the local edition of the Internet portal Yahoo!
on Thursday chose the country for the global launch of its new search concept Glue Pages Beta.
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| | Is Your Consumer Using Social Media? | | Advertising AgeMay 05, 2008 | Raise your hand if you believe social media is an important way to build a brand.
The question is: Where should a marketer spend to reach its consumers-and how does a marketer know if its consumers use social media?
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| We Better Start Monetizing Social Media Before It's Too Late | | Advertising AgeMay 05, 2008 | Technology is a funny thing.
We are living in a time when the media we consume are undergoing the most rapid technological transformation since the advent of TV. Back then, there was a lot for companies to gain by having a TV in every home in America.
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| | Advocacy groups take aim at Google-Yahoo partnership | | Associated Press/AP OnlineMay 09, 2008 | WASHINGTON - An online advertising partnership between Yahoo Inc. and Google Inc. is facing opposition from consumer and civic groups that didn't wait for an official deal announcement to voice their discontent.
Top Google executives said Thursday they are interested in a partnership with their closest rival but didn't indicate how close they were to an agreement.
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| Can Craigslist Stay Oddball? | | .May 09, 2008 | Here is a homely, text-heavy site that's among America's top 10 in monthly page views and time spent on it.
Yet to a remarkable degree it staunchly refuses to turn on any moneymaking machinery.
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| | News Corp: Selling Ads For MySpace Is Hard Work! | | .May 09, 2008 | News Corp. execs did more than just admit that they weren't going to hit their revenue goals for MySpace and Fox Interactive Media today.
They also fessed up to another open secret: Selling ads on social networks is a really difficult.
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| Microsoft Reportedly Disbands Yahoo Slate | | Los Angeles TimesMay 09, 2008 | Microsoft Corp. continued to distance itself from Yahoo Corp. on Thursday, telling the people it had lined up to nominate to the board as part of a prospective hostile takeover battle that their services were no longer needed, according to a person familiar with the conversations.
Since it withdrew a $42-billion bid to buy Yahoo on Saturday, the world's largest software company has been saying that its pullback was not a negotiating tactic and that the company would not put the matter before Yahoo shareholders by launching a proxy fight.
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| | Google execs hope for long-term ad deal with Yahoo | | Associated Press/AP OnlineMay 09, 2008 | MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - Google Inc.'s top executives expressed hope Thursday that the Internet search leader will be able to form a potentially lucrative advertising partnership with Yahoo Inc. - a deal that would lower the odds of Microsoft Corp. renewing its attempts to buy Yahoo.
"We share a lot of values with them."
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| MySpace to allow users to share data with Yahoo, others | | Associated Press/AP OnlineMay 08, 2008 | LOS ANGELES - Social networking site MySpace said Thursday it will soon enable users to quickly share profile data with Web sites operated by Yahoo Inc., eBay Inc. and others.
"There's this concept that social networks are walled gardens," said Amit Kapur, MySpace's chief operating officer.
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| | With Microsoft mum, analysts mull next moves for Live Search | | Associated Press/AP OnlineMay 08, 2008 | SEATTLE - Without the influx of Web traffic that Microsoft bet would quickly follow a Yahoo buyout, the software maker is facing a long slog if it wants to turn its money-losing online services business into a Google-killer.
Others believe Microsoft should concede that market to Google Inc. and find success elsewhere - leapfrogging rivals in areas such as display and mobile advertising.
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| Corporate News: Microsoft Made Eyes At Facebook As Talks With Yahoo Waned | | The Wall Street JournalMay 08, 2008 | Microsoft Corp., under pressure to craft a strategy for competing online that doesn't involve Yahoo Inc., informally approached social-networking Web site Facebook Inc. to gauge its interest in selling itself to Microsoft, says a person familiar with the situation.
Microsoft's investment bankers recently contacted Facebook as it looked likely the Redmond, Wash., software company might back away from buying Yahoo, the person said.
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| | AP sources give inside look at Microsoft's raised Yahoo bid | | Associated Press/AP OnlineMay 07, 2008 | SAN FRANCISCO - Just how serious was Microsoft Corp. about raising its bid to $47.5 billion for slumping Internet pioneer Yahoo Inc.?
The answer is taking on greater importance as more outraged Yahoo shareholders threaten to sue the company's board - or try to replace the 10 directors - for the way they responded to Microsoft's sweetened offer.
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| Google looking golden again after challenging stretch | | Associated Press/AP OnlineMay 07, 2008 | SAN FRANCISCO - It's hard to believe Google Inc. actually looked vulnerable just two months ago.
Its stock is hot again and Microsoft has scrapped its plans to buy Yahoo, with Google playing the spoiler's role.
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| | Bill Gates says Microsoft going 'independent' way | | Associated Press/AP OnlineMay 07, 2008 | TOKYO - Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said Wednesday the company isn't pursuing other deals following the withdrawal of its $47.5 billion takeover bid for Yahoo.
He said in Tokyo that the company put "a lot of effort" in the talks with Yahoo and has decided the two should pursue "independent paths."
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| Yahoo board may face shareholder mutiny at annual meeting | | Associated Press/AP OnlineMay 06, 2008 | SAN FRANCISCO - After fending off months of threats by Microsoft Corp., Yahoo Inc.'s directors still will have to fight for their jobs as the company's own irate shareholders plot a mutiny.
Spurred by widespread criticism about how Yahoo's board responded to Microsoft's sweetened takeover offer of $47.5 billion, an activist shareholder is trying to recruit an alternate slate of directors to present at Yahoo's annual meeting on July 3.
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| | Collapse Yahoo talks leaves advertisers with less leverage | | Associated Press/AP OnlineMay 06, 2008 | NEW YORK - The collapse of Microsoft Corp.'s pursuit of Yahoo Inc. is leaving advertisers pining for other ways to reach mass audiences on the Web and to counteract Google Inc.'s dominance of the online ad market.
Advertisers can still distribute ads across smaller Web sites through networks that all major Internet companies run, but such an approach doesn't have the same appeal as reaching Yahoo's massive audience all in one place, something that would have been even more compelling once Microsoft's Web sites were thrown in, too.
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| Microsoft Could Still Snag Yahoo, Experts Say | | USA TODAYMay 06, 2008 | SEATTLE -- Microsoft may yet reel in Yahoo.
That's a prevailing sentiment among Wall Street stock analysts and Internet advertising experts following Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's withdrawal of the software giant's sweetened $47.5 billion offer to acquire Yahoo.
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| | Yahoo Gets Hit With the Backlash | | Los Angeles TimesMay 06, 2008 | After a three-month standoff with Microsoft Corp., Yahoo Inc. is about to square off against its shareholders.
Incensed that Yahoo rebuffed Microsoft's last-ditch takeover offer worth $47.5 billion, investors sent its shares plunging 15% on Monday, erasing about $6 billion in market value.
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| Q&A: What's Next for Microsoft and Yahoo | | New York NewsdayMay 06, 2008 | Microsoft Corp.'s withdrawal this past weekend of a $47.5-
billion offer to buy Yahoo Inc. left many wondering whether the courtship is definitely over and, if so, what's in store for Microsoft and Yahoo.
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| | Yahoo teams with McAfee on secure search | | Associated Press/AP OnlineMay 06, 2008 | SAN FRANCISCO - Yahoo Inc. and McAfee Inc. are joining to offer alerts about potentially dangerous Web sites alongside search results generated at Yahoo.com.
With the new security feature - slated to take effect Tuesday - people who search the Internet using Yahoo will see a red exclamation point and a warning next to links McAfee has identified as serving dangerous downloads or using visitors' e-mail addresses to send out spam.
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| Stocks end lower after Microsoft pulls Yahoo bid | | Associated Press/AP OnlineMay 05, 2008 | NEW YORK - Wall Street pulled back Monday after Microsoft Corp.'s decision to withdraw its bid for Yahoo Inc. and as oil prices rose to a new record over $120 a barrel.
Microsoft had offered $43.7 billion to buy Yahoo Inc., but scrapped the bid late Saturday after the software maker and the Internet provider could not agree on a sale price.
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| | Yahoo CEO facing possible rebellion after spurning Microsoft | | Associated Press/AP OnlineMay 05, 2008 | SAN FRANCISCO - Yahoo Inc. Chief Executive Jerry Yang is convinced that the company he started in a Silicon Valley trailer 14 years ago is worth more than the $47.5 billion that Microsoft Corp. had offered for the Internet pioneer.
Now he may only have a few months to convince Wall Street that his rebuff of Microsoft's takeover bid was a smart move - and if he can't, analysts won't be surprised if Yang is either replaced as CEO or forced to consider accepting a lower offer if Microsoft comes knocking at his door again.
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| Giving Up on Yahoo, Microsoft Rethinks Its Internet Options | | The Wall Street JournalMay 05, 2008 | Yahoo Inc. Chief Executive Jerry Yang didn't really want Microsoft Corp. to
By Saturday, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer didn't want that either, leaving both technology giants facing fundamental questions about their futures.
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| | Microsoft Appears to Lean Toward Hostile Yahoo Bid | | The Wall Street JournalMay 02, 2008 | Microsoft Corp. late Thursday was leaning toward going hostile in its pursuit of Yahoo Inc., according to people familiar with the matter, with an announcement likely Friday.
In an interview earlier Thursday, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer declined to indicate Microsoft's decision and wouldn't say when the company would make a decision public.
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| Microsoft CEO has price in mind for Yahoo | | Associated Press/AP OnlineMay 02, 2008 | SEATTLE - Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer said Thursday he knows how much he'd spend to buy Yahoo and accelerate his company's Internet play.
Ballmer did not say whether Microsoft is considering raising its unsolicited bid, worth $44.6 billion at the time it was made in early February.
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| | Push Coming to Shove for Microsoft on Yahoo | | Los Angeles TimesMay 01, 2008 | Microsoft Corp.'s board of directors spent much of Wednesday debating whether to escalate the company's high-stakes battle to win Yahoo Inc. or walk away, according to people familiar with the talks.
Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer has shown increasing willingness to abandon his pursuit of the Internet pioneer as Yahoo shareholders and management seek significantly more money, according to those people, who declined to be identified because they weren't authorized to discuss the talks.
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| Time Warner To Spin Off Cable; Future of AOL Now on Agenda | | The Washington PostMay 01, 2008 | Media giant Time Warner will spin off its cable unit, it said during its quarterly earnings call yesterday, formalizing a decision that has been months in the making.
"We've decided that a complete structural separation of Time Warner Cable, under the right circumstances, is in the best interests of both companies' shareholders," Time Warner chief executive Jeffrey L. Bewkes said in a statement.
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| | Integration missteps at AOL led to first flat ad quarter | | Associated Press/AP OnlineApr 30, 2008 | NEW YORK - AOL made key mistakes that pushed down display-advertising sales and resulted in the Time Warner Inc. unit's first quarter of flat ad revenue since it began staking its future on the boom in online ads, executives said Wednesday.
Overall, AOL revenues fell 23 percent in the three months ending March 31, compared with the same period in 2007, according to Time Warner.
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| Google unveils eclectic mix of designs by prominent artists | | Associated Press/AP OnlineApr 30, 2008 | SAN FRANCISCO - Google Inc.'s once-austere Web site is turning into an eclectic art gallery.
Hoping to spur more customization of its home page, the Internet search leader has unveiled a lineup of colorful graphics dreamed up by a mix of creative souls, ranging from fashion designer Oscar de la Renta to the rock group Coldplay.
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| | Corporate News: Microsoft's Next Move on Yahoo Is Imminent | | The Wall Street JournalApr 30, 2008 | Microsoft Corp. is expected to make its next move in the three-month-old takeover standoff with Yahoo Inc. as early as Wednesday, as the two sides have failed to reach any negotiated acquisition deal.
One option Microsoft has weighed is nominating a proxy slate of directors to replace Yahoo's board, while waiting to put any acquisition offer directly to Yahoo shareholders, say people familiar with the matter.
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| No economic slowdown on Internet | | .Apr 29, 2008 | Internet commerce continues its robust growth, defying a sluggish economy that's teetering on recession, Google's chief economist and several analysts said Friday.
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| | Media co. Cox eyes online ad growth, buys startup for $300M | | Associated Press/AP OnlineApr 29, 2008 | NEW YORK - Media conglomerate Cox Enterprises Inc., betting its future on Internet advertising as newspaper and television audiences shrink, plans to spend $300 million to buy a startup that helps Web sites pool their ad space.
"We're absolutely convinced at Cox that online revenue is continuing to grow," John Dyer, Cox executive vice president for finance, told The Associated Press.
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| Is an Era Ending? Media Mogul Sells Blogs | | The Baltimore SunApr 27, 2008 | It didn't rank up there with Alan Greenspan's famed caution about "irrational exuberance" a decade ago, before the dot-com bubble burst and wiped out trillions in paper wealth, but Nick Denton's warning the other day caused people to take notice.
The Sunday Times of London estimated his wealth last year at about $290 million.
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| | Yahoo to outsource Messenger phone calls to Jajah | | Associated Press/AP OnlineApr 29, 2008 | NEW YORK - Yahoo Inc. is outsourcing the Internet telephone functions of its instant messaging program to the startup Jajah.
The deal is a big score for Jajah, which has grown explosively since it was founded in 2005 in Austria.
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| Yahoo's Silence Puts Ball Back in Microsoft's Court | | San Jose Mercury NewsApr 26, 2008 | SAN JOSE, Calif. _ Yahoo let Microsoft's deadline for a response to its $40 billion-plus offer for the Sunnyvale, Calif., Internet company pass without a word Saturday, putting the ball back in Microsoft's court.
Most analysts expect Microsoft to take its offer directly to shareholders at Yahoo's annual meeting by proposing its own slate of directors for Yahoo's board and letting stock owners decide then whether they want to accept Microsoft's offer.
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| | Chief Yahoo Jerry Yang: Net Icon Now in a Tough Spot | | San Jose Mercury NewsApr 25, 2008 | Apr. 25--When Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang took over the reins of his troubled company last year, the blog posts and e-mails came with attachments of hope.
But even as the company cafeteria in Sunnyvale buzzed with optimism that Yang would bring back the mojo of Yahoo's early days, there were hints of a dark shadow from Seattle.
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| AOL's Web Sites Show Gains in Traffic | | The Wall Street JournalApr 25, 2008 | A yearlong effort by AOL to transform its content Web sites into crowd- pleasers is beginning to pay off.
The content push is part of AOL's bid to reinvent itself as an ad-supported Web company following its August 2006 decision to make its Internet-access service free.
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| | Is Microsoft's Ballmer a Bad Dealmaker? | | USA TODAYApr 24, 2008 | The bid for Yahoo that helped sink the market value of Microsoft by more than $20 billion in one day in early February is one of the latest in a string of acquisitions and major investment stakes Microsoft has initiated since CEO Steve Ballmer took over in 2000 that have been punished by the stock market as misjudgments.
"Some learn more quickly than others.
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| CEO Says Microsoft Could Forgo Yahoo | | The Wall Street JournalApr 24, 2008 | Steve Ballmer says Microsoft Corp. is willing to go it alone rather than buy Yahoo Inc. And he has a reason besides opposition from the Internet company: skepticism among his own employees.
Since Microsoft made its bid in late January, Microsoft's chief executive and other executives have circled the ranks of Yahoo shareholders and held informal talks with Yahoo executives in the hope that friendly talks can coax Yahoo into their arms.
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| | Media & Marketing: Amazon Stands Tall Amid Slowdown | | The Wall Street JournalApr 24, 2008 | Amazon.com Inc. hasn't been pinched by the economic slowdown yet.
The online retailer said first-quarter profit rose 30% on a healthy jump in revenue, as consumers increased purchases through Amazon's free-shipping programs and from merchants that use Amazon as an online mall.
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| Media & Marketing: Sony Again Delays Its PS3 Virtual Community | | The Wall Street JournalApr 23, 2008 | TOKYO -- Sony Corp.'s videogame unit delayed for the second time the release of its much-anticipated virtual-community service for the PlayStation 3, showing the extra care it is taking in vetting products as demand for the videogame console is increasing.
The 3-D service called Home, which originally was expected to be sold starting last year, now is expected to be available in the fall, the company said.
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| | Yahoo's Earnings Report Fails to Wow Wall Street | | Los Angeles TimesApr 23, 2008 | Yahoo Inc. on Tuesday made much ado about its first-quarter financial performance as a sign that it's turning around its fortunes.
Analysts said the results and projections were not strong enough to force Microsoft to raise the price of its takeover offer for Yahoo but may have been just good enough to keep the software giant from lowering its bid.
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| Yahoo Nears Deal With Google Over Search Ads | | The Wall Street JournalApr 17, 2008 | Yahoo Inc. moved closer to outsourcing its search advertising to Google Inc. after an initial test of the system yielded what the two firms deemed positive results, people familiar with the matter said.
A partnership could give Yahoo some needed leverage as it tries to ward off an unwelcome $42 billion bid from Microsoft Corp. Some view the potential pact as mere gamesmanship, particularly in light of antitrust concerns that a Google- Yahoo linkup would likely raise.
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| | Yahoo's Ability to Deal Might Hinge on Healthy Net Income | | Los Angeles TimesApr 22, 2008 | Wall Street will tune in to the Internet version of "Let's Make a Deal" today as Yahoo Inc. attempts to wrest a higher price from Microsoft Corp.
In the audience will be a cast of thousands: shareholders, employees, analysts and media, all ready for Yahoo to reveal its first-quarter financial results.
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| Microsoft Introduces Revamped News Search Service | | The Seattle TimesApr 17, 2008 | Apr. 17--Microsoft launched an overhauled news search service this week that brings together stories, photos and video from around the world.
Google News was introduced in test form in 2002.
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| | Agencies Know the Score on Web Tracking | | The Wall Street JournalApr 21, 2008 | A discrepancy between Google click data and comScore's estimates of those data before they were released caused the Web-measurement firm's share price to plunge last week.
Digital-advertising executives say they have long taken comScore numbers with a grain of salt and don't plan on curtailing their use of the Reston, Va., research firm because of the Google flap.
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| Technology Journal: FCC Continues Press for Clarity in Web Providers' Delivery Practices | | The Wall Street JournalApr 17, 2008 | SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin is bringing his campaign for unfettered Internet access to Silicon Valley Thursday, putting Comcast Corp. on the spot, despite the cable giant's efforts to back away from a policy of limiting the way customers download some Internet files.
Mr. Martin will preside over a seven-hour hearing at Stanford University that will explore what responsibilities Internet providers have to deliver traffic fairly, and what phone and cable companies should be telling consumers about the services they can expect for their $40 or $60
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| | Ballmer Points Out Microsoft Soft Spots | | The Seattle TimesApr 18, 2008 | Apr. 18--Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer gave a forthright public assessment of his company Thursday, confronting the huge advantage Google holds in Internet search -- even among devoted users of Microsoft products -- and calling Windows Vista a "work in progress."
Ballmer said at the outset that he was expecting to have "a little bit more wild and woolly, rockin' and reelin' kind of a discussion than I do with my average customer group."
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| Microsoft Calls On Lobbyists For Yahoo Bid | | The Wall Street JournalApr 18, 2008 | While Microsoft Corp. has yet to persuade Yahoo Inc. to agree to a friendly takeover, the software maker is hiring lobbyists already to help it convince regulators to approve the deal.
Bracing for a regulatory squabble in its takeover bid, Microsoft recently hired Bryan Cave Strategies LLC to lobby the federal government on the proposed deal.
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| | Google Profit Rose 30%, Quelling Investor Fears | | The Wall Street JournalApr 18, 2008 | Google Inc.'s go-go era apparently isn't over.
Google's solid performance came despite slowing growth in the number of times consumers clicked on ads that appear alongside Google's Web- search results and on partner sites.
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| Media & Marketing: AOL Purchases Sphere Source | | The Wall Street JournalApr 16, 2008 | Continuing its buying binge, Time Warner Inc.'s AOL has acquired Sphere Source, a San Francisco company that helps Web publishers enhance their sites by finding related content elsewhere on the Web.
AOL plans to use Sphere technology to beef up its own sites as well as distribute content across the network of more than 60,000 sites with which Sphere has partnerships.
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| | Has Economy Hurt Google Search Ads? | | The Wall Street JournalApr 17, 2008 | When Google Inc. reports first-quarter earnings after the market close Thursday, investors will find out whether their worries about the impact of the softening economy on Google search ads are justified.
Data from research firm comScore Inc. showing a drop in the number of times people click on the ads have fueled the jitters, which have already knocked almost $75 billion off Google's market value since the beginning of the year.
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| | Hearst to Distribute Magazine Content via Facebook, IM | | FolioApr 16, 2008 | Hearst Digital Media has partnered with Spleak Media Network, a hybrid publishing platform that distributes a combination of user generated and professionally-generated content across a variety of networks including Facebook, MySpace, MSN Messenger and AIM, as well as through text messaging.
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| Video a Coming Attraction for Wireless-Savvy Masses | | Los Angeles TimesApr 15, 2008 | It might not be long before the Verizon Wireless pitchman asks: "Can you see me now?"
With 89% of U.S. adults signed up for cellphone service, carriers are trying to boost revenue by getting customers to receive more data on their phones -- and nothing contains as much data as video.
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| | Peter Gabriel, Online Filter | | Los Angeles TimesApr 15, 2008 | PETER GABRIEL has always roamed the sector between art and science.
The search for next has taken Gabriel into a dizzying array of directions (his pioneering CD-ROM "Xplora1" in 1995, for instance, framed many of the Digital Age possibilities for musicians), but right now he is most excited about an endeavor that narrows the number of ideas: The Filter.
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