Archive for July, 2008
Surprise! A Big Media Company Finally Says Digital Revenue Actually Matters Now
Embedded in Disney’s (DIS) latest filing with the SEC is a claim that might go down as a first in the annals of big media: Disney says it now has a meaningful digital business. Continue Reading
Interview With Matt Cutts on ranking, spam and the future of search
During a recent visit to the Mountain View Googleplex, I had the chance to interview Matt Cutts for our German Webmaster Blog. While enjoying the California sunshine we chatted about how to rank in Google, resources for webmasters and Matt’s first encounter with spam. As these topics are not only interesting for a German audience, I want to share them with you as well. So watch the video and find out how difficult it can be for the head of webspam engineering to surf the Internet. Continue Reading
Blogger Prank Deprives Sony BMG Of Precious Google Dollars
We don’t know why Sony BMG’s Columbia label has been running Google AdSense on the front of its homepage: Surely they weren’t trying to recoup some of the $40-plus million they lost last quarter, right? Continue Reading
Getting the Most Out of Your Networking Group
Here is my personal list of things to do at your networking group: Continue Reading
Home Based Business VS Working From Home
Discover the all time money making home business opportunities, and learn what the best home based businesses are right now. The best home-based businesses are successful because they have successfully identified an important need and filled it. The best home-based businesses are those in which you build a business one customer at a time. Continue Reading
YouTube Expands Video Editing Toolset With Omnisio Pickup
It turns out you can do more with online video than simple playback. YouTube (GOOG) has seen a rise in popularity in serials and “choose your own adventure” clips, and added its own video annotation service to encourage more interactivity last month. Today YouTube announced its acquisition of Omnisio, adding even more tools for video editing and linking. Omnisio allows users to piece together pre-existing video from online sites into new combinations, and prepare slideshows of clips. No terms were reported, but TechCrunch reports that Ominisio was acquired for about $15 million cash. alleyinsider Continue Reading
Teen Social Network myYearbook Gets $13 Million
myYearbook, a social network for teenagers that launched in 2005, has raised $13 million in a Series B funding round led by Norwest Venture Partners, US Venture Partners, and First Round Capital. The new round brings the company’s total funding to $18.6 million. Continue Reading
Viacom: Ad Market So Bad We’re Not Making Predictions Anymore
Viacom (VIA) CEO Philippe Dauman learned his lesson in Q2: he’s better off not making predictions in this ad market. Continue Reading
The Pressure Rises – Google’s Index Reaches 1 Trillion Pages
Reports out of the Googleplex are purporting that Google’s search database has hit a significant mark…it’s finally tipped over the 1 trillion URL (web pages/files) mark. Continue Reading
Microsoft Gives Up on Yahoo!, Now Stalking Facebook!
It seems that the chase for the elusive Yahoo! was just too tiring for Microsoft so they have given up and set their sights on a new prey- Facebook! Continue Reading
Google Finally Gives Wikipedia a Run for It’s Money!
It was December last year when we first heard about Google Knol, touted as the “Wiki Killer”. Well, Google has finally put the finishing touches to Knol and opened it to the public. Continue Reading
MySpace’s New Classifieds Section Could Drive Traffic, Won’t Kill Craigslist
MySpace is getting a new classified section, which should be a nice upgrade to their existing offering. The new section is powered by Oodle, which runs classifieds for sites like Wal-Mart, Cox Broadcasting, Military.com, among others. Continue Reading
Google Updates PageRank and Drops Old Penalties
Last Friday, Matt Cutts (Google’s head of webspam) announced that Google was updating its PageRank (toolbar) over the weekend, and more importantly, some of the older penalties were being dropped. Continue Reading
Google Not Cheating: Knol Pages Buried Deep In Search Result Hell
One advantage Wikipedia has over Google’s Wikipedia-inspired Knol: Its entries still show up much higher in Google’s (GOOG) own search results. 
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Microsoft’s Facebook Deal Really A “Threat” To Google?
Microsoft casually announced a new search and search ad deal at the end of Steve Ballmer’s analyst presentation today. Microsoft gave next to no details about the pact, but the Wall Street Journal has gone ahead and declared that the deal “could pose a threat to Google“. Continue Reading
Craigslist CEO: Our Real Estate Listings Are Booming
American newspapers are getting hammered by evaporating classified ads, but Craigslist isn’t (SAI 25 No. 3). CEO Jim Buckmaster shared some June numbers that will make a newspaper publisher weep: housing ads are up 85% y/y, with rental ads up 120% and real estate up 70%. 
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More AOL Cost-Cutting: Dumping Properties; Cutting Back On Blogs
AOL is “sunsetting” (i.e. killing or trying to sell) some of its underperforming units, including Bluestring, Xdrive, AOL Pictures and MyMobile. Continue Reading
MICROSOFT ANALYST DAY: CEO Steve Ballmer Tries To Save His Reputation
Thanks for joining us! Steve’s now finished. Notes below. Watch the webcast live here. 
This is a critical speech for Steve Ballmer, whose reputation has been damaged over the past six months. He did an okay job. He thinks Microsoft will succeed in search. We don’t. But Steve probably made best case he could. Continue Reading
WordPress Comes To iPhone
Do you have an iPhone? Are you a blogger? Then you’re going to love this news – there’s now a WordPress app for iPhone available for download from the iTunes App Store. The software lets you update your WordPress blog from anywhere. We’re not forgiving Apple for that MobileMe nonsense just yet, but we have to admit, this is pretty good stuff. Continue Reading
Apple’s Year Ahead: Slashing Mac Prices to Boost Market Share?
From Silicon Alley Insider, July 22, 2008: Continue Reading
Twitter: Yep, We’ve Still Got A Spam Problem
Twitter has publicly acknowledged what most users have known for a while: It’s got spam issues. Continue Reading
NBC Figures Out The Web: It’s A TV Training Ground
Smart move by NBC and comedy producer Lorne Michaels: They’re going to let new late night host Jimmy Fallon practice on the Web before he takes over for Conan O’Brien next year. This is the equivalent of a Broadway show opening out of town to work out the kinks, and it sounds like a great idea to us. NYT: Continue Reading
Steve Jobs’ Health Worries Won’t Go Away. Time For A Succession Plan (AAPL)
Concerns about Steve Jobs’ health aren’t going away. Today’s NY Post quotes a “Wall Street source” who says hedge fund managers are still freaked out after seeing Jobs’ rail-thin appearance at the iPhone launch event last month. It also cites “multiple sources” who’ve met Steve in recent weeks and are “troubled by his thin appearance.” Reuters has now picked up the Post’s story; the wire service doesn’t add anything to the report, but the fact that it is repeating it gives it extra weight. Continue Reading
Steve Case Joins App Developer Living Social’s $5M A Round
LivingSocial, a social network app developer that allows users to see what kind of books, movies, beer, etc. their peers like, has rasied a $5 million Series A Round led by Grotech Ventures. Joining in: Former AOL CEO Steve Case and his wife Jean. Continue Reading
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