Fox Interactive has shaken hands with Google in a deal that will greatly increase Google's available ad inventory. The 900M deal, which will be spread out over 4 years (2007 - 2010), requires that Fox keep up certain minimum traffic levels...

Acquisition Positions Vocus As Leader in Search Engine Optimized (SEO) and Direct-to-Consumer Press Release Distribution

LANHAM, MD (PRWEB) August 7, 2006 – Vocus, Inc. (NASDAQ:VOCS) , a leading provider of on-demand software for corporate communications and public relations, today announced that it has acquired privately-held PRWeb, the pioneer in online visibility and search engine optimized (SEO) press release distribution...

snap2eyes Announces License Deal with eGames to Create Customizable Advergame Templates

snap2eyes today announced its license agreement with eGames, which provides game content for customizable advergame templates to be produced by snap2eyes. Ads created from such advergame templates offer online advertisers memorable branding opportunities with captivating interactivity, and can be viewed and played in-page (on the publisher’s web page) or on the advertiser’s specially designed campaign web page. snap2eyes plans to price its advergame templates inexpensively so that small to medium-sized businesses can also exploit the full potential of interactive rich media and game-based marketing...

Disney said it was unlikely to enter into any "broad, sweeping partnerships" with internet portals such as Google or Yahoo as it builds its internet business.

"Our opportunities are pretty significant without them," said Robert Iger, the company's chief executive, citing its strong brands and its advertising network.
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Google is enabling its merchants from the index of local businesses to create coupons. Users will be able to search and find them and 20,000 are expected to be available today. The coupon service will debut on its mapping service.

By Aline van Duyn in New York

Published: August 14 2006 00:01 | Last updated: August 14 2006 00:01

News Corp’s internet properties, including MySpace.com, are to start selling Fox films and television content on a download-to-own basis in an effort to create a foothold in this potentially huge new digital market.

The service, which will charge $19.99 for new feature films such as X-Men The Last Stand and $1.99 for TV series episodes such as 24, will be available from October to users of the News Corp-owned gaming-oriented IGN Entertainment sites, with MySpace and others to come.
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In a 2006 version of the 18th century gold rush…

AOL’s whipping out the bulldozers and suiting up the geologists to go after what is reported to be gold and platinum bars buried on an internet spammer parent’s property...

By E&P Staff

Published: August 17, 2006 2:10 PM ET

NEW YORK “Hostage: The Jill Carroll Story,” an 11-part multimedia series for the Christian Science Monitor, has millions of readers flooding the Web site.

According to WebSideStory’s HBX Analytics, the Christian Science Monitor’s Web site analyzer, the reporter’s series had more than 450,000 unique visitors on its first day of publication (Aug. 14), more than 1 million page views on that day, and 1.5 million page views the following day. Normally, the Christian Science Monitor’s Web site attracts an average of 121, 247 page views per day in July. Full Article

Absolutley huge information....

By Jennifer Saba

Published: August 15, 2006 12:30 PM ET

NEW YORK The newspaper industry faces a $20 billion revenue gap over the next five years if advertising and circulation revenue continue its downward spiral, according to a new report from the Burlingame, Calif.-based research firm Outsell.

The firm based its projection on the industry's reliance on paid circulation, which has been slipping at an alarming rate over the past several years. "The entrenched habits of using the Web will only deepen the circulation decline," wrote lead analyst Ken Doctor in the report. "Couple that change with less-meaty print products, more free daily and weekly competition, and newsprint pricing increasing in the 5% to 8% range, and the problems multiply." Full Article

By STUART ELLIOTT

Published: August 16, 2006

THOSE consumers who prefer their entertainment unbranded — that is, without the products, logos and other trappings of advertisers embedded in the content — are in for a disappointing decade, according to a new report...

New AdSense Game demonstrates for entrepreneurs how everyone from stay-at-home moms and students to independent businessmen can generate substantial revenue with the Google AdSense contextual advertising program.

AUG. 18 9:28 P.M. ET Fiber network operator Level 3 Communications Inc. has signed a multi-year agreement to transmit Internet content, including video, for the popular social networking site MySpace.com, Level 3 announced Friday.

Level 3, which offers Internet capacity in 82 markets, will initially support MySpace in some markets, the company said in a statement.

"We selected Level 3 because of the proven performance of its network and Level 3's ability to support increasing high bandwidth demand," Aber Whitcomb, chief technology officer of MySpace, said in a joint statement issued by Level 3. Full Article

Yahoo's Score Drops the Most, but Even Leader Google Is Down
By Willow Duttge

Published: August 18, 2006

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Customer satisfaction with most major search engines and portals is declining. Yahoo's satisfaction rating took the biggest plunge, according to a recent study by American Customer Satisfaction Index. Even Google, which rated highest among the major portals, is slightly down compared to last year's ratings.

On a 100-point scale, Google, the highest scorer, dropped 1.2% from 82 to 81 points; Yahoo's rating declined 5% from a score of 80 to 76 points; MSN was off 1.3%, dropping for a score of 74 from 75; and Ask.com, which had the lowest rating, dropped 1.4% from 72 to 71 points. AOL is the only listed portal or search engine that moved up, from 71 to 74 points, a 4.2% bump.
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Branded content channels and "participatory video ads" will allow advertisers to customize their own space on YouTube to attract people with contests and videos.

By Laurie Sullivan
TechWeb

Aug 22, 2006 02:54 PM

YouTube has launched an advertising strategy with online video billboards to give marketers and businesses more than contests and banners to reach consumers.

Branded content channels and "participatory video ads" will allow companies to advertise products and services on the YouTube site.

Warner Bro. Records, unit of Warner Music Group Corp., is the first to use the brand channel to promote Paris Hilton's debut album "Paris" that arrives in stores Tuesday. As of nearly 10:30 a.m. PDT (Aug. 22), Hilton's video had been rated 3,918 times, and commented upon 527 times.

Fox Broadcasting Co.'s "Prison Break," which began its second season this week, sponsors the Paris Hilton Channel. Users can subscribe to the brand channels they like.

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OMAnalyst Conclusive Analysis:

- Majority of adults with Steady Incomes will never stop reading magazines and newspapers.

- The bulk of human interaction will remain "high-touch" and not high-tech". It would require an event on an "evolutionary scale" to change this.

- Teens and young adults are aware of their "time-value". Their fast paced, tech-injected lives bring the amount of time they spend on the news to the surface. Kill 30 second spots for 2 minute news clips. Replace them with 10 second "in your face" experiences. Don't waste the viewer's time, make them forget the time.

- The "Internet" was and is the new era for communication. Everything else; RSS, PodCasts and others are tools and are to be used for tactical purposes...

By Elise Ackerman
Mercury News

America's top four Internet companies -- Google, Yahoo, AOL and Microsoft -- promise they will protect the personal information of people who use their online services to search, shop and socialize.

Parmy Olson, 08.23.06, 12:56 PM ET

Sony Pictures Entertainment has leapt into the new media ring by picking up Grouper Networks, a video sharing Web site.

Brought to you buy: MERRIMAN - CURHAN - FORD

Investment Conclusion
Aptimus acquired High Voltage Interactive, a lead-generation company focused on the education vertical for $7.5M or less than 1.0x forward sales for a profitable company, which is attractive considering that APTM trades at EV/sales of 2.1x (2007). High Voltage should be a nicely accretive acquisition, should increase revenues in 2007 by nearly 50%, accelerate path to profitability, and should effectively lower valuation multiples for the consolidated entity.

PRESS RELEASE

AD REVENUE FOR BUSINESS PUBLICATIONS CONTINUES MODEST GROWTH
Year-to-date ad revenue up 1.01% over same period 2005; ad pages steady at .68%

NEW YORK, August 24, 2006 — Advertising revenue among business publications continues to show steady growth in 2006, with the June 2006 Business Information Network (BIN) report indicating total revenue for the year-to-date up 1.01% from the previous year. The Building, Engineering, Construction category led with an 8.03% increase in revenue followed by the Automotive and Resources, Environment, Utilities category, each posting a 7.88% increase through the year-to-date. Ad pages for the year-to-date are remaining stable into the summer months with a .68% increase. This trend is reflected by strong monthly category performers Architecture, Design, Lighting and Resources, Environment, Utilities, who posted an increase of 16.01%, and 9.23%, respectively.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Aug 28, 2006 (BUSINESS WIRE)

GOOG today announced the launch of Google Apps for Your Domain (http://www.google.com/a), a set of hosted applications for organizations that want to provide high quality communications tools to their users without the hassle of installing and maintaining software or hardware.

In addition to customizing the user interface with their own branding and color scheme, organizations can tailor the service to their needs by mixing and matching the email, messaging, calendaring and other tools offered through Google Apps for Your Domain. Over time, Google will offer versions of Google Apps for Your Domain that are oriented toward the needs of a variety of organizations, from family websites and community groups to non-profits and small businesses, as well as universities, large enterprises, and ISPs.

Merriman-Curhan-Ford recently upgraded InfoSpace (INSP) to Neutral from Sell based on positive valuation implications from the News Corp./Jamba deal.

Intuit and Google Forge Alliance Combines the Power of QuickBooks with Google’s Reach to Help MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - Sept. 13, 2006 - Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq: INTU) and Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG) announced today a strategic alliance designed to help millions of small businesses promote themselves online using a variety of popular Google services built into most QuickBooks® 2007 products. The alliance combines Intuit’s deep knowledge and experience solving small business problems with Google’s expertise and reach on the Web to help small businesses address their number one objective – attracting new customers.

MySpace Gaining Ground Accounting for 2.53% of Visits to Shopping Sites
"MySpace and other social networks are prime targets for online retailers to take aim at in order to drive more traffic and increase their sales." - OMAnalyst

"Social networks, with their inherent behavior-twist could prove extremely beneficial to online retailers, as opposed to general search engine traffic. This is an option that retailers should not pass up." - OMAnalyst

Unbeknown to the average consumer there is a war raging within the world of advertising. The battle of news services vs. search services is intense. I just wonder if print will suffer from post traumatic stress disorder.

It is a fast, simple and highly effective way to reach out to your audience. For the first time you can connect directly to your audience allowing you to react swiftly to changes in market conditions, new product launches and to react to your competitive landscape.

“An absolutely valuable form of audience contact” – Don Makoviney,
Maksys Internet Programming and Development