Articles of the Day
Yahoo Dials Rogers For Mobile Alliance - Yahoo and Rogers Communications, Canada’s biggest mobile-phone company, entered into a new multi-year agreement that expands their broadband alliance into the mobile sphere.
Yahoo Launches Automated Keyword Selector For Cross-Selling - Just in time for the holidays, Yahoo is upgrading its merchant services, enabling better product merchandising and cross-selling based on keyword searches.
NameMedia Files To Raise $172.5 Million Through IPO - Domain name company NameMedia has filed for an initial public offering to raise up to $172.5 million. NameMedia makes money through the sale of domain names and by selling advertising on a network of Web sites developed from unused domain names. Overall, it monetizes a portfolio of more than 2 million owned and third-party domain names. The Waltham, MA-based company posted net income of $2.6 million on revenue of $61 million last year, and profit of $160,000 on revenue of $58 million through the first nine months of 2007.
Amid Social Media Flurry, FIM Unveils HyperTargeting - Fox Interactive is the first to reveal details of its new HyperTargeting product for MySpace. Over the last several months, the company has been building audience segments based on the information its 110 million-plus worldwide users reveal about themselves. Now, advertisers can buy any of the thousands of audience segments created by HyperTargeting. More than 50 advertisers from P&G to Yum Brands have tested the new system, but they were only capable of targeting ten major categories. Today, 100 subcategories have been added to each of the ten majors.
Facebook Ads To Conflict With Developers? - Ahead of tomorrow’s highly anticipated announcement from Facebook, VentureBeat has a few new details. The new ad platform’s code-name is Pandemic, but this report details a new set of group advertising tools called “Mullets.” Facebook plans to remove its “sponsored groups” section, replacing it with pages advertises can buy allowing them to upload ads or interactive widgets created by Facebook. Many of these sponsored widgets will compete directly with existing third-party applications.
Microsoft Defends Facebook Stake - Microsoft Chief Steve Ballmer on Monday defended his firm’s decision to invest $240 million for a 1.6 percent stake in Faceook. Some analysts were outspoken in their criticism of the deal, saying it put way too steep a valuation on Facebook, and that the only way the investment would be worth it is if the social network can transform itself into a central hub for Web activity. “We didn’t make a mistake,” Ballmer told reporters during a conference in Mumbai. “The valuation of Facebook is still to be determined. Certainly today, it’s very, very popular. So for a company like ours that wants to be a preeminent presence in this space, it’s very important for us.”
Facebook Joins Open Social, Then What? - Fortune blogger Josh Quittner says it’s “inevitable” that Facebook will ditch its proprietary software development platform in favor of OpenSocial, the “Everybody-but-Facebook Alliance” unveiled by Google last week. Sources tell Quittner the two sides are already in discussions, while Facebook board member Jim Breyer on Friday told the Silicon Alley Insider the company would be willing to work with Big G.
Social Search: Do We Really Need It? - Though Hakia has added a “Meet Others” feature, and many other search engines are touting “social” or community-based options, the idea that simple information queries need to be jazzed up or turned into a communal activity hasn’t been completely accepted yet.
