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Jan30
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At first glance this may not seem like a big deal, but it is one of the best online advertising deal any third-party provider of ads could have wished for. Some of the websites included in the WSJ Digital Network are AllThingsD.com, The Wall Street Journal Online, Barrons.com and MarketWatch.com, as well as others. The Journal will retain the control of display ads for itself. What this will do for Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT), will be to bring another 20 million unique visitors to its overall network. More importantly, the financial and business content sector is one of the most lucrative in the advertising field, and will make a significant contribution to Microsoft's ad revenue share. It will also enhance its brand in the financial sector.
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Jan30
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On Wednesday, MySpace (NYSE:NWS-A) announced it would be launching its entry into the opening of platforms field, as they'll be soon offering tools for developers to access some the social network sites' code in order to build their own creations.Some...
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The announcement that Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) and Disney (NYSE:DIS) will make today that they are partnering to offer merchandise built around the "Hannah Montana" franchise, gives some good ideas for online marketers.For the most part, let's concentrate on licensing products; not our...
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Jan29
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While Silobreaker, a search company founded in 2005, is an aggregator of news and current event stories, it goes beyond that it claims, into being able to look at search results like human beings do.“It’s no secret that the news...
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For the quarter ending December 31, Baidu continued to lead the Chinese search market with a 60.1 percent share, with Google (Nasdaq:GOOG) following with 25.9 market share, and Yahoo China (Nasdaq:YHOO) coming in third with 12.8 percent.While Baidu continues to...
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Jan28
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Digital sales of music have increased to close to $2.9 billion in 2007, now accounting for 15 percent of all sales in the industry, according to the latest report from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). The only...
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The assertion by Qtrax that they had deals in place with three of the four major record labels is a lesson in how not to do things.At the Midem conference in Cannes, France, Qtrax said they had agreements with Universal,...
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Jan27
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In an interview by Jeff Trachtenberg of the Wall Street Journal with the author of "Against the Machine: Being Human in the Age of the Electronic Mob," Lee Siegel, he gives some interesting, contrarian views as to the value of...
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The ongoing migration and focus of print newspapers to digital newspapers is continuing to pay off in relationship to visitors, as in 2007, the industry enjoyed an overall growth of unique visitors to their online websites, increasing by 6 percent for...
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One of the great struggles almost any online marketer will have, is in tapping into new revenue streams. I mean that in relationship to marketing to existing customers or gaining new ones.An unrealized potential many of us have but aren't...
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Jan26
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With good domain names at a premium, Google (Nasdaq:GOOG) has decided to battle the abuse of companies who register names to test them out to see if they're able to generate significant revenue. Called "domain name tasting," the individuals or...
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Yahoo! News (Nasdaq:YHOO) continued a strong hold on the Web news and internet sector, as it garnered 7.13 percent of all visits in the U.S. market. Their closest competitor, "The Weather Channel US," had 4.74 percent of all U.S. visits,...
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Jan25
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The website of British rockers "The Charlatans" said the band will offer their newest album "You Cross My Path" as a free download starting March 3, 2008. You will able to download it on their site or the Xfm website.While...
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When Digg recently changed their algorithm in order to combat the same users putting everything up on their front page, those predominant users made a fuss about it, as they have in the past.Some of these heavy Digg users recently...
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In a unique partnership between Michael Eisner, former CEO of the Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS), and book publisher G.P. Putnam, for the first time there will be a digital prequel on the Internet. It will be for the upcoming book...
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Citing Google (Nasdaq:GOOG) executives at the World Economic Forum, the Financial Times said Google will not partake in the advertising cycle connected to the slowing U.S. economy.Nikesh Arora, who leads Google's search initiatives in Europe, had this to say: "The...
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FEARnet and Veoh Networks have made a deal for FEARnet to be carried on the Veoh online TV site.In some former trials with two shows offered by FEARnet on Veoh, they have generated over 1 million views over a two-week...
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Jan24
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In an interview with NeeTeeVee, Hulu CTO Eric Feng talked about the progress of the project and where things are standing as of now, and where they will be in the near future. You can view and listen to the...
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For the quarter ending December 31, Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) ended with record earnings of $4.71 billion, a 79 percent increase over the $2.63 billion in the same period last year. Revenue also soared to record highs, as it grew to $16.37...
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The World of Warcraft continues on its attempt to conquer the Internet, as it has now reached its 10 millionth subscriber, after being launched at the end of 2004. According to Blizzard Entertainment, the numbers break down to "World of Warcraft now...
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Jan23
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BBC Worldwide has partnered with MySpace TV to offer up short-form content from the BBC on the Internet network.They have touted the venture as the first deal between MySpace (NYSE:NWS-A) and an international broadcast media company. The new channel, called...
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Wordpress, the blog publishing platform, has received $29.5 million in a second round of financing via Automattic, the commercial arm of the company.Along with past investors True Ventures, Radar Partners and Polaris Venture Partners, The New York Times Co. (NYSE:NYT)...
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Our recent report on thealphamarketer that Meg Whitman was grooming eBay (NasdaqGS:EBAY) for her departure, have been confirmed, as the company said in a statement today that her last day with the company will be on March 31.Also as expected,...
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Jan22
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As of Tuesday, those attempting to offer banking services in virtual world Second Life will be facing new rules from the real world operators of the company.After a virtual bank collapsed within the world (Ginko Financial), and numerous complaints arose...
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Last post we talked about the the growing number of user-generated video views online, reaching an astounding 22.4 billion in 2007.What is important, is the finding that about 20 percent of video views came from videos published before 2006.“With few...
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A report from AccuStream iMedia, cited by Marketing Charts, reveals that user-generated video ended with about 22.4 billion views in 2007, an increase of 70 percent over the 13.2 billion recorded in 2006. What's really interesting and informative to me,...
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Jan21
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Over the last few months, Ebay (Nasdaq:EBAY) Meg Whitman has been quietly going about preparing the company for her leaving it, says the Wall Street Journal Online, citing people close to the matter.She's evidently been passing more and more responsibility...
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A few days late, but I had forgotten ;') So much happened when Matt Drudge found out that Newsweek had spiked a story about the abuse of power and authority when Bill Clinton was playing around with Intern Monica Lewinsky, that it has...
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Last post we talked about Electronic Arts (Nasdaq:ERTS) releasing their popular "Battlefield Heroes" to a mass market, doing some things that appeal to those outside the early adopters.This post let's look at some of the characteristics of a product or...
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Electronic Arts (Nasdaq:ERTS) has experimented in the Asian market with offering their popular Fifa game in an online version exclusively. It's been a great success, as their ad-supported model of the game brings them $1 million a month in revenue...
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Jan20
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The push by Hollywood into out-of-home venues continues to grow, as Nickelodeon and Hertz Rent a Car are teaming up to offer content in its rented vehicles.Children's programming from the network will be called "Nick on the Go," and will...
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A study by Vertis Communications performed over a 10-year period, unveils a number of trends which won't surprise us, although give us specific details on what has changed, but there will be some surprises, as some of the changes were revolutionary...
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Jan19
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Tony Scott, who has extensive experience leading IT departments in large companies, has been hired by Microsoft (MSFT) as their chief information officer.Along with working for Disney (DIS), Scott worked at General Motors (GM) in the same capacity. He was...
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Comscore released a report on the status of the online video industry, and overall video properties owned by Google continue to grow and dominate the market.There is an important distinction to make though, and that is the domination is in...
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An article talking about two, takes on MacWorld 2008 and whether Steve Jobs and Apple (AAPL) were still on the top of their game. One writer thinks he is and the other thinks Jobs and Apple are slowing down.Most of the...
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Jan18
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Only about a week after announcing there was no deal made to acquire the company, SCI Entertainment, creators of "Tomb Raider" and "Kane and Lynch," sent three of their top executives packing, including CEO Jane Cavanagh. Others also leaving are...
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The Christmas season wasn't merry for Google (GOOG), as it saw its search share drop for the first time since it had plunged in June by almost 4 percent.This decrease in search share wasn't as dramatic, as it dropped from...
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The promise of the convergence of the Internet with television has been around awhile, and the reality is probably a few years off yet, at least for the average user, which means the majority of people.Having said that, this is...
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Jan17
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Rupert Murdoch is offering a new service through his HarperCollins imprint, which will take one of the most popular hymnbooks "Mission Praise," and offer it in digital form on a website of the same name.The hymn book was developed in...
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An annual survey released today said Americans are spending more time on the Internet than ever before, and consider it a more valuable source of information than traditional media outlets; including TV, newspapers and the radio.For 2007, the average time...
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In spite of all the media coverage of Facebook, MySpace (NWS-A) continues to dominate the social network traffic space, accounting for over 76 percent of the traffic market in the United States, according to Hitwise, and cited by Marketing Charts.For...
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Jan16
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Microsoft (MSFT) has upped its presence in the personal finance and business space by partnering with Edgar Online (EDGR), a provider of financial information. Edgar Online replaces industry heavyweight Thomson Financial (TOC).Edgar will now be the exclusive supplier of Securities...
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Saying that approximately 5 percent of its customer base accounts for about 50 percent of its network capacity, Time Warner Cable (TWC) announced today that it would be rolling out testing on a new tier level Internet access pricing structure...
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The unique pitch by NBC Universal (GE)to major advertisers concerning out-of-home screens, underscores the growing importance of reaching people where they are.Using out-of-home screens for advertising isn't new, but the growing adoption and use of them is. With only the...
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After pursuing BEA Systems (BEA) for several months, Oracle (ORCL) won their prized, but at a high cost. The software giant ended up paying $8.5 billion for BEA, equal to $19.357 a share. That's 27 percent over the original offer...
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Jan15
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After the introduction of the ultralight and thin Macbook Air laptop computer at the Macworld Expo, everybody has been weighing in on the pros and cons of the new product.Those who like to look for faults, otherwise known as critics,...
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I hope those of you who read thealphamarketer all the time have become convinced that branding is here to stay. People are endlessly attempting to announce it as dead, and yet it continues to be a very real and important...
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With Citigroup (C) posting their largest losses in the 196-year history of the company this quarter, it is worth looking at to see what we can do to manage our brands in the midst of this type of market turmoil....
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Jan14
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Want to go to the grocery store, get your items, and then go straight home without having to stop at the checkout lane? That's the premise behind a new initiative by Microsoft (MSFT) and Wakefern Food Corp.'s ShopRite supermarkets.Dubbed "MediaCart,"...
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The idea is being thrown around that the acquistion of Countrywide (CFC) by Bank of America (BAC) may cause ad revenue for the Internet to slow down, but I don't think that will be the case.This doesn't mean that ad...
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Jan13
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Don't know who Alice Fraasa is? Actually you probably do, although not by name. She's the face of Snorg Tees, a company which sells humorous and snarky types of tee shirts. Fraasa attends Auburn University in her day life, and...
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Every time a new online business seems to take off, the founders or owners attempt to make it like they're not in it for the money, and they're not going to intrude on users with ads. That also gets people...
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Jan12
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A recent Pew Internet & American Life Project survey, cited by Adweek, found that traffic to online video sites has increased by close to double over the last year for adults, as 48 percent visited a web site during that...
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The announcement by IncrediMail (MAIL) that it was kicked off of Google's Adsense (GOOG) program underlines an extremely basic, but vital component of running a successful business: don't put all your eggs in one basket. Observing the IncrediMail problems, it's...
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Jan11
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Liberty Media Corp. (LINTA) has bought another $340 million in shares from Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI), to bring its stake in the company to 30 percent, up from the former 25 percent position they held.According to Liberty, they purchased the...
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Video-game maker SCi Entertainment, based in Britain, said talks with potential suitors to acquire the company have ended, and there's no deal been made. SCi Entertainment is the company that has made notable hits like "Tomb Raider" and "Kane and...
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With the slowdown in 2008, and possible recession, it does require us to look at how it could possibly impact our online businesses and marketing efforts.Most analysts and experts are expecting a recession this year, but a mild one which...
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Jan10
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After 26 years with the company, Jeff Raikes has announced he's leaving the his position as co-president at Microsoft (MSFT). He will stay on with the company until September 2008.Raikes, 49, will continue helping with strategy until he leaves. He...
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MySpace (NWS-A) announced today they've launched a new channel called "MySpace Celebrity," where stars will be able to "communicate directly with fans and control their voice."At the time of launch they had over 300 celebrity profiles, including Tom Hanks, Jenna...
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In what may be a first step in an ongoing process of opening up the online Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Co (NWS-A) will offer free access to a newly created Web site which features its editorial and opinion...
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All the buzz and press interest and coverage of the introduction of the Tata Nano by Tata Motor of India, shows the tremendous value in creating products not meant necessarily to make money.What was it that drove the interest in...
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Jan 9
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The over 1,900 affiliate subscribers to the Associated Press will get some help on monetizing their video content with a new feature they created for the web.What the new tool from the AP will do is allow local TV, radio...
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In a recent press release, Turbine Inc. announced that "The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar" was named as the Best Persistent World Game of 2007 by IGN. “The Lord of the Rings Online has continued to expand...
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The issue surrounding widgets, as it relates to advertising, is they aren't being measured on the web in any comprehensive way. That may soon change though as comScore starts to include Facebook in its tracking of widgets.Up to now they...
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For the month of December, Google (GOOG) reached its highest share of search in the United States, accounting for 65.98 percent of all searched in the country. For the entire year they averaged 64 percent of search share in the...
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Jan 8
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A report just released from Jordan, Edmiston Group, Inc. (JEGI) in relationship to mergers and acquisitions in the media and marketing services sectors for 2007, show that a record level of transactions took place, reaching 838 for the year, and...
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The latest report from comScore concerning e-commerce sales for the Christmas season show it was a season to be jolly, as results handily broke an all-time record, ending at $29 billion. That's an increase of 19 percent over 2006.This was...
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Microsoft (MSFT) has offered $1.23 billion for Fast Search & Transfer ASA, based in Norway. It's a company that offers software products which aid a company in managing, searching and storing their data.The price is a 42 percent premium over...
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Jan 7
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While Microsoft has already passed the 1 million number in set-top boxes for their Mediaroom software, with a number of homes having more than one using it, sometime in the first quarter they're set to attain their one millionth customer,...
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With U.S. same-store sales plunging by 12 percent in the U.S. for December, Circuit City Stores Inc. (CC) same-stores sales company-wide dropped by 11 percent.The fairly strong increase of international same-store sales of 6.5 percent wasn't enough to offset the...
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