| IBM-led tech outfit backs EC in Microsoft browser fight
April 15, 2009 at 12:03 pm
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|  Tech group ECIS has today been granted third party status to testify in the Brussels probe into whether Microsoft abused its dominant browser market position. The organisation that represents the likes of IBM, Red Hat and Sun Microsystems confirmed today it had joined Google and Mozilla in being allowed to have its voice heard by the European Commission. |
| Socializr Lets You View Events From Multiple Social Sites
April 15, 2009 at 11:59 am
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|   We've covered Socializr a few times before, and frankly we found the online event and invitation site to be "a mess with some innovative features attached." So now that Socializr is announcing their new event aggregation platform — Socializr Event Connect — to let users view event invitations across multiple sites, we have to wonder if it's the feature that can help Socializr turn the corner. |
| Mobile Ad Network JumpTap Goes After Google
April 15, 2009 at 11:25 am
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|   JumpTap, a mobile advertising firm, has launched a new pay-per-click text and display ad service that could help it compete better against rivals like Google (GOOG) and AdMob. Like Google's AdWords, JumpTap's new TapMatch product lets advertisers place contextual ads based on keywords, targeted -- if you wish -- by mobile carrier. Unlike AdWords, it also lets you target broader page category-types across its network, and specific mobile handsets. |
| Spotted! Google Implementing Facebook Connect
April 15, 2009 at 11:24 am
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|  We just found a sponsored channel on YouTube from Sprite that encourages users to comment using their Facebook accounts through Facebook Connect. There's even a big "Connect with Facebook" button at the top of the page. It's the first time we've seen a Google-owned site implement Facebook Connect. Google (GOOG) probably did it because a paying client asked it to -- and given the difficulty it's had making money from YouTube, Google isn't in a position to be picky. |
| Reports: Yahoo Plans More Job Cuts
April 15, 2009 at 10:50 am
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|  Yahoo may announce a new round of layoffs next week, the third one since early 2008 and the first staff-trimming under new CEO Carol Bartz, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal are reporting. The round of layoffs could affect several hundred employees and could be announced on Tuesday, when Yahoo is scheduled to report its first-quarter financial results, the newspapers reported, quoting anonymous sources |
| Choose Your Own URL for Your Google Profile
April 15, 2009 at 10:00 am
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|   Google Profiles, the page the big G wants you to use as your universal contact page, now lets you choose your own URL cap instead of a number string. So google.com/profiles/BestDudeEver is up for grabs. Head to the link below and scroll down to find the URL changer. Two big caveats, however: Those who've linked their profile pages to their Gmail accounts can't change it, and you only get one shot at changing your URL, so choose wisely. |
| Defeat Your Twitter Archenemy On Tweefight
April 15, 2009 at 8:02 am
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|  Another day, another TwitterTwitter reviews-based time waster. Luca Filigheddu, the author of Twitter search engine Tweefind which we wrote about recently, has a new application out: Tweefight. It takes the simple, tried and true concept of Google Fight and applies it to Twitter. Type two Twitter users, and Tweefight will calculate their "rank" (presumably using the same algorithm as Tweefind), compare them, and tell you which one "won" the fight. |
| Google's Android Getting Better, iPhone Still On Top
April 15, 2009 at 7:00 am
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|  Google (GOOG) is making some long-anticipated improvements to its Android mobile software this month. Good move, of course, but Google needs to keep cranking: Apple is still ahead, and is making big improvements to the iPhone, too. Google announced this week that it's adding virtual, on-screen keyboard support to Android in a software update. That will be helpful, as it should allow Google's partners to more easily sell iPhone-looking phones without physical keyboards. (Or use virtual keyboards as backups.) |
| Roundup: MySpace history, Silicon Valley gloom, and more
April 15, 2009 at 6:11 am
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|   Here's the latest action: How Google overpaid for weak advertising inventory on MySpace - Entrepreneur Andrew Chen has published a tell-all blog post about his early years working at ad network Revenue Science, doing formative deals with MySpace. The post is in honor of a new book out called "Stealing MySpace," which itself details the ins and outs of the social network's evolution. Beyond some juicy new details being revealed in the book, the long-term difficulties in making money from social network advertising were known before Google cut a $900 million multi-year ad deal with the site in 2006. Or, as Chen puts it: |
| Virgin Media switches to Gmail
April 15, 2009 at 4:58 am
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| Virgin Media will today begin moves to transfer its almost four million broadband subscribers to Google's email service. The three existing in-house email platforms will be gradually decommissioned. Customers will get the same 7GB inbox as Google offers free via Gmail, and the same features including POP3 and IMAP access, but via an @virginmedia.com address. Subscribers will be able to keep their @blueyonder.co.uk, @ntlworld.com or @virgin.net addresses if they want. |
| When Google Latitude Stalking Isn't Such A Bad Thing
April 15, 2009 at 4:54 am
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|   Yesterday, Silicon Valley's local CBS affiliate ran a story (video here) about a woman getting her purse snatched. But what's interesting is the way she got it back: With an assist from Google Latitude. You see, in her purse, her phone had Google's location-based social networking service installed, and it was updating the location of her phone in real-time. So even though the thief hopped in a car, when the girl called her sister, she was able to tell police exactly where the criminal was. They arrested the man and got the girl's purse back. |
| JumpTap launches mobile AdWords competitor
April 15, 2009 at 12:00 am
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|  Heavily-funded mobile search and advertising startup JumpTap is launching a new mobile ad marketplace called tapMatch, which it says will offer a more targeted approach than the competition. The Cambridge, Mass. company already offers mobile search and display advertising, but tapMatch is JumpTap's answer to Google's AdWords, where advertisers can bid to have their ads (usually just a few lines of text) appear next to specific keywords. In tapMatch's case, those ads can appear on mobile websites, search results, and applications including those offered for the iPhone. Of course, billing yourself as a mobile version of AdWords brings up an obvious competitor: The actual mobile version of AdWords, plus other mobile ad services like Yahoo's. | | |  |
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