Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
When Google reports fourth-quarter earnings Thursday, analysts will be looking for signs of an economic downturn. But according to some experts, the Internet giant’s focus on highly targeted, measurable advertising makes it more recession-proof than many other businesses. (http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/news/2008/01/google_recession 1/29)
News Corp.’s MySpace, the world’s largest online social network, will launch its program to court outside software developers on Feb. 5 in a bid to widen the gap against rival Facebook. It is also promoting MySpace business development exec Amit Kapur to a new role as COO. (http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN3063853720080130 1/30)
A growing number of university students around the world, known as “Facebook refusenicks,” are refusing to create accounts amid concerns that the social networking phenomenon comes at the expense of users’ privacy. But some non-Facebook users are finding themselves out of the loop. (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/student/student_life/article3152120.ece 1/29)
The Wall Street Journal, aiming to tap into the buzz of online social networks, is adding a feature to its Web site that will allow readers to see which stories are popular among that user’s Facebook friends. The new “SeenThis?” feature is powered by a company called Loomia. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080130/ap_on_hi_te/apfn_wsj_widget 1/30)
Yahoo announced that profit dropped 23% during the Q4 amid weak online ad sales and said it would lay off approximately 1,000 of its 14,300 employees next month to prepare for further “headwinds” expected in the marketplace. The company also unveiled a major new agreement with AT&T to begin sharing ad revenue on multiple platforms and to offer content to the telco’s TV, broadband and mobile customers. Att.net will relaunch next quarter powered by Yahoo applications and offer AT&T Wireless customers access to these services for no extra charge. Meanwhile AT&T U-verse TV customers will continue to have access to Yahoo content through the service’s interactive U-bar feature, available in select cities. (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601204&sid=aZ14d1kDP8mg 1/30)
Connectivity is fast becoming a competitive necessity in the airline industry. Another airline is adding WiFi service to its flights. This time, Continental. But it is the crippled, low-speed kind that can only handle e-mail and instant messaging. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/29/continental-takes-a-crippled-approach-to-wifi-in-the-sky 1/29)
Stephen Chao, fired from News Corp. in 1992, plans to launch a Web video company that will be an educational alternative to YouTube. The site, WonderHowTo.com, aggregates how-to videos, from the mundane (“how to tie a tie”) to the off-color (“how to train your cat to use the toilet.”) (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/30/business/media/30chao.html 1/30)
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