Daily Marauder

ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA

Google launched an online Health portal, offering users a place to store their personal health records to make it easier for doctors to retrieve them. Google claims the normal privacy protection law that protects health records doesn’t apply to the service, but promises users will have complete control over which records they share. (Which begs the question, how is a doctor going to know if they’re seeing the whole truth?) The company discussed details of the service including such privacy issues during a factory tour yesterday. (Cynopsis 5/20, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080519/ap_on_hi_te/google_health 5/19)

Google is beginning an “experiment” that incorporates graphical ads with image search results. The Internet giant declines to comment on the revenue implications of the move. Also: Google execs are convening to discuss the implications of a possible revived deal between Yahoo and Microsoft. (Iwantmedia 5/20, http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9947326-7.html 5/19, http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article3965896.ece 5/20)

Sample Ads in Google’s Image Search

Rather than acquire all of Yahoo!, software giant Microsoft is proposing a deal to buy the Web portal’s search-advertising business. The deal would involve Yahoo!’s selling its Asian assets. If Microsoft were to acquire Yahoo! search, the combined entity would have about a 30% share of the U.S. search market. News of the possible deal comes as Yahoo! and Google are discussing a separate deal in which Yahoo! would outsource search advertising to Google. (ClipSyndicate/Bloomberg 5/19, Reuters 5/20, The Wall Street Journal 5/20)

Napster will switch to an unrestricted music format today in hopes that selling MP3s online will encourage iPod users to browse its download store. Faced with declining sales, Napster joins other sites that have switched to MP3s as record companies, faced with falling CD sales, have had to relent on their hard-core copyright stance. (The Washington Post/Associated Press 5/20)

They may have more music available and no DRM (as compared to Apple’s iTunes), but they certainly need to work on their user interface.  Companies need to exert the same effort in setting up an e-commerce site as they would when designing a retail location.

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is stressing his company’s independent spirit, after a report the social-networking site might be sold to Microsoft. We’re “focusing on building,” he says. Asked specifically about the prospect of a sale, Zuckerberg declines to comment. (Iwantmedia 5/20, http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUST27219820080519 5/19)

Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp plans to announce it is buying the Israel-based StarNet Interactive, the parent company of GirlSense.com, a Web site that lets teenagers design and market virtual fashions. Disney’s Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers have boutiques on the site. (Iwantmedia 5/20, http://www.reuters.com/article/mediaNews/idUSN1955783820080520 5/20)

Comcast, which has already announced peer-to-peer Web traffic management partnerships with BitTorrent and Pando Networks, said it would invest an undisclosed amount in a new P2P company called GridNetworks. “We are interested in the application of P2P concepts in a manner that puts the quality of the consumer experience first and enables lawful distribution of copyrighted content while also efficiently utilizing the network,” said Comcast’s chief technology officer, Tony Werner. (CNET 5/19)

Disney’s plan to shut down its Virtual Magic Kingdom on the Web, where fans interact with each other using avatars, is stirring protests among users. While VMK is free, access to Disney’s other online game sites — like Club Penguin and Toontown — costs as much as $9.95 a month. (Iwantmedia 5/20, http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB121124116733805445.html 5/20)

Virtual Magic Kingdom

About 60% of ESPN’s advertising deals now includes more than one platform, according to top sales exec Sean Bratches. “That’s not forced, either.” ESPN’s endless hours of highlights, interviews and other video snippets are seen as ideally suited to the online and mobile worlds. (Iwantmedia 5/20, http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/espn-primed-ad-growth/story.aspx?guid=%7B0E92BEA7%2D18A2%2D4AA5%2DB70A%2D659F06AB285A%7D 5/19)

CNBC will provide programming to the newly launched AOL Money & Finance video site. Users will also be able to access CNBC content through AOL Video and its video search property Truveo.com. Advertisers will be able to make buys across CNBC TV, CNBC.com and AOL. (Iwantmedia 5/20, http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=82953 5/20)

Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., is urging Google to remove video clips made by “Islamist terrorist organizations” from its YouTube video-sharing site. In response, Google says: “YouTube encourages free speech and defends everyone’s right to express unpopular points of view.” (Iwantmedia 5/20, http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2008/05/19/senator-asks-youtube-to-remove-terrorist-clips 5/19)

Senator Joe Lieberman

Efforts are still underway in several smaller U.S. cities to use municipal funds to improve broadband infrastructure and speeds despite several high profile public Wi-Fi failures, according to the WSJ. Some 60 towns and cities have built fiber networks capable of faster connections than what the cable or telecom providers offer. Some, like Chattanooga, plan to use their network to deliver triple play (TV, internet, phone) services. (Cynopsis 5/20)

The answer to digital piracy isn’t simply fighting it — find new business models or prepare to die, warns News Corp. boss Peter Chernin. “To the degree we’re only trying to protect existing business, we’re toast. All we’re doing there is staving off the inevitable. We’ll be dinosaurs.” (Iwantmedia 5/20, http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117986039.html?categoryid=1054&cs=1 5/18)