Author: jgaynor

Chris Sherman at Search Engine Watch writes up a bit of the history of Ask Jeeves now that the butler's retirement is here. This is something that has been well over a year in coming. The question now is whether…

Today's N.Y. Times (reg. req'd) has a pro-"net neutrality" editorial: If access tiering takes hold, the Internet providers, rather than consumers, could become the driving force in how the Internet evolves. Those corporations' profit-driven choices, rather than users' choices, would…

MySpace's phenomenal popularity with the teens and early twentysomethings generated a $580 million acquisition by the seventysomething Rupert Murdoch. Here are some truly impressive recent metrics on the site (according to comScore):24.2 million unique users in October 200511.6 billion page…

Here's a roundup of data by aggregator eMarketer on broadband adoption — now pegged at 61 percent of U.S. households, according to Ipsos. eMarketer summarizes that price is the major barrier to continued penetration in the U.S. market: According to…

When people have asked me about "vertical search" and the associated opportunity, I've argued that there is an opportunity but it's mixed. Because the general search market is locked up right now we're seeing a ton of companies offering a…

I'm restraining myself from using the term "Web2.0," which really is on the cusp of cliche status. But Judy's Book has done some very interesting things to its site that if I were comfortable using that term ... might describe…

SiliconBeat blogs about Podbop, a site that combines podcasting and local. It allows you to hear podcasts of bands that are playing in the local market. One can search by artist or location. The site links to Eventful.com, which provides…

MySpace, the supersite for teens, has announced the launch of its own branded "mobile virtual network operator" network. The service and phones will be powered/provided by Helio LLC, which is a joint venture of Earthlink Inc. and South Korean carrier…

Search Engine Journal covers the upcoming Yahoo Search Marketing Searchlight Awards in N.Y. The program is highlighting the innovative work of agencies that have combined traditional campaigns with search marketing. I'll be racing from the Newspaper Association of America show…

Like Yahoo! before it, Microsoft is now offering free basic Web sites to local/small businesses. I haven't set one up so I don't know how "robust" it is compared with what Yahoo! offers. It's pretty clearly a kind of "foot…

Here's an interesting post I came across from the Internet Stock Blog (quoting the earnings call) on how local advertising is driving revenue growth at online wedding vertical/portal and directory site TheKnot.com:Online ad sales constituted 57% of the company's revenue…

We put out a press release this morning highlighting some top-level numbers from our forecast released to clients late last week. Here are some of the numbers featured in the release: Global print Yellow Pages revenues will increase 1.5 percent…

Chris Sherman has a very balanced write-up of Google's enhanced destop search and its privacy implications. My personal view is that Google has become highly sensitized to its perceived position in the market and the privacy issues swirling around the…

Search and Win: A story that's circulating today is one about the prospect of MSN and Yahoo! "incentivizing" users to switch to their search engines with rewards and prizes. MSN is further along; Yahoo! floated what might be called a…

In an admittedly self-serving e-mail, InsiderPages VP Andrew Shotland pointed me to Alexa traffic data that show basically that YellowBook.com and the newer online-only site are neck and neck. YellowBook has been running a TV campaign during the Olympics, whereas…

A little while ago I got a peek at the successor to Microsoft's classifieds marketplace "Fremont." The new site is being called "Expo" and offers a number of advancements and enhancements over the original incarnation of MSN classifieds. It was…

It appears that something of a milestone has been reached (if the data are to be believed). According to this survey written up in MediaPost (reg. req'd), the Internet has become the primary hiring vehicle for employers. The research was…

The WSJ (sub. req'd) and MediaPost (reg. req'd) today both have articles about the new, public auction of ad placements in major magazines on Google. We first blogged about it (after a tip from Battelle's blog) here on Wednesday. From…

This USA Today article by Jefferson Graham pushes the privacy angle: "will/should consumers be fearful of the privacy issues" associated with the new "search across computers" feature of Google Desktop?I spoke to Graham about this late yesterday and told him…

I met with Steven Marder this morning, CEO of Eurekster. These guys were way ahead of the "social search" curve but confused users and the marketplace with their early positioning. People saw them as a complicated Google/Yahoo! competitor.They're really an…