Hulu Turns 1
I didn't realize when I declared my scientific experiment to go on an all-Hulu diet this week that the site turns 1 today. It seems like yesterday that the site launched as a joint venture between News Corp. and NBC Universal…
AT&T Sweetens Deal for iPhone Users: Free Wi-Fi
AT&T has announced that iPhones will be allowed free Wi-Fi access at its 17,000 nationwide hot spots. This includes Starbucks, airports, hotels and lots of other public spots. This is especially good news for first generation iPhone users who don't…
BuzzLogic Presents Proof Points for Blogospheric Influence
Buzz tracking software firm BuzzLogic released a report yesterday, administered by Jupiter Research, which affirms the role of blogs in influencing purchasing behavior. These data come at a key time for BuzzLogic's story, when Madison Avenue remains somewhat wary about…
When Will RSS Get Some Love? Part II
Following up on the post earlier this week, Matt McGee reports that Google has added an RSS feature for Web searches. As noted, Google already offers RSS for news alerts. This extends it to Web searches, which can be set…
Will the Three Major U.S. YP Trade Groups Become One?
I'm here in San Antonio, Texas, having caught the tail end of the Association of Directory Publishers meeting, and now the Association of Directory Marketing's event. One of the many questions floating around the U.S. Yellow Pages industry is whether…
Online Experiment: Losing the Remote
I just paid a $300 cable bill (three months). This is partly because I’ve had little time for bills, but also because my monthly bill is over $100. That includes basic cable channels plus the $40 package that bundles HBO.…
When Will RSS Get Some Love?
Over at the BIA Perspectives blog, Terence Thomas examines RSS adoption. It's an important time to take a look at RSS, as more readers flock online to get their news and as more consumers adopt a mind-set of empowerment for…
Broadband Providers, SMBLive Team for Merchant Profiles, Services
Broadband providers, especially those formerly associated with telco Yellow Pages, are trying to get back in the game of providing marketing services for small businesses. They’re looking to provide Web 2.0 directory-like profiles and search engine marketing services for small…
TKG Data and Analysis: A Weekly Recap
Here are the highlights from the TKG blog last week, in case you missed any posts. Click below to read each post in full. Who Is Responsible for Yellow Pages' Current Woes? Jim Hail, president and chief operating officer of Hagadone…
American Classifieds Adds WebVisible’s Search Solutions
Are the small-business “home and trade service” advertisers that populate PennySaver and American Classifieds a good bet to buy search packages? That’s the question being posed by American Classifieds, the second-largest classified publisher franchise with 6,000 editions. The company signed…
Who Is Responsible for Yellow Pages’ Current Woes?
Jim Hail, president and chief operating officer of Hagadone Directories and chairman of the Association of Directory Publishers, outlined what he believes has been a systematic decline in the brand value of the Yellow Pages at this year’s ADP Mid-Year Convention in…
Yellow Pages ‘Paper Termites’ Are Winning
In an opening session of the Association of Directory Publishers' 2008 Mid-Year Convention in San Antonio, YP Talk Publisher Ken Clark gave a close-up view of how negative PR in print and online is eroding the perception of the Yellow Pages…
EveryZing: A Better Mousetrap for Video Search?
EveryZing this week launched a new video player whose features carry the company's emphasis on video search engine optimization, searchability and good content indexing. Like many of the other video search companies that employ a combination of video indexing technologies,…
Watch: TKG Webinar on Local Media
Peter Krasilovsky, Matt Booth and I did a webinar this week, hosted by "the Commando" Dick Larkin. The content was essentially a preview of the topics we'll hit during our Interactive Local Media conference that takes place Nov 19-21 in…
Reaching the Canadian SMB Market During Economic Instability
Closing remarks at the Warrillow Summit Toronto yesterday gave advertisers targeting the small and medium-sized business market some hope despite the alarming descent in optimism on the current Canadian economic situation. A recurring theme over the past two days of…
Precision Tune, DriverSide Team Up for Online Auto Profiles
Precision Tune Auto Care, which has 300 franchisee-owned stores, is the first major auto-care chain to sign up for DriverSide's new co-branded version of its online vehicle profiles. The profiles include maintenance records. Customers can also receive reminders and special…
Mark Cuban, Jonathan Kraft Invest in CitySquares
Mark Cuban, the dot-com entrepreneur who has launched Broadcast.com and HDNet and now has greater renown as the colorful owner of the Dallas Mavericks, has given the entire local ecosystem a big shot in the arm by investing in CitySquares,…
Yotify Goes for a Metasearch Approach
Search and alert service Yotify has entered the scene with a wide-reaching value proposition to do the legwork in finding people, places and events for you. On one level, it's similar to a lot of aggregators we've seen, like Oodle,…
MapQuest Optimizes for the iPhone
MapQuest has announced the launch of a mobile site that is optimized for iPhone interfaces. It has a sharp design and is relatively quick to return maps and local search results. It must be made clear, however, that this is…
Web Chatter: Excitement Over Android
On the eve of T-Mobile's launch of the G1 -- the first device based on Google's long-awaited mobile OS -- we've seen lots of excitement throughout the blogosphere. The Bloodhound blog has a positive review of the device, based on…