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…
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…
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…
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,…
Real Estate Woes (Finally) Hit Zillow, Redfin
It is counterintuitive that Web 2.0 real estate sites would continue to grow their audience and ad dollars while the industry “scrapes along the bottom” for years to come. The sites, though, still say they are growing. “Fear, value-shopping, and…
Friday Yellow Pages Potpourri
This from a guy who has managed most of a lifetime without using the word "potpourri" in a sentence ... At any rate, here is a rundown of some Yellow Pages-related items of note from the past week. It's the…
Topix CEO on Site’s Evolution as a Local Portal
When Topix first came on to the scene in 2003, it primarily crawled local news. These days, the 30-person company has largely remade itself into more of a local portal, especially for smaller markets. It still isn’t profitable, but CEO…
Eventful CEO on $10 Million Funding, Mobile and Ticketmaster Deal
Eventful, which competes with Zvents for leadership (and affiliates) in the fast changing local event marketplace, has just completed a new $10 million C round lead by Telefonica Capital. Also participating are alumni investors, including Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Bay…
Google Extends Reach in Television
Google announced today that it will partner with Harris Corp. in order to tap into its television inventory. Harris has an existing network that places television ads where there is remnant inventory. According to the release: Using current traffic system…
Latest News on Upcoming ILM:08 Conference
We’re just about ready to go with Interactive Local Media 2008, which is Nov. 19-21 in Santa Clara, in the heart of Silicon Valley. It should be a very important, game-defining event -- and the first one for The Kelsey…