How do we solve the vexing problem of online advertiser and audience fragmentation? Why, the network, of course. Aside from a few big names, very few sites today have the quality and reach that advertisers want. (In many cases they…
Thanks to John Battelle for pointing to a PaidContent write-up of a WSJ story about the rising cost and scarcity of quality online inventory. Here's a post from earlier this year about the inventory conundrum. For multiple reasons (inventory is…
As we've argued before, broadband Internet access will continue its march. In accordance with that notion, U.S. House Democrats (according to an article in Ad Age [reg req'd]) have proposed: "affordable broadband access in every home within five years." Not…
Before all the mashups and nouveau mapping, a tiny company called Metrobot, run by Geoff Campbell, was doing some very different things with maps. The tool provided something like a graphical version of what A9 has done with its block…
According to Nielsen, (via MediaPost), traffic is growing very briskly at the major newspaper publishers' sites. The top 5 are: NYTimes.com USAToday.com WashingtonPost.com LATimes.com (Tribune Co.) SFGate.com (Hearst, SF Chronicle) Meanwhile, Knight Ridder has put itself up for sale, the…
Here it is and it is in fact a separate area of the site. While one can search for anything, results are organized in content-specific areas on Google Base (e.g., Cars, Jobs, Real Estate, Recipes, etc.). But depending on what…
Interesting Q&A with SBC CFO Richard Linder in the latest issue of BusinessWeek. He discusses the possibilities for selling advertising on IPTV using the directory sales force. It's an indication of the strategic importance SBC is placing on its Yellow…
The ever inquisitive U.S. government is seeking authority to tap more VoIP calls at its discretion. VoIP calling is typically cheaper than traditional PSTN calling. In the third quarter, according to research firm TeleGeography, VoIP subscriptions had reached 3.6 million…
Most of the paid search forecasts for 2005 have already been surpassed by actual revenues at Google + Yahoo! (combined approximately $7 billion through Q3, not counting anyone else): Merrill Lynch: $5.1 billion Goldman Sachs: $12.3 billion (online total, search…
If you're anything like me, you wait until the last minute to register for conferences. And I always get shut out of the discounted rate for the conference hotel. I wind up paying $$ to be down the block. In…
The endgame is in sight for the once mighty "social networking" site (that term has itself become pass©). Who will buy it? Someone certainly will at the right price, but the brand is damaged goods among U.S. users. It's a…
Atlanta-based ContactAtOnce! has been running trials with automotive verticals adding IM and presence management to dealer Web sites. The results of the trial, according to the company, were quite successful. Local dealers saw a "20% lift" in the number of…
We're up to 95 responses on our Local Search Survey. We'll present the results before the "Building the Ideal Local Destination" panel at ILM:05 (end of Day 2). I'd like a few more responses to push the number above 100.…
TrueLocal is a consumer-facing local search engine that has been operating "under the radar" (except for appearances at SES) for a while. Run by search engine veteran Jake Baillie, the company is owned by database provider Geosign, which delivers local…
Building on its "social search" template, Yahoo! has revamped shopping and added a range of new personalization and community features. There's a heavy emphasis here on community reviews as a way to "filter" information. There are also degrees of trust…
Here's a list of the top 20 U.S. Internet sites from comScore, nicely compiled with growth rates, courtesy of the Internet Stock Blog: 1. Yahoo!: 9% 2. Time Warner Network: 4% 3. MSN-Microsoft: 3% 4. Google: 32% 5. eBay: 15%…
It's nothing new to observe that big markets are disproportionately important to Yellow Pages publishers and that they are often the most in distress. The recent spate of nine-month conference calls among European directory publishers has reinforced this point and…
Last week we issued an ILM White Paper about the future of TV (IPTV and video search). One of the strongest of the Internet incumbents in this category is AOL, with its broadband portal and video assets. Here's a deal…
Google has set up a page of metrics and marketing copy (by vertical) to show advertisers by industry how consumers are looking for their goods or services online. Local metrics and Google's local targeting capabilities are featured in several of…
I was never a patent attorney, but I think that the USPTO is going too far in granting certain "business method" patents. Case in point: According to this InternetNews article, Amazon was recently awarded a patent covering the collection of…
