Daily Marauder

ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA

News Corp. says it is not preparing a rival bid for Yahoo, and other frequently named prospective suitors like Time Warner, AT&T and Comcast have not begun work on offers, according to people close to the companies. Microsoft “could easily top” their offers in a bidding war. (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/04/technology/04yahoo.html  2/4)

Microsoft’s proposed takeover of Yahoo “raises troubling questions” for Web users, says Google in a blog post. The deal would let Microsoft attempt to exert “inappropriate influence over the Internet.” Also: Google is offering Yahoo “help in any effort” to thwart Microsoft’s bid. (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=avp8T_wFR.M0  2/3, http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB120206856800138831.html 2/4)

Google’s stock got hit with a double whammy on Friday as news of the Microsoft offer for Yahoo combined with a disappointing Q4 earnings announcement. The company reported that profit rose 17% during the quarter, following a 46% jump in profit during Q3, as growth of click throughs on Google search ads slowed. However, Google did release a new open standards-based Social Graph API on Friday to help social application developers track social connections made through the web. The API will make it easier to cross-reference users who are maintaining a presence and striking friendships across multiple social sites.

Introduction to the Social Graph API

Microsoft’s bid for Yahoo may give new Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes his first big test. The potential suitors for Time Warner’s once-dominant AOL appear to be dwindling, with Microsoft and Yahoo possibly out of the way. The remaining likely suitors: Google, AT&T, Comcast and News Corp. (http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/01/technology/siklos_yahoodeal.fortune/index.htm  2/1)

When Microsoft and NBC formed MSNBC.com, Microsoft agreed that the venture would be the only source of news on Microsoft sites. Microsoft could keep Yahoo News and sell MSNBC.com. However, insiders say that a sale is unlikely since MSNBC.com makes more money. (http://valleywag.com/351855/yahoo-deal-spells-a-sale-for-msnbccom  2/1, http://valleywag.com/351909/insiders-say-no-way-on-msnbccom-sale  2/2)

Looking for a replay of your favorite Superbowl commercials? Hulu beta subscribers can check them out at http://www.hulu.com/superbowl . Hulu’s blog will also embed several. MySpace has got them as well. For a look at Kina Grannis’s full length music video – winner of the Doritos/MySpace Superbowl Contest, click here. 

While the number 1 commercial on AOL Sports at the moment is Budweiser’s “Rocky,” I’m going to have to go with #2 on the list as my favorite: Bridgestone’s “Squirrel.”  There’s just something about a screaming animal. . .  Speaking of which, anyone find it a bit odd that the top three ads are all digitized animal ads?  CBS News refers to this as the critter theme.  I prefer animal invasion; sounds a bit more Mars Attacks.

Bridgestone’s “Squirrel” Commercial

As questions swirl about its future, AOL, part of Time Warner, has bought a small widget and online desktop apps maker Goowy Media, for an undisclosed amount. Goowy was founded in 2004 and based in San Diego. In 2006, Goowy received an undisclosed amount of funding from Mark Cuban. (http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-aol-acquires-online-desktop-widgets-firm-goowy-media  2/3, http://www.news.com/8301-13577_3-9863956-36.html  2/4)

ESPN will allow Web users on college campuses and military bases — anyone in the .edu or .mil domain — to access live programming on its pay video site, ESPN360.com, without charge. Opening ESPN360’s doors is expected to more than double the site’s base of possible users. (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/04/business/media/04espn.html  2/4)

Yahoo! is in a deal with RealNetworks Rhapsody America, under which Yahoo! will transfer all users of its Yahoo! Music Unlimited subscription service to Rhapsody, whose on-demand service will be marketed by Yahoo! on its Web site. The two parties also reportedly plan to collaborate on other digital music initiatives. (Forbes 2/4)

A couple of weeks ago we reported several rumors of acquisition of Israel-based FoxyTunes a Firefox plugin that allows users to control their favorite media players from the browser. According to several sources the acquisition has been completed for an undisclosed amount of money. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/02/04/yahoo-acquires-israeli-foxytunes  2/4)

ABC News Now will offer live video coverage of the Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses hosted by Sam Donaldson and Laura Marquez on ABCNews.com beginning tomorrow night at 7 pm ET. Users will be able to “Talk Back” to ABC News NOW by submitting their video questions and comments, which will be integrated into the coverage throughout the evening.

NY-based Outside.in launched a new community site allowing local residents to meet their neighbors and track online discussions using an interactive map. The discussion boards make use of the site’s location-based organizational system to enable users to associate discussions with any location, public space or venue in their neighborhood. The site recently closed a $1.5 Million second round of funding, to be used to develop the additional community features, expand outreach to traditional media partners and launch a geo-targeted advertising platform.

Not nearly as fun and easy to use as Socialight but being a fan of location-based sites, I’ll give it a partial dig.

Application developer community Widgetbox raised $8 million in second round financing from Sequoia Capital, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, NCD Investors, and private investor Michael Dearing. The new funding will be used to build products and services around its DevShare development sharing program.

ComScore’s Ad Metrix service named Yahoo as the leading server of the display ads on the net for November, with Fox Interactive Media leading all publishers in display ads served per visit by more than 2 to 1 over any competitor. Display ads are defined as any rich media or static images served and loaded into a web browser, not including video streams, text or paid search ad impressions.

Top 20 Ad Publishers Ranked by Share of Online Display Ads - Nov. 2007
Total U.S. – Home/Work/University Locations
Publisher                        Share of Display Ads   Display Ads/Visit
Yahoo! Sites                               18.8%                    20.5
Fox Interactive Media                  16.3%                    47.5
Microsoft Sites                            6.7%                      9.8
Time Warner Network                  5.8%                     10.1
Facebook.com                            1.5%                      8.4
eBay                                          1.2%                      8.4
Google Sites                               1.0%                      1.3
Viacom Digital                            1.0%                     20.6
United Online, Inc                       0.5%                     18.3
Amazon Sites                             0.4%                      8.2
New York Times Digital               0.4%                     11.5
CBS Sports                                0.3%                     22.4
Comcast.net                              0.3%                      4.0
Photobucket.com                       0.3%                     16.8
Bebo.com                                 0.3%                      27.2
ESPN                                        0.3%                      6.2
Weather Channel, The                0.3%                      8.8
NFL Internet Group                    0.3%                     12.9
Ask Network                              0.2%                      3.4
Glam Media                               0.2%                     11.9
Total Internet Audience             100.0%                   35.1
Source: comScore Ad Metrix