Archive for June, 2007
Google announced today the worldwide expansion of its pay-per-action advertising beta. Pay-per-action is a new pricing model that allows advertisers to pay only when a pre-defined action is completed on their site, such as when a user makes a purchase, signs up for a newsletter, or completes any other clearly defined action. Since the initial launch of the pay-per-action advertising beta in March 2007, many advertisers who have used the new pricing model are pleased with the opportunity to have more ways to promote their products and services online.
Starting today, advertisers in the beta will see an alert in their AdWords account informing them that they can now create pay-per-action campaigns. Going forward, advertisers who have enabled AdWords conversion tracking and received more than 500 conversions from their CPC and CPM-based campaigns in the past 30 days will be automatically added to the beta on a rolling basis.
Pay-per-action ads are only shown on publisher sites in the Google content network, also known as Google AdSenseâ„¢ for content sites. Publishers in the Google content network who want greater control over the ads shown on their sites may select between individual ads, a shopping cart of ads, or a specific keyword that is relevant to their site’s content. These publisher-selected ad units contain only pay-per-action ads, and therefore, they do not compete in the auction against CPC or CPM-based ads, which are served in separate AdSense for content ad units.
With this new pricing model, both advertisers and publishers gain more precision and control over their efforts to effectively spend advertising budgets and deliver relevant ads to related website content. Pay-per-action advertising is now available to qualifying advertisers worldwide.
June 21st, 2007
This post is brought to you by: Dogs
Microsoft has agreed to make changes to its Windows Vista operating system in response to a complaint by Google that a feature of Vista is anticompetitive, lawyers involved in the case said on Tuesday.
Google had filed a 49-page document with the Justice Department in April claiming that Windows Vista’s desktop search is anti-competitive because it is difficult to disable and, when Vista’s search runs in tandem with Google’s desktop search product, Google’s product slows to a crawl.
June 20th, 2007
Yahoo! announced today that it has signed partnership agreements with six major mobile operators across Asia, representing a combined subscriber base of nearly 100 million. These new partnerships focus on distribution of Yahoo!’s popular mobile search service, Yahoo! oneSearch, which launched in Asia in May of this year.
The six mobile operators are Globe Telecom (Philippines), Idea Cellular Limited (India), LG Telecom (Korea), Maxis Communications Berhad (Malaysia), PT Telekomunikasi Selular “Telkomsel” (Indonesia) and Taiwan Mobile (Taiwan). These strategic partnerships demonstrate Yahoo!’s commitment to becoming number one in mobile services and establishes the company’s strong early leadership position across Asia in mobile audience reach, mobile search services and mobile monetization.
By distributing Yahoo! oneSearch these six major operators will make it easier for people to search for and find better results and instant answers on their mobile devices. Yahoo! oneSearch gives consumers access to news, Web images, financial information, weather conditions, Flickr(TM) and Web and mobile Web sites, as well as makes it easy to navigate to other web sites.
Yahoo! oneSearch is now available in 14 countries around the world (Canada, France, Germany, Indonesia, India, Italy, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States and Vietnam) and will soon be available in Korea and Taiwan.
June 20th, 2007
This post is brought to you by: New York Search Engine Optimization
Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google, today announced the RechargeIT initiative (http://www.rechargeit.org) that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and oil dependence by accelerating the adoption of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (”plug-ins”). As part of this initiative, Google.org awarded $1 million in grants and announced plans for a $10 million request for proposals (RFP) to fund development, adoption and commercialization of plug-ins, fully electric cars and related vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology.
In addition, Google Inc. announced that it has switched on the solar panel installation at its Mountain View, Calif. headquarters, which will help the company reduce its environmental footprint and power its plug-ins with clean solar electricity. At 1.6 megawatts - and with an electricity output capable of powering approximately 1,000 average California homes - the Google project is the largest solar installation to date on any corporate campus in the United States and one of the largest on any corporate site in the world.
At today’s event, Google teamed with PG&E to demonstrate the bi-directional flow of electricity between plug-ins and the electric grid. “Clean energy technology can dramatically shift how we make and use energy for our cars and homes by charging cars through an electric grid powered by solar or other renewable energy sources, and selling power back to the electric grid when it’s needed most. This approach can quadruple the fuel efficiency of cars on the road today and improve grid stability,” said Dr. Larry Brilliant, Executive Director of Google.org.
The RechargeIT Initiative includes several elements designed to advance plug-in development and commercialization, including:
- Grants: Google.org announced grants to the following organizations:
- Brookings Institution (http://www.brookings.edu): $200,000 to support a spring 2008 conference on federal policy to promote plug-ins;
- CalCars (http://www.calcars.org): $200,000 to support its work to educate the public about plug-ins;
- Electrical Power Research Institute (EPRI) (http://www.epri.org ): $200,000 to support its plug-in research and development program;
- Plug-In America (www.pluginamerica.org): $100,000 to raise public awareness and advocate for plug-in transportation;
- Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) (http://www.RMI.org): $200,000 to enable RMI to launch the design of a practical plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, with additional support and collaboration by Alcoa, Johnson Controls, and the Turner Foundation;
- Dr. Willett Kempton, University of Delaware (http://www.ocean.udel.edu/cms/wkempton): $150,000 for megawatt scale vehicle-to-grid research and implementation planning.
- $10M RFP: Later this summer Google.org will publish a formal request for proposals (RFP) on our website, focused on investment opportunities in companies and projects accelerating the commercialization of alternative transportation that reduces vehicle fossil fuel use and climate emissions. We are looking to invest approximately $10 million in technologies and companies featuring plug in hybrids, fully electric vehicles, vehicle-to-grid capabilities, batteries and other storage technologies, and the application of renewable energy and fuels to green vehicles. We believe that our investments in green vehicle technology commercialization, coupled with additional R&D and policy grants, will help accelerate progress in addressing the climate and energy challenges of today’s transportation sector.
- Plug-In Data Project: To demonstrate the potential of this new technology, Google has partnered with A123Systems/Hymotion to convert a small fleet of hybrid cars into plug-ins and published preliminary performance data at www.rechargeit.org. The experimental fleet of plug-in Prius models has averaged 74mpg to date, compared with 41mpg for the test fleet of non-plug-in Prius hybrids.
- Google Fleet: Through a partnership with Enterprise Rent-A-Car, the Google Fleet is a program designed to support alternative commuting through a free car-sharing program that will be offered to Google employees. The program will eventually expand to include 100 plug-ins as they become available.
Today’s news closely follows Google’s sponsorship of the Climate Savers Computing Initiative (http://www.climatesaverscomputing.org), which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by setting aggressive new targets for energy-efficient computers. Climate Savers and today’s RechargeIT illustrate Google’s commitment to reduce its environmental impact as a company and to protect the environment.
June 19th, 2007
This post is brought to you by: Cute and Funny Daily Pet Photos
Yahoo! today announced that the Board of Directors has appointed Jerry Yang, Yahoo! co-founder and long-time board member, as Chief Executive Officer. Terry Semel, current Yahoo! Chairman and CEO, will assume the position of non-executive Chairman and serve as an advisor and important resource for the company’s senior management team, while also working closely with the Board. The Board also named Susan Decker, formerly Executive Vice President and Head of Advertiser and Publisher Group, as President of the company.
Terry Semel said, “The Board and I have long talked about the importance of ensuring a smooth succession in Yahoo!’s senior leadership – and more recently, about the need for a leadership team committed to carrying Yahoo! through its multi-year transformation. As we discussed my future goals and plans, I was clear in telling the Board of my desire to take a step back sooner rather than later. I believe Jerry and Sue, with their superb talents and intense dedication to Yahoo! and its people, are the perfect combination to carry us forward. This is the time for new executive leadership, with different skills and strengths, to step in and drive the company to realize its full potential – it is the right thing to do, and the right time is now.”
Semel continued, “Jerry and Sue will make an unbeatable team. Jerry has long been recognized as an Internet visionary. His incredible experience and close involvement since founding the company 12 years ago have given him tremendous strategic, technical and industry insight as well as unparalleled knowledge and understanding of Yahoo! and its great potential. We are equally fortunate to have Sue Decker, one of the most talented executives in the industry, as our new President. Sue has played a broad and important role in driving our strategy over the years, and has shown even greater skills and leadership with the success she’s had in taking on more operating responsibilities. Both Jerry and Sue have been great partners to me and I am looking forward to collaborating with and supporting them both, as well as the Board, in any way that I can as Chairman. I’m proud of all that we’ve accomplished over the past six years during this exciting, still early stage of the Internet’s development, and my single goal is to ensure that Yahoo! achieves its full potential.”
Director Ed Kozel, speaking on behalf of the Board, said, “The entire Board appreciates the vital role Terry has played in making Yahoo! the Internet leader it is today. After joining the company in 2001, Terry helped refocus Yahoo! on key strategic priorities and execute clear plans for growth, while building and acquiring world-class products and properties. Under his leadership, we have delivered great value to Yahoo!’s users, advertisers and shareholders – increasing our revenues nearly nine-fold since 2001 to $6.4 billion for 2006, boosting our operating income from a loss in 2001 to nearly $1 billion last year, and creating more than $30 billion in shareholder value during his tenure. We’ve also built our industry-leading audience from 170 million users in 2001 to more than 500 million this year, and significantly expanded our strong and talented employee base from 3,500 to 12,000. All of us on the Board and throughout the company thank Terry for his many contributions over the years and for his willingness to stay on to assist Jerry, Sue and the Board as we drive Yahoo! forward.”
Kozel continued, “We believe there is no better person in the world to run Yahoo! now than our visionary co-founder Jerry Yang, who has helped build and run this company over the past 12 years. Jerry provides phenomenal strategic, technical, product and market leadership, has developed important relationships with major business partners, and has defined and nurtured Yahoo!’s unique, winning culture. As the public face of Yahoo!, Jerry has been instrumental in attracting world-class talent to the company at all levels. In our new President Sue Decker, Jerry has the perfect partner. Sue was an outstanding CFO, has played a key strategic role as part of our senior management team, and in her growing operational role, has had enormous success as well. We are confident we have the right team in place to realize the enormous opportunities ahead.”
Jerry Yang said, “I’m delighted to assume this leadership role at the company David Filo and I started 12 years ago. I want to thank Terry for his many contributions to Yahoo! and for giving the company six of its best years. He has been not only a strong leader, but a consummate partner. And, Sue and I look forward to working with him to build on our firm foundation for future success and improved financial performance. Sue has been an integral part of the management team and knows the company incredibly well. She has demonstrated her ability to build successful teams, drive critical partnerships, and lead some of our most important business initiatives. And she has proved herself to be adept in an increasingly broad range of complex operational responsibilities.
“I am very excited to be leading our exceptional team of 12,000 Yahoo!’s around the world,” Yang continued. “It’s an honor and a great responsibility, and I look forward to the challenge. My immediate and overarching priorities are to realize Yahoo!’s strategic vision by accelerating execution, further strengthening our leadership team and fostering an even stronger culture of winning.”
Sue Decker said, “It is an incredibly important time for Yahoo! and I am thrilled to be partnering with Jerry to execute on our strategic vision. We have a terrific opportunity to build upon the benefits that we are already realizing from the recent reorganization around our core customers: hundreds of millions of users, hundreds of thousands of advertisers, and tens of thousands of publishers all over the world. It has been a great privilege to work with and learn from Terry and his leadership team over the past six years and that foundation will serve us well as we focus on the great opportunities and challenges ahead.”
As part of this management change, Sue will assume leadership of Yahoo!’s business operations, which include the Advertiser and Publisher Group along with the Yahoo! Network, Connected Life, and our International operations. The Technology Group as well as all Corporate Functions will report to Jerry. David Filo will continue to play an important role in our management team by overseeing the company’s strong technology organization as Yahoo! searches for a new Chief Technology Officer.
Because Mr. Semel resigned as CEO and will continue on as non-executive Chairman, the Company said there will be no separation agreement with him.
June 18th, 2007
Flickr today will launch flickr.com in seven additional languages to help the global Flickr community more easily explore, find, manage and share photos. Over half of Flickr members already use Flickr in regions outside the United States, and this new language support will bring the Flickr community to even more people around the world.”Flickr has established itself as the eyes of the world, with millions of people all over the planet sharing photos of every imaginable aspect of life,” said Stewart Butterfield, co-founder and general manager of Flickr at Yahoo! “Today, we’re expanding our language support to make that dialogue easier and to connect those who may not speak the same language, but who share the same passions.”
Flickr fosters connections and interaction among the online community to encourage the sharing and discovery of what people see and experience in their everyday lives. Whether communicating with friends and family, conversing about shared interests, or capturing breaking news, members can upload and share photos from anywhere at anytime. Now, with multiple languages supported, members can traverse language barriers to participate in one of the fastest growing online communities and share, explore and discover over 525 million photos taken by Flickr members from all over the world.
To celebrate this milestone, Flickr will host a series of global community events starting this month in Berlin, Paris, London and Montreal. Flickr will also unveil its 24 Hours of Flickr commemorative book illustrating life as it happened around the world in one day. 24 Hours of Flickr was a global photo project for which members were encouraged to submit one photo taken on May 5, 2007 to illustrate that day in the life of the Flickr community. For more information on the project, visit Yahoo.com and search for “24 Hours of Flickr.”
June 14th, 2007
Intel Corporation and Google joined with Dell, EDS, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), HP, IBM, Lenovo, Microsoft, PG&E, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and more than 25 additional organizations today announced the Climate Savers Computing Initiative (www.climatesaverscomputing.org). The goal of the new broad-based environmental effort is to save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by setting aggressive new targets for energy-efficient computers and components, and promoting the adoption of energy-efficient computers and power management tools worldwide.
“Today, the average desktop PC wastes nearly half of its power, and the average server wastes one-third of its power,” said Urs Hölzle, senior vice president, Operations & Google Fellow. “The Climate Savers Computing Initiative is setting a new 90 percent efficiency target for power supplies, which if achieved, will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 54 million tons per year — and save more than $5.5 billion in energy costs. “We are asking businesses and individuals throughout the world to join with us to institute better power management of their computing equipment and purchase energy-efficient computers,” Hölzle added.
Initial companies who intend to participate in the initiative represent both the demand and supply side of the computer industry, including computer manufacturers and chip makers, as well as environmental groups, energy companies, retailers, government agencies and more. The group will formalize its membership in coming weeks. “By 2010, the Climate Savers Computing Initiative will cut greenhouse gas emissions in an amount equal to removing more than 11 million cars from the road or shutting down 20 500-megawatt coal-fired power plants — a significant step in reducing the emissions affecting our planet,” said Pat Gelsinger, senior vice president and general manager of Intel’s Digital Enterprise Group.
“Computers have helped us make huge strides toward a more efficient world today, with reduced travel, more productivity, online transactions and more,” Gelsinger added. “But with today’s latest energy-efficient technologies, we can do even more. The commitment of the member companies that are here with us today is a firm statement to the collective resolve to make an enormous impact.”
Computer and computer component manufacturers who support the initiative are committed to building energy-efficient products that meet or surpass the EPA’s Energy Star® guidelines. Businesses must also commit to requiring high efficiency systems for the majority of their corporate desktop PCs and volume server purchases, and to deploy and use power management tools on desktop PCs.
Individual consumers can also support the Climate Savers Computing Initiative by signing up at www.climatesaverscomputing.org, where they will be able to pledge to purchase an initiative-certified system. The Web site will also help consumers learn how to take advantage of their existing computer’s power-saving capabilities such as sleep and hibernate modes, which can reduce the amount of energy consumed by up to 60 percent.
The Climate Savers Computing Initiative licensed its name from the WWF Climate Savers program, which involves several leading companies working to reduce their carbon footprint.
“This is the first time our Climate Savers program has been applied to an entire sector, engaging manufacturers, retailers and consumers,” said John Donoghue, senior vice president for the World Wildlife Fund. “We are pleased to join these industry leaders to provide solutions to address climate change.”
The initiative’s energy efficiency benchmarks will initially follow the EPA’s Energy Star guidelines; but with increasing requirements during the next several years. For example, 2007 Energy Star specifications require that PC power supplies meet at least 80 percent minimum efficiency. The initiative would require a minimum of 90 percent by 2010. In addition, the initiative sets a higher efficiency target in the power supply for volume servers (1U and 2U single-socket and dual-socket systems): an increase from 85 percent to 92 percent efficiency by 2010. For a complete description of the requirements, see www.climatesaverscomputing.org.
June 13th, 2007
Today, Yahoo! launches omg! (omg.yahoo.com), a definitive destination for all things celebrity. Delivering on Yahoo!’s mission to connect fans with their passions, omg! on Yahoo! serves up super-sized doses of celebrity 24/7 for every celebrity enthusiast. Consumers who just can’t get enough of celebrity culture will find an easy-to-use site that brings a fresh personality to the latest news, must-see video and photos, as well as round-the-clock updates and features from the biggest names in celebrity news.
omg! features include:
- Celebrity news and information updated throughout the day
- Big, glossy photos and exclusive video
- News sorted by celebrity and hot topics such as BFFs, Red Carpet and Brangelina
- User comments and feedback
Features that are coming soon on omg! include more splashy, high-profile content you can’t see anywhere else and new ways to get your celebrity fix wherever and whenever you need it.
“omg!’s got everything from the Olsens, to Orlando. Yahoo! is uniting fans and their favorite celebrities with a click of the mouse,” said Karin Gilford, GM of Yahoo! Entertainment. “We’re rolling out the purple carpet for today’s latest hotties, superstars and pop idols and giving them the Yahoo! treatment.”
As a top player in the world of entertainment news, “Access Hollywood” will be omg!’s primary content provider, supplying omg! with at least five original stories and videos every day. In addition, Access Hollywood.com will provide omg! with regular online exclusives, including first looks at some of the show’s biggest interviews.
Additionally, omg! is teaming with top celebrity photo agencies. With a stable of Hollywood photographers, X17, a premier photo agency, is in a unique position to capture celebrity news as it happens and will deliver showbiz video and photos the instant that stories break. omg! will also feature memorable celebrity photos from Splash News, an independent entertainment news and picture agency that has covered Hollywood news with global video and photography for 17 years.
As part of their continuing efforts to reach an engaged audience of young adults, Unilever and Pepsi, through the Pepsi-Lipton Tea Partnership, have chosen to partner with Yahoo! as the exclusive sponsors of omg! Lipton White Tea with Raspberry, Lipton’s lightest taste of tea, will be the featured brand on the site. Full of natural antioxidants, white tea comes from fresh young buds of the tea bush.
“People are interested in things that are fresh and new, especially when it comes to the latest celebrity gossip,” said Stacy Reichert, vice president and general manager of the Pepsi-Lipton Tea Partnership. “We’ve got a fresh new product and omg! is a fresh, new site. This is a great way for both of us to connect with hip, young pop culture fans who want to be ‘in the know’ on all the latest happenings.”
June 12th, 2007
Next Posts
Previous Posts
