Smaaz’s Blog

Google.org launches $10 million request for investment proposals to advance sustainable transportation solutions

Today, Google.org has issued a request for proposals to the tune of $10 million in order to advance sustainable transportation solutions.

“Since Google.org launched the RechargeIT initiative in June as part of our efforts to stop global warming (http://www.google.org/recharge/), a lot has happened in the world of plug-in vehicles. Automakers have made key announcements about future plans for plug-ins.  Our grantee the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), along with Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), released a comprehensive assessment (http://www.epri-reports.org/) that found that widespread use of plug-in hybrids in the U.S. could dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The charge for electrified transportation is heating up, and we couldn’t be more excited. But consumers still can’t buy plug-in vehicles – and that’s a problem. It’s time for us to put some money where our mouth is and help accelerate mass commercialization of plug-in vehicles.

Today, Google.org has issued a request for proposals to the tune of $10 million in order to advance sustainable transportation solutions (http://www.google.org/recharge/rfp/). We are inviting entrepreneurs and companies to show us their best ideas on how they can contribute to this important cause. We need catalytic investments to support technologies, products and services that are critical to accelerating plug-in vehicle commercialization. That is why we have structured this RFP to offer investment dollars to for-profit companies to promote social and environmental change. The severity of global warming requires solutions from NGOs, governments, individuals and (very importantly) the private sector. We have already made $1 million in grants to a group of outstanding non-profit organizations (see http://www.google.org/recharge/partners.html), and want to expand our impact by spurring innovation in the private sector.  While $10 million is a fraction of the total investment needed to transform our transportation sector, we hope this RFP will help catalyze a broader response.  We need the automakers to bring these cars to market, but plug-in vehicles also need an entire ecosystem of companies flourish.

We will continue to make grants as part of RechargeIT and other programs, but we’re excited today to announce our first foray into investments. To learn more, read the RFP at http://www.google.org/recharge/rfp/.”

Add comment September 13th, 2007

Netscape Moves Social News to Propeller.com

Netscape today announced the migration of their social news site to a new domain:

“We promised you in our last communication about the Netscape.com site that we would get right back to you about where your current social news site will live after we redirect to the new Netscape portal.

The Netscape social news experience that you are currently using today will be migrated and revealed soon at http://www.propeller.com/. We’re working hard behind the scenes to ensure a smooth transition before we officially launch at this new destination.

It is important to us that you feel empowered to choose how you want to consume your news and participate in the community. As we mentioned in a recent post, the Netscape.com site will soon be redirected to the new Netscape portal, a more traditional and editorially-driven news experience. It’s already live, so you can check it out now if you haven’t already. You’ll notice some elements of our social news site there in short order, so that it will be easy for you to go back and forth and engage in each if you like.

Please continue to check back with us on the Netscape blog (or subscribe to our RSS feed for real time information), as we’ll be keeping you in the know about when you can expect to see the Netscape social news site up and running at http://www.propeller.com/.

Our goal is to allow you to continue to share and communicate with each other around the news stories of interest to you, so you can anticipate that the social news site will be coming sooner than later. “

Add comment September 12th, 2007

Webmaster Central gets a new look

Google has unveiled a new look on the Webmaster Central landing page earlier this week:

“And so today, we’re unveiling a new look on the Webmaster Central landing page at http://www.google.com/webmasters. You’ll still find all of the tools and resources you’ve come to love like our Webmaster Blog and discussion group — but now, in addition to these, we’ve added a few more you might enjoy and find useful. We hope that the new layout will make it easier to discover some additional resources that will help you learn even more about how to improve traffic to your site, submit content to Google, and enhance your site’s functionality.”Here’s a brief look at some of the new additions:Analyze your visitors. Google Analytics is a free tool for webmasters to better understand their visitor traffic in order to improve site content. With metrics including the amount of time spent on each page and the percentage of new vs. returning visits to a page, webmasters can tailor their site’s content around pages that resonate most with visitors.Add custom search to your pages. Google Custom Search Engine (CSE) is a great way for webmasters to incorporate search into their site and help their site visitors find what they’re looking for. CSE gives webmasters access to a XML API, allowing greater control over the search results look and feel, so you can keep visitors on your site focused only on your content.Leverage Google’s Developer Tools. Google Code has tons of Google APIs and developer tools to help webmasters put technologies like Google Maps and AJAX Search on their websites.Add gadgets to your webpage. Google Gadgets for your Webpage are a quick and easy way for webmasters to enhance their sites with content-rich gadgets, free from the Google Gadget directory. Adding gadgets to your webpage can make your site more interactive and useful to visitors, making sure they keep coming back.

When thinking of developing web site, you should know the facts. Your dedicated hosting service may not hold up your heavy web page design. Anyone who has done a number of basic web development courses can tell that. A website design should be compatible with the host.

Add comment September 11th, 2007

Yahoo! Announces Agreement to Acquire BlueLithium

Yahoo! today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire BlueLithium, one of the largest and fastest growing online global ad networks that offers an array of direct response products and capabilities for advertisers and publishers. Under the terms of the agreement, Yahoo! will acquire BlueLithium for approximately $300 million in cash.

“BlueLithium’s products, technology and team will be an integral part of our drive to build the industry’s leading advertising and publishing network,” said Jerry Yang, chief executive officer, Yahoo! Inc. “This acquisition will extend our ability to deliver powerful data analytics, advanced targeting and innovative media buying strategies to our customers, who are increasingly looking for these insights. By leveraging BlueLithium’s complementary expertise and tools, we will be able to better address the needs of our performance-based display advertisers and enhance the value of our publishers’ inventory.”

The addition of BlueLithium is the logical next step in creating the largest and most effective online ad network globally, which includes inventory on Yahoo!’s owned and operated properties, the Yahoo! Publisher Network, and the Right Media Exchange. According to comScore Media Metrix, BlueLithium is the fifth largest ad network in the US and second largest in the UK with 145 million unique visitors each month.

“We believe that Yahoo! is the ideal home for BlueLithium, as we share a common goal of providing both advertisers and publishers with high quality inventory and the essential targeting and analytical tools that are necessary to reach the right consumers at the right times,” said Gurbaksh Chahal, founder, chairman and chief executive officer for BlueLithium. “We are extremely excited about becoming a part of the Yahoo! network and believe that together, we’ll have the opportunity to shape the future of the online advertising industry.”

The combination of BlueLithium’s assets and relationships with Yahoo!’s overall ad network will give advertisers access to powerful data analytics, advanced targeting, and innovative direct-response buying strategies across a broad range of high quality inventory. BlueLithium’s product capabilities include: audience targeting based on consumer interests; remarketing ads to consumers across the Web who have interacted with an ad or web page; custom segmentation; spot buying capabilities to extend reach and frequency against a marketer’s target audience.

Publishers will have greater access to advertising budgets through Yahoo!’s sales force and through the Right Media Exchange, where BlueLithium will be an active participant. Additionally, BlueLithium provides media buying expertise that is complementary to the Yahoo! Publisher Network, enabling Yahoo! to further extend the reach and frequency of the quality audience advertisers have come to expect.

“The combination of BlueLithium’s network and Yahoo!’s engaged audience will provide an unprecedented buying opportunity across what we believe will be one of the world’s leading online display ad networks,” said Susan Decker, president, Yahoo!. “And BlueLithium’s expertise in network management will better enable Yahoo! to manage supply and demand across our network, by balancing advertiser goals with publisher value. Building on our acquisition of Right Media, this transaction demonstrates our commitment to increasing our investments in areas which can most contribute to Yahoo!’s long-term success.”

BlueLithium will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yahoo!. CEO Gurbaksh Chahal will remain with BlueLithium for an interim period through the integration. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval. It is expected the transaction will be completed in the fourth quarter of 2007.

You can find anything as diverse as finance software and as common as mobile phone software from the multitude of computers and software dealers set online. They particularly specialize in selling web server software. They even carry personal finance software. Whether you find to find a mathematics software or an antiviral one, you can get all the software information online as well.

Add comment September 5th, 2007

Yahoo! Partners with ELLE for Mobile Coverage of Fashion Weeks

Yahoo! and ELLE have formed a partnership to provide fresh off-the-runway news, photos and trends from Fashion Week 2007 on the accessory people never leave home without — their mobile phone. Beginning Sept. 5 in New York City and followed by Fashion Weeks in Milan and Paris, consumers everywhere can access exclusive ELLE Fashion Week coverage through Yahoo! oneSearch on their mobile browser.

Yahoo! oneSearch is a new search experience designed to give consumers more targeted content and instant info on their mobile phones. No more useless links that require time and patience to search and download. Yahoo! oneSearch enables users to insert a key word or phrase into its search box and - presto! — all relevant information for Fashion Week 2007 from ELLE appears directly on the screen.

“The mobile phone is the perfect tool for people looking for information on the go. With Yahoo! oneSearch, now busy fashionistas can now save time and effort by getting instant access to local New York City happenings and Fashion Week news, images and more,” said Lee Ott, Director Mobile Web, Yahoo!. “This unique partnership with ELLE Mobile provides fashion-lovers everywhere a VIP pass to the hottest happenings at Fashion Week.”

Extensive daily coverage from ELLE includes:

– Runway reports: editors’ reviews of all the top designers

– First Trends: beauty essentials, models of the day, fashion and accessories trends

– Fashion Blogs: entries from editors/stylists, fashion, and celebrity blogger supermodel Maggie Rizer. FabSugar and BellaSugar will also contribute blogs with a daily tid-bits, reminiscent of the fresh and smart PopSugar style.

– Street Chic: a feature covering the people on the street and parties

– Style Scout: photo diaries of eight young designers documenting their month leading up to their fashion show in New York City.

“We hope to give millions of women a behind-the-scene look at the premier event of the fashion world, and a comprehensive preview on trends that will be hitting the retail shelves later in the year. Hachette is pleased to have Yahoo! as a strategic partner in this program,” said Olivier Griot, Managing Director Mobile, Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. “Together we can combine the reach of Yahoo with ELLE’s voice and style authority.”

Add comment September 4th, 2007