2009 May (13)

By Jordan McCollum on May 11, 2009

YouTube Appealing to Advertisers, Naming Music Video Site Chief

mccafe-youtube In a story that has dragged on even longer than the Yahoo/Microsoft saga, YouTube continues to search for its monetization sweet spot. This January, they started a deal to run masthead ad units, which seventeen brands have utilized. Now they’re offering a synchronized homepage placement, and McDonald’s has signed up as the first advertiser.

Most of the brands already advertising with the masthead units are similar (or possibly competing) businesses: specifically entertainment brands EA, Apple, Lionsgate, Universal and Sony, many of which have deals with YouTube already (and more notes on the latest Universal/YouTube deal in a minute!). But McDonald’s advertising shows a departure from this. As Clickz points out,

By Jordan McCollum on May 11, 2009

Google Getting Twitterpated?

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With the media-sweetheart microblogging service eyeing the search market, is it any wonder than any mention of any of those buzz words from a Googler gets everybody all excited about Google-Twitter convergence? If that’s not enough to keep you on the edge of your seat, check out what Marissa Mayer said in a press conference last week.

We are interested in being able to offer, for example, micro-blogging and micro-messaging in our search. Particularly in Blog Search and possibly in Web Search, but we don’t have any particular plans to announce.

The first reports, from Reuters, didn’t feature an exact quotation, so the first stories on this subject focused on the Reuters line about “integrating microblogging capabilities, such as those popularized by Twitter, into its search product.”

By Frank Reed on May 11, 2009

CEOs and Twitter

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BusinessWeek is reporting on over 50 CEOs that are using boardroom Twitter to some degree or another. Last August the magazine covered just 18 folks of this ilk but apparently there is a lot more to choose from these days.

Each CEO has a profile attached to them that gives their handle as well some some insight as to view of Twitter and who they follow but here are some of the basic stats that may be of interest to you. How do you view the use of Twitter by CEOs and other important corporate folks regardless of the size of the company? Is there more good or harm that can be done? Here’s some highlights.

Richard Branson, Virgin Group Chairman
Following: 6,589
Followers: 98,382
Updates: 98

By Frank Reed on May 11, 2009

Poltics as Unusual?

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While we barely have a presidential election that felt like it was never going to end in the rear view mirror, politics are always cooking in the background. Based on the past success of some efforts to more accurately target issue oriented voters and their web habits a new ad network, Resonate Networks, is getting some attention. The New York Times tells the story of an a mix of party strategists from both sides of the fence have joined forces to start this company. Politics certainly makes strange bedfellows as the saying goes but apparently so does a business venture that can generate some cash.

The lineup of founders and investors shows that money spends the same on whatever side of an issue you may be on.

By Andy Beal on May 8, 2009

Would This Google Chrome TV Ad Make You Switch Browsers?

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Let me ask you something. Would this TV ad compel you to try Google’s Chrome web browser?

Google plans to run the ad on television networks starting this weekend.

Do you think the average web user will know that Google Chrome is an alternative to Internet Explorer? Also, where’s the download link?

</head scratching>

By Frank Reed on May 8, 2009

Twitter Gives TinyURL the Big Boot

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Twitter’s “World Dominance 140 Characters At a Time” Tour continues as it tries to help users squeeze more into their messages. This time, however, there is casualty. TinyURL was the default URL shortening service for Twitter until recently when bit.ly was deemed the service of choice to shorten the URL’s of millions (that sounds painful, doesn’t it?) as reported by TechCrunch.

TinyURL has been with Twitter since its inception but the bit.ly service has a few advantages over it and some even benefit the users. bit.ly makes URL’s shorter than TinyURL which in the limited space that 140 characters is can be advantageous. Just think of the tragedy if one of your followers couldn’t get the additional exclamation point you had to share so you could really get your emotion across to them. Oh, the humanity!