Marketing Pilgrim

Apparently, ads on social networks aren’t working out too well.

While this is not anything we didn’t already know, it must be disheartening for Facebook, MySpace et al, to learn that pinning their revenue growth on display ads may be a tough row to hoe.

It’s not a completely ugly picture, according to eMarketer, ads on social media networks will gain a 5.5% share of all online ad spending, but…

That’s up from 5 percent in 2008, the stats released Thursday say. The good news is that, unlike some other sectors of the ad world, it’s not shrinking–but it’s also not growing exponentially by any means. After plunging from a 61 percent rate of growth in 2008 to 12 percent in 2009, the rate of growth is projected to crawl back up to 14 percent this year and stay about the same at 13 percent next year.

Google continues to move forward with its work to improve the Google Maps experience as everything gets pushed further and further down to the local level in search. By opening the Google Maps Lab and allowing you to slap a beta logo on it if you please (a little humor from the Googlers, huh?) there is a look at what they are cooking up for the future.

The Blogoscoped blog reports

When Google wants to test new features, they call them Lab experiments, and make them opt-in. Now, following many other services, Google Maps received a Lab icon. Click the green flask at the top of Google Maps and you get a chance to enable features like the following:

There have apparently been some rumors (yes, there are rumor mongers in the Internet space which is SO hard to believe) that have been talking about Apple entering the search game with their own search engine. This whole game of Google v. Apple has lately been fueled by the rumor mill and comments like those made by Steve Jobs in giving his take on the “Do No Evil” mantra of Google. While that makes for some juicy headlines and speculation it is apparently not true about Apple’s attempt at search.

The Business Insider tells us the reasons why that rumor is not true.

The rumor that Apple is building its own search engine “isn’t credible,” according to a source familiar with Apple’s operations.

Ah, Google Buzz. At last we see the chinks in your armor (well, aside from the fact that it looks a little useless)—the opt-out feature appears to automatically publish your contact list, which is compiled from the people you email and chat with the most.

As if it wasn’t annoying enough to be told you have dozens of new “Buzz” only to check and see the same message four times and twenty-odd retweets of an acquaintance’s old tweet, or to have to try to separate your work and your personal news.

Now, there are a few warnings: the standard light-gray-on-white text that states: “Your profile includes your name, photo, people you follow, and people who follow you.” Although it tells you you’re creating a public profile, it doesn’t clarify how they assign you people to follow. On a later page in the process, Buzz does specify that “You’re already set up to follow the people you email and chat with the most.”

I know it all sounds crazy, but there are legal ways to post copyrighted content on the Internet—id est when you have permission from the copyright owner. But apparently that wasn’t enough for at least one of several blogspot-hosted music blogs pulled from Google’s Blogger for allegedly violating copyright. paidContent reports:

“We’d like to inform you that we’ve received another complaint regarding your blog,” begins the cheerful letter received by each of the owners of Pop Tarts, Masala, I Rock Cleveland, To Die By Your Side, It’s a Rap and Living Ears. All of these are music blogs – sites that write about music and post MP3s of what they are discussing. “Upon review of your account, we’ve noted that your blog has repeatedly violated Blogger’s Terms of Service … [and] we’ve been forced to remove your blog. Thank you for your understanding.”

It’s finally here!

Google Chrome…

On the Mac…

With support for extensions!

Maybe I’m the only one that’s excited that this day has finally arrived, but I’ve been itching to make the switch from Firefox to Google Chrome. What was holding me back was the lack of support for extensions. I use a number of extensions and Greasemonkey scripts to improve my web experience, so couldn’t make the switch without them.

Now that they are here, I’m going to give serious thought to handing over what’s left of my cyber-soul to Google.

What about you?