Marketing Pilgrim

Remember the super-smart link building guys behind Ontolo?

Well, they’re continuing to blaze a trail, this time launching the Ontolo Link Building Toolset which promises to do the heavy-lifting for your link building efforts. Not only that, but they’re offering an exclusive, limited-time, offer for Marketing Pilgrim readers.

What it does:

• Link Prospecting, based on your targeted keywords, not competitor backlinks.
• Link Qualification, based on several metrics.
• Ability to search directly on your link prospecting database for very specific kinds of link prospects; ie: guest posts, directories, blogs, sponsorships, etc.
• Access to an exclusive membership which includes support forums for link building brainstorming and collaboration, case studies, webinars, exclusive advice and tips, exclusive video and training content.

Who it’s for:

Facebook has been making their own rules since they came on the scene. Although they’ve taken more and more heat for their almost-constant privacy changes, it seems like we find a new low every few months. Meanwhile, even the courts are beginning to side with Facebook on advertising issues.

Facebook gained a partial victory in the US District court last week in a case on click fraud. Judge Jeremy Fogel decided that advertisers could sue Facebook for charges resulting from “invalid” clicks&madsh;but not “fraudulent” ones. A clause in Facebook’s advertising contract, tentatively upheld by the court, actually protects them from any suits about fraudulent clicks.

Google has announced its latest acquisition, an Israeli company that builds iGoogle and Android gadgets. The Israeli financial news site TheMarker speculates the deal’s value at $25M. While LabPixies does seem like a natural fit for Google, some speculate this is just the latest volley in the building Apple v. Google war.

Just last week, Google snapped up Agnilux, a startup founded by former Applers. While the LabPixies acquisition will help Google expand further across Europe, Africa and the Middle East, the most direct threat to Apple is that LabPixies also designs widgets and apps for the iPhone. MediaPost reports:

Though a bit player, the fact that LabPixies develops personalized Web gadgets for the iPhone won’t be lost on some analysts who’ve speculated that Google buys companies just to annoy Apple.

The Online Publishers Association regularly looks at online advertising effectiveness—and probably not too surprisingly, their members once again see the best rates of ad effectiveness in several measures.

The study examines ads place on OPA member sites (content sites including major news sites, etc.), Dynamic Logic’s MarketNorms industry benchmark, portals, and ad networks, and analyzes their effectiveness at aiding brand awareness, increasing awareness of their ads online, increasing awareness of their brand message, augmenting brand favorability and lifting purchase intent. OPA member sites saw the best rates in all these areas:

These results are fairly similar to the last time they tabulated them, August 2009. Notably, every delta measured has decreased since the last study reporting.

This just came across my view as posted on Politico.com. It’s a letter that is supposedly being sent by four Democratic US Senators to Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s founder and CEO. I will let you read it and comment on it if you feel led. Considering the source it certainly is interesting.

April 27, 2010

Dear Mr. Zuckerberg,

We are writing to express our concern regarding recent changes to the Facebook privacy policy and the use of personal data on third party websites. While Facebook provides a valuable service to users by keeping them connected with friends and family and reconnecting them with long-lost friends and colleagues, the expansion of Facebook – both in the number of users and applications – raises new concerns for users who want to maintain control over their information. The following three changes have raised concerns:

In case you haven’t heard there are a few stories flying around about just how shielded bloggers are with regard to sources and protection afforded other journalists under the law. Yesterday we talked about one instance in New Jersey. Today we move cross country to the home of all things tech and watch as Gawker Media’s Gizmodo editor, Jason Chen, becomes the center of a legal and ethical conundrum of sorts.

The New York Times reports

Gawker Media said Monday that computers belonging to one of its editors, Jason Chen, were seized from his home on Friday in an apparent investigation into the sale of a next-generation Apple iPhone. Gawker suggested the action violated California’s shield law for journalists.