Today Google launched its health-related Web site Google Health after months of anticipation, furthering the informational scope of the search engine giant.

 

Google Health users can now bring together many of their health records, assimilating information from prescriptions to health records in order to make managing such vast information much easier.

 

At an event to celebrate the launch at its Mountain View facility, Google announced that users will be able to import their prescriptions, medical health records, immunizations, and opt to receive text message alerts including prescription refills.

 

Partnerships with the country’s top medical companies enable users to share their information in order to make their health maintenance less troublesome.

 

The partners include the American Heart Association, CVS Long Drugs pharmacies, Walgreens, and Quest Diagnostics, though Google says thousands of more partnerships need to be added and will be coming soon.

 

At the initial phases of the site, Google Health only enables users to share all or none of the information, though in the near future the company will create the necessary changes that enable users to select which data they would like to share with certain companies.

 

The company stresses that information put on the Web site is entirely confidential and will not be shared with means to identify users.

 

It may be used for anonymous statistical purposes, but by no means will such information come up in online searches.

 

Google Health is also partnering with the Cleveland Clinic in order to promote personal health among its users. A new gadget called Walk for Google will track the distance users walk over a 15 week period. If users reach a certain goal, they will be eligible to vote on a charity to which the search engine company will donate $100,000.

 

Google Health represents the newest addition to the Internet company that dominates Internet revenue, namely in advertising dollars.

 

By Danny Scuderi

 

The deal, expected to close in the third quarter, is a win-win for both companies. CBS instantly becomes one of the 10 most popular Internet companies in the U.S., with a combined 54 million unique users a month in the U.S. and nearly 200 million users worldwide. CNET, meanwhile, can appease shareholders who have been unhappy with the company’s poor stock performance and ineffective business operations.

 

Under the deal, CBS promises $11.50 a share for the technology pioneer, representing a 45 percent premium to CNET’s closing price on Wednesday of $7.95 a share.

 

 "We’re thrilled to join CBS and combine our interactive media experience with CBS’s world-class content," CNet CEO Neil Ashe said in the statement.

 

Although it will be combined with CBS’ Interactive division, CNet will remain in San Francisco. And its Web properties - CNet, BNET, Gamespot, Chow and others - will continue as distinct sites and brands, added Ashe, who expects to stay with CNet after the deal closes.

 

CBS is also thrilled about the deal. “CBS stands for premium content and unparalleled reach, and CNET Networks will add a tremendous platform to extend our complementary entertainment, news, sports, music and information content to a whole new global audience,” said CEO Les Moonves in the statement.

 

Analysts believe that CNET’s impressive collection of niche websites will likely broaden CBS’s appeal and increase its value to Internet advertisers. Traditional media companies have continually been losing advertising dollars to Internet advertising. The move on CBS’s part follows a string of similar acquisitions by other media companies.

 

In 2005, the New York Times acquired search site About.com and Dow Jones bought Marketwatch. Similarly, Microsoft made a notable attempt to buy Yahoo, but later dropped it’s bid in disagreement with Yahoo’s price demand.

 

By Kathleen Clark

Intercommunication between Web sites is growing, as Myspace unveiled plans to enable its users to share their profile information to other commonly used sites.

 

The top social networking site with 117 million members worldwide wants to lessen the amount of keystroking and logging in and out by making such information shareable.

 

Web sites like eBay, Photobucket, Twitter and those operated by Yahoo will be open to the deal, seemingly breaking down the walls of sites that have a total of over 150 million users in addition to Myspace’s count.

 

"There’s this concept that social networks are walled gardens. We’re taking those walls down," said Amit Kapur, Chief Operating Officer of Myspace.

 

Users will be able to transfer photos—including default pictures—videos, friends list and music interests across the sites.

 

The goal is to for both parties to be able to more effectively and efficiently use the Internet by having more user information available.

 

Users will decide which information is available to each Web site and have the ability to remove it from the sites whenever they want because the information will be kept only through Myspace, prohibiting the other sites from storing the information.

 

The move is part of Myspace’s “data availability initiative” that aims to open up the boundaries of the Internet and encourage more interaction with the social networking site. It enables the different Web sites to create an interactive, progressive online community unable to function alone.

 

By opening up the channels of information to third-party sites, some see the move as a great way to increase advertising revenue.

 

Targeted advertising could jump on the issue with a user’s interests available, but Myspace says it has no such deals in mind at the moment.

 

Set to roll out in the coming weeks, we will see how many users are comfortable sharing their information.

 

By Danny Scuderi

Within days of a failed attempt to acquire Yahoo, Microsoft may be going after Facebook in another attempt to challenge advertising giant, Google.

 

On Wednesday, May 8, 2008, a Wall Street Journal website, All Things Digital, reported that Microsoft had “contacted” Facebook about acquiring the 98.4% of Facebook that it doesn’t own.

 

However, neither party is directly commenting on the rumors.

 

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates remarked Wednesday that the company isn’t pursuing other deals following the withdrawal of its $47.5 billion takeover bid for Yahoo and is, rather, going independent.

 

"Now at this point Microsoft is focused on its independent strategy," Gates told reporters at a news conference in Tokyo.

Last October, Microsoft took a $240 million stake in Facebook, which valued the start-up at $15 billion.

The potential bid to acquire Facebook may be another effort to strengthen its Web search and advertising strategy (which has consistently trailed behind Google) since the unsuccessful attempt to acquire Yahoo. Analysts, however, speculate that acquiring Facebook would not create a viable source for online advertising.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has long maintained he won’t sell Facebook and is, instead, working toward an initial public offering.

Moreover, Facebook users don’t want to become a Microsoft property. At least three groups with such names as ‘If Facebook sells to Microsoft, we’re leaving’, and ‘Don’t sell Facebook to Microsoft!’ have appeared on Facebook where users are expressing anger at the site’s potential acquisition by Microsoft.

Facebook was founded in 2004 and has become a hot Internet property due to its steady rise to become the dominant social networking site and the allegiance of its users. Facebook has more than 70 million active users.

By Kathleen Clark

The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Akamai solves the problem of online traffic congestion through servers and software that speed up video and audio streaming on major Web sites.

 

Started at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1998, the primary objective of the company was to solve the future problem of congestion on the Internet. A decade later, their vision is helping sites control the videos and data that are notorious for slowing down the Internet.

 

As more people use the Internet for business or pleasure, traffic is increasing. Web sites that use videos, photos or other and other such applications slow down the Internet, and Akamai solves that problem while making a profit.

 

Their network of 30,000 servers and custom traffic-routing algorithms speed up the content delivery Web sites, a growing market of which 60-70% are Akamai clients.

 

Facebook, Myspace and iTunes all use Akamai’s software and servers because of their use of videos, photos and audio streaming and the massive amounts of traffic the Web sites generate.

 

Akamai’s systems enable such Web sites to operate faster and, consequently, put out more content. This, in turn, translates into more ways to grab advertising dollars for the Web sites, which makes Akamai’s services so valuable.

 

In 2007, Akamai had $636 million in sales, making a little over a $100 million profit. According to Fortune Magazine, the fast-growing company is expected to break $1 billion in revenue in 2009.

 

Much of this projected growth is tied to innovations in the Internet and media, as high-definition video is quickly making its way online and software-as-a-service applications are growing.

 

The companies that operate such systems are outside of Akamai’s traditional client base, but it is a vision of the future that created the company and one that will probably keep it growing.

 

By Danny Scuderi

Press Release

Microsoft Corp. today announced that it has withdrawn its proposal to acquire Yahoo! Inc.

REDMOND, Wash., May 3, 2008 — Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) today announced that it has withdrawn its proposal to acquire Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO).

“We continue to believe that our proposed acquisition made sense for Microsoft, Yahoo! and the market as a whole. Our goal in pursuing a combination with Yahoo! was to provide greater choice and innovation in the marketplace and create real value for our respective stockholders and employees,” said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer of Microsoft.

“Despite our best efforts, including raising our bid by roughly $5 billion, Yahoo! has not moved toward accepting our offer. After careful consideration, we believe the economics demanded by Yahoo! do not make sense for us, and it is in the best interests of Microsoft stockholders, employees and other stakeholders to withdraw our proposal,” said Ballmer.

“We have a talented team in place and a compelling plan to grow our business through innovative new services and strategic transactions with other business partners. While Yahoo! would have accelerated our strategy, I am confident that we can continue to move forward toward our goals,” Ballmer said.

“We are investing heavily in new tools and Web experiences, we have dramatically improved our search performance and advertiser satisfaction, and we will continue to build our scale through organic growth and partnerships,” said Kevin Johnson, Microsoft president for platforms and services.

Below is the text of the letter from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to Yahoo! CEO Jerry Yang.

May 3, 2008

Mr. Jerry Yang
CEO and Chief Yahoo
Yahoo! Inc.
701 First Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94089

 

Dear Jerry:

After over three months, we have reached the conclusion of the process regarding a possible combination of Microsoft and Yahoo!.

I first want to convey my personal thanks to you, your management team, and Yahoo!’s Board of Directors for your consideration of our proposal. I appreciate the time and attention all of you have given to this matter, and I especially appreciate the time that you have invested personally. I feel that our discussions this week have been particularly useful, providing me for the first time with real clarity on what is and is not possible.

I am disappointed that Yahoo! has not moved towards accepting our offer. I first called you with our offer on January 31 because I believed that a combination of our two companies would have created real value for our respective shareholders and would have provided consumers, publishers, and advertisers with greater innovation and choice in the marketplace. Our decision to offer a 62 percent premium at that time reflected the strength of these convictions.

In our conversations this week, we conveyed our willingness to raise our offer to $33.00 per share, reflecting again our belief in this collective opportunity. This increase would have added approximately another $5 billion of value to your shareholders, compared to the current value of our initial offer. It also would have reflected a premium of over 70 percent compared to the price at which your stock closed on January 31. Yet it has proven insufficient, as your final position insisted on Microsoft paying yet another $5 billion or more, or at least another $4 per share above our $33.00 offer.

Also, after giving this week’s conversations further thought, it is clear to me that it is not sensible for Microsoft to take our offer directly to your shareholders. This approach would necessarily involve a protracted proxy contest and eventually an exchange offer. Our discussions with you have led us to conclude that, in the interim, you would take steps that would make Yahoo! undesirable as an acquisition for Microsoft.

We regard with particular concern your apparent planning to respond to a “hostile” bid by pursuing a new arrangement that would involve or lead to the outsourcing to Google of key paid Internet search terms offered by Yahoo! today. In our view, such an arrangement with the dominant search provider would make an acquisition of Yahoo! undesirable to us for a number of reasons:

Accordingly, your apparent plan to pursue such an arrangement in the event of a proxy contest or exchange offer leads me to the firm decision not to pursue such a path. Instead, I hereby formally withdraw Microsoft’s proposal to acquire Yahoo!.

We will move forward and will continue to innovate and grow our business at Microsoft with the talented team we have in place and potentially through strategic transactions with other business partners.

I still believe even today that our offer remains the only alternative put forward that provides your stockholders full and fair value for their shares. By failing to reach an agreement with us, you and your stockholders have left significant value on the table.

But clearly a deal is not to be.

Thank you again for the time we have spent together discussing this.

Sincerely yours,

Steven A. Ballmer
Chief Executive Officer
Microsoft Corporation

***********

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Statements in this release that are “forward-looking statements” are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially because of factors such as Microsoft Corporation’s ability to achieve the synergies and value creation contemplated by the proposed transaction, Microsoft Corporation’s ability to promptly and effectively integrate the businesses of Yahoo! Inc. and Microsoft Corporation, the timing to consummate the proposed transaction and any necessary actions to obtain required regulatory approvals, and the diversion of management time on transaction-related issues. For further information regarding risks and uncertainties associated with Microsoft Corporation’s business, please refer to the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Risk Factors” sections of Microsoft Corporation’s SEC filings, including, but not limited to, its annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, copies of which may be obtained by contacting Microsoft Corporation’s Investor Relations department at (800) 285-7772 or at Microsoft Corporation’s website at http://www.microsoft.com/msft.

All information in this release is as of May 3, 2008. Microsoft Corporation undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the company’s expectations.

*************

See Microsoft Corp. press release here

Press Release

SUNNYVALE, Calif., May 03, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Roy Bostock, Chairman of Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO), a leading global Internet company issued the following statement today in response to Microsoft Corporation’s announcement that it has withdrawn its proposal to acquire Yahoo!:

"We remain focused on maximizing shareholder value and pursuing strategic opportunities that position Yahoo! for success and leadership in its markets. From the beginning of this process, our independent board and our management have been steadfast in our belief that Microsoft’s offer undervalued the company and we are pleased that so many of our shareholders joined us in expressing that view. Yahoo! is profitable, growing, and executing well on its strategic plan to capture the large opportunities in the relatively young online advertising market. Our solid results for the first quarter of 2008 and increased full year 2008 operating cash flow outlook reflect the progress the company is making. Today, Yahoo! has:

• a refined strategic focus to drive enhanced volume and yield;
• reorganized to focus its efforts on its most promising products and services;
• invested in innovations designed to revolutionize display advertising and facilitate closing the competitive gap in search; and
• enhanced expense and resource management to support improved profitability."

About Yahoo! Inc.

Yahoo! Inc. is a leading global Internet brand and one of the most trafficked Internet destinations worldwide. Yahoo! is focused on powering its communities of users, advertisers, publishers, and developers by creating indispensable experiences built on trust. Yahoo! is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. For more information, visit pressroom.yahoo.com.

Yahoo! and the Yahoo! logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Yahoo! Inc. All other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

SOURCE: Yahoo! Inc.

Yahoo! Inc. Tracy Schmaler, 202-631-9463 (Media) schmaler@yahoo-inc.com Diana Wong, 408-505-9422 dianaw@yahoo-inc.com Marta Nichols, 408-349-3527 (Investors) mnichols@yahoo-inc.com or The Abernathy MacGregor Group for Yahoo! Inc. Adam Miller, 212-371-5999 alm@abmac.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008

News Provided by COMTEX

See Yahoo! Inc. press release here

 

In the April 2008 report "Mobile Media Advertising Opportunities: The Market for Advertising on TV, Video and Games", media analyst Screen Digest expects Americans will spend more than $700 million by 2012, up from nearly $88 million in 2008, on mobile media advertising. 

Mobile markets in Japan and South Korea, however, will achieve higher ad revenues this year for mobile TV, gaming, user-generated content and video on demand, far more than the U.S.

One reason is that "data pricing structures, handset and mobile web usability, content quality and the lack of audience metrics to measure effectiveness are preventing mobile advertising from reaching its market potential," said Julien Theys, who created the report for Screen Digest.

"Although we expect these hurdles to be overcome in the coming years, mobile media advertising will have to compete with search, display, messaging advertising as well as many innovative uses of mobile in marketing campaigns," Theys said.

Another reason U.S. mobile media advertising is not being adopted faster is that a paid subscription is generally required for this type of content. Japan and South Korea, meanwhile, both have “free-to-air mobile TV broadcasts” as purported by eMarketer.com.

The potential for mobile advertising revenue growth exists in the U.S., especially with the millions of iPhones and other gadgets currently engaging Americans. Nonetheless, the process will remain slow as the technology is improved upon.

"There remain clear growing pains ahead for mobile advertising," said John du Pre Gauntt, senior analyst at eMarketer. "There are sticky disagreements concerning mobile customer information among mobile operators, Web portals, brands and agencies.

"All agree that better contextual targeting (for example, location, time, history) is a prerequisite for mobile advertising to succeed. But how to get there in the short-term remains an open question."

By Kathleen Clark

 

Silicon Valley-based Loopt, for one, has developed a “social-mapping service” that automatically updates and delivers friend location maps to your mobile phone.  Loopt aims to simplify real world interaction between friends and lessen the likelihood of missed connections. GPS-enabled mobile phone users on Verizon Wireless, Sprint, and Boost Mobile can readily “beam” their real-time location to other friends and meet up with those nearby.

 

Founded in 2005 by Sam Altman (who was then a sophomore at Stanford), Loopt recently received $5 million in funding from New Enterprise Associates and Sequoia (the same firms that financed Google, Yahoo!, PayPal and TiVo). In addition to their mobile phone partnerships, the company has secured an advertising deal with CBS.

 

Location based services (LBS) combined with social networking is a technology expected to be easily adopted. Companies like Loopt are in the position to become leading players that can harness the new terrain of allowing people to physically connect in real-time.

"A year ago, the business models were not in place, the technology was not mature. Now we’re understanding that location, that context, is king," said Shiv Bakhshi, an analyst at IDC.

Location "will be embedded in all kinds of services you are offered - space and time are two dimensions in which we all work."

“Using Global Positioning System (GPS) technology is one way of adding location service to mobile phones and the market for this kind of technology is expected to rapidly grow; ABI Research estimates the number of such phones, at 140 million in 2007, will reach 600 million in 2012” as reported by The Boston Globe.

Boston-based mobile applications firm, uLocate Communications, is another company with a friend-finding service, called Buddy Beacon. First introduced to mobile operator Helio in late 2006, Buddy Beacon has since expanded to providers Sprint, Alltel, Metro PCS, and the iPhone. Like Loopt, it is a friend finding network that allows users to connect with their friends, post their location, and update their status across a number of mobile devices.  

 

Also, their service extends to social networking site Facebook. Even if you don’t have a GPS-enabled mobile phone, you can still update your status by “self-reporting your location,” or manually typing in your address which will keep your Buddy Beacon friends informed of where you are.

So, what about privacy issues? Some privacy advocates fear cell phones may become a tracking device. Location based providers, however, promise guidelines that will protect subscribers.

As China has shown, mobile phones can easily be tapped leaving privacy unprotected. China Mobile Communications Corporation, who is possibly the biggest mobile group in the world, revealed in January that they not only know who their subscribers are, but also where they are.

"We can access the information and see where someone is, but we never give this information away … only if the security authorities ask for it" said the CEO of China Mobile Communications Corporation, Wang Jianzhou as reported by AFP.

The LBS technology has a lot of potential to grow and succeed, especially in a world where people are constantly on the move; however, there also exists the possibility of your privacy becoming compromised. As with any social technology, be smart about how much personal information you’re revealing and follow all the guidelines available to protect your information.

By Kathleen Clark

Two consumer advocacy groups asked the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to provide enforceable regulations against behavioral advertising online to protect personal data on the internet.

 

The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and the Consumers Union (CU) contend advertisers’ use of tracking Internet users’ activities online, from search engine inquiries to Web sites visited, in order to precisely advertise to users.

 

The two groups say the FTC is not doing enough to protect the personal data collected by these methods.

"The industry refuses to recognize the need to protect consumer privacy and the FTC has done nothing about the problem," said Mark Cooper, Director of Research at the Consumer Federation of America

 

The FTC has proposed self-regulation policies that would allow advertisers to enforce their own regulations on personal data as they see fit. The CFA and CU say that such regulations are not enough.

 

"Self-policing schemes are not enough to protect consumers’ privacy and offer no enforcement against improper behavior," said Chris Murray, senior counsel for Consumers Union.

 

The two groups propose a “Do Not Track” list similar to the “Do Not Call” list against telemarketers, whereby consumers can opt out of being tracked online by advertisers.

 

The American Advertising Federation and the Association of National Advertisers countered that no harm has come through the use of behavioral advertising, and until that happens there are no grounds to implement such laws.

 

They also argued that advertising subsidizes much of the free information on the internet.

 

Behavioral advertising is a quickly growing online industry, with the biggest move coming earlier this year via Google’s acquisition of Doubleclick, giving the company enormous power to specifically advertise to its search engine users.

 

As targeted advertising grows, so will concerns regarding personal data security, meaning the FTC will face similar arguments in the future.

 

By Danny Scuderi