August 2005

Google wants to expand offline ads
(August 31, 2005 - BusinessWeek)

In its first significant expansion beyond the Internet, Google has bought advertising in a handful of technology-industry magazines and resold chunks of the space to merchants already participating in its booming Internet marketing network.

The Battle Between Google & Microsoft Over Kai-Fu Lee Rages On
(August 30, 2005 - News.com)

In the continuing saga over Google hiring Kai-Fu Lee to head up a new China research center, Google has asked a federal judge in California to rule that Lee's contract with Microsoft is unenforceable and that the researcher should be allowed to join Google unfettered by the terms of his employment deal.

Free Wi-Fi? Get Ready for GoogleNet.
(August 25, 2005 - Business 2.0)

The gatekeeper of the world's information could become one of the globe's biggest Internet providers and one of its most powerful ad sellers, basically supplanting telecoms in one fell swoop.

Screw Size! I Dare Google & Yahoo To Report On Relevancy
(August 16, 2005 - SearchDay)

Ah, summer. Time to play on the beach, head out on vacation and if you're a search engine, announce to the world that you've got the largest index.

Amazon A9 takes It To the Streets
(August 16, 2005 - CNET News)

Amazon.com is merging photographs and maps in a new search service that offers virtual tours of two dozen U.S. cities.

Yahoo May Launch VoIP
(August 15, 2005 - Red Herring)

Yahoo will introduce a VoIP service in the next two weeks, according to a prominent Internet analyst, in a move intended to give the Internet media company an edge over its rivals.

Google Loses AdWords Trade Mark Case in the US
(August 15, 2005 - OUT-LAW News)

A US district court has ruled against Google in a trade mark action over the sale of the terms "Geico" and "Geico Direct" in AdWords, its keyword advertising service. The judge found that there was infringement where the terms were used in the text of sponsored ads.

Lycos - The Underdog of Search
(August 13, 2005 - Business 2.0)

Lycos has a plan to take over an underserved but rapidly growing niche in search: to become the best place to find user-generated content.

Google Gives Publishers More AdSense Control
(August 11, 2005 - mediapost.com)

Google is testing an AdSense program that will give publishers more control over the ads shown on their sites, allowing them to submit demographic and psychographic data about their audiences.

Why Yahoo Bought Konfabulator
(August 10, 2005 - SearchDay)

Currently, developers can create Widgets that tap into just about any open data source on the Web. Rose is emphatic that Yahoo maintain this open access going forward. He also said that we'll soon be seeing a whole slew of Widgets that expose parts of the Yahoo network that are relatively hidden away.

Barry Diller Helps Ask Jeeves Get in Shape
(August 9, 2005 - News.com)

Now that it's part of media mogul Barry Diller's InterActiveCorp, the Ask Jeeves butler is shaping up, cutting back on sponsored results that bloated its site and increasing more relevant links, according to the search engine's CEO.

Our Blog is Growing Up - And So Has Our Index
(August 9, 2005 - Yahoo! Search Blog)

We have grown our index and just reached a significant milestone at Yahoo! Search - our index now provides access to over 20 billion items.

Yahoo Publisher Network: A One-Way Street?
(August 4, 2005 - Traffick)

Short term, it means a revenue boost for Yahoo, and probably a leveling off of Google's AdSense revenue. But if either company is thinking about their long-term health, they will begin to hack off the diseased parts of the "long ad tail." Advertisers are watching and not necessarily liking what they see.

Ask Jeeves Again Cuts Back on Paid Listings
(August 3, 2005 - ClickZ)

InterActiveCorp plans to further cut the number of paid search links appearing in Ask Jeeves' search results, the company announced during its Q2 earnings

Search Engine Results Continuing to Diverge
(August 2, 2005 - SearchDay)

A new study suggests that the overlap between search engine results is less than it was even a few months ago, and that the voices of each engine are growing even more unique.

New Ask Jeeves Sponsored Listings Program Lets More Advertisers Buy Direct
(August 1, 2005 - SearchDay)

After weeks of rumors, Ask Jeeves unveiled a new automated paid listings service today -- Ask Jeeves Sponsored Listings -- that will allow anyone to purchase ads directly on the Ask Jeeves network rather than having to buy placement via Google or work through an Ask Jeeves account rep.

LookSmart Losses Widen
(August 1, 2005 - ClickZ)

LookSmart's second quarter results were mixed," said CEO David Hills. "The top-line was negatively impacted by our ongoing efforts to streamline our network to focus on productive traffic. We now have a better performing and higher value ad network.