Google Thursday launched a new music search service that allows users to search for song titles and albums, and returns sites, such as iTunes and Rhapsody, where users can purchase the music. The company doesn't collect any referral fees for the traffic--as is the case with several other Google initiatives. For instance, when a user Googles "New York to San Francisco," links to searches on travel sites Expedia, Hotwire, Orbitz and Priceline appear--none of which are sponsored. Additionally, the Gmail service refers users to Web pages and news stories that are relevant to the keywords in their e-mails. Jupiter Research Analyst Gary Stein proposed that the search giant is forgoing the revenue from paid referrals to try to become the first place that users go for any sort of information. "Google wants to be that one box, period, for all searches," he said. "It's definitely a strategic initiative. Why would you circumvent that great bit of inventory? I think it's to remain the very first place you go to for anything online." Although Google could have likely started its own music service--like competitor Microsoft, which announced this week a deal with MTV to start a download business--the approach that the search giant took puts Google in the position of a middleman, Stein said. "As the primary place to go when you're looking for something, it's going to be Google instead of directly to iTunes," he said. "What's more important is that they remain the single point through which you connect to any content online."
When PriceRitePhoto came under attack in the blogosphere several weeks ago after a tech blogger known as "Thomas Hawk" posted complaints about the company online, the e-commerce store was left facing ruin. It was delisted from PriceGrabber.com and Yahoo! Shopping, and angry consumers attacked the store's Web site. At the time, Howard Baker, a manager at PriceRitePhoto, told OMD that the store had lost "millions" in two days. But several short weeks later, PriceRitePhoto appeared to come up with a solution. It re-emerged as "Barclay's Photo," re-registered its store on eBay under that name, and seemingly registered the new domain name BarclaysPhoto.com. The strategy, however, didn't work as planned, thanks to Hawk, who again outed the company Wednesday. "So welcome to the new world of online shopping Barclay's Photo. Hopefully you do better than your evil twin (er, exact same company) PriceRitePhoto," the blogger wrote on Wednesday. Whether bloggers target Barclay's Photo as forcefully as they did PriceRitePhoto remains to be seen. Generally, however, industry observers say that the rapid discovery of Barclay's identity shows that smaller marketers--those without brand equity in their names--can no longer easily change their identities. A search of Barclay's eBay profile reveals six different monikers since 2000--although one was necessitated by a change in eBay policy prohibiting companies from using a "com" in their names. While eBay displays user reviews for all known names of a store, not all shopping Web sites do the same--which, in the past, gave small marketers reason to believe that a name change could get them out from under a dark cloud. Today, however, too many bloggers act as watchdogs for this technique to work, according to industry observers. "It's increasingly difficult to play the stealth game," said Pete Blackshaw, chief marketing officer for buzz-monitoring firm Intelliseek. "Too many consumers and bloggers have high-tech surveillance tools at their disposal to out folks that try to trick the system," he said. "You can only run away from your reputation for so long in the age of bloggers." JupiterResearch Senior Analyst Vikram Sehgal added that the connectivity of the online space also makes it easier for customers to track down business aliases. "Information is much more easily accessible online for consumers," he said. "Blogs are becoming really popular as a way of letting people know your views. Intuitively it is easier to do instead of putting up posters outside of the store you had a bad experience with." An eBay spokeswoman said that although eBay places no restrictions on the number of times a merchant may change its user name, the feedback they receive follows them unless the merchant starts an entirely new business. She said the policy's purpose is to prevent manipulation of feedback. "When patterns have developed, then at some point it becomes possible for us to detect that," she said. "We have a lot of filters in place to prevent feedback manipulation. The policies we have in place are to protect buyers and sellers." PriceRitePhoto/Barclay's feedback on eBay is solid, with 99.1 percent positive reviews out of more than 5,000, as of Thursday evening. Other sites--which had delisted Barclay's--showed a more mixed record several weeks ago. Calls to PriceRitePhoto/Barclay's were not returned.
After another year of album releases, movie premieres, celebrity drama, and random scandal, Britney Spears is once again queen of the fame game, according to Yahoo!'s annual top ten most-searched terms released Thursday. Spears climbed four rungs to depose the fame-factory, "American Idol," which didn't even make the top ten this time around. Rapper 50 Cent came from nowhere to unseat Paris Hilton in the number two spot, sending Hilton down to Britney's old place at number four. Numbers three, four, and five--Cartoon Network, Mariah Carey, and Green Day--were all newcomers to Yahoo!'s list, as well. Lindsay Lohan just made the list at 10, while Jessica Simpson, presently having less success with love than Britney, dropped from three to six. All four professional sports associations (using a loose definition of the word "sports") that ranked last year failed to do so this year: the WWE, Nascar, the NBA, and the NFL--numbers six, eight, nine, and ten, respectively--each got the shaft. In this spectacle-driven climate, Michael Jackson, Natalee Holloway, Brad and Angelina, and Tom Cruise comfortably interspersed the serious news top-ten. (Numbers three, four, six and ten, respectively.) Tsunami and Iraq ranked first and second. The NFL led sports-related terms this year, followed by Nascar and Major League Baseball. Turning convention on its head, the three ranking sports personalities this year were all women: tennis stars Maria Sharapova and Anna Kournikova, and Danica Patrick, the auto-racing world's first female driver. (Numbers five, seven and eight, respectively.)
Sixteen percent of adults in Canada read an online newspaper each week last year--up from 10 percent in 2001, according to a new report by the Newspaper Audience Databank, Inc., the research arm of the Canadian Daily Newspaper industry. Last year alone, readership of online newspapers grew by 12 percent, according to the report, with the national newspapers drawing the largest traffic. But that surge doesn't mean that people are shying away from print versions. In fact, 85 percent of adults who read newspapers on the Web also read the printed version, according to the report. "Only 2 percent of total weekly newspaper readership is to online editions, the balance of online readers are switching between the two formats," states the report. A recent Nielsen//NetRatings report examining online newspapers in the United States revealed comparable growth in traffic. Nielsen//NetRatings stated that Web sites of newspapers drew 39.3 million visitors in October--marking an 11 percent increase from October of 2004. When it came to demographics, both Nielsen//NetRatings and Newspaper Audience Databank reported that online readers are more likely to be male and highly educated. Nielsen//NetRatings specifically found that online readers are more likely than the general Internet population to have a bachelor's or postgraduate degree.
Network Live--an entertainment venture of AOL, XM Satellite Radio, and the entertainment company AEG--Thursday announced that DirecTV will distribute its live music and comedy programs. DirecTV's 15 million subscribers will get their first taste of Network Live later this month, with a performance by the John Mayer Trio. The next new Network Live offerings are expected by March. Financial terms were not disclosed. DirecTV will work with Network Live's other distribution partners to promote future events via direct-to-consumer marketing as well as cross-promotional efforts. Network Live is headed by Kevin Wall, the executive producer of AOL's lauded and highly trafficked Webcasts of Live 8 this summer. "With this partnership, the music industry now has another valuable marketing touchpoint to reach and connect artists with fans," Wall said in a statement. The content deals are brokered through AEG, which has contacts with many big-name artists through its management of large venues for live events, including the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, and the Nokia Theatre in Grand Prairie, Texas. Network Live is monetized through a series of licensing deals with fees paid by distribution channels, be it video-on-demand, mobile video, or HDTV. Existing and future partners are then expected to monetize the content they choose to license. AOL, for instance, accompanies Network Live material with standard online advertising, while XM Satellite Radio charges its users a regular subscriber fee.