• FoxSports.com Sets 'Course' With Animated Web Series by Laurie Sullivan

    FoxSports.com has signed an agreement with Skadaddle Media to run its first animated webisode series set to debut March 1 on MSN. The series, "Of Course," highlights the interaction between four close -- yet wacky -- friends on the golf course. FoxSports.com signed on to run about 18 5-minute Webisodes biweekly through the end of the year, with 30- to 60-second vignettes airing between. ...Read the whole story

  • Compete: Facebook Is Web's New No. 2 by Mark Walsh

    Facebook has replaced Yahoo as the second-largest U.S. Web property and is closing in on No. 1 Google, according to the latest data from Web analytics firm Compete. The social network in January drew an audience of nearly 134 million unique visitors, surging past Yahoo's 132 million. Google remained the top site, with a monthly audience of 148 million. ...Read the whole story

  • Kontera Launches Custom-Shaped In-Text Ads by Mark Walsh

    In-text ads -- the underlined links embedded in online articles that pop out at readers when scrolled over -- have gone from simple text ads to rich media units capable of displaying Flash animation, video and even search boxes in recent years. If the format wasn't already attention-grabbing enough, in-text ad provider Kontera is introducing a new wrinkle in which the ads appear in the actual form of the products they're advertising when triggered. ...Read the whole story

  • Facebook, MySpace Reach Integration Agreement With Microsoft For Outlook 2010 by Gavin O'Malley

    Undeterred by the firestorm of criticism over Google Buzz, Microsoft is ramping up its social efforts through new partnerships with Facebook and MySpace. Per the deals, both Facebook and MySpace will be integrated into Outlook Social Connector -- the socially souped-up version of Microsoft's email client -- which will allow users to view friends' activities, photos, and status updates within Outlook, as well as grow their network by adding friends from the same view. ...Read the whole story

  • Sandals, Pursuing Libel Claim, Asks Judge To Unmask Anonymous Gmail User by Wendy Davis

    In the latest instance of a company attempting to unmask an anonymous critic, vacation resort chain Sandals is asking a New York state judge to order Google to reveal information that could identify a Gmail user who criticized Sandals' hiring practices. Sandals alleges in court papers that a Gmail account user sent out an email that "suggests that [Sandals] is racist and discriminatory is not hiring native Jamaicans in positions of management and authority, and that native Jamaicans are only given low-paying menial positions." ...Read the whole story

  • Video Ad Network YuMe Closes $25M Funding Round by Gavin O'Malley

    YuMe, which ranked as the third-largest video ad network last November with 73.4 million unique viewers, has closed a $25 million round of funding led by new investor Menlo Ventures. YuMe said it served more than 2.5 billion in-stream ads in the fourth quarter of 2009 -- its highest quarterly total to date. ...Read the whole story

  • Google Buzz Could Become Web's Open Social Hub by Laurie Sullivan

    On the surface it may appear that Google simply created Buzz as a social network add-on for Gmail. But in reality the Mountain View, Calif. search engine launched the beginning of a hub that could eventually connect to forums, third-party PC and mobile applications, as well as other social sites. ...Read the whole story

  • MediaBank, Strata Unveil New Digital Media-Buying Apps by Joe Mandese

    Two of Madison Avenue's leading "back office" systems providers - MediaBank and Strata - have struck deals advancing the way they process and manage online and digital media buys. ...Read the whole story

my turn Please Rob Me (Of My Common Sense) by Kelly Samardak

Today the social media feathers are flying about Please Rob Me, a snarky Web service snatching the functionality of Foursquare to alert lazy kleptos of ... ...More

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