Wired, February 7, 2005 In recognition of the fact that new technologies are just as valuable to wrongdoers as to those in the right, a new industry group has formed to look at the security threats inherent in voice over internet protocol. The VOIP Security Alliance, or VOIPSA, launches on Monday. So far, 22 entities, including security experts, researchers, operators and equipment vendors, have signed up. They range from equipment vendor Siemens and phone company Qwest to research organization The SANS Institute.

ClickZ, February 7, 2005 An online viral campaign for Procter & Gamble's new Tide Coldwater detergent drove 904 percent more traffic to Tide.com in its first week. Traffic increased by another 300 percent in the second week. That's according to statistics from research firm Hitwise.

DMNews.com, February 4, 2005 Meta-search engine Mamma.com said yesterday that it added an auction-based pricing tool to its Mamma Classifieds flat-rate pay-per-click search product.

The New York Times, February 4, 2005 When the year's largest television audience convenes for the Super Bowl on Sunday, advertisers will be spending an estimated $2.4 million for each 30-second cinema-quality commercial. But just as important to many of those same advertisers is the $1.50 or so a mouse click that they may spend on the Google Internet search site, at any hour on any day, for a few words of plain text that will link prospective customers to the advertisers' Web sites.

ClickZ, February 4, 2005 In its second purchase of an online survey company in six months, comScore Networks acquired Toronto-based SurveySite for an undisclosed amount. Known for its A-list of technology clients, including Microsoft and Dell, as well as Target, ABN AMRO, Pfizer, Scotiabank, and Procter & Gamble, SurveySite brings a 200,000-person survey panel under comScore's umbrella. The deal expands comScore's survey staff by 50 employees, for a total survey team of 80.

The New York Times, February 4, 2005 Hundreds of recent video games reward players for shooting villains, vaporizing monsters or solving puzzles. But only one encourages regular and rigorous hand washing.

Wired, February 3, 2005 Conventional wisdom says 97 percent of Google searchers don't click past the first three pages (or 30 results). With about three-quarters of the active online population in America using search engines, according to Nielsen/NetRatings (.pdf), and 40 percent of shoppers choosing Google to locate stores and comparison shop, the difference between a high and low ranking can literally be the difference between a thriving online business and Chapter 11. This got me wondering: How much is it worth to a company's bottom line to place near the top of Google's search rankings?

AP, February 3, 2005 Time wasted deleting junk e-mail costs American businesses nearly $22 billion a year, according to a new study from the University of Maryland.

Cnet, February 2, 2005 So many blogs, so little time--and now, so many entrepreneurs hoping to help you sort through them. As the number of blogs, news services and other syndicated sources of online information balloons, a new crop of start-ups has emerged promising to improve the signal-to-noise ratio. And venture capitalists and veteran Internet investors Marc Andreessen and Ron Conway are right behind one of them.

Reuters, February 3, 2005 Napster Inc. on Wednesday unveiled a portable version of its music subscription service, backed by a $30 million ad campaign that takes aim at rival Apple Computer Inc.'s popular iPod player.