The New York Post, June 30, 2005
Hoping to cash in on the renewed rush of media companies to make big investments in the Internet, CNET Networks is shopping itself, The Post has learned. Sources said CNET has been informally shopping itself to a host of media companies - it has had discussions with Viacom and Barry Diller's InterActiveCorp, among others - and that investment banks are vying for the deal. AOL and Yahoo! are also rumored to be considering making a bid.
The New York Times, June 30, 2005
For the last two weeks, Microsoft has been in talks to buy a private Silicon Valley company, a move that underscores just how eager Microsoft is to catch up with Google, the search and advertising giant. The company that Microsoft has pursued is controversial: Claria, an adware marketer formerly called Gator, and best known for its pop-up ads and software that tracks people visiting Web sites. The Gator adware has frequently been denounced by privacy advocates for its intrusiveness.
Wired, June 30, 2005
Like most of us, Joe Wagner hates spam. Unlike most of us, he's doing something about it. Wagner, a 37-year-old mechanical engineer and founder of Hypertouch, a modest California internet services provider, has fired off several lawsuits against companies that he believes have violated the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing, or Can-Spam, Act.
Reuters, June 29, 2005
A seller of online marketing tools said on Wednesday it sued Google Inc., charging that the Web search giant has failed to protect users of its advertising program from "click fraud," costing them at least $5 million. Click Defense Inc. filed its lawsuit, which also seeks class action status, on June 24 in U.S. District Court in San Jose, California.
Clickz, June 30, 2005
The top Internet advertisers by media value, according to data from TNS Media Intelligence.
Reuters, June 29, 2005
Music giant Sony BMG has finalized its deal with the legal file-sharing network Mashboxx, two days after a U.S. court dealt a blow to Mashboxx's unauthorized rivals such as Grokster.
Wired, June 29, 2005
Apple's new podcasting service could be in a sticky situation if podcasters post copyrighted material, thanks to Monday's Grokster decision by the Supreme Court, some experts say. But others suggested Apple's new podcast hub could prove to be an ideal one-stop-shop for securing music licenses for homebrew radio shows.
Wired, June 29, 2005
It's tempting to see the U.S. Supreme Court's Grokster decision as technology's loss and copyright's gain, but that analysis misses the mark. In fact, despite having just been handed a powerful new tool to prop up a tottering business model, the entertainment industry could well wind up the biggest loser. The high court on Monday threw out a summary judgment ruling in favor of Grokster and StreamCast Networks, ordering the companies back to trial on charges of so-called secondary copyright infringement.
Reuters, June 29, 2005
Deutsche Telekom's mobile arm T-Mobile will use Web search leader Google as the starting point for surfing the Internet on its mobile phones to promote Internet usage, T-Mobile said on Wednesday. T-Mobile, Europe's second-largest mobile operator, is moving to provide full Internet access on its phones, abandoning the unpopular "walled garden" concept in which operators give access to their own choice of Web sites.
Clickz, June 28, 2005
Google unveiled an experimental personalized search technology in its Labs unit today. It has the potential to impact the way paid search ads are targeted. Google Personalized Search uses people's search histories and click behavior to tailor Web search results. If a user searches "bass," for example, the technology would look at his search and click history to decide if music- or fish-related results are most appropriate.