Just in case it wasn't abundantly obvious before, Google has made a couple of moves in the last few days that make it certain the search giant is now going after Microsoft. Yesterday it announced the acquisition of Upstartle, the company that developed the free Web-based word processor Writely. A few days earlier, Google "accidentally" posted notes about plans to create an online storage system called Gdrive that would let users store all the information from their computers online for free. Imagine if Google had access to everything you've ever used your computer for? Then imagine the uproar surrounding future …

Blogging plays perfectly into the hands of flacks, said Richard W. Edelman, president and chief executive of the public-relations firm that bears his name during a keynote at PR Week's annual awards show.  "It used to be I would schmooze you and I was your flack," Edelman said. "Today, if we want to get a message into the public's conversation, we just make a post on a blog." And why does that strategy work?  "P.R. plays much better in a world that lacks trust," Edelman declared, because people no longer believe in a single source. Readers no longer take …

Mobile phone content is poised for big-time growth in the next four years, says research firm iSuppli Corp. The global market for games, music, and video on phones is expected to reach $43 billion by 2010, up from $5.2 billion in 2004, according to a report released by the firm this week. The combination of ringtones and ringtunes (actual music files stored on cell phones) is projected to lead the way as the fastest-growing wireless segment; last year, mobile music revenue was nearly $4 billion worldwide. The games sector should also drive up industry revenues, as game developers like Electronic …

To be sure, those growth projections sound impressive, but what about mobile advertising? According to Ad Age, advertising and cell phone-based content aren't mixing well--or even at all in most instances--yet. Thus far, the big wireless content packages are all subscription based--primarily because of fears of a consumer backlash to advertising on the mobile phone, which many regard as a more private place than say, the World Wide Web. As one media pundit said, "The day they put an ad on my cell phone I'm going to hand it back." It's that kind of reaction marketers are sensitive to, which …

Worldwide online game subscription revenue grew 43 percent to $2 billion in 2005, a fraction of the estimated $29 billion in worldwide video game sales, according to research firm DFC Intelligence. Massively multiplayer online games, like Blizzard Entertainment's "The World of Warcraft," accounted for half of subscription sales, while so-called casual games--easy to learn puzzle and card games--accounted for roughly $400 million in subscription sales. Sports, shooters and children's games brought in the rest. The research group predicts massive growth for online games in the next five years, forecasting $6.8 billion in subscription sales by 2011. Much of this projected …

Microsoft's heady comments about unseating Google at the top of the search pile have--miraculously--turned out to be quite timely: the AP reports that the search industry's vice-deputy is relaunching its long-awaited new engine in test form today. Windows Live Search, as the newest component of Microsoft's "Live" series is called, is said to be core to a strategy shift that will see the software giant focusing more heavily on Internet-based software and services. Beginning today, Windows Live Search will power queries conducted on Microsoft's Windows Live Web site. Once the product is out of testing, Windows Live Search will replace …

For many traditional media companies, consolidation is the way to go when it comes to developing or furthering an online presence. This strategy has proven easier and more lucrative than in-house development for companies like News Corp., Dow Jones & Co. and now, NBC Universal, which this week announced a $600 million acquisition of iVillage.com,. More and more Web companies are enlisting the help of mergers and acquisitions firms, ostensibly exploring the option of a sale, including TheStreet.com and weddings services operator Knot Inc. Still others, like CNet Networks, Bankrate Inc., Homestore Inc., Jupitermedia Corp. and PlanetOut Inc., have been …

Glenn Reynolds, the man behind the popular political blog InstaPundit.com sheds his two cents about the direction things are taking now that blogs and other personalized content have become part of many consumers' daily media diet. In his new book, An Army of Davids, reviewed here by The Philadelpia Inquirer, Reynolds explores the "triumph of personal media over mass technology," a trend he says will only strengthen over time. The next generation of media giants, which includes Google, has developed "from the uncoordinated activities of individuals," rather than the something like "The Bureau of Central Knowledge Planning." Such changes …

TiVo, pioneer of TV time shifting technology, wants to you to be able to program your TV from any digital device, having recently added the most essential of personal remote controls to its list of compatible devices: the cell phone. On Tuesday, TiVo announced that Verizon Wireless would be the first carrier to provide cell phone users with its remote time-shifting capabilities. TiVo Mobile is the latest feature the company is introducing to set itself apart from a mounting list of competing services offered by satellite and cable TV operators. TiVo CEO Tom Rogers said the company's DVR is not …

RSS, which stands for really simple syndication, is evolving, albeit slowly, from tech geek obscurity to the mainstream, thanks in large part to Yahoo's popularization of the format on its MyYahoo pages (even though many consumers who use RSS on Yahoo don't even know they're using it). Research firms disagree, but the number of Web consumers familiar with RSS is under 10 percent, and most likely closer to 5 percent. Yet marketers--especially those trying to reach tech junkies and early adopters--are experimenting further with the universal syndication format, which eMarketer says could one day become a significant way to reach …