Marketwatch Silicon Valley columnist Bambi Francisco resigned from her post last Friday under somewhat mysterious circumstances. The only thing that's certain is the decision comes due to a Web startup called Vator.tv, a company she created last year that brings together venture capitalists and startups.  Critics say this shows that even in the murky world of Web 2.0, journalists should still be held to a different standard. "I'm afraid you can't be a journalist and a business person," Jerry Ceppos, former executive editor of the San Jose Mercury News, told his former employer.A report http://news.com.com/Rewriting+ethics+rules+for+the+new+media/2100-1030_3-6173512.html ) …

Holes in its methodology notwithstanding, that Vidmeter study, which said copyrighted material accounts for less than 9% of all videos on YouTube, continues to get a lot of press. Most reports harp on its use of deleted videos to conduct the study, a New York Times report explores the possible merits of its findings. Indeed, Vidmeter's study could take the wind out of Viacom's sails ahead of its $1 billion lawsuit against Google and YouTube, says Internet industry analyst Henry Blodget, He says the findings represent "the opposite of consensus" --at least as far as big media is …

Far short of calling Google "a one-trick pony" (a la Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer) Google chief Eric Schmidt, admits the search giant does get the vast majority of its revenue from one source--but he says online advertising is a business "a lot of other people would like to be in." He doesn't point out that Google get most of its revenue from text ads, despite having entered several new advertising areas. Unconcerned, Schmidt asserts that, "new revenue models are on the horizon." He's particularly excited about Google Apps' potential to move into the market enterprise-level Web-based office …

Vonage Holdings Corp. is still in dire straits regarding the injunction U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton handed the Internet phone company for violating three patents belonging to rival Verizon Communications. The struggling VoIP provider was handed a reprieve late last week when the judge issued a partial stay, which allows it to continue offering service to its 2.2 million customers while the company appeals the decision. The reprieve comes after Vonage's lawyer described the ruling as "cutting off oxygen" to the money-losing company. However, Vonage will not be allowed to bring in new customers during that time, as …

Just about every media company in the world is trying to figure out a way into the world of social networks, blogs and online video. Several, like Google, News Corp. and NBC Universal, have bought their way into Web 2.0, while others, like Viacom, are choosing to build it. Critics might say that due to their size; big media companies are at a disadvantage when it comes to the fast-paced world of new media. Several former media moguls have abandoned the traditional world in favor of growing their own Web startups. Michael Eisner, the former …

A controversial new report from online video tracking firm Vidmeter.com says that a paltry 6 percent of YouTube viewers consumed pirated clips pulled off the video-sharing site. However, the study only counted videos removed as unauthorized content and not the countless others, many of which are duplicates that escaped detection. A flawed study, but the report's authors seemed confident that unauthorized copyright videos make up a relatively small portion of YouTube's most popular videos and an even smaller portion of views. Viacom spokesperson disputed the findings: "The Vidmeter study undercounts the volume of copyrighted content on YouTube by a …

Yahoo may regret its decision not to buy Facebook, since one of the dark stains on the Web giant's record was its decision not to buy Google when it had the chance. Was the decision to walk away from a Facebook deal a comparable error? Not likely, but a stat-heavy report from Needham's David May indicates that Yahoo definitely passed up a golden opportunity. According to comScore data, the popular college-age social network recently passed 21 million registered users, generating 1.5 billion page views per day. Ninety-three percent of its registered users log on at least once a month; …

Bambi Francisco of Marketwatch talks to Roger McNamee, the venture capitalist who famously called Google a "Web 1.0" firm at a Web 2.0 trade show about a month ago. McNamee is part of Elevation Partners, a VC firm that has invested heavily in Web startups, including $100 million for a 50 percent stake in real estate site Move.com; its principals include U2 lead singer Bono. The firm has also invested in $200 million for a 40 percent stake in Forbes, the 90-year-old publisher of the popular financial news magazine. However, McNamee says the real play in the Forbes …

DoubleClick is no YouTube. Rather, "It is an unsexy, revenue-producing business run by grown-ups who keep a low profile." Indeed, DoubleClick does unsexy behind-the-scenes work for advertisers and publishers, delivering and managing ads -- but it's likely worth more than the $1.65 billion Google paid for YouTube in November. Various reports have pegged the New York-based firm's valuation at more than $2 billion. What does this mean for DoubleClick's competitors? Forbes says a DoubleClick sale could boost their value in the eyes of potential acquirers. "DoubleClick has set a benchmark," says Gurbaksh Chahal, co-founder and CEO of the privately …

How about this for numbers that don't add up: MySpace last year generated an astounding 31.5 billion page views per month, yet the social network earned a measly $90 million in ad revenues. By our calculations, that represents a paltry $0.2 cents per monthly page view. Surely, parent News Corp. can do better. Big talk yesterday from News Corp. President Peter Chernin said the media conglomerate expects MySpace to turn a profit by 2008, and that its operating margin would be 20%. Those claims were backed up by a research note from Merrill Lynch & Co. analyst Jessica Reif …