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Thursday, October 22, 2009

Is Everyone Using Twitter Yet? Nope.

weegee-crowdIt’s easy to get the impression that everyone uses Twitter. And many people do! But new statistics indicate that four of five Web users are still Twitter-free. Worth keeping in mind as Google and Microsoft start plugging tweets into search results.

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Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Google: We’re Hiring, and Spending, Again

eric-schmidtGoogle CEO Eric Schmidt used the opening moments of a New York City press conference to reinforce a message he’s been delivering for several weeks: The worst is over, things are looking up, and Google is spending accordingly.

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Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Ask.com’s Newest Offer: Discount Search

ask.com dealBarry Diller has tried just about every gambit possible to boost his Ask.com search engine, but he keeps coming up with more. The latest: Coupons.

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Saturday, October 3, 2009

YouTube Yawns at Letterman’s Extortion Story

240_dlettermanIn certain circles, David Letterman’s extortion/adultery story is huge news. On YouTube? It’s overshadowed by an “Ultimate Fighter” match.

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Thursday, September 24, 2009

Good News, T. Rowe Price! Twitter Users Really, Really Love Ads.

times-squareGood news (potentially) for T. Rowe Price and the other investors plowing $100 million into the revenue-free start-up: The service’s users absolutely love clicking on ads, says a new study.

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Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Here Comes the Google Ad Exchange

wall street buttonwood treeGoogle is about to flip the switch on its long-awaited Ad Exchange.

The search giant will reportedly open up its AdX service, which is supposed to bring together ad buyers and sellers the same way a stock market does, within the next two weeks. AdX isn’t a surprise, but it is a big deal.

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Monday, September 14, 2009

Universal Music Gets Slapped in Court. What Does This Mean for Veoh–and YouTube?

pacinoJust how big a deal was a federal judge’s ruling Monday in the copyright-infringement fight between Veoh and Universal Music Group? Depends on who you ask, of course.

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Friday, September 11, 2009

Twitter Gives Spam Apps a Thumbs Down, Ads a “Maybe”

kevin costner jfkIt’s one of those mysteries that are so deep, so mysterious, they may never be solved: When Twitter co-founder Biz Stone says the company would “like to leave the door open for advertising,” what exactly does he mean? My guess: Twitter would like to leave the door open for advertising. Meanwhile, the company cracks down, a bit, on spammy apps.

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Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Rhapsody Beats Spotify to the Punch. But Will You Pay $15 a Month for an iPhone Music App?

rhapsody app

Okay, all you Spotify coveters who say you can’t wait to get the much hyped app on your iPhone, here’s your chance: Pony up $15 a month and you can get Rhapsody’s app, which does exactly the same thing.

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Thursday, August 20, 2009

Now Showing on YouTube: Usain Bolt’s Amazing 200 Meter Run

usain-boltReally doesn’t matter if you have the slightest interest in track and field. If you have a pulse, you will be amazed when you see Jamaican marvel Usain Bolt smashing yet another sprinting record, which he did just minutes ago at a German track meet. It will take NBC’s Universal Sports quite some time to get you the clip, but you can watch it right now on the world’s biggest video site.

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Thursday, August 13, 2009

Kindle Nation Could Be 10 Million Strong. But What Happened to Amazon’s “Save the Newspaper Business” Plan?

weegee-crowdHave you bought a Kindle? Do you plan on buying a Kindle? If you answered yes to either question, you’re part of a not-that-small group: JP Morgan estimates that some 10 million Americans either own one of Amazon’s e-book readers or plan to get one soon. Meanwhile, whatever happened to Amazon’s plan to bundle newspaper subscriptions with its DX reader?

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Thursday, July 23, 2009

Another Bet on Video: How-To Start-Up 5min Raises $7.5 Million

072309atdfiveminWeb video companies that wanted to take on YouTube are having a very hard time. But Web video isn’t going away, either, and there has to be some way to make it work for users, publishers and investors. Right?

Hence, another round of funding for 5min, a video start-up that just raised a $7.5 million B round. New investor Globespan Capital Partners led the round, and Spark Capital, the VC shop that has made several video bets (along with a big one in Twitter) made a second investment.

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Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Four and a Half Minutes on iFart? There’s a “Daily Show” Clip for That.

ifartEveryone knows that one of the iPhone’s best selling points is the amazing array of apps developers make for the handset. But if you still need convincing, check out this “Daily Show” clip, which highlights some of the phone’s most popular programs.

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Friday, July 17, 2009

Think You Own the Book You Bought for Your Kindle? You Don’t, Says Amazon.

1984Buy an e-book for Amazon’s Kindle recently? You might want to check to see if it’s still on your device. Kindle users are complaining that the e-commerce giant has removed titles from their machines this week and given them refunds in their place.

What happened? The details are fuzzy, but apparently, a publisher that supplied Amazon with two George Orwell titles has decided that it doesn’t want to sell them via Amazon anymore. So away they went. Have at it, DRM-haters.

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Thursday, July 16, 2009

Google Says YouTube Can Start Making Real Money, Very Soon. Really!

tradingplacesYouTube, the world’s biggest video site, is a money loser for Google. But it may not stay that way for long, the company hinted today.

In response to a question during Google’s, quarterly earnings call today, chief financial officer Patrick Pichette contended that the company could begin making a substantial profit, someday soonish. If Google really does pull this off, it will be a remarkable turnaround project.

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About Peter

Peter Kafka has been covering media and technology since 1997, when he joined the staff of Forbes magazine. Most recently, he has been the managing editor of the tech and media Web site, Silicon Alley Insider.

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Ethics Statement

Here is a statement of my ethics and coverage policies. It is more than most of you want to know, but, in the age of suspicion of the media, I am laying it all out.

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