Introducing Chrome - Another me-too?

Some of us see this as Google’s desperate attempt to redefine an established market and trying hard to extend beyond its core search business. But some see that this could challenge Microsoft dominance in the Browser market. In the already crowded browser market space, Google released a me-too Internet browser today.

This new browser lets users run many applications that once worked only when installed on local PCs, executives said on Tuesday. Chrome, available in 43 languages in 100 countries at www.google.com/chrome, has been designed to download software and Web pages faster than existing browsers. It even allows users to keep working when one of its windows crashes.

We have seen attempts like this before from Google. Google tried to create Second life type of Virtual World that went nowhere. And remember Friendster? Oh wait, what about Google OS?

Let’s see how much Google will succeed from this latest attempt. The stock closed at $465.

Download Chrome here.

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Yahoo Board - Icahn Face-off Part Deux (Update)

In this continuing saga, Icahn has recently shot off an angry letter to Yahoo’s management proposing them to fire Jerry Yang and others in the board to make way for a more Microsoft friendly board.

One would question the real motive behind Icahn’s move. Obviously he is here to make a buck (albeit under the covers of providing shareholder value). We discussed in the first part in detail.

http://www.vitaltrends.info/digital_media/yahoo-board-icann-face-off.html

Yahoo is in a precarious position here. As long as it manages to keep the major shareholders from turning to the dark side (Icahn as Darth Vader), it will be able to stave-off this merger threat. But in the end Yahoo might give-in to the pressure and agree to the $33/share deal with Microsoft.

Icahn writes “I have long been cynical about the effectiveness of many of the boards and CEOs in this country and as a result the inability of our companies to compete. I have constantly complained about how far CEOs and boards will go in order to retain their jobs, yet even I am amazed at the length Jerry Yang and the Yahoo board have gone to in order to entrench their positions and keep shareholders from deciding if they wished to sell to Microsoft.”

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2008/tc2008064_740360.htm

Yahoo’s Chairman of the Board Roy Bostock responded today to this letter

“Your letter seriously misrepresents and manipulates the facts regarding the recent events pertaining to Microsoft and Yahoo!. You rely on, as “facts,” a series of unsubstantiated allegations from a complaint filed in a Delaware court which grossly misstate the very clear record and position established by the Yahoo! Board.”

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2008/tc2008064_578861.htm

Icahn’s roll call of stock market successes include profitable showdowns with Marshall Field, Phillips Petroleum, Texaco, USX and, most recently, BEA Systems. There have been flops, too: the now-defunct airline TWA and video rental chain Blockbuster Inc., whose stock has lost nearly two-thirds of its value since Icahn bought a stake in the company in 2005 and muscled his way on to the board of directors. (From AP)

See Icahn’s interview with WSJ - http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid452319854/bctid1079215502

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Widgets for Social applications boon to Advertisers

From Fortune, March edition

Widgets are small, self-contained programs that can be plugged into a web application like a blog or social network. In the world of widgets, Slide is a giant. Built by former co-founder Levchin, Slide include hits such as Funwall, Slideshows and Top Friends. Widgets are popular with a sought-after demographic - thoise 18-to 25-year-olds who waste hours playing with the things and beaming them to their friends.

But how does these widgets help make money for advertisers? Slide’s founder Levchin claims the he’s in an unique position to measure engagement. He can mine that database of 50 million active widget users for all kinda of behavioral data. Who are these people? Who do they poke when they SuperPoke? How else do they interact? To advertisers trying to target their messages, this kinda of marketing data is gold.

The No 2 widget marker is RockYou, whose widget catalog includes SuperWall and Horoscope. Another start-up VideoEgg runs Video ads on widgets and charges 50 cents to $1 when someone interacts with them.

Continue reading this article on Fortune

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A Tale of Two Bubbles

I love this comparison of the 2000 and 2008 tech era (from Fortune March edition).

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Google in trouble?

Sheryl Sandberg Will Become COO of Facebook

March 5, 2008 - Facebook will announce that it will hire top Google executive Sheryl Sandberg as COO this afternoon, in a major hire that is sure to shake up the company and also deliver a blow to rival Google. At Google, Sandberg is the vice president, Global Online Sales & Operations, a major post in which she runs a large swath of the search giant’s ad operations.

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YouTube, Facebook Wikipedia tops Nielsen social media sites in U.K

YouTube, Facebook and Slide top the list of the most popular and fastest growing social media Web sites in the UK, according to Nielsen Online, a service of The Nielsen Company.

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Recession will impact Search Marketing

As recession looms, companies will look to cut their ad spending that includes search marketing. Advertising trails the economy in a recession: advertising budgets are usually committed in advance. Search marketing is different from traditional advertising (through traditional media outlets). It is more international in nature, so it might be less affected by U.S recession. It is critical to track consumer spending behavior that might provide tell-tale signs if this economy can be rescued from a deep recession or not. Analysts and investors seem to be optimistic about online advertising business. But we have little time to observe in terms of how online advertising responds to macroeconomic shocks. We can see some of the leading Internet search stocks taking a hit in the recent past. Google down 38%, Yahoo laid off 10 - 20% of its staff.

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