Topic: HP

Reflections On Chrome OS From A Consumer Perspective

Google hosted something of a formal “status update” on Chrome the operating system in Mountain View on Thursday. There we discovered the company is open-sourcing the code. We also found out it’s intended as a netbook OS (for now) and that Google is working with several hardware partners to create a better netbook experience (full-sized […]

Liveblogging The Yahoo “It’s You” Press Conference

Along with a new search format, Yahoo has rolled out a new “It’s You” marketing push with clever slogans like “The Internet Is Under New Management, Yours.” The company is holding a press conference shortly, and I’m here liveblogging it. Let’s do this. We’re waiting. So are you. Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz up, welcoming people. […]

What’s Yahoo’s “Plan B” For Search?

The Microsoft-Yahoo search deal isn’t a forgone conclusion. In fact, news out yesterday suggests the companies may face serious regulatory hurdles. Potentially, it won’t be allowed. That leaves me wondering. What’s Yahoo’s Plan B? Does it even have a backup plan, especially when CEO Carol Bartz has suggested Yahoo can no longer run search on […]

Google OS Reactions: The Positive, Negative & The Paranoid

Late yesterday Google announced (or finally admitted) that it had developed an operating system, called Chrome OS, not to be confused, exactly, with the related Chrome browser. Everyone and their grandmother seems to have an opinion about it. Here’s a sampling of the reaction, positive, negative and in-between: The fans, boosters and generally positive takes: […]

Focus Group Study Offers Good & Bad News For Bing

TechCrunch yesterday reported on the results of a focus group conducted by NY design firm Catalyst Group comparing usability on Bing and Google. The study showed that in many instances Bing was preferred but that users already familiar and comfortable with Google would likely stay with Google. What’s partly interesting about this is that the […]

Google Gets “Pole Position” On The Pre

Tomorrow Palm’s Pre (comeback) smartphone will go on sale through US carrier Sprint. In early 2010 it will reportedly come to Verizon, which opens it up to a much larger market. To date, the Pre has received mostly positive reviews, though, as with the G1 and soon ION/G2, reviewers seem to agree that it falls […]

SEO

Yahoo Trying To Make Display More Like Search

We’ve known for some time, based on a number of studies from Microsoft, Yahoo, SEM firms and ad networks, that an online ad campaign that includes both display and search performs better than one that features only display or search. In another version of that same theme, Yahoo recently said that it was using search […]

Dell Looking At Android For Netbook OS

Android was intended from the outset to be an OS that could support devices beyond smartphones. And the fast-growing netbook market is one in which Android may see considerable adoption. The Wall Street Journal reports that Dell is considering building netbooks using the Android OS instead of Linux or Windows. The first netbook to use […]

Microsoft Earnings: The Morning After

Yesterday Microsoft announced earnings. Though the company had  $13.65 billion in revenue, it saw its first YoY revenue decline since becoming a public company. The bruising headline is: Microsoft Profit Falls for First Time in 23 Years. Below are two charts of interest, the first showing division revenues and the second focused on online business […]

Microsoft Cashback Comes to the MSN Toolbar

Although I don’t personally use it I’m a fan of Microsoft’s Cashback. That sounds like a contradiction I know. But I thought it was a very clever consumer-advertiser proposition when it launched in May of last year. It gives advertisers a way to stand out in search results* (and only pay if there’s a sale) […]

Tough Love For Microsoft Search

Back in June, I spoke at Microsoft as part of a regular series for those involved with its webmaster tools group and anyone generally interested in search. My talk was called “Tough Love For Microsoft Search,” and I covered various reasons why I felt the company has generally failed to make headway in the space. […]

Live Cashback Users Feel Cheated By Microsoft

On Black Friday, Microsoft’s Live Search Cashback program went black, in short, the service went down and many shoppers were unable to use the great deals they provided with their merchants. Back then, Microsoft promised to make things right. Microsoft’s Live Search Blog posted an update explaining that they have been communicating with those customers […]

Microsoft’s Live Search Cashback Goes Dark On Black Friday

Microsoft’s Live Search Cashback program was reportedly down much of the day on Black Friday. This caused major concerns for customers who were excited to get large discounts on the day. In addition, TechFlash reports many customers purchased items from HP, expecting to receive 40% cash back rewards from Microsoft, only to see 3% show […]

Q&A With Paul O’Brien, Vice President of Marketing at Zvents.com

Paul O’Brien is an old-hand at the online marketing game, having honed his skills with brands such as Yahoo and Hewlett-Packard.  I recently had an opportunity to chat with Paul, and it’s always impressive to meet well-rounded, knowledgeable thought leaders like him.  If you think you have heard Paul’s name before, it could be because […]

Tech Companies Win ‘White Spaces’ Airwaves Decision

The US Federal Communications Commission approved a plan to allow unlicensed broadcast TV spectrum to be used by companies to create wireless broadband services that amount to “WiFi on steroids.” This was a hotly contested issue, with tech and electronics companies like Google, HP, Microsoft, Intel, Dell and Motorola, among a number of others, lining […]

Google Getting More Political: CEO Endorses Obama

Google is getting more political these days. Yesterday I wrote about the company’s lobbying efforts on behalf of its paid search deal with Yahoo, which isn’t necessarily “political,” but arguably a political necessary. Also yesterday, Google CEO Eric Schmidt decided to endorse (and later campaign with) Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. The company issued a […]

Amid Economic Wreckage And Political Resistance, The Good Ship Google Steams Ahead With Smart Grid, Android, Chrome & More

Advertising spending is down across the board and the financial markets are in a crisis not seen since the Depression. Layoffs are happening or appear to be impending at a number of high-profile tech companies, including HP, eBay and Yahoo. Yet Google appears to be navigating through these difficult economic waters as though it were […]

SearchBiz: Whetstone Becomes New Google PR Chief; Google And The “M-Word,” & Flickr Founder Criticizes Yahoo

Remember Google losing its head of PR, Elliott Schrage, to Facebook back in May? Google has quietly found a replacement, that of Rachel Whetstone. She formerly headed corporate communications for Google in Europe. Google confirmed to us she was named to the post several weeks ago, though no announcement was made. But her replacement got […]

Microsoft Announces adCenter Desktop Beta During SMX Advanced Keynote

Kevin Johnson, President of Microsoft’s Platform & Services Division, announced the release of the adCenter Desktop Beta during an SMX Advanced keynote speech today. The software application allows advertisers to create, optimize, and manage online campaigns with Microsoft. Previously advertisers were required to manage their campaigns through a web interface, a relatively less efficient means, […]

Microsoft Wins Deal For Live Search To Be Default On HP Computers

For all the excitement about Microsoft Live Search Cashback, I think a new announcement out today is far more important to Live Search’s potential growth. It will be the default search engine on Hewlett-Packard computers sold in North America beginning in January 2009, winning the deal from Yahoo. HP is currently the world’s largest PC […]

SEO

HP Promoting T-Shirts Promoting YouTube Videos, Yahoo Nixes “The 9,” Craigslist Reaching For $100 Million, Google Grants, & More

Given that we were unwittingly ensnared by Mike Blumenthal’s authentic sounding April Fools post earlier this week, we’re being a bit more careful and reading items more closely these days. However, one article from Bloomberg that almost reads like an April Fools item discusses a novel program on Google’s YouTube in which computer and printer […]

In Unexpected Move, AOL Buys Social Network Bebo For $850 Million

In a somewhat surprising move, given the speculation surrounding AOL and its future, the company has acquired number three social network Bebo for $850 million in cash. Bebo has a reported 40 million unique users on a global basis. AOL says in its press release, “Together with its AIM and ICQ personal communications network, the […]

Q&A With Microsoft On Proposed Yahoo Purchase: 2+2 = #1

Greg Sterling and I have just finished a short Q&A with Microsoft’s Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president of strategic partnerships, about his company’s bid to acquire Yahoo. How does Microsoft plan to integrate Yahoo, if its proposal wins? The plan right now is one more about how the two companies will coordinate to figure out […]

PPC

The Nominees Are In For SEMPO’s 2008 Board Of Directors

Bill Hartzer has the scoop on the 33 individuals who are on the nominee list for SEMPO‘s board of directors of 2008. Thirteen of the nominees will be elected to be on the board of directors for a two-year period. The voting process is internal and will begin on Wednesday, February 6, 2008 at 5 […]

Taking On ARF, Engagement, Interruptive Advertising… And Whatever Else You’ve Got!

In 2005, The Advertising Research Foundation (ARF), through their MI4 Initiative, decided to embark on the Quixotic quest of defining engagement. The impetus was finding a more appropriate and applicable metric that could stretch across the rapidly expanding number of channels that were exploding through digital delivery. So, the good folks at ARF assembled a […]

SEO

AOL Introduces ‘Platform A’: Integrated Ad Targeting

AOL has moved its corporate headquarters to New York to be at the center of the U.S. ad and media universe and has introduced what it’s calling “Platform A,” an integrated ad buying platform and network that the company says has broader reach than any other today. Advertising.com and some of the more recent AOL […]