Google’s three billion-dollar acquisition of DoubleClick was approved by the FTC this morning. They aren’t out of the woods yet as the deal will not be 100% finalized until approval is given by the European Commission which has a self-imposed deadline of April 2nd to complete its review. Should the deal receive full sanctioning, it will broaden Google’s reach for online advertising by giving them access to major advertisers such as Sports Illustrated, Friendster and MTV Networks whom DoubleClick has exclusive contracts with.
Archive for 2007
US Regulators Clear Google-DoubleClick Deal
Thursday, December 20th, 2007Google To Fight delicious
Thursday, September 20th, 2007Google will be joining in the social bookmarking arena with Google Shared Stuff in the near future. While the beta has yet to come, it does exist on their web servers completely incomplete or ready for any significant amount of use. As far as I am aware, it was first uncovered by Google Operating System. This could be the next product they launch now that their Powerpoint fighter, Google Presentation, has been integrated with Google Docs. Now if they’d only add some new features to Gmail and bring it out of beta.
Google Street Map Fleet
Tuesday, August 7th, 2007I read this post some time ago talking about Google’s fleet of ‘camera cars’ which were setting out to take 360 degree views of streets to integrate with Google Maps. The idea is to give people actual street-level photographs of their destinations so that they might know where they are once they get there!
I then came across an article in today’s Orlando Sentinel announcing that the new technology is available and that Orlando is one of Google’s test markets. The actual photos within the maps are of very high quality…and you can use your mouse to pan in 360 mode and even advance down the street the way the actual vehicle must have traversed. Amazing technology!
You can try it out here. But be aware that the street view technology is only available in a few markets…
iPhone Hype
Thursday, June 28th, 2007Close to 24 hours away from the Apple iPhone’s much anticipated launch and the buzz around the Internet is pretty high. I’m curious as to the way the product will be received, although all signs seem to point to the positive. For starters, Apple’s recent history of product launches has been nothing short of astounding–not to mention the very positive reviews that the product seems to be getting. Walter Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal and Steven Levy of Newsweek both seem to have positive things to say.
On the other side, Seth Godin points us to an interview with a Verizon exec (AT&T/Cingular was instead choses to exclusively handle the iPhone for Apple) who seems to be glad that Verizon isn’t launching the iPhone. Not sure I believe him. This other piece about Verizon is an interesting look at how the iPhone’s competitors are going to counter the product’s hype. On a lighter note, Josh points us to Dan Blank’s humorous view of iPhone post-purchase dissonance.
OrlandoSentinel.com Re-design
Friday, June 22nd, 2007The Orlando Sentinel has recently launched a re-design of its Web site. Mike Thomas, a popular columnist for the paper, has rounded up some reader reviews of the site over on his blog.
Orlando PRSA Links
Thursday, May 17th, 2007I had the chance today to address a large group of public relations professionals at the Orlando chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (www.prsaorlando.org). As part of my talk, I promised to post some links of some of the sites we discussed. Here is a brief run-down:
– a great resource for keyword research
– Core Web principles to keep in mind
– powerful analytical tool for marketers
– a general description of the concept
– an oft-touted Web 2.0 concept in action
– likely game-changer in Web mobility
Thanks again to the group for having me…I genuinely enjoyed the exchange!
Link Rundown
Thursday, May 17th, 2007If you have a minute, check out http://www.bubbl.us. It’s a pretty cool Web-based productivity application for diagrams, brainstorming, etc. This is the type of Web-based app that the world has been warning Microsoft about for some time (i.e. Google Apps).
Also, check out the new release of Google Analytics, something every marketer/business owner/Web site operator should find the time to do. Google just released a new version and the reviews are starting to come in. Check out reviews by beconfused, Mashable, and Mydeology. All seem to be relatively positive, save a few errors that still remain in the new site.
Just how important is Google?
Wednesday, April 11th, 2007Reuters is reporting that Google accounted for 64% of all searches in March according to Hitwise. Yahoo got about 22% and MSN had roughly 9%.
Next week Yahoo and Google will report their quarterly financial statements as well. When those are released, keep an eye out for the size of their increases. Yahoo has released their new search marketing system to more and more advertisers recently which is drawing a lot of attention. So we will see if there is any immediate impact from that and if people feel compelled to abandon adWords for it.
Ernie Els & Co. Take Tavistock Cup
Wednesday, March 28th, 2007I had a chance to catch a few holes of the Tavistock Cup yesterday. It is a truly extraordinary golf event put on by our client, Tavistock Group. The event was held at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club and features many of the world’s top golfers including Tiger Woods, Retief Goosen, Mark O’Meara, and Ernie Els. Congratulations to the Lake Nona team which beat the Isleworth team handily! Congratulations to the entire Tavistock family, a truly remarkable company, who put on another fabulous event.