Clickable Headlines and Stories from my sources today:
Chicago Tribune to Cut 80 Newsroom Positions
The Chicago Tribune began informing staff Tuesday it will eliminate around 80 of its current 578 newsroom positions by the end of August and reduce the number of pages it publishes by 13 percent to 14 percent each week. There also will be a reduction of jobs in other Chicago Tribune departments, but that number was not immediately available. A paper spokesman declined comment. Phil Rosenthal of the Chicago Tribune reports. more »
Yang: Microsoft Squashing Us On Purpose
The Wall Street Journal
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang says that "to trust (Carl) Icahn and his board is really a bad choice," adding that Microsoft is trying to squash the company's share price without any real desire to complete a deal. Yang of course is responding to yesterday's news that Microsoft would be open to restarting acquisition talks with Yahoo if Icahn, the billionaire corporate raider, is able to wrest control of the company in a proxy fight next month. Icahn has said he would replace Yang if he succeeds.
Yang's position is that Yahoo is ready to strike a deal now, so why does Microsoft need to wait for a new board and CEO before reopening talks? He described Microsoft's unwillingness to negotiate "baffling". Microsoft, in response to Yang's claims, pointed to a statement the company issued on Monday: "We have concluded that we cannot reach an agreement with them. We confirm, however, that after the shareholder election, Microsoft would be interested in discussing with a new board a major transaction with Yahoo."
Yang, meanwhile, now has to convince shareholders that he and the board should remain even if Microsoft is unwilling to work with them. "I think that I can bring stability back to Yahoo, and I want to get on with building company," Yang said. "I think that the destabilizing by Microsoft has become more and more intentional. I am not happy about it." - Read the whole story...
Google's 'Me Too' Virtual World
GigaOm
After 18 months of persistent rumors, Google finally launched its Second Life rival, unveiling a virtual world known as Lively on Tuesday. Sort of. GigaOm's Wagner James Au says Lively is more like "a series of virtual world chatrooms" than a "contiguous, immersive, fully user-created metaverse" like Second Life. Either way, he says, "Lively seems too similar to several existing (and very large) MMOs, making it an also-ran without a key market distinguisher to be truly compelling (besides being from Google)."
That said, you can do some cool things with these chatrooms, like embed them on your Web site, but ultimately, the cutesy, cartoonish avatars and classic virtual world feel amount to little that's original, Au says. "Without some special magic that I'm not seeing as yet, it could easily wind up being a virtual world version of Google Video, easily eclipsed by the YouTube-level dominance of Habbo Hotel/Club Penguin/Gaia Online/etc."
Then there's the 64 million dollar question: Why is Google, the Web's leading search provider, getting into virtual worlds in the first place? How does this fit in their world domination plan to organize all the world's information? - Read the whole story...
Report: Online Ad Growth To Slow On Weak Economy
Adweek
A new survey claims that America's slumping economy is having an effect on online ad growth. Conducted by William Blair & Co, the new survey forecasts that the gloomy economic outlook will contribute to slowing growth. The investment bank queried 150 Chicago-area interactive marketing companies about their budgets, and two thirds of respondents said economic conditions would affect spending.
According the results, the respondents expect Internet advertising to grow slightly more than 16% in the next year, less than the 19% William Blair tracked in previous surveys. Respondents pegged paid search and ROI-based direct response ads as the sectors most likely to thrive.
"Online's healthy, but the economy is definitely having an impact," Sean Riegsecker, CEO of Centro, a Chicago ad service for newspaper sites, told Adweek. "In a weak economy, people are going to move more towards direct response. We're seeing brand advertising take a much bigger hit this year." - Read the whole story...
Google Shows User Tracking Has Its Benefits
The New York Times
Most people who follow Google know that the company records the unique Internet Protocol addresses of every computer that connects to its products and services. For example, everything you've every searched for is retained by the search, although per a European Union mandate last year, the company now severs the link between IP addresses and search logs after 18 to 24 months. Privacy watchers and industry critics often wonder whether the potential privacy costs are worth it for consumers.
However, The New York Times' Saul Hansell says Google's user tracking has its benefits, too. Earlier this week, the company announced that Gmail users would soon have the option of seeing which computers are logged into their accounts and can read their mail. Like other Web mail programs, Gmail allows users to keep a given computer signed into their account so they don't have to keep retyping their user name and password. Of course, this means that if you check your mail on someone else's computer and forget to log off, the next person could read your mail. Google's will now give users a link that shows all machines currently logged into their account. It displays the type of machine (PC, mobile phone), the IP address, and how long the machine has been logged in, giving users the option to log out of any machine they don't want reading their mail.
OK, so this may not put to rest the argument about whether Google should be storing all that user information, but it is a handy feature that wouldn't be possible without user tracking. - Read the whole story...
YouTube Falls Short Of Expectations
The Wall Street Journal
YouTube will fall short of revenue expectations, generating about $200 million for Google this year, The Wall Street Journal reports in a revealing article about the state of the video-sharing giant. Earlier in the year, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said the company was working on new and innovative ad formats for YouTube, but according to the report, Google is merely planning to start accepting pre and post-roll ads, a format long shunned by the search giant because consumers don't like them. In fact, the Silicon Alley Insider reports that Google recently found that 80% to 90% of video watchers flee instantly the minute they see a pre-roll ad.
Meanwhile, most pages on YouTube are advertising-free. So why, you ask, doesn't Google start pasting AdSense ads all around the site? That's because, as The Journal reports, Google is actually scared to sell ads on 96% of its inventory. "Fearful of fueling allegations that it is profiting from copyright infringement, Google will only sell ads against YouTube clips that have been posted or approved by media companies and other partners -- roughly 4% of the total, says one person familiar with the matter."
The report claims that Google's fears stem from the billion-dollar Viacom suit, which alleges that Google profits from the dissemination of advertising on copyrighted material. According to SAI, this means that "either Google's going to need a legal ruling that gives it the go-ahead to make money on its copyright-violating inventory -- or it's going to have live with diminished expectations for its $1.65 billion business." - Read the whole story...
Out-Of-Home Alcohol Consumption Taking A Dive
by Karlene Lukovitz
[Food and Beverage] Although Americans traditionally drink as much--if not more--alcohol when economic times are tough, new data suggests that out-of-home alcohol consumption is dropping right alongside the economy. The hardest hit? Bars and restaurants on either coast, and wine, which is most often consumed in restaurants. - Read the whole story...
Kmart Strikes Deal To Become Dark Knight Headquarters
by Karl Greenberg
[Retail] Kmart is getting in on the promotion of the upcoming "Dark Knight" installment of the Batman franchise via a new licensing deal with Warner Brothers and DC Comics. The deal, which will render KMart "Batman Headquarters," includes exclusive merchandise and branded boutiques. - Read the whole story...
CMT, Wal-Mart And Others Gear Up For Elvis Week
by Sarah Mahoney
[Retail] Elvis Presley passed away on August 16, 1977, and every year the week of his death is commemorated by millions in their own way. For Wal-Mart that means being the only retailer to offer a new Presley-themed film, Elvis: Viva Las Vegas. CMT, meanwhile, will air the movie on August 11. Today, Elvis would be 72. - Read the whole story...
Harley-Davidson Reaches Out To Women
by Karl Greenberg
[Automotive] Any number of barriers prevent women from buying a Harley, and the legendary motorcycle brand will address as many as it can in the coming months as it kicks off an all-out push to woo more female riders. - Read the whole story...
Sony Ericsson Goes All Out On Purple Push
by Laurie Sullivan
[Telecom] Sony Ericsson is offering its Z750a cellular phone in a new color, purple, and is asking consumers to help spread the word by taking pictures or shooting videos of what purple means to them. - Read the whole story...
Avis Offers Digital Books And Tunes In Rental Cars
Chevy Launches New Compact, Cruze
Denny's Kicks Off Next Leg Of Casual Dining Push
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