October 17, 2006 | In Business, Technology | No Comments
The International Herald Tribune ran an interesting article this weekend about the blogsphere, and how it is affecting the Public Relations industry.
It’s interesting to see how so many PR firms have started directing their promotional efforts towards influential bloggers, in hopes of gaining online endorsements for clients’ products.
In my career as a blogger, I’ve received quite a number of PR pitches both through PR firms, and directly from companies. Although I always do my best to view products and services from a cautious point of view, I’ve published positive feedback on at least a few of them.
Overall, I would have to agree that the blogsphere is a positive thing for the PR guys, many of whom once felt threatened by this uncharted new form of online journalism. It serves as one more valuable outlet for promoters to get the word out about useful products and services, while providing an unbiased source of information for consumers hoping to make the smartest buying decision.
October 10, 2006 | In Business, Technology | No Comments
Google’s $1.65 billion acquisition of YouTube Inc. will put significant competitive pressure on the search giant’s competitors, BusinessWeek predicts.
By integrating YouTube’s wildly popular online video platform with its existing services, Google is attempting to extend its highly profitable advertising business into a new and largely untapped medium.
eMarketer expects video-based online advertising to generate revenues of $640 million this year alone, and grow to produce $1.5 billion in 2010. If Google can grab the lion’s share of this growth, it will have scored a big victory over competitors like Yahoo, Microsoft, and News Corp.
October 2, 2006 | In Business, Technology | No Comments
Google has purchased a Silicon Valley landmark; the garage in which co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin first created their famous search engine.
The company bought this 1,900-square foot Menlo Park home from Susan Wojcicki, now a Google employee, who rented her garage to Page and Brin eight years ago.
Google’s five-month existence in the Menlo Park garage saw plenty of crucial work that eventually contributed to the search engine’s multi-billion dollar success today.
There’s no official word on how much the property cost, but similar homes in the area have sold for between $1.1 million and $1.3 million.
“We plan to preserve the property as a part of our living legacy,” according to Google spokesman, Jon Murchinson.
This Menlo Park home will now join the ranks of other famous Silicon Valley landmarks, such as the Palo Alto garage where Hewlett-Packard was founded in 1938, and the Los Altos garage where Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak created the first Apple computers.
