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My 2 featured articles for the week ending Dec. 2, 2005:

Archived blogs for the week of November 28, 2005

1055 - December 1, 2005 - 10.53 AM EST

Yahoo Mail integrates blogs with email

Yahoo extends its My Yahoo RSS services with the addition of RSS feeds in Yahoo Mail. The Yahoo Mail RSS Reader offering is just one part of the RSS Alert puzzle that Yahoo has launched in its RSS Feed Alert service.

This service will allow Yahoo members to be updated via Yahoo Mail, Yahoo Messenger or SMS Messaging whenever the RSS feeds that they have set to subscribe to are updated.

The addition of RSS feeds in Yahoo Mail offers users more of a one-stop scenario of monitoring their incoming mail, top news stories, and favorite blogs.

Just as I was typing up this story and about to get lazy and just quote the Yahoo Mail press release, my Yahoo Mail Beta updated with the new RSS feed reader, so I am literally testing this live.

The default feeds in my Yahoo Mail feed reader are the feeds I subscribe to for my My Yahoo page, one for the Search Engine Journal and the other for Yahoo Sports Major League Baseball News.

I regularly subscribe to more feeds, but do so in Google Reader and Bloglines, as Yahoo has yet to win me over with their My Yahoo RSS tool. Yahoo Mail Integration: At first glance, the integration into Yahoo Mail is quite seamless, as an “All RSS Feeds” folder is added under my new Contacts, Calendar, and Notepad folders on the left navigation bar of the new Yahoo Mail beta.

Posted on Businessblog™

1054 - November 30, 2005 - 7.53 AM EST

Google hires Ann Mather

On Monday, Google hired Ann Mather for its Board of Directors. Ann will serve as Chairperson for Google's Audit Committee.

Ann Mather has been a director on the Board of the Central European Media Enterprises group since April 2004, and serves on its Audit and Compensation Committees.

She served as a director for Shopping.com from May 2004 until it was acquired by Ebay in 2005. She was Chair of Shopping.com's Audit Committee, and was a member of their Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee.

Posted on Businessblog™

1053 - November 29, 2005 - 3.05 PM EST

Craigslist, the Google of Classified Ads

Using data from comScore, Internet traffic to classifieds oriented websites has grown 80 percent in the 2004-2005 period, according to a report done by Pew Internet.

This contrasts with the approximate 7 percent growth of the overall US Internet population. Craigslist in particular had almost 9 million unique visitors in September alone.

In September 2005, the top online classifieds sites by traffic volume were the following:

* CRAIGSLIST.ORG
* Trader Publishing Company
* CARS.COM
* APARTMENTS.COM
* Abracat Property
* HOMESCAPE.COM
* PUPPYDOGWEB.COM
* LIVEDEAL.COM
* Tribe Networks, Inc.
* RegionalHelpWanted.com Sites
* Yahoo Classifieds
* USCITY.NET
* BACKPAGE.COM
* MySpace Classifieds
* HOOBLY.COM

Posted on Businessblog™

1052 - November 29, 2005 - 9.58 AM EST

TiVo users will be able to search for ads

According to news reports, TiVo is partnering with some large advertising companies to let its users search for ads centered around certain keywords.

Expected to launch next spring, the feature comes as Madison Avenue is contemplating a number of ways to reach consumers who use technology to avoid traditional advertising.

TiVo is working to develop the product with three media-buying operations -- Interpublic Group of Cos.' Interpublic Media, Omnicom Group Inc.'s OMD and Publicis Groupe SA's Starcom MediaVest Group -- along with independent Dallas ad agency Richards Group and Comcast Corp.'s Comcast Spotlight ad-sales division.

People who watch traditional television are forced to view commercials in random fashion, regardless of what they may be interested in buying, says Tom Rogers, TiVo's president and chief executive.

"We're flipping the dynamic," he says, allowing TiVo subscribers to search for ads that match their interests.

"If you are in the market for a product, and you have no idea when commercials related to that kind of product are going to appear, it doesn't help you very much," he adds. TiVo users will be able to set up a profile of products on their TV screens by clicking on categories such as automotive or travel or typing in keywords such as "BMW" or "cruises."

On a regular basis, TiVo will then download relevant commercials to TiVo recorders over the Internet or, for those users who don't have broadband, send the video via traditional broadcast signals. The commercials will appear on-screen in a folder next to the list of television shows TiVo users record.

Advertisers, in turn, will be able to select the keywords and categories with which they wish to be associated for their ads.

TiVo is in discussions with advertising agencies about the best way to price such advertising, but one option is to let advertisers bid on keywords as they do when buying ads on Internet search engines.

"The Google model is something we're reviewing," says Davina Kent, TiVo's vice president for national advertising sales.

TiVo's pioneering digital video recorder, or DVR, is much beloved by consumers for its ability to easily record and pause live television shows.

But it has sent Madison Avenue and broadcasters into a tizzy by allowing viewers to skip traditional commercials.

Posted on Businessblog™

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