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My 2 featured articles for the week ending Sep. 8, 2006:

Archived blogs for the week of Sep. 11, 2006

1232 - Sep. 13, 2006 - 5.22 PM EST

Scrolling through time with Google Earth

Today, a newer version of Google Earth was to be released, offering a timescale to the older version of the Internet-based geospatial search application.

Google's new feature, in which a slider control can be used to scroll through time was previously available only to registered users of the premium version, Google Earth Pro. The newer version now features a simpler interface that is easier to use than the previous version.

On Tuesday, Michael Jones, Chief Technology Officer at Google Earth demonstrated Google's new feature at the AGI-2006 (Association for Geographic Information) event held in London.

While tracking the movements of a whale shark using GPS, Jones showed how scientists had mapped the creature's path using the application.

Various business uses can include fleet tracking or simply mapping the movements of transport infrastructure, according to Google. Jones also described how the new version would enable people to track all of the geostationary satellites orbiting the earth.

Overall, more than 30,000 developers around the world are using the Google Earth API (application programming interface) and there have been over 100 million downloads of Google Earth, the company claims.

The application's tendency to use photographs that are often out of date would not diminish the usefulness of the time-tracking functionality, since the basic application was primarily a tool to provide context, Jones explained.

"The time-tracking function allows you to scroll through data layered on top of that," he said on Tuesday. "We're just trying to provide context to understand it."

So far, Google Earth has received a major database update as of the end of last week, introducing 15-centimeter resolution for the first time to areas such as the Netherlands and Japan.

Posted on Businessblog™

1231 - Sep. 12, 2006 - 5.47 PM EST

Miva offers new In-Line text ads

Miva, a performance-based marketing network has added a new pay-per-click (PPC) ad offering. It's an in-line text link that triggers a floating ad unit with site navigation and text ads when it is simply moused over.

Miva's new service, aptly named Miva InLine, resembles many other so-called inline ad offerings like Vibrant Media's IntelliTXT, which display a contextually targeted text ad triggered by specific keywords within a Web site's editorial content.

But Miva's new offering goes a step further by displaying floating ads when a user mouses over a specially underlined link by adding links to related articles on a publisher's site above the ads.

To be sure, InLine ads will be included in any ad buy across the Miva network, and keyword advertisers won't be able to opt out of them. However, the company may consider offering them as part of a separate buy if marketers ask for it.

"Miva InLine helps publishers generate more revenue per page, without increasing ad inventory or impressions," said Seb Bishop, Miva's president.

"Many publishers are experiencing a shortage of available real estate for ads. This will help solve those inventory shortages by better monetizing existing pages."

When a user mouses over an InLine ad, a floating ad appears, showing the top-bidded pay-per-click ad from Miva's advertisers for that keyword.

Later this year, InLine ads will also include advertiser logos. Ads are clearly labeled, with a link to more detailed descriptions of the source of the ads.

Miva's contextual targeting technology analyzes each page to determine what the page is all about, so Miva knows what kind of ads to show, Bishop said.

In addition, Miva's SiteSearch technology regularly crawls the publisher's site to find related pages, and the publisher can choose to include from two to five text links to those pages within the InLine unit, above an advertiser text link.

Posted on Businessblog™

1230 - Sep. 11, 2006 - 1.50 PM EST

RH Donnelley acquires search company

Yellow pages publisher RH Donnelley has acquired search consulting company LocalLaunch. The acquisition increases RH Donnelley's search marketing staff with 40 new SEM and SEO marketers from privately-held LocalLaunch. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"We are trying out best to provide a one stop destination for the small and medium-sized businesses, both online and offline," explained Sean Greene, VP digital strategy and business development at RH Donnelley. LocalLaunch will report to Greene he said.

RH Donnelley recently conducted a search marketing services pilot project with LocalLauch, according to Greene, who said the acquisition allows the yellow pages company to offer its search services in-house.

RH Donnelley has also been outsourcing search services to SME Global Solutions's WebVisible, and will continue to work with the local ad services company for a while longer "through a migration period," Greene said.

LocalLaunch offers prospective local search advertisers Web site, e-commerce and consulting services, and national and local search engine registration, in addition to management of pay-per-click, pay-per-call, yellow pages and local contextual search buys.

By acquiring the firm, RH Donnelley hopes to garner client leads from beyond the current pool of online yellow pages advertisers. Hospitality, real estate, mortgage and online B2B advertisers are on the list of potential client targets, noted Greene.

LocalLaunch can take the Web presences it establishes for advertisers "and optimize those for distribution through search engines," he suggested. From there, they may choose to "acquire an incremental search budget to enhance their overall marketing campaign," Greene continued.

RH Donnelley publishes the print and online editions of AT&T Yellow Pages, Dex Yellow Pages and EMBARQ Yellow Pages (formerly Sprint Yellow Pages), totaling a circulation of approximately 80 million, according to the holding company.

Posted on Businessblog™

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