CustomScoop's Tech Jots

Advertising Creep

Facebook’s Trojan Horse
Valleywag
There is a “new and improved Facebook Flyers” tool for fans of the rapidly growing social network. Many bloggers believe, however, that service upgrade is essentially the quiet launch of a major new highly targeted advertising network. The key difference being that the old Flyers allowed users to only target small groups, while advertisers will now be able to target large groups based on gender, age, location, political views, education, and just about anything else. Facebook Flyers is earning high praise already, and while many speculate as to why Facebook is “downplaying” the new ad network, Owen Thomas is sure that it will not fly under the radar much longer. “Make no mistake: This system poses a direct threat to Google's AdWords and Microsoft's AdCenter.”

A Better Way to Advertise Online
TechCrunch
YeildBuild, a web advertising optimization tool designed to work with a variety of networks, has just beta launched. The service reportedly uses algorithms to decide which layout, style, and network will be most successful for particular websites in different scenarios. The tool will monitor results and automatically change ad displays when results decline. Nick Gonzalez calls YeildBuild a smarter solution. “Simply slapping AdSense on your site is one of the easiest, but not necessarily best, ways to monetize your website.”

Libraries Pass on Google’s Free Offer
Mashable
More groups, including the Boston Library Consortium, are turning down Google’s offer to digitize their books for free, citing the search giant’s exclusive commercial rights requirement. While a number of libraries are accepting Google’s terms, the company is under fire by Adam Ostrow and others who believe their policy is too restrictive. “By participating in the Open Content Alliance, Google would both be improving book search for everyone, while also bringing more content into its index (and, likely generating more profits). Let’s hope the company has a change of heart.”

Technorati’s Change of Heart

Technorati Shifts Focus Back Towards the Blogosphere
Mashable
Technorati has brought back some of the blog-centric features that many users were upset to see removed over the summer. The site will once again offer authority rank filtering, charts, and a blog directory. Company representatives also report that the site now enjoys stronger and more stable performance. Pete Cashmore applauds Technorati for going back to help those that made the site popular. “This is great news, and we can only hope that Technorati will continue to focus on serving bloggers and blog readers, who were alienated by the last redesign.”

Skype Services Come to MySpace
GigaOM
Skype and MySpace have announced plans to produce interoperable instant message clients, which should be released sometime next month. The new software will allow users to make free calls to other MySpace members, enjoy numerous forwarding and voicemail features, and link profile information to their IM accounts. Om Malik is impressed by the partnership, calling it a win-win. “The new client will give a big boost to both communities and is a net positive for both Skype and MySpace.”

Facebook Pledges Faster Response Times for Abuse Complaints
Bits
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has agreed to close his Facebook investigation after the social network promised to do more to address allegations of abuse from users. However, the good news was short-lived for Facebook, as Cuomo’s counterpart in Connecticut, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, expressed disappointment by the news and quickly demanded further protections. “Much more must be done to protect children on Facebook... We will explore all options -- including possible legal action."

Live Made Easy

Microsoft Beefs Up Live Search Offerings
Search Engine Journal
Microsoft has unveiled a series of new Live Search upgrades, highlighted by a free phone search product called Live Search 411 (1-800-CALL-411). Many of the new features are designed for mobile devices, and include dynamic driving directions, voice input, and location-based search. While noting that Microsoft is perhaps a step behind similar services already provided by Google, Arnold Zafra applauds the effort. ”It’s never too late to catch up, for who knows Windows Live Search may actually pull it off.”

YouTube Releases AntiPiracy Tool
Read/Write Web
Google has beta-launched a long awaited copyright filter for YouTube videos. The tool will require publishers to upload copyrighted content so the system can monitor for unauthorized versions. Content owners will then have the ability to either block clips altogether, or monetize them through revenue sharing. Marshall Kirkpatrick argues that Google/YouTube has not gone far enough. “YouTube has chosen to follow the letter of the DMCA law only; today's announcement will not come close to satisfying angry rights holders.”

Leopard Will Pounce Next Friday
The Unofficial Apple Weblog
The blogosphere is abuzz after Apple’s announcement that it will release Leopard, the company’s wildly hyped operating system, on October 26. Along with the announcement, Apple has revealed details on the 316 upgrades that the OS will feature and started accepting preorders. As with many other Mac lovers, Nik Fletcher is chomping at the bit. “After a somewhat disappointing WWDC Keynote this year, the '300+ feature' proclamation has reassured me that Apple hasn't necessarily lost its way as a desktop OS and computer company. 26th October just cannot come quick enough.”

Facebook Opens Up Its Briefcase

Facebook Gnawing Away at LinkedIn
TechCrunch
Facebook wants to continue its meteoric rise in the social networking arena by taking a bite out of LinkedIn. The site has recently allowed users to publish two different profile versions for friends and professional contacts and is reportedly gearing up to launch new networking capabilities to its API. Michael Arrington believes that these new tweaks could prove to be very significant. “Facebook could build a LinkedIn-type networking application within the overall Facebook network. And that could be very bad for LinkedIn in the long run.”

Jiglu Makes Life a Little Easier for Bloggers
VentureBeat
Relief may be on the way for bloggers who have grown tired of organizing content by tagging every post. A new service called Jiglu is designed to tag posts automatically using complicated contextual search formulas. The service will also allow bloggers to automatically embed links in their posts that will link back to related content. Chris Morrison sees potential in the new offering, but suggests that any new blog-related company faces an uphill battle. “Blogs are already crowded with competing services, from Sphere to Widgetbox add-ons. Any startup seeking to further the limited real-estate of blogs risks disappearing as soon as the shiny patina wears off.”

How Stuff Sells
IP Democracy
The popular web reference site HowStuffWorks has been acquired by Discovery for a cool $250 million. The goal, according to Discovery is to beef up the company’s lagging web presence and promote television programs online. Cynthia Brumfield believes the move will boost Discovery’s web presence, but still sees the purchase as a bit of a head-scratcher. “The $250 million price tag seems steep for a site that counts only 3.8 million unique U.S. users per month and 11 million users globally.”