In case you missed it, Google (GOOG) acquired mobile ad network AdMob for $750 million in stock.

There’s a lot of speculation on why, but the obvious reason is that Google wants more direct access to what they are betting heavily on–that mobile is the next great advertising medium. It’s made a huge bet on mobile with Android, which is an obvious move to own the mobile search ad market, but now it’s got its hooks into the mobile display ad market as well.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

When it comes to social media, it’s best to start with a solid listening strategy. And while you’re fine-tuning the “what, where, when and how” as you’re eavesdropping on conversations around the social web, remember that while analysis can be assisted through technology, it’s by no means a fully automated process.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

With Apple (APPL) posting record profits last week, thanks in large part to brisk sales of its iPhone, it may seem downright crazy to mount a smartphone challenge at all, let alone one that takes direct aim at the iPhone. But that’s just what Verizon (VZ), Google (GOOG) and Motorola (MOT) are doing.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Who knew pictures of cats with funny misspelled captions would evolve into one of the bigger indie blog networks in the world? Ben Huh, 31, is CEO of Cheezburger Network of Seattle, publisher of a growing blog empire best known for I Can Haz Cheezburger (aka LOLcats) and Failblog, but also hits such as Engrish Funny, There I Fixed It, Roflrazzi, and the newly launched blog about cars with problems, That Will Buff Out.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Pharmaceutical companies, fearful of running afoul of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s marketing guidelines, have virtually abandoned search ad marketing in the wake of the FDA’s online ad crackdown earlier this year.

According to a study from web metrics measurement firm ComScore (SCOR), paid search ads by pharmaceutical companies dropped a whopping 84% between March 26 of this year and the end of June.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

The Federal Trade Commission is cracking down on blogger payola.

The agency, which protects consumers from fraud or deceptive business practices, voted 4 to 0 to update its rules governing endorsements, and the new guidelines require bloggers to clearly disclose any “material connection” to an advertiser, including payments for an endorsement or free product.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Let’s be clear. Sidewiki is a land grab. Google (GOOG) has now set up real estate on every single website for commentary from the masses.

Once a person is signed up (and anyone can–it’s part of the Google toolbar), he or she can comment on any page and see comments from others on those pages. Google uses an algorithm to decide which comments go at the top. And Google, not the site owner, decides which content must be taken down because it’s inappropriate.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Last week, former eBay (EBAY) CEO Meg Whitman officially launched her campaign for governor of California, hoping to clinch the Republican nomination.

Also last week: News broke, thanks to proceedings in a London court, of a worldwide scam involving potentially millions of dollars and thousands of customers duped into buying counterfeit golf clubs, of all things, as well as clothing, airline-lounge passes and other luxury goods sold on eBay.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Pizza Hut’s iPhone app will be featured in an Apple-sponsored iPhone commercial breaking tonight. The pizza chain’s app was the first for the fast-food space, released this past summer.

Ian Wolfman, chief marketer for Pizza Hut’s digital agency, IMC2, said that while the marketer had planned to contact Apple (AAPL) and campaign for a place in one of its commercials, the computer maker called the pizza chain first. “And they moved quickly,” Mr. Wolfman said. The initial call came just three weeks ago.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Oh, those clever birds at Twitter. When the microblogging service announced recent changes to its terms of service, its executives knew exactly how to spin the news. For starters, media outlets dutifully went with headlines along the lines of “Twitter Changes TOS, Opens the Door for Ads,” because in a blog post about the changes, Twitter founder Biz Stone chose to make the most noise about the possibility of advertising. Granted, the actual legal language was rather broad (“The Services may include advertisements, which may be targeted to the Content or information on the Services, queries made through the Services, or other information. The types and extent of advertising … are subject to change.”).

Read the rest of this post on the original site

On the web, lurid, sensationalistic news is priced at $0 (for now, at least). Maybe it’s worth exactly that. A kidnapper-rapist sicko has me thinking lately about the literal value of news. Yeah, I’m talking about the shocking story of Phillip Garrido, the California nutcase who allegedly kidnapped Jaycee Lee Dugard 18 years ago, apparently brainwashed her, kept her secreted away as his sex slave in his backyard shantytown, impregnated her and had her raise two daughters with no access to formal education or medical care.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

There’s something a little heartbreaking about the very existence of “And Then There’s This: How Stories Live and Die in Viral Culture,” by Bill Wasik. After all, it’s a meditation on living, breathing virality that resides between the hard, dead covers of a book. I can point you to its Amazon (AMZN) page or to any number of reviews and write-ups–including, most recently, James B. Arndorfer’s “Father of Flash Mobs on the Future of Viral” in the Ad Age Bookstore–but the actual pages of “This” are trapped, even on a Kindle, in their own separate, fixed, unlinked world.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Imagine my surprise (or dismay) the other day when I read that the “Blair Witch Project” is 10 years old this summer. With the anniversary upon us, film sites are taking a look at studios’ relationships with viral movie marketing and their attempts to recapture that late-’90s vibe.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Twitter’s been the toast of TV news programs, daytime talk shows, magazine editors and newspaper reporters. But what’s all that chatter worth?

According to news-monitoring service VMS, a cool $48 million over the past 30 days.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

I’m an ex-AT&T (T) “Bell head,” so anything telecom always gets my special attention. When I saw the Google Voice re-announcement recently, I couldn’t help wondering, “Huh, what’s up with that? How does this fit into Google’s core business?” Mostly, though, I was interested in understanding why this and why now.

Read the rest of this post on the original site