Is Twitter the news outlet for the 21st century? - Houma Courier

NEW YORK — Cassy Hayes and Jasmine Coleman were among the first fans to arrive outside the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles where Michael Jackson was brought and later pronounced dead. The two young women had learned about Jackson Read More

July 10 (Bloomberg) -- Rupert Murdoch and Howard Stringer attend the annual Allen & Co. media conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, to kick the tires on new businesses. This year, they didn’t find much. Murdoch, chairman and chief executive officer of Read More

NEW YORK — In a counterpunch to the world's biggest online hangout, a small Web company called Power.com has sued Facebook, saying it doesn't follow its own policy of giving users control over their content. Power lets users simultaneously access Read More

UPDATE: Newsbusters's Twitter account has been reactivated.  Follow Newsbusters here. NewsBusters’s Twitter account was suspended today by Twitter for an as yet unknown reason. Conservative social media accounts have been attacked the past few Read More

Save on Your Summer Staycation With Online Printable Coupons - Earthtimes

Save on Your Summer Staycation With Online Printable Coupons - Earthtimes
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. , July 9 /PRNewswire/ -- With rising prices for everything from food to fuel, more families are staying home rather than traveling this summer. While traditional vacations may be out, "staycations" are taking their place

UD tuition increasing by nearly 9% - Delaware Online
University of Delaware students will pay nearly 9 percent more in tuition this fall, a hike school officials say was needed to pay for increased demand for financial aid at a time when other sources of revenue are dwindling. An in-state

Email Marketing Campaign Nets Vistaprint NEDMA Gold - Market Wire

HAMILTON, BERMUDA--(Marketwire - July 9, 2009) - Vistaprint Limited ( NASDAQ : VPRT ), the small business marketing company, today announced that the company has been awarded a Creative Excellence Award by the New England Direct Marketing Association Read More

The luck of the Irish has shined on three young Texans denied entry into Dublin. They have accepted a hotelier's offer of an all-expenses-paid trip back to Ireland. The hotel group d4hotels.ie will pay for their flights as well as hotel rooms, food Read More

cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww .. , assists retailers around the world with email marketing programs that build closer consumer relationships and drive revenue. S&S Worldwide, a national distributor of arts and crafts Read More

Dynamic FMCG company with top products and brands seeks Marketing Assistant with a B.Comm Marketing who has excelled academically and has outstanding numerical and computer skills. This challenging position will also require strong creative Read More

Chamber, Collier County and SCORE Naples announce ‘Business 102’ - Gulf Coast Business Review

“Business 102”, a new service speared headed by SCORE Naples, The Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce and Collier County, is organized to advise, counsel and coach businesses affected by the current difficult economy. The program is free to all Read More

NEW YORK - (Business Wire) Fitch Ratings has affirmed and removed from Rating Watch Negative Chrysler Financial Services Americas LLC's (CFS) Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) as follows: --Long-term IDR at 'CC'; --Short-term IDR Read More

The Law Society is to promote Hong Kong as an arbitration center for Taiwan businessmen with mainland problems, its new president says. Speaking ahead the society's first official trip to Taipei on Sunday, Wong Kwai-huen said the SAR can assist Read More

Job stability, training opportunities and the chance to make a difference are some of the top reasons job seekers are turning to the government for employment, according to a new survey by CareerBuilder . The survey of more than 2,900 workers Read More

Playboy Enterprises said Jerome Kern, a former TCI executive who had been interim CEO and chairman of the company before the board of directors hired other men for those roles, has left the board of directors. Kern, the former CEO of On Command Corp Read More

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MySpace Launches Its First Online Game Show

MySpace is launching an original series and its first online game show today called "BFF."

Each "BFF" show will test two best friends knowledge of each other with questions over several rounds. Based on the number of correct answers prizes will be awarded at the end of each round.

The series is hosted by "Last Comic Standing" finalist, Amy Schumer, it will debut on MySpace Video on April 2 and run through June 30. MySpace users in the U.S. can submit video entries to be contestants on the show on the "BFF" MySpace page. Those selected will be flown to New York City for the taping of their show.

Also available on the "BFF" MySpace page is an application allowing users to create their own "BFF" quizzes. Users will be able to customize quizzes by selecting questions from a list of categories. They will be able to send the quiz to friends to see how well their friends now them.

Contestants will have the chance to win prizes such as an Ideeli gift certificate between $100 and $200, a Gibson guitar, or a Kodak printer, based on the number of correct answers at the end of each round.

"MySpace users have been waiting for a snackable and social property like 'BFF.' It encourages users to not only play along, but also create their own versions of the game," said Cristian Cussen, Director of Content and Marketing for MySpace Video."

Top Blogs' Favorite Platforms Identified

Whether a given blogger takes pride in being a weirdo or feels safer as part of a crowd, a new report will help him (or her) sort out exactly where he (or she) stands. Pingdom staffers took a close look at which platforms are most common among the most popular blogs.

WordPress grabbed first place with no problem, with 27 out of the top 100 blogs (as ranked by Technorati) using it. The platform's fans range from big corporations like the New York Times to individuals such as Chris Brogan.

Then came TypePad, with 16 followers, Blogsmith with 14, and Movable Type with 12. There are some pretty impressive names to be found on their sections of a user list, as well. (Think Wired properties, Autoblog, and Boing Boing, respectively.)

We'll skip down to Blogger next. It seems like a bit of a defeat for Google to find it in ninth place, being used by only three out of the top 100 blogs. Worse still: one of those three blogs is the Official Google Blog, landing the platform in "my mom thinks I'm handsome" territory.

Ah, well. Hats off to the Royal Pingdom crew for the research they did, and good luck with the transfer if you decide to choose a new blog platform for yourself or your company.

Google Introduces Rich Media/Video Ad Templates

Google Has Introduced Some New Templates For Rich Media And Video In The AdWords Display Ad Builder. Advertisers Using The Platform Should Take Notice To These If They Are Looking To Get Consumers More Engaged With Their Ads.



Google Provides A Step-by-step Walkthrough Of How To Use The Templates In The Following Clip:

One Benefit That Comes With These New Templates Is The Ability For Advertisers To Easily Display Multiple Products Within One Ad. "This Feature Can Also Benefit Advertisers Looking To Brand By Allowing Them To Tell A Sequential Story Within The Ad, Such As 'Explore, Buy, Save,' Where You Could Have An Image Representing Each Concept," Explains Emel Mutlu Of The Inside AdWords Crew.



The Templates Also Allow For The Easy Inclusion Of A Unique URL For Each Product Included. That Means You Can Have Three Landing Pages Instead Of One.



Advertisers Looking To Use Videos Can Upload Them To Google's Click To Play Template, And Choose Starting And Ending Images, A Display URL Color, And Run The Video Ads Across The Google Content Network.



Like The Other Templates, Advertisers Will See A Reporting Column, "Mouseover Rate," Displaying The Percentage Of Impressions Where A User Moused Over An Ad For One Or More Consecutive Seconds.



Some Of These New Rich Media And Video Templates However, Will Track Unique Interactions, Such As Play Rate. This Will Be Displayed In A New "Interaction Rate" Column.

New AdWords Templates From An Analytical Standpoint

Google Recently Launched Some New Templates For The AdWords Display Ad Builder. These Templates Cater To Rich Media And Video Ad Content.



The Templates Allow Advertisers To Highlight Several Different Products In One Ad, And Send Them Each To Different Landing Pages With Unique URLs. If You're Not Familiar With The Templates, Watch The Following Clip:

The Templates Offer A Way To Potentially Get Consumers More Engaged With Ads, But From An Analytics Standpoint, They Can Also Curb Bounce Rate. "Using Google Analytics, You Can Add Tracking Parameters To The End Of Each Destination URL, Telling You Exactly Which Items Users Found To Be Most Interesting In The Ad," Explains Ryan Hayward At The Google Analytics Blog. "This Will Give You Insights On Your Creative, Such As Which Items To Focus On And How Prominently They Should Be Featured In The Ads."



He Gives An Example Of Running Ads Selling Different Kinds Of Shoes With Unique Landing Pages. You Can Take The Analytical Data And Figure Out Which Shoe Is Getting Clicked On The Most, Then Tailor Your Campaign To Focus More On That Particular Shoe.



I'd Go A Bit Further And Say You Could Look At The Ones That Aren't Getting Clicked On As Much And Perhaps Make Adjustments In How They Are Being Presented.



So In Other Words, The Templates Are Not Only Giving You A Way To Sell Various Items Through A Single Clickable Ad, But They Can Ultimately Help You Decide Which Products Need More Focus, For Better Or For Worse.

AdSense Team Gets Twitter Account

Any People Still Arguing That Twitter Isn't Useful May Want To Reconsider Their Position. Thanks To A New Development, AdSense Publishers Should Be Able Stay Up-to-date On All Of The Latest Info Pertaining To The Service.

On The Inside AdSense Blog, Erica Dela Cruz Explained, "We're Thrilled To Launch @Adsense To Communicate With AdSense Publishers Who Use Twitter. Our Tweets Will Be A Mix Of Fresh Product News, Optimization Tips, Interesting Links, Upcoming Events, And Possibly Even Pictures Of Our Dogs. Our Entire AdSense Team Contributes, So If You Have Any Suggestions For What You Want To See, Feel Free To Send An @reply To Us!"

There's Only One Official Caveat: "Please Note That Since We Want To Make This Feed As Useful As Possible To Everyone Following Us, We Can't Respond Via Twitter To Questions Regarding Individual AdSense Accounts."

And Of Course, Twitter's 140-character May Prove A Little Limiting When Announcements Or Queries Related To Technical Matters Are Concerned.

Still, The AdSense Team's Twitter Account Should Be Worth Keeping An Eye On. An Occasional Early Notice Could Lead To Extra Income Here And There.

Business Opportunities

Google Introduces Rich Media/Video Ad Templates

Google has introduced some new templates for rich media and video in the AdWords Display Ad Builder. Advertisers using the platform should take notice to these if they are looking to get consumers more engaged with their ads.



Google provides a step-by-step walkthrough of how to use the templates in the following clip:

One benefit that comes with these new templates is the ability for advertisers to easily display multiple products within one ad. "This feature can also benefit advertisers looking to brand by allowing them to tell a sequential story within the ad, such as 'Explore, Buy, Save,' where you could have an image representing each concept," explains Emel Mutlu of the Inside AdWords Crew.



The templates also allow for the easy inclusion of a unique URL for each product included. That means you can have three landing pages instead of one.



Advertisers looking to use videos can upload them to Google's Click to Play template, and choose starting and ending images, a display URL color, and run the video ads across the Google Content Network.



Like the other templates, advertisers will see a reporting column, "Mouseover rate," displaying the percentage of impressions where a user moused over an ad for one or more consecutive seconds.



Some of these new rich media and video templates however, will track unique interactions, such as play rate. This will be displayed in a new "Interaction Rate" column.

New AdWords Templates From an Analytical Standpoint

Google recently launched some new templates for the AdWords Display Ad Builder. These templates cater to rich media and video ad content.



The templates allow advertisers to highlight several different products in one ad, and send them each to different landing pages with unique URLs. If you're not familiar with the templates, watch the following clip:

The templates offer a way to potentially get consumers more engaged with ads, but from an analytics standpoint, they can also curb bounce rate. "Using Google Analytics, you can add tracking parameters to the end of each destination URL, telling you exactly which items users found to be most interesting in the ad," explains Ryan Hayward at the Google Analytics Blog. "This will give you insights on your creative, such as which items to focus on and how prominently they should be featured in the ads."



He gives an example of running ads selling different kinds of shoes with unique landing pages. You can take the analytical data and figure out which shoe is getting clicked on the most, then tailor your campaign to focus more on that particular shoe.



I'd go a bit further and say you could look at the ones that aren't getting clicked on as much and perhaps make adjustments in how they are being presented.



So in other words, the templates are not only giving you a way to sell various items through a single clickable ad, but they can ultimately help you decide which products need more focus, for better or for worse.

AdSense Team Gets Twitter Account

Any people still arguing that Twitter isn't useful may want to reconsider their position. Thanks to a new development, AdSense publishers should be able stay up-to-date on all of the latest info pertaining to the service.

On the Inside AdSense blog, Erica dela Cruz explained, "We're thrilled to launch @adsense to communicate with AdSense publishers who use Twitter. Our tweets will be a mix of fresh product news, optimization tips, interesting links, upcoming events, and possibly even pictures of our dogs. Our entire AdSense team contributes, so if you have any suggestions for what you want to see, feel free to send an @reply to us!"

There's only one official caveat: "Please note that since we want to make this feed as useful as possible to everyone following us, we can't respond via Twitter to questions regarding individual AdSense accounts."

And of course, Twitter's 140-character may prove a little limiting when announcements or queries related to technical matters are concerned.

Still, the AdSense team's Twitter account should be worth keeping an eye on. An occasional early notice could lead to extra income here and there.

U.S. Prescription Drug Sales Grow Slowly; Hydrocodone Most Prescribed - Seekingalpha.com

The marketing of drugs is a large part of the problem. Sucker americans buying the NEWEST HOTTEST DRUG despite cheaper, just as effective or better alternatives is also to blame. Forget Nexium. Take Tums. Or better yet, stop shoving chili dogs and Read More

• Bank of Ann Arbor announced the promotion of Mitzi Talon to trust officer. She works with trust and estate clients and assists with account openings. Insurance • Troy-based InPro Insurance Group Inc. hired Erik C. Frazier as an insurance agent Read More

The Spot, a downtown diner that reopened in February after being closed for several years, has closed again. Owner Dale Lovell said Thursday the Spot, located on Walnut Street downtown near the Delaware County Building, might reopen on Monday, July Read More

HOLLYWOOD — The stars are not twinkling bright this summer. Hollywood’s movie studios, hopeful that marquee-name actors would push their summer box-office receipts to record levels, are finding that the heavyweights aren’t winning over Read More

Welcome to Google SEO 101! An in-depth study of user behaviour during Google searches reveals that users pay little attention to ads and are only interested in the first three results to come back. The users’ behaviour was observed and analysed Read More

Blogging The Nation - ESPN.com

Sometimes we all need a little extra space to vent. ESPN profiles give fans space to post their own blog entries and go toe-to-toe with commenters. LA TROUBLE: Running through most of the big names on the market in NBA free agency -- and running over Read More

The Month Of Twitter Bugs has begun with the publication of a flaw in a URL shortening service often used in conjunction with the micro-blogging service. Four cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in the bit.ly URL-shrinking service were Read More

I am a nutritionist and mother of three girls. Two of my daughters have dealt with acid reflux disease. I also have many friends who have dealt with Inflammatory Bowel Disease. I have a Bachelor of Science in Dietetics from Harding University and Read More

LOS ANGELES--( BUSINESS WIRE )--When you blog or post videos on YouTube, your message can spread anywhere and you could land in a courtroom facing a major lawsuit. Will your insurance cover your costs? Maybe. As the Internet explodes with bloggers Read More

Michael Cox feels vindicated by an Employment Insurance board of referees’ decision in April that said he was unjustly fired. But he’d still rather have his job back than back pay. In January, Cox, a trainee bus driver, was fired for blogging Read More

Shares of Brazil Visa affiliate soar - PR Inside

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) - Shares of Visa Inc.'s Brazilian affiliate soared nearly 12 percent Monday in what one analyst said is the world's biggest initial public offering in more than a year _ and an indication of confidence in consumer spending Read More

Fox 29/Palm Beach Post Yahoo! HotJobs JobLine - Wflxfox29.com

Fox 29/Palm Beach Post Yahoo! HotJobs JobLine - Wflxfox29.com
Welcome to the Fox 29/Palm Beach Post Yahoo! HotJobs JobLine. Your source for the most current job openings in our area. Fox 29 and The Palm Beach Post have teamed up to bring you JobLine, a unique feature within the Fox29 morning news that