Top Items:
Ina Fried / CNET News.com:
Source: Microsoft wins Facebook bid battle — Update: 12:30 p.m. see bottom. — After weeks of speculation, Microsoft appears to have won a battle with Google over who would get a stake in Facebook, according to a source familiar with the situation. — Microsoft and Facebook were close to a deal, according to the source.
RELATED:
Brad Stone / New York Times:
Microsoft to Pay $240 Million for Stake in Facebook — Microsoft has won a high-profile technology industry battle with Google and Yahoo to invest in the social networking upstart Facebook. — The two companies said on Wednesday that Microsoft would invest $240 million for a 1.6 percent stake in Facebook.
Wall Street Journal:
Facebook Is Close to Choosing Microsoft or Google for Deal — SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook Inc. is close to choosing between Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp. to sell ads for the social networking service outside the U.S., according to people familiar with the matter.
Discussion:
Read/WriteWeb, GigaOM, Tech Trader Daily, Between the Lines, Bits, paidContent.org, Media Biz, bub.blicio.us and Mashable!
PR Newswire:
Facebook and Microsoft Expand Strategic Alliance — Microsoft to take equity stake in Facebook; companies expand advertising deal to cover international markets. — PALO ALTO, Calif. and REDMOND, Wash. /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Facebook® and Microsoft Corp. today announced that Microsoft …
Discussion:
Bits, Odelbee, VentureBeat, AppScout, Silicon Alley Insider, Inside Facebook, Search Engine Journal and GigaOM
Peter Lauria / New York Post:
ONLINE FACEOFF — M'SOFT AND GOOGLE DUKE IT OUT OVER HOT SITE — Google is threatening to once again beat rival Microsoft to the deal punch, this time in the white-hot Facebook investment sweepstakes. — Microsoft and Google are each vying to take a stake of between 5 percent and 10 percent …
Discussion:
Rev2.org, Silicon Alley Insider, Bloomberg, Good Morning Silicon Valley, WebProNews, Tech Check with Jim Goldman, Epicenter, Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim, Between the Lines, PDA, RADAR, CNET News.com, Todd Watson, Valleywag, Deal Journal, eWEEK.com, Bits, Seeking Alpha Internet stocks and Inside Facebook
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
Facebook Takes the Microsoft Money And Runs. — While the storyline would have been more dramatic if Facebook had spurned its current ad-serving partner Microsoft for Google, it is confirmed that Microsoft has won the deal. It will invest $240 million in Facebook and expand its existing relationship …
Robert Scoble / Scobleizer:
Microsoft wins Facebook bid? Here's the insider scoop on why... Last night I was hanging around at the Ritz near my house. That's where Jerry Yang, CEO of Yahoo spoke yesterday, and where the Right Media conference is going on right now. — I talked with several people …
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:Liveblogging The Facebook Press Conference
Discussion:
The Universal Desktop
Caroline McCarthy / CNET News.com:Microsoft acquires equity stake in Facebook, expands advertising partnership
Discussion:
Mark Evans
Larry Dignan / Between the Lines:Microsoft's $240 million says Facebook no fad after all
Discussion:
CNET News.com
Duncan Riley / TechCrunch:
Google Declares Jihad On Blog Link Farms — A major Google page rank update has punished large scale blog link farms and similar sites indulging in heavy cross linking by dramatically cutting their Google page rank scores. — There is some suggestion that the changes may be related …
RELATED:
Andy Beard / Niche Marketing:
Digg Favorites Slapped By Google — For a company such as Google with a stock price based extensively on anticipated growth and public sentiment, it doesn't take a huge swing in goodwill to have a dramatic effect on valuation. Google has just slapped their biggest fans.
Barry Schwartz / Search Engine Land:
Google's PageRank Update Goes After Paid Links? — Seems like there is a PageRank update taking place now that seems to be impacting sites that sell links. Can't say that we were not warned about this? Danny Sullivan wrote Official: Selling Paid Links Can Hurt Your PageRank Or Rankings …
Darren Rowse / ProBlogger Blog Tips:ProBlogger - PageRank 4 — Wow - this is an interesting one.
Discussion:
Daily Blog Tips, kottke.org, Technosailor, Dan Blank, Journalistopia, the Constant Observer, SYNTAGMA and John Chow dot Com
Peter Kafka / Silicon Alley Insider:Google's PageRank Shuffle: Big Sites Say Bye-bye, Traffic?
Discussion:
Geek News Central
Robby Stein / Official Gmail Blog:
Sync your inbox across devices with free IMAP — There are two online petitions I've signed in my life. One was for a "Xena: Warrior Princess" movie. The other, which I signed a few months before starting at Google, was for Gmail IMAP. As some of you know, IMAP is the best way to access …
RELATED:
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
US Senator In Favor Of Exporting US Copyright Law... Without Understanding Copyright Law — from the that's-the-way-we-do-things-here-in- America dept — It's no secret that the US has been trying to force other countries to adopt more stringent copyright laws as a part of "free trade" agreements.
RELATED:
Martin Crutsinger / Associated Press:US to Drive Global Copyright Enforcement
Discussion:
Copyrightings
Brian Stelter / New York Times:
In Foray Into TV, Google Is to Track Ad Audiences — Google, which dominates the market for advertising on the Internet, seems to be hoping to do the same thing on television. — The company is set to announce a partnership today with the Nielsen Company, the voice of authority …
RELATED:
The 463:
Hi there. I'm the Internet. I like romantic dinners, long walks on the beach and.... It won't make you dinner or rub your feet, but nearly one in four Americans say that the Internet can serve as a substitute for a significant other for some period of time, according to a new poll released today …
Eric Savitz / Tech Trader Daily:
Google Analyst Day: CEO Eric Schmidt — The last speaker at the Google (GOOG) analyst meeting today is CEO Eric Schmidt. — Schmidt says it has become clear we are at the beginning of a massive transition to cloud computing. A global transition from one form of information sharing to another, of one form of computing to another.
