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Viral Video: Arnold Gets Taiwanesed (And Probably Deserves It)

Kara Swisher in Media on May 18, 2011 at 12:31 am PT

Former California Governor and Hollywood action star Arnold Schwarzenegger got the CGI treatment from Next Media Animation, which should come as a surprise to exactly no one.

Don't Rain on Microsoft's Ad Parade (Except It's Raining in Seattle, Natch!)

Kara Swisher in News on March 30, 2011 at 1:10 pm PT

BoomTown scrambled the All Things Digital jet (aka, United Airlines, Seat 7A) late last night to get up to Microsoft’s big event for its online advertising clients today. Called “Imagine 2011: Marketing Leadership Summit” and held at its Redmond, Wa. HQ, the two-day event is designed to wow peeps by trotting out a spate of strategery concepts those who buy advertising on Microsoft’s various digital offerings from its Bing search service to MSN to Xbox to Windows Phone 7.

Awkward! As Microsoft Marketing Event Opens, Its Longtime Marketing Head Announces Surprise Retirement

Kara Swisher in News on March 30, 2011 at 9:43 am PT

Timing is everything and, sometimes, very awkward. Today at its Redmond, Wash., campus, Microsoft is hosting a splashy online “marketing leadership summit” titled “Imagine 2011″–a gathering of top marketing execs from across the globe, most of whom are advertising clients of its online division. Also today: Its longtime head of global marketing, Mich Mathews, announced her departure–to the surprise of many Microsoft execs here, in fact–via a report in Ad Age.

Viral: 99-Pound Weakling to Captain America (Thanks, CGI!)

Kara Swisher in News on March 28, 2011 at 12:58 am PT

Here is a really cool video from the upcoming movie, “Captain America: The First Avenger.” There is all the action, of course, but what’s interesting is the CGI used to make the buff actor who plays Captain America look like the slight, sallow and weak man he was before he was transformed.

Viral Video: Entering the "Source Code"

Kara Swisher in News on March 18, 2011 at 12:15 am PT

One of the movies that showed at South by Southwest was “Source Code,” an action thriller in which a solider is on a mission to find a train bomber by occupying his body. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, it actually looks terrific.

AOL Layoffs Coming Soon, Followed by Champagne and Cookies for Advertisers When HuffPo Deal Closes

Kara Swisher in News on March 4, 2011 at 12:29 am PT

There’s no question it’s a jarring contrast–layoffs versus champagne and cookies. But that’s the reality at AOL as its acquisition of the Huffington Post closes this week, even as it sheds employees as part of its ongoing turnaround effort.

Exclusive: Microsoft Mulls Legally Poking Facebook Over Ad Talent Raid

Kara Swisher in News on March 2, 2011 at 4:10 pm PT

Microsoft–furious over a recent talent grab of its top advertising exec by Facebook–has been considering a wide range of options, including legal action to block the move, according to sources close to the situation. While it might not come to that, tensions between the two companies, who have partnered closely in the past, are running high over the hiring of Carolyn Everson. She had been head of global ad sales at Microsoft and has been hired to be VP of global sales at Facebook.

Viral Video: Some Hong Kong Action

Kara Swisher in News on January 31, 2011 at 1:14 am PT

BoomTown was out last week on a trip to Hong Kong with Walt Mossberg to scope out a possible D: All Things Digital event, focused on Asia, for this coming fall. Obviously, Asia, including China, India, Singapore, Japan and Korea, is a key market for tech moving forward for U.S. Web firms, as well as a force for global innovation. But first, some kung-fu action.

Google Rejects Connecticut Request for Wi-Fi Data

Amir Efrati, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on December 17, 2010 at 11:15 am PT

Connecticut’s attorney general said Friday his office may take legal action against Google Inc. after the Internet company rejected his request to turn over personal data it collected inadvertently from unsecured wireless networks.

Viral Video: "Fast Five" Trailer Debuts on Vin Diesel's Facebook Fan Page

Kara Swisher in News on December 16, 2010 at 12:30 am PT

There are certainly a lot of movie trailers on the Web, but this one made its first appearance on the Facebook fan page of its meaty star. That would be action star Vin Diesel, who is the star of the “Fast and Furious” car thief series and has–no, really, including BoomTown–20 million fans on the social networking site.