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Flipboard and Condé Nast Partner in Brand Ads Deal on Social Reading App

Kara Swisher in Media on July 24, 2011 at 9:00 pm PT

Social reading app Flipboard has partnered with magazine giant Condé Nast to offer a slew of magazines with branded advertising from major marketers.

At Tomorrow’s AOL Investor Day, Will “Execution” Focus Mean Cylinders Firing or Heads Rolling?

Kara Swisher in Media on June 15, 2011 at 6:04 am PT

Talking to AOL CEO Tim Armstrong earlier this week about its investors day tomorrow, he used the word “execution” a lot. No, not the kind evoking a firing squad if he did not succeed at turning around the New York-based Internet giant soon as he has long promised. He means the good kind.

Exclusive: After Ad Changes, Yahoo Media Unit Gets a Management Shakeup

Kara Swisher in News on March 15, 2011 at 4:26 pm PT

Last week, Yahoo’s advertising unit got the once-over from its new sales head Wayne Powers. And, this week, its new Audience unit head Mickie Rosen is making a series of executives moves to shake up its powerful news, sports and entertainment sites.

IGN and GameStop Combine Online Content and Media Sites

Kara Swisher in News on December 6, 2010 at 5:15 am PT

IGN, the online gaming content site, and the largely offline games retailer GameStop are integrating their online media and retail offerings in an effort to target videogamers from discovery to purchase. The partnership is an unusual effort, given content and retail are not often so explicitly combined.

Googzilla! Yahoo Japan Confirms Google Switch From Yahoo for Both Paid and Algo Search

Kara Swisher in News on July 26, 2010 at 11:44 pm PT

As BoomTown reported earlier today, Yahoo Japan confirmed it would switch its search technology and paid search provider to Google from Yahoo. The move is a definite blow to Yahoo’s new search and advertising alliance with Microsoft, although Yahoo sought to minimize the damage in a statement. But make no mistake, given the huge Japanese market: It’s Googzilla totally wiping the floor with MicroHooSoftra.

Exclusive: Is Yahoo Japan Poised to Switch to Google Search?

Kara Swisher in News on July 26, 2010 at 3:53 pm PT

In what would be a stunning blow to the massive search alliance between Microsoft and Yahoo, Google is apparently zeroing in on a deal to grab the algorithmic search business for Yahoo Japan, said several sources. The agreement between Yahoo Japan–which is an independent company–and the U.S. search giant could be announced as early as today in Japan, sources said, and could be part of a larger deal between the two companies around mobile or other products. If they join together, the pair will control almost the entire market share of search in the Japanese market. Paid search is apparently not part of this deal at this time.

MySpace Should Be Glee-ful About Hit Series Online Auditions (Plus Celebrity Video!)

Kara Swisher in News on April 13, 2010 at 12:25 am PT

The television hit, “Glee,” is one of News Corp.’s crown jewels of late, while its MySpace social networking site has struggled painfully to regain its once-hot momentum. Now MySpace is getting the benefit of the heat “Glee” is generating, by hosting the online auditions for the Fox television network show, which returns tonight after a short hiatus, as well as from a massive ad takeover of the site today. Will “Glee”–an online phenom in its own right, with more than four million song downloads so far–give MySpace a boost?

The One-Year Report Card of Yahoo’s Carol Bartz–Financials: C+

Kara Swisher in News on January 15, 2010 at 11:48 pm PT

Yesterday, BoomTown began grading the performance of Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz, after she gave herself a B- for overall performance for the one year since she took over the troubled Internet giant. But I decided to be more specific, splitting the grades into five categories: Management, financials, product innovation, deal-making and moxie. For management, I gave Bartz an A-, which some thought was too generous and others thought should have been an A+. Which means, it was just about right! Today, let’s look at financials–by which I mean Yahoo’s fiscal performance and its stock price. In this regard, Bartz only gets a C++ (it’s a techie joke, get it?).

Former Bebo CEO and AOL Top Exec Shields and Shine's Murdoch to Form Interactive Content Start-Up

Kara Swisher in News on September 16, 2009 at 3:53 pm PT

Former Bebo CEO Joanna Shields and Shine Group Chairman and CEO Elisabeth Murdoch have formed a content start-up to produce across media platforms, both online and offline, with a focus on social engagement, according to sources. The new venture, which does not have a name, is being financially backed by both Shine and Shields. Based in London, it will invest, develop and partner to create a variety of content offerings that also incorporate interactive and social networking elements.

Massive AOL Layoffs? Not Imminent–But Top-to-Bottom Cost Exam Definitely in Process.

Kara Swisher in News on August 14, 2009 at 1:35 am PT

After a while–in a BoomTown mangling of the old cliché–if you are a nail, everything begins to look like a hammer. So, it is probably inevitable that the next thing for much-beleaguered AOL staffers to start rumbling about is 2,000 people getting laid off next week. After all, the Time Warner unit has a long history of whacking employees. So, it is easier to assume things will not be different under the regime of the latest CEO, Tim Armstrong. Except it’s not actually true that such massive cuts are in the offing, since–as many sources I spoke to said–Armstrong is in the early part of figuring out what to do about the cost structure of AOL, after laying out a company strategy and rejiggering management.