10 posts and columns on Overture

The “Mad Men” Years Are Giving Way to the “Math Men” Era

in Voices on January 20 at 3:50 pm PT

I love the “Mad Men” version of the ad business. The storytelling. The simplicity. The glasses of scotch at 10 am. But these days in digital, it feels like the Math Men media buyers (with their terabytes of data) are taking over for the Mad Men creatives.

Bill Gross's UberMedia Raises $17.5 Million From Accel, Index and Steve Case

in News on February 14, 2011 at 9:04 am PT

UberMedia, which just bought TweetDeck for $30 million in equity last week, has raised $17.5 million in a round led by Accel Partners. The valuation for the Pasadena, Calif., start-up founded by well-known entrepreneur Bill Gross–which was actually struck some month ago–is $40 million.

Exclusive Video: Bill Gross Talks About TweetUp and Gives a Tour of Idealab

in News on April 11, 2010 at 9:01 pm PT

Bill Gross is widely considered the man responsible for the invention of paid search advertising, which heralded such Web powerhouses as Google. Now, in a can-lightning-strike-twice effort and armed with $3.5 million in venture funding from a group of leading investors, the well-known entrepreneur talks about his decision to monetize Twitter on his own and gives a tour of his well-known Idealab incubator where his newest start-up, TweetUp, is being cooked up.

Paid Search Inventor Bill Gross Moves to Monetize Tweets With TweetUp–And Without Twitter (Plus Screenshots)

in News on April 11, 2010 at 9:00 pm PT

Just as Twitter finally prepares to announce its plans to make money–after what has seemed an eternity–the man responsible for the invention of paid search is beating the microblogging site to the potentially profitable punch, and without its involvement. Armed with $3.5 million in venture funding from a group of leading investors, well-known entrepreneur Bill Gross is launching a public beta of TweetUp, a bidding marketplace akin to Overture/Goto.com, the first paid search system he created a decade ago.

Liveblogging the Yahoo-Microsoft Search Deal Conference Call: The Carol and Steve Show Debuts!

in News on July 29, 2009 at 5:32 am PT

BoomTown was so glad we had this time together with Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, just to have a laugh or sing a song about a major search and advertising deal. I liveblogged the conference call, which I updated as it happened. Did Ballmer scream and jump up and down? Did Carol say something naughty? Read on!
547701959_4qebh-thjpg

Yahoo's Nightmare Scenario: I'm From Google and I'm Here to Help!

in News on May 3, 2008 at 8:58 pm PT

Here’s what a top-notch source at Yahoo joked to me tonight, after Microsoft walked away from its unsolicited takeover bid to acquire the long-troubled Internet giant. “Google is now officially our best friend.” Oh no. Instantly, an image popped into my brain–that of the slithery Kaa singing “Trust in Me (The Python Song)” to Mowgli from the Disney classic animated film, “The Jungle Book.”

Yang's Golden Rule: "Do Unto Others as Microsoft Would Do to Yahoo"

in News on April 9, 2008 at 5:35 am PT

Yahoo isn’t letting the looming threat of a Microsoft acquisition ruin its own acquisitive appetite. This morning the company announced plans to purchase Web analytics outfit Tensa Kft, better known as IndexTools. Yahoo expects the purchase to bolster its current analytics offerings, which haven’t evolved much since it inherited Keylime Software’s paid-search management tools as part of its 2003 acquisition of Overture.

Yang’s Golden Rule: “Do Unto Others as Microsoft Would Do to Yahoo”

in News on April 9, 2008 at 5:35 am PT

Yahoo isn’t letting the looming threat of a Microsoft acquisition ruin its own acquisitive appetite. This morning the company announced plans to purchase Web analytics outfit Tensa Kft, better known as IndexTools. Yahoo expects the purchase to bolster its current analytics offerings, which haven’t evolved much since it inherited Keylime Software’s paid-search management tools as part of its 2003 acquisition of Overture.

A Brief Chat With New Yahoo Ad Guy Dave Karnstedt

in News on August 6, 2007 at 9:53 am PT

They are getting very shy over there at Yahoo about the all-seeing eye of BoomTownCam. On my recent visit to the Internet giant’s New York office, its newly installed U.S. ad sales head David Karnstedt wouldn’t let me make one of my shaky-style, irksome videos of him. Europe head Toby Coppel also demurred recently. I [...]

Timing Is Everything for Semel

in News on June 19, 2007 at 12:35 am PT

While both newly departed Yahoo CEO Terry Semel and company co-founder and Semel replacement Jerry Yang insisted in interviews yesterday that Semel left on his own steam, there has been clear disgruntlement growing inside Yahoo–even from those who liked Semel–and on the board about stemming the growing feeling that Semel was not the one to [...]