usage

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.

Exclusive: Facebook Grabs Microsoft Global Ad Head Carolyn Everson

Kara Swisher in News on February 15, 2011 at 4:19 pm PT

Apparently, it’s not only in Google’s pond where Facebook fishes for talent–the social networking giant has recruited Microsoft’s global advertising head Carolyn Everson as one of its top sales execs. A Facebook spokesperson confirmed the hiring, after a query by BoomTown. The move will surely cause some tensions with the software giant, which is both a prominent partner of and investor in Facebook, especially since Everson was only hired at Microsoft last June after a long search.

Will Yahoo Earnings Later Today Show Revenue Growth (Or More of the Same)?

Kara Swisher in News on January 25, 2011 at 5:31 am PT

Yahoo will report its fourth-quarter earnings later today, and BoomTown will be covering them all the way from Hong Kong (the miracle of the Internet!). At a conference call with analysts after the earnings release, expect Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz to get questions on increased competition to its display advertising business from Facebook and Google, declining usage of its sites, as well as what she will do about continued product drift and talent drain.

Exclusive: Boku to Be Added as Option to Facebook Credits, Setting Up Face-Off With Rival Zong

Kara Swisher in News on November 9, 2010 at 2:32 pm PT

For the past 18 months, mobile payments start-up Zong has had the enviable prime spot on Facebook Credits as its sole option for users wanting to use their cell phone number to buy virtual goods for social gaming and other services. But, according to multiple sources, that’s about to change later this week, when the social networking giant starts A/B testing its rival, Boku, as an alternate payment method to Zong. The face-off on Facebook is part of a larger battle for dominance in the fast-growing arena.

Verizon and the Grift That Keeps on Giving

John Paczkowski in News on November 1, 2010 at 10:10 am PT

A new record for Verizon. In early October the company’s wireless division claimed title to the largest consumer telecommunications refund in history, saying it would pay $52.8 million to some 15 million subscribers who were charged for data usage, though they weren’t on data usage plans. Now, thanks to the Federal Communications Commission, it can claim another.

Exclusive: Facebook and Microsoft Deep in Talks About Deepening Search Ties

Kara Swisher in News on September 15, 2010 at 6:05 am PT

Facebook and Microsoft are discussing an agreement that would expand the search relationship the pair have shared for many years, said several people with knowledge of the situation. According to those sources, that includes the possibility for the software giant’s Bing search service to mine anonimized data from consumer usage of the social networking site’s recently introduced Like buttons.

What Do Rush and NPR Have in Common? Internet Talk Radio Hub Stitcher Nabs $6 Million From Benchmark.

Kara Swisher in News on April 6, 2010 at 4:30 am PT

Online talk radio aggregator Stitcher nabbed $6 million from Benchmark Capital and will use the money to give radio blabbermouth Rush Limbaugh, as well as the endlessly talking heads of National Public Radio, even more digital distribution. The San Francisco-based start-up often describes itself as the the Pandora of online talk radio. And like the digital music site, Stitcher lets its users create and customize their own free personalized talk/information/news radio stations.

Smartphone Usage Spikes: Up 193 Percent Year-Over-Year

John Paczkowski in Mobile on March 25, 2010 at 6:30 am PT

Smartphone traffic in February 2010 was up 193 percent over February 2009. So says mobile advertising network AdMob, which released its latest monthly Mobile Metrics Report today. The headline, obviously, is that smartphone usage is spiking. But there are a few other data points worth noting as well.

Twitter’s Wallflowers Get a Little Less Timid. But It’s Still a Service for Watchers, Not Talkers.

Peter Kafka in Media on March 10, 2010 at 7:12 am PT

Twitter gets described as a conversation or a cocktail party, but it’s really more like a stage play. A few people do all the talking, and everyone else watches and listens. That’s changing, a bit, as the service grows. But it may always be a service dominated by a few loud voices.