Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Internet search firm Yahoo is reported to be in talks to buy social networking website Facebook for $1bn (£527m).

US-based Facebook, popular with students, has also held separate discussions with Microsoft and Viacom, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Facebook, which allows users to put up profiles of themselves, recently signed an advertising deal with Microsoft.

A similar such website, MySpace, was bought by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation for $580m last year.

Founded in February 2004, Facebook has quickly grown in popularity, and by the end of 2005 had more than 7.5 million users at US schools and colleges alone.

Neither Facebook nor Yahoo were immediately available for comment.

A Facebook acquisition would add yet another strong community offering to the Yahoo Social Media family, which now includes Yahoo Answers, Flickr, Yahoo Photos, and del.icio.us.

Facebook was previously in talks with Microsoft and Viacom, but no deal was made with either company. Unlike MySpace, which was snatched up by Fox Interactive last year, until last week Facebook focused primarily on American college students.

The popular social networking destination is now inclusive with over 9 million registered users. If those users stick around post-Yahoo acquisition, this may become a smooth move for Yahoo as they would essentially have another well branded destination for Yahoo Search Advertising and acquiring a proven and busy social networking site may be a lot more easier and efficient than building one (think Yahoo 360).

Facebook currently serves banner advertising provided by the Microsoft adCenter network and also utilizes the Looksmart AdCenter enterprise technology for serving their own ads.

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By: David A. Utter | source: webpronews.com

Microsoft and Nokia reached an agreement that will place Live Search into Nokia’s Mobile Search platform, which will make Live Search available to users of Nokia’s high-end N Series multimedia phone and S60-compatible devices.

Microsoft will provide advanced search results for web search, as well as access to information such as stock quotes and movie times on Nokia devices. Some markets will be able to retrieve results from Encarta’s Instant Answers, a MSN Messenger service.

The service will be available in fourteen languages. Nokia said its Mobile Search experience allows users to find search results more quickly than by using the browser and finding the web page of an internet search provider, since in many cases search will be accessible directly from the menu screen.

Mobile services have developed into a hotly competitive arena for the major Internet players. Microsoft’s deal with Nokia pairs it with the world’s leading handset maker.

That is a significant win for Microsoft, beyond the placement of Live Search on Nokia phones. It increases the brand awareness for Live Search. As Microsoft develops mobile search-driven advertising and related services, being a default option on thousands of Nokia handhelds give the company a step up on Google and Yahoo.

Google made a deal with Norway’s Opera Software to be the default search for that company’s mobile browsers. Opera offers two browsers, the free Mini and the for-pay Mobile for Nokia S60 and Windows Mobile Smartphones and Pocket PC devices.

As noted above, Microsoft’s Live Search would be an option users can reach without launching a browser. The success of the placement will depend on user habits and behavior. If they are willing to try the Search option without hitting the browser every time they want to find information, it gives Microsoft an edge over Google and others on the Nokia platform.

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Source: washingtonpost.com

Internet media company Yahoo Inc. and Current TV, a television channel founded by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, said on Wednesday they had teamed up on a Web video service

The service, named the Yahoo Current Network, will feature both professionally produced video and material from viewers. No financial terms were disclosed.

The companies said the service’s revenue would be derived from advertising. The move comes amid the exploding popularity of video sharing services, such as YouTube.com, and builds on Yahoo’s strategy of creating Internet communities around specific areas of interest.

The Yahoo Current Network will launch four Internet channels tracking buzz-generating trends, sports news, hot cars and exotic vacations. It plans to offer a total of eight channels by the end of 2007.

Madeleine Smithberg, a co-creator of Comedy Central’s "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," which is popular with young adults, is an executive producer of one new Web channel.

Current TV launched in August 2005, aiming to capture young audiences and give them a say in how news and other events are reported. The network says about one-third of its on-air broadcasts are created by viewers.

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