Internet pioneer AOL, which Time Warner plans to spin off into an independent company later this year, announced on Thursday that it had bought two small Web startups focused on local content.
AOL, in a statement, said it had purchased Patch Media Corp., a local news and information platform for local communities, and Going Inc., a platform for sharing information about events in major cities.
Financial terms of the deals were not disclosed.
"Local remains one of the most disaggregated experiences on the Web today -- there's a lot of information out there but simply no way for consumers to find it quickly and easily," said Tim Armstrong, who was hired away from Google this year to become AOL chairman and chief executive.
"It's a space that's prime for innovation and an area where AOL has a significant audience and a valuable mapping service in MapQuest," he said.
"Going forward, local will be a core area of focus and investment for AOL," Armstrong said. "The acquisitions of Patch and Going will help us build out our local network further."
Patch.com is currently available in five local communities in the United States and expects to be available in a dozen by the end of the year.
Going.com provides information for young people about what is going on in major US cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami and Boston.
"By joining with AOL, we have the opportunity to greatly expand the reach of our platform to more cities both in the US and around the world," said Going chief executive Evan Schumacher.
AOL is currently the number four gateway to the Web after Google, Microsoft sites and Yahoo! and has been trying to refashion itself recently as a popular one-stop portal.
Agencies
Friday, June 12, 2009
Google eyes smaller firms to acquire
Google Inc is looking to buy smaller technology companies to enhance its technology portfolio, Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said in an interview with the Fox Business network
Schmidt said Google plans to focus on the cloud, mobile, and open source distribution of software in the next year.
"We have been (looking to acquire)," Schmidt said. "We have been wandering around looking at all of the different companies.
With the big ones we haven't come across anything we've particularly liked. We are definitely talking to a number of smaller companies but we've done that routinely." "We primarily look for technology. It's a typical build versus buy.
How long does it take us to build it with our engineers, versus there are already engineers in this other company that have built this thing."
The chief executive's statements come as the Internet search giant's growth slows from double digit percentages amid global economic turmoil and a sharp, industry-wide decline in advertising.
On Tuesday Google's green energy czar Bill Weihl said the company is closing in on its goal of producing renewable energy at a price cheaper than coal.
Google, known for its Internet search engine, in late 2007 said it would invest in companies and do research of its own to produce affordable renewable energy -- at a price less than burning coal -- within a few years.
The often-quirky company cast the move as a philanthropic effort to address climate change, but the work is done by a unit of the for-profit corporation, Google.org, and Google investors will profit from any breakthroughs.
Google's investment has been modest, so far. The company has put less than $50 million into clean energy start-ups, while the efforts of Weihl's group are probably about $10 million or $20 million.
Schmidt said Google plans to focus on the cloud, mobile, and open source distribution of software in the next year.
"We have been (looking to acquire)," Schmidt said. "We have been wandering around looking at all of the different companies.
With the big ones we haven't come across anything we've particularly liked. We are definitely talking to a number of smaller companies but we've done that routinely." "We primarily look for technology. It's a typical build versus buy.
How long does it take us to build it with our engineers, versus there are already engineers in this other company that have built this thing."
The chief executive's statements come as the Internet search giant's growth slows from double digit percentages amid global economic turmoil and a sharp, industry-wide decline in advertising.
On Tuesday Google's green energy czar Bill Weihl said the company is closing in on its goal of producing renewable energy at a price cheaper than coal.
Google, known for its Internet search engine, in late 2007 said it would invest in companies and do research of its own to produce affordable renewable energy -- at a price less than burning coal -- within a few years.
The often-quirky company cast the move as a philanthropic effort to address climate change, but the work is done by a unit of the for-profit corporation, Google.org, and Google investors will profit from any breakthroughs.
Google's investment has been modest, so far. The company has put less than $50 million into clean energy start-ups, while the efforts of Weihl's group are probably about $10 million or $20 million.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Free anti-virus software from Microsoft
Microsoft Corp is getting ready to unveil a long-anticipated free anti-virus service for PCs that will compete with products sold by Symantec Corp and McAfee Inc. A Microsoft spokesman said on Wednesday that the world's biggest software maker is testing an early version of the product with its own employees.
Microsoft would "soon" make a trial version, or product beta, available via its website, he added, but declined to provide a specific date. Symantec shares fell 1.6 percent in afternoon trading and McAfee fell 1.8 percent, while Microsoft was up 1.1 per cent.
The Nasdaq composite index was down 1.2 per cent. Investors are closely monitoring the free service, code-named Morro after after Brazil's Morro de Sao Paolo beach, amid concern it could hurt sales of products from Symantec and McAfee, which generate billions of dollars of revenue a year protecting Windows PCs from attacks by hackers.
"It's a long-term competitive threat," said Daniel Ives, an analyst with FBR Capital Markets, though he added that the near-term impact was minimal. Microsoft has said that Morro will offer basic features for fighting a wide-range of viruses, which would likely make it comparable to low-end consumer products from Symantec and McAfee that cost about $40 per year.
Their top-selling products are security suites that come with features including encryption, firewalls, password protection, parental controls and data backup. Three years ago, Microsoft entered that market with Live OneCare, which turned out to be a commercial flop.
It announced plans in November to kill that product suite, saying it would launch the free Morro service by the end of 2009. Analysts said they are looking forward to examining Morro's beta to see exactly how its features compare to those in products from competitors. Microsoft has said it will provide protection from several types of malicious software including viruses, spyware, rootkits and trojans.
Officials with Symantec and McAfee have said they do not see Morro as a threat. Joris Evers, a spokesman for No 2 security software maker McAfee, said his company is already enjoying strong growth despite competition from free anti-virus products that are on the market.
"On a level playing field, we are confident in our ability to compete with anyone who might enter the marketplace," he said. A spokesman for Symantec, the biggest security software maker, could not be reached for comment. Trend Micro Inc, the No 3 player, declined comment.
Agencies
Microsoft would "soon" make a trial version, or product beta, available via its website, he added, but declined to provide a specific date. Symantec shares fell 1.6 percent in afternoon trading and McAfee fell 1.8 percent, while Microsoft was up 1.1 per cent.
The Nasdaq composite index was down 1.2 per cent. Investors are closely monitoring the free service, code-named Morro after after Brazil's Morro de Sao Paolo beach, amid concern it could hurt sales of products from Symantec and McAfee, which generate billions of dollars of revenue a year protecting Windows PCs from attacks by hackers.
"It's a long-term competitive threat," said Daniel Ives, an analyst with FBR Capital Markets, though he added that the near-term impact was minimal. Microsoft has said that Morro will offer basic features for fighting a wide-range of viruses, which would likely make it comparable to low-end consumer products from Symantec and McAfee that cost about $40 per year.
Their top-selling products are security suites that come with features including encryption, firewalls, password protection, parental controls and data backup. Three years ago, Microsoft entered that market with Live OneCare, which turned out to be a commercial flop.
It announced plans in November to kill that product suite, saying it would launch the free Morro service by the end of 2009. Analysts said they are looking forward to examining Morro's beta to see exactly how its features compare to those in products from competitors. Microsoft has said it will provide protection from several types of malicious software including viruses, spyware, rootkits and trojans.
Officials with Symantec and McAfee have said they do not see Morro as a threat. Joris Evers, a spokesman for No 2 security software maker McAfee, said his company is already enjoying strong growth despite competition from free anti-virus products that are on the market.
"On a level playing field, we are confident in our ability to compete with anyone who might enter the marketplace," he said. A spokesman for Symantec, the biggest security software maker, could not be reached for comment. Trend Micro Inc, the No 3 player, declined comment.
Agencies
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Why Indian Internet startups fail to meet VCs expectations?
Internet Services companies in India are one of the largest venture capital [VC] funded companies in India. However, these firms have not delivered as per the expectations of the VCs. "With broadband penetration and PC affordability still an issue, internet companies have not met the expectations we had set two years back," said Sachin Maheshwari, Principal at Draper Fisher Jurvetson [DFJ] India. DFJ has funded many Internet startups like naseeb.com and seventymm.com. VCs had earlier expected the number of internet users in country to grow to 80 million by 2012. But so far it has just reached 40 million and therefore the traffic is too low to generate good revenue.
Many internet companies rely on online advertisement for revenue. They might find it difficult to survive due to low internet users. The internet advertisement revenue in country is $200 million, but majority of it is generated by Google. Few VCs feel that internet companies have not found the correct business model. "The business models that work abroad do not necessarily work in India," says Ritesh Banglani, Senior Investment Advisor, IDG Ventures India.
According to Alok Mittal, General Partner, Canaan Partners, the most successful internet companies in India are subscription based or lead generating like Naukri.com. But despite not meeting expected results, internet companies are still amongst the most favored by VCs. "We expect these companies to do better as when the internet penetration picks up and monetization models are clearer," said DFJ's Maheshwari.
According to Venture Intelligence, 21 percent of the VC deals struck between July 2008 and June 2009 were in internet services. The value of these deals was around $120 million.
Many internet companies rely on online advertisement for revenue. They might find it difficult to survive due to low internet users. The internet advertisement revenue in country is $200 million, but majority of it is generated by Google. Few VCs feel that internet companies have not found the correct business model. "The business models that work abroad do not necessarily work in India," says Ritesh Banglani, Senior Investment Advisor, IDG Ventures India.
According to Alok Mittal, General Partner, Canaan Partners, the most successful internet companies in India are subscription based or lead generating like Naukri.com. But despite not meeting expected results, internet companies are still amongst the most favored by VCs. "We expect these companies to do better as when the internet penetration picks up and monetization models are clearer," said DFJ's Maheshwari.
According to Venture Intelligence, 21 percent of the VC deals struck between July 2008 and June 2009 were in internet services. The value of these deals was around $120 million.
Is Google on a hiring spree in India?
Google has big plans for India in next three to five years. It plans to hire more people from India for its brand advertising business and considers India as an impactful market.
"Our focus in India is growth. India is going to be one of the 10 most impactful markets for Google in three to five years. There will be minimal impact on India in terms of job cuts announced globally," said Google India MD Shailesh Rao.
Google currently has four offices in India, located in Bangalore, Gurgaon, Hyderabad and Mumbai. After U.S., Google has the highest headcount in India. Even after having such a strong presence at the moment, India does not drive global revenue, Rao added.
"Our focus in India is growth. India is going to be one of the 10 most impactful markets for Google in three to five years. There will be minimal impact on India in terms of job cuts announced globally," said Google India MD Shailesh Rao.
Google currently has four offices in India, located in Bangalore, Gurgaon, Hyderabad and Mumbai. After U.S., Google has the highest headcount in India. Even after having such a strong presence at the moment, India does not drive global revenue, Rao added.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Ten Indian companies make it to FT Top 500
Ten Indian companies are listed among Financial Time's top 500 global companies for 2009, in terms of market capitalization. The list was led by American energy giant ExxonMobil, followed by the oil major PetroChina and U.S. retailer Wal-Mart at the second and third positions respectively.
Reliance Industries is the only Indian company which has been listed among the top 100, taking the 75th place with a market capitalization of $47.25 billion. Last year, the company occupied the 80th position in the list. The companies were ranked by market capitalization, the greater the stock market value of a company, the higher it's ranking. Market capitalization is the share price as on March 31, 2009 multiplied by the number of shares issued.
Other Indian firms featuring in the list are Oil & Natural Gas (ONGC) (120th rank), National Thermal Power (NTPC) (138), Bharti Airtel (188), Infosys (330), Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) (345), ITC (362), State Bank of India (372), Tata Consultancy Services (483) and Hindustan Unilever (495).
Reliance Industries is the only Indian company which has been listed among the top 100, taking the 75th place with a market capitalization of $47.25 billion. Last year, the company occupied the 80th position in the list. The companies were ranked by market capitalization, the greater the stock market value of a company, the higher it's ranking. Market capitalization is the share price as on March 31, 2009 multiplied by the number of shares issued.
Other Indian firms featuring in the list are Oil & Natural Gas (ONGC) (120th rank), National Thermal Power (NTPC) (138), Bharti Airtel (188), Infosys (330), Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) (345), ITC (362), State Bank of India (372), Tata Consultancy Services (483) and Hindustan Unilever (495).
Can alerts of search engines help you?
Having problems with a search engine, then change the search terms to get the information you need. But what if the search engine did it for you?
A Penn State researcher analysed nearly one million web searches to detect patterns of query reformulation and create models to predict them -- models that may help create more advanced search engines.
"The key finding in the research is that we are moving from descriptive aspects to predictive models in web searching," said Jim Jansen, associate professor of information sciences and technology and study co-author.
Researchers found that the search terms in 22 percent of queries were reformulated or changed to more precisely convey the information for which the user was searching.
"They typically moved to narrow their query at the start of the session, moving to reformulation in the mid and latter portions of the sessions," Jansen said.
"It appears that the assistance to narrow the query and alternate query terms would be most beneficial immediately after the initial query submission."
Researchers also found low rates of users asking for system assistance in helping to find the desired information -- perhaps because they are too focused on using their own search terms to find information.
"The implication is that system assistance should be most specifically targeted when the user is making a cognitive shift because it appears users are open to system intervention," Jansen said.
Jansen said this research is a critical step in helping to design more advanced search engines, said a Penn State release.
These findings have been published in the online edition of the Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology.
Agencies
A Penn State researcher analysed nearly one million web searches to detect patterns of query reformulation and create models to predict them -- models that may help create more advanced search engines.
"The key finding in the research is that we are moving from descriptive aspects to predictive models in web searching," said Jim Jansen, associate professor of information sciences and technology and study co-author.
Researchers found that the search terms in 22 percent of queries were reformulated or changed to more precisely convey the information for which the user was searching.
"They typically moved to narrow their query at the start of the session, moving to reformulation in the mid and latter portions of the sessions," Jansen said.
"It appears that the assistance to narrow the query and alternate query terms would be most beneficial immediately after the initial query submission."
Researchers also found low rates of users asking for system assistance in helping to find the desired information -- perhaps because they are too focused on using their own search terms to find information.
"The implication is that system assistance should be most specifically targeted when the user is making a cognitive shift because it appears users are open to system intervention," Jansen said.
Jansen said this research is a critical step in helping to design more advanced search engines, said a Penn State release.
These findings have been published in the online edition of the Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology.
Agencies
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