Acquiring talent is the biggest challenge for 2012: report
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. That may very well describe 2012 for media companies.
As detailed in Econsultancy's 2012 Media Growth Trends report companies are optimistic about what they can accomplish this year, but they also face numerous challenges - the least of which is the prospect of deeper economic pain in Europe.
Will Microsoft end up buying Yahoo?
In early 2008, Microsoft was willing to spend close to $45bn to buoy its search position. We know what happened next: Yahoo rebuffed, Microsoft walked away and Yahoo has floundered ever since.
It turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Microsoft. The economy, along with the stock market, tanked later in the year, saving Microsoft from what could have gone down as one of the worst timed deals in M&A history.
And despite the stock market's rebound over the past several years, Yahoo is still valued at well under half of what Microsoft was willing to pay in 2008.
Walmart makes social media acquisition
M&A is back in full-force in the consumer internet space, but this time around, it's not just the usual suspects -- tech companies -- doing the buying.
Case in point: yesterday, Walmart announced that it is buying social media company Kosmix. Founded in 2005, the company, which raised $55m in investment over the years, "filters social media to connect you to content that interests."
SEO: a due diligence must?
When investing in or buying a company, taking a peek under the hood is all but required. Anything else, of course, is sort of like going to Vegas and betting a huge chunk of your retirement on black.
Generally, due diligence includes looking at a company's financials. From the top line to the bottom line, prospective investors and acquirers need to know how healthy a company is and where it appears to be headed. But when investing in or acquiring an online business, should investors and acquirers be paying more attention to the SEO profiles of the properties they're considering?
eBay diversifies even further with big GSI Commerce buy
The eBay brand is synonymous with online auctions, but over the years, eBay's business has expanded well beyond those auctions.
The company's crown jewel -- PayPal -- was purchased in 2002 for $1.5bn, and the online payment provider now accounts for more than a third of eBay's revenue. eBay's portfolio also includes comparison shopping site Shopping.com, financing service BillMeLater and rental classifieds site Rent.com.
AOL and The Huffington Post: you've got fail?
Yesterday's surprise announcement that AOL is buying The Huffington Post for $315m sent shockwaves through the blogosphere.
The deal is not only one of the biggest in the consumer internet space in the past several years, it's one of the biggest online publishing acquisitions ever involving a 'blog'.
Is a Groupon acquisition the next phase in Google's local push?
Google wants to do business with local businesses. And for good reason: there are a lot of them out there for, and they present a largely untapped opportunity for the search giant.
Rumors are swirling that Google's push to win over local businesses will involve a multi-billion dollar acquisition of group buying leader Groupon. According to one report, Google has put a whopping $5.3bn on the table for Groupon to mull over. If such reports are accurate, it's hard to imagine that we won't soon be hearing an official acquisition announcement in the very near future.
The demise of the new media empire?
Newspapers? Dying? Television? Might as well die too. New media? That's where future empires will be built.
At least that's what some have been claiming since blogging and 'new media' became a mainstream phenomenon. And to be sure, new media's future does look bright. But is it as bright as many had predicted? Perhaps not.
Digg's painful lesson: take the money and run while you can
At one point in the no-so-distant past, Digg was one of the hottest startups on the internet. The Web 2.0 boom was in full swing, and Digg and its founder Kevin Rose were the poster children for the next generation of companies that would ride the wave to fame and fortune.
Digg, of course, rose to popularity by providing a platform that democratized the news. Why rely on editors to determine what's important and what's not?Let the wisdom of the crowd works its magic. It was a simple idea, but a powerful one.
Google leads the pack in 2010 acquisitions
In the tech industry, acquisitions are a fact of life. Big companies look to acquisitions for innovation and talent, and many entrepreneurs hope that their hard work will one day result in their creations being acquired.
When it comes to who is doing the acquiring in 2010, Google is at the head of the pack. In search of technologies and services that compliment its initiatives, and perhaps even the next big thing, the search giant has snapped up 23 companies this year according to CB Insights.
