Idearc Media announced today that Kathy Harless has been replaced as CEO of the directory publisher by board chairman John Mueller, a former CEO of Cincinnati Bell Yellow Pages and Valor Communications. Harless' departure follows a substantial decline in the…
Andrew Day, CEO of European directory publisher Truvo (formerly World Directories), took the stage with Charles Laughlin yesterday at TKG's one-day local search summit in London. His message can be summed up in one sound byte that was repeated a…
Perry Evans, CEO of Local Matters, took the stage with Neal Polachek today at Local Online Media: London 08, to sift through some of the key issues in the quickly changing local search environment. Evans, as one of the ground-floor…
Here are some highlights from the TKG blog this week, in case you missed any posts. Click below to read each post in full. Microsoft's SMB Suite Tackles 'Webification' The New York Times' David Pogue writes this morning about some…
This morning I noticed something vaguely different about Google. Just like when a friend or significant other changes something like a haircut, and you get an overall sense that something is different but you can't pinpoint it. Finally I saw…
The New York Times' David Pogue writes this morning about some of the outcroppings of new innovation at Microsoft, apparent through the newest version of Office Live for Small Business. The product takes the "Webification" issue to heart by allowing…
Not so many years ago, major Yellow Pages publishers in developed countries reported revenue and earnings growth (or occasionally declines) that were generally very consistent. The advent of serious competition in several markets has had somewhat of an impact on…
AOL and Citysearch announced a deal today wherein Citysearch content will be distributed throughout the AOL network. According to what AOL told us, this will play out in a few different ways. AOL will infuse Citysearch editorial reviews, user reviews,…
This year’s National Automobile Dealers Association convention in San Francisco, Feb. 9-12, reflected the tough times that have hit the industry. Themes at the show didn’t go much beyond the convention’s official title: “Focus on Profitability.” But a sub-theme at…
Newspapers increasingly see an opportunity to sell SEO/SEM solutions to local advertisers. Such efforts probably began in earnest last year with members of the Yahoo! consortium using Yahoo!’s platforms. Others have been working with WebVisible and other resellers on a…
On the Yellow Pages Group (Canada) fourth-quarter earnings call today, CEO Marc Tellier was asked whether YPG had any interest in making acquisitions in the United States. The question was prompted by the steep sell-offs last week of Idearc Media, R.H.…
I recently attended the Photo Marketers Association annual convention in Las Vegas. The PMA has been around since 1924 and has extended its reach to address an international mix of sub-verticals including photo retailers, professional photographers, mass merchandisers, professional labs,…
Lately there has been a noticeable rise in the amount of attention and investment paid to online video sites that specialize in generating "how-to" videos. These include: ExpertVillage (acquired by Demand Media last June) VideoJug (received $30M last May) HowCast…
“Free one touch directory assistance” from Google’s free directory assistance service, Goog-411, is being advertised in Office Depot’s newspaper circulars as a main feature on GE Dect 6.0 Digital Cordless Phones. The ad copy spells it out: 1- Use the…
Comcast announced today that its advertising sales division, Comcast Spotlight, will acquire automotive site Vehix (sans "dot com"). The company had a previous relationship -- financially and strategically -- and today's deal makes the marriage official. For Vehix, this ties the…
Here is a roundup of posts from the last week in case you missed any. Click below to read each post in full. Reality Check on Yellow Pages The sell-off of directory stocks that reached a crescendo yesterday is continuing…
Google News has launched a very Topix-like search of local media and blogs via city name and ZIP code. The service includes semantic search. “We’re not the first news site to aggregate local news; we’re doing it a bit differently,”…
The sell-off of directory stocks that reached a crescendo yesterday is continuing today, with Idearc, R.H. Donnelley and Yell being hit the hardest. Each of the three has been downgraded by leading banks and has lost a substantial amount of its value.…
Thursday was a very rough day for publicly traded directory companies. With Idearc and Yell announcing results that show more weakness in print directories, the two companies' shares moved sharply downward. As of this writing Thursday afternoon, Idearc shares had lost…
In what amounts to yet another vote of confidence for local merchant video producer TurnHere, the company has announced a $7.5 million cash infusion from Venrock and Hearst Interactive Media. It's also a vote of confidence for the red hot…