SearchEngineUpdate with Vanessa Zamora - 02-27-2008 Part II
Abstract: 1. Outage Hits Microsoft Windows Users, 2. Yahoo Search Marketing Minimum Bid Change, 3. N.Y. Attorney General Subpoenas Comcast, Debate Over Network Neutrality Continues
Vanessa Zamora
Video Content Producer, SearchEngineWorld
12:01 am on Feb. 28, 2008 (utc 0)
Transcript
Wednesday February 27, 2008
Outage Hits Microsoft Windows Users
On Tuesday Microsoft suffered an outage that kept some users from logging in to the majority of Microsoft’s online services, including Windows Live Mail and Live Messenger. As of 7 p.m. EST Tuesday, without explanation for the outage, Microsoft said that the problem had been resolved and that all services were back online. Microsoft dismissed the idea that the Live ID blackout was related to the new Windows 2008 Server software, though it neither confirmed nor denied that the log-in service was hosted on Server 2008. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is scheduled to officially launch Windows Server 2008 today at an event in Los Angeles.
Yahoo has announced a change to its flat, sponsored search, minimum bid price, previously set at 10 cents. Yahoo will start calculating a variable bid for some keywords that will be determined by considering the perceived quality of the keyword and its value. The quality will be determined by the number of times advertisers ads are clicked, which will decrease in bid price the more the ad is clicked. In terms of value, Yahoo will consider a number of things, including demand and the amount other advertisers are bidding for a keyword. Yahoo suggests advertisers become more familiar with account keywords and their value, improve ad quality, and learn about updates to the account interface in preparation for the change.
N.Y. Attorney General Subpoenas Comcast, Debate Over Network Neutrality Continues
The battle of network neutrality continues. The Federal Communications Commission hearing met Monday to determine if Comcast is guilty of interfering with consumer Internet use. The Philadelphia-based company has repeatedly claimed its traffic management practices are necessary to keep other Internet traffic, like Web content, flowing smoothly. Additionally, Comcast has been subpoenaed by the New York attorney general’s office for information on the company’s handling of Internet traffic. Even though the FCC Chairman failed to come to a conclusion on the matter, commissioners indicated they are working toward establishing greater openness from Internet providers about their traffic management practices, and were ready to step in to enforce the agency's ''open Internet'' policies.
12:01 am on Feb. 28, 2008 (utc 0)