Update: ExecTweets is not the only thing Twitter is advertising. You can also see other ads for things like TwitterVision, Tweetie, etc. in the little box that previously only advertised Twitter services. Everything still looks to be at least Twitter-related at this point. And from the sound of it, they’re not making a money off of it.
IE 8 Equipped with Microsoft Live Search Accelerators
A you’re probably aware, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8 browser is now generally available. What you may or may not be aware of is that Microsoft has included some accelerators for Live Search within it.
Microsoft Celebrates St. Patrick’s Day
Microsoft has been in the St. Patrick’s Day spirit this month. On the Live Search Blog, they recently reported that the number of people searching for green beer increased by 940% when March started.
Microsoft has also taken the opportunity to map out the routes for St. Patrick’s Day parades and highlight items like Irish pubs in Live Search Maps.
Microsoft Closing Shop on adCenter Analytics
Microsoft’s adCenter Analytics has not yet left beta, and it appears that it will not ever do so. The company announced today that the program will be shut down at the end of the year.
Microsoft’s Kumo Will Only Come with Minor Tweaks
What can you expect from Microsoft’s rebranded search engine? A new name, and not a whole lot else from the sound of it. As you’ve probably read by now, Kumo is the name that is most commonly associated with the search engine, though Microsoft has not officially named it.
Is Microsoft Going to Make Waves in Search This Year?
In a story we covered earlier this month, John Battelle accidentally typed livesearch.com into his address bar only to find a domain squatter. This of course led to speculation that Microsoft was close to rebranding its Live Search. They clearly were not too concerned about getting that domain (it’s still the same a couple weeks later).
Microsoft Trialing New Search Service Internally
Microsoft has begun internally testing its new search service called Kumo and is asking employees to provide feedback.
"Kumo.com exists only inside the corporate network, and in order to get enough feedback we will be redirecting internal live.com traffic over to the test site in the coming days," wrote Satya Nadella, senior vice president of research and development for Microsoft’s online services division in an internal memo.
Google Gives Microsoft A Little Antitrust Payback
Business is war, and payback is hell, but corporate trustbusting is more of a sport. Like basketball players insisting the ball bounced off the other guy’s foot, Microsoft and Google are at it again. This time Google returns the antitrust volley by announcing its intention to apply to become a third party in the European Commission’s investigation into Microsoft’s “unfair” bundling of Internet Explorer with Windows.
Publishers Collaborate on New Microsoft Advertising Offering
Today Microsoft announced the creation of the Publisher Leadership Council, a group of Web publishers who will consult on the development of Microsoft PubCenter, its next-generation advertising platform for digital media publishers.
Microsoft Live Search Cashback Program Stumbles
Microsoft’s Live Search cashback program is brilliant insofar as it recognizes that compensation makes the world go ’round; a little money helps people do things they don’t like or change old habits. Only it appears that not everyone who’s participating the cashback program is receiving the key ingredient.