Gotham Group, Yahoo! Team for Animation

Google’s popular viral video site YouTube competing with internet entity Yahoo! and extends its profile as a video content provider. Yahoo! Studios have teamed up with Gotham Group, a management firm, which represents animation and family entertainment talent and text content, to create and distribute original animated work on web. The productions would be made available across the Yahoo! Media Group properties, with Yahoo! Entertainment and Yahoo! TV.

Yahoo! Teams With Film Your Issue to Launch 3rd Annual Short Competition

Yahoo Inc. has teamed up with Film Your Issue (FYI) as the only online sponsor of the “Issue Film” contest, especially designed to engage youth. Beginning Jan 17, people aged between 16 to 25 in America and globally are invited to create: 30-60 videos, which focuses on contemporary issues. These videos would be hosted by Jumpcut.

As the only online partner of this initiative, Yahoo! would host the video entries, offering a voting platform, promote the film competition across the Yahoo! network and also offer online video editing and publishing tools through its recently acquired Jumpcut video platform.

Caldwell tries to land Google

State and local tax breaks attracts Google Inc, computer hub to the foothills of North Carolina to develop a search engine company. If Google brings 210 employees operation to Caldwell County, would come up the $100 million by next three decades. About $96 million of the total tax will be from state tax incentives.

The Mountain View, Calif., company’s proposed investment is approximately of half the tax base of the city. City and county governments further have also agreed to relinquish property and real estate taxes for 30 years if it moves to Caldwell County.

Google conquered Earth… next: the Universe?

The New York Times and CNN reported last week that Google has signed on to help 19 universities and laboratories with a determined telescope project in Chile. The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope would have a 27.5 foot diameter and has the ability to produce 200 terabytes worth of images each week.

Google would be helping the scientists organizing data. Will Google make the images public via “Google Solar System?” As the company has online service of maps of Mars and the moon. The telescope project should be completed by 2013.

Google AdSense Updates Program Policies & Competitive Ads Policy

Google AdSense had recently updated their plan policies, while most of them were simple to clarify and make changes to the policies. They also made a major change to publishers who use ad networks or in-house ads with ad units, which resemble AdSense ad units, or those who do ad rotation with AdSense and another network for ad such as Yahoo Publisher Network.

The most important change was made to the Competitive Ads & Services section of the program policies. Now, running anything in an ad unit which resembles the AdSense ad unit appearing anywhere on the same site is against the terms.

Google linked to local project

Blythewood has an exit off Interstate 77, but Internet giant Google would make the town a bigger stop on the information superhighway.

A massive data management center is being offered for 466 acres south of the growing Northeast Richland town.

Public records filed newly on Friday link the project with Google, though the company and most government officials won’t comment.

The proposed $200 million to $800 million data center that would be built in two stages has the capacity to employ as many as 600 people.

The complex would also include eight 10acre warehouses chock full of computer servers according to the recent proposal filed with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The corps should approve the plan, presented by Arum Composites as it calls for filling in 14 acres of creeks and streams.

Online Service Launch for Weather Risk by Google

Former Google team members are now concentrating on empowering businesses to manage how weather affects their bottom line. WeatherBill offers an online service that allows companies to purchase coverage, which pays for adverse weather condition without any claims hassle. WeatherBill further offers free tools to assist businesses understand how weather impacts their financial performance.

MSN Direct Goes High Def with Clear Channel

Microsoft Corp. and Clear Channel Radio recently announced at the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) that they have carried out a joint agreement to build a countrywide data delivery service using HD Radio technology, offering personalized and localized content to a variety of HD Radio receivers. This plan would be branded MSN Direct HD, an extension of Microsoft’s existing MSN Direct service that currently transmits a variety of information including traffic, weather, movie times, sports, as well as stocks to Smart Watches, weather stations, Global Positioning System navigation devices and small home appliances.

The expansion of MSN Direct to HD Radio is again apart of Microsoft’s Smart Personal Objects Technology (SPOT) initiative. The companies would initiate opportunities for consumer electronics companies and automotive manufacturers to offer MSN Direct content in HD digital radio format on their devices by 2008.

Yahoo! Announces Winners of ”Last Gadget Standing” Event at CES 2007

Yahoo had recently announced the winners of Yahoo! Tech “Last Gadget Standing” contest, hosted by Robin Raskin at Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The winners are the Data Drive Thru Tornado that was chosen by the audience during the live SuperSession event and the HP TouchSmart PC was chosen as the online winner at tech.yahoo.com. Yahoo! Tech brought consumers the most excellent information on gadgets and “Last Gadget Standing” gave those consumers a chance to pick their favorite gadget from CES.

“Last Gadget Standing” is not just about the techies telling us what hot next is. It’s about the real ‘deciders’, the consumers, voting on what’s going to appear as our next gadget idol,” stated by Patrick Houston, general manager, Yahoo! Tech

Social Features Key to Yahoo Local

Yahoo is putting more of its emphasis on social media and user generated content in its local search product.

Social features came back again during September 2006, when it added “collections” of user generated lists, such as “The Bay Area for Kids,” a collection Miller created while exploring outings with his family. Last month, Yahoo added another user generated content featured to Local, Consumer Submit. That feature allows the users to add and edit a business listing, updating contact information, store hours, or identifying businesses that are no longer open.

Yahoo views these features as “social utilities”, which attach the always present offline gossip that friends and neighbors use to find a contractor, pick a restaurant, or choose a mechanic.