Yahoo! on video
Internet powerhouse Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) has been a guiding light in the online financial world with its always popular Yahoo! Finance portal. Now, in an effort to keep your eyeballs on their page and away from Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Finance, as well as from financial outlets such as CNBC and Fox Business Network, Yahoo! will launch a streaming video program called Tech Ticker.
Starting in January, Tech Ticker will cast 10 to 20 segments per day, with hosts including Business Week columnist Sarah Lacy and embattled ex-Merrill Lynch (NYSE:MER) dot-com analyst Henry Blodget. The plan is to capture the attention of the increasingly market-crazed investors who demand to be kept constantly up-to-date on market developments.
This isn't the first time Yahoo! has stepped into the world of online financial programs. Back in 2000, the company launched a streaming video program called Finance Vision, which flopped in a little more than two years. What's different this time? The huge increase in bandwidth speeds over the years, coupled with consumer acceptance of online video, thanks to the explosion in the YouTube era.
Flickr editing goes live
Yahoo!'s Flickr photo-sharing site just got better. If you've ever wanted to nix red-eye, crop out an ex from a photo, or insert a picture of Angelina Jolie with her arm around you, you're in luck. Instead of jumping into a world in which it had little experience, Flickr collaborated with online photo-editing company Picnik. The new setup now allows you to edit your photos directly from the Flickr site, so you can bypass expensive and often tedious external photo-software programs such as Adobe's (NASDAQ:ADBE) Photoshop. Since Yahoo! closed its own photo site to drive traffic over to Flickr, this is another move toward making Flickr a one-stop photo-serving shop.
Hulu goes HD
Hulu, the online streaming-video site partnership between General Electric's (NYSE:GE) NBC and News Corp. (NYSE:NWS), wants to make those choppy online clips a thing of the past. The site -- which some observers see as competition for YouTube and Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iTunes -- recently launched nine high-definition movie trailers. The results are certainly impressive, with online clips whose quality rivals what you'd get on a flat-screen TV.
For now, Hulu has released only a few samples that use its HD technology. But Hulu's extensive library of shows and HD capability could eventually make for a much larger impact on online video. However, there's currently no word on when the rest of the shows from the Fox and NBC stables, which include popular series such as Dr. 90210, Family Guy, and Heroes, will become available.
Google wants to change the ad world ... again
First it was Google's innovative search product, and then it was the cool add-ons like Google Earth and Gmail and the groundbreaking AdWords program that effectively monetized third-party content. As if all this weren't enough to rest on, Google appears to be keenly interested in teaming up with other companies to penetrate the advertising world, even outside the Internet space. While dipping its toes into the world of print, radio, and TV ads, Google seemed to notice the niche it has created for itself in the advertising world: a liaison between the buyers and creators of advertisements.
Always looking to build on its great ideas, Google is now intent on finding opportunities with advertising companies -- in addition to its DoubleClick purchase -- that will help the company leverage its advertising platform across multiple media platforms. Curious Fools should watch this integration closely for insight on where Google plans on taking its combination of technology and business prowess next.
The final word
Fools should be mindful of noteworthy events, no matter how big or small. What starts out as small buzz bytes from industry giants has the potential to leave a lasting impression on the market.
