Leadpile’s Blog

How many people actually back up any data they have on their cell phones or computers? The answer is probably not enough do. I don’t know about you, but if I even forget my cell phone at home I feel totally “naked” and can’t wait to have it in my possession once again. We have all become so dependent on our cell phones, and even our computers as a source for any and all information we need to function. Unfortunately, those that were carrying around a Sidekick phone, and had the Microsoft service (Specifically Danger Inc), had to deal with a horrible situation of having had all their data lost. This is something none of us want to experience. So how do we prevent this kind of thing from happening to us? Really there is not a 100% way to prevent this sort of thing from happening if your data is being stored elsewhere. I think the only thing any of us can really do is look into a service or specific software that can back up our data and everything else that we store on our phones. Let’s take a guess how many people that just lost their data on their Sidekicks, don’t learn from this hard lesson of backing up your data? Do we need to all go through some scary situation like this to learn the hard way? Hope not!!!

Microsoft is gearing up to test a new format for ads appearing in the search ad format. Traditionally, this ad type appears as plain text with links either imbedded into the text or in adjacent to. According to MediaPostNEWS, the new ad type that will be live next month will introduce logos and favicons hoping to attract consumers attention as well as generate more search campaign dollars to Bing.
Bing which has continued to increase its market share of the search engine world, and currently sits at 10.7%, still has a long way to go to catch Google who is number 1 with 64.6% of the market share.
When searching, does the ad type on the page attract you to return to a specific search engine? Does ad type affect your choice, more than habit? I know that I have been making an attempt to utilize Bing, but 9 times out of 10 I am at the search results produced by Google before I even realize I made the decision. Flashier ads may attract additional buyers to the ad, but the consumers will have to be attracted to the search engine first!

How could we all not forget the YouTube Video that generated some massive buzz for Britain’s Got Talent singer Susan Boyle? She became an overnight sensation all over the world! Well move over Susan because now a new YouTube video is bringing some buzz for Microsoft. A crazy stunt type video recently came out and just seemed impossible to be true, but it generated 1.4 million + views already. After digging and digging it was discovered that this hard to believe video was in fact bogus. Some great video editing allowed this video to be made into something that looked real, but ended up being discovered that it was in fact the work of some “creative” editing. It seems that Microsoft Germany had not planned on this video getting the type of buzz it ended getting, but thanks to Twitter, YouTube users and other news outlets it did!
YouTube and other social networking sites are a great place to get some attention for your company. Leadpile uses YouTube to create a place for the social networking site’s users to learn about our company. If this is not something that you are currently not using as a source of getting your name out there, I would recommend it. Look how much attention this most recent YouTube video brought to Microsoft? The power of YouTube is priceless!

It now seems that Google will have a bigger beast to battle, because Yahoo and Microsoft have officially signed a partnership deal. This is something that has been going on for a while now, but now has become official. This new deal will also create some more potential for Microsoft’s new search engine – Bing, amongst other benefits. The AP is reporting that, “Under the agreement, Yahoo will have limited access to the data on users’ searches — which yield insights that can be used to pick out ads more likely to pique a person’s interest. The value of that information is why Microsoft wants to process more search requests.”
It does not seem that this signed deal will produce any immediate changes that we will all see, however Leadpile and all other lead generation companies that deal with search engines, will see some sort of changes in the near future. There is going to be lots to come with the battle over the market share for Google and Microsoft/Yahoo, and who can come up with what next? Hopefully, we are all going to be the ones that benefit from this battle to be on top! Let’s sit back and watch it ALL unfold.

It seems Microsoft sees some “good” in Twitter because it is incorporating Twitter messages into the Bing search results. They will be indexing some of the more popular “Tweeters” who have some good followers and tweets. I guess Twitter is not a one hit wonder that is just going to go away. The realtime updates of what people are doing, and talking about, is truly something everyone is trying to get a piece of. These realtime search results are going to be displayed in a separate area of the Bing results page, so people can stay in touch with the Twitter world.
You really can’t blame Microsoft for trying to capitalize on all this traffic going to Twitter. They have some nice competition in the search engine world with Google, and probably want to do anything in their power to make the new Bing search engine work, and work like no other search engine. Score for Microsoft!

I am not sure if this is something new, or maybe just a White House position I have never really paid attention till now, however President Obama has named 2 high profile company executives to his tech council.  Tech Council?  Yes, there is such a thing and I think this is a sign of the times.  America has gone internet “crazy” and it is only right to have a President working closely with individuals from Google and Microsoft.  Google’s Eric Schmidt and Microsoft’s Craig Mundie have joined a team (PCAST) of 20 advisers to the President.

“PCAST is designed to give the White House a pipeline to some of the leading voices in science, engineering and technology as the administration crafts policies in those areas,” according to Internet News.  Leadpile Lead Exchange, and other internet companies, like the idea of the potential of more advacements and assistance for this growing internet world we are all a part of.  Maybe in the next presidential term there will be representatives from social networking sites and maybe affiliate marketing companies? Now that is a great idea!

With today’s struggling economy, many consumers are facing the reality of being forced to look for new employment.  The unfortunate thing is that many consumers were in the same job for many years, and possibly feeling a little overwhelmed with how technologically advanced jobs are requiring people to now be. In an effort to help consumers learn all aspects of the Microsoft Office products, and other technical skills to be successful in today’s workforce, Microsoft has launched their Elevate America website.

This website is a great idea and something that I truly believe can be a great tool for anyone looking for a new job, or someone currently working and wanting to learn more.  There are various certification courses, Microsoft Office tutorials, E-learning courses and information about classes available in their area.

According to the website, these are the things they are looking to accomplish:

*  Expanded access to basic technological literacy and skills training.

*  Intermediate technology skills training courses, instructor-led and online, plus selected certification exams.

* Access to a new web portal that will help guide individuals to training that positions them for success in the economy today, and tomorrow.

Leadpile Lead Exchange believes that knowing all this information is very important in any career.  Having a company like Microsoft offer these services is a sign that everyone is trying to contribute their part in helping our nation get back on their feet. Knowledge is power!

Microsoft to take over Yahoo’s Search – Microsoft want to close the deal sooner than later! The search side of Yahoo is one of the most profitable component of their business, and MSN will have a huge advantage with this addition. 

From the advertising perspective, Yahoo and MSN are significantly less expensive than Google Adwords, and even their algorithms are different, which, for some Advertisers, makes the advertising more inexpensive. 

In an effort to stay competitive with Microsoft, Google will be rolling out a new browser, according to MSNBC yesterday. Microsoft has the Internet Explorer and just rolled out it’s newest version- IE7. Google has just about everything else, but not a web browser. Soon this will be changing with Google rolling out “Google Chrome”.
Google Chrome is said to be able to handle more video-rich applications, unlike current browsers that were designed with a focus on text and graphics, according to the Guardian yesterday.
When and “if” this new web browser is released, this will add to the many choices consumers can choose from. Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and now potentially Google Chrome. Do we need as many choices as we already have? Being someone that works for an internet company and that is on the internet all day long, I would have to say there are positive features to each of the major web browsers. Why can’t we just get one that takes a little bit from each of the top web browsers?
What else will Google get into? Google is on it’s way to rule the world.. become a monopoly?

The deal with Microsoft has been going on for months (Jan 31 to May 3), and it looks like both companies blame each other for the failure of this deal. “Right from the beginning we were open to doing a deal,” said Mr. Bostock, the Yahoo chairman. “It was simply a matter of getting the right price and getting the deal terms negotiated. They started backing off early on in the process.”

Microsoft sees it differently. “Microsoft diligently pursued a proposed acquisition from the day we made our offer on Jan. 31 to the day we withdrew it on May 3,” Bradford L. Smith, Microsoft’s general counsel, said by e-mail. But Yahoo’s management and board failed to engage in meaningful negotiations for weeks, Mr. Smith added. 

If we go back and re-evaluate Yahoo’s approach on Advertising, we might find few things that many of Yahoo’s shareholders are looking at and they should actually look closer. 

Yahoo has purchased Overture in 2003, search engine that was launched in 1998 (known as GoTo). Overture brought to the Internet Advertising the PPC (pay-per-click) model, and they key of their success was when Overture decided not to bring traffic to their site, but to offer its paid listings to other search engines. It was a very smart move, which made us all happy, as we could really bring more leads into our business, just by using one source – Overture. 

Once Overture became Yahoo Search Marketing, our PPC experience with this company took a drastic turn, and I wouldn’t say a positive one – I remember how all the campaigns were changed so it reflects the Google AdWords structure. I am sure that all of us spent days to re-organize the campaigns and get our level of production to the same level. I would have to say that now, in certain cases I prefer them against AdWords, not because they are better, they are slower, so the most patient Advertiser wins, so as the competition struggles, the prices go down. I am sure these are not good news for the shareholders. 

The Content Network has been inexistent in the beginning, and when it got started … gosh, watching it constantly wasn’t enough. It took another week to clean the mess. More updates and changes into Yahoo Search Marketing system, seemed to be like a Deja-Vu, for following Google’s steps and for another, getting again into the same struggles as before. 

Yahoo’s plan… we will wait and see, Microsoft is probably going to make a move, most likely they are going over their Search, but apparently Mr. Yang is for all or nothing. Is it going to be a $33 a share or $37? My guess is that if this comes to a deal, it will be for less than $33. They lost the boat once again, but it will come around. We’ll see if Steve Jobs’ interview to 300 vice presidents, held last September, was fruitful at all. Mr. Jobs spoke about the ingredients of his recipe for reviving Apple in 1996 – painful cuts and the reserve of “dry powder” – to be able to seize new opportunities (as Apple did with the iPod). 

The Lead Generation is going to keep an eye on their progress. The Lead Exchanges are part of Yahoo’s business – we are all connected in so many levels. 

We know that Google is pretty much out and the latest news are confirming the “no go” in Google-Yahoo deal: 

“I am writing to urge you to direct your office to take quick and decisive action by launching a formal investigation into the proposed business transaction between Google and Yahoo’s search-advertising business,” Joel Anderson, a Republican assemblyman from San Diego, said in a letter to California Attorney General Jerry Brown released this week. Google controls already  70% of search-related advertising market. This coalition could give Google even more power towards consumers browsing habits and choices. 

Market Watch released this afternoon that Coca Cola shares went down .18 cents, that’s 18% down this year so far. But they are not the only ones affected by the Nationwide struggle that’s affecting Millions of consumers and businesses.  

Market Watch also reported J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. second quarter net income fell 53%, the company took over $500 million in costs for its Bear Stearn’s acquisition. Microsoft shares dropped 5.7%.  IBM shares are down .06%. Investment bank Merrill Lynch shares drop 7.1%.  Capital One Financial Corp registered a 4.9% decline. The list goes on and on.

Businesses are also being affected and loosing money.  What’s happening with the market?  These well known companies that were once making millions are now losing millions.  Gas pricing is going up at ridiculous cost. The cost of food has climb.  Unemployment rates are over the hill tremendously.  Debt is at the highest peak.  More Americans are filling for Bankruptcy.  Airline fairs are rising.  Less people are taking vacations.  Student’s are falling behind on their student loan payments.  More families are being affected by bank foreclosures.

Is this truly healthy for America?

I have talked about the consumers battle against the dead end they are facing.  Although its not just consumers its also major firms and corporations, for years investors were glorified to subsidize in these companies but now are selling shares and stocks.   

Everyone in society has somehow been affected.  Its lead exchanges such as LeadPile that are here to assist and help in each way we can.  LeadPile is partnered with some of the best affiliates in the market to provide quality leads.  Within our partnerships we are targeting consumers and businesses that need your help to clear their debt, to help with bankruptcy, to assist with business loan or business cash advance, to aid with credit restoration or a payday loan, to help them get finance to buy a house or a new car! 

LeadPile focuses on targeted traffic and provides applications or contacts to companies that can help consumers or business in the services they are in desperate need of! 

Yahoo is expected to announce the results of a major staff reorg this week. It needs to reassure investors and staff that it can improve its performance and competitiveness.

Last week saw the departure of two exec’s. Yahoo’s shares have fallen in value by more than 20% in the past month, but are still higher than in January – just before Microsoft made its $47.5bn takeover offer.

Here is the deal on Yahoo….It seams like everyone is counting them out….I wouldn’t! They will make the right move, even if ther hand is forced….