Web start-up unveils semantic Wikipedia search tool
Powerset searches Wikipedia using conversational phrasing instead of keywords. It's one of a new breed of search engines that tries to get at the underlying questions that Web searchers are trying to answer.
EMarketer cuts social media ad spend forecast
Social networks are still having trouble coming up with compelling ad models. EMarketer predicts ad spending on those networks will be just $2.6 billion by 2012, about five percent of the overall market. MySpace and Facebook collectively command 72% of social network ad spending.
It was inevitable that Facebook growth would slow and critics would turn out to start talking about all that's wrong with the social network. This CNet blog points to a developer's observation that fewer people are developing Facebook apps than a year ago and extrapolates that Facebook may be in crisis. What's really happening is that the market is becoming more mature and competitive.
BusinessWeek's Stephen Baker updates the Twitter phenomenon, explaining why microblogging is becoming an intrinsic part of people's lives and how businesses are tapping in to the conversation.
Blogs Blossom into a Big Business
"By 2012, more than 145 million people—67% of the US Internet population—will be reading blogs at least once a month. That is up from a readership of 94 million in 2007, or 50% of Internet users." Ad spending is forecast to grow to about $750 million by 2012, which is nearly triple today's total but still a small number overall.
