The US Senate is holding a series of hearings on online advertising, behavioral targeting and privacy to determine whether they should consider legislation protecting consumers online in these areas. The Senate has turned to Google, Microsoft, the FTC, Facebook, privacy watchdogs and others for their opinions in the matter. Some, like Google, welcomed a "comprehensive privacy law that would establish a uniform framework for privacy and procedures to punish bad actors.

Ah, Summer. Here in New York that means soaring temperatures, dogs sticking to the sidewalks, and a distinctive pong emanating from the Port Authority region we locals call "Eau de oui oui." If you are Steve Harty you might escape to your house in the Hamptons for a little relief. My personal default setting is the Jersey shore. Either way, books and the beach go together like Amy Winehouse and liver damage,

iPhone goes on sale on July 11 in Japan, and I heard that there was a short line (not long at all compared to the line forming in front of the Apple shop in New York city) forming in front of the store in Tokyo. As you may know, Softbank won the contract for iPhone in Japan, which means that Yahoo Japan (owned by Softbank) becomes it's official web portal and the search engine. Here , you can see new Yahoo Japan for iPhone. You can click each icon to see the service screen.

German market research group GfK is putting together a cash offer for rival firm TNS (Taylor Nelson Sofres), in response to a hostile bid from Martin Sorrell's WPP launched yesterday. WPP has offered ?1.1 billion ($2.1 billion), after previous offers were snubbed by the company's board. In response, GfK has issued a release stating it is terminating its own proposed merger with TNS, which has been in discussion since April,

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Just about every software maker who wants to plant a stake in the mobile market today unveiled applications in anticipation of the launch of 3G for the Apple iPhone. Apple said in a statement that more than 500 native applications will be available on its iPhone App Store when iPhone 3G goes on sale tomorrow. This being Google Watch, I'm going to start with a note about Google's contribution to the iPhone 3G effort.

Fed-up consumers?are vocal about high gas prices, and airlines are hoping to take advantage of their anger. The troubled industry has asked its customers to write letters to Congress regarding the high price of oil. Our first reaction upon reading the news? The airlines have clearly lost their minds??"since when does Congress actually do anything? But, according to several articles within the Buzz, that may not be the point.

It's no secret that using dynamic ads is a great way to improve relevance and thereby increase your CTR, but in order for your ads to show up the way you want them to, you need to make sure you're using the right formatting. You can learn more about dynamic.

TechCrunch is reporting that NowPublic has acquired Truemors , a rumor site launched by Guy Kawasaki in May 2007. NowPublic bills itself as a"participatory news site." The startup has raised two rounds of financing. Kawasaki will serve on the company's advisory board as well. This is one acquisition rumor TechCrunch got right: Guy Kawasaki confirmed it on his blog and Twittered the buyout. NowPublic is an unusual site to say the least.

The SEO Expert Series continues with Todd Malicoat, perhaps best known to the SEO community as Stuntdubl . When the opportunity arose to discuss one advanced subject with the SEO expert, who is respectfully tight-lipped on specific techniques, the next best subject was how he manages to stay relevant in a sea of noise.