by Mike Krumboltz Stephen Baldwin isn't on Hollywood's A-list. In fact, we'd say he's one step away from being a seat-filler on Oscar night. Still, his last name still means something in Tinseltown, so when word hit that the born-again Baldwin got a Miley Cyrus tattoo, folks had to know more. As it turns out, the rumors are true. Sort of. Baldwin, on a dare from Ms. Cyrus, had "HM" (for " Hannah Montana ") tattooed on his arm. Apparently,

by Sage Lewis There's some bad news but good tools in the news this week. Yahoo "can't win for losing" as Google terminates its advertising partnership with them and Yahoo shares drop significantly. While Google and Yahoo part ways, Yellowbook and YouTube join forces to distribute SMB videos. Wordtracker announces a new tool that anticipates the questions people are clicking on while searching based off keywords. Also, according to Search Engine Watch,

by Mike Krumboltz Layoffs? That word is sooo 2001. These days, there are dozens of less-negative ways to tell someone that their services are no longer required. Bloggers, perhaps themselves having been "right-sized," are taking notice. Fortune magazine examines why CEOs soft-pedal layoffs and also lists an impressive number of euphemisms?used by execs?to?help "soften the blow." Some real-world examples include "re-engineering plan," "cost improvement plans,

When we first started YouTube, our vision was to create a platform that would allow everyone to broadcast themselves. So when it came to developing an approach to online advertising and marketing, we had a similar goal: everyone should benefit from the experience, whether you're a user, advertiser, or content partner. We've been fortunate to have grown so quickly.

It's approaching flu season, and Google.org released Flu Trends to identify the relationship between where people have the flu and where people search for the flu online. Researchers at Google noticed that there are more flu-related searches during flu season, and the search trend actually matches that of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 's data. The flu-related search terms are found to be good indicators for the flu,

Quick - where's Beacon? If you're coming up with multiple answers, you're not alone. So are local Google AdSense advertisers, and as a result, contextual ads are all out of context. Ads for Beacon-related things spanning the country (literally) from Boston to San Francisco accompanied an e-mail from a friend who hails from Beacon, NY. This problem, of course, is hardly limited to Google. It is indicative of local advertisers who are newer to AdSense - and in all likelihood,

Google has been unusually active with product releases and good-news announcements all of a sudden. Historically, this has often coincided with a PR strategy to blunt the impact of bad news in the immediate news media and blogosphere reaction. In the last few days, we've heard of upgrades to Google Ad Planner, major new developments with Google Analytics, the release of Google video chat,

by Mike Krumboltz Whatever challenges Wonder Woman will face in her movie, they'll surely pale in comparison to what fans went through in the years it took to get her to the big screen. The countless casting rumors, the constant teases - oh, what painful memories! Lamentably, we must add more innuendo to the pile. Not because we want to, but because the buzz is too high to ignore. Word has it that Beyonce may/might/maybe be in the running to play Wonder Woman. Perhaps.

by Claudine Zap In this economy that's in the red, there may be one bright spot that comes in shades of pink, brown, and taupe: the lipstick index. It's a financial indicator that's as true as that colorfast shade that stays on you, and doesn't get on your man. In bad times, lipstick sales soar while other sales sour. The term " Leading Lipstick Indicator " was coined by Leonard Lauder, chairman of makeup company Est?e Lauder ,

A lot of emphasis is placed on conversions by companies when discussing their PPC campaigns. But you can generate leads through PPC just as well as close sales. The strategy is a little different, but not much. To start with, your landing page must be written differently. You are not closing a sale so why ask for the sale? That's not to say you won't have a call to action. Every landing page should have a call to action.