Internet & Media

Considering all you hear about social networks finally starting to convince the advertising industry that they're a worthwhile destination for dollars, it's a bit surprising to see new numbers from eMarketer that put social networks' share of the digital-ad marketplace at a paltry 5.5 percent last year.

That's up from 5 percent in 2008, the stats released Thursday say. The good news is that, unlike some other sectors of the ad world, it's not shrinking--but it's also not growing exponentially by any means. After plunging from a 61 percent rate of growth in 2008 … Read more

Remember the Google Books settlement? After a storm of criticism over the initial draft, Google--and the author and publisher groups that initially sued the search giant--withdrew a proposed settlement hours before a scheduled hearing last fall, promising a significant revision.

That revision was announced on November 19. A final fairness hearing on the revised settlement (the Amended Settlement Agreement, or ASA) is scheduled for February 18.

A number of parties have objected to the revised settlement, most notably the U.S. Department of Justice, which filed a "statement of interest" (PDF) on February 4. The department still believes … Read more

Veoh, one of several well-funded start-ups that have tried and failed to cash in on the Web video boom, is finally calling it quits. The company let go of the remainder of its workforce Wednesday, and sources say it plans on filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in the near future.

Veoh, which started out as a YouTube-style site, has struggled for years to find a business model that works, and has burned through $70 million in funding from name-brand investors like Goldman Sachs, Time Warner, Intel's venture arm, Spark Capital, and former Disney CEO Michael Eisner.

Veoh CEO … Read more

You've seen the film, probably with Helena Bonham Carter and Emma Thompson; now read the original book, on your Kindle, for nowt. The works of Dickens and Austen are among 65,000 classics of English literature digitized by the British Library and coming soon, for free, to Amazon's e-book reader.

The titles were scanned on Microsoft's dime as part of its now-defunct Live Search book search project. They're all from the 19th century and are out of copyright. Amazon will offer the e-books to Kindle owners through its Kindle store in late spring or early summer, … Read more

eBay has lost another lawsuit filed against it by luxury goods maker Louis Vuitton Malletier.

The Paris District Court ruled Thursday that eBay was liable for harming the reputation of LVM's trademarks, company name, and domain name. LVM had sued eBay claiming that the site was using keywords that hurt the Louis Vuitton brand.

The Paris court has ordered eBay to pay damages of 200,000 euros ($273,176) and to cover LVM's legal fees to the tune of 30,000 euros. eBay will also be fined 1,000 euros for each future violation.

"Louis Vuitton welcomes … Read more

Volvo's got a new infotainment system to keep the kids (or adults) busy in the back seat.

The automaker said its 2010 Volvo XC70 vehicle will make its entrance at the Chicago Auto Show Thursday with a new rear-seat entertainment system. Sporting Windows XP, Wi-Fi, and a 500GB hard drive, the RSEi-500 system will let backseat passengers surf the Web, check e-mail, listen to music, and watch TV and movies.

To view content, passengers can wirelessly connect to the in-car system from their personal PCs to transfer video, audio, and other files. While on the road, people can plug … Read more

Six music blogs hosted by Google's blogging services have been accused of violating the company's terms of service by allegedly posting unauthorized copyright material and have been booted from the sites.

The blogs that were hosted by Google's Blogger or Blogspot services are: Living Ears, I Rock Cleveland, Pop Tarts, Masala,To Die By Your Side, and It's a Rap.

Certainly, Google and four major music labels are friendlier than ever. Google agreed to help build Vevo, a standalone music video service within YouTube designed to be a showcase for professionally made music videos. That aside, … Read more

In a world full of gall, NBC Sports deserves an asterisk.

Sporting events tend to be rather more fun when you can watch them live. You, indeed, might want to watch the Winter Olympics, which begin Thursday, live. Well, NBC Sports is the kind of host that will invite you for dinner and serve you cornflakes, coffee, and a dried croissant--in the restroom.

It seems only yesterday that NBC was annoying people, especially those on the West Coast, with its coverage of the Beijing Olympics. The peacock network takes pride in being able to censor your ability to watch Olympic … Read more

MySpace Chief Executive Owen Van Natta is stepping down less than one year after assuming the job, parent company News Corp. announced late on Wednesday.

Van Natta's resignation is effective immediately. He will be replaced by Mike Jones, chief operating officer, and Jason Hirschhorn, chief product officer, who are being promoted to serve as co-presidents, News Corp. said in a statement.

The new co-presidents will each report to Jon Miller, chairman and chief executive of digital media for News Corp. Asked whether the company would be looking to hire a new CEO for MySpace, spokeswoman Dani Dudeck said the … Read more