ebay

Here's an interesting question: In the world of social media, how important is identity? For example, if someone "friends" someone else, does it really matter who the friendee is?

Well, we might be getting a bit of an answer to this question. That's because Rocketboom creator Andrew Baron has announced he's selling his Twitter account--which includes more than 1,500 "followers"--on eBay. And as of Sunday morning, the auction had already gone up to $560.

"I really love my Twitter account but I feel like I haven't been using it … Read more

WASHINGTON--Night-vision cameras and camouflage gear are probably available at your local Wal-Mart. But congressional leaders on Thursday voiced dismay at reports that "sensitive" military-issue equipment is being resold, potentially to terrorists, at Web sites like eBay and Craigslist and suggested new laws are necessary to ban that practice.

Among the dozen items that mostly "undercover" government investigators purchased during a yearlong investigation of those two leading sites were F-14 fighter jet antennas (only Iran currently operates F-14s, the committee noted), night vision goggles, infrared tape worn by troops to "differentiate friend from foe," a … Read more

The Vikings sailed in small open wooden ships to discover America long before Columbus. Their 21th century counterparts, the Silicon Vikings, prefer business class when they travel the Atlantic.

The $2.6 billion acquisition of the Swedish IP phone company Skype by eBay in 2005 and Sun Microsystems' recent purchase of Swedish-Finnish open-source database company MySQL for $1 billion has raised hopes among Nordic investors that more big deals for VC-backed Nordic companies could be in the pipeline in the U.S.

And the Vikings have a lot of cash. Venture capital firms from Sweden and Finland-- the Norwegians prefer … Read more

This post was updated at 9:45am EDT with comment from Google.

Will eBay sell Skype to Google?

It's no secret that many in Silicon Valley regard eBay's 2005 acquisition of the telephony service as a $2.6 billion misstep. But new rumors, reported late Tuesday night on TechCrunch, suggest that eBay may be negotiating Skype-related partnerships with Google or even selling it outright.

"We do not comment on market rumor or speculation regarding acquisitions," a Google representative told CNET News.com in an e-mail. "Generally speaking we are constantly in discussions about potential partnerships … Read more

It's as much a part of the school experience as homework, cliques, and senioritis: the fund-raiser. In the Internet era, however, things aren't what they used to be: the quest for funds to supplement the never-quite-enough out of state and city coffers is no longer limited to car washes and bake sales. Nowadays, booster groups and administrators are turning to online auctions--$275 for a private pole-dancing lesson, anyone?--with the potential to rake in more than ever before and to avoid too-blatant competition among neighbors.

Read more at The Boston Globe: "Boosters turning to online auctions&… Read more

Earlier today, one of my blogging brethren Don Reisinger laid into eBay, dismissing it as "no more than an outdated, bloated company that lost its way years ago."

Once a Internet company gets a rap for being "uncool" you know the corporate marketing team has taken its eye off the ball. But in this Web 2.0-to-Web 2.5 world of ours, the temptation is to shoot first--and then shoot again and again without asking whether you're even aiming at the right target.

So it is that the piece finishes with the suggestive admonishment that: … Read more

eBay will lay off about 125 people worldwide as part of a reorganization to focus on the company's core business, a spokesman confirmed on Thursday.

"The company reorganized to align with the business priorities we outlined in January to focus on making eBay safer and easier to use, optimizing auction with fixed price on the site, and driving growth at PayPal," spokesman Jose Mallabo wrote in an e-mail.

"We are still hiring for positions to support those business priorities and have redeployed hundreds of current staff in new roles; but globally 125 people will be leaving … Read more

There once was a day when the great eBay commanded respect and considerable power in the world of tech. Since then, the company has been relegated to a mere shadow of its former self that's barely hanging on to a shred of relevance. And the only reason for that is the company's lack of competition.

Let's face it -- eBay is nothing more than an outdated, bloated company that lost its way years ago. And with the news coming off the wire today that suggests eBay is restructuring its worldwide operations and cutting jobs, things don't look too good for this ill-fated firm.

Of course, the company doesn't see it the way I do. Instead, a company spokeswoman claims this news is a "globalization and centralization effort" to ensure it's more prepared to enter the Web 2.0 fray.

But I have some news for eBay -- unless some major changes are instituted, the end may be near.… Read more

True guitar heroes are a tough bunch to please. Not satisfied with the biggest names in the business making their own branded controllers, these aficionados need something even more realistic to live out their Van Halen fantasies.

That's why an entrepreneurial inventor has gone to eBay with a mod kit that will replace the Rock Band controller's plastic strum bar with real guitar strings. The Fender Stratocaster Modification "includes everything you need to swap out the plastic bar with a playable string, special strum switch, along with several metal strings, springs and even a Fender guitar pick,&… Read more