Yahoo! Zimbra Goes To Desktop - a One Stop Shop for Your E-mail Needs

Zimbra, a Yahoo! company a leader in open source, next-generation messaging and collaboration software, today announced the release of Yahoo! Zimbra Desktop Beta. Yahoo! Zimbra Desktop gives everyone access to a simple, centralized place to manage work, school and personal e-mail even when they are not connected to the Internet. Through internet protocol support called Post Office Protocol (POP) and Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP), Yahoo! Mail, AOL Mail and Gmail can now be accessed offline at the same time, from the same place. Additionally, Yahoo! Zimbra Desktop allows users to use the iCal standard to take their calendar offline.

"Zimbra is focused on creating communication and collaboration solutions that ease the pain points of traditional e-mail, and switching between multiple e-mail accounts is one of the communication headaches that users encounter on a daily basis," said Satish Dharmaraj, Zimbra co-founder and Yahoo! vice president. "With Yahoo! Zimbra Desktop, we have taken our world-class collaboration suite and made it available for everyone for use anywhere, anytime, with any email account."

Yahoo! Zimbra Desktop gives users access to the same sleek Zimbra experience, and showcases the latest technologies that have until now only been available via Web-based applications including:

- "Mash-ups" with other services; for example, when viewing an e-mail, users can see their schedule by hovering over a date, or see the status of a flight by looking at a flight number;

- Powerful search that can quickly scan a user's e-mail and pull up relevant content;

- Built-in organization capabilities including automatically converting e-mails into conversations and advanced tagging; and

- Advanced calendaring that gives users access to their most important appointments and schedule even when they are on the go.

Yahoo! Zimbra Desktop also includes a number of features designed to help users stay organized, such as document creation, spreadsheets, task management and document storage, giving users a robust alternative to other desktop applications. New features include online and offline access to:

- Zimbra Documents, a document and spreadsheet program, which gives users the ability to embed complex objects such as photos into documents and spreadsheets. With the addition of Zimbra Documents, Zimbra Desktop users can easily create and edit documents and simple spreadsheets without having to switch between desktop programs or e-mail large attachments.

- Zimbra Briefcase, which allows users to upload, store, and conveniently access any files including spreadsheets, documents, presentations and others. Instead of keeping all attachments in e-mail you can simply store them in the same place with Zimbra Briefcase, and access them from anywhere, online or offline.

- Zimbra Tasks, a task management system which allows users to manage to-do lists simply and easily by monitoring start and due dates, priority, progress and percent complete.

Pricing and Availability

Yahoo! Zimbra Desktop Beta Version 3 is available for free download at Zimbra.com/desktop. Anyone with access to Zimbra Collaboration Suite (ZCS), Yahoo! Mail, Gmail, AOL Mail, or an IMAP/POP enabled server can use Zimbra Desktop.

Zimbra's Web client and server, the Zimbra Collaboration Suite 5.0 Open Source Edition is free. The commercially supported ZCS 5.0 Network Edition is available for a 60-day free trial on the Zimbra website. Zimbra's Hosted Demo is available for an immediate test drive of ZCS.

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Google Opens Knol To Every One, Another Wikipedia With More Control and Monetization Option

Last December Google announced about their new service called Knol, a free knowledge tool and started inviting a selected group of people to try it. Knols are authoritative articles about specific topics, written by people who know about those subjects. Google announced yesterday that they are now opening Knol to everyone.

The web contains vast amounts of information, but not everything worth knowing is on the web. An enormous amount of information resides in people's heads: millions of people know useful things and billions more could benefit from that knowledge. Knol will encourage these people to contribute their knowledge online and make it accessible to everyone.

The key principle behind Knol is authorship. Every knol will have an author (or group of authors) who put their name behind their content. It's their knol, their voice, their opinion.

With Knol, Google is introducing a new method for authors to work together called "moderated collaboration." With this feature, any reader can make suggested edits to a knol which the author may then choose to accept, reject, or modify before these contributions become visible to the public. This allows authors to accept suggestions from everyone in the world while remaining in control of their content. After all, their name is associated with it!

Knols include strong community tools which allow for many modes of interaction between readers and authors. People can submit comments, rate, or write a review of a knol. At the discretion of the author, a knol may include ads from Google AdSense program. If an author chooses to include ads, Google will provide the author with a revenue share from the proceeds of those ad placements.

Google also had an agreement with the New Yorker magazine which allows any author to add one cartoon per knol from the New Yorker's extensive cartoon repository. Cartoons are an effective (and fun) way to make your point, even on the most serious topics.

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Pageonce – A Great New Service For JAJAH Customers

Pageonce is a Personal Internet Assistant that gives you access to all your accounts via one simple page (hence the name). It already has finance, shopping, social networks, travel and email, and now it also has JAJAH.

Simply go to Pageonce.com and add your JAJAH account details. Then, when you want to check your balance, top up your account or see your recent calls, you go back to the page and it’s all there. And while you’re at it you can also see the activity on all your other accounts – see your bank balance, update your frequent flyer miles, skim your emails, all without having to go to different sites and enter your passwords countless times – you just enter your accounts when you sign up and Pageonce securely stores your details.

“Pageonce is an innovate service that enables consumers to manage their entire Internet life from one simple and easy to use page," says Roman Scharf, co-founder of JAJAH. "We are very pleased to be able to offer the more than 10 million JAJAH users access to Pageonce’s Personal Internet Assistant for free. We believe that Pageonce is a great way for our customers to keep track of their JAJAH account on an ongoing basis and login to JAJAH at anytime directly from Pageonce, securely and password-free.”

"The JAJAH widget is a welcome addition to the constantly growing Pageonce Provider Network and we're excited to be able to offer millions of JAJAH users the Pageonce Personal Internet Assistant to help them manage and optimize their online life and their JAJAH account,” says Guy Goldestein, CEO and co-founder of Pageonce. “JAJAH is a thought leader in value added telephony solutions for consumers. We are proud to partner with JAJAH and bring additional value to their customers on a daily basis.”

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Photobucket Announces iPhone Application

Photobucket, the world's leading standalone photo and video-sharing site, recently announced that its new application developed exclusively for the iPhone which is available on Apple App Store. Photobucket for the iPhone grants users full access to their Photobucket accounts directly from their iPhone, enabling one-click photo uploads, as well as full viewing options for albums and other Photobucket content.

“Photobucket is thrilled to have an application available at the launch of the new Apple App Store, and to extend the Photobucket experience to users of the iPhone and iPod touch,” said Alex Welch, President, Photobucket.  “Photobucket provides an easy way for consumers to store and share photos on the Internet, and this new application allows us to deliver that same, industry-leading experience wirelessly to iPhone users.”

The new Photobucket application is available for download for $4.99 from the Apple App Store.

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jkOnTheRun Joined GigaOM Network

Om Malik yesterday announced that Giga Omni Media, the company behind GigaOM, has acquired jkOnTheRun, a blog started by James Kendrick and Kevin Tofel that focuses on the wonderful world of mobile gadgets, including mobile phones and cloud client computers.

James and Kevin will join GigaOM, but will continue to work from their respective homes of Houston and Telford, Pa., and jkOnTheRun will become the sixth blog in the GigaOM Network.

Om Malik said the reason for this acquisition as “jkOnTheRun is one of the rare blogs that covers the world of mobile gadgets with razor-sharp wit and insight. More importantly, it has a genuinely consumer-centric point of view. I first got to know the blog as a reader and have long considered it good enough to rank among my 10 favorites. (WebWorkerDaily editor Judi Sohn is also a fan.)

Strategically, it’s a publication that rounds out our existing areas of coverage. For instance, GigaOM tracks the world of web infrastructure pretty closely, but very rarely do we write about cloud client machines. And with the exception of the iPhone and some occasional mobile reviews, we don’t provide much gadget coverage, either. I think as we start to cover the world of cloud computing more closely we will no longer be able to afford to ignore the client side of the equation.“

See the announcement here.

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WordPress for iPhone Available Now

Wordpress for iPhone is now live. WordPress for iPhone just launched on the App Store. Download it now and get to blogging.

If you run into issues while using the app, you can report them here. Please note that the App works with WordPress.com and self-installed WordPress 2.51 or higher including the latest WordPress MU. It supports new iPhone 3G, the first generation iPhone, and the iPod Touch.

Known Issues

• Accented characters not encoded properly
• Blogs with Twitter Tools plugin installed sending Twitter links to posts that don’t exist
• Display problems with toolbar for some iPod touch users
• Unable to add a blog using a custom uploads location
• Intermittent errors when adding blogs for some users
• Some theme previews not available for public blogs

Before you do, please check out a few frequently asked questions.

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Propeller 2.0 Is Out

Long awaited upgrade to Propeller, a social news site, was released today. Propeller incorporated a new design, new technology powering the site, and new features.

This new design has a deeper integration with AOL News and AOL.com (where Propeller posts have begun popping up in the top box). The new design is likely to be noticed first. The logo has changed which shows it’s community and stories as moons orbiting the Propeller planet. Also they redesign the propeller engine to improve the performance.

Here are some other changes you will notice:

• New Ranking Scale: Instead of seeing an absolute count of votes next to a story, you will now see a Popularity Rating from 1-10. The scale is based on a new set of ranking algorithms, which take into account many more aspects of participation when determining popularity.
• Prop It!: "Vote It" is changed to "Prop It" as they find that "Vote" seemed too serious, especially with the elections coming up.
• Groups: Users now have the ability to join groups and form groups of their own. Groups can be open to the public, or membership can be limited. Once you have joined a group, you can share stories and start conversations on topics of interest.
• Help!: There is a new Help Central area, where it consolidates Frequently Asked Questions and explain a bit more about Propeller.
• New and Improved Search: Not only has searching for stories returned, but new features allow for searching members and groups. Looking for that long-lost Propeller friend, or for some esoteric group? Now you can find them!
• Featured Groups and Members: To reward the movers and shakers in the community, members and groups will be featured on the homepage. This is an improvement on the old Top Propeller Contributors, since the featured member will have his or her avatar and biographical info displayed front and center!
• This Just In: The Propeller Tracker has a new name, This Just In.
• No More On Shift Icons for Editors and Scouts
• Category Consolidation: Categories are now Arts & Entertainment, Business & Finance, Family, Humor, News, Science & Technology, Sports and Style.

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NewsGator & Gigya partner To Bring New Content Syndication & Distribution Capabilities To Media Companies

NewsGator Technologies and Gigya, the largest widget distribution network, today announced a partnership to bring new capabilities to media companies looking to grow both the audience and revenue for their content. With this partnership, NewsGator will integrate Gigya’s Wildfire distribution and tracking technology into its industry leading syndication network. The combined offer will provide media clients with a streamlined process for content syndication, the ability to distribute content to audiences on more than 50 platforms, and sophisticated tracking that details where content is being consumed.

“We are excited to work with Gigya to implement their Wildfire technology,” said Jeff Nolan, VP of Consumer and Media Services with NewsGator. “By partnering with Gigya, we enable our top tier media clients to distribute their content to audiences on top social networks, blog platforms, and desktop platforms – and as their audience grows the opportunity for advertising revenue also grows. Together, we will up the ante for widget and social application strategies deployed by mainstream media sites and advertisers.”

Major media companies around the world are turning to NewsGator Widget Services to simplify the syndication of content. With NewsGator’s syndication network, media companies have access to the industry’s largest database of public RSS content. The network has an archive of over 2.1 billion individual content items and more than 7 million posts are added daily.  NewsGator’s network simplifies content syndication by enabling media companies to integrate publicly available content for an enhanced user experience. With easy access to third party content, media firms can offer audiences far more compelling and comprehensive news and information which drives repeat visits, increases site interaction time, and improves web monetization. NewsGator’s hosted content management application provides widget creators with advanced tools for managing streaming content in widgets, and now with Wildfire the best in class sharing and tracking tools that enhance viral adoption of widget content.

Gigya’s technologies have become the industry standard for distributing and tracking content on the social web, reaching 142 Million unique widget users worldwide in May 2008 according to comScore. More than one thousand media companies, advertisers, and widget platforms are currently using Gigya’s tools and technologies to grow the audience for, and engagement with, their content.

“NewsGator’s extensive syndication network and Gigya’s Wildfire technology provide media companies with a new syndication model that expands their access to content and helps them reach new audiences in social spaces,” said Rooly Eliezerov, President and Co-Founder of Gigya. “As the largest widget distribution network in the world, we are delighted that NewsGator has selected our Wildfire technology and we look forward to a long-term partnership developing new widget business models for our clients.”

source

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Motorola Adventure™ V750, A Durable & Reliable Solution for Verizon Wireless Push to Talk Customers

Verizon Wireless and Motorola, Inc. announced the Motorola Adventure V750, a rugged Push to Talk phone designed for the most extreme conditions, will be available beginning today through business sales channels and online at www.verizonwireless.com. Ideal for the highly-mobile and active individual, the feature-rich V750 offers a durable and reliable solution for Verizon Wireless Push to Talk customers and leverages the high-speeds of the Verizon Wireless Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) Revision A (Rev. A) network. The Motorola Adventure V750 will be available in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores beginning July 28.

The Motorola Adventure V750 meets military specifications for extreme conditions including shock, vibration, dust, solar radiation, high-temperature storage, high and low temperature operation and altitude. With Verizon Wireless’ Push to Talk capabilities and a large 2.2-inch high-resolution internal display and 1.6-inch external display, customers can easily see which friends and colleagues are available and speak to them instantly. The phone’s no-slip surface and speaker make the V750 tough and functional enough for a day on the job site, an afternoon hike or a night out at the club.

Verizon Wireless’ Push to Talk service leverages EV-DO Rev. A technology, which provides customers with fast two-way communication with one person or a group of people. In addition to the simplicity of one number, national coast-to-coast coverage and no hidden charges or fees, Verizon Wireless Push to Talk customers can expect:

• Network Reliability – with the enhanced Push to Talk service, customers get an instant connection feature combined with the best wireless coverage in the United States
• Presence Information – similar to instant messaging, Verizon Wireless’ Push to Talk subscribers can see who is “on” and available to receive a Push to Talk call
• Online enterprise contact management tool to easily manage a business’ Push to Talk contacts from a Web-based interface

The rugged V750 also helps businesses keep productivity high, thanks to Verizon Wireless’ location-based services, including VZ Navigator^SM and Field Force Manager. With VZ Navigator, customers can get audible maps, turn-by-turn directions and location information to more than 14 million points of interest that customers can share with others. Field Force Manager gives Verizon Wireless customers a resource management tool that provides businesses with the ability to locate, monitor and communicate with their mobile field workers – right on their mobile devices.

The Motorola Adventure V750 plays as hard as it works, offering customers access to entertainment services and more, including:

• V CAST Music with Rhapsody – Download music directly from the phone using the service to access a library of more than 5 million songs, and purchase full-songs over-the-air. Customers can also sync favorite tracks, albums, playlists from a PC (requires a separately purchased data cable).
• Dedicated external music keys, for easy access to music.
• Stereo Bluetooth® wireless technology (handset supports Bluetooth A2DP and AVRCP profiles)
• Mobile IM and chat capabilities
• Mobile Web – customizable, enhanced wireless access to the latest in news, sports, weather and more
• Media Center – download games, ringtones, wallpapers and more
• V CAST Video – customers can stay entertained with the hottest clips including sports highlights, breaking news, weather and more.
• A 2.0 megapixel camera
• 2.5 mm headset jack
• Text, picture and video messaging capabilities
• microSD™ card memory port with up to 8 GB support with optional memory card

The Motorola Adventure V750 is available for $99.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate ($149.99 - $50.00 = $99.99) and a new two-year customer agreement. Corporate discount pricing is available. Verizon Wireless customers can get Unlimited Push to Talk for $10 per month, per line to any Nationwide voice plan.

See the complete announcement here.

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Facebook Unveils New Site Design

Facebook® yesterday released a new, cleaner and simpler design, along with the opportunity for users to preview and test the next-generation features and functionality. The company is inviting people to use the new design and try out the improved features by navigating back and forth between the new and current versions of the site. Access to the new design will be limited at first and gradually become available to all of Facebook’s more than 80 million users over the coming days.

“We’ve made the changes rolling out today in order to highlight the most recent and relevant information that users value, give users even more control and ownership over their profiles and simplify the user experience,” said Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. “Facebook’s new design makes it a lot easier for users to share information, and we encourage them to check it out.”

The company has been developing the new design since early this year. Over the past six months, more than 100,000 Facebook users offered constructive suggestions on the layout and features, many of which were included in the final version.

The Power of Feeds

Facebook uses feeds to deliver people news and information in a social context. The evolution of the site design focuses on integrating powerful feed technology and the Wall, a forum for users and their friends to post comments, photos, videos and more, including content from third-party applications. The Wall now surfaces more current and pertinent information, or “stories”, about a user and their friends’ on Facebook.

New Types of “Stories”

Users have complete control over the stories published on their profile. They also have the ability to adjust the size and prominence of stories and can choose between having one-line stories, short or full stories. One-line stories are one sentence long, while short stories include thumbnail photos or content, and full stories display large, noticeable images.

Publish More Content

Located on the Wall tab, the Publisher feature enables users to create more content than ever and in a centralized place. From the Publisher, a user can add photos, upload video, or write notes, rather than navigating to each individual application. Similarly, users can add content to their friends’ profiles through the Publisher on their profiles.

Easier Site Navigation with Tabs

The top menu is similar to the old design and allows users to access their Profile, Friends, and Inbox. The left hand applications menu has been moved to the ‘Applications’ link on the top of the menu screen. The Profile is now split out into tabs:

• The Wall tab displays the most recent and relevant information both about the user and by the user;

• The Info tab shows information about the user that doesn’t change frequently;

• The Photos tab shows photos of the user as well as their albums;

• The Boxes tab features all of a user’s existing application boxes.

Users are also able to add individual tabs for their favorite applications. This gives users greater control over their own profiles and makes navigation faster and easier.

Applications and the New Design

Third-party applications are more tightly integrated into Facebook in order to make using applications simpler and more seamless. Users will have the option to interact with an application before adding it, grant it access to their information, and decide where they want it placed, if at all, on their profiles.

Privacy Controls

On Facebook, users choose what information they put in their profile, including contact and personal information, pictures, interests and groups they join. And they control the users with whom they share that information through the privacy settings on the Privacy page of their profile. The new design does not change any of the privacy settings previously selected by the user. The new Facebook design will be made available to users at http://www.new.facebook.com. In the coming weeks, all Facebook users will automatically default to the new site design when logging in at http://www.facebook.com.

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Google To Acquire Russian Context Ads Service Begun For $140 Million

Google announced today that it has signed an agreement with Rambler Media to acquire ZAO Begun ("Begun"), a leading Russian context advertising service, for $140 million, subject to customary adjustments. This agreement emphasizes Google's commitment to improving the service it offers users, partners and advertisers in Russia, where digital advertising is currently experiencing rapid growth.

The acquisition of Begun will give advertisers access to a broader network of sites to advertise on, and publishers will benefit from a wider set of adverts to run on their sites. Users will see more relevant advertising across a much wider set of websites. Google will bring its advertising expertise and experience to Begun's network of websites.

"Google is very committed to giving Russian users, advertisers and partners the best possible service and experience," said Mohammad Gawdat, Managing Director Emerging Markets, Google. "This agreement will result in better search results and more relevant advertising for our Russian users and publishers."

“Begun is an excellent business which can fully develop its potential under Google's ownership," said Mark Opzoomer, Chief Executive Officer of Rambler Media. "Google has the technological and financial capacity to improve Begun's established advertising service in Russia."

"The entire industry will benefit from this transaction as there is a high potential for synergies," said Alexey Basov, General Director of Begun "It brings together Google's visionary technology and Begun's six years of successful experience in building advertising and dealer networks and direct sales in Russia."

The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions and receipt of applicable regulatory approval and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2008.

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NSC and AideRSS Deliver Innovative Mobile News Solution

NSC today introduced FetchIt 1.2, a free news reader and media player for Microsoft Windows Mobile Pocket PC and Smartphone devices. FetchIt is blazing fast, easy to use, and features an elegant user interface that is designed to help mobile users access and share news, podcasts and weather information.

The latest version of FetchIt includes AideRSS's PostRank™  technology, which streamlines navigation and helps users save time by finding the most interesting news stories.

"FetchIt is the most powerful, innovative and easy to use mobile news reader available," said Jeff Preston, NSC's CEO. "We are redefining the way people find and digest information on their mobile devices.”

The incredible performance of FetchIt, combined with its easy-to-read user interface and super-threaded design, lets users download RSS feeds, listen to podcasts, view weather forecasts and read news all at the same time. FetchIt includes innovative features like the Speed Reader, Real-time Search and Channel Radar that simplify navigation and help users find and read news faster with improved comprehension.

FetchIt is also the first mobile software application to include AideRSS's PostRank technology that lets users personalize and visualize their news. PostRank filters news feeds and ranks each story, helping users find the most relevant information, and dramatically reduces the bandwidth and storage requirements of the application, which can save users time and money.

"We were extremely excited to work with FetchIt and integrate PostRank with the latest release," said Ilya Grigorik, CTO of AideRSS. "Users are going to quickly realize how powerful a mobile news reader it is, and how they can enhance the experience further with PostRank".

Pricing & Availability

FetchIt 1.2 is available immediately as a free download at www.nsctech.com for all Microsoft Windows Mobile 5 & 6 Pocket PC and Smartphone devices. The software requires a minimum of 16 megabytes (MB) of RAM, 4 MB of storage space and a network connection. Existing users will receive updates seamlessly through FetchIt's Software Update feature, which automatically checks for updates.

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Templates For Google Docs

The Google Docs Team has launched a new template gallery for documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Now, whether you need business cards, letterhead, or employee time sheets, you don't have to start from a blank slate. Find the template that's right for you and start customizing it with your information – you'll save time on formatting and formulas.

To access the template gallery:

1. Log in to your Google Apps account at  http://docs.google.com/a/example.com (Be sure to replace 'example.com' with your actual domain name.)

2. Click 'New'

3. Select 'From template...'

The gallery includes hundreds of templates – some designed by Google and others developed by Avery Dennison, Vertex42.com, TemplateZone, and Visa Business. So before you get started on your next project, take a look at what's available in the Google Docs template gallery!

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Google Improves Gmail Contact Manager

Many Gmail users don’t prefer to have auto-added contacts. Many time it unnecessarily increase your address book. To help users, gmail is about to roll out an update to it’s contact manager. It separates your contacts into two groups: "My Contacts" and "Suggested Contacts."

My Contacts contains the contacts you explicitly put in your address book (via manual entry, import or sync) as well as any address you've emailed a lot (Gmail is using five or more times as the threshold for now).

Suggested Contacts is where Gmail puts its auto-created contacts. By default, Suggested Contacts you email frequently are automatically added to My Contacts, but for those of you who prefer tighter control of your address books, you can choose to disable usage-based addition of contacts to My Contacts (see the checkbox in the screenshot above). Once you do this, no matter how many times you email an auto-added email address it won't move to My Contacts.

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DoubleClick unveils new Proposal Exchange platform

In an effort to streamline the online media direct sales process, DoubleClick, a premier provider of digital marketing technology and services, today unveiled a new electronic proposal exchange platform for its publisher and agency customers. The new integration automates the media request for proposal (RFP) process via seamless data exchange between DART® Sales Manager (DSM), an end-to-end workflow and financial management solution for publishers, and DART® for Advertisers’ (DFA) MediaVisor planning tool. Also today, DoubleClick further strengthened its integrated platform for media sellers by announcing the release of an adapter designed to allow the seamless exchange of data between DSM and Salesforce CRM, salesforce.com’s industry-leading suite of CRM applications.

DoubleClick’s new proposal exchange platform is built upon application agnostic standards, which will ultimately allow for broader integration with other advertising technology solutions. The company has worked closely with the IAB in their efforts to establish a consistent standard for electronic order exchange across the online advertising industry. Establishing a common proposal exchange standard will also allow for better automation of discrepancy reconciliation – another key challenge for buyers and sellers of digital media.

In a 2007 survey of its ad agency clients, DoubleClick confirmed that the majority of the media RFP and contract process is still handled manually—via the exchange of emails, spreadsheets and faxes. Respondents also named lack of internal coordination at publishers and inaccurate proposal responses as top concerns. More than 70% of agencies responding said that a publisher’s use of an automated proposal tool would positively influence their decision to send that publisher an RFP. By digitizing and standardizing the RFP process, publishers are also expected to benefit from increased operational efficiency and accuracy, while advertisers will enjoy faster response times and more accurate proposals.

With DoubleClick’s new electronic order exchange feature, agencies can select DSM-enabled publishers directly from the MediaVisor planning tool. Selected publishers receive an electronic request for proposal directly within the DSM interface and can check inventory, build a proposal, and respond electronically. Once approved, the proposed media package can be trafficked by the publisher directly into DART for Publishers. Previously, publishers had to manually enter their proposals within MediaVisor for each advertiser in addition to their own system, often a time consuming and error-prone process. Currently, more than 20 publishers are testing the new order exchange platform including BabyCenter.com and Mansueto Ventures.

Also announced today was the release of a Salesforce.com adapter that allows DART Sales Manager to exchange data with this leading customer relationship management solution to deliver increased transparency throughout the ad sales cycle. The new adapter synchronizes opportunities and proposal information as well as sales data between the two systems, creating a more seamless end-to-end media sales solution.

“DoubleClick's vision is to help digital advertising scale by developing platforms that bring advertisers and publishers together,” said Group Product Manager Jonathan Bellack. “Our new proposal exchange platform reduces operational friction by eliminating error-prone manual data entry. In addition, our tight integration with Salesforce.com continues to develop DART Sales Manager's mission to enable an integrated quote to cash solution for publisher sales teams.”

About DART Sales Manager (DSM)

DART Sales Manager (DSM) is an end-to-end workflow and financial management solution for publishers. With over a dozen timesaving features for sales teams and six financial reports, DSM is a best-of-breed tool for media sellers with sales teams of all sizes. DSM is part of DoubleClick’s Revenue Center, a comprehensive suite of solutions for media sellers designed to maximize revenue and minimize operational friction throughout the digital ad sales process.

DART Sales Manager reduces the burden of manual data entry and improves the accuracy and transparency of the entire sales and service process. The result is increased visibility, including enhanced real-time inventory access for sales and additional pipeline and revenue forecasting capabilities for sales management.

Source

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AOL Launched a Personal Finance Site WalletPop.com

AOL announced the launch of WalletPop, a new personal finance site and a spin-off of AOL Money & Finance, http://money.aol.com. The new site will help consumers survive and thrive in today’s economy by focusing on all aspects of consumer and personal finance, while AOL Money & Finance will continue to focus on business and investing news, tools and analysis.  AOL Money & Finance is one of the most visited finance sites, with more than 15.2 million unique visitors each month and more page views than any other financial site. (source: comScore MediaMetrix, June 2008)

In addition to WalletPop, AOL Money & Finance recently launched real-time quotes on its stock pages, a new financial video hub and has upgraded many of its investing and portfolio management tools. AOL Money & Finance currently features CNBC video content and continues to add more video content partners.

“WalletPop provides consumers something they increasingly need: a comprehensive, accessible, and community oriented site focused exclusively on the money matters of real people, such as debt management, finding the best deals, saving, retirement, insurance, mortgages, banking, taxes and more,” said Marty Moe, Senior Vice President, AOL Money & Finance, Weblogs, News, Sports and KOL. "With the launch of WalletPop, along with the new features on our main AOL Money & Finance site, there is no more comprehensive and useful group of financial sites available." 

The growing stable of WalletPop bloggers includes well-known consumer finance experts, and the lineup of original features will offer a compelling vehicle for advertising partners to reach an engaged and targeted audience. 

WalletPop and Money & Finance are supported by AOL’s digital advertising business, Platform-A, http://www.platform-a.com, which will continue to offer relevant advertising opportunities in both display advertising as well as content-targeted links on the Web site, with ad-rich areas including taxes, mortgages, insurance, banking, debt management and retirement.

New features and tools include:

Latest Deals from the Web: Powered by Relegence, this will provide real-time information on deals aggregated from sites across the Web. For example, WalletPop users will know within minutes if a deal site reports a heavily-discounted item, http://walletpop.aol.com/deals.

Q&A with Experts: Consumers can enter a question and experts, as well as community members, will answer.  WalletPop marks the first major AOL site integration with Yedda, a question and answer platform acquired by AOL last year, http://walletpop.aol.com/community/money-experts.

The Economizer: The Economizer is AOL's hub for surviving and thriving in today's economy. This section will pull money-saving content from across the AOL netwo