publicy

Privacy is over. Here comes sociality.

As widely discussed by privacy advocates and blogs, Facebook recently changed some of its privacy settings. Users are no longer able to limit the viewing of their profile photos, home towns, and friends lists to only approved friends. Those are all public now by default. Moreover, Facebook’s new default settings “recommend” that dynamic content such as status messages and photos be made public. While the blogosphere still closely scrutinizes these changes and is aghast at Mark Zuckerberg’s "privacy is over" claims made at the Crunchies awards (he didn’t actually say it verbatim but his statements … Read more

Facebook, Twitter: How we chose to live in public

Some people celebrated the coming of 2010 with crystal glasses of fizzy yellow liquid. Others used the opportunity to stare into their crystal glasses and see what we have and will become.

Perhaps the most pulsating and sad suggestion is that we no longer have any privacy. You burp in Bellingham and someone quickly hears about it in Sydney. You decide you dislike your wife, so you tweet about it, tell your Facebook friends and then get around to telling her. If you can remember to do that.

Even more bilious is the early-in-2009 suggestion of Laurent Haug, CEO of … Read more

Ad agencies stump for Microsoft-Yahoo search deal

An advertising industry association--backed by four of the world's largest ad agencies--sent a letter to the Department of Justice Monday endorsing the Microsoft-Yahoo search deal, saying it "enhances competition."

American Association of Advertising Agencies President and CEO Nancy Hill posted the open letter Monday, which was also signed by Maurice Levy, chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe; Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP; Michael I. Roth, chairman and CEO of Interpublic Group of Companies; and John Wren, president and CEO of Omnicom Group. "We believe that Yahoo and Microsoft's proposal to combine their technologies and search … Read more

Publicis Groupe to buy Microsoft's Razorfish

French advertising group Publicis Groupe has agreed to acquire Internet ad agency Razorfish from Microsoft for $530 million in cash and stock.

Razorfish will continue to operate under its own brand name and continue to serve as Microsoft's "preferred provider" for Internet advertising, the companies announced Sunday in a joint statement. The deal includes a strategic alliance agreement in which Publicis Groupe will purchase display and search advertising from Microsoft over a five-year period.

"The purchase of Razorfish is a new step in our strategic plan to be the unquestionable leader in digital communication," Publicis … Read more

Report: Microsoft shopping Razorfish to ad agencies

Microsoft is shopping its digital ad agency Razorfish around to five major ad agency players, says Monday's Wall Street Journal.

The company hopes to strike a deal for Razorfish that would entice the right agency to use Microsoft's advertising technologies and buy ad space on Bing and other properties, according to the Journal. The move is seen as part of Microsoft's growing battle with Google and other Web sites for precious online ad dollars.

Citing executives familiar with the situation, the Journal said that top ad firms WPP, Omnicom Group, and Publicis Groupe have all expressed interest … Read more