SIGNATURE NEWS SNIPPETS FOR NOVEMBER 2009
Here’s some interesting news snippets from the past month that weren’t quite big enough news to have their very own blog posts…but are fun or noteworthy enough for an end-of-month wrap-up!
AT LONG LAST, THE COSTLY CLOSING TO THE EBAY vs. SKYPE BATTLE!At long last, eBay announced this month that they had completed the sale of Skype for $2.75 billion to a consortium of investors who will now control approximately 70 percent of the company.
This brings to a close the very public battle between eBay and Skype’s founders, from whom eBay bought Skype for $2.6 billion back in 2005. Since then, Skype’s original founders haven’t been too satisfied with eBay’s handling of their baby and used a little leverage they had to get some changes made. Turns out that in the original purchase deal, eBay neglected to buy the key piece of technology that actually powers Skype! The two original owners of Skype used their continued ownership of this technology against eBay by threatening to end the license that powers Skype, essentially rendering it worthless to eBay.
However, that’s all water under the bridge — a new deal has now been struck for a lot more money, an entirely different investor group and places on the Board for Skype’s original two owners. Click here for a great article by Ben Parr on Mashable.com that gives all the details of the new deal, if you’re interested in reading more. Oh, and be sure to read the fine print in your contacts.
NEW FEDERAL RULES START TODAY FOR BLOGGERSTomorrow is the first day that both bloggers and all online product reviewers must disclose their receipt of free merchandise (or direct payment for writing about an item)…or they’ll face penalties of up to $11,000 per violation from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
“Given that social media has become such a significant player in the advertising area, we thought it was necessary to address social media as well.” said Richard Cleland, the FTC’s Assistant Director for the Division of Advertising Practices.
The explosion of social media in recent years brought with it a whole new division of online marketers, dubbed “Mommy and Daddy bloggers”, many of whom create viral marketing campaigns on products they have received free of charge or have been paid to review. The FTC’s new rule is intended to assist consumers in knowing what corporate payments have been made to bloggers so that they are more able to distinguish between a “review” and an “advertisement in disguise”.
