Investors who own shares of Google are sure to be thankful of that fact today; Google's stock rose 0.18 percent even while the Dow and Nasdaq sank 0.87 percent and 1.21 percent, respectively.  But not all the news is good, as Zacks Investment Research also downgraded Google to "neutral." That doesn't mean it's time to panic, of course.  Zacks is sticking with a price target of $662 (versus Google's current price of about $611,), and … [Read more...]

Outsiders have been wondering how all of the content properties AOL has been buying up will hold up as part of the media giant. Engadget has been part of AOL for quite a while, having been purchased in 2005 - some time before AOL's real push for mass content, most recently punctuated by its purchase of The Huffington Post. AOL's strategy appears to be taking its toll on some of its content producers. Engadget Editor Paul Miller announced his … [Read more...]

Maybe it’s a coincidence, maybe it’s a trend, but I’ve noticed a few posts lately with a theme of how social media is becoming a mind-mucked echo chamber of mind-numbing sameness. If you’re in this camp, I’d like to give you a figurative kick in your sweet patootie. This attitude seems incredibly WHINY to me.  You are accountable for your own experience on the social web. If you’re bored with your … [Read more...]

Starting today, Gmail and Google Docs users should run into many fewer problems when it comes to opening different types of existing files.  Google launched support for 12 new file formats this afternoon, and several of them are pretty common. Here's the full list of formats in the order Google itself presented them: Microsoft Excel (.XLS and .XLSX), Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 / 2010 (.PPTX), Apple Pages (.PAGES), Adobe Illustrator (.AI), … [Read more...]

YouGov BrandIndex shared some findings with us regarding brand perception around Groupon in light of the company's (what some might refer to as) blunders.  A spokesperson for the firm tells WebProNews, "With two strikes under its belt within 10 days of each other (Super Bowl ad, flower debacle), how's Groupon consumer perception faring? People love the bargains of Groupon, but they are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with what's … [Read more...]

Billboard has launched a chart app on the iPhone, aimed at music fans, artists and people in the industry. The Billboard Chart App features 15 charts from the Hot 100 and Billboard 200, along with genre rankings and ringtones.     Users can view 60 years of chart history, search by artist, album, song, view ranking details, listen to 30 seconds of music and make purchases via iTunes. “Our charts are already a huge draw on … [Read more...]