Social Media Daily News – April 12, 2011

Good morning. YouTube is making a play for your precious television viewing hours. Google announced they will be revamping the site to include an easier to use channel system that allows users to compile shows around themes like sports or art. As more people turn to the web for content, I have no doubt that Google will find a way to monetize viewing time on YouTube with advertisers. Much like everything else in the world, Facebook is getting more expensive. The cost of Facebook ads has risen nearly 40% this year as companies see the value in targeting consumers in the social space. The long awaited court ruling around who actually owns the idea of Facebook was finally reached. The Winklevoss brothers may not have won the suit, but they did walk away with a 200 million dollar settlement. Enjoy.

I. YouTube Recasts for New Viewers, wsj.com, April 7, 2011
II. Cost of Facebook Ads Jumped 40% This Year, mashable.com, April 11, 2011
III. Court Upholds Facebook Settlement With Twins, nyt.com, April 11, 2011
________________________________________________

I. YouTube Recasts for New Viewers, wsj.com, April 7, 2011
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704013604576247060940913104.html?mod=WSJ_Tech_RightMostPopular
Google Inc. is working on a major overhaul of YouTube as it tries to position itself for the rise of televisions that let people watch online video in their living rooms, according to people familiar with the matter.
YouTube is looking to compete with broadcast and cable television, some of these people said, a goal that requires it to entice users to stay on the website longer, and to convince advertisers that it will reach desirable consumers.

II. Cost of Facebook Ads Jumped 40% This Year, mashable.com, April 11, 2011
http://mashable.com/2011/04/11/facebook-ad-prices/
Facebook is using its marketing dominance to demand higher prices for ads, prompting a 40% jump in cost-per-click in the first quarter, according to researcher Efficient Frontier. Efficient Frontier, a digital marketing firm, based its data on its Customer Index, a subset of the company’s client roster. The company manages $1 billion in annual marketing spending on behalf of its clients, which include Discover, Baby Center and Crate & Barrel, among others.

III. Court Upholds Facebook Settlement With Twins, nyt.com, April 11, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/12/technology/12facebook.html?ref=technology
SAN FRANCISCO — Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, the Olympic rowers and identical twins who claimed that they, not Mark Zuckerberg, had the original idea for Facebook, have lost the latest chapter in their six-year legal feud. But it’s a loss that comes with a pretty nice consolation prize. And it may not be the end of the case. A three-judge panel of a federal appeals court here ruled Monday that the brothers, whose fight over Facebook’s origins was the narrative arc of the Hollywood hit “The Social Network,” cannot back out of a settlement they signed with the company in 2008. That settlement is now worth about $200 million, according to estimates by experts.