Lycos, Qumana offer blog ads

NEWS.COM: Lycos, which first released its BlogBuilder tool in February 2003, is now offering bloggers a chance to experiment with advertising. In partnership with Qumana Software, Lycos has announced a new blog-editing tool that lets bloggers insert keyword-specific ads, called Q-ads, into their blogs and share in the ad revenue. The new Lycos-Qumana Desktop Blog Editor also lets bloggers publish their blogs on multiple sites with one click.

The user-friendly interface, designed to work with most of the leading blog hosts, resembles a typical e-mail window. Other features included with the new tool are offline and old-post editing, cross-publishing, image, video and sound clip uploading, and spell check. The Lycos Qumana blog tools, available to Mac OS or Windows users, are free to download. Lycos is not the first to experiment with blog ad offers, Google and Yahoo began offering different types of ad options for bloggers in 2005.

Bug off! Anti–social networks are the new thing

MEDIA BLOG: Who isn't sick of all the invites to join someone's network on Friendster, LinkedIn and others? So it's no surprise that some people turned their annoyance into humor, as Wired News reports on Wednesday. Thus the three new sites geared for people who are sick of being befriended: Snubster, whose frowning face logo is a spoof of Friendster's smiley face, Isolatr, which "helps you find where other people are not," and Introvertster, "an online community that prevents stupid people and friends from harrassing you online."

Welcoming New York Times to the modern Web

Mobile communities could fill 3G pipes

Social-networking and community sites are going mobile, helping boost data usage on 3G networks.

Antisocial Networking Gets Hip

STATISTICS > Where the Online Traffic is Going

While growth is slowing at most top Internet sites, it is skyrocketing at sites focused on social networking, blogging and local information. The dramatic success of those Internet categories is apparent from a recent online-traffic analysis provided by market research firm ComScore Media Metrix, which examined visitor growth rates among the 50 top Web sites over the past year.

MEDIA > Elle Girl mag now only online

'ELLE GIRL' SHUTS PRINT EDITION, MOVES TO WEB ONLY.

Hachette Filipacchi President Jack Kliger Stresses Importance of Mobile Content.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- After five years of publication, Elle Girl magazine is being shut down by Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. and its president-CEO, Jack Kliger. But the brand will continue as a Web publication with mobile content and other platforms that Hachette feels are better suited to finding the title's target readers.

Redefining the strategy "After running this magazine for the past five years and continually doing research on the teen market, Jack is totally redefining the strategy," said Anne L. Janas, a Hachette spokeswoman. "The print magazine is closing down but there will be increased investment online and in wireless. He believes that's where he needs to direct the primary investment of the company."

Ms. Janas confirmed a report of Elle Girl's demise that appeared on FishbowlNY.com. She said Elle Girl will appear in print again in the form of two specials published by the division that also publishes Elle Accessories.

Performing well Unlike the other magazines put down on Tuesday -- American Media's Celebrity Living, Shape en Espanol and MPH -- Elle Girl had been performing well by the usual metrics. It increased ad pages 46.1% last year to total 749.3, according to the Publishers Information Bureau. It reported average paid circulation of 601,149 for the last half of 2005, up 17.9% from the last half of 2004, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

That would have seemed to indicate some vitality, especially when compared with others in the teen category. CosmoGirl and Seventeen, both from Hearst Magazines, grew ad pages by less than 4% last year, while Teen People from Time Inc. saw ad pages drop 4.6%. But Teen Vogue from Conde Nast Publications increased ad pages 27.8% last year and greatly expanded its circulation after acquiring YM in 2004 and taking over its mailing list.

Report: Newspaper Growth Shifts To Online

A Stirring at Idealab

Keeping Up with the Googles

Stop the Presses ... Go Online

WIRED.COM: Newspaper circulation is falling nationwide but newspaper websites are experiencing rapid growth, according to a study. Publishers slow to embrace the new technology are beginning to see the value of committing resources to the online side of the business.