A quick scan through the archives of the Google Event Logos — those cute sketches that have appeared on the Google homepage over the years — shows two interesting trends. First, the Logos (aka Doodles) are far more high-quality than they have been in the past. Second — and I think far more significantly — there were far more brands incorporated into the logos in 2009 than ever before. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. I think that Google is preparing us for display ads on the Google homepage — perhaps as early as 2010. – Read More

Performance Based Marketing Blog wish you a happy new year and much marketing success to come.  We look forward to continually providing current information about online marketing, Internet, search, and more.  In addition, we welcome guest bloggers and other writers who would like to contribute relevant information to this blog and would be happy to hear from you. Please feel free to contact us and let us know your idea as well as expertise and we’ll be happy to connect with you.  Happy New Year!

Congress decided more than a decade ago that Web site owners shouldn’t face liability for defamatory material uploaded by users. Obviously, many companies that learn of questionable material will remove it on their own, under the theory that it violates their terms of service. But not always. And a court decision this week in a lawsuit involving Ripoff Report shows that sometimes material can remain live even when the posts have been found to be false and defamatory. – Read More

Private class-action lawsuits can go a long way towards compensating people who’ve been injured by faulty products and questionable business practices. But as a vehicle for crafting net neutrality regulations, such lawsuits leave a lot to be desired. Consider, Comcast has just agreed to pay up to $16 million to settle litigation over throttling peer-to-peer traffic, over the objections of several unhappy subscribers who brought suit. – Read More

[from Financial Times] – December is typically top gift-giving season, but the tech and “platform” obsessed are all looking forward to January amid rumors that … – Read More

[from ABC News] – For the first time in 23 years, Pepsi will not be running its typically high-production value TV ads during the Super Bowl. Rather, the… – Read More

MoBlog and Mobile Marketing Daily will be away for the remainder of the year. We’re hailing the next cab on Broadway and hightailing it off this iceberg, but we will be back in 2010 — as they said about Tricky Dick — tanned, rested and ready. So happy holidays, and a joyous New Year to you and yours. And la’chaim, or cheers, whichever the case may be (though we always thought la’chaim was so much more fun to say). – Read More

[from Ad Age] – Topping the list is the movie “Up In The Air,” featuring George Clooney as a career business traveler whose goal is to achieve 10 milli… – Read More

Low-risk but intriguing campaign will run until users collectively hit $1,000. – Read More

It’s been nothing short of a roller-coaster ride due to this year’s recession, but search has had a big year in a number of ways. A major engine folded, Bing emerged as a real contender for increased market share, and real-time social search moved forward at a quick pace. These were among the stories that I spent the most time covering and analyzing this year, so here are some links to those columns in 2009, along with some additional thoughts. – Read More