Cogent Insights Marketing Consulting

Google has added video capabilities to its AdSense advertising network, according to a report in the Advertising Age. Video ads can now be placed on web sites that currently display Google graphical ads. The videos ads are static when first shown, and the user needs to press a play button to actually activate the videos.

Google is rapidly becoming the Microsoft of the Internet (irony intended); what pie doesn’t it have its finger in? Mind you, it’s a bit hard to be too critical, since Google does such a good job with most of the things it does.

I’ve had a couple of questions from readers asking what the URL is of the Australian version of MySpace.

If you’re in Australia, you’re automatically taken to the Australian version of MySpace when you visit http://www.myspace.com

If you’re not in Australia, you can visit the Australian site by going here http://au.myspace.com/

A couple of New York teenagers have been taken into custody after attempting to extort $US150,000 from MySpace.com.

According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald the teenagers were thrown off MySpace for hacking into other users’ accounts. The pair then threatened to distribute information about how to hack into MySpace if they were not paid the money by MySpace.com.

The pair were taken into custody by undercover police officers posing as MySpace employees. They were each charged with sending a threatening letter, attempted extortion, and illegal computer access. Bail was set at $US35,000.

As my book “Hacking MySpace” gets closer to release I’ve been monitoring web and blog references to it using Google and Technorati.

Despite its August 2006 release, the book appeared on Amazon and other online book shops in February, where it can be preordered.

Now it has made a proper debut into the Blogosphere (not counting here Cogent Insights) at Hollywood 2020.

It’ll be interesting to see what kind of Blogosphere “chatter” the book will generate, and what impact this will have on its popularity (or otherwise).

Well it almost killed me, but last week I finished the manuscript for my fourth book Hacking MySpace : Mods and Customizations to make MySpace Your Space and got it to my editor, Rosanne, at Wiley Publishing, more or less on time.

I signed the contract to write the book in late December 2005, and until last week, I felt like I spent of all my waking life behind a computer (whether it was writing the book, or keeping my other ventures on track).

Ahead of the launch of the local Australian version of the MySpace home page in the next two weeks, News Limited executives have been presenting advertising opportunities to key clients and media buyers.

According to AdNews, the new localised home page will feature Australian content and advertisers and will designed to engage the 800,000 or so Australian MySpace users. In Australia, 6000 new users sign up for the service every day.