Biz Web

There is no "v" in payment, but there is one in Payvment, which is launching a Facebook app that businesses can integrate into their pages to accept payments via PayPal without forcing users to click away, Inside Facebook reports.

Payvment also allows users to store items in its shopping cart while browsing between pages, so they can set up orders from multiple pages, and then pay all at once, according to Inside Facebook.

Inside Facebook points out that the Payvment app is currently only compatible with transactions in U.S. dollars.

Product- and pricing-comparison service TopTenREVIEWS acquired Imaginova's consumer-media division, parent of Space.com, LiveScience.com and Newsarama.com.

TopTenREVIEWS describes itself as "a privately held technology-review Web site covering software, Web services, consumer electronics and entertainment, offering millions of reviews in more than 350 categories," and it will use the three sites it acquired to expand and enhance its coverage, combining the four sites in its TechMediaNetwork.

TopTenREVIEWS CEO Jerry Ropelato said:

This acquisition expands TopTenREVIEWS' coverage as a trusted technology adviser and strengthens the company as a source of technology news. We see strong potential for growth in traffic and revenue as a result of the synergy between the sites.

And TopTenREVIEWS president Stan Bassett added:

Creating TechMediaNetwork is a natural progression in our company's goal to create a more comprehensive network of technology and entertainment news, information and purchasing advice. Our new tech network broadens our ability to educate people on a wider range of topics from astronomy to health to computer security.

Tracked.com, which has been quietly operating since April 2008 and launched previous iteration RakedIn earlier this year, launched its one-stop financial site Wednesday.

The site offers a single destination for financial news, company profiles, executive profiles, financial statements, compensation data, insider-trading wrap-ups, institutional investments and stock quotes, including the day's best and worst performers.

Tracked.com also offers a social-media element, MyTracker, which allows users to create watch lists of people, companies and industries to customize their news feeds. The ability to share the information via other social-networking platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, will be added shortly.

From the Tracked.com About Us page:

Tracked.com is the only site in the world where business information, communications and connections come together to enhance your business life. We are actively organizing and analyzing as much information as possible about the companies, industries and executives you care about and enabling you to share it with your colleagues.

Our goal is to make it easy for you to track the news and activity of any person or company in business, and then share it with your network of contacts.

Financial information can be difficult to find, hard to understand and expensive to acquire. We believe that everyone should have access to the latest business information, regardless of your budget or expertise. Furthermore, your ability to share that information with the people who need is it paramount to your success.

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While the worst may be over, the bottom still might loom ahead for online advertising.

Data released Monday by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhosueCoopers show that spending on Internet advertising fell 5 percent in the second quarter "as the recession extended the first slump in online marketing since 2002," the Associated Press reports.

The $5.4 billion spent on Internet ads during the three months ending in June compared with $5.7 billion at the same time last year, according to data released Monday by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

It marked the second consecutive quarterly decline in Internet advertising, the first time that has happened since the aftermath of the dot-com bust at the beginning of the decade. The fallout from that implosion resulted in eight consecutive quarters of falling online ad sales.

Fortunately, we're still a long way from eight consecutive quarters of declining Internet ad revenue. Which is one of the reasons why -- rather than panic and suspect that the end is near, a common reaction to the bursting of the Internet bubble in 2001 -- the "mood is more sanguine this time," writes AP's Michael Liedtke. Many Internet companies are hopeful that online ad spending will increase as the economy recovers.

The other difference between now and eight years ago is that Web 2.0 tools since have redefined online publishing, making the web experience more personal and interactive. Publishers and advertisers still are groping for new formulas in this evolving landscape, and that means more innovation and experimentation.

paidContent parent Guardian News and Media may be forced to part with some of its assets in order to raise cash and, if paidContent publisher ContentNext Media is on that list, WebNewser and mediabistro.com parent WebMediaBrands is all ears.

WebMediaBrands CEO Alan Meckler told DailyFinance, "I would certainly be interested in discussing it," following a tweet Wednesday that read, "We are on the prowl for acquisitions. Send me ideas."

WebMediaBrands acquired mediabistro.com in 2007 for $20 million, and the company recently sold Internet.com for $18 million.

Meckler told DailyFinance, "We have $25 million in the bank and virtually no debt, so we're looking for sites that media professionals read."

The Financial Times will extend its Market Live coverage to the United States as part of the global expansion of its FT Alphaville financial blog, and FT Alphaville editor Paul Murphy relocated to FT's New York bureau to oversee the site.

FT senior stock market correspondent Neil Hume will manage the core FT Alphaville team in London. The site also has correspondents in Tokyo.

The site will also introduce U.S. and Asia versions of its 6AM Cut emails, a free news-briefing service for finance professionals delivered at the start of the working day.

Murphy said:

As FT Alphaville has continued to grow, we have been working to expand our coverage both geographically and by asset class. Developing our U.S. coverage further is a natural next step, especially when blogging and new media in general is so much more advanced in the United States than other parts of the globe. While we feel we have lots to offer our U.S. readers, we are also aware that we have a lot to learn from the vibrant American financial media scene.

And FT.com managing director Rob Grimshaw added:

We're always looking to expand our coverage to offer high-quality journalism around the world. The United States is FT.com's biggest market, with more subscribers and registered users than in any other region, and we see a great deal of potential in building on that substantial base of loyal U.S. readers. As one of the FT's most progressive digital teams, we are confident that FT Alphaville's move will increase our overall appeal in the United States.

Radiusly launched a new service in public beta that combines the professional features of LinkedIn with the social-networking abilities of Twitter, TechCrunch reported.

Rather than acting as an independent network, Radiusly allows users to publish their updates on Twitter and Facebook, as well as including items such as resumes, profiles, photos and work samples, according to TechCrunch.

Radiusly said it will use a subscription/freemium model, offering some services free-of-charge while charging subscription fees for others. The network will also contain search listings, job listings and banner ads.

DigitalMediaBuzz.com launched its Website and content-distribution platform, promising to provide more in-depth, focused business and technology content than most news aggregators.

The company said it will cover all aspects of digital media, including online advertising, social media, ad technologies, Web development, search-engine marketing, search-engine optimization, e-commerce, video and mobile technologies and interactive TV.

Sections on the site include Agency Spotlight, which profiles top interactive ad agencies; Product Buzz, showcasing new products of interest to readers; White Papers, a source for market research data and consumer information; and a job section where media and technology companies can list openings at a minimal fee.

DigitalMediaBuzz.com vice president of business development Rob Hyman said:

Our writers work with each of our partners to provide original content to help strengthen and fill their business-technology category on their Website. By partnering with DigitalMediaBuzz, media companies can also take advantage of our social-marketing initiatives to help attract new audiences and reinforce their brand throughout the industry.

A connection between beer and football fans: Who'd have thought? Coors Light is targeting fantasy-football players by advertising on sites including Watercooler, Yardbarker and the Fantasy Sports Ventures network, according to AdAge.com.

The brewer feels that fantasy-football players fall right into its targeted niche, and data collected by those sites will prevent its content from being viewed by users under drinking age, AdAge.com reported, adding that users of WaterCooler's FanSection get a Coors Light-free version of the game if they are under 21.

Arch-rival Anheuser-Busch, meanwhile, is relying on local deals with 28 of the 32 National Football League teams, along with a heavy TV investment in its new "Tailgate Approved" campaign for Bud Light, according to AdAge.com.

Coors Light brand director Mark Weslar told AdAge.com, "We really look at his online experience, and it's all about fantasy."

Are you hungry? Are you in the mood for a burger from T.G.I. Friday's? Better yet, do you want a free burger? Just become friends with Woody.

Woody, a fictional 30-something slacker who still lives with his parents, already surpassed his goal of 500,000 fans by Sept. 30, totaling 566,804 at press time Monday, and the restaurant chain said everyone who became a fan will receive a free burger.

T.G.I. Friday's also made its video ad content distributable via Woody's page, as well as organizing real-world Woody meet-and-greets coordinated through Facebook's events calendar, AdAge.com reports.

Craig Daitch, senior vice president of creative solutions for Measure2x and author of the DigitalNext post on AdAge.com, posed some questions about T.G.I. Friday's use of Facebook for marketing:

The primary concern I have though is: What happens post-campaign? How often will Friday's feel the need to have Woody reach out to me? Will he write on my Wall? Is the permissive nature of Facebook's community going to tolerate it, or will this cause the same wear-out MySpace has recently endured?