WebProNews looked at some interesting research from Forrester and Shop.org this week, which indicated that while online retail sales have been increasing, those for the majority of web-only businesses have actually remained flat or on the decline.
One startup launching this week thinks injecting a little human touch into eCommerce can be a way to combat this. Naturally, Twitter is…

You’ve no doubt been exposed to mass hoopla surrounding Twitter and celebrities starting Twitter accounts, racing to get the most followers, etc. There’s no question that celebrity Twitter use is good for expanding the social network’s user base, but what’s it doing to Twitter as a communication tool?
Is Twitter evolving or devolving as a result of celebrities taking it…

Crackle, Sony Pictures Entertainment’s video website, announced today it is expanding its film offering to nearly 100 titles.
Sony says more titles from its movie library will be added to Crackle in the coming months. Some of the newly added films include "Spider-Man 2," "Groundhog Day," and "A Few Good Men." Honda will be the initial sponsor for the new…

Forrester research has an interesting blog post up looking at the question, "What happens when online CPMs get so close to zero that they make ad-supported businesses unsustainable?" Online publishers might not like some of the answers that can be given in response.
"It’s true that online media has been nearly overwhelmed by an onslaught of inventory — there’s something…

Google began feeding news headlines to Twitter this week, but fewer Twitters seem to care about that than say, Oprah or Martha Stewart.

In the past few days Google News on Twitter has amassed only 2,900 followers, compared to just shy of 700k for Oprah, half of which accumulated over a weekend. It’s hard to say what to make of…

Update: The original title of this article was "USA Today Publisher Restricting Employees from Using Social Networks?" USA Today called WebProNews requesting a change because it made it look like USA Today itself was discouraging social media use, which is apparently not the case.
"I can’t speak for the posting on Gannett Blog, but I can say that we at USA TODAY…

Google announced the launch of a new initiative called the Small Business Network in an effort to contribute what it can to the success of small businesses, which are Google’s bread and butter.
"It’s no secret that small businesses play a key role in Google’s success as a company and drive the economy as a whole," says David Fischer, Google’s…

Several months ago, Consumer Watchdog asked Google to "cease a rumored lobbying effort aimed at allowing the sale of electronic medical records."  Google responded by calling the claim totally false.  Now, Consumer Watchdog’s come back with evidence that Google lobbied for something health-related, and the group’s demanded an explanation.

A letter addressed to Eric Schmidt was released today.  In it,…

Google has made some adjustments to its AdSense program policies page. It includes a change in placement of a certain policy, clarification of others, and a new one altogether.
The new policy deals with other Google products’ policies. Publishers are not allowed to place ads, search boxes, or search results on, within, or alongside other Google products in a way…

Google is facing an antitrust investigation by the Justice Department over its class action deal it reached with publishers and authors to digitize and sell books.

Last fall under a proposed settlement between Google and the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers, Google agreed to pay $125 million to set up a Book Rights Registry, where copyright holders…