According to sources, Microsoft is close to striking a nonexclusive data-mining deal with Twitter to integrate the microblogging service’s full feed into the results of its Bing search service.

News of the deal, which was still being worked on by engineers and execs at both the software giant and the start-up as late as yesterday, could even come as early as today at the Web 2.0 Summit conference in San Francisco.

Qi Lu, the head of Microsoft’s online services division, is being interviewed at the event at 11:30 am PDT.

Note: Lu is scheduled to appear onstage after Yahoo (YHOO) CEO Carol Bartz, who is now too sick to attend, the company said. She also missed Yahoo’s third-quarter conference call due to an unspecified illness.

Thus, Lu is the main event of Web 2.0 tomorrow morning and it would be a good place to make a big announcement, if the talks are successful.

But sources close to the situation caution that the deal could still run into a snag and was not yet complete, although it seems more likely than not that a deal will soon be struck with Microsoft (MSFT) first and then Google (GOOG), which is the other company Twitter has been negotiating with.

BoomTown had previously reported that Twitter was in advanced talks with both the search rivals about just such a real-time search arrangement.

There could be other possibilities on the table, said sources, such as one of the big companies advertising on Twitter or any number of other Twitter partnerships with either one.

When asked about the talks onstage at Web 2.0 yesterday, Twitter CEO Evan Williams turned coy, according to numerous reports, joking “Whose deals?”

But, in fact, Twitter, which is based in San Francisco, is very much engaged in dealmaking in this regard.

Here is what I wrote previously, as to what and why:

Sources said a number of scenarios are being discussed to compensate Twitter for its huge and potentially valuable trove of real-time and content-sharing information, generated from the data stream of billions of tweets from its 54 million monthly users.

These include a number of structures, including a payment of several million dollars to Twitter, along with various revenue-sharing proposals that would give Twitter a piece of the revenue made from search results.

The deals, stressed sources close to the situation, are nonexclusive, especially because Twitter’s management is keen to remain independent and also nonpartisan in the growing search battle between Google and Microsoft.

This means Yahoo–which recently struck a search-technology and online-advertising partnership with Microsoft–could also license Twitter’s feed to make its search results even more robust, although Boomtown could not determine if the company is in talks with the San Francisco start-up.

Sources said it is also possible that no agreement would be reached with either company.

And execs at Twitter, Microsoft and Google had no comment when asked about talks.

But doing these kinds of data deals with big search players does make a lot of sense, since it would be hard for Twitter to turbocharge its own search engine without running into the big cash-laden guns at both Google and Microsoft, which recently launched its new Bing search service.

Twitter is, instead, seeking to create a large open platform, which many could plug into, from search engines to marketers to publishers to developers.

Twitter has also been considering offering premium services to these groups and is contemplating some form of advertising offering.

But, most of all, Silicon Valley’s hot start-up is focusing now on spurring growth and engagement, along with fine-tuning its product offering.

Being deeply integrated into big search services would give Twitter a huge footprint.

Microsoft had already done a small experiment this past summer integrating Twitter data into search results, starting with tweets of bloggers like me.

How much indexing of its data Twitter will allow is unclear, but the company has certainly bought itself time to think carefully about all its options, given that it now has a lot of money in the bank.

Late last month, Twitter raised another $100 million in new funding, after already having raised $55 million.

This has given it a $1 billion valuation, despite negligible revenue.

The valuation also effectively stated that the innovative company was pretty much putting itself out of play to be acquired and is very interested in forging its own destiny.

Both Google and Microsoft execs have contemplated the idea of buying Twitter in the past, although no serious talks ever moved forward.

If they both strike data deals with Twitter, they will get the next best thing–an ability to offer all the information disseminated on Twitter in search results.

Uh-oh, Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz was expected to appear on the Internet giant’s third-quarter earnings call, but she has apparently “came down with something,” according to CFO Tim Morse.

BoomTown is sending over chicken soup right now, but let’s hope she gets her vaccinations tout de suite!

Worst of all, no sassy quotes or cursing, replaced by a very earnest Morse, who sounded like he was once a Boy Scout.

After the markets closed, Yahoo reported better-than-expected earnings on still lackluster revenues.

Overall, the conference call boiled down to one quote from Morse that seems to have been selected as the Yahoo (YHOO) buzzword of the moment:

“The theme for third quarter was stabilization.”

2:02 pm PDT: Investor stuff from guy who sounded like a robot that I completely ignored, since I was much more interested in a conversation between two women about a bad date this past weekend, which I eavesdropped on in its entirety while liveblogging from a Starbucks (SBUX) in San Francisco.

By the way, the man whom the ladies are ripping was a very unstable date!

2:04 pm: Morse jumped on and gave everyone the bad news about Bartz being sick and the good news about the better-than-expected net income, while also updating all the various happenings of the quarter.

“I am happy to report that our Q3 revenue came in above our guidance range,” said Morse, who sounded somewhat jaunty.

Morse reeled off numbers, numbers and more numbers, some stuff about the new marketing campaign ($18 million spent so far and $45 million in the next quarter!) and other stuff about the cost cuts and fourth-quarter guidance.

Also, no sale of the company’s Alibaba in China or the Yahoo! Japan stake, thank you very much!

2:12 pm: Morse also gave a quick update about the search and online advertising partnership Yahoo has struck with Microsoft (MSFT).

His message: The Silicon Vally Internet icon is not out of search, because it is not about the algorithm, but a better search product.

Tim, you might want to roll that claim back, especially since you also might want to notice how well Google (GOOG) has done with its giant math-brains in the search business.

Morse tried mightily to channel Bartz on search, using a comparison she has made about the Intel (INTC) chip, which is widely used by computer makers. Said Morse, it’s the “differentiation” that matters!

I wonder if Yahoo will keep repeating that one, even as its search share continues to decline.

But Morse did make a funny about how many ex-Yahoos are on the Microsoft payroll now, so the partnership transition should go smoothly.

Well, there’s that!

2:28 pm: Morse mentioned Yahoo’s analysts day next week, and then opened up the call to questions.

Analysts always ask very dull questions at earnings calls and this one proved no different.

The first was about display run rate and about the search market in comparison to Google.

What’s the good word? Stabilization, of course!

The next question was about eBay (EBAY), which seems far from the point.

Morse agreed and cut it short.

Then, a question about guaranteed placement and stock buybacks. Zzzzzzzzz–even Morse sounded bored.

The Starbucks lovelorn ladies had left by now, so I was too.

2:37 pm: The next question concerned the affiliate business and how it might be affected by the Microsoft deal.

I immediately summoned the barista, since it was clearly time for a double espresso!

A question came next about when the display ad business would recover from the econalypse. Morse: Stabilization!

Then, a query about gross margins and whether they can be maintained. Morse was not saying, except to point out that there was a “good, old-fashioned, get-your-hands-dirty” attitude at work at Yahoo now about watching costs.

I was suddenly worried about dirty-handed Yahoos, just when the CEO is sick!

Use Purell, please–or suffer the wrath of Judy!

2:43 pm: Another question on ad sales and quality. Thus, I moved onto mainlining coffee beans en masse. I long for a visit from Juan Valdez!

Then, a question about Q4 guidance, which was not good enough for one analyst, who wanted more.

Morse did not really bite, although he talked a lot.

Next, a question about slow-growing page views and what was Yahoo planning to sell of its various assets.

Morse tried to be all silver-lining about page views and would not talk about specific divestitures (nor did he mention the appointment of a new head of Yahoo M&A).

“We continue to look at the landscape,” he said.

What about more job cuts or hiring, since Yahoo added 200 people in the quarter? Morse noted Yahoo was staying strong in tech talent and was “putting feet on the street” in advertising.

Also something about paid inclusion, but a new person at Starbucks was having a really good cellphone argument, so I zoned out of Morse-talk for a second!

2:56 pm: A question about premium and nonpremium inventory. Looks good on premium, said Morse.

The next query was about the different metrics between the new and old homepage, as well as a request for more info about the analyst day next week.

Morse refused to “steal my own thunder” on what is going to happen there. But, there will be thunder? I am always dubious when it comes to Yahoo and thunder.

As for the homepage, Morse said Yahoo was still evaluating the performance.

2:58 pm: Mobile. Aaaaaghhh, another chance for Morse to say not much about anything substantive. Morse: Better and more established! Translation: No moolah yet!

A head count question. Will improvement come from cost cuts due to the Microsoft deal or revenue improvements?

Three guesses and the first two don’t count. Thanks for the row-boatloads of money, Microsoft!

Something about bookings and small-to-medium businesses. Morse did not understand the question and neither did I.

Next, a question on search monetization, which has weakened. Answer: Stabilization!

3:02 pm: A question about the new $100 million branding campaign. Morse: “It’s very, very early.”

Some deal question and then one about behaviorial targeting, which Morse said will apparently be a “lifeblood” of the future.

Incredibly, Morse has gone hog-wild chatty with Bartz laid low and is asking for more questions, without making one good joke or salty remark yet.

I was completely losing it when it gets to ad exchange details and not as coffee-saturated as I needed to be.

Finally, the LAST question: Another one about divestiture and acquisition.

As if Morse was going to answer, referring instead–as he has many times in the call–to his “script.” Yahoo will buy stuff, Yahoo will sell stuff, but pretty much a no-comment!

And on that note…Carol: Please, pretty please GET WELL SOON!

Until then, here is a minidose of Bartz, via video snippets from an interview with me at the seventh D: All Things Digital conference.

Her lively tone seen here at D7 would have been a good thing at today’s earnings call:

(And, here is a link to Yahoo’s presentation of its financial highlights, for those with a hankering for even more numbers.)

]]> http://kara.allthingsd.com/20091020/liveblogging-yahoo-third-quarter-conference-call-bartz-comes-down-with-something-and-cfo-carries-on/feed/ 0 http://kara.allthingsd.com/20091012/geeks-in-black-barry-sonnenfeld-comes-out-from-behind-the-camera-to-vlog/ http://kara.allthingsd.com/20091012/geeks-in-black-barry-sonnenfeld-comes-out-from-behind-the-camera-to-vlog/#comments Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:26:26 +0000 Kara Swisher http://kara.allthingsd.com/?p=19313

For many years now, one of our regular attendees at the D: All Things Digital conference has been award-winning movie and television director, producer and writer Barry Sonnenfeld, who is–as it turns out–a not-so-closeted geek in his spare time.

(He also appeared onstage in 2006 at D4 in an interview with Walt Mossberg, which you can see here.)

In fact, the man behind movies like “Men in Black” and TV shows like “Pushing Daisies” (and who likes to sport a Stetson and cowboy boots 24/7) does a gadget review column for Esquire magazine called “The Digital Man.”

Now he is branching out to a vlog about his geek passions on Crackle, which will appear every two weeks from wherever he is–either from his homes in East Hampton, N.Y. or Telluride, Colo., or from movie or TV sets.

And, compared to the cinéma vérité style of BoomTown (translation: shaky filming and bad sound), Sonnenfeld’s vlogs are pretty high quality, although they are not too overdone as those from Hollywood types always are, and it’s hard not to admire the editorial use of a martini.

Here’s his intro video vlog below, as well as one about a cross-country trip Sonnenfeld and his “analog” dog, named Lucky, took in a 2010 Ford Taurus SHO (super high output) and another about his experience helping his wife, Sweetie, cook for some film industry friends using the Traeger Professional Wood Pellet Grill.

Next week: A chain saw, although I hope Sonnenfeld will go light on the martinis for that demo.

From Crackle: The Esquire Digital Man Preview:

From Crackle: Ford Taurus SHO:

From Crackle: Traeger Professional Wood Pellet Grill:

]]> http://kara.allthingsd.com/20091012/geeks-in-black-barry-sonnenfeld-comes-out-from-behind-the-camera-to-vlog/feed/ 0 http://kara.allthingsd.com/20090922/yahoo-ad-campaign-creative-wed-like-to-see/ http://kara.allthingsd.com/20090922/yahoo-ad-campaign-creative-wed-like-to-see/#comments Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:41:13 +0000 Kara Swisher http://kara.allthingsd.com/?p=18729

Yahoo introduced its new $100 million marketing and branding campaign in New York today with “It’s Y!ou” as the new motto, making use of the Internet giant’s famous exclamation point.

Sure, it’s clever and all, but BoomTown felt the need to jump in and help Yahoo (YHOO), since our posts have been a little tough when it has come to the Silicon Valley icon’s tumultuous ride over the last two years.

So, while CEO Carol Bartz (pictured above as a giant lady on the Nasdaq Jumbotron in Times Square) explained–as reported by MediaMemo’s Peter Kafka–that “Yahoo is the only site where you when you wake up in the morning and you want to know what’s going on everywhere about everything, you can find it one place,” I’d say there’s more to the brand that just that!

In fact, there’s Bartz herself, a sassy and ofttimes salty exec whose pugnacious utterances have become legend quickly.

Today, for example, when asked about a comparison with its search rival, she noted, “Why not be cynical about fricking Google?”

That was mild in comparison to her cursing me out at the seventh D: All Things Digital conference when she thought I was insinuating she was too old to be an Internet exec (you can see that exchange in the video below).

Thus, please take a gander at our branding effort for Yahoo below.

(While Yahoo has Ogilvy & Mather to do its work, ATD has the very clever Photoshop stylings of Digital Daily’s John Paczkowski to work our marketing magic.)

Best of all, you can switch out the picture and moniker to denote any Yahoo foe–Google (GOOG); Microsoft (MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer if he does not behave in the new search-partnership deal; billionaire investor and Yahoo board member Carl Icahn; and more!

Fondly dedicated to Carol–and the rest of the Yahoo crew, especially Judy–here’s our ad (click on the image to make it larger):

And here is Bartz in action at D7, cussing me out at 00:57 in the video of the interview:

]]> http://kara.allthingsd.com/20090922/yahoo-ad-campaign-creative-wed-like-to-see/feed/ 3 http://kara.allthingsd.com/20090918/kara-visits-the-oxford-social-media-convention-i-say-twitt-er-you-say-twitt-ah/ http://kara.allthingsd.com/20090918/kara-visits-the-oxford-social-media-convention-i-say-twitt-er-you-say-twitt-ah/#comments Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:40:14 +0000 Kara Swisher http://kara.allthingsd.com/?p=18594

Today, BoomTown has traveled to England to see the Queen, but mostly to attend and speak at a conference at the University of Oxford, titled “Oxford Social Media Convention: Assessing the Evolution, Impact and Potential of Social Media.”

In other words: What is up with this Twitter thing, but in a British accent.

(By the way, the Twitter stream on the conference can be found at #oxsmc09.)

Well, I can report here that some folks are perplexed by the growing size and valuation of the San Francisco microblogging service, some adore it and some don’t use it at all, thank you veddy much.

Of course, there is a whole lot more going on, including: Discussions of the changing relationship between blogs and mainstream media, making science more social, the growth of the corporate blog and the political impact of social media.

I am on the panel about the ways companies need to use social networking, as well as a wrap-up on the overall impact of this key Internet trend.

So far today, it seems people here are still chewing over the changes wrought by Facebook, Twitter and the blogs and the way the audience has taken over the conversation from the so-called professionals.

In other words, as in the U.S., the social trend is still seen as an experiment rather than the real thing.

In the media session, for example, mainstream journalists here seemed to still be stuck in their whiny woe-is-me mode rather than leaning forward and trying to come up with ways to ride the latest wave of change.

When many kept harping on the issue of accuracy in the blogosphere, I could not resist and asked: “Can you give me the exact date when the old media will stop whining about new media?”

I did not get an answer, but I can tell you it better be quick, especially as these innovative social sites grow larger and larger, evidence that consumers like what’s happening.

So does the guy from Facebook, of course, the social networking service that announced it had reached an astonishing 300-million users mark last week.

“It’s very exciting,” said Richard Allan, Facebook’s European policy director, discussing how social media are evolving in ways that everyone still cannot imagine.

I’d agree.

]]> http://kara.allthingsd.com/20090918/kara-visits-the-oxford-social-media-convention-i-say-twitt-er-you-say-twitt-ah/feed/ 3 http://kara.allthingsd.com/20090915/warren-buffett-at-fortune-womens-conference-on-the-economy-and-george-clooney/ http://kara.allthingsd.com/20090915/warren-buffett-at-fortune-womens-conference-on-the-economy-and-george-clooney/#comments Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:01:58 +0000 Kara Swisher http://kara.allthingsd.com/?p=18529

Folksy set was on the highest burner possible at Fortune magazine’s Most Powerful Women’s conference this morning, as legendary financial investor Warren Buffett took to the stage.

Buffett, who was interviewed by Fortune’s terrific Carol Loomis onstage in Carlsbad, Calif., held forth to the crowd–made up mostly of women–having instructed Loomis previously to “do anything with me…I like your crowd.”

And, of course, the crowd loved Buffett, who has become a Midwestern Yoda, dispensing snippets of sage advice and clever aphorisms to unabashed fans.

Oh, yes, he also has turned himself into one of the world’s richest men while doing it, presiding for decades over his Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) conglomerate.

In the interview, Loomis quizzed Buffett about a range of topics, mostly centering on the economy and the rescue of Wall Street by the federal government.

“I think they’ve done a terrific job, all things considered,” said Buffett about the performance of regulators.

While he said he did not agree with all of the more costly aspects of the various bailouts, he noted that the dire situation needed drastic action.

“We were right at the brink….This country was becoming not only economically dysfunctional, but inoperative,” said Buffett about the econalypse. “We came so close to a meltdown.”

Today, he is much more sanguine about the economic situation, while also noting it was not all sunshine and daisies.

“There are no green shots, but I don’t see anything getting worse either,” said Buffett.

Joking, he noted that the recovery could be quicker if the housing stock was made smaller by blowing up one million houses and allowing “14-year olds to start cohabiting.”

It was an adorkably funny comment, as was his answer to a question from an audience member about who should play him in a movie of his life: George Clooney, of course, but “Danny DeVito’s out.”

Mostly, what struck BoomTown was Buffett’s firm belief in the strength of the system that we have built in the U.S.

“This system works magnificently,” he said flatly.

Well, Buffett is magnificent for dang sure.

Here’s are video snippets of him at the conference–sorry it is a little tinny–talking about women’s underwear, the resilience of the U.S. and why it will be okay in the end:

[Photo courtesy of Fortune magazine.]

]]> http://kara.allthingsd.com/20090915/warren-buffett-at-fortune-womens-conference-on-the-economy-and-george-clooney/feed/ 2 http://kara.allthingsd.com/20090911/yahoos-bartz-8-facebooks-sandberg-22-googles-mayer-22-and-more-techies-makes-fortunes-50-most-powerful-women-list/ http://kara.allthingsd.com/20090911/yahoos-bartz-8-facebooks-sandberg-22-googles-mayer-22-and-more-techies-makes-fortunes-50-most-powerful-women-list/#comments Fri, 11 Sep 2009 07:15:02 +0000 Kara Swisher http://kara.allthingsd.com/?p=18347

Fortune magazine–which never met a list it did not like to make–had a solid group of women tech types on its “50 Most Powerful Women 2009” roster, the annual survey it posted yesterday.

Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz made the Top Ten this year, clocking in at No. 8.

Other women geek types–many from Silicon Valley–on the list include:

Ursula Burns, CEO of Xerox (XRX) at No. 9; IBM (IBM) Global Sales and Distribution SVP Ginni Rometty at No. 11; Oracle (ORCL) President Safra Catz at No. 12; Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) Technology Solutions Group EVP Ann Livermore at No. 13; Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg at No. 22; Charlene Begley, president and CEO, GE (GE) Enterprise Solutions at No. 27; Lorrie Norrington, president of eBay (EBAY) Marketplaces at No. 40; HP CFO Cathie Lesjack at No. 42; and, finally, Google (GOOG) Search Products and User Experience VP Marissa Mayer at No. 44.

The conference associated with the Fortune issue, spearheaded by Pattie Sellers, will take place next week, starting Monday, in Carlsbad, Calif.

Fortune is part of Time Inc., which is owned by Time Warner (TWX).

Bartz, Sandberg and others will be interviewed onstage, along with Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) chairman and CEO Warren Buffett.

Will BoomTown be in attendance, with my trusty Flip digital video at the ready? Yes, indeedy, so the lady geeks should beware–and I am talking to you, Sandberg!

Until then, here’s a cable television interview Bartz did today on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” Clocking in at almost 12 minutes, it’s classic Carol, with sassy catchphrases and jokes about being a really tough lady, but with little new news–except for her saying she would have sold to Microsoft (MSFT) when it was offering $33 a share way back when, because she is not “stupid.”

Indeed not.

Here’s the video:

]]> http://kara.allthingsd.com/20090911/yahoos-bartz-8-facebooks-sandberg-22-googles-mayer-22-and-more-techies-makes-fortunes-50-most-powerful-women-list/feed/ 0 http://kara.allthingsd.com/20090904/if-some-dads-rants-on-twitter-can-go-viral-my-mom-needs-to-turbo-tweet/ http://kara.allthingsd.com/20090904/if-some-dads-rants-on-twitter-can-go-viral-my-mom-needs-to-turbo-tweet/#comments Fri, 04 Sep 2009 13:43:00 +0000 Kara Swisher http://kara.allthingsd.com/?p=18112

Oh, dear; now my mom is going to be really pissed at me for not making her a Twitter sensation.

Unlike, according to a very amusing article in The Wall Street Journal yesterday, Justin Halpern–who has been tweeting wacky quips uttered by his dad without him knowing much about it, under the handle: @s—mydadsays.

And, lo and behold, with only 28 tweets, the cranky 73-year-old has attracted almost 250,000 followers, after a spate of media attention and retweeting.

Some tweets included:

“Don’t touch the bacon, it’s not done yet. You let me handle the bacon, and i’ll let you handle…what ever it is you do. I guess nothing.”

“You know, sometimes it’s nice having you around. But now ain’t one of those times. Now gimmie the remote we’re not watching this bullshit.”

“What are you listening to?…I know who Hall & Oates are god dammit. It’s the mustache guy and the gay man.”

The tweets have caused such a hubbub that Halpern has been approached by book agents, publishers and producers.

Rut-roh, since my brother and I did the same thing at Walt Mossberg’s and my D: All Things Digital conference, typing up my mother’s observations of some of Silicon Valley’s poobahs and more in 140 characters.

We did so after she expressed her distaste of Twitter in a video I showed before interviewing its founders, Biz Stone and Evan Williams, onstage (see below).

Here is the account name: @luckyd7.

Some of her 40 tweets (which, I hate to admit, I have not updated since mid-June):

“I’m going to bed. Why would anybody care about that!”

“Kara says ashton kutcher twitters. So what! His claim to fame is he married someone eighteen years older.”

“Just met the twitter guys. They are so cute. I’m embarrassed.”

“Oh my god! Kara put my wedding portrait as my twitter picture. Then again, I did look fabulous.”

“Steve Ballmer just announced the name of his new search program. Bing! I don’t like it. It’s stupid. Reminds me of the Sopranos.”

Obviously, to catch Mr. Halpern, I am going to have to up my game and start stalking my mother for spicier fare–because from the mouths of parents, ofttimes come gems.

Until then, here she is in that Twitter-bashing video:

]]> http://kara.allthingsd.com/20090904/if-some-dads-rants-on-twitter-can-go-viral-my-mom-needs-to-turbo-tweet/feed/ 1 http://kara.allthingsd.com/20090813/girls-in-tech-journalism-20-panel-speak-loudly-and-carry-a-big-stick/ http://kara.allthingsd.com/20090813/girls-in-tech-journalism-20-panel-speak-loudly-and-carry-a-big-stick/#comments Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:07:59 +0000 Kara Swisher http://kara.allthingsd.com/?p=17556

Last night, BoomTown moderated a really interesting panel for an organization called Girls in Tech, titled “Journalism 2.0 RoundTable.”

Girls in Tech describes itself as a “social network enterprise focused on the engagement, education and empowerment of like-minded, professional, intelligent & influential women.”

With those lofty requirements–combined with the fact that I was a girl when we had yet to land on the moon–I have no idea what I was doing there.

In any case, it was held in the San Francisco offices of MySpace and covered such topics such as: How blogging and citizen journalism have changed the landscape, what works in the highly connected digital media space, and, of course, the ups and down of being a woman in the male-choked tech industry in Silicon Valley.

The panelists included former San Francisco Chronicle tech editor Deborah Gage, ZDNet’s Jennifer Leggio, Ubergizmo Editor Eliane Fiolet, VentureBeat’s Camille Ricketts and TechieDiva’s Gina Hughes.

It was a lively discussion, with highlights such as Fiolet telling a hilarious story about an encounter of the irksome kind at a gaming conference and jokingly recommending violence as a solution, and Hughes talking about the sometimes trollish commenters of Yahoo (YHOO) when she blogged there.

Overall takeaway: Be loud, be proud and ignore all the noise. That, or make some more–and, preferably, via Twitter.

I also did a short interview at the event with social media blogger and PR guy Brian Solis about his latest book, “Putting the Public Back in Public Relations.”

Natch, here is a lovely video I did–interviewing Solis, Hughes and Ricketts–which also includes yet another cruel “no comment” from Facebook’s talk-to-the-hand PR terror Brandee Barker:

]]> http://kara.allthingsd.com/20090813/girls-in-tech-journalism-20-panel-speak-loudly-and-carry-a-big-stick/feed/ 5 http://kara.allthingsd.com/20090811/for-shame-the-congo-nightmare-continues/ http://kara.allthingsd.com/20090811/for-shame-the-congo-nightmare-continues/#comments Tue, 11 Aug 2009 16:09:18 +0000 Kara Swisher http://kara.allthingsd.com/?p=17407

Eve Ensler, playwright, activist and creator of V-Day, appeared at the the seventh D: All Things Digital conference in late May to talk about the links between what goes into making mobile phones and human rights violations.

There, Ensler (pictured above) shed much needed light on the dire situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where some of the worst atrocities are now being committed on the population in a terrible civil war.

She predicted it would get worse without massive international intervention.

Tragically, she was right.

Yesterday, the Washington Post reported that rapes of women were escalating dramatically–if that is even possible considering past devastation–in the Congo.

Reported the Post:

“An already staggering epidemic of rape has become markedly worse since the January deployment of tens of thousands of poorly trained, poorly paid Congolese soldiers, with people in front-line villages such as this one saying the soldiers are not so much hunting rebels as hunting women.”

It follows another recent report by the New York Times about the rise of rapes of men too.

Today, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in the Congo, where she unveiled a $17 million plan to battle sexual violence in the country.

She said the situation was “evil in its basest form”

Ensler’s aim is to end the use of rape as a weapon of war there, which is, in part, a consequence of the region’s coltan trade. Coltan, or columbite tantalite, is a mineral essential to the manufacture of a wide array of consumer electronics, such as mobile phones and laptops.

Clinton mentioned these “conflict minerals” during her visit.

To learn more about a shameful situation that needs immediate attention, I urge you to watch the video interview from D7 with me, which you can see in its entirety below.

And then visit the V-Day site on the dire situation in the Congo to learn what you can do to help.

Here is the Ensler interview:

]]> http://kara.allthingsd.com/20090811/for-shame-the-congo-nightmare-continues/feed/ 2 http://kara.allthingsd.com/20090810/marc-cuban-makes-the-best-point-of-all-about-charging-for-content-use-you-imagination/ http://kara.allthingsd.com/20090810/marc-cuban-makes-the-best-point-of-all-about-charging-for-content-use-you-imagination/#comments Mon, 10 Aug 2009 13:17:53 +0000 Kara Swisher http://kara.allthingsd.com/?p=17205

Yesterday–in a somewhat rambling but also riveting blog post about charging for content–serial entrepreneur and perennial gadfly Mark Cuban made a very important point that execs at every large media company should take to heart as they try to cope with the digital challenge.

Use your noggins, why dontcha?

Cuban aimed the piece at News Corp. head Rupert Murdoch, who has been the most vocal media mogul of late about the issue of getting paid online for the copious amount of original content the various parts of the media giant he runs make.

(Such as this site, which is owned by Dow Jones, which is owned by News Corp.)

“Rupert, you didn’t ask my opinion on this, but since when has that ever stopped me,” wrote Cuban in his post titled “My Advice to Fox & MySpace on Selling Content–Yes You Can.” “First the good news. You can sell content on the internet. People pay for content on and off the internet every second of every day. It’s easy to do. If you do it right.”

Then, Cuban followed up with a long series of suggestions–in general, Cuban had more interesting ideas in one post than I have collectively heard in a while.

Like all good brainstorms, some are defensive moves, some offensive, some very interesting and some probably unworkable.

But, in this time of massive change, all are well worth considering because Cuban’s piece had the feel of throwing a whole bunch of ideas on the table and just knocking anything around–with the goal of creating a more important sense of discovery and entrepreneurialism.

It’s kind of like that great scene in the movie, “Apollo 13,” when the engineers had to come up with a solution for a dire problem, so they threw a pile of doodads on the table and started tinkering fast.

I dearly hope that is precisely what’s going on inside all the various media companies as they seek to maneuver the storm-tossed seas of change they find themselves in instead of the more typical inclination to throw blame in a time of crisis.

The problem, as it always turns out, is that industries in trouble always tend to shoot down ideas as they arise rather than embrace even the truly insane ones–one of which might turn out to be the innovation needed.

As Cuban correctly pointed out, that is often due to infighting at big corporations.

To the negative, I saw that up close and personal a half-dozen years ago as AOL was systematically dismembered at Time Warner (TWX), due to very real wounds from the disastrous merger, at the exact moment when everyone should have been pulling for it.

To the positive, it is clear that the many failings of Microsoft (MSFT) in the search game were what finally got it to take a greenfields approach with its recently announced Bing, which is finally a competitive product.

I like that kind of gumption, and it was nice to see that in just one blog post Cuban could come up with at least 10 ideas, many of which would doubtlessly not fly.

In fact, after one, Cuban wrote: “I don’t know if it will work, but it is sure worth exploring!”

It sure is.

Here is that clip from “Apollo 13,” as well as the full video of the interview Walt Mossberg and I did with the voluble Cuban on the issues facing media giants at the seventh D: All Things Digital conference in May:

Apollo 13

Cuban at D7

]]> http://kara.allthingsd.com/20090810/marc-cuban-makes-the-best-point-of-all-about-charging-for-content-use-you-imagination/feed/ 1 http://kara.allthingsd.com/20090807/the-outage-aftermath-louie-swisher-hearts-facebook-but-twitter-not-so-much/ http://kara.allthingsd.com/20090807/the-outage-aftermath-louie-swisher-hearts-facebook-but-twitter-not-so-much/#comments Fri, 07 Aug 2009 20:37:44 +0000 Kara Swisher http://kara.allthingsd.com/?p=17102

Like grandmother, like grandson.

Yesterday, I told my No. 1 son, Louie, that Twitter was down, after a denial-of-service attack.

He was–shall we say–not very sympathetic, as you can see in the video below.

Interestingly, Louie’s response was similar to my mother’s, Lucretia Carney, who mocked the San Francisco-based microblogging service at a gas station on the way to my interview with its founders at the seventh D: All Things Digital conference (see her video below too, as I continue to use my poor family as props in interviews).

It’s just anecdotal, of course, but it turns out their opinions actually track on several recent reports, the latest coming from Nielsen.

It showed that the 25-and-under crowd is definitely not the group adding to the site’s tremendous growth.

Using a panel of 250,000 U.S. Internet users, the data (which you can see above–click on the image to make it larger) said that there are fewer young people on Twitter than on the Web itself–16 percent versus 25 percent.

Older people, like my mother, are also a smaller group, at 20 percent of Twitter. The biggest and fastest-growing group on Twitter is 25 to 54, just like me, an obvious fan of the service.

An earlier anecdotal report from Morgan Stanley (MS) posited similar findings.

Facebook, of course, is hugely popular with young people. And, with Louie, who–even at the tender age of seven years old–wants me to set up an account now on the Silicon Valley-based social networking site, to be able to upload video, photos and more.

Check out his and my mother’s thoughts on the subject:

]]> http://kara.allthingsd.com/20090807/the-outage-aftermath-louie-swisher-hearts-facebook-but-twitter-not-so-much/feed/ 0 http://kara.allthingsd.com/20090805/the-agony-and-ecstasy-of-paula-simon-plus-when-abdul-did-d6/ http://kara.allthingsd.com/20090805/the-agony-and-ecstasy-of-paula-simon-plus-when-abdul-did-d6/#comments Wed, 05 Aug 2009 17:44:05 +0000 Kara Swisher http://kara.allthingsd.com/?p=17043

BoomTown is wearing all-black today, in profound mourning for the prospect of no Paula Abdul judging on “American Idol” next season.

“With sadness in my heart, I’ve decided not to return,” tweeted Abdul yesterday, bidding goodbye, natch, on Twitter.

Of course, her departure was over money–the boy talent, co-judge Simon Cowell and MC Ryan Seacrest, got a ton of it and Abdul got much less (although $2 million a year is a lot, it paled in comparison).

She is worth the scratch, though–especially considering how much the television singing juggernaut makes on Coke advertising placement alone–whether she was falling asleep in Carrie Underwood’s first audition or sleeping with contestants (allegedly!) or just doing that goofy seal clap and blathering out incomprehensible compliments to contestants.

Memo to News Corp. (NWS) TV unit Fox, which produces the TV show in the U.S.: Hand over more dough and pronto!

Sigh, as it is probably not to be–even though her bio is still on the “Idol” Web site.

So, here is a very funny video mashup done about her odd relationship with the acerbic Cowell.

Plus, here is a video from when Adbul also actually appeared–stranger than fiction–at the sixth D: All Things Digital conference.

She was there to help Activision Blizzard (ATVI) CEO Bobby Kotick publicly demo “Guitar Hero IV” for the first time, with the help of skateboarding star Tony Hawk.

I’ll be honest–I was sure she’d do something crazy, like goose Bill Gates of Microsoft (MSFT) or maybe fall off the stage–but she turned out to be a pro and forever my girl (oh, I had to).

Check it out, since I am off draping crepe at the All Things Digital HQ:

Paula & Simon:

Paula at D6:

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