E-Commerce Blog

In our industry, we live on innovation, and innovation takes capital — something that has been in short supply over the last couple of years. Venture funding took a massive hit in 2009, but there are signs that the trend might be bottoming out. If it is, we might all learn to exhale again. According to an article at BloggingStocks.com, a recent report “… from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association pegs total investment in startups for the fourth quarter of 2009 at $5.02 billion, a decline of 2 percent from the third quarter.

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VCs’ Confidence Crisis

Security may be the hottest topic in IT, but it’s also one of the least understood. So BriefingDirect assembled a panel to examine the need for IT security to run more like a data-driven science, rather than a mysterious art form. Rigorously applying data and metrics to security can dramatically improve IT results and reduce overall risk to the business. By employing and applying more metrics and standards to security, the protection of IT becomes better, and the known threats can become evaluated uniformly.

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Making IT Security Less Artsy and More Scientific

A freelance security consultant working on behalf of the Chinese government was likely involved in the hack attacks that prompted Google to take a stand against China last month, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. The man, who is in his 30s, did not launch the attack; rather, he wrote the code that tapped a security flaw in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer to insert spyware into Google’s computers, according to the FT, which cited a source working for the U.S. government.

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Google Hack Smells More and More Like Chinese Government Job

OK, so you finally have your logos, images, message documents and case studies all organized in your new digital asset management system and all is right with the world. Then it happens. You suddenly start getting emails from your sales team that old logos are being used on spec sheets — but that’s just the beginning. Someone has photoshopped a new product box of unreleased software into your homepage image. And one of your distributors is on the phone wanting to know why his competitor has your new marketing material and he doesn’t.

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Whose Fingers Are in Your DAM?

Microsoft and Yahoo have received clearance for their search agreement from both the DoJ and the EC, the companies jointly announced Thursday, and they will soon begin implementing their plans. The process will involve porting Yahoo’s algorithmic and paid search platforms to Microsoft and making Yahoo the exclusive relationship sales force for both companies’ premium search advertisers across the globe. Under terms announced last July, Microsoft will provide Yahoo with the same search result listings that are now available through Bing.

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Microsoft and Yahoo: All Systems Go