SPAM in a CAN
still spells trouble

Signs of Doom:

• Classmates.com has decided against pursuing an initial public offering. The parent company said the market just isn't in the right place.
• Barracuda Networks issued a report saying 90 to 95 percent of all email sent is spam, which it asserts means the CAN-SPAM Act just isn't working.

Google:

• A new AdSense unit that scrolls, allowing for more ads in a small piece of online real estate, is being tested by Google.
• House Republican Joe Barton, who sits on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has issued a letter to Google asking questions related to privacy issues relating to its acquisition of DoubleClick.
• Two consumer groups asked the chairwoman of the FTC to excuse herself from the Google/DoubleClick case because her husband works for a law firm representing DoubleClick.

Tools and Software:

• Mio.TV was launched as a downloadable desktop app geared toward a Hispanic audience. It allows them to view and share videos, photos, documents and more. The site will feature original programming at launch, with more to come.
• Facebook decided the best defense against OpenSocial is a good offense and is making its platform available to other social networks, including Bebo.
• Vivendi and Greystripe are bringing ad-supported games to the mobile platform.

Europe:

• Microsoft bought Multimap, a UK-based online mapping company that also offers hotel and restaurant reservation booking. The site will be integrated into Search and Virtual Earth products.
• According to a new study from Ofcam, four out of 10 British adults visited a social network site in '06, making it the most active social network using part of Europe.

Executive Shifts:

• Omar Tawakol left Medio Systems to create BlueKai, which Meido announced it would work with, even though what BlueKai is going to be doing is still unclear.

Biz Buzz:

• Michael Arrington started the bidding at $250,000 for the assets of Edgeio, a classifieds listing site he started and which shut down last week.
• Further proof that social networks are the new search portal comes as Jason Calacanis adds social networking functionality to his human-powered search site Mahalo.
• Rhapsody will provide digital music to MOG that can be shared among the community's members.