What a Croc!

Ad Networks and Analytics:

• Online video site OVGuide.com selected DoubleClick's Dart for Publishers to sell ad inventory on the site.
• comScore Arbitron provide Online Radio Ratings for TargetSpot's 600 radio station partners.

Agencies and Marketing Execs:

• Former Yahoo VP of political advertising Richard Kosinski has moved to Westwood One, where he will head digital news, sports and talk products.
• Tribal DDB was named agency of record for Quaker Oats, taking on the brand's digital work.
• Podcast network Wizzard Media made Peter Berntsen its Midwest account manager. Berntsen will be responsible for developing campaigns for advertisers in the area.
• Digital marketing optimization solutions provider Coremetrics named Kathi Kaplan its Chief Marketing Officer.
• Michelin North America's creative and digital accounts are up for review.
• Peter Horan is leaving his CEO position at IAC Media and Advertising to become lead e-mail certification provider Goodmail Systems.

Biz Buzz:

• The drama surrounding the Clear Channel takeover has drawn to a close: the company accepted a smaller-than-anticipated $17.9 billion — or $36/share — from two private equity firms.
• Investor Carl Icahn might make his own bid for Yahoo, which will likely spark a proxy fight over board seats.
• IAC and Liberty Media have made nice over IAC/Interactive's division into five companies, a process that can now move forward.
• Women's site SheKnows has purchased PregnancyandBaby.com.
• The Associated Press might buy Moreover Technologies from VeriSign.
• Fantasy Sports Ventures Inc. is buying league analysis site Baseball HQ, part of a move toward having a major presence in each sports community.
• Dictionary.com and other reference sites have been absorbed by Ask.com, which acquired parent company Lexico Publishing.

Campaigns of Note:

• Footwear maker Crocs launched a video network featuring tourists walking around in its signature shoes. It also created a YouTube channel for its new "What a Croc!" campaign.

E-Commerce:

• New York decision to collect tax from online purchases drove Overstock.com to cancel all contracts with affiliates in that state.

Entertainment:

• Nintendo launched a WiiWare distribution channel for games created by outside developers.
• Disney introduced DGamer, a social network for global players of its online games.

Mobile:

• Virgin Mobile launched a Facebook app called "Fund My Phone," which lets users earn minutes watching ad spots, responding to surveys or taking other actions designed to help marketers.
• Verizon is using Linux-based LiMo operating system for its mobile units, a big move against Google's Android mobile OS initiative.
• Samsung is working with LG Electronics and Harris Corp. to let mobile devices receive TV broadcast signals.
• Listeners can tune in to favorite podcasts with a new on-demand service from start-up company Foneshow.

New and Improved:

• Pepsi's official website was made over to decrease clutter and highlight current promotions.
• Facebook may roll out a cleaner design for profile pages, an effort to cut out the clutter resulting mostly from apps.

Publishing:

• TheAdDatabase.com lets publishers list ad inventory and other information in a search-friendly environment.
• BusinessWeek writer Stephen Baker wrote an article in tangent with Twitter users. Published today, "Why Twitter Matters" is the result of over 250 contributed "tweets," including quotes and volunteered research.

Research and Stats:

• According to Nielsen Online, Wikipedia saw traffic grow by 8,000 percent over the last five years. Search engines represent four out of the five top referrers to the community encyclopedia.
• By this time next year, Google's search business might be more profitable than Microsoft's ubiquitous Windows software.

Tools and Software:

• Facebook's chat tool will soon be Jabber/XMPP compliant, meaning it can be integrated into other instant-messaging applications beyond the site.
• Speculation is mounting that development of applications for Facebook is waning, due to competition from other social networks and a saturated market.