Unravel her teenhood

Ad Networks and Analytics:

• Rumor has it Google might buy game delivery network Valve.
• WidgetBucks is adding local and travel ad widgets to its network.
• Heavy Corp. relaunches its video ad platform to include extra publisher features, including a "Help" mode.

Agencies and Marketing Execs:

• Todd Yancey joins Confirmit as its North American VP of Strategic Accounts.
• Ex AOL exec Jack Rotherham joins Metacafe as SVP of Strategic Sales & Partnerships.
• Next New Networks scores new CEO: Lance Podell, formerly of Seevast.
• Nancy Kirkpatrick becomes President of Worldwide Marketing at Summit Entertainment.

Biz Buzz:

• Unlike its US counterpart NebuAd, the UK's Phorm — also a behavioral targeting firm that works with ISPs — gets the OK from industry heads.

Campaigns of Note:

• It is unclear why Crispin decided to halt the Microsoft ad campaign featuring Seinfeld. One thing is certain: the effort is taking a completely different direction that Microsoft claims was "planned from the start." The company plans to rebuke the "Mac vs. PC" ads directly.
• A hacker penetrates Sarah Palin's private email account. All hell breaks loose in the media.
• Time, Inc. launched a video series for MyRecipes.com. In it, top chefs share their kitchen secrets.
• Martyn Dean joins Euro RSCG/Chicago as Group Creative Director.
• Susan Lyne is now CEO of Gilt Group.
• Rob Rich is now EVP/group CD of Hill Holliday's Boston office, whose accounts include Liberty Mutual and Bank of America.

Mobile:

• Nokia added several major European publishers to its Nokia Media Network, a mobile ad network launched in February.
• AP's mobile news network, which launched in May, served 16 million page views in its first full month. Over one million local stories were read.
• One in five US wireless households may forsake their landlines by the end of 2008.
• Statistically, smartphone users download entertainment and gaming applications more than any other types of content.

Publishing:

• Candace Bushnell, author of the now-famous Sex and the City, plans to pen two teen novels documenting Carrie Bradshaw's formative years in high school. The first book, part of The Carrie Diaries, comes out in 2010.
• IMDB adds 6,000 films and TV shows to its database, dramatically increasing number of pages and general scope.

Search:

• Refuting analyst forecasts, Google says its sponsored search ad deal with Yahoo will not inflate search ad rates as much as 22 percent.

Social Networks:

• Facebook is holding its second annual fbFund competition. Over 600 companies have submitted apps to it so far.
• SortPrice.com added a new shopping app, The Wishlist, to Facebook. It enables users to browse and compare prices for products, then post favorites to their profile pages.

User Experience:

• In a poll of its customers, Register.com found nearly 50 percent plan to vote for John McCain in November, compared to just over 35 percent for Barack Obama.