Live Current Media (OTCBB: LIVC.ob) today announced the sale of a domain name for gross proceeds of 500,000 CAD, or approximately $400,000 USD. Based on information including whois record changes, Domain Name Wire believes the domain name sold is Malaysia.com. Malaysia.com is the only domain the company has put on the sales block that has had a whois change since then.

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2. Managing your own Adsense is fun

3. Youtube can find you any song, even the oldest one

4. Interior design for our incubator will start as soon as we get the key.

5. My sister washed her mobile phone in washing machine.

6. Clinic Petaling Jaya (next to Murni) is one the best. They don’t give antibiotic.

7. We are Visa agent again

8. My friend is featured in a Blog :)

Simple problem become easier for one to understand and to be solved. To solve a simpler problem, a simple solution is enough to do the job!

It is the same question I have been asking myself lately and I must admit, I don’t know the answer. I directed her to this post and I wish she can find a right one for me.

Maybe, I will use ‘Your Friend’ next time. It should cover more, huh?

Branding is modern-day fortune telling.

They talk to people who believe in them only. I was never approached by a street fortune teller because I doesn’t look like their customer. Perhaps, I looked like those who is going to throw them a question of why not they spend more time predicting their own future (to be more specific, Toto’s winning numbers).

Fortune teller must always make sure they look good, at least from outside. Since their work is all about prediction, telling everyone they have the most accurate prediction give them more creditibility- but what is prediction creditably for? The most I can say is, that particular fortune teller is luckier is his wild guess!

Well, many branding companies carry big names. That big name is only to make them look good and cost you more. The big name does not help you to make what you are selling taste better, or your customers to feel better.

Do not worry, like most fortune tellers, they are not going to cause anything bad to your business. See, you won’t die now even if a fortune teller told you so (but I’m sure they don’t want you to die and have one less customer).

But the real problem when you have a brand consultant with a successful business! Who knows, the credits go to branding? Having stay alive for one extra day, has nothing to do with a fortune teller, right?

Yes, comes the standard story…

Several web agencies were invited to present a mockup. The best one was chosen. A brand new website was launched after several months, Old marketing managers were happy about it, at very least!

The problem of many businesses is they don’t think big enough! Perhaps, they have tried to think out of box, but the box is just too small.

How far can a cruise operator’s website go if it can only allow booking of their own tour package? What is the difference when it was compared to a cruise booking website that allow visitors to book tour package of any cruise operator?

I have recently attended their private launch of the new Maybank2U 2.0 website. If only Maybank2U knows not all users are techy, and their new website doesn’t seem to address to this problem at all!

A common problem for many System Interface Designers is, they believe everyone knows hitting Ctrl+V is Paste, and no one will choose the Paste function from File menu.

The old Maybank website

Look at the amount of information, links and pictures in this page. Yes, this is catchy in a bad way- distracting users’ attention on important notice and security alert. Choice is not good, in this case.

This might easily help everyone (Including Mr. Ctrl+V and Mr. File) to fight phishing. This cost less to develop, no consultancy fee to pay (I’m happy to share), and most importantly, to convince more people to use Maybank2U!

But after a while, you start to think why the result was not as expected. Your cost acquiring new visitors is high, the Blog is not active, no one seems to use the tell-a-friend box in your website…

But, someone next door – without any experience in selling books, started an online book store. They have some funny story and people are spreading the news for them, their CEO can be reached anytime by an email, the way they reply the customer support email is fun.

Start an online business, never extend it from a conventional one!

What is noise? When you have hundred of products but only one which is selling well, the rest are noise. When you want to indulge yourself to do something, any interruption is considering noise, as well!

Outsourcing seems to be one of the way to cut off noise. Sony or IKEA will not be of what they are today if they choose not to outsource. Raw materials, production and logistics are examples of noise.

Noise can be passing around. Consumers buy rice from supermarkets, supermakets from distributors, distributors tfrom rice mill owners, and farmers lastly. Each level trying to get rid of noise.

What is the effect of noise? Farmers spent most of their time working in the paddy field to produce rice. In this case, farmers are bearing the noise from consumers, under the hot sun. The digested noise are now turning into experience of how to grow paddy!

Skill is a result of noise!

The domain pizza.com was acquired by an annonymous bidder for 2.6 million dollars after 14 years. The owner, Chris Clark bought the name pizza.com in 1994, never thought that this can fetch to such a higher price, after he saw an opportunity of the acquisition for vodka.com!

Another giant online deal was struck between DoubleClick and Google.

Via Reuters

SAN FRANCISCO, April 13 (Reuters) – Google Inc. said on Friday it would pay $3.1 billion for Web ad supplier DoubleClick Inc., its biggest acquisition, accelerating a push into the graphic ad market led by Yahoo Inc.

The juggernaut of Web search-based advertising beat out suitors Microsoft Corp. (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) and Yahoo in the final stages, sources familiar with the negotiations said. Time Warner Inc.’s AOL online unit had earlier considered a bid.

The agreed price represents a huge payday for San Francisco private equity firm Hellman & Friedman, DoubleClick’s majority owner, which 21 months ago paid $335 million for the assets acquired by Google, a source familiar with the deals said.

With this new acquisition, Google will further strengthen their leadership in the world of web advertising.

Here’s the official press release from Google…

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., April 13, 2007 – Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) announced today a definitive agreement to acquire DoubleClick Inc., a global leader in digital marketing technology and services, for $3.1 billion in cash from San Francisco-based private equity firm Hellman & Friedman along with JMI Equity and management. The acquisition will combine DoubleClick’s expertise in ad management technology for media buyers and sellers with Google’s leading advertising platform and publisher monetization services.

The combination of Google and DoubleClick will offer superior tools for targeting, serving and analyzing online ads of all types, significantly benefiting customers and consumers:

* For users, the combined company will deliver an improved experience on the web, by increasing the relevancy and the quality of the ads they see.
* For online publishers, the combination provides access to new advertisers, which creates a powerful opportunity to monetize their inventory more efficiently.
* For agencies and advertisers, Google and DoubleClick will provide an easy and efficient way to manage both search and display ads in one place. They will be able to optimize their ad spending across different online media using a common set of metrics.

“It has been our vision to make Internet advertising better – less intrusive, more effective, and more useful. Together with DoubleClick, Google will make the Internet more efficient for end users, advertisers, and publishers,” said Sergey Brin, Google’s Co-Founder and President, Technology.

“DoubleClick’s technology is widely adopted by leading advertisers, publishers and agencies, and the combination of the two companies will accelerate the adoption of Google’s innovative advances in display advertising,” said Eric Schmidt, Chief Executive Officer of Google.

“This transaction will strengthen our advertising network by expanding our access to publisher inventory and enabling us to serve the needs of a broader set of advertisers and ad agencies,” said Tim Armstrong, Google’s President, Advertising and Commerce, North America.

“Google is the absolute perfect partner for us,” said David Rosenblatt, Chief Executive Officer of DoubleClick. “Combining DoubleClick’s cutting edge digital solutions for both media buyers and sellers with Google’s scale and innovative resources will bring tremendous value to both our employees and clients.”

“When we acquired DoubleClick in July 2005, we saw an opportunity to partner with a great management team to further enhance the company’s capabilities and growth trajectory,” said Philip Hammarskjold, Managing Director of Hellman & Friedman. “This transaction affirms the successful transformation of DoubleClick, positions the firm for the future, and greatly benefits our investors.”

Both companies have approved the transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, and is expected to close by the end of the year.

Of course, not everyone is happy with what Google is doing with the customer profiles they will be taking over from DoubleClick.

Via Washingtonpost.com

“Google will operate with virtually no legal obligation to ensure the privacy, security and accuracy of the personal data that it collects. At this time, there is simply no consumer privacy issue more pressing for the commission to consider than Google’s plan to combine the search histories and Web site visit records of Internet users,” the complaint says.

In 1999, DoubleClick drew criticism when it announced a plan to merge an offline database of consumer records with its online user-history database. The ensuing uproar and a 2000 FTC complaint filed by EPIC led DoubleClick to cancel the plan, but since then, the online ad industry has become more sophisticated.

The consumer groups also want the FTC to order DoubleClick and Google to destroy cookies that can identify users and to order Google to give people access to the personally identifiable data the company keeps on them.

With Yahoo and Microsoft eyeing for web dominance, this new acquisition might just land Google with lots of anti-trust lawsuits…

At that moment, there is no other way to register 1.my as MyNIC decided to stop offering just .my registration after 1996! Only few lucky one got theirs, including sirim.my, utm.my, and gov.my (special case, registered after 1996).

“one.com.my or 1.com.my?” asked by our customers. Again, we registered one.com.my during year 2003 to have less confusion.

It was a long way after MyNIC re-opened the .my registration by the end of year 2007. We are lucky enough to secure 1.my finally and in conjunction with the new launch of our website.