$200M Russian Investment Values Facebook at $10B

Google wants more users for Google+, more advertising markets

(NEWSER) - Google is trying to buy rival Yahoo and has talked to at least two private equity firms about financing the deal, reports the Wall Street Journal . Despite Internet ad revenues soaring around 20% a year, Yahoo revenue has foundered for several years, spurring talk the Internet giant could go private to regroup away from the pressures of the stock market. Google is apparently interested in finding a new outlet for its omnipresent ads, Yahoo's exclusive publishing relationships, and the boost that Yahoo's 700 million unique monthly users could give Google+ . More»

Friend Bing, get a few Farmville bucks

(NEWSER) - Online advertisers are migrating ever more quickly toward a gold mine of eager, impressionable consumers: gamers on social networks. The preferred ad buy trades some sort of action—watching a video, becoming a fan of the company on Facebook—for a few units of the online currency used in those games. Advertisers like Microsoft, McDonald’s, and Sony appear to value the method, which is more quantifiable than display advertising, and could spell trouble for big names like AOL and Yahoo. More»

Social networking site beats Google, Yahoo, YouTube combined

(NEWSER) - The average American Facebook user spent 7 hours surfing the site last month, more time than users spent on Google, Yahoo, YouTube, Microsoft/Bing, Wikipedia and Amazon combined, according to the latest Nielsen numbers. You read that right: combined. The number represents a staggering jump, Mashable notes. Just last June, the average user spent only 4 hours and 39 minutes on the site. More»

'Project Titan' overhaul of messaging function has insiders abuzz

(NEWSER) - Facebook plans to replace its clunky old messaging system with a fully featured e-mail platform in the hopes of taking down the biggest players in the market. The project’s official internal name is Project Titan, sources tell Michael Arrington of TechCrunch , but unofficially they’re calling it “the Gmail killer.” It’ll have full POP/IMAP support, too, giving users access to their accounts from outside Facebook. More»

(NEWSER) - Apple is closing in on a $700 million, all-cash deal to buy Twitter, Gawker reports. Silicon Valley sources say an agreement could be announced as early as next month at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference, and the iPhone is reportedly the force behind the deal: Its users already post countless Twitter messages on Tweetie and other Apple apps. More»