VideoEgg Ad Network introduces five new features today, including zip-code specific messaging that provides hyperlinks from an embeddable player to stores in a viewer's  area. Using consumers' IP data to localize ads isn't new, but generating it from a video player, with link to an interactive map, is pretty cool. The shopping feature makes it possible to browse products directly [...]

Google Finance, in beta for the last year, has been quickly evolving with with introduction of realtime quotes from the NYSE late last month and international launches of Google Finance in Canada the U.K. and China. The integration of Google News and portfolio management tools means that Google Finance is moving to become a bonafide consumer finance destination site, a sector long dominated [...]

(11/11/2008 update: We had to take this video down because the copyright expired. Our apologies.) Always good to get Walt Mossberg's take on new gear.  Tonight the Wall Street Journal published his print and video review of the new Apple 3G iPhone.  We've embedded the video here. Walt's take is mixed: Much improved Internet speed on the the 3G network but weak battery [...]

Today we launched on Bebo, the fast-growing social network purchased this year by AOL.  We are not sure how quickly we can build a community there, but for a video producer, we believe it can be a powerful tool. Unlike MySpace which only permits uploads to the MySpace video player and Facebook which provides a video widget called the Wall, Bebo [...]

Boxee users can watch YouTube videos, listen to Last FM music, and sort through pictures from Picasa and Flickr--all on their television sets. The process requires only a free software download to a PC or Mac, a cable, and a comptuer or universal remote. Boxee, which launched in private alpha testing a couple of weeks ago, isn't the first to [...]

I am delighted that beginning today, Beet.TV is being sponsored by the Smart Show, an episodic Web series about business travel created for Holiday Inn Express by Digitas.  I've posted the the season's first episode above. Fred Zaun over at ClickZ has many of the details in his post this morning.  Tameka Kee at Mediapost also has the story.  [...]

Google Trends for Websites, launched late last month, reports website traffic, related websites and search terms. In short, the kind of services also offered by Compete and Alexa. Trends for Websites isn't a serious business tool yet, since the data Google currently provides are estimates based on search volume and search traffic, not accurate numbers. R.J. Pittman, Director of Product Management [...]

An online video campaign is attracting 70 percent of new army prospects, Beet.TV has learned. MRM, a digital ad agency owned by Interpublic Group, produced videos for the online Army Strong campaign that highlight and demystify the Army experience. Last week we spoke with MRM New York's Creative Director Michael Jacobs, who heads digital campaigns for the Army, Nikon, and [...]

It's been nearly two years since I interviewed Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes on the  Stanford University campus.  In this interview, he explains the beginnings of Facebook at Harvard and the reasons for its success.  Since leaving Facebook, Chris has moved to Chicago and plays a central role in the online campaign of Barack Obama.  Brian Stelter in today's New York Times has [...]

The interoperability of consumer electronic devices is essential for the entertainment industry, but it is not yet a reality, says Steve Abraham, who is co-head of IBM's global media and entertainment practice. I caught up with him last month in Los Angeles at the OnHollywood conference.  He says that work is going on behind the scenes to make digital devices [...]

Traffic to Compete, the Web metrics company, is not being reported by Nielsen Online due to a dip in traffic to 370,000 unique visitors in May.  While Compete is being tracked by Nielsen, traffic for May put it below a threshold for accurate reporting, a Nielsen Online spokesperson told us.    Website traffic metrics, meaning the solutions and services used [...]

HOLLYWOOD -- 50 Cent, who is touring with his G-Unit crew to promote his new album,  has been getting good notices, including this story from Thursday's (7/3) The New York Times. Fueling his popularity is a successful fan site which prominently displays fan-uploaded videos onto a Kyte player.  Watching a video on my desktop, iTunes open on my browser right to [...]

Google Labs will soon become "more transparent in its interaction with end users," R.J. Pittman, who heads Google's consumer search operations, told Beet.TV earlier this week in this video interview.  He also said the company is making a major commitment to expand and accelerate the rate of innovation of the Labs. In June, Google made the first big step in opening [...]

Getting covered on TechCrunch, the hugely influential blog about technology, media and innovation, which is among the most desired and toughest media outlooks to crack, has just gotten much easier with its new video upload page for company pitches. OK, sure, it's not like an interview with Michael Arrington, but the the video pitches are uploaded to the site where they [...]

LOS ANGELES--The online movie distribution company Jaman has made a niche for itself in the online film distribution market, focusing on indie and international films rather than big Hollywood hits. The site offers 3,500 films--the kind that do well at film festivals, like The World's Fastest Indian and Redacted. Films can usually be rented for $1.99 or purchased for $4.99, and some [...]

Natali Del Conti,  CNET Senior Editor and host of "Loaded," is finding some good exposure from the acquisition of CNET by CBS which closed this week. Natali has been doing several appearances on the CBS Early Show over the past few weeks.  Now CNET is returning the favor by publishing a video of Harry Smith and Natali.  It's a package [...]

HIRO, the Tel Aviv-based company that is enabling video publishers to manage and distribute downloadable advertising, and Pando, the company that is powering P2P distribution of files for major broadcasters, including NBC, have announced a joint partnership. We don't know when customer deals will be announced, but this tie-up makes a lot of sense to us.  It is inevitable that more [...]

As it seeks to monetize the exploding universe of uploaded images to the Web, which Google says is nearing one trillion, it is developing image processing to more effectively search and organize images.    Presently,  photos are  indexed primarily by text and other metadata. In May, Google announced plans to begin matching images from its fast-growing Google Image Search with [...]

LOS ANGELES -- Instead of the $10 million spent for network pilots, creative web producers are beginning to fill the critical role of program development, according Vince Manze, president at  NBC Universal Creative Services.  Although Quarterlife didn't work out for NBC as had been hoped, it wasn't a big financial loss.  There will more pioneering Web programs heading toward the [...]

LOS ANGELES -- I caught up with in Hollywood producer Sandy Climan earlier this month at OnHollywood to talk about 3D.  He heads up a Burbank-based start-up called 3ality Digital which is creating 3D viewing for film and television.  (Not for computer screens, yet.) He produced the U2 "3D" concert film which debut at Sundance in January.  He told me that [...]