U.S. Searchs Down in Nov; Mapping ones, too

There was 5% dip in the number of U.S.-based Web searches from October, according to the latest comScore qSearch analysis. Now, November does have one less day than October, and nearly all the big players showed it ( with Yahoo showing a 7% drop, one that’s hard to explain based on a single day off. But the rankings are the same: Google 59%, Yahoo 23% and Microsoft 10%. Ask and AOL round out the pack. AOL’s MapQuest numbers dropped 17%, even with Thanksgiving a big driving holiday in the month.

- MediaPost
- raw data from comscore

Navman Fined for Price “Fixing” in Australia

Per APC Magazine Navman executives tried to restrict resellers from discounting its satnav devices. That adds up to a AU$1.25 million fine from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission [ACCC], the Australian government organisation responsible for ensuring compliance with the Trade Practices Act 1974.

Chitown News Goes Local

I’ve been keeping tabs on how online journalists have been using maps to offer more features. See for example what MetaCarta offers in that realm. Others are going a different route: geotagging stories and asking registered readers to key in addresses to deliver neighborhood news. Recently, Chi*town Daily News did just that. It’s a citizen journalist run news site for Chicago. Luckily, I know the neighborhoods there and could regsiter with an old college address. When I log in I see map centered on that address with local news stories linked off a Google Map.

Equally interesting, per MediaShift/IdeaLab, is the deal for advertisers.

For advertisers this represents an amazing opportunity to pay for ads that reach people in a particular neighborhood. And they’re cheap—$50 to get started.

There’s more. It’s not just that we’re matching users with ads near them. We’re pairing content with nearby ads, too.

This is a way new media can potential “jump” traditional media and hopefully attract funding via advertising.