In addition to today’s Internet Marketing Monitor coverage, we felt these stories were worth pulling out of the multitude of news items for June 25, 2007:

Google to Acquire GrandCentral [TechCrunch]

Disclaimer: no confirmation has been sent by either company as of this writing.

What? Google is buying another company? Oh man… that means it must be… and day that ends in ‘y’. Haha. So what is GrandCentral, you ask? Simply put… it’s an online switchboard for your phone that lets you give out one number and get calls on any number of other phones. You set the rules about who gets transferred to what number, when the rules apply, etc. So why is Google interested in such a service? No one knows for sure. It could have something to do with GTalk. Luckily, Techmeme is literally overflowing with commentary on the story from dozens of sites across the net. I’ll let you make up your own mind.

Help me build a new blogger toolbox [Drew’s Marketing Minute]

Wouldn’t it be nice if, as a new blogger, there was some resource available to help you build a great addition to the blogosphere? Sure… there are a lot of great sites and services that can help. But you have to know what you’re looking for to find a lot of them… and new bloggers may not know what to look for. Drew McLellan wants to fill in the gap and create a one-stop resource to make the process of starting a blog much easier. The way it works is pretty simple: create a list of a few sites of use to new bloggers (and why you recommend them), link back to his post so he can combine them into one, and then encourage your readers to do the same thing. There are actually a lot more details on his site… so make sure you check it out and get your list posted! I’ve got some ideas for ours (but I want to consult with my fellow IMMers before I post anything). Via Patrick @ The Lonely Marketer, who was kind enough to include us in his list - Thanks Patrick!!

Yahoo! to Combine Search and Display Advertising Sales Teams [Yahoo! Press Release]

First of all, I think this makes sense from a fat-trimming perspective. Why have two different teams doing basically the same thing? Advertisers are looking for integrated, multi-format campaigns and this puts Yahoo! in a better position to offer a coherent ad package. What’s interesting about this news is the accompanying departure of Wenda Millard, Yahoo!’s Chief Sales Officer in the U.S. Some reports are saying that Millard left to go work for Martha Stewart Omnimedia. The press release words things a little differently:

As part of the reorganization, Wenda Millard, Yahoo!’s Chief Sales Officer in the US will be leaving the company effective immediately. Coleman added, “While Wenda was a big contributor to our success in the past, the industry has shifted and requires a different set of skills to take the business forward.”

Does that really sound like a voluntary departure to you? Maybe I’m just reading too much into it.

Google calls for more limits on Microsoft [Financial Times]

Google isn’t going to let the Windows Vista desktop search issue die. First they cried “anti-competitive”. The DOJ and state regulators stepped in. Microsoft responded by agreeing to make some changes to Vista SP1. Google said it wasn’t enough. Regulators said that it was. So Google skipped over all of their heads and has made a direct appeal to the judge overseeing the enforcement of the Microsoft’s anti-trust settlement. In particular, Google is asking the judge to extend the time frame of the government’s oversight so that the Mountain View search company can pursue the matter longer. Regulators are done with the issue, calling Google’s latest move a “PR stunt”. But who knows… maybe the judge is more gullible.

Until tomorrow…  goodnight!