Yesterday we mentioned that Facebook would be delaying their redesign until later this springbut that hasn't stopped the social network from rolling out a few new features in the meantime. The first feature, announced yesterday , is called Lexicon . The feature is designed to show the popularity of terms on the site's millions of "walls." )For the uninitiated, the "Wall" is the section of each individual or group profile page where people can leave messages.

Google's Website Optimizer has reached a milestone that most launches today don't: it left beta. Not only that, but it's also launching as an independent product, according to the Google Analytics Blog . What does it mean to get spun out in the Google product family? For starters, Google Website Optimizer is getting its own website )or, as you and I would call it, its own subdomain(, http://www.google.com/websiteoptimizer , and its own official blog ,

We need something better to celebrate than taxes today. I knowit's Leonardo da Vinci's birthday! And oh so very fittingly, we have a diverse collection of links today for linky goodness. Huh. Nobody's complaining about a YouTube monopoly )yet(, although YouTube Dominates Video More than Google Dominates Search . Batelle confirms it: Federated Media netted $50M from investors . I hadn't heard about this one, but Facebook will delay their redesign ,

Crazy, but true: there's actually good news for AOL again today. Hot on the heels of yesterday's news that AOL's advertising arm, Platform-A, signed a deal with Verizon comes comScore's report today that Platform-A and AOL were the top ad network in the US last month. comScore's report include this encouraging stat: Platform-A, the AOL ad network that combines Advertising.com, Quigo and Tacoda, served ads to 170 million U.S. Internet users in March,

If it's linky and it's good, you know what that means! Who said social networking was dying in the UK ? Certainly not Hitwise . This week their stats show that the Top 10 UK search terms are dominated by social networks/websites. Want a quick overview of all the efforts TV networks are making online? It's not just about putting episodes online: TV Networks Seek Formula for Online Ads . Tamar takes a look at whether 80% of Searches Really Informational,

If the Yahoo/Microsoft deal is to going happen at all, analysts think that it'll happen this week, according to CNET . Despite having rejected the initial offer long ago, Yahoo is still feeling the pressure for several reasons. Two deadlines are looming for Yahoo: Q1 reporting and Microsoft's latest ultimatum deadline. Yahoo's Q1 2008 reports are due out on the 22nd )next Tuesday(, and analysts don't expect much from them.

Remember earlier this week, someone was trying to trademark the acronym 'SEO' ? A helpful little comment on our post on that news just pointed me to the "enterprising marketer's" response , posted Wednesday. And if you didn't like his original idea, you'll probably like this one even less. First,

In the last 24 or so hours, all of the big three search engines have had news about expanding their maps programs. Live Maps Gets Way Cooler Live Search Maps and Virtual Earth 3D both got major tweaks this week, rolled out yesterday. The Live Search blog lists among the improvements: Directions and Traffic enhancements, including 1-Click directions )Party Maps!

Um . . . anybody know any good )clean( jokes? Oh, look, it's LINKY GOODNESS! Aren't you glad we're saved from another five minutes of uncomfortable conversation? Is the world ready for Online Video Ads ? eMarketer thinks online video ads are ready for the world, at least )available for a limited time(. A study last year ) abstract ( indicates that 80% of searches are informational, 10% are navigational and 10% are transactional )with 74% accuracy(.

Yahoo's second largest stockholder sent a thinly veiled message to Yahoo this week, telling them that Yahoo's better off independent if Microsoft lowers its offer . But what does their largest stockholder think? If we're judging based on that, signs are looking good for the still-twisting-in-the-wind Yahoo : Capital World Investors nearly doubled its holdings in the company in Q1. paidContent and CNET have all the boring facts: as of March 31, CWI owned 135.

I know you're going through linky withdrawal, what with only one Linky Goodness so far this month. Here's the fix you needed: Will websites soon be liable for content that their members post? Maybe courts chip away at Web sites' decade-old legal shield . Last.fm says their free )but limited( streaming music encourages music sales . It's been more than two years since we last posted about supposed-TV-Guidekiller MeeVee receiving funding and now it's for sale .

In an announcement made just moments ago, Yahoo has formally decided to try a limited test of Google's AdSense for Search program in their search results. From the release: The test will apply only to traffic from yahoo.com in the U.S. and will not include Yahoo!'s extended network of affiliate or premium publisher partners. The test is expected to last up to two weeks and will be limited to no more than 3% of Yahoo! search queries.

Do you use the word "SEO" to describe what you do? Look out: an "enterprising" marketer )both of those words are used euphemistically( has set his sights on taking your livelihoodor at least your right to use that acronym. As SEOmoz's Sarah Bird reports, one Jason Gambert has filed an application to trademark the acronym SEO . Sarah has documented the ridiculous history of his application, begun almost a year ago, well.

As with most legal battles, the ConnectU suit against Facebook has begun to drag out: first filed in September 2004, the legal battle over who originally created the source code for Facebook is still ongoing. Last July, a Massachusetts Federal judge ruled that ConnectU needed concrete evidence to bring their suit. It looked like the suit would die after the ruling stated that "claims must have a factual basis.

If you haven't been following the copyright battle over the popular Facebook app Scrabulous, here's a bit of catch up: Scrabulous is an online version of the board game Scrabblebut it was launched )as an independent site and later a Facebook app( without proper authorization from the joint copyright owners of the board game, Hasbro and Mattel. To further complicate the issue, the digital rights to the game are jointly owned by two other companies,

Here's some linky goodness to see you off into the weekend! Just in case you weren't already jealous enough of Craig Newmark, Silicon Alley Insider values Craigslist at $5 Billion Those 300 DoubleClick employees that got laid off? They failed Google's "entrance exam" )okay, well, application process(. In case you had doubts, Comcast and Starcom commissioned a study to confirm that ad targeting works .

We've heard all kinds of privacy concerns since Google Maps launched its Street View photos last May, most of which have had little legal merit. However, this week a new lawsuit about Street View images could change that. Aaron and Christine Boring )yeah, seriously( of Pittsburgh, PA, are suing Google for posting images of their home which is located on a private road. The suit, filed Wednesday in Pennsylvania, asks for $25,

MySpace announces today that they will launch MySpace Music, a service to rival Apple's popular iTunes music player and marketplace. Like iTunes, MySpace Music will feature streaming music, paid DRM-free MP3 downloads and music-related merchandise. MySpace Music is a joint venture with Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group. The other major recording company, EMI, may still sign on, possibly even before MySpace Music launches.

Good news from many quarters for mobile marketing. Not only are Yahoo and Microsoft announcing enhanced mobile features , but mobile advertising response rates are up. In a survey conducted last quarter, Nielsen reports that mobile advertising exposure and response rates are up in the US. Fifty-eight million mobile subscribers reported seeing ads on their mobile phones in the month before the surveythat's 23% of all mobile subscribers. Of those 58M, over half of them )51%,

Both Microsoft and Yahoo announce big moves in the area of mobile and mobile search today. Microsoft plans to upgrade its mobile Internet Explorer browser, according to an announcement released yesterday )no word on whether that's just prank, though(. Microsoft's press release states that this will bring "desktop-grade Web browsing to Windows Mobile phones," with enhanced features especially for mobile phones.