Can't figure out whether this is an ad serving problem, or an issue with Firefox 3.0. But every time I visit a page in the film section of The Village Voice , two ads for current film "The Wackness" display. Well, make that 2 1/2 ads. An upside-down, partial ad also appears, spilling down into the lower frame of the browser. If it's an ad serving issue, it's easy to straighten out. But if the new version of Firefox, which is setting download records,

A federal judge yesterday ordered Google to hand over to Viacom information about YouTube users' viewing habits. U.S. District Judge Louis L. Stanton's order set off a firestorm among privacy advocates, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The group contends the disclosure of the information would violate a federal privacy law and could potentially expose private information about YouTube users. "The Court's erroneous ruling is a set-back to privacy rights,

The Interactive Advertising Bureau U.K. has launched its dedicated Search Help Centre , offering advice to marketers on best practices, policy and legal regulation regarding search marketing. Content for the site is supplied by Google, Microsoft and Yahoo, alongside a panel of agencies and advertisers from the IAB U.K.'s Search Council. The free resource is intended to provide regularly updated information on issues surrounding trademarks, copyright, invalid clicks,

Can't decide whether to advertise on Google's YouTube or NBC and Fox's Hulu? Edgy vs. mainstream? Eminem's " Sing For The Moment ," or " Nutty Professor II: The Klumps? " Want to learn about the latest innovations in online and interactive video creative for advertising and marketing? Probe these questions and more with the nation's leading interactive video experts at the ClickZ Online Video Advertising Forum on July 22 in New York City. Come to see: *YouTube's Brian Cusack,

Forrester just lost some serious mojo in the all-important digital ad space. Charlene Li, among the most recognized analysts covering digital technology and a special advocate for social media marketing, just announced on her blog that she'd soon move on from the firm to spend more time with her family and consider her next move. July 18th will be her last day on the job. Along with fellow analyst Jeff Bernoff,

"Yahoo executives were unimpressed with Mr. Ballmer's vision. If anything, they regarded the Yahoo pursuit as a crude solution to quell his obsession with Google. They would later refer to Mr. Ballmer's plan as 'filling his Internet hole.'" -From The Journal's detailed report on the ins and outs of Microsoft's negotiations with Yahoo. Most recently,

John McCain wants you to "Invest in Victory." According to information gathered by Media Trust, the McCain camp is running ads with a call-to-action reminiscent of the ones Clinton relied on during her run for the presidency. Ads spotted on sites based in swing states including New Hampshire and North Carolina, among other sites, urge supporters to "Invest in Victory, Donate $25." Display ads from Hillary Clinton's shuttered campaign were almost entirely fundraising-based,

Marketing executives working with digital media vendors might need a scorecard handy to track who owns who these days. AOL, Microsoft, and WPP each acquired five marketing, advertising, or digital media companies during the first six months of 2008, according to a report on mergers and acquisitions released today by investment bankers PetskyPrunier. According to PetskyPrunier's research,

Google's deal to distribute a new series from "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane on its AdSense network is nothing new. The company has pushed YouTube videos with text and overlay ads to AdSense publisher partners since at least last October , and as far back as a year ago had a specific deal with MTV networks to distribute MTVN video clips and in-stream video ads to some sites. The MacFarlane link-up is the same. The videos live on a YouTube brand channel,

Y'all have been asking for it, but it just didn't seem right to throw another Redrum Tuesday with co-foundress Dana Todd in Left Coast exile. Problem solved. Dana's back in New York )it's her Newsforce roadshow(, so we're doing it again. Our next Redrum is on Tuesday, July 8, 5:30 â€" 8:00 pm ET at the usual place, Nolita House ) 47 E. Houston, between Mulberry & Mott(. Newbie? Here are the rules: You show up. You buy your own drinks.

Perusing the Interactive Advertising Bureau's membership pages, I came across a host of companies I was surprised to see, including several non-publisher firms listed as "General Members." I thought general membership )as opposed to associate membership( was exclusive to online publishers. Not so, anymore, I've been told. According to chief Randall Rothenberg, the group revised its bylaws. Now membership is "open to sellers of interactive advertising inventory." OK.

NBC Digital Entertainment will begin offering demographic data on individual shows streamed on its site. NBC.com's show-specific will be provided courtesy of Nielsen Online's VideoCensus beginning in July. Digital Media Sales SVP Peter Naylor said advertisers have been requesting the show-level data. NBCU claims it's the network to carry Nielsen's tags on its streaming video content. How long before CBS, ABC,

This week's Personal Democracy Forum , the annual conference dedicated to exploring the convergence of politics and technology, was its usual confluence of politicos, bloggers, tech geeks, media observers, and rabble-rousers. Topics like Net neutrality, government technological know-how, infrastructure and broadband access, and John McCain's computer literacy were among many discussed. Good stuff.

Sarah Fay, the chief executive of Aegis Media North America is described as smart, brave, and the most powerful woman in advertising. She was named to the position in April. At a ClickZ networking event in Boston last night, Fay discussed her vision for interactive marketing and how it fits in with television, print, and radio. And how mobile and social marketing fit into the mix. Heading up an organization with 2,000 employees and $3 billion in revenue in the North America,

In his presentation at the ARF Measurement conference yesterday, Wayne Lin, business product manager at Google, stuck mainly to what the company had already announced about Ad Planner, its new audience research and media planning product. Things got a little more interesting during the Q&A, when someone in the audience asked him how Google would promote sites in its own network. It was the first time Google has addressed its conflict of interest with the free tool.

Post written by Kate Kaye Yahoo HotJobs and Monster each see promise in distributing recruitment listings via display ad units. Each firm today touted new offerings allowing employers to post job ads that will be seen beyond the standard text listings framework. Neither offering is entirely new, though they both indicate the current trend towards enabling any advertiser to easily create and run online display ad campaigns isn't going anywhere.

Last fall reports of a G-Phone were quelled with the announcement of Android, an open source operating system that would run across all carrier networks. Google established the Open Handset Alliance with the existence of Android, and set to work on the operating system, developers creating handsets, and applications with a goal of availability in the second half of this year. Demos of Android, on compatible handsets, have been shown at conferences and events here and there,

This week, ClickZ editors will be speaking at three events in New York and Boston. At 212, New York's Interactive Advertising Club, I'm moderating a discussion tonight that examines trends in online retail marketing with a dynamic group of pros. They are: Matt Bailey of Hanover Direct; Eric Nadler of Danskin.com; Jim O'Brien of Barnes & Noble, and JupiterResearch's Patti Freeman Evans. Tomorrow, on day two of the Personal Democracy Forum in New York,

Following recent instances of ad misplacement involving major U.K. brands, the IAB U.K. has announced it will meet with ad exchanges in order to bring them in line with its IASH )Internet Ad Sales House( accreditation system. IASH is the IAB U.K.'s official ad network council, which seeks to "encourage best practice among online advertising sales houses through the adoption of an effective code of conduct." Although only ad networks qualify for full IASH accreditation, IAB U.

It's been fully 10 months since the last reorg from Yahoo, a company that shakes up its executive ranks almost as often as chronic reshuffler Microsoft. Even setting aside its habitual restructuring, that's an eternity in Yahoo-time. Way back in August 2007 - when it named Hilary Schneider to lead the new Global Partner Solutions unit - the company was still basking in praise for Panama, new CEO Jerry Yang had yet to complete his 100-day evaluation,