ICANN 43, the other digital conference of note this week, wraps up today in Costa Rica with a piece of the Internet’s future in hand, as the April 12th deadline for domain name applications draws near.

As of March 10th, an estimated 254 applicants had registered their intent to apply for generic top-level domain names or so-called dot-brands, each one having up to 50 new gTLDs, although "the actual number of new gTLDs for which application will be made is still unknown," according to an official advisory.

The expectation is the number will be relatively low as major companies including Coca-Cola and General Electric plus 50 or so other big brands remain opposed, citing reasons of increased costs, customer confusion and potential for Internet fraud.Continue reading...

Google is continuing its campaign to increase transparency around its targeted advertising and privacy practices.

The latest volley: "How we make ads better," a video that highlights its staffers policing scam advertisers (which didn't help avert the recent Valentine's Day florist AdWords fiasco). The pitch: "Did you know that hundreds of Googlers work around the clock to make sure the ads you see on Google are safe? David Baker, Engineering Director at Google, explains more about our fight against scam ads and our process for keeping you safe."

Google's past around display ad scammers and consumer privacy is a thorny one, to be sure.Continue reading...

Khan Academy, the free, nonprofit online educational service, has been around for about five and a half years, but its brand is suddenly rising fast, thanks to a 60 Minutes segment Sunday night and the announcement Monday that the TED Conference is launching TED-Ed, “an online collection of free video lessons delivered by the best teachers on a range of subjects,” according to the Washington Post.

It also doesn’t hurt that investment dollars have come in from the Gates Foundation and Google, whose chairman, Eric Schmidt, is a big fan. The Post notes that Khan is “beginning to be used experimentally in a couple dozen schools” as well.

The Academy was started by former hedge-fund analyst Salman “Sal” Khan to help his cousin learn algebra, but then his videos started going viral on YouTube as parents and teachers stumbled across them. The idea is that “students watch videos to learn the lessons at home, and then work through problems in school with their teachers’ assistance,” the Post reports.Continue reading...

Groupon CEO Andrew Mason was bullish at the 2012 Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference last week, where he commented, "We've cracked the code…at this point, when we think of the competitive landscape, we think that the biggest competitors are ourselves." 

It’s a bit of bravado midst a range of troubles besieging Groupon lately including 17 lawsuits brought against the company claiming they and other retailers violate federal and state consumer protection laws regarding voucher expiration dates and provisions about single transaction usage.

“Groupon effectively creates a sense of urgency among consumers to quickly purchase ‘groupon’ gift certificates by offering ‘daily deals’ for a short amount of time,” according to the first case filed last year, reported Bloomberg. “Consumers therefore feel pressured and are rushed into buying the gift certificates and unwittingly become subject to the onerous sales conditions.”

March 12th is the projected date for settlement of the class-action lawsuits. After raising $700 million in its IPO last November, Mason is committed to staying ahead of the competition, specifically, LivingSocial. "Our goal is six months from now, when you go to Groupon, it’s going to look and feel very different," Mason was quoted by Bloomberg. "It’s going to be a much more robust and refined service that immediately jumps off the page."Continue reading...

Yelp, the user-generated review website, quietly launched seven years ago with a cartoon-like logo designed by YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley.

Now known for its distinctive 'burst' logo and spanning the globe, it plans to raise as much as $100 million in an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange on March 2nd.Continue reading...

In addition to promoting Google+ with a new TV spot ("New Dad," above), Google TV is getting more love with an improved YouTube app and navigation.

The Huffington Post is expanding its brand on video. The HuffPost Streaming Network will launch this summer with 12 hours of original video five days a week. With the goal of being "CNN meets YouTube" and a “never-ending talkshow,” HuffPo cofounder Roy Sekof will oversee the new video network , to which AOL is committing at least 100 employees exclusively, with current editors and reporters expected to contribute as well.

AOL paid $315 million to acquire Huffington Post in a deal that AOL CEO Tim Armstrong calls "the Super Bowl bet we made on Arianna." Now it's ponying up at least $10 million to take the HuffPo brand into video. With a goal of producing up to 16 hours of video programming daily next year, it's a clear play for increased ad inventory and stickier content.Continue reading...

The Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) has launched a campaign to inform consumers about interest-based advertising and online privacy, with three videos (watch below) to explain targeted marketing and advertising, and explain what its new logo identifies. 

Called "Your Ad Choices," it's one of the largest U.S. consumer privacy campaigns to date and perfectly timed as the SOPA/PIPA debate gets consumers thinking about their online rights.

The DAA is a proponent of self-regulation in digital advertising, and introduced the Ad Choices logo last year. The DAA website receives about 100,000 weekly visits, with about 20-25% of those opting out of behavioral ads.Continue reading...