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Posts with tag profit

Filed under: Business, Finance, News, Google, Microsoft

Microsoft now brings in $50 billion a year

Microsoft Money 2007Everyone knows that Microsoft makes a lot of money off of MS Office, and you know, that operating system that's installed on the vast majority of computers in the US and many other countries. But ever wonder just how much?

Turns out Microsoft made $51.12 billion in revenue during the fiscal year that ended June 30th. That's up 15% from the previous year. During the second quarter of 2007. Microsoft brought in $13.37 billion in revenue, up 13% from the same period last year.

But lest you think Bill Gates is swimming in a pool of $100 bills, Microsoft's profit for the quarter was just $3.07 billion. Umm, yeah, that'd still pay for a lot of swimming pools.

Google, on the other hand, reported $3.87 billion in earnings for the quarter, with a net profit of $925 million. While that exceeded sales expectations, the earnings figure was a bit lower than shareholders had expected, which sent stock prices down.

Filed under: Business, Internet, Video, Blogging, Google

Short on cash? Post a video on YouTube

Answering the challenge brought by sites such as Revver, Google's YouTube is looking to launch a revenue sharing model for top posters on the popular video sharing web site. While YouTube is still the most dominant force in online video sharing, sites like Revver have attracted top video posters by offering to share in revenue from advertising on the site. However, unlike Revver's service, YouTube's revenue sharing won't be available to all users - only those that Google feel are worthy of entering into deal with.

According to a post on the official YouTube blog, Google has already chosen top YouTube celebs such as LisaNova, renetto and HappySlip to share in the cash that's rolling in from advertising revenues on the site.

But while the number of posters that will share in the profits is currently small, YouTube says that new posters who create original material and build a substantial audience will get an invitation to the revenue sharing program. In other words: if you have a video camera and a good idea, now seems like a pretty good time to up your game.

Filed under: Business, Internet, News, Social Software

The debunking of BusinessWeek's 'Digg made $60m' story

The debunking of BusinessWeek's 'digg made $60m' storyBusinessWeek is running a story featuring Kevin Rose on the cover, with the headline: "How This Kid made $60 Million In 18 Months." That sounds like a heckuva success story, but not everyone believes the math. Our own CEO Jason Calacanis debunked it himself, but since he owns us and Netscape - a digg competitor - I figured y'all might want to hear it from others in the community too, including Jason Fried at 37signals and Scott Rosenberg - writer, editor and co-founder of Salon.

The debunking more or less centers around figuring out how BW came upon their numbers, since much of the talk in the article is of what Digg is estimated to be worth, and where the company is going to move next - not what Rose presently has in his pocket. Ultimately, it sounds like BW took Digg's $200m estimated worth and divided it by Kevin's roughly 30% ownership to snag that $60m phantom number. Decent math, but shoddy tactics. BW says they got the numbers from 'unnamed sources', but that doesn't get them out of the trouble of slapping it on their front cover.

Check out the debunkings I've linked for more in-depth details on the article and where BW went wrong, as well as some funny parodies that are already arising, including *surprise!* how 9rules has suddenly announced that they themselves have made billions in just 12 months!

Featured Time Waster

Forumwarz - a potentially offensive time waster

I pwn UAfter spending the better part of an hour on Forumwarz I still can't decide if it's just sick or if it's kind of fun. It's a bit like a car wreck on the highway. I know I shouldn't be looking but I can't quite turn away.

It's sick, it's twisted, it's the internet on it's worst level and darn it, it's kind of fun. At least for a little while.

Forumwarz is a parody role-playing game that takes place on the internet - or at least the Forumwarz version of it. Your goal is to complete missions that are given to you through a mock up of GoogleTalk called Sentrillion.

Your first "friend" is ShallowEsophagus who begins giving you missions to pwn various forums by being a troll. Depending on the character type you are assigned at start up, you have tools like drooling on the keyboard or bashing your head on the keyboard that you can use to destroy forum threads and eventually, pwn a forum.

Future missions involve buying illegal software from the Russians, pwning more difficult forums and other internet oddness.

Completing missions gives you cash, called Flezz in game, and items that you can pawn or use in other missions. The game is NOT for those easily offended. It's crass, coarse and there are frequent f-bombs in the fake chat sessions.

This is also a game for a more mature audience as it requires you to shop at the Drugs R Fun store to get various concoctions to improve your playing, engage in certain cyber activities to get more Flezz and just generally use a more adult perspective.

If you can get past that, here are the more enjoyable and time-wasting aspects.

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