On the other side, Google search to ad clicks to website conversions is quite clear and traceable; this function doesn’t exists on Facebook. Atlas provides the phenomenon which shows how users can engage with Facebook ads. Through Atlas mobile advertising puzzle can be solved. With more than half of users accessing its website through mobile devices, Facebook is committed to building a mobile device ad serving solution for Atlas. Currently, mobile ads garner about half the price of desktop.

When Google bought Double Click in 2007, it expanded its reach from search advertising to display advertising. Facebook’s current presence outside of its own website is relatively low-key, but nonetheless very valuable.

However, Facebook is still far away from developing an ad network to compete with Google. The advantage Facebook has over a company like Google is that users more or less explicitly tell Facebook their interests through likes, fan pages, and wall posts. The advantage of easily gathered information about users’ interests will be difficult for Google to overcome based on keyword searches and email messages.

A mass migration to Atlas seems as marketers want to compare Google ads to Facebook ads as well as all other sorts of marketing campaigns. Facebook ad network would put pricing pressure on Google as the two compete for digital real estate. All in all, Facebook poses a much bigger threat than Microsoft ever did when it owned Atlas.

Seriousness on a lighter note

Despite his ouster, Mason continued to maintain his trademark sense of humor and said in a public letter that that those who are wondering why he was shown the door have not been paying attention. Digital coupons slowed down as fast as they had boomed and Mason’s tenure spanned it all. He was at the Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) helm when the company topped the market with its daily offers and discounts for various products and services. He had also dismissed the buyout offer from Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) in 2010. The following year, Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) had marked up a market capitalization worth $16.7 billion just a day after it turned into being a public company.

Reaching Breakpoint

Masons tenure also saw Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) tripping over plunging shares, accounting missteps and an inability to tackle a dropping demand and increasing competition. There was a large amount of pressure for him to leave but had been given a few more quarters to prove his mettle. Shares had plunged by a shocking 24 percent and that was the last straw. Shares upped 13 percent after the Mason ouster announcement. He was the co-founder of Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) along with Bradley Keywell and Lefkofsky. Mason’s stake of $212.6 dropped drastically to $938.7 million which was its value at Initial Public Offering. Mason had been fighting a losing battle with trying to focus on retailing products on the internet as the demand for online discounts and offers was fading.

Mason assumes accountability

Mason assumed responsibility for every one of Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN)’s shortfalls. He wrote in a letter that the company’s material weakness, the controversial metrics in the S1, falling below their own expectations in addition to the stock price that has been suspended at one quarter of the company’s listed price, all speak for themselves and that as a CEO he assumes accountability for them all. For a person who had very little prior experience in business and came from a music background Mason turned the Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) culture around and made the company a fun place to work in. A prominent analyst said that he as well as many others had felt that Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) would give Mason some more time but that the latest news had been pretty bad. And so, Mason leaves the Groupon ranks on a serious yet lighter vein.

Shares of Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) went down by 24.28% to close at $4.53

Shares of Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) went up by 0.18% to close at $801.20

Search Engines:

Google has grabbed 67% of the search engine market in January, with Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Yahoo! Inc (NASDAQ:YHOO) claiming only 30% of the search engine market. While Google stock has gained, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares have steadily declined and are now trading at 8.4%; less than its previous year’s market price.

According to market experts Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock is trading at an unprecedented discount of 56% to Google, when you look at the price-to-earnings ratio. This is the highest gap between the stocks of the two companies, since the iPhone was introduced in July 2006.

Digital Ads:

Google Inc., headquartered in Mountain View, California has dominated the online & digital advertisement market in the U.S., cornering more than 41% of the marketing revenues in 2012. When you consider the mobile advertisement revenues, it commands a market share of 53%, while Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB), the world’s largest social media company, barely amounts to 8.4%.

As if that is not enough, Google also dominates the search engine-powered advertisement market, garnering 75% of the market’s revenue potential.

The company also earns when it runs advertisements next to the search results, on the search engine results page. It also continues to evolve new ways to reach its users on behalf of its clients and advertisers, through all the new devices that regularly hit the market, like smart phones and tablets. It also facilitates the running of different advertisements for different market segments at different times to help companies reach their targeted audience.

So, it is no wonder that Google, a company that is ready to embrace change and innovate is going from strength to strength, enriching the lives of everyone connected to it!

The shares of Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) were up 1.76% to close at $806.85. The shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) were up 0.95% to close at $28.05. The shares of Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) were up 2.15% to close at $28.93. The shares of Yahoo! Inc (NASDAQ:YHOO) were up 1.31% to close at $21.29.

Though Clearwire Corp. (NASDAQ:CLWR) refused to identify the concerned parties in a proxy filing submitted yesterday, analysts with reputed research firms, identified Deutsche Telecom AG’s T-Mobile USA, AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), MetroPCS Communications Inc. (NYSE:PCS) and China Mobile Ltd. among the companies.

However, Clearwire Corp. (NASDAQ:CLWR) says that it is determined to keep the same terms of its deal with Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE:S). The latter already owns 50% of Clearwire, has given an offer of $2.97 per share. Dish has bid $3.30 per share. When contacted, the spokespersons of the concerned carriers declined to comment.

An Internet services company is said to have shown interest in the purchase of Clearwire’s airwaves during the summer of 2011. However, the discussions failed. Speculations are rife that the Internet services company may be Google Inc.(NASDAQ:GOOG)  or Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN).

Though Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE:S) claims that its bid for Clearwire Corp. (NASDAQ:CLWR)’s spectrum is simpler without many clauses, a few of the latter’s shareholders are lobbying for a better deal. He company recorded a 0.3% growth to reach $3.19. Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE:S)  recorded a 1.1 per cent growth to close at $5.69.

Second only to DirecTV (NASDAQ:DTV) in the rapidly growing satellite TV market, Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ:DISH) is making this bid in an attempt to make a foray into mobile phone service. This proposal is independent of Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE:S)’s participation and would require selling of 25% of the stock.

Backed by a cash inflow that was provided by Tokyo-based Softbank Corp., Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE:S) inked a deal to acquire 100% of Clearwire Corp. (NASDAQ:CLWR) in the year end. Prior to it, the two companies had decided on a joint venture for a wireless network that would span the entire nation. However, that plan could not work out.

Taking over of Clearwire Corp. (NASDAQ:CLWR)’s spectrum by Sprint is critical for its own network.

The shares of Clearwire Corp. (NASDAQ:CLWR) were down by 0.31% and currently trading at $3.18.

The shares of Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE:S) were down by 0.53%and currently trading at $5.66.

The shares of Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ:DISH) were down by 2.97% and currently trading at $36.56.

The shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) were down by 1.18% and currently trading at $35.09.

The shares of MetroPCS Communications Inc. (NYSE:PCS) were up by 0.20% and currently trading at $9.91.

The shares of DirecTV (NASDAQ:DTV) were down by 1.23% and currently trading at $51.10.

The shares of Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) were down by 1.63% and currently trading at $762.97.

North Korea is a secretive country, where few people have access to the Internet, while foreign visitors are escorted wherever they go.

Google is, of course, not allowed anywhere with its Street View cars and labelling points of interest and roads is not easy for the company.

Working with Google Map Maker, a feature which allows anyone with an interest in cartography to add to and update maps of familiar places, a group of enthusiasts has been busy adding data to maps of North Korea. However, the company didn’t say exactly who updated the maps, or where the mappers are located, Digital Trends reported.

“This effort has been active in Map Maker for a few years and today the new map of North Korea is ready and now available on Google Maps,” Jayanth Mysore, senior product manager of Google Map Maker, wrote in a blog post.

He added, “While many people around the globe are fascinated with North Korea, these maps are especially important for the citizens of South Korea who have ancestral connections or still have family living there.”

Google’s Chairman Eric Schmidt had visited North Korea a couple of weeks ago on a surprise visit. It was reported to be a humanitarian mission.

He had appealed to the country’s leaders to give the people its freedom to use the Internet or continue to face problems.

“As the world is becoming increasingly connected, their decision to be virtually isolated is very much going to affect their physical world, their economic growth and so forth,” he said at the time.

Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) has voluntarily agreed to remove the restriction of the usages from its online search advertising platform and further giving the options for the companies to keep their content out of its search results. Regarding patents, Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) will also be restricted in its ability to seek court orders baring competitor’s products even though the company has agreed on licensing its technology based on reasonable terms.

Jon Leibowitz commented, these changes agreed by Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) will ensure that the customers benefit to the maximum from the competition.

The FTC’s decision to close the case without any enforcement came as a major blow to Microsoft Corporation(NASDAQ:MSFT), Expedia Inc(NASDAQ:EXPE) and Yelp Inc(NYSE:YELP) which are the major competitors of Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG). The FTC however feels that this was the best bargain that could have got, if a legal battle had ensured things might not be so successful.

Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG)’s universal search which mixes its own answers along with links to other sources of information to answer the queries have come under complaint by critics stating that this makes other websites to go down in the ranking thus affecting the consumer. Wilkinson commented that the FTC’s mission is to protect competition and not individual competitors.

The agreement with FTC directs Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) to provide reports on its compliance for a period of five years. Peter Levitas, deputy in the bureau of compliance said the agency has in its power to review company documents and interview its employees if it suspects anything is out of place.

Tom Rosch, a Republican commented after promising an elephant more than a year ago, the commission as an alternative has brought forth a couple of mice.

Fair Search .Org, one of the critics of Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) has asked the FTC to postpone the its decision until Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) submitted an elaborate proposal to the European Commission’s antitrust probe. However Leibowitz said U.S. law differs from that in Europe.

Regarding the patent settlement the agency voted 4-1 a 10-year consent decree that confine the circumstances in which Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) can seek court injunctions aligned with competitors’ products that rely on so-called standard-essential patents. Companies that make technology that helps to expand an agreed-upon business customary pledge to license connected patents on realistic and unbiased terms.

The ongoing efforts of Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) to bar the U.S. import of Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL) and Microsoft Corporation(NASDAQ:MSFT) devices, which according to Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) has infringed patents from its Motorola Mobility unit. Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) has paid $12.5 billion in for Motorola in order to obtain its huge collection on 17,000 patents. These patents cover the fundamental operating mechanism of mobile technology and it would be difficult for Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL) to take a different route.

However Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL) was cleared of its infringement of patents from Motorola Mobility by the U.S. International Trade Commission and some of the claims against Microsoft Corporation(NASDAQ:MSFT) will also be dropped.

The shares of the following:

The share value of Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) is up by 1.98% to close at $737.97

The share value of Microsoft Corporation(NASDAQ:MSFT) is down by 1.87% to close at $26.74

The share value of Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL) is down by 2.78% to close at $527.00

The share value of Expedia Inc(NASDAQ:EXPE) is up by 2.59% to close at $64.46

The share value of Yelp Inc(NYSE:YELP) is up by 6.80% to close at $21.52