Microsoft Romancing Google?

Following in the path of Yahoo's acquisition of Overture, Microsoft has been rumbling about purchasing large quantities of Google's shares in the latter's upcoming IPO. Microsoft approached the five-year old search company two months ago regarding a merger between the two Internet superpowers. But Google, so far, has opted to stay with the original plan, and market the shares directly to investors. Industry watchers speculate that the cold shoulder has nothing to do with the fact that Google's technology is powered by Linux - not Windows.

The offering, which will consist of a 15% stake in the company, could fetch over $3 billion, giving Google a market value of almost $25 Billion. By comparison, Yahoo! has a market value of $24.8 Billion. Google's revenues are expected to top $1.5 Billion next year.

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Postal List of Online Gamblers

We have a list comprised of 37,000 postal records of people who have signed up and deposited at online gaming sites. The list was last updated in the second quarter of this year. Demographic mix is approximately 45% US, about 40% Europe and the balance is from Asia. Minimum list rental is 5000 records.

For further information and availability, contact Sales@spotteddogmedia.com

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As many as 15 percent of your customers and prospects may never get your messages because they are incorrectly identified as spam. Even if your e-mail address file is double opt in, there is no guarantee of delivery. E-mail volume has reached crisis levels, forcing ISPs and corporate IT departments to deploy technologies to detect and quarantine unsolicited e-mail. Knowing how to properly construct your message will reduce errant spam filtering. Strategies that help:

Use capitalization sparingly.
Capital letters are seen as yelling and "spammy." Excessive use costs you points. Avoid using capitalized titles or headlines.

Watch your punctuation.
Less is more when it comes to punctuation. Excessive use of punctuation marks draws unnecessary attention to your e-mail message.

Review subject lines and content.
Copywriters need to be creative and apply direct mail concepts to e-mail, but with different words. The most common problems are words and characters such as Free, Hello, Guarantee, a number, a $ sign, To: username at front of subject, white space, No Fee, No Obligation, Special Promotion, Call Now and Savings. The best way to learn what works is testing in the same way direct marketers have always tested postal mail.

Do not include spam law compliance.
It's unwise to claim that you observe all the spam laws. Only spammers say that. If you mention House Bill 4176 or H.R. 3113, it will raise a flag.

Regulate message size.
Because so many spam messages are under 20K, it is beneficial to have a message between 20K and 40K. More than 40K does not hurt, but it does not help, either.

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Are you looking for new e-mail or postal prospect lists to promote your gaming operation to? Are you a gaming operator who is closing, selling or otherwise looking to create additional revenue streams from your existing client database? Spotted Dog Media is a List Broker and List Manager, specializing in Gaming, Lottery, Sweepstakes and similar industry sectors. We are currently experiencing a high level of activity in the direct mail sector, and welcome inquiries as to how we can help you with our list management services. For more information, contact DaveH@spotteddogmedia.com.

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Three handsome male dogs are walking down the street when they see a beautiful, female Poodle. The three male dogs fall over themselves in an effort to reach her first, but end up arriving in front of her all at the same time. The males are speechless before her beauty, slobbering on themselves and hoping for just a glance from her in return. Aware of her obvious effect on the three suitors, she decides to be kind and tells them, "The first one who can use the words 'liver' and 'cheese' together in an imaginative, intelligent sentence can go out with me." The sturdy, muscular black Lab speaks up quickly and says, "I love liver and cheese." "Oh, how childish," said the Poodle. "That shows no imagination or intelligence whatsoever." She turns to the tall, shiny Golden Retriever and says "How well can you do?" "Um. I HATE liver and cheese," blurts the Golden Retriever. "My, my," said the Poodle. "I guess it's hopeless. That's just as dumb as the Lab's sentence." She then turns to the last of the three dogs and says, "How about you, little guy?" The last of the three, tiny in stature but big in fame and finesse, is the Taco Bell Chihuahua. He gives her a smile, a sly wink, turns to the Golden Retriever and the Lab and says ...... "Liver alone. Cheese mine."