Internet

The boycott of the world's most popular auction website - eBay.com - which began last week has been extended for at least another week, if not longer. Both sellers and buyers alike are boycotting the site in response to changes in eBay's feedback system and listing fees. While the boycott has been downplayed by both eBay officials and others who cite numerous failed strikes in the past, this strike is already beginning to have a major impact on the company and may force them to reconsider the changes.

According to data released by USAToday on Monday, the number of auctions on eBay have fallen 13% to just 13 million listings, down from 18 million. But there's another effect of the boycott that hasn't yet been quantified - the PayPal effect.

eBay purchased the online payment processing company in October 2002, arguably the most popular payment method for eBay auctions. So in addition to earning revenue from auctions, eBay also earns money by taking a cut of transactions processed through PayPal. With a reduction in auctions and items sold, it can be assumed that the company will also feel the effects through a reduced number of transactions at PayPal.

The original protest thread posted on eBay's discussion board is now over 209 pages long, and is growing rapidly. Scores of eBay sellers have "signed" the pledge agreeing to honor the strike, and have subsequently stopped listing new auctions, shut down their eBay stores, and have altogether ceased their activities on the site. Some have even put up virtual "closed for business" signs in their eBay stores and eBay profiles, alerting potential buyers that they will not be selling during the strike.

So where are all the sellers going? Many have relocated their listings to a site called OnlineAuction.com, which also happens to be accessible by typing in ola.com.

Offering a simple $8.00 per month flat-rate fee to list auctions, and no individual listing fees or final value assessments, OLA is a much more appealing option in light of the policy and fee changes at eBay. OLA is no small potatoes either - as of Monday, their total number of online auctions was hovering near 12 million. With eBay at 13 million and falling, the gap is closing quickly. Many eBay sellers have taken up residence here, and have begun directing buyers to their new auctions at OLA.

As far as payment processing goes, the strike also includes a boycott of PayPal. The next biggest payment processing system, which is simple to use and takes far less in fees, is Google Checkout. Users can store their payment details easily in a Google Profile, for quick and easy payments. Sellers can easily accept payments, which are directly deposited into your bank account by Google, unlike PayPal where it is held in limbo until you cash out.

After eBay recently revealed changes to their fee structure and feedback system, many sellers, who's entire livelihoods depend on the auction site, got angry. Some eBay sellers are so disgusted with the changes that they've banded together and have planned a strike scheduled to commence on President's Day. The boycott, which began today, will run through February 25.

So what's their gripe? Amongst the biggest concerns are how much eBay will now take from you for acting as the middle man, and, in the event a deal goes sour, how much security do you have?

With regards to the fees, the changes mean that most transactions on the auction site will cost more than they would have before. eBay is touting that the new fee structurer is fairer, however several independent comparisons show otherwise. While the difference might only be a handful of change, for those who sell a lot on the site and for eBay who collects the money, it can really add up.

Have sent an urgent message to a friend on their Blackberry and they haven't gotten back to you? They may be a victim of the vast blackberry outage that has occurred to users of the popular device.

Blackberry has a released a statement saying:

NEW YORK _ Primetime TV viewing on the Web has gained considerably in the past year, according to a Solutions Research Group survey released Monday.

The survey said 80 million Americans watched a TV show online last year. This number accounts for 43 percent of the online population, up from 25 percent who said they watched a TV show on the Web last year.

Additionally, 20 percent of respondents said they watch TV on the Web on a weekly basis.

Apple has announced that will offer movie rentals through its widely popular iTunes service. The move will likely have an effect on traditional movie rental locations and mail order services. Apple will also probably will benefit in sales of their struggling Apple TV Service that hasn't gained traction with consumers although technology experts praised the device.

Through iTunes, Apple will have more than 1,000 films starting next month. New release movies will be priced at $3.99 and older titles will be $2.99. High definition films will be priced at a premium of $1. All major studios have signed on with Apple.

Shawn Wang, the chief financial officer of the Chinese Internet search company Baidu.com, died in an accident on December 27. The accident occurred in China while Wang was on vacation over the Christmas holiday.

Baidu did not elaborate on the accident, but issued a brief statement:

"We are all completely shocked and deeply saddened by this tragic news," said Baidu Chairman and Chief Executive Robin Li.

Shawn Wang, 40, joined the Beijing based company in 2004, and helped to get Baidu listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange in 2005.

Wang's duties as CFO will at thistime be assumed by the company's senior managers.

Beginning this upcoming Tuesday, JetBlue airlines will make limited e-mail and instant messaging available on their flights. JetBlue has teamed up with Research in Motion (RIM), and Yahoo to make this service possible.

Passengers on the equipped planes will soon be able to use their laptops and WiFi enabled phones to access a customized version of Yahoo Mail and Yahoo Messenger. BlackBerry users will also be able to check their email, and use BlackBerry's IM client on their phones.

In the future, JetBlue is hoping to offer additional ervices beyond just e-mail and instant messaging. JetBlue is able to make these services available on their planes as they are in a unique position amongst airlines, as they have licensed spectrum from the FCC which allows it to transmit from planes to the ground. Use of the spectrum is limited to JetBlue, but if JetBlue did want to capitalize on it, they could sell a similar service to other airline carriers.

Howard Stern was dubbed "The King of All Media" in the 1990's. The "King of All Online Video Media" is YouTube. In case you didn't already the Google subsidiary is dominating the market. comScore, a company that provides digital marketing intelligence to online heavyweights, released a Video Metrix report for September 2007 yesterday. The study showed that nearly 75% of Internet users watched online video for an average of three hours in the month of September. 70 million people, which accounted for 27.6 percent of the total market, viewed more than 2.5 billion videos on the Google subsidiary. When combined with Google's other video service, Google Video, the company controls 40% of the market share in online video. As you can see, Google is not just a Goliath in search.

Google is nearly 2 times ahead of the nearest competitor, Fox Interactive Media, in the online video market.

Here are the complete findings from comScore study:

The day after Thanksgiving, known as "Black Friday", has long been the official first shopping day of the Christmas season. Stores open before the sun rises, and shoppers line up in droves hoping to snag one of those hard-to-get, deep discounted deals. But what about those of us who'd love to save money, but haven't got the willpower or lack of sanity to deal with the "Black Friday" madness? What if you just want to sleep in? That's when Cyber Monday comes in, the online equivalent of "Black Friday."

Cyber Monday is the Monday after Black Friday. The term was coined in 2005 by shop.com, and according to shop.com, in 2006 nearly 64% of retailers saw significant grown on Cyber Monday, and 1/3 of online retailers said their Cyber Monday sales were up more than 30% over 2005.

As online shopping continues to become more widespread and accepted, Cyber Monday is only likely to continue to grow in popularity for those shoppers looking to score the best deals.

For Cyber Monday 2007, shoppers can expect to find a number of specials offers, just like they had in the stores on Friday. Free shipping is one of the most popular offerings, and there will also be several early shopper discounts and some first time buyer discounts.