Yellow Pages Group Canada, the leading YP in Canada, is going deep into social networking via the launch of answers.yellowpages.ca, a new Yelp-like service that relies on the wisdom of the community to ask questions, and provide recommendations and information about local services. All the information is portable to Facebook or Twitter, and can be …

Today R.H. Donnelley made an announcement that is unlikely to be much of a surprise. The company said it has

“filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in order to consummate a balance sheet restructuring.”
Today’s …

The blogosphere and tech media have been abuzz over the past 24 hours about Google’s new communication platform, Wave. It’s essentially a new way to communicate online that Australian creators Lars and Jens Rasmussen (brought us Google Maps) position as e-mail and IM if they were invented today.
To sum it up, Wave is a way …

Two very different takes on local news were in evidence at The WSJ’s D7 conference in Carlsbad, California, today, as Arianna Huffington of The Huffington Post and Katharine Weymouth of The Washington Post were interviewed by former Post reporter Kara Swisher about their respective directions.
Since the November election, Huffington noted that the Huffington Post has …

Microsoft made the expected announcement at The Wall Street Journal’s “D” conference today that it will launch a new search brand next week called Bing. Labeled as a “Decision Engine” (jargon alert), it has a dizzying array of new features aimed at redefining the way we search and improving the current state of the art …

Today Telmetrics released data showing that combining a URL displayed within a print Yellow Pages ad increased the overall leads driven by print Yellow Pages by 78 percent. On average, the company reports, URL visits represented 44 percent of leads while calls generated 56 percent of leads. The data highlight the new extended offering Telmetrics …

Liberty Media head John Malone, the man who conceptualized the “500 channel” universe and led the cable TV revolution in the 1980s, told an audience at The WSJ’s D7 conference in Carlsbad, California, that he sees the need for local news and local advertising, but doesn’t clearly know how to create a successful local product.
”What’s …

Conjuring up Twitter’s business model takes a lot of imagination. But founders Evan Williams and Biz Stone, speaking at The Wall Street Journal’s D conference in Carlsbad, California, said the name of the game will be “enhanced capabilities” aimed at small- business and professional users — something supported by a WSJ poll showing that 24 …

CBS Outdoor announced that it will offer its advertisers the capability to add SMS calls to action to their outdoor campaigns.
According to the release:
The program, called txt2go, will include a text keyword on advertiser signage that the public can use to access marketing messages from the client, including special offers and promotions. The interactive feature …

Thought your online searching habits had settled into a predictable routine? Well, think again. We’re on the verge of another big upheaval in search technology and options.
Item: Google has put its new browser, Chrome, on the fast track to commercialization (officially out of beta this month). Among other things, Chrome is designed to run JavaScript …

OpenTable, the elite restaurant reservation service linked to hundreds of local media and organizational Web sites such as Citysearch and Superpages.com, defied naysayers last Thursday with a successful IPO that ended its first day at $28.71, 44 percent above its $20 opening price.
In two days of subsequent trading, the price has come down to $26.72. …

Aggregating promotions so local businesses can logistically compete with national players has been a challenge. EPrize has done it for high-priced prizes such as cars. Now Brand Affinity Technologies is making it possible for local businesses to acquire paid endorsements by major athletes.
The effort has special resonance for local marketers that want to associate with …

There was a great deal of valuable content and takeaways from last week’s Winning Media Strategies conference. In case you weren’t able to attend or catch any of the webcast, here is a roundup of our own coverage (also see MediaWeek write-up).
More From WMS ’09: How to Get an ‘A’ in Online Display
Last week at …

Last week at the Winning Media Strategies conference, AOL’s Platform-A called out the imbalance of supply and demand that currently exists in online display advertising.
With respect to ad impressions, the supply side has exploded in the past few years with the changing ways that people are interacting with online media. The increase in page views …

Here is an interesting take from Kirk Whisler, who runs something call the Latino Print Network. His assertion is that while print may be a waning component of U.S. media generally, it is still going strong in Spanish-language media.
Whisler asserts that while English-language newspapers may be in freefall, the same should not be assumed about …

Carol Johnson, the former Dex (then US West Direct) sales executive who led the high-profile turnaround of the Sensis sales culture, has announced she is leaving the Australian directory publisher at the end of May to return to the United States. Her replacement has not yet been named.
Johnson first joined Sensis as chief operating officer back in …

Local advertisers speaking at WMS ’09 in Washington, D.C., this morning had plenty to say about how they perceive their choices in advertising, online and off.
Dianne Bonanno, senior manager, marketing communications, The Graduate School, said that her adult education company is doing good business. “In a downturn, people invest in themselves and institutions,” she noted.
Advertising-wise, …

Radio and TV station executives and industry groups are seeking to get chips inserted into mobile handsets to extend the reach of their respective programming. And they may do it with federal help as a public safety issue.
Emmis Communications President and CEO Jeff Smulyan, speaking at WMS ’09 in Washington, D.C., said radio chips beat …

As more and more digital products and partnerships are introduced, a real debate is emerging whether they can be sold by a traditional media sales type who may be more focused on core product, have limited time to make his or her case (and apparently, a “C student” as well).
WMS ’09 participants in Washington, D.C., …

Mediaweek’s Katy Bachman was front and center at this week’s Winning Media Strategies conference in Washington, D.C. (thanks for all the questions from the front row, Katy).
She wrote yesterday about BIA/Kelsey mobile forecast data and some themes that emerged throughout the show. Many broadcast media companies showed a clear interest in mobile and in the …