Weekly Rap-up of Search Engine Industry News – 7/9 – 7/13

A summary of search related news items that occurred this week including Google to acquire software security for electronic communications company, Postini, for $625 million in cash, AOL launches three new personalized products into beta, Todd Malicoat provides ten tips on how to own your online reputation management, AOL agrees to change cancellation policy and shells out $3 million in settlement fees, and finally, Google is beta testing AdSense for mobile devices with a select number of mobile publishers.

Monday

• Google To Acquire Postini for $625 Million in Cash – Google has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Postini, a global leader in on-demand communications security and compliance solutions serving more than 35,000 businesses and 10 million users worldwide. Postini’s services include message security, archiving, encryption, and policy enforcement and can be used to protect a company’s email, instant messaging, and other web-based communications. Google will make Postini part of Google Apps which will help secure Google Apps such as Gmail, Google Docs, Google Talk, Calendar and other applications. Full details provided in the official Google press release as well as the official Postini press release.

Tuesday

• AOL Launches New “myAOL” Products - TechCrunch reports that AOL has released three new personalized products into beta. myPage is a customizable home page, similar in functionality to products offered by Netvibes, Pageflakes, Yahoo, Google, etc. Users can put just about any content they like on the page, selecting from pre-fab modules or adding a RSS feed. Mgnet (pronounced magnet) is a news site that tailors itself to what you like over time. Favorites is a web based news reader similar to Bloglines or Google Reader, and offers a huge improvement on their existing product. Like Google Reader, it renders HTML well, and it’s fast/responsive. Importing and exporting of OPML files is available and easy to find on the main page. Shortcut keys also work.

Wednesday

• How To Own Yourself Online - Slow day for interesting industry news but came across this interesting post by Todd Malicoat who suggests 10 ways that you can own your online reputation management. Items include registering your name on all the various social media sites (MySpace, Facebook, Digg, etc.), own your own .com, .org and .net, and having a friend interview you. Todd warns that it is not easy (especially if you have a name as common as mine) but it’s better than having a video of someone singing bad karoake ranking for your name.

Thursday

• AOL Settles With States on Confusing Cancellation Policy - WebProNews reports that AOL has reached a settlement with 48 states and the District of Columbia over their confusing cancellation policy. They have agreed to change their cancellation policy and will shell out $3 million to all the states involved for cost and fees. The settlement comes after users complained that AOL made it extremely difficult to close their accounts and alleges that telephone customer service representatives received incentives for retaining customers who called to cancel their service. You might recall when a poor AOL user made national news when he tried repeatedly to cancel his account and was successful in doing so but after much aggravation.

Friday

• Google AdSense Coming to a Mobile Phone Near You - Well, at least with a select few mobile publishers. Google is beta testing Google AdSense for mobile devices. Scott Jones of Self Made Minds reports that Google has sent an email out to mobile publishers inviting them to try Google AdSense contextual advertising on their mobile sites. No indication as to when they expect to roll it out to publishers worldwide. Hat tip to Search Engine Journal.