A summary of search and social media related news items that occurred this week including Microsoft responds to Yahoo's rejection of their offer of acquisition, Search Engine Watch has launches jobs board, giving in to privacy concerns of its users, Facebook makes it easier for users to permanently delete their profiles, Google begins to test video ads on its search results pages, and finally amiss Microsoft's attempt to takeover Yahoo, Yahoo re-launches their video portal which now includes new features and more exclusive content such as sports, movies, and music.

Monday

• Microsoft's Response To Yahoo's Rejection - The Yahoo executive board rejected Microsoft's offer to acquire them at $31 a share or roughly $44.6 billion dollars over the weekend, stating that it was not enough money. Mashable brings us Microsoft's response - "It is unfortunate that Yahoo! has not embraced our full and fair proposal to combine our companies. Based on conversations with stakeholders of both companies, we are confident that moving forward promptly to consummate a transaction is in the best interests of all parties."
  
  They go on to say, "The Yahoo! response does not change our belief in the strategic and financial merits of our proposal. As we have said previously, Microsoft reserves the right to pursue all necessary steps to ensure that Yahoo!’s shareholders are provided with the opportunity to realize the value inherent in our proposal." Sounds to me like Microsoft's next move is to take the offer directly to the shareholders - a hostile takeover.
  

• Search Engine Watch Launches Jobs Board - Search Engine Watch has launched a new tool for those seeking jobs as well as those who need positions filled. The Search Engine Watch Job Board allows job seekers to post an anonymous resume, view jobs, and create job alerts. Employers and recruiters can pay by the post or get a discount for buying multiple-posting packs. They can also browse resumes and only pay for the ones they want to contact. When viewing available jobs (not that I'm looking), I see that there are 33 currently available. That is not a large number by any means however I expect that to change as the new jobs board s is discovered by more people.

• Quitting Facebook Is About To Get a Whole Lot easier - From The New York Times, with the goal of appeasing the privacy concerns of disenchanted users, Facebook.com said that it was trying to make it easier for people to delete their accounts permanently from the social networking site. Until now, Facebook has offered only a deactivation option, which keeps copies of the account’s personal information on the company’s servers. It is possible to delete an account fully using a manual method, but it is not easy to say the least. An updated Facebook help page now includes the question "How do I delete my account?" The answer: "If you do not think you will use Facebook again and would like your account deleted, we can take care of this for you. Keep in mind that you will not be able to reactivate your account or retrieve any of the content or information you have added." The entry then says, "If you would like your account deleted, please contact us using the form at the bottom of the page and confirm your request in the text box."
  

• Google Tests Video Ads on Search Results Pages  - From The New York Times, Google started testing video ads Thursday on some pages of search results. It is also developing ad formats with images, interactive maps and other more elaborate features. At first, users will barely notice the change because the videos will not be immediately obvious. Ads with accompanying videos will have a small button with a plus sign which Google has increasingly used to indicate that certain information can pop up on a search results page. Users that click the plus button on an ad will see a small video player that shows a commercial, movie trailer or other clip. Danny Sullivan has more on this including some examples of what the ads might look like.
  

• All New Yahoo! Video Re-Launched - Yahoo has re-launched their video portal with the following features: a wider 16:9 viewing experience, More content as they now feature a whole spectrum of video found throughout Yahoo!, including music, movies, TV, news, sports, and a whole lot more, larger file sizes, increasing the max file size to 150 megabytes, an expanded browsing experience - discover more video through networks, playlists, and related videos, more sharing - not only can you embed individual videos on your blog or site, you can create your own curated video experience with embeddable playlists, and more in-depth profiles - your profile page now says a lot more about you including the ability to pick your own nickname, fill the page with your favorite playlists and videos, add contacts and fans, and read and write comments. Full details on the Yahoo! Video Blog.