Margin check: Online advertising, presidential debates and more

Editor’s Note: Welcome to the first edition of On the Margins, a feature for RCR Wireless News’ new weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. Every week, the RCR Wireless News staff considers events in the larger wider business world and how they could affect the wireless industry.
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–Research shows that marketers are increasingly moving their dollars from TV and to the Internet. According to TNS Media Intelligence, advertisers will increase their spending on network TV ads by just 1.3% this year, while spending on online ads will grow 16%. This is good news for mobile marketing companies, but should be put into context: Television ads will account for the lion’s share of the total, $152.3 billion ad market this year. The Internet has been around for the better part of 30 years, and still trails TV, magazines and newspapers in terms of ad spending.
—CNN is soliciting questions for upcoming presidential candidate debates through video-sharing site YouTube. YouTube users will be able to submit their questions through the site, and CNN will choose a selection of those questions to pose to the candidates during upcoming debates in July and September. The move is a nod to the growing popularity of YouTube and Internet video, but could also foreshadow wider use of emerging technologies-including cellphone video-in the political arena.
–Yahoo is shutting down its photo storing and sharing service, Yahoo Photos, starting in September. The company is moving its photo efforts to Flickr, which it acquired in 2005. The issue is especially notable for those playing in the cameraphone and picture-messaging market. Although not specifically designed for cameraphones, Yahoo Photos included many of the features and functions touted by cameraphones proponents, and its demise could be troubling for those angling for a hit in the photo-messaging market.
–Yahoo Chairman and Chief Executive Terry Semel is stepping down as CEO and will be replaced by co-founder Jerry Yang. Whether this will affect Yahoo’s wireless efforts remains to be seen.
–Google inked a deal with Salesforce.com and, separately, announced its intent to acquire online advertising firm DoubleClick. Neither DoubleClick nor Salesforce.com has much of a presence in wireless, but that may change due to Google’s deep interest in the evolution of the wireless industry.