Here are a few of the top stories in which eMarketer data and analysis were featured during the past week or so:

The Financial Times – Yahoo, AOL and Microsoft in ad alliance
Yahoo, AOL and Microsoft have agreed to sell each others’ excess advertising inventory in the US in an attempt to stem the erosion in pricing that has hit the online display business with the rise of Google and Facebook. Read more.

The Wall Street Journal – Facebook’s Timeline for Success
After amassing 800 million users and obliterating most rivals, Facebook is still responding to innovations from rivals like Google+ and Twitter—and making changes that improve the site for users and advertisers. Such adaptability is good news for future Facebook shareholders. Read more.

The Wall Street Journal – Display of Weakness from Yahoo, AOL and Microsoft
eMarketer notes that Yahoo and AOL have lost share of online display ad sales every year since at least 2008. Yahoo’s share has dropped from 18.4% in 2008 to 13.1% this year. AOL’s share meanwhile has nearly halved in that time, from 7.6% to 4.2%. Microsoft has been flat: 5.2% in 2008, 4.9% this year. Read more.

The Associated Press – Celebrities paid thousands for endorsement tweets
Although, any sort of promotion on Twitter is short-lived. Research firm eMarketer estimates that only 11 percent of U.S. adult Internet users are on the micro-blogging site. And even though some celebs have faithful groups of followers, it can be hard to measure whether their tweets lead people to spend. Read more.

The Economist – Searching for a future
IF YAHOO! had its own personal profile on Facebook, its relationship status on the social network would read “It’s complicated”. Two months after booting out Carol Bartz, its chief executive, the internet giant is flirting with a number of investors and firms that would love to get their hands on some or all of its assets. Read more.

Agence France Presse – Yahoo!, Microsoft, AOL in ad deal
According to eMarketer, Yahoo!’s share of the US display ad market is expected to fall to 13.1 percent this year from 14.4 percent last year while Microsoft’s share will decline to 4.9 percent from 5.1 percent. Read more.

Bloomberg BusinessWeek – Twitter Marketing Executive Said to Depart After Brief Stint
Pam Kramer, a marketing vice president at Twitter Inc., has left the microblogging service, becoming the latest executive to depart under Chief Executive Officer Dick Costolo, two people familiar with the matter said. Read more.

Advertising Age – Ad Industry Group Issues Guidelines on Facebook ‘Like-gating’
Facebook is looking to grow its ad revenue, now projected to reach $7 billion in 2013, according to eMarketer, but its advertising ecosystem is still the frontier from a regulatory perspective. Now a new decision by the Better Business Bureau’s National Advertising Division should offer guidelines for advertisers to follow when looking to drive up “Likes” on their fan pages. Read more.

The Guardian – UK Facebook and Twitter users reject big brands’ marketing
Almost two-thirds of Britons do not want to be bothered by big-name brands on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks, according to a survey. Read more.

Reuters – Microsoft, AOL, Yahoo, strike ad alliance
Both Facebook and Google Inc are expected to increase their share of online display advertising in the United States in 2011 by 9.3 percent and 16.3 percent respectively, according to estimates from research firm eMarketer. Read more.

USA Today – Yahoo’s latest moves baffle some
Even as Yahoo rolls out a fresh batch of social and mobile products and services, its strategic moves continue to baffle investors and analysts alike. Read more.

MediaPost – Mobile Search To Comprise Nearly 22% Of Ad Spend
eMarketer estimates that U.S. marketers will invest almost $4.4 billion in mobile advertising by 2015, up from $1 billion this year. Local retailers continue to lead the trend, along with more sophisticated mobile devices. Read more.

For more of eMarketer’s recent news coverage, click here.

Here are a few of the top stories in which eMarketer data and analysis were featured during the past week or so:

10/23: The Wall Street Journal – Google, Private-Equity Firms Mull Bid For Yahoo
Google Inc. has talked to at least two private-equity firms about potentially helping them finance a deal to buy Yahoo Inc.’s core business, according to a person familiar with the matter. Read more.

10/24: Forbes – Google’s Playing With Antitrust Fire If It’s Courting Yahoo
A rumored move by Google to possibly finance a buyout of Yahoo’s core business so that it can A) sell ads across Yahoo’s websites or B) raise the purchase price for its rivals would be recklessly incendiary. Read more.

10/19: The Financial Times – Yahoo beats low expectations amid turmoil
Yahoo’s profits fell 26 per cent in the third quarter of 2011 compared to a year before but still beat analysts low expectations, sending its shares higher amid the most tumultuous period in its history. Read more.

10/19: Bloomberg – Yahoo Climbs as Profit Beats Estimates on Internet-Ad Demand
U.S. online ad spending is expected to grow 20 percent this year to $31.3 billion, according to eMarketer Inc. Yahoo’s share of display ads, including banners, will be 13.1 percent this year in the U.S., down from 14.4 percent last year, estimates eMarketer. Facebook’s share will climb to 16.3 percent, up from 12.2 percent. Read more.

10/25: Fortune – Turning social media into company assets
No wonder, then, that eMarketer says that nearly 90% of all Americans get their product information from trusted sources like families and friends, or that McKinsey believes that word of mouth is the primary factor behind 20% to 50% of all the purchase decisions we make. Read more.

10/24: AdWeek – For Advertisers, Older People Are the New Youth
Now that advertisers have realized that older consumers are worth targeting—it helps that they’re one of the few groups that still has money to spend—the AARP is launching a new online network to chase those dollars. Read more.

10/18: Advertising Age – As Online Ad Spending Grows, Yahoo Is Not Sharing in the Bounty
While Yahoo’s third-quarter earnings contained no surprises, they also did nothing to lift the dark cloud hovering above the internet giant. Read more.

For more of eMarketer’s recent news coverage, click here.

To listen and watch playback of the webinar, Mobile Advertising and Marketing—Key Trends and Benchmarks, click here. You can view the PowerPoint deck below.

The webinar addresses the following key questions:

• What are the outlook and growth trajectory for mobile advertising and marketing?
• Which formats show the most promise?
• How are smartphone and tablet adoption shaping the mobile marketing landscape?

About Noah Elkin

Noah covers trends in mobile marketing, usage, content, devices and commerce. He is co-founder and co-chair of the Emerging Technologies Committee for the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization and a member of the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s Mobile Advertising Committee. He is in demand as a speaker at digital and industry conferences.

Sponsored by Savvis.

To listen and watch playback of the webinar, Reaching the Right Audience—Ad Targeting Trends, click here. You can view the PowerPoint deck below.

The webinar addresses these key questions:

• What ad targeting methods are most effective?
• How can marketers best blend audience and content targeting?
• How can marketers best use data to identify the right audience?
• How does testing and measuring improve relevancy?

About David Hallerman

David Hallerman is eMarketer’s expert in US online advertising and marketing, covering internet ad targeting, search and display advertising, email marketing, online video advertising and ad spending across media. He is frequently quoted in top business publications and broadcast programs.

Sponsored by Undertone.

According to eMarketer data from April, overall ad spending levels in India, Russia and Brazil are still low, but the Chinese market will see nearly half a billion—$448.7 million—in mobile ad spending this year. Next year, eMarketer predicts, advertisers in China will spend $717.8 million on mobile.

To learn more about mobile ad spending in BRIC countries, click here.