Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) was down earlier this afternoon by over 4% to a price of $115.15, which is well below the 52-week high of $151.09. That might make the stock look unappealing in some sense, but I'll tell you what: the latest earnings report shows that the company is doing very well with its operational strategies.

The following chart illustrates the stock's recent struggles. After peaking in April, the bias has been toward the downside. But is this pullback attractive for those who were considering adding the name to a portfolio?

Baidu (BIDU), China's most popular search engine, reported net income of 837.4 million yuan or 2.40 yuan per American depositary receipt, in the June quarter. Analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg had projected net income of 710.4 million yuan. Last year Baidu reported profit of 383.3 million yuan or 1.10 yuan per ADR for the same period.

The main reason for the spectacular gain was that Baidu's biggest competitor, Google (GOOG), had disputes with Chinese censors over Internet content. Google opted for open access to the Internet. This move clashed with China's policy of having content pass through official censors for approval. Google redirected traffic to its Hong Kong site and, in doing so, lost market share to Baidu.

Viacom (VIA) recently suffered a setback in its war against Google's (GOOG) YouTube. The former's lawsuit centering on copyright infringement by the latter didn't go anywhere in court. Viacom will, of course, appeal.

For those who own Viacom or Google (or both), this is a big deal. At the bottom line, it continues to remind us how painfully difficult it is to make money in the digital age. I don't believe you can completely dismiss Viacom's position. And Google brought up some logical points in its defense. But I doubt either party would disagree with the following statement: it is in the interest of both concerns to figure this thing out. And, in Viacom's case, it may simply be, in some existential respect, to move on.

Trading is upward and active today, on shares of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. (NWS). News Corp. shares have gained over 6%. The share hike is in reaction to News Corp.'s bid to completely swallow UK satellite service provider BSkyB. Bloomberg reports that News Corp's current offer of $11.5 billion has been kindly rejected by BSkyB. Apparently, that company is asking for a bid increase of some 14%. Indications are that the negotiations are amicable and moving forward.

The question is, has Rupert Murdoch lost his mind? I would have to say not. Murdoch has made it quite obvious that internet content by subscription shall be his unflinching business model. He's chosen his path, and he's sticking to it, come hell or high water.

It's been a few weeks now that Google (GOOG) and its Street View mapping service has been in the spotlight after it was discovered that the search giant collected and stored personal data from unencrypted Wi-Fi networks. Now, Google's intentions are in question.

"This was a failure of communication between and within teams," the BBC quotes a Google spokesperson. It is the first line of defense in what has already become an international scandal striking directly at the heart of Google and allegations of serious misconduct by that company. The BBC report indicates that Google's actions of collecting and recording the personal data is in violation of the data interception laws of as many as 30 countries.

I was wrong about Shanda Interactive (SNDA) back in December. The Chinese electronic media entity didn't do so well after I expressed a positive comment on the business. But what about now?

Well, according to TheFly, the company's adjusted Q1 net profit missed the analyst call. Shanda made 58 cents per American Depositary Share (ADS) versus an expectation of 65 cents per ADS. Pretty disappointing. As is the fact that the ADSs are not in the midst of a strong period. Right now, they're priced at roughly $43. The 52-week high is an even $65.

It's no longer fresh news that a contingent of social network users have rapidly become disenchanted with the privacy protocols over on Facebook (GOOG). The Internet rumor mill has generated tales as wild as "60 percent of Facebook users are considering deleting their accounts," and "Facebook exodus planned for May 31."

Now let's see if I have this straight here; I am supposed to believe that tens of millions of Internet users initially thought that they could register with Facebook, upload half their personal biographies to the site, and then remain virtually invisible to all but their chosen few friends? Then, it's expected I'll believe that tens of millions of disenchanted Facebook users are going to organize themselves, plan a virtual walk-out, and then successfully execute it? Somehow, I really find all of this difficult to believe. In fact, I think it's a bunch of baloney.

Priceline.com (PCLN) has a 52-week range indicative of some very interesting price action. The 52-week low is $98.51. The 52-week high is $273.93. The stock closed on Monday at $193.14, up just about 1% for the day.

The big brand of online travel, which competes with Expedia (EXPE), received an upgrade Monday. Soleil Securities took its rating of the company from hold to buy; however, the price target was lowered from $250 to $230 at the same time. It's always odd when that happens, but the important take-away here is the rating firm's belief in potential upside from current prices.

A big change has come in the way we receive financial news from Google (GOOG). The company recently announced that it was doing away with financial newswire releases, in favor of distributing company financial news through its own website(s). Google spokesperson Jane Penner stated it this way: "We felt it made a lot of sense, given that we're a technology company and that we announce virtually all of our company news on our blogs."

The change is almost insignificant, really, when we consider that Google is a glass-walled corporation anyway. What news happens at Google comes out of Google and gets splattered every which way. There's almost no escaping it.

When Mark Cuban blogs about companies such as Google (GOOG), Apple (AAPL), or Facebook, I tend to pay attention. One reason is because Mark Cuban has a unique way of analyzing a situation in order to distill its important details. Another reason I pay attention is because he's just plain smart.

Recently, on his personal blog, The Blog Maverick, Mark Cuban briefly examined the potential of Facebook and its relationships with Apple and Google. Cuban painted Facebook as a "unique threat" to the futures of the two Internet giants.

A slight change of stance and high expectations for wireless devices other than phones might describe the current business direction for AT&T Inc. (T). Although still the very picture of stability, AT&T gave investors a moment of pause recently when it disclosed that it had garnered its fewest number of new Q1 customer contracts since 2004. Market saturation is being blamed as the most likely culprit in this decline, and the iPhone is no longer acting as much of a buffer.

There is no need to worry though, indications are that AT&T has seen this development coming, and the company is making adjustments to maintain cash flow, even though that revenue might not be coming from the company's most traditional sources. An AP article reveals that AT&T has high expectations of success for wireless devices other than phones, and that the company is lining itself up with some of the manufacturers of these new gadgets.

Who is Hilary Rowland? Buisness Insider labeled her as one of the sexiest CEOs alive, while Wired magazine calls her the sexiest geek. But she is more than just a pretty face. Hilary started out writing a very early form of a blog, and then learned code and web design to create the first women's magazine online. She plans to re-launch the magazine in 2010 as Urbanette Magazine, which she says better describes the focus as "A magazine for the smart, stylish and successful urban woman."

BloggingStocks: What advice would you give to emerging internet entrepreneurs?

Hilary Rowland: I would say that they need a unique idea, and a solid revenue plan. Don't get discouraged. Starting a successful business takes more work than you think but it's doable if you have the will and determination to keep pushing yourself until you've reached your goal. Make sure you have a viable business plan that fills a gap in the market or is an innovative approach. Think everything out thoroughly.

When Twitter announced its search-based advertising model, little more than a Google (GOOG) knockoff, the market yawned. It didn't seem like much after months and months of speculation, not to mention Twitter's promises that this was something "we would love and would be awesome."

Now, the details are out, and it could be more interesting than expected. On Twitter's blog, Biz Stone lays out "Promoted Tweets," ending the jokes such as Stephen Colbert's, "So, I assume that 'Biz' in 'Biz Stone' does not stand for 'Business Model."

Life was so much easier when Twitter wasn't worried about making money. Some spectacular venture capital deals propelled the company's value to over $1 billion, and user trends shot bragging rights up proportionately. Its ascendancy resulted in large part from the efforts of the Twitter ecosystem where companies developed 70,000 applications that have made life easier or more measurable for Twitter users. It's easy to lose track of how much of our Twitter interaction lies on third-party apps – from photo sharing to smartphone applications to URL shortening.

As long as Twitter's functionality ambitions remained modest, the ecosystem knew it would thrive. As we head toward the Chirp conference for Twitter application developers concerns over the future of the ecosystem abound. Here are five reasons why the companies around Twitter may start to worry about the microblogging juggernaut.

Twitter's new look won't be limited to the redesigned Twitter home page. Doug Bowman, creative director at the social media company, posted a screen shot of a refreshed design for Twitter Thursday, according to SocialTimes. Of course, the whole screen isn't even shown because, as Bowman wrote in a comment, "Working on what may end up a significant redesign. Not final yet. What we can show without giving away the farm."

It looks like quite a bit is going to change, and as usual, even the smallest of updates could carry a significant revenue implication for Twitter. Here are four implications of a screen redesign for Twitter (and, more important, its investors):