Google (GOOG) is ever searching for new opportunities. This time they want to enhance their YouTube site, which is noted for allowing and promoting home videos.

Google has a successful money stream called its partner program for YouTube. If you become a partner you agree to let Google place ads on your video and to let Google rent your video.

The world of Internet traffic moves at lightning speed. So, too, do the moods and preferences of users. Back in 2007, News Corp's (NWS) MySpace was No. 1. Google.com (GOOG) took the No. 1 spot in 2008 and 2009. In 2009, Facebook has taken the No. 1 spot, with 8.9% of U.S. visits, edging Google.com, which had 7.2% of visits, Reuters reported, citing online measurement service Experian Hitwise.

Facebook was started by Mark Zuckerberg and a few classmates in 2004. Facebook users can create profiles with photos, lists of personal interests, contact details and other information. Users can communicate with friends and other users through private or public messages and a chat feature. They can also join interest groups and "like pages."

Since the dot-com boom in the late 1990s, the U.S. IPO market has been fairly lackluster. True, there were some notable deals, such as for Google (GOOG). But they were not enough to spark a bull run.

But in 2010, things started to change. Finally, it looks like IPO investors have a new trend emerging -- that is, for Chinese offerings. According to the Wall Street Journal (a paid publication), there were 38 such offerings. The total amount raised came to a tidy $4 billion.

The earnings season kicked off last week with better-than-expected results from Alcoa (AA) and Yum! Brands (YUM), while Marriott (MAR) and Pepsico (PEP) met consensus EPS estimates. This week, bellwether companies Intel (INTC), General Electric (GE), Google (GOOG) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) are scheduled to report their third-quarter results, and analysts polled by Thomson Reuters are looking for earnings growth from all of them.

Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel announced the acquisition of McAfee and joint ventures with General Electric and Nokia (NOK) during its third quarter. Analysts forecast earnings for that period to come to 50 cents per share, which is up 34.0% from the same period of last year. The number one semiconductor maker's revenue for the three months ended in September is expected to total $11.0 billion, or 17.1% more than a year earlier. Looking ahead to the full year, the forecast thus far is for earnings of $1.94 per share (+44.8%) and $43.3 billion in revenue (+23.4%). The per-share earnings topped analysts' expectations in the past four quarters, by as much as a dime per share.

Google Inc. (GOOG) continues to broaden its reach in the technology sector, and today the company announced that it plans to launch its Google TV platform globally in 2011.

The company gave a demonstration of the new platform today in Berlin, illustrating how a Google search bar would appear on top of the TV and allow users to search both the internet and live TV listings.

Shares of search engine giant Google (GOOG) fell by $19 per share (almost 4%) in after-hours trading Thursday after the California-based company was unable to hit estimates for its second quarter.

As we noted in our earnings preview, Google has done very well over the past couple of years, and the company has outpaced analyst estimates each of the past seven quarters.

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.

Google, Inc. (GOOG) is still looking for ways to make its investment back (a paltry $1.65 billion) from its 2006 acquisition of YouTube. Since then, it's tried various revenue efforts and currently has a revenue share arrangement with many of YouTube's video partners.

Viacom is now being blamed for secretly uploading copyright infringing content by YouTube's chief counsel, Zahavah Levine. This announcement comes as the court prepares to render a decision in the $1 billion copyright infringement lawsuit Viacom (VIA) brought against Google's (GOOG) Internet video giant, YouTube.

Attorney Levine has stated in a blog post: "For years, Viacom continuously and secretly uploaded its content to YouTube, even while publicly complaining about its presence there."

U.S. stock futures were flat as investors take stock of a recent run-up in stock prices and four days worth of economic releases, with no new data scheduled for Friday.

Ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes were lower fractionally. Stocks ended Thursday's trading mixed, with the Dow Jones adding 45 points in its eighth straight day of positive sessions. The broader S&P 500 ended slightly lower Thursday, while the Nasdaq gained about 1%. Renewed concerns over the European nations' support for Greece in its debt crisis were countered by reports showing a decline in weekly jobless claims and tepid inflation.

Almost three years after Google, Inc. (GOOG) announced a television advertising partnership with Dish Network, something fruitful may soon be afoot. The world's largest internet advertising company wants to integrate its Android mobile operating system into Dish equipment so that Dish subscribers can view satellite television programming right next to YouTube web-based video in one neat experience.

Digital video recording pioneer TiVo (TIVO) is set to introduce yet another set-top box in the first week of March that would allow web video search results to be presented directly next to television listings. It's another validation that the line between traditional cable/satellite/broadcast television and web-based video sources is becoming ever more blurry. Imagine seeing the latest CBS prime-time television listings next to associated programming from Netflix (NFLX) or Amazon (AMZN) or even program teasers from YouTube or Hulu.

You'd think retailers would flock to any place where they could find 400 million people. With the sixth anniversary of Facebook closing in, its robust user base still hasn't opened the eyes of many retailers.

Despite all the Black Friday social media engagement this year, a substantial 75% of the top 100 online retailers don't have a formal presence on Facebook, according to a study by ForeSee Results. Another 25% haven't even hit 10,000 fans.

Google (GOOG) proudly posted its fourth-quarter numbers on Thursday after the bell, probably assuming it would see a bid once the market digested its performance. But it didn't happen. Instead, the market sold the company on what I would call a very good report. Are you getting the feeling that the bullish sentiment on Wall Street is fading away?

The search giant, feared by both Microsoft (MSFT) and Yahoo! (YHOO), among others, said it made $6.79 per share on a non-GAAP basis. Which means management grew the bottom line by a more than respectable 33%. According to our earnings preview, the market was looking for $6.43.

A big player in the tech sector is ready to report today. Google (GOOG) will publish Q4 results later this afternoon. Traders and investors alike get super excited when the search behemoth tells the world how it's doing.

I think the company will show that it's doing quite well. According to Earnings.com, expectations peg the per-share profit at $6.43. If that number is hit, then the growth rate will be a solid 26% (last year at this time, Google made $5.10 per share). Of course, most people aren't interested in hitting the projected stat, they want management to rise above it and demonstrate true earnings power.