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YieldBuild, an ad optimization platform that helps users manage multiple ad networks and position advertisements on their webpages, has launched its self-service program to the public. When we last covered the company, YieldBuild was still in private beta and only sites with more than 500,000 monthly visitors were eligible to participate. Now, web publishers of any size are welcome to join, and the installation process has been streamlined to require only a few snippets of JavaScript.

YieldBuild helps publishers maximize their ad revenues in a number of ways. To begin, the publisher ties their accounts from Google AdSense and similar services to their YieldBuild account. Next, they designate a number of hotspots on their page where ads can appear, but don’t necessarily have to (for example, I could tag five possible ad spots on a page and let YieldBuild figure out the ideal configuration). YieldBuild will automatically display different configurations to different visitors until it figures out where each ad should be placed for optimal results. The service also takes into account ad appearance, adjusting font size and color as needed. In the past the system would take around 100,000 visitors until it had ‘learned’ the ideal settings, but the new algorithm needs only a fraction of that traffic.

YieldBuild has also recently introduced support for CPM ad networks, and allows users to not only perfect the placement of their ads, but also which ad networks should be used at a given time to maximize revenues. Other players in this space include Pubmatic and Rubicon Project which also offer management for multiple ad networks, but focus less on the actual placement and formatting of the ads.

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We’d noticed an increasing number of people emailing on a large-scale bucket test (a product change tested on just a percentage of total users) that Google has been conducting for months - adding a Digg-like voting feature to search results (which also changes the ranking) as well as user comments.

Tonight, Google apparently said “what the hell” and turned it on for everyone.

The changes are called SearchWiki, and are a dramatic departure from Google’s streamlined, algorithm-rules approach to search. It takes features from Digg to allow users to vote site results up or down, as well as features from Wikia Search to allow users to add comments, move search results, etc. The result are customized results that appear every time you do that search in the future (assuming you are logged in).

Here’s a demo video:

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US carmakers are given a deadline to produce a viable recovery plan if they want a $25bn government bail-out.

Rye - Five fire departments fought the blaze on Sagamore Road, near the traffic circle on Route 1A by the Portsmouth city line. The fire sent huge plumes of smoke throughout the neighborhood.

A state-by state look at the economic forecasts for New England states issued Thursday by the New England Economic Partnership:

Passions flared in a Maine town on Thursday over a sign in a store asking customers to place bets on an assassination of President-elect Barack Obama.

Argentina’s Senate approves a bill to nationalise private pension schemes, a measure that has provoked controversy.

The winning numbers drawn Thursday night in the "Massachusetts Daily Lottery" were: 4-2-2-2

Kennewick — Another large bone thought to be from a mammoth that wandered Washington thousands of years ago has been found on a 27-acre site southwest of Kennewick.

Scientists are talking for the first time about the old idea of resurrecting extinct species as if this staple of science fiction is a realistic possibility, saying a living mammoth could perhaps be regenerated for $10 million.