—Yahoo shutters RSS ads : More streamlining at Yahoo: In an email sent to participating publishers, the company said it was pulling the plug on its RSS ads product, according to SEL. The feed-based ads program launched in late 2005, but obviously failed to gain much traction. Alternatives in the space include Pheedo and Google's AdSense for Feeds.

—ADM sets standards for podcast ads : The Association for Downloadable Media (ADM), a trade organization for pod- and vidcast-related companies, has released a preliminary set of ad standards; the guidelines cover 25 units, including pre-, mid- and post-roll insertions, product placement in shows, and in-show endorsements. The group also posed two acceptable forms of campaign measurement: log files from the server where the content was hosted, or through a third-party intermediary. The standards are aimed at making it easier to run ad campaigns in downloadable content—as podcast adoption in particular continues to grow, but the ad dollars aren't scaling accordingly. The ADM was founded in mid-2007. Release.

—A majority of ad execs expect to have M&A talks in 09 : Research from advisory firm AdMedia Partners found that marketers are still optimistic about M&A activity this year—particularly in the interactive advertising space. The firm surveyed more than 3,700 marketing execs, finding that 56 percent of respondents expect to be approached by a potential buyer this year; 52 percent expect to approach potential acquisition targets. The top three interactive sectors respondents said they would enter or expand into were mobile, search and social media. Release.