paidContent Quick Hits: 8.14.09

»  Big layoffs are not in fact imminent at *AOL*, says Kara Swisher, citing sources. [AllThingsD]

»  Netscape founder Marc Andreessen is backing RockMelt, which is reportedly building a Facebook-specific browser. No one is quite sure what exactly that means. [ReadWriteWeb]

»  FriendFeed backer Benchmark Capital is taking its proceeds from the startup’s sale to Facebook in “almost all equity.” [VentureBeat]

»  Video game sales fell for the fifth month in a row. Sales were down 29 percent in July, according to the NPD Group. [CNET]

»  Like.com’s facial recognition service Riya is shutting down. [TechCrunch]

»  Gannett (NYSE: GCI) is partnering with history site Footnote.com to launch HistoryBeat.com which “combines social networking with archival photos and original newspaper coverage of historical events.” [Gannett Digital Media Network]

»  This week’s *Google-Microsoft* shouting match: *Google* chief economist Hal Varian disputes Microsoft’s assertion that it needs scale in the search market to compete — a central premise for Microsoft’s partnership with *Yahoo*. [CNET]

»  Twitter plans changes to the way retweeting works on the microblog. [Twitter]

»  Video of the day: *Microsoft* has a viral advertising hit in a clip that shows a man flying into a pool. [CNET]

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