Austin, Texas - Pluck, a provider of social media tools, said on Friday that the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) has hired it to provide social media capabilities across CBC digital properties. Austin-based Pluck, which also counts Fox News, Discovery, Gannett and The Washington Post as clients, will provide voting contests, interactive show commentary, forums, photo-sharing and other features for the CBC.

San Mateo, Calif. - Movie download service Jaman.com on Friday announced a new licensing deal with Arts Alliance America, an independent film and DVD distributor. Titles that will be offered on Jaman through the deal will include "Super Size Me," "Conversations with Other Women," "Tully" and "Never Forever."

London - Mind Candy, a developer of social multiplayer online games that created the "Perplex City" alternate reality game, on Friday announced the launch of "Moshi Monsters," its new virtual world "for little kids and big kids alike." The game has players adopt their own monster, and keep it happy by solving the daily puzzles that are sent, with the monster developing its own unique personality depending on how well or badly it has been treated.

Redwood City, Calif. - Electronic Arts (NASD: ERTS) said on Friday it has signed former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre as the cover athlete for its "Madden NFL 09" game, scheduled for release across North America on Aug. 12. Over the past 20 years, the Madden NFL franchise has sold more than 70 million copies, and since 2002 has been the top selling sports game each year in North America.

Washington - A bipartisan group of powerful lawmakers this week introduced legislation that would mitigate the legal risk and potential damages associated with the use of "orphan works," or songs, books or other copyrighted media where the creator or owner cannot be identified. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) are sponsoring the Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008 in the Senate, while House Judiciary IP Subcommittee Chairman Howard Berman (D-Calif.) and House Judiciary Committee ranking member Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) introduced The Orphan Works Act of 2008 in the House.

Dublin - Ireland's largest Internet service provider, Eircom, has been sued by the major record labels under the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) on charges of aiding copyright infringement, RTE Business reported.

Seattle - Starbucks (NYSE: SBUX) announced on Friday that it is restructuring the entertainment side of its business, and, after just a year at the helm, will turn over management of its Hear Music record label to partner Concord Music Group. In connection with the change in strategy, Ken Lombard, SVP and president of Starbucks Entertainment, has left the company to pursue other business interests, while chief technology officer Chris Bruzzo was promoted to SVP and head of the Entertainment group.

Dulles, Va. - Following a year of revamping all of its major programming channels, AOL (NYSE: TWX) said that the sites in March hit all-time highs in terms of both unique visitors and page views, according to data from comScore Media Metrix. During the month, page views on AOL's programming sites grew 28%, and are up 35% from a year ago.

London - U.K.-based video game publisher SCi, which owns Eidos and the "Tomb Raider" franchise, has received a $119 million investment from Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) Warner Bros. and real estate investor Robert Tchenguiz through a private share placement.

Digg Dubb: Groove Is In The Heart from Trammell on Vimeo.
A new viral lip dub video has appeared (embedded above). This time courtesy of the staff at Digg. I would say it's a worthy follow-up to the video done at the offices at College Humor and Connected Ventures (see below). Revision3 has also joined the party with a lip bud video of their own (embedded at the bottom, gotta love INXS). Think about it, these videos are not just viral branding for the companies but also smart recruitment tools...

Dulles, Va. - AOL has paid an undisclosed sum to acquire New Jersey-based fantasy sports site Fleaflicker, which powers The Washington Post's fantasy football leagues, TechCrunch reported.

Los Angeles - SaysMe, a service that lets consumers create and purchase TV advertising, has raised an undisclosed sum in its first round of financing, led by Intel Capital and Prime Capital.

There are two principal ways advertisers are trying to create value for consumers on the web — and they must create value because, you know, consumers are in control. On the web, advertisers can provide entertainment or information. How effective is advertising as information on the web? See Google’s $15B in ad revenue — an $5.19 billion in ad revenue in Q1 2008. The technology of web search enabled advertisers to create value for consumers in a way that was never possible in analogue media.