Archive - May 18, 2009 | Digital Media Wire

Wolfram Alpha Debuts Web "Computation Engine"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 18, 2009 - 1:28pm.

Champaign, Ill. - Wolfram Alpha on Monday launched a public test of its new Web "computation engine," which purports to combine a search engine with computational power to provide more detailed search results. At launch, the service covers topics including mathematics, statistics and data analysis, astronomy, weather, geography, nutrition and media. A video featuring founder Stephen Wolfram explaining the service is available at a link below.

tags: Search | Wolfram Alpha |

Walmart Testing Used Video Game Trade-in Kiosks

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 18, 2009 - 1:26pm.

Los Angeles - Retail giant Walmart (NYSE: WMT) has partnered with kiosk vendor e-Play to test a line of automated video game trade-in kiosks in the Northeastern U.S., Kotaku reported. The machines, which apply trade-in values to a credit or debit card rather than store credit, are currently being tested in 77 Walmart stores. Other players in the used games space include GameStop, and newer entrants Best Buy, Amazon and Toys R Us.

Bid4Spots Launches Web Marketplace for Cable TV Ads

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 18, 2009 - 1:25pm.

Encino, Calif. - Bid4Spots, the provider of an online marketpace for unsold radio and TV commercial airtime, on Monday launched a new space for cable TV advertising that can target ads down to the neighborhood. The company says it has organized a registry of the nation's local cable TV systems that will help advertisers reach their target audiences, adding that there was as much as $657 million in lost revenue due to unsold inventory in 2007. The first Bid4Spots cable TV is scheduled for June 11.

tags: Advertising | TV | Bid4Spots |

Writers Top $1 Million in Earnings on Web Marketplace Helium

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 18, 2009 - 1:24pm.

Andover, Mass. - Helium.com, an online marketplace for writers, announced on Monday that its writers have exceeded $1 million in total earnings, more than half of which was generated over the last six months. To date, over 1,000 Helium writers have earned more than $100, and top earners have made over $5,000, the company said. It also said it has experienced a 70% increase in traffic to Helium.com over the last six months.

tags: Publishing | Books | User-Generated | Helium.com |

Rolling Stone Teams With 505 Games on "Drum King" Game

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 18, 2009 - 1:22pm.

Los Angeles - Rolling Stone magazine has partnered with "Cooking Mama" game developer 505 Games on a new music-based title called "Drum King," Variety reports. The Wii game will be promoted by Rolling Stone both in print and online, as well as on radio and at sponsored events.

Activision Details Skateboard Controller for "Tony Hawk: RIDE"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 18, 2009 - 1:21pm.

Santa Monica, Calif. - Activision (NASD: ATVI) said on Monday that it will introduce a new motion-sensing skateboard controller accessory for its forthcoming "Tony Hawk: RIDE" game. The title is in development for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii for release later this year.

tags: Games | Activision | Tony Hawk: RIDE |

Craigslist Faces Criminal Probe in S.C. Over Erotic Ads

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 18, 2009 - 12:45pm.

San Francisco - The Attorney General for the state of South Carolina has launched criminal investigation of Craigslist, after the site failed to remove alleged ads for prostitution and graphic pornography by Friday, according to reports. After meetings with a group of state attorneys general last week, Craigslist took the drastic step of eliminating its "Erotic Services" section entirely, and said it would manually monitor all ads placed in a new "Adult Services" section.

Electronic Arts' "The Sims 3" Leaked to P2P Ahead of Release

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 18, 2009 - 12:28pm.

Redwood City, Calif. - Video game publisher Electronic Arts' (NASD: ERTS) upcoming sequel "The Sims 3," not due for release for another two weeks, has been leaked onto file-sharing networks, according to published reports.

Acacia Wins $6.6 Million Patent Verdict Against Yahoo

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 18, 2009 - 12:16pm.

Sunnyvale, Calif. - Acacia Research, a developer and acquirer of intellectual property, announced on Monday that it has won a $6.6 million verdict in its patent infringement lawsuit against Yahoo (NASD: YHOO).

Napster Offers Unlimited Streaming, 5 MP3s for $5 per Month

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 18, 2009 - 11:57am.

Los Angeles - Digital music service Napster (NASD: NAPS) on Monday introduced a new subscription plan that offers unlimited streaming of songs from its library of seven million tracks, plus five MP3 downloads, for $5 per month.

tags: Marketing | Music | DRM | Napster |

Scribd Debuts Digital Publishing Service for Writers

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 18, 2009 - 10:16am.

San Francisco - Scribd, a website that lets users share text documents, on Monday launched a new service that lets publishers charge for their documents, and keep 80% of the revenue, The New York Times reported.

Report: Google Received 64% of Search Market in April

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 18, 2009 - 10:13am.

Reston, Va. - Internet audience measurement firm comScore released its monthly analysis of the U.S. search market on Monday, that shows Americans conducted 14.8 billion searches in April, a 3% gain over March.

Video-on-Demand Firms TVN, Avail Media Agree to Merger

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 18, 2009 - 8:35am.

Sherman Oaks, Calif. - TVN Entertainment, a provider of video-on-demand programming and delivery services, announced on Monday that it has agreed to merge with Avail Media, an independent aggregator and provider of linear content.

Report: Facebook Raising $150M to Buy Employees' Shares

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 18, 2009 - 8:11am.

Palo Alto, Calif. - Online social network Facebook is close to raising $150 million that it intends to use to buy out several hundred employees' shares in the company, VentureBeat reported. Many employees were awarded several thousand shares in the company, valued at under a dollar; these shares can now fetch $10 each on the private market.

tags: Deals | Social Networking | Facebook | Investments |

Online Ad Firm DoubleVerify Launches With $3.5 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 18, 2009 - 8:00am.

New York - DoubleVerify, a provider of online advertising verification technology, on Monday announced its launch with $3.5 million in first round financing, led by Blumberg Capital.

Mark Cuban: How Twitter and Facebook Now Compete with Google

Authored by Mark Cuban on May 18, 2009 - 4:32am.

Last year I wrote a blog post entitled “If the news is important it will find me”. The point was that we all live in so many social networks, that someone will send us an update if something in the world happens that we would be interested in. Back then I was guessing. A year later I have data. For the 1st time ever, more people are finding my blog from Twitter and Facebook referrals than via Google. The total number of people coming to my blog is increasing. The percentage of people who find it via Google is declining. Significantly.