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Google Debuts "Buzz" Social Features in Gmail

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 9, 2010 - 11:32am.
Mountain View, Calif. - Google (NASD: GOOG) on Tuesday introduced Buzz, a new set of social networking features it will roll out to its 176 million Gmail users in a bid to compete with similar offerings from Facebook, Twitter and others.
tags: Video | Social Networking | Google | Images | Google Buzz |

TiVo: Super Bowl More Engaging than Ads; Doritos is Top Spot

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 9, 2010 - 10:30am.
Alviso, Calif. - TiVo (NASD: TIVO) reports that the top five moments during Sunday's Super Bowl broadcast that users of its digital video recorders rewound to watch again were all from the game itself, as opposed to the commercials.
tags: Sports | Advertising | TV | Reports | TiVo | DVR | Research | Super Bowl | User-Generated |

MySpace Music Testing Audio Ads

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 8, 2010 - 1:03pm.
Los Angeles - MySpace Music, the joint venture between the News Corp.-owned (NYSE: NWS) social network and the major record labels, is testing 30-second audio ads that users must listen to before they can access free song streams, the Associated Press reported. The ads "are timed so that a user can listen to up to 100 songs on a playlist or to a full album with just a single interruption after the first song," AP reports. The company is working with TargetSpot to sell the audio ads.

tags: Advertising | Social Networking | Music | MySpace | News Corp. | TargetSpot | MySpace Music |

EA to Release Version of "Madden NFL" on Facebook

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 8, 2010 - 1:01pm.
New York - Video game publisher Electronic Arts (NASD: ERTS) plans to bring a version of its popular "Madden NFL" football game franchise to Facebook, Bloomberg reports. "We have to make 'Madden' more accessible," EA Sports president Peter Moore told Bloomberg. "You'll see us on Facebook going forward." Moore called the Facebook version of the game, which does not yet have a release date, a "simpler experience" than playing on a console.

tags: Games | Sports | Social Networking | Facebook | Electronic Arts | Madden NFL |

Google to Add 'Status Updates', Other Social Features to Gmail

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 8, 2010 - 10:59am.
Mountain View, Calif. - Google (NASD: GOOG) plans to add new social features to its Gmail service that include the ability to share "status updates" and recent activity on third-party services with contacts, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
tags: Social Networking | Google | Gmail |

Motorola Leads Investment in Social Music Player TuneWiki

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 8, 2010 - 9:13am.
Schaumberg, Ill. - Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Ventures announced on Monday that it has led a new investment round in TuneWiki, a provider of social media music players and related applications.
tags: Deals | VC | Social Networking | Music | Lyrics | Motorola Ventures | Novel TMT | Hillsven Capital | Intellect Capital Ventures | TuneWiki | Benchmark Israel |

TechCrunch Fires Intern Who Sought Compensation for Coverage

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 5, 2010 - 11:57am.
Palo Alto, Calif. - Technology blog TechCrunch said that it has terminated an intern who asked for, and in at least one case received, compensation in exchange for including certain companies in articles. Founder and co-editor Michael Arrington said that the intern, who was not a full-time writer, asked for a Macbook Air in exchange for a post about a startup, and actually received a computer on another occasion. The blog has deleted all of the intern's posts.

tags: Blogs | News | Publishing | TechCrunch | Michael Arrington |

HBO Plans Series on Female Showbiz Blogger; Nikki Finke?

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 5, 2010 - 11:54am.
Los Angeles - Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) HBO has announced plans to develop a series about "a powerful female online showbiz journalist with a no-holds barred style," leading many to speculate the subject is Nikki Finke, the one-time LA Weekly columnist who started her own successful blog before being hired by Mail.com Media Corp. to run Deadline.com. Gawker contacted Finke for comment, who said she would be posting on the news on her own site shortly. The Hollywood Reporter, meanwhile, said HBO did not obtain Finke's life rights before moving forward with the project, and does not plan to work with her on the show.

tags: Blogs | TV | Publishing | Time Warner | HBO | Nikki Finke | Deadline.com | Mail.com Media Corporation |

Facebook Dumps Microsoft for Display Ads; Expands Search Deal

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 5, 2010 - 10:16am.
Redmond, Wash. - Microsoft announced on Friday that it will no longer sell display ads on Facebook, while it has expanded its search advertising partnership with the online social network.
tags: Advertising | Social Networking | Microsoft | Search | Facebook | Bing |

Facebook Hits 400 Million Users; Debuts Redesign

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 5, 2010 - 9:14am.
Palo Alto, Calif. - On its sixth birthday yesterday, online social network Facebook announced that it has surpassed 400 million members, and launched a redesigned home page for its users.
tags: Social Networking | Facebook |

Adult Site Operator FriendFinder Cancels IPO

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 5, 2010 - 8:32am.
Boca Raton, Fla. - FriendFinder Networks, an operator of adult-oriented websites and dating services, and publisher of Penthouse magazine, announced on Friday that it has opted to postpone its planned IPO, citing current market conditions.
tags: Deals | Social Networking | Adult | IPOs | FriendFinder Networks |

Spotify: U.S. Launch Within 60 Days; Music Discovery Upgraded

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 3, 2010 - 10:47am.
London - Spotify, the ad-supported European streaming music service, is set to launch in the U.S. in one or two month's time, CEO Daniel Ek said at a music conference in Los Angeles, Billboard reported. Ek also said that the company is adding "a few thousand" paying subscribers a day in Europe to the premium, ad-free version of its service. The company said separately in a press release on Wednesday that it has updated its artist discovery feature, and now includes its own "cross-referencing data collected over millions of users listening hours to power recommendations." Spotify's recommendations were previously created using tagging data provided by AllMusic.

tags: Advertising | Music | Recommendations | Spotify | Daniel Ek | AllMusic |

AOL Posts $1.4M Profit in First Earnings Report Since Spin-off

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 3, 2010 - 9:18am.
New York - In its first quarterly filing since splitting with former parent Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), AOL (NYSE: AOL) on Wednesday posted a fourth-quarter profit of $1.4 million.
tags: Advertising | AOL | Financials |

Online Video Ad Network BrightRoll Raises $10 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 3, 2010 - 7:11am.
San Francisco - BrightRoll, an online video advertising network, announced on Wednesday that it has raised $10 million in third round financing, led by Scale Venture Partners.
tags: Deals | VC | Video | Advertising | BrightRoll | Scale Venture Partners | True Ventures | KPG Ventures | Adams Street Capital |

Reuters, News Distribution Network Offer Video News Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 2, 2010 - 12:12pm.
New York - Newsgathering agency Reuters announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with News Distribution Network on a video news platform for U.S. newspapers, magazines and radio stations. The service will deliver licensed news video from partners including CBS News and E! Entertainment to Reuters customers at no extra charge. Revenue from advertising will be shared between Reuters, NDN and the content providers.

tags: Video | Advertising | Newspapers | News | Publishing | Reuters | News Distribution Network |

Women-Focused Network Glam Media Raises $50 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 2, 2010 - 9:41am.
New York - Glam Media, a publisher of women-focused websites and operator of a corresponding ad network, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $50 million in a fifth round of funding, led by Aeris Capital.
tags: Deals | VC | Advertising | Publishing | Glam Media | Aeris Capital | Hubert Burda Media | Mizuho Capital |

File-sharing News Blog p2pnet to Shutter

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 2, 2010 - 9:28am.
Los Angeles - The publisher of p2pnet, a site covering file-sharing and the online entertainment industry, announced in a blog post on Tuesday that he will shutter the site after nearly ten years.
tags: Blogs | P2P | Piracy | Copyright | Publishing | Closures | p2pnet | Jon Newton |

"Second Life" Parent Linden Lab Buys Avatars United

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 2, 2010 - 8:46am.
San Francisco - Linden Lab, which developed the "Second Life" online virtual world, announced that it has acquired Enemy Unknown, a Swedish company that runs community site Avatars United.
tags: Deals | Social Networking | Linden Lab | Acquisitions | Second Life | Virtual Worlds | Avatars United |

Brand Affinity Technologies Acquires Beelya

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 1, 2010 - 8:13am.
Irvine, Calif. - Brand Affinity Technologies (BAT), a service that offers to help athletes and celebrities gain endorsement marketing deals, has acquired Beelya, a creator of authentic virtual sports collectibles.
tags: Deals | Sports | Marketing | Advertising | Acquisitions | Brand Affinity Technologies | Beelya |

BlueKai Gets $21 Million for Online Ad Data Exchange

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 1, 2010 - 7:28am.
Seattle - BlueKai, a provider of data related to online advertising for marketers, ad networks and publishers, has raised $21 million in a third round of funding, led by GGV Capital.
tags: Deals | VC | Advertising | Redpoint Ventures | Battery Ventures | BlueKai | GGV Capital |
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