Category Archives: Society

Apps, Funding, Investments, Mobile, Society, Technology

Freya – The New Efficient App For Women Is On Kickstarter

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The HedgeHog team is proud to present yet another app solution – a circular ovulation calendar that is both simple, efficient and aesthetic. Based on the popular calendar CircleTime, Freya tells you when is the best time to try to conceive or to use protection. It can also be used during pregnancy for counting the remaining time before the estimated due date.

The app, named after the Scandinavian goddess of love, sexuality, beauty and fertility – Freya offers a simple solution – without the countless irrelevant information you’ll never require. Freya’s mission is to be clear and effective.

We invite all who wish to see this app released as soon as possible, to assist the HedgeHog team with achieving their funding goal on the crowdfunding site Kickstarter. Participants have a unique opportunity to receive some genuine rewards made of natural and environmentally friendly materials. This is because sustainable development is one of the top priorities for the team and they wish to see all the natural beauty restored to the environment.

“The purpose of Freya is to provide a remarkable menstrual calendar for women which will be immensely appealing in both appearance as well as functionality”, said Sabina Durini, Freya designer and member of the HedgeHog team.

The fundraising campaign will last for 30 days and the app will initially be developed for Apple iOS devices.

Project page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hedgehog-si/freya-ovulation-calendar-simple-solution-for-every
Official website: http://www.newroundcalendar.com/freya.html

Contact Details: Daniel Nunic
App Developer
Email: daniel@hedgehog.si
Phone: +38640667308

MEDIA:

PHOTO:

JPEG

Via EPR Network

Apps, Entertainment, Mobile, Society, Sports, Technology, Telecom

Zenytime Announces the World’s First Wireless Breath-Based Input Solution Dedicated to Gameful Self-Improvement at the Web Summit 2013

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Zenytime is exhibiting as an Alpha start-up in Dublin, Ireland at the Web Summit 2013 on Thursday 31st at the booth 532. The conference topic, centered around technology, lends itself to the product which is described as “the world’s first wireless breath-based input solution dedicated to gameful self-improvement.” Due to its forward thinking innovation, Zenytime has been recognized by summit organizers as one of the most promising early stage startups out of over 5000 applicants from over 80 countries.

“It’s a real honor to be selected from thousands of startups across the world and be invited to showcase our innovation to leading thinkers and doers in technology” said Celine Vignal, Founder. “The event will allow us to meet our peer group and exchange ideas and concepts around the Internet of Things and its impact on our lives and wellbeing, and how we deal with stress and productivity.”

Set to hold the attention of the summit’s attendees, Zenytime is the first device that lets users improve their wellbeing by playing free mobile games with the exclusive use of their breath. Mixing self-improvement and gamification, Zenytime is to breathing what fitness trackers are to moving.

The Zenytime solution combines a Bluetooth accessory called “the Puck” and gameful apps designed as breathing coaches. The “Puck” features an exclusive patented sensor that tracks controlled breathing and translates it into game controls. Zenytime games for smartphones and tablets follow well-defined inhale and exhale sequences, scientifically proven to be beneficial breathing exercises. The Zenytime provides with stats, tips and rewards toward a better wellbeing.

Compatible with iOS and Android, Zenytime games are founded on optimal breathing patterns well-known for improving stress management, cardio health, sports and brain performance.

Zenytime is available at zenytime.com for pre-ordering at $79 including shipping and handling. Add-ons to be announced soon. Shipping will begin during Q1 2014.

For more information visit www.zenytime.com. To connect on Facebook and Twitter click on https://www.facebook.com/zenytime and https://twitter.com/zenytime respectively.

contact@zenytime.com

Via EPR Network

Business, Internet, Investments, Marketing, Media, Money, Multimedia, Music, Social Networking, Society, Technology, Web 2.0

New Online Social Network Offers Revolutionary WEshares(tm) to its Members

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What do you get out of online social networks? Probably nothing more than just that: Online social networking. A multi-billion dollar corporation is allowing you to communicate with others while using all your information to make huge profits. Not only are you helping them make loads of money from advertising, but you are guaranteeing that a few people make a lot of money off your efforts.

ExpatOdyssey.com is a new online social network that goes against this business model. We also want to make a few bucks, but we want you to share in the success. We want to share something sustainable, unique, and revolutionary. ExpatOdyssey wants to give you more than a few pointless prizes or vouchers. Let us help you help yourself!

You’re probably wondering how this works because it sounds a little too good to be true. Simple. You become a member and use ExpatOdyssey to do what you usually do on online social networks. However, this is the point at which ExpatOdyssey.com is completely different. You are also an actual owner. The moment you sign up, you are awarded WEshares(tm). You are contributing to the website by being a member, so you deserve a reward. Every time you upload photographs, invite friends, create forums, or any one of the innumerable things you can do on ExpatOdyssey, you accumulate WEshares(tm). Like shares in a company, they represent what percentage of ExpatOdyssey.com you own.

Carlo Jacobs, Founder of ExpatOdyssey.com comments: “When the Occupy Wall Street movement began, my wife and I decided that the time was finally right for a venture that included and benefitted everyone, the 99% who have been left behind. We decided not to accept venture capitalists to create ExpatOdyssey.com or any large investors and struggled along with some meagre savings. A few friends heard about our novel idea and invested some money so that ExpatOdyssey.com could be shared with everyone out there. From that point onwards, we knew that our decision for all members to have the opportunity to get or earn Free WEshares(tm), or invest, was the right one.”

In fact, ExpatOdyssey.com has made investment so accessible to everyone that if they want, members can invest from as little as $5 with WEshares currently priced at only 0.1cents per WEshare. We are all passionate about changing the current status quo, or at least doing our part to make a significant difference and giving everyone the chance to own a piece of the future. Businesses usually offer shares when the price is already unattainable. Instead ExpatOdyssey.com is giving everyone the chance to get a piece of the pie at the beginning when it matters most! What’s more is that because our members are owners, we listen to our members’ suggestions, what they want and need and as a result, over time, ExpatOdyssey.com will end up being the world’s best online social network.

Via EPR Network

Education, Entertainment, Facebook, Internet, Marketing, Media, Social Networking, Society, Technology, Web 2.0

Youzzers: the anti-Facebook?

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Steven Hori, a Swiss Internet and network specialist, is launching Youzzers, the first social network which is 100% secure and totally protects its members’ personal data. Thus when an account is deleted, the totality of all personal data is deleted. Youzzers is also available on iPhone, Androïd and notebooks.

A network that provides a large range of features and services.

Youzzers is both a professional social network and an interactive one. It provides a wide range of features and services. All of these are regrouped on a single platform and are managed at will by the user. It offers a higher level of confidentiality in comparison to other competitors. Ergonomic, simplified and secure, Youzzers does not require any particular skills to be used.

E-learning
Youzzers offers a network to schools and universities which allows them to make their courses available online. The network users can take these courses starting from the modest sum of 1 to 2 €.

Safety Box
Directly incorporated into Youzzers, this function offers the storage of personal data which is protected by a security encryption ranging from 128 to 256 bits so that it is only accessible to the user himself.

Mailboxes
Youzzers allows one to create an e-mail address my-email@youzzers.com to send/receive e-mails to/from members and non-members. It allows a POP connection on additional mailboxes, the sending/receiving of mail by SMTP, all of which is protected by antispam and anti-virus.

Personal multimedia albums
Youzzers accepts all formats (Photos, Audio, Video, Documents) on a simplified interface for better management of albums. They can be configured to be visible or secured and are available on mobile phones and notebooks.

Live meeting (audio/video)
Youzzers also includes an instant messaging service with incorporated whiteboard. This system allows “multiusers” to work together with bridges to MSN, AIM, Yahoo, ICQ, software.

Presently, Youzzers is available in French, English, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. Turkish, Dutch and Arabic will be available by May 15th along with other features.

Youzzers also provides news, e-commerce, creation and consultation of ads, forums and surveys.

The site is open: www.youzzers.com.

Via EPR Network

Business, Companies, Entertainment, Facebook, Internet, Marketing, myspace, Social Networking, Society, Web 2.0

Muozi.com – Africa’s Hottest Social Networking Site Is Seen As The Second Coming Of Facebook!

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African and Global web users have already spoken: social networking site fanatics find Muozi as the most convenient and user-friendly site and the toughest competitor of Facebook in Africa.

www.Muozi.com is a social networking site that allows people from different parts of Africa to connect with their family, friends, as well as old lost friends anytime and anywhere at their own convenience. This social networking site is a true hit among grownups and teenagers.

The target audiences of this newly launched site are not only the Africans but the global web users as well.Owner and Founder, Patrick Ndukwe a Master’s degree holder in Information System and a graduate of BA in Philosophy and BA in Economics once said in an interview, “I am positive that Africans has to have a social network engine that will do to Africans the same thing that Facebook, MySpace and others like it are doing to the developed world. Muozi.com was born out of the need to equalize the techno-gap; the need to give Africa what other developed world has.” “Muozi has about 15 partners with all having degrees in Law, Marketing, journalism, film & Video, Music and PR.

These partners are both here in the US and in Africa. Muozi have music artist and film producers on board as partners.”, Ndukwe told the interviewer.Ndukwe also specified how Muozi has partnered with some Universities in Africa and have a lot of professors on board as partners. “We, at Muozi take pride in what we are hoping to achieve, which is creating a bridge to Africa from developed world; we will take the best of what is in the develop world and bring it to Africans as relates to Social Networking and technology in general.”

Muozi users are also permitted to add or incorporate a “Documents tab” for every group if they want. Users are authorized to upload and display documents in group.

Furthermore, all users are also allowed to download documents, print, share, rate documents, add tags, categorize and leave a comment without a glitch. Other than that, the group designers or creators are free to set or place a document uploading option or document viewing permissions for different respective groups.

“Muozi is just starting; we intend to equalize the cost of calling Africa or calls from Africa as close to FREE as it can be in the near future”, Ndukwe expressed with great excitement.

Muozi also offers flash video chat, instant messaging service, and more! There are also separate tabs or sections for blogging, classified ads, forums, games, as well as videos. Users can share anything with their families and friends wherever they are.

Furthermore, in an interview conducted by the research team of Muozi.com, Nuji a new Muozi user said, “I am very impressed with the layout and the features offered by this social networking site, it is far better compared to other social networks that I came across with. I am personally recommending this site to my fellow social networking fanatics. Keep up the good work Muozi!”It’s undeniable that Muozi is truly the new face of social networking in Africa. This site allows people to create free account and log in to the website using their existing account on facebook, twitter, google and other selected social networking sites. These are the primary reasons why Mouzi is considered as the toughest competitor of Facebook today. Muozi is a private company connecting Africans to the world at large.

Via EPR Network

angel investors, Business, Funding, Internet, Investments, IPO, Money, Society, Technology, Venture Capital, Web 2.0

Bootstrapping: Weapon of Mass Reconstruction

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“Sramana Mitra’s Bootstrapping: Weapon of Mass Reconstruction is a book for our time because it’s something real out of Silicon Valley. No more stories about legendary VC fundings of startup-to-IPO in six months. …This book has some fascinating histories of the different paths people take to entrepreneurship, and the difficulties they face. I would only have wished each of the interviews to be longer and deeper, because every story is worth telling.” – Fast Company

In a world battered by economic crisis, Sramana Mitra believes entrepreneurship is the only sustainable path forward to a healthy economic world order. And core to the success of entrepreneurial ventures today is the invigorating art of bootstrapping. Sramana Mitra–a serial entrepreneur, strategy consultant and Forbes columnist–takes aim at this essential route along the roadmap to startup success with Bootstrapping: Weapon of Mass Reconstruction (Entrepreneur Journeys Vol. 2; BookSurge; June 1, 2009; $16.95 paperback).

Along with the incisive analysis and commentary that have popularized popularized her blog “Sramana Mitra on Strategy” and Forbes columns, Mitra showcases a dozen successful entrepreneurs and their lessons from the bootstrapping trenches. Overflowing with lively entrepreneurial tangents, theories and behind-closed-doors-experience, the book rises to the level of economic policy discussion while simultaneously offering practical advice from experienced bootstrappers. Important issues like doing more with less, getting started with little or no capital, and validating the market on the cheap are discussed with the likes of Om Malik of GigaOm and Greg Gianforte of RightNow.

In her characteristic narrative style, Mitra shepherds established and aspiring entrepreneurs through another inspiring and page-turning expedition into venture land, a territory she hopes will be claimed by many more in the years to come.

“From my perspective it is clear that small business must be a top policy priority,” explains Mitra. “Let us hope that in the coming decade the number of small businesses will double, then triple and quadruple. For here is the most powerful engine of economic growth and sustenance. Here is our way back.”

More Praise for Bootstrapping:

“Mitra clearly has a passion for small businesses. This useful volume is largely comprised of interviews with the founders of such companies. Her skilled questioning prompts a discussion of the many issues involved in starting and growing a business. The entrepreneurs share wisdom and insight useful to any budding or existing business owner. The reader will be struck by the vision, inventiveness and sheer determination of these entrepreneurial heroes, who operate businesses that are successful but far below the radar. A highly relevant and timely work on entrepreneurship’s role in economic reconstruction.” – Kirkus Discoveries

“Sramana’s work on bootstrapped entrepreneurs is an inspiration in these tough economic times. The solutions to our economic problems ultimately lie with the entrepreneur who brings imagination, resourcefulness and good old-fashioned elbow grease to tackle old problems in new ways, create new solutions and new industries. It is all too easy to forget this, particularly when we feed on the depressing daily diet of endless bailouts and hear trillions of dollars being thrown around. A great entrepreneur can do a lot with ten thousand dollars. This book is a good antidote to the depressing mood of these times.” – Sridhar Vembu, CEO of AdventNet and Zoho, Bootstrapped to over $50 million in annual revenue

“In the end, a true entrepreneur will not be denied. What Sramana captures with simple grace are the riveting personal stories of modern day business alchemists, who mix vision, pragmatism and relentless effort to forge creative new and successful ventures. Her collection of interviews will make for an engaging, educational read, for those in the entrepreneurial space, those considering joining the game and those just plain curious about the formative innovators whose efforts provide outsize social returns of the most concrete and enduring nature.” - Don Hutchison, Silicon Valley Angel Investor

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Sramana Mitra is a technology entrepreneur and strategy consultant in Silicon Valley. She has founded three companies, is a columnist for Forbes, and writes a business blog, Sramana Mitra on Strategy (www.sramanamitra.com). She has a master’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT.

Via EPR Network

Acquisitions, Advertising, angel investors, Business, Companies, Database, eCommerce, Education, Entertainment, Funding, Games, Internet, Investments, Marketing, Media, Mobile, Money, Multimedia, Music, Search Engines, Semantic Apps, Semantic Web, Shopping, Social Networking, Society, Software, Technology, Telecom, Travel, video, Virtual Worlds, Voice, Web 2.0

2008’s Most Popular Web 2.0 Sites

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Today we are living in web 2.0 times more than ever before. PR, press coverage, buzz, evangelism, lobbying, who knows who, who blogs who, who talks about who, mainstream media and beyond – all of those words found in the dictionary of almost every new web site that coins itself as web 2.0, but as the global economy crisis is raising upon us promising to leave us working in a very depressed business environment with little to no liquidation events at all for the next years the real question is: who the real winners in today’s web 2.0 space are based on real people using their web properties since 2005 the web 2.0 term was coined for first time. Since then we have witnessed hundreds of millions of US dollars poured into different web 2.0 sites, applications and technologies and perhaps now is the time to find out which of those web sites have worked things out. We took the time necessary to discover today’s most popular web 2.0 sites based on real traffic and site usage and Not on buzz or size of funding. Sites are ranked based on the estimated traffic figures. After spending years in assessing web 2.0 sites applying tens of different from economical and technological to media criteria in an effort to evaluate them we came up to the conclusion that there is only one criterion worth our attention and it is the real people that use a given site, the traffic, the site usage, etc., based on which the web site can successfully be monetized. Of course, there are a few exceptions from the general rule like sites with extremely valuable technologies and no traffic at all, but as we said, they are exceptions. Ad networks, web networks, hosted networks and group of sites that use consolidated traffic numbers as their own or such ones that rely on the traffic of other sites to boost their own figures (ex.: various ad networks, Quantcast, WordPress etc.) are not taken into consideration and the sites from within those respective networks and groups have been ranked separately. International traffic is of course taken into consideration. Add ons, social network apps and widgets usage is not taken into consideration. Sub-domains as well as international TLDs part of the principal business of the main domain/web site are included. Media sites including such covering the web 2.0 space have also been included. Old buys from the dot com era are not considered and ranked accordingly.

Disclaimer: some data based on which the sites below are ranked may not be complete or correct due to lack of public data available for the traffic of respective sites. Please also note that the data taken into consideration for the ranking may have meanwhile changed and might possibly be no longer the same at the time you are reading the list. Data has been gathered during the months of July, August, September and December 2008.

Today’s most popular Web 2.0 sites based on the traffic they get as measured during the months of July, August and September 2008.

Priority is given to direct traffic measurement methods wherever applicable. Panel data as well as toolbar traffic figures are not taken into cosndieration. Traffic details as taken from Quantcast, Google Analytics*, Nielsen Site Audit, Nielsen NetRatings, comScore Media Metrix, internal server log files*, Compete and Alexa. Press release, public relation and buzz traffic and usage figures as they have appeared in the mainstream and specialized media are given with lower priority unless supported by direct traffic measurement methods.

*wherever applicable

Web Property / Unique visitors per month

  1. WordPress.com ~ 100M
  2. YouTube.com ~ 73M
  3. MySpace.com ~ 72M
  4. Wikipedia.org ~ 69M
  5. Hi5.com ~ 54M
  6. Facebook.com ~ 43M
  7. BlogSpot.com ~ 43M
  8. PhotoBucket.com ~ 34M
  9. MetaCafe.com ~ 30M
  10. Blogger.com ~ 27M
  11. Flickr.com ~ 23M
  12. Scribd.com ~ 23M
  13. Digg.com ~ 21M
  14. Typepad.com ~ 17M
  15. Imeem.com ~ 17M
  16. Snap.com ~ 15.7M
  17. Fotolog.com ~ 15.6M
  18. RockYou.com ~ 15M
  19. Veoh.com ~ 12M
  20. Wikihow.com ~ 12M
  21. Topix.com ~ 11.5M
  22. Blinkx.com ~ 11M
  23. HuffingtonPost.com ~ 11M
  24. Technorati.com ~ 10.6M
  25. Wikia.com ~ 10.8M
  26. Zimbio.com ~ 10.3M
  27. SpyFu.com ~ 10.1M
  28. Heavy.com ~ 9.3M
  29. Yelp.com ~ 8.9M
  30. Slide.com ~ 8.5M
  31. SimplyHired.com ~ 8.5M
  32. Squidoo.com ~ 8.1M
  33. LinkedIn.com ~ 7.5M
  34. HubPages.com ~ 7.2M
  35. Hulu.com ~ 7.1M
  36. AssociatedContent.com ~ 7M
  37. Indeed.com ~ 5.4M
  38. LiveJournal.com ~ 5.2M
  39. Bebo.com ~ 5.1M
  40. Habbo.com ~ 4.9M
  41. Fixya.com ~ 4.5M
  42. RapidShare.com ~ 4.5M
  43. AnswerBag.com ~ 4.4M
  44. Metafilter.com ~ 4.3M
  45. Crackle (Grouper) ~ 4M
  46. Ning.com ~ 3.8M
  47. Breitbart.com ~ 3.8M
  48. BookingBuddy.com ~ 3.7M
  49. Kayak.com ~ 3.6M
  50. Blurtit.com ~ 3.2M
  51. Kaboodle.com ~ 3M
  52. Meebo.com ~ 2.9M
  53. Friendster.com ~ 2.7M
  54. WowWiki.com ~ 2.8M
  55. Truveo.com ~ 2.7M
  56. Trulia.com ~ 2.7M
  57. Twitter.com ~ 2.5M
  58. BoingBoing.net ~ 2.4M
  59. Techcrunch.com ~ 2.2M
  60. Zillow.com ~ 2.2M
  61. MyNewPlace.com ~ 2.2M
  62. Mahalo.com ~ 2.1M
  63. Vox.com ~ 2M
  64. Last.fm ~ 2M
  65. Glam.com ~ 1.9M
  66. Multiply.com ~ 1.9M
  67. Popsugar.com ~ 1.6M
  68. Addthis.com ~ 1.5M
  69. Pandora.com ~ 1.4M
  70. Brightcove.com ~ 1.4M
  71. LinkedWords.com ~ 1.3M
  72. Devshed.com ~ 1.3M
  73. AppleInsider.com ~ 1.3M
  74. Newsvine.com ~ 1.3M
  75. Fark.com ~ 1.2M
  76. BleacherReport.com ~ 1.2M
  77. Mashable.com ~ 1.2M
  78. Zwinky.com ~ 1.2M
  79. Quantcast.com ~ 1.2M
  80. StumbleUpon.com ~ 1.1M
  81. SecondLife.com ~ 1.1M
  82. Magnify.net ~ 1.1M
  83. Uncyclopedia.org ~ 1M
  84. Weblo.com ~ 1M
  85. Del.icio.us ~ 1M
  86. Reddit.com < 1M
  87. Pbwiki.com < 1M
  88. AggregateKnowledge.com < 1M
  89. Eventful.com < 1M
  90. Dizzler.com < 1M
  91. Synthasite.com < 1M
  92. Vimeo.com < 1M
  93. Zibb.com <1M

Web 2.0 sites having less than 1M unique visitors per month even though popular in one way or another are not subject of this list and are not taken into consideration. We know for at least 100 other considered really good web 2.0 sites, apps and technologies of today, but since they are getting less than 1M uniuqes per month they were not able to make our list. However, sites being almost there (850K-950K/mo) and believed to be in position to reach the 1M monthly mark in the next months are also included at the bottom of the list. Those sites are marked with “<“, which means close to 1M, but not yet there. No hard feelings :).

If we’ve omitted one site or another that you know is getting at least 1M uniques per month and you are not seeing it above, drop us a note at info[at]web2innovations.com and we’ll have it included. Please note that the site proposed should be having steady traffic for at least 3 months prior submission to the list above. Sites like, for example: Powerset and Cuil, may not qualify for inclusion due to their temporary traffic leaps caused by buzz they have gotten, a criterion we try to offset. For other corrections and omissions please write at same email address. Requests for corrections of the traffic figures the sites are ranked on can only be justified by providing us with the accurate traffic numbers from reliable direct measurement sources (Quantified at Quantcast, Google Analytics, Nielsen Site Audit, Nielsen NetRatings, comScore Media Metrix, internal server log files, other third party traffic measurement services that use the direct method. No panel data, no Alexa, no Compete etc. will be taken into consideration).

* Note that ranks given to sites at w2i reflect only our own vision for and understanding of the site usage, traffic and unique visitors of the sites being ranked and does not necessarily involve other industry experts’, professionals’, journalists’ and bloggers’ opinions. You acknowledge that any ranking available on web2innovations.com (The Site) is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice or a recommendation that you, or anyone you advise, should buy, acquire or invest in any of the companies being analyzed and ranked on the Site, or undertake any investment strategy, based on rankings seen on the Site. Moreover, if a company is described or mentioned in our Site, you acknowledge that such description or mention does not constitute a recommendation by web2innovations.com that you engage or otherwise use such web site.

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Internet, Society, Technology, Web 2.0

Keepit.com Recognised By Industry Experts As Setting New Usability Standards For Online Backup

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Award-winning online backup specialist, Keepit.com, is officially commended by influential industry experts, Backupreview.info and Komputer for alle, highlighting that they are leading the field.

keepit logoLeading Scandinavian PC magazine, Komputer for alle, conducted a rigorous and extensive test of 8 different vendors of online backup services such as Keepit.com, Mozy and ADrive and awarded the winning spot to Keepit.com, stating:

“We are impressed about the simplicity and uncomplicated structure which Keepit has been able to design. Such simple programmes are often synonymous with extremely basic products. This is not the case with Keepit. Time has been used on the graphics and you are guided all the way through.” (Komputer for alle, July 2008)

With a core mantra at Keepit.com of, “Backup via the Internet is for everybody”, the company delivers a user friendly online backup solution that sweeps away all competing solutions. The recognized industry web site Backupreview.info which provides news and reviews about online backup predicts a bright future for Keepit.com due to outstanding simplicity and top-notch security.

Backupreview commented, “Keepit excels in simplicity without compromises on security and safety. Keepit shows the way to provide simple and secure backup for the non-technical user. Keepit has just launched its North American operations, and it is ready to play a challenging competitor role against the major players in the online backup industry. Keepit’s future looks very promising. We highly recommend Keepit.”

With a carefully planned expansive partner strategy Keepit.com is extending the reach into new markets at rapid speeds. Although there are several providers of online backup, only Keepit.com has accomplished to deliver a solution that hits the sweet spot between pricing, usability and security – and customers and partners alike want it for these qualities.

Keepit.com might be a new service in online backup, but it is far from a start-up.Keepit.com is backed by successful hosting company Cohaesio providing more than 10 years of experience in hosting, storage and infrastructure.

Extensive research shows the market for online backup services is relatively un-tapped and there is a real need for secure, simple and automatic online backups. Keepit.com has developed the entire solution in close relationship with IBM based on their market leading enterprise backup technology Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM).

“We are proud to win in a very strong international market due to simplicity and security. But we have no intention to stop here. We run a very close dialogue with our customers who are extremely helpful in providing feedback to make Keepit.com an even better solution”, said Kresten Bach Søndergaard, Product Manager at Keepit.com.

Keepit.com offers both a free version and Keepit UNLIMITED paid versions to consumers to store important or personal data such as documents or digital photos.

About Keepit.com:Keepit.com is a simple and automatic every day backup service, providing high security, low costs and ease of use, to ensure everybody can secure their digital photos and other important information. Rooted in Scandinavia it is the ambition of Keepit.com to be one of the leading providers of online backup services by 2009. Keepit.com is backed by hosting company Cohaesio A/S – the company behind webhosting success Surftown.com.

Via EPR Network

More Computers press releases

 

Education, Internet, Social Networking, Society, Software, Technology, Web 2.0

How can Web communications address major world problems with something like the efficiency of a biological brain?

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The World Mind Network, and its affiliate Friends Beyond Borders, is offering a $5000 Prize for the best Collaborative Mind Map addressing the current financial crisis initiated by the successive failures of financial giants Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, and the AIG Insurance Group.

You don’t need to know how to spell Macroeconomics to know that many factors have led to the current crisis. But traditional industry and academic methods to track these have lacked the complexity and subtlety required to comprehend all of these aspects and their interactions.

Mind Mapping software, which allows users to develop new concepts quickly by brainstorming in non-linear ways, has been around for decades. But collaborative Mind Mapping, epitomized by programs like MindMeister, is fairly recent. It combines the power of social networking and web 2.0 tools with traditional Mind Mapping software to create something like a Human Supercomputer.

The WMN’s contest ends on December 31, and the prize will be awarded on January 15, 2009.

The newly revised World Mind Network website, at worldmindnetwork.net, gives visitors a virtual Time Machine ride from pre-history up to the Middle Ages and beyond.

Many things which occurred in the distant past are still occurring now, and if they are viewable or hearable over the Net, one can enjoy an experience very much like travelling forward in time. Thus, the site has links to an audio feed of the background microwave radiation generated by the Big Bang, live pictures of the sun, webcams showing gorillas, pandas, and bees, and even live video of archaic human lifestyles like monks praying in a monastery.

The site is used in schools in Japan, Macedonia, Kenya, Bhutan, Bolivia, and Holland.

The site has other features which embody its theme of the Internet as ‘World Brain’: a section called ‘Wisdom of the Elders’ which links to short videos of living and dead sages from Carl Jung to Nellie Red Owl; a listing of prestigious online scientific experiments which welcome participation by anyone with a PC, and a group of blogs and forums from Third World countries not normally encountered in the higher ranks of the Blogosphere. There is an index of Fair Trade artisans from Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

The World Mind Network recently completed a project with the Sambaza Group and Friends Beyond Borders in East Africa, which allows cellphone users with unused minutes to ‘donate’ them to a Multimedia ICT education center in Kenya, which can use them as a kind of legal tender (http://www.africahelpguide.com/article.cfm/id/319009)

Next in the works is the ‘Rare Languages Institute’. For all its wonders, the Internet has a certain homogenizing effect on human culture, and one aspect of this is the tendency to standardize English as a lingua franca. The WMN is setting up a series of blogs and social networks on which members can ONLY communicate in Ewa, Manx, Shoshoni, Maltese, West Javanese, and other fascinating but threatened languages.

The founders welcome new proposals which relate to the main theme: How can Web communications address major world problems with something like the efficiency of a biological brain? Contact them at friendsbeyondborders@gmail.com or call Evelyn Machiraju, Peter Woolf or John Toomey at US(626) 230-8862.

Image courtesy of pespmc1.vub.ac.be

 

Via EPR Network

More Education press releases

 

Business, Companies, eCommerce, Internet, Money, Retail, Shopping, Society, Technology

REGIS Corporation Deployed The First Firewall-Protected Payment Terminal In The World From Talentbeat Inc.

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REGIS Corporation, the beauty industry’s global leader in beauty salons, hair restoration centers and cosmetology education over 13,500 locations worldwide, deployed the first firewall-protected payment terminal in the world. The solution utilizes the PCI-certified payment platform whizPay™ from TalentBeat Inc., which accepts REGIS payments for gift cards, credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX, Discover, Diner, JCB), and debit cards.

By implementing this solution, Regis Corporation expects to enforce high-level security measures to protect the security of their credit/debit card customers while utilizing the robust, fast and accurate platform for its high volume, complex processing needs.

The solution is integrated into the whizPay™ ASP platform developed by TalentBeat which is fully PCI certified and provides a global multicurrency payment gateway, making store-level integration standard across all geographies.

About Regis Corporation
Regis Corporation, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is the beauty industry’s global leader in beauty salons, hair restoration centers and cosmetology education. As of June 30, 2008, the Company owned, franchised or held ownership interests in over 13,500 worldwide locations. To learn about REGIS, please visit www.regiscorp.com.

About TalentBeat
Headquartered in Boston, TalentBeat, Inc. is a global IT consulting and technology service company specializing in industry-specific solutions, strategic outsourcing and integration services for last nine years. TalentBeat is a premier provider of electronic payment solutions combined with CRM, loyalty and gift solutions in both traditional and alternative payments channels.

whizPay™ is a modular multipurpose, PCI-certified platform enabling merchants to provide a personalized, rich experience for their customers with integrated CRM and Rewards solutions on both gift and credit cards. The platform is designed as SAAS (Software as a Service) enabling merchants to pick and choose specific features to suit their corporate strategy. This “Pay as you Grow” platform enables merchants to reduce operational costs and avoid huge upfront investments in payment solutions. The whizPay platform is integrated into a majority of POS devices, shopping carts and processors worldwide, making the deployment and integration extremely efficient. The platform also provides multicurrency, mobile payments, IVR Self Service Solutions, Virtual terminal and WebServices for third party integration as part of the platform providing several avenues to accept payments.

Via EPR Network

More Retail press releases

 

Entertainment, Internet, Mobile, Multimedia, Society, Sports, Technology, Travel, video, Web 2.0

New Clicktoboat Mobile Website Features Nationwide Fishing Spots, Family Hot-Spots, Boat Ramps, Marinas, Fishing Charters, Suppliers, Rentals And Fishing Spots By Fish Species With Customizable Proximity Search Capability

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In time for summer fishing & boating season, ClickToBoat Mobile has launched a new and improved mobile website geared for wireless devices. The ClickToBoat Mobile website provides everything for the ultimate fishing and boating enthusiast on-the-go. With the ClickToBoat Mobile website users can find fishing spots, family hot-spots, marinas and more location based services which are cross-platform with the ClickToBoat.com online Community.

This September, ClickToBoat Mobile will unveil fishing reports, events and more on the go. Accessible by entering http://www.clicktoboat.com or http://mobile.clicktoboat.com on any internet enabled wireless device, the Mobile 2.0 website brings a richer, more advanced wireless experience to fishing and boating enthusiasts by integrating the latest standards and content technologies into the mobile environment.

The new ClickToBoat.com Mobile website provides users with a personalized experience, delivering proximity based fishing and boating information they crave while giving them the ability to conduct cross-platform interactions with the ClickToBoat.com Community. The site’s personalization features offer sponsors highly-targeted advertising opportunities to reach fishing and boating enthusiast market.

“We are very excited to launch the Mobile website in time for this year’s fishing & boating season. The popularity of fishing and boating combined with increased user-functionality, mobility, and personalization makes this the perfect for every fishing and boating enthusiast on-the-go,” said Harry Sangha, President, ClickToBoat.com. “Mobile experience is about ease of use and get information as quickly as possible, with the least amount of clicks. ClickToBoat.com Mobile website offers users a unique alternative with a fully personalized user experience on any internet enabled wireless device.”

ClickToBoat.com Mobile website features nationwide:

Fishing Spots – Family hot-spots – Marinas – Boat ramps – Rentals – Suppliers Fishing spots by fish species – Customizable proximity search capability for fishing & boating services Ratings & Reviews – Customized local weather forecasts for fishing & boating

About ClickToBoat, Inc:Launched in early 2007, ClickToBoat.com designs and develops expert marine directions, navigation and business geographic software for online, wireless and proprietary electronic navigational devices. The creator and owner of an innovative digital waterway route network, ClickToBoat.com is a patented resource and the only online navigation and trip planning tool that allows boaters to access directions, maps & charts, travel guides and safety information, as well as share information and routes with other boaters. Offering a breadth of tools for recreational boating enthusiasts, ClickToBoat.com also provides informational resources for scuba divers, including details on dive sites and wrecks, as well as destination guides for vacations and trips. In addition the sites provides access to ClickToFishTM, a resource designed specifically for anglers, offering maps with fishing detail for thousands of lakes throughout the United States.

 

Via EPR Network

More Consumer Services press releases

Business, Internet, Society, Technology, Travel, Web 2.0

Soaring gas prices help services like Car-Pooling and Ride-Sharing flourish

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The Kirchweidach, Germany and Mountain View, Calif based start-up called DriJo seems to be on the right track to help people offset their dependence on the high fuel prices by offering an auction-based ride sharing and car pooling matching service, making partial use of Google Maps technology.

Ride sharing & car pooling is a phenomena similar to a second-hand product market. In both cases a great majority of people are not doing it principally for environmental reasons but to save cost, use High Occupancy Vehicle lanes, etc.

It is first and foremost a social stigma and practicality/matching issue to find the right person to share a ride.

Regarding that dilemma eBay overcame three issues in the product market. To have value attributed to seemingly worthless second-hand stuff (which would be the empty seats in ride sharing). To make it socially acceptable to buy second-hand in many industrialized countries. In all cases it is socially accepted to save costs with eBay.

In a visually very attractive way, DriJo offers a simple method to overlay and compare routes of drivers and potential passengers. “Using an auction-based method similar to other popular auction sites should,” according to the CEO Walter, “animate more drivers to offer rides, especially on highly demanded routes”.

DriJo with its auction-based ride-sharing model assures that:

  • supply and demand of routes based on the starting and arrival address are overlaid and compared automatically and shown on maps or satellite pictures, based on the Google Maps database, practically all addresses, even remote ones in the country-side, can be found – similarly to navigation devices,
  • the cost of ride sharing between driver and passenger is determined by supply and demand via an auction, a registration of all users gives additional security, feedback after traveling by both driver and passenger increases the trustworthiness of both of them.

“Our matching also allows comparing longer routes with shorter requests,” according to the CTO Peter, “and the driver can even define an optional pick-up and drop-off zone along the route to be more attractive to potential passengers.”

Paid ride-sharing is popular in both the US and Europe. In the primary countries in Europe and US/Canada it is estimated to be well over 50.000/day.

On a general basis the market of ride sharing agencies is presently badly distributed between many small ad-based institutions. As a consequence it is very difficult to find regional and long-distance trips in one agency. Additionally these companies generate their own databases which in practically all cases do not include addresses or smaller towns.

DriJo is presently owner-financed and focuses via its patented technology and the innovative business model on the redefinition of the ride-sharing market.

Carsharing is a model of car rental where people rent cars for short periods of time, often by the hour. The organization renting the cars may be a commercial business or the users may be organized as a democratically-controlled company, public agency, cooperative, ad hoc grouping. Today there are more than six hundred cities in the world where people can carshare.

Carsharing is supported by the New Mobility Agenda, which combines Transportation Demand Management (TDM) strategies and measures for containing, channeling and limiting private car traffic in cities, with support of a “bouquet” of alternative transportation arrangements. These include utility cycling, walking, Verde’s Green Program in Miami, and public space improvement, electronic substitutes for travel (such as telework, telecommuting or e-work) and a variety of shared and public transport strategies.

Here is a list of car sharing companies across the globe.

* Photo by Wikipedia (Carsharing vehicles in their reserved spots)

Story picked from EPR Network

More

http://www.drijo.com/
http://express-press-release.com/49/Drijo%20is%20the%20Ebay%20of%20Car%20Pooling.php
http://express-press-release.com/Industries/Internet-Online-press-releases.php
http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/ride-sharing-by-auction-ebay-principle-and-based-on-google-mapsTM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpool
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carsharing
http://www.ecoplan.org/carshare/
http://www.carsharing.ca/
http://www.ecoplan.org/wtpp/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mobility_Agenda
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_carsharing_operators
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/TDM

 

Acquisitions, Advertising, Allen & Co, angel investors, Bessemer Venture Partners, Business, European Founders Fund, Funding, Greylock, Internet, Investments, Money, Sequoia Capital, Social Networking, Society, Software, Technology, the European Founders Fund, Venture Capital, Web 2.0

LinkedIn is out pitching for a major round at the staggering $1B pre-money

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The rumors across the valley are that LinkedIn is out trying to raise a new round at $1B pre-money valuation. They are using the service of the New York based secretive investment bank Allen & Co. where the Managing Director Dave Wehner seems to be engaged with the effort to help LinkedIn secure its next round of funding.

There were clearly rumors over the past months that LinkedIn was looking for potential sell out as one of the rumored suitors was News Corp., but as it often happens nowadays after you fail to sell out you are raising a new round instead at preferably huge pre-money valuation to keep your company alive until IPO and M&A markets improve. Similar deals were done by many web 2.0 start-ups from the valley and among others are Slide, Ning, Federated Media and most recently Meebo.

If those rumors turn out to be accurate it will be one of the most expensive private venture deals in recent history. So far LinkedIn is said to have taken $27.5M in total over three rounds. They have also claimed publicly they will reach anything between $70M and $100 million in revenue in 2008. Yet if this is true that they need new round before their exit it means they are barely profitable.

The latest numbers from LinkedIn are as follows: over 20M registered users worldwide, more than 1M new users get registered on their social networking site each month and the average user is said to be 41 years old making around $110,000, which the company says allows it to charge advertisers $75 per thousand impressions.

However, both Quantcast and Compete do report for no more than 4 up to 5M uniques per month to their site. 

This past January, cofounder and board chairman Reid Hoffman told the Sydney Morning Herald that the company will most likely file for an IPO before 2010 if “he isn’t first tempted to sell to one of the suitors that have inquired about buying LinkedIn. Hoffman wouldn’t identify the suitors.” This simply sounds like invitation for the suitors to sweeten their offers.

More about LinkedIn

LinkedIn is an online network of more than 20 million experienced professionals from around the world, representing 150 industries. When you join, you create a profile that summarizes your professional accomplishments. Your profile helps you find and be found by former colleagues, clients, and partners. You can add more connections by inviting trusted contacts to join LinkedIn and connect to you. Your network consists of your connections, your connections’ connections, and the people they know, linking you to thousands of qualified professionals.

Through your network you can:

  • Find potential clients, service providers, subject experts, and partners who come recommended
  • Be found for business opportunities
  • Search for great jobs
  • Discover inside connections that can help you land jobs and close deals
  • Post and distribute job listings
  • Find high-quality passive candidates
  • Get introduced to other professionals through the people you know

LinkedIn is free to join. We also offer paid accounts that give you more tools for finding and reaching the right people, whether or not they are in your network.

LinkedIn participates in the EU Safe Harbor Privacy Framework and is certified to meet the strict privacy guidelines of the European Union. All relationships on LinkedIn are mutually confirmed, and no one appears in the LinkedIn Network without knowledge and explicit consent.

LinkedIn is located in Mountain View, California and is funded by world-class investors including Sequoia Capital, Greylock, the European Founders Fund, and Bessemer Venture Partners.

More about Allen & Co

Investment bank Allen & Company has been involved in a number of high profile mergers and acquisitions in the past. Interesting for the Allen & Company is the privacy the investment firm seems to be working in as argument for which is the absence of even a basic site for the company on Web. Perhaps they don’t like publicity. Yet, we have found the firm’s contact details, which can be found among the other links on the end of the story’s page.

For Allen & Company, there’s no business like financing show business. The investment bank serves variously as investor, underwriter, and broker to some of the biggest names in entertainment, technology, and information. Viewed as something of a secret society, the firm has had a quiet hand in such hookups as Seagram (now part of Vivendi) and Universal Studios, Hasbro and Galoob Toys, and Disney and Capital Cities/ABC. The firm’s famous annual retreat in Sun Valley, Idaho, attracts more moguls than a double-black ski run (Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, and eBay CEO Meg Whitman have attended). Brothers Herbert and Charles Allen founded the company in 1922.

Key people and executives for Allen & Company LLC are as follows:

  • Non-Executive Chairman Donald R. (Don) Keough
  • President, CEO, and Director Herbert A. (Herb) Allen
  • Managing Director and CFO Kim M. Wieland

More

http://www.linkedin.com/
http://blog.linkedin.com/
http://www.linkedin.com/in/reidhoffman
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/webguide/internetlife/2008-01-20-linkedin_N.htm
http://venturebeat.com/2008/05/05/whats-happening-at-linkedin-is-it-getting-bought/
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/05/05/allen-co-pitching-linkedin-at-1-billion/
http://www.crunchbase.com/company/linkedin
http://www.crunchbase.com/financial-organization/allen-and-company
http://uk.techcrunch.com/2007/11/28/more-linkedinnews-corp-reports-coming-in/
http://venturebeat.com/2007/11/27/source-yes-linkedin-and-news-corp-are-working-on-a-deal
http://www.thestandard.com/news/2008/04/29/linkedin-prepares-lucrative-push-europe
http://venturebeat.com/2007/12/09/linkedin-launches-platform-redesign-a-better-business-social-network
http://www.smh.com.au/news/biztech/serial-entrepreneur-with-the-golden-touch/2008/01/22/1200764231508.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2
http://500hats.com/
http://venturebeat.com/2008/02/20/trends-secretive-new-york-bank-allen-co-gets-into-silicon-valley-media-tech/
http://www.hoovers.com/allen-&-company/–ID__51026–/free-co-factsheet.xhtml
http://quantcast.com/linkedin.com
http://siteanalytics.compete.com/linkedin.com?metric=uv

Advertising, Arts, Entertainment, Internet, Marketing, Media, Multimedia, Society

Apparently not all companies find April Fools Jokes funny

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This is certainly the case with Bill Gates’s privately held company Corbis Corporation. The company’s PR guys out there have certainly taken them far too serious and have last week threatened a tiny Norwegian micro stock photography agency called Crestock with legal action over an apparent April Fools joke made by the company in a recent press release.

Ok, what’s the story all about after all. Lets put it that way: Crestock has put up a press release announcing the acquisition of Corbis in a deal valued over $600M rebranding their logo and giving Corbis independency after the deal closes. Here is the original press release as it initially appeared on Web.  Today there is clarification on the web site

Bill Gates’ Corbis Corporation is one the worlds largest stock photography sites and being acquired by a small player in the sector was kind of distasteful for them to see and they have reacted almost immediately by threatening the tiny company with legal actions.

We think Corbis has gone too far and the “megalomanic” press release, as the Norway company describes it, is more suitable as label for the Corbis’s behavior.

On the other side there is something that bothers in the press release on first reading – its seriousness and a few high-profile investors and institutions claimed to have been involved into the acquisition. Compared to Corbis with its $250M revenues per year Crestock appears quite a start up like company and perhaps no one would have taken their announcement for real if it was not the claim there are some large-scale and high-profile organizations and investors being involved in to the foolish press release such as “Scandinavian group of investors”, the Norwegian government fund organization: Innovation Norway and the European Union’s Media II Programme, whose purpose is to encourage the development and distribution of European audiovisual works. 

We think this is what made the press release read and look beyond the common April Fools jokes and have Corbis’s lawyers and PR guys pissed off.

Over the past several years corporate April fools jokes became a trend among rivals. Around April 1 every year there are thousands of April fools press releases and announcements about potential deals, acquisitions and beyond, but perhaps none is ending up in the court, if any.

Not long after the press release was posted, Corbis Corporation was notified about the story. Dan Perlet, Director of Communications, promptly went to action, emailing Crestock Public Relations representatives:

“On behalf of Corbis Corporation, I strongly suggest that you remove the April Fools press release on your website that suggests Crestock has purchased Corbis. We ask that this release be removed from your website immediately, or we may be forced to consider legal action.”

“We in no way intended to mislead or otherwise conduct ourselves in an illegal or inappropriate manner,” Crestock CEO, Geir Are Jensen stated in a statement early today.

“Receiving emails like this spices things up in your everyday work routine” Jensen, Crestock CEO continued, “Of course we didn’t remove the obvious April Fools joke, but in case the second richest man in the world comes after us with his pack of lawyers after him. We’ll have to set aside a monthly sum to cover the expenses.”

More about Creystock

Crestock`s aim is to play a leading role in the micropayment stock photo business.

The photography trade is undergoing a revolution as digital cameras and internet distribution lower the prices to a minimum. There are a few succesful companies in this particular sector of the photo business. Our goal is to be among the most sucessful  – as soon as possible. And then move further.

We emphasize:

– A high level of image quality – in fact the highest in the business
– An inspiring, fast and utterly relevant search experience for buyers
– A strong and vibrant community, based on forums and the unique and personal member console
– A friendly and warm service, even though we are the northernmost photo bureau we know of

More about Corbis

Corbis is a creative resource for advertising, marketing and media professionals worldwide, helping to bring creative work to life with the highest quality photography, footage and rights services. Corbis offers a preeminent collection of more than 100 million creative, entertainment and historic images, a comprehensive footage library, the world’s deepest rights and clearances expertise and an award-winning media management solution, as well as empowering SnapVillage, an innovative microstock web site. Based in Seattle, Corbis serves more than 50 countries worldwide. Corbis is privately held by its Chairman Bill Gates, who founded the company in 1989.

Story picked from EPR Network

More

http://www.crestock.com/news/crestock-stock-photos-acquires-corbis-for-625-million-175.aspx
http://express-press-release.com/48/Corbis%20threatens%20Crestock%20with%20legal%20action%20over%20April%20Fools%20Joke.php
http://www.crestock.com/
http://www.crestock.com/blog/
http://www.corbis.com/
http://www.crestock.com/news/corbis-threatens-with-legal-actions-over-april-fools-joke-176.aspx
 

Advertising, angel investors, Business, Entertainment, Internet, Investments, Marketing, Money, Sherpalo Ventures, Sierra Ventures, Society, Technology, Venture Capital, Web 2.0

Wisdom of the crowds principle effectively applied to predict markets, events

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While doing our daily research on the web 2.0 deals we came across a very interesting start up that deserves to make our web 2.0 innovations list – Predictify.

Essentially it is a very interesting and pretty innovative idea of using the wisdom of the crowds and the collective intelligence principles to predict in behalf of advertisers and market researchers. It is community-driven prediction market that pays and rewards users for their accuracy, which guarantees user engagement at higher level.

We’ve found out the site has launched just this last October and since then it launched its platform where other companies can create co-branded prediction centers. Freakanomics was Predictify’s launch partner for the platform, where readers can predict outcomes discussed on the Freakonomics blog.

The company has announced today it has closed $4.3 million round of funding, from Sierra Ventures and Sherpalo Ventures. Mark Fernandes, a managing director at Sierra Ventures, will be joining the Predictify board. Predictify has taken so far only an angel round of funding a year ago, but the amount is not publicly disclosed.

More about Predictify

Predictify is a prediction platform where users can predict the future and build a reputation based on their accuracy, and marketers can post questions to collect actionable, forward-looking data “from the crowd”.

Predictors
Predictify provides a simple, fun way to predict the future. You can research, discuss and predict what will happen, build a reputation based on your accuracy, and even get paid real money when you’re right (tell me more). Best of all, it’s free – no points or bets required.

Advertisers
Predictify is an effective way to create interactive advertisements by posting a question related to your product or service. Users’ incentive to be accurate leads to a high level of engagement in your marketing message. The resulting data set, which includes demographic information, provides insight into the preferences of existing and potential customer segments.

Market Researchers
Predictify uses advanced statistical methods to identify experts among their users based on past predictive accuracy, and combines this with demographic information to provide unique, crowd-based insight. You can tap into this user base to collect a large sample of predictions about future events, trends, and market data. Predictify’s unique system captures the full distribution of beliefs, not just the average, and provides easy-to-use graphical tools to analyze the results.

Here is quickly how it works

Predictify is a prediction platform where users can predict the future and build a reputation based on their accuracy, and marketers can post questions to collect actionable, forward-looking data “from the crowd”.

Submit a Prediction

  • Browse or search for questions that interest you
  • Predict the outcome – it’s free, no points or bets required
  • Build a reputation based on the accuracy of your predictions
  • Earn real money – payouts increase as you achieve higher levels of expertise

Click here to predict!

Ask a Question

  • Compose a question about the future that will have an objective, verifiable outcome
  • Submit your question for approval – it’s free (or select Premium to get demographics for $1 per response)
  • View the interactive, graphical results as users submit predictions (example)

Click here to post a question!

More

http://www.predictify.com/
http://blog.predictify.com/
http://mashable.com/2008/03/25/predictify-funding/
http://mashable.com/2008/03/02/predictify-freakanomics/
http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/02/05/predictify/
http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/12/10/50FE-crowdsourcing_1.html
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/25/a-new-prediction-market-for-the-masses/
http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2007/10/hiring-republic.html
http://www.webware.com/8301-1_109-9794602-2.html
http://mashable.com/2007/10/08/predictify-live/

Advertising, American Capital, angel investors, Business, Entertainment, Funding, Google, Internet, Investments, Marketing, Money, National Lampoon, Search Engines, Social Networking, Society, Technology, Venture Capital, Web 2.0

The modern Boo.com and pets.com

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Just like their ancestors Boo.com and pets.com during the dot com boom times companies like Geosign and Capazoo have also spent huge amounts of money in no time and reached nothing but grand failures. But unlike those dot com stars from the past, which at least had serious business models, their modern equivalents from the web 2.0 times can barely be called real businesses.

Under no doubt the most prominent case from the past days is the $160M funding GeoSign took last year and spent in less than a year going belly up. The major lesson learned here is that the click/search arbitrage is dead. If you don’t believe us take a look at GeoSign today. Let’s put it that way Google killed them, and for reason. Given the amount of money flowing to Google, most in Geosign thought the search engine would turn a blind eye, but as it turned out Google is more concerned for its legitimate advertisers and that users would lose interest and faith in the online ad system, if more practices like the one GeoSign kept on exploiting spread across the web than earning several millions of companies like GeoSign.

The media and the bloggers called it that way: “A record $160-million VC investment. A rich Web strategy. A quirky founder. For a few weeks last spring, Guelph, Ont.’s Geosign had it all. Then mighty Google stirred. And it was over.” Now one understands why this company was so quiet over the past year despite the fact it took what is called the biggest ever venture capital funding for a technology company based in Canada.

What is anyway click/search arbitrage?

Essentially, search arbitrage involves an individual or company buying Internet traffic through the acquisition of keywords from Google, then sending viewers who click on the ad links to a site (“landing page” in Google terminology) that appears to have content, but is actually just full of online advertising linked to the original search term. Anyone clicking an ad link there makes money for the keyword holder. For example, a company might bid for the Google rights to the phrase “small town car sales” and send traffic to a website it controls, filled with more car advertisements, called “Alltheautomotive.com.” The keyword cost only 20¢, while a click on the advertising on the website might yield $1.50 return. According to Niki Scevak, an analyst at Jupiter Research in New York, the majority of those initially involved in search arbitrage were small players. “These were guys running search arbitrage out of their basements, making maybe $20,000 a month,” he says.

One of them, it seems, was Geosign. Former Geosign insiders who spoke on the condition of anonymity confirm that the possibility of a big payoff in search arbitrage caught Nye’s attention after he created Geosign. What’s more, he envisioned a network of thousands of websites all automated by software linking keywords to pages filled with ads, returning millions in cash in the process.

By 2005 that was exactly what was happening. Nye crafted a maze of Internet sites that included tens of thousands of Web pages and bought up even more keywords from Google. By connecting the keywords and the websites, Geosign was indeed generating more than $100 million in annual revenue and was extremely profitable. To put a value on the company at this time, analyst Scevak points to Marchex Inc., a publicly traded company in Seattle, Wash., with a comparable business model. At its peak in 2006, Marchex had a market capitalization of US$500 million.

The change in atmosphere had everything to do with measures that Google was taking to rein in those doing search arbitrage. This action was a response to two main concerns. First, that the practice was becoming so widespread, it was hurting legitimate advertisers by artificially inflating keyword prices. And second, that if too many keyword-targeted ad links only took users to pages filled with other ads, that users would lose interest and faith in the online ad system. Obviously, with advertising revenue being the key to Google’s finances, it had to respond. It did so by expanding the terms of service for its AdSense program (published on its website) to place greater restrictions on the way links could be used and by spelling out detailed landing page and site quality guidelines. A top priority there: relevant and original content. By these standards, a landing page full of ads is inadequate – as this text in its current guideline explains: “Provide substantial information. If your ad does link to a page consisting mostly of ads or general search results (such as a directory or catalog page), provide additional, unique content.” Since most companies doing search arbitrage bought both their keywords and landing page ads through Google, it was easy for the company to isolate and monitor them. Non-compliant parties risked being banned from the AdSense program. A simpler tactic, however, saw Google target those abusing the process, raising their fees and making it too costly to continue.

The end came suddenly, well before GeoSign to change the direction of its business. Google had started to look more closely at companies like Geosign, which were buying keywords from Google and ad links from Yahoo! or another provider. And soon Geosign got word that Google would now begin penalizing its Web pages that had “a low landing page quality score” – that is, lots of ads and little or no original content. While Google won’t comment specifically about Geosign, sources say it raised the prices it charged Geosign for keywords overnight. “When Google ‘shuts you down,’ that isn’t exactly what they do,” explains Jupiter’s Scevak. “Instead, what they do is start charging you $50 for what they were charging 10¢ for previously. They make the model financially unfeasible.”

GeoSign’s website is already taken down and is no longer publicly accessible.

The second popular crash down case from the last week is the one of Capazoo.

Capazoo is also based in Canada and is labeled a social networking site. The site has taken $25M in several rounds to date, which as it seems, have also been spent over the past 12 months before the company’s failure. But this is not the only interesting thing  in the story. After firing most of its staff leaving only one sysadmin to keep the site alive and put its offices up for rent some more horrible stories from ex-employees appeared publicly.

It seems that the brothers Michel Verville and Luc Verville (the company’s founders) have had fighting in court for control over the company. Another rumor goes that that the brothers embezzled money from the company. Simply put the guys were taking commissions in the 10% range from all money invested in their company. Capazoo’s $25 million was initially listed as only being “private funding” but more recently National Lampoon became an investor.

Techcrunch has some insider information as listed below:

They did the first round ($8 million) at $72 million pre-money from a bunch of athletes and non-sophisticated angels at $100k-$200k chunks. Most of them didn’t know that management was taking 10% commission themselves (despite owning all the common shares) for all funds raised.

They then raised another $5-10 million (conflicting rumors) at a $132 million pre-money, while still taking commissions. The two brothers took almost $2 million out of the company before reaching more then 10K users and ballooned the staff to 130 staff before starting to do layoffs.

Capazoo’s site is still alive as we last checked it out but for how long one sysadmin can keep it that way?

Well, compared to the 2 cases from above the next one seems relatively small, yet it worth mentioning due to the fact that it seems the founder of that company Lee Wilkins did not pay his employees from Bulgarian, Romania and Russia.

The company name is MyKinda and was a blog network focused on the Eastern European market covering various topics like politics, entertainment, business, among other topics. 

The network is said to have launched just last September and today they are already out of business. Lee Wilkins said the shutdown is temporary to ensure that money due to writers doesn’t continue to add up. The sites will remain down until, he says, “we redefine a more profitable sustainable business model.” The company had total expenses of about €319,000, with no advertising revenue to offset it. Lee Wilkins capitalized the company with €175,000, leaving €144,000 or so in unpaid debts.

Today was the first day in several years where the failure stories were more than the funding deals. In fact we bookmarked 3 funding deals for today so it appears the number is equal.

More

http://www.geosign.com/
http://www.capazoo.com/
http://www.mykinda.com/
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/18/how-geosign-blew-160-million/
http://www.financialpost.com/magazine/story.html?id=324817
http://seoblackhat.com/2008/03/18/they-were-flyin-high-then-google-stirred/
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/19/capazoo-blows-25-million-heading-to-the-deadpool/
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/02/29/blog-network-mykinda-to-shut-down-today/
http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/18/national-lampoon-takes-stake-in-capazoo/
http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/10/capazoo-wants-to-pay-you-for-your-social-networking-time/
http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/business/story.html?id=474dae19-551c-4460-9359-328c570fc36c
http://montrealtechwatch.com/2008/03/19/capazoo-lays-off-60-shops-itself/
http://communities.canada.com/MONTREALGAZETTE/blogs/tech/archive/2008/03/18/r-i-p-capazoo.aspx
http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/11/05/mykinda-blog-network-for-eastern-europe-launches-amid-serious-drama/

Acquisitions, Automattic, Business, Internet, Investments, Media, Money, Privacy, Semantic Apps, Semantic Web, Social Networking, Society, Software, Technology, Virtual Worlds, Web 2.0

What is the real reason Automattic bought Glavatar?

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As some of you already know w2i (web2innovations.com) is keeping an internal archive of almost all funding and acquisition deals that happened over the past years on web. While we have the ambitions to report on all of them the deals are so many so that we end up only writing about some of the most interesting ones. The same is the case with Automattic when they bought Glavatar some months ago. We kept the news in our archive for quite long time trying to figure out ourselves what is the real motive behind the acquisition of Glavatar and since we came up to no particular synergy and reason we have decided today to simply write about.

First off Automattic is the company behind the popular blog software WordPress. The site is amongst the most popular on web with more than 90M uniques per month. When Matt Mullenweg, announced the deal on the Glavatar’s blog he wrote about so many improvements that Glavatar is going to face with its new owner. Such as scaling things up, they transferred the Rails application and most of the avatar serving to WordPress.com’s infrastructure and servers. Avatar serving was said is already more than three times as fast, and works every time. They’ve also moved Glavatar’s blog from Mephisto to WordPress, of course.

He further said “Basically, we did the bare minimum required to stabilize and accelerate the Gravatar service, focusing a lot on making the gravatars highly available and fast. However our plans are much bigger than that.” Among those are all of the Premium features have gone free, and refunding was offered to anyone who bought them in the last 60 days; gravatar serving moved to a Content Delivery Network (CDN) so not only will they be fast, it’ll be low latency and not slow down a page load; Merging the million avatars WordPress had with the 115,000 or so Glavatar brought on the table after the deal and make them available through the Gravatar API; integrate and improve templates and bring features like multiple avatars over; from WordPress.com, bring the bigger sizes (128px) over and make that available for any Gravatar (Gravatars are only available up to 80px); Adding Microformat support for things like XFN rel=”me” and hCard to all avatar profile pages (that is in particular an interesting move); develop a new API that has cleaner URLs and allows Gravatars to be addressed by things like URL in addition to (or instead of) email addresses and not last rewrite the entire application itself to fit directly into WordPress.com’s grid, for internet-scale performance and reliability.

These days after Yahoo announcing big plans of moving towards web semantics and adopting some of the microformats and hinting LinkedIn for possible better relations with their data set if they adopt them too is a clear signal that web is slowly moving towards semantically linking of data. Automattic is obviously looking forward to that time too with its plans to add microformats like XFN (XHTML Friends Network) and hCard (simple, open, distributed format for representing people, companies, organizations, and places, using a 1:1 representation of vCard (RFC2426) properties and values in semantic HTML or XHTML). An interesting example of contextually and semantically linked web data is LinkedWords and, as you can see, the way we use them to semantically and contextually link words across our texts and connect them to their contextual platform.

So far so good, but nothing from the above indicates what is the reason Automattic bought the site called Glavatar. It is definitely neither because of their user base (only 115K) nor because of the technology, obviously. Employment through acquisition? Not really, Tom Werner, the founder of Glavatar is being said to be a big Ruby guy and taking into consideration the fact Matt seems to be moving towards PHP with Glavatar it seems highly unlikely for Tom to stay with Automattic.

From everything being said publicly it turns out that Automattic has decided to help the small site work better, but no clear benefits are seen for their company from this deal, or at least not to us.

We do believe Matt where he says “our plans are much bigger than that”, but what those plans are? Building a social network upon the avatars and the profile data associated with or perhaps having an online identity service built upon. Or, perhaps, simply building a global avatar service (with in-depth profiles) makes more sense for a company that commands over 100M uniques per month rather than for a tiny web site like Glavatar.

Whatever the case is congratulations to the involved. Terms of the deal were not publicly disclosed.

More about Glavatar

The web is no longer about anonymous content generated by faceless corporations. It is about real people and the real content that they provide.

It is about you.

But as powerful as the web has become, it still lacks the personal touch that comes from a handshake. The vast majority of content you come across on the web will still be near-anonymous even though it may have a name attached. Without knowing the author behind the words, the words cannot be trusted. This is where Gravatar comes in.

Gravatar aims to put a face behind the name. This is the beginning of trust. In the future, Gravatar will be a way to establish trust between producers and consumers on the internet. It will be the next best thing to meeting in person.

Today, an avatar. Tomorrow, Your Identity–Online.

More

http://gravatar.com/
http://site.gravatar.com/site/about
http://automattic.com/
http://blog.gravatar.com/2007/10/18/automattic-gravatar/
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/automattic_acquires_gravatar.php
http://www.quantcast.com/p-18-mFEk4J448M
http://microformats.org/wiki/Main_Page
http://rubyisawesome.com/

Business, Education, Funding, Google, Investments, Money, Search Engines, Society, Software, Technology

Google invests more in DNA projects

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After having spent almost $4M on 23andMe, which plans to make the human genome searchable and whose founder is the wife of Google’s Sergey Brin, last year and is in heavy preparation for the launch of the Google Health, Google has now financially backed a project from a Harvard University scientist to unlock the secrets of common diseases by decoding the DNA of 100,000 people.

The project is said will be the largest human genome sequencing project in the world, and may lead to new cures for disease. Under the public information available it is a Harvard University scientist and OrbiMed Advisors LLC that plan to unlock the secrets of common diseases by decoding the DNA.

Harvard’s George Church plans to spend $1 billion to tie DNA information to each person’s health history, creating a database for finding new medicines. The U.S., U.K., China and Sweden this year began working together to decipher the genetic makeup of 1,000 people at a cost of $50 million.

Google, owner of the most popular Internet search engine, is looking for ways to give people greater control over their medical data. The amount of money donated to the Church by Google is not disclosed publicly. Google also said last week that it would work with the Cleveland Clinic to better organize health records.

Church’s plan “would be the largest human genome sequencing project in the world,” Stephen Elledge, a geneticist at Harvard Medical School in Boston, said in a telephone interview with Bloomberg. “The genetic variations are what make people different, and we need to understand the connections to human disease. They’ll get a tremendous amount of information from this,” said Elledge, who isn’t involved in the project.

Church, who helped develop the first direct genomic sequencing method in 1984, said that while he plans to enroll 100,000 participants, he may not end it there – the plan might be to go for 1 million.

If we can expand the project, we’ll probably go for a million genomes, Church said. Since 1984, Church has advised 22 companies including Helicos Biosciences Inc., which recently began selling high-speed gene sequencers, and 23andMe.

The current project may ideally fit with the overall strategy of Google Health, which is in launching stage now. Google Health plans to help people manage their medical records and test results so they can be shared safely and privately with various specialists. Genomic data may eventually be included, said Marissa Mayer, vice president for search products.

The further involvement of Google into the DNA space has very negative impact on the public markets for some of the current players such as Helicos Biosciences Inc., Illumina, Applied Biosystems and Danaher, which all have their stock declined after the announcement and have lost part of their market capitalization.

Church has already partially sequenced genomes from 10 people, and the jump to 100,000 is under review by a Harvard ethics panel.

About George Church

George Church is Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Center for Computational Genetics. His 1984 Harvard PhD included the first direct genomic sequencing method. He co-initiated the Human Genome Project a few months later as a postdoctoral fellow at Biogen & UCSF. Innovations include molecular multiplexing & tags, homologous recombination methods, array DNA synthesizers & automated sequencing & software (used at Genome Therapeutics Corp. for the first commercial genome sequence — human pathogen, H. pylori, 1994). Current research focuses on the Personal Genome Project & synthetic biology.

More

http://arep.med.harvard.edu/gmc/
http://www.google.com/
http://www.orbimed.com/
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=a9FTNggspOLs&refer=canada
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/02/29/google-invests-in-dna-sequencing-project/
http://www.crunchbase.com/company/23andme
http://23andme.com/press.html

Business, Games, Internet, Media, Search Engines, Semantic Apps, Semantic Web, Social Networking, Society, Software, Technology, Telecom, Web 2.0

ETech, the O’Reilly Emerging Technology Conference is coming

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One of the most important technology conferences for the year will be held in March 3-6 in San Diego, California. ETech the O’Reilly Emerging Technology Conference, now in its seventh year, will take a wide-eyed look at the brand new tech that’s tweaking how we are seen as individuals, how we choose to channel and divert our energy and attention, and what influences our perspective on the world around us. How does technology help you perceive things that you never noticed before? How does it help you be found, or draw attention to issues, objects, ideas, and projects that are important, no matter their size or location?

Below is what the 2008 version of ETech, the O’Reilly Emerging Technology Conference will look at. 

Body Hacking. Genomics Hacking. Brain Hacking. Sex Hacking. Food Hacking. iPhone Hacking.
If you can’t open it, you don’t own it. Take over the everyday aspects of your life and take your senses to the next level.

DIY Aerial Drones. DIY Talking Things. DIY Spectrum. DIY Apocalypse Survival.
As technology becomes more accessible you’ll get to do it all on your own. Self-empowerment starts here.

Emerging Tech of India, Cuba, and Africa. International Political Dissidents.
Different environments incubate new ideas and technologies. What these societies bring out will shake up your cultural assumptions and provide a wider world view.

Visualize Data and Crowds. Ambient Data Streaming.
Dynamic systems require new methods of data capture and interaction. Open a window on the methods experts use to interpret and harness collective intelligence.

Good Policy. Energy Policy. Defense Policy. Genetic Policy. Corruption.
Policy inevitably lags behind technology advances. Learn about some areas where it’s catching up, where it’s not, and how these boundaries shape our creativity and freedom.

Alternate Reality Games. Emotions of Games. Sensor Games.
Games provide a platform for experimentation on so many levels. The ones we’ll see engage their players in new and unexpected ways.

ETech 2008 will cover all of these topics and more. We put on stage the speakers and the ideas that help our attendees prepare for and create the future, whatever it might be. Great speakers are going to pull us forward with them to see what technology can do… and sometimes shouldn’t do. From robotics and gaming to defense and geolocation, we’ll explore promising technologies that are just that–still promises–and renew our sense of wonder at the way technology is influencing and altering our everyday lives.

“There’s more good stuff here, more new directions, than we’ve had at ETech in years, which is only to be expected, as the market starts to digest the innovations of Web 2.0 and we are now featuring the next wave of hacker-led surprises.” Read more of Tim O’Reilly’s thoughts on why ETech is our most important conference.

Registered Speakers

Below are listed all confirmed speakers to date.

Dan Albritton (MegaPhone)
Chris Anderson (Wired Magazine)
W. James Au (The Making of Second Life)
Trevor Baca (Jaduka)
Tucker Balch (Georgia Tech)
Kevin Bankston (Electronic Frontier Foundation)
Andrew Bell (Barbarian Group LLC)
Emily Berger (Electronic Frontier Foundation)
Violet Blue (Violet Blue)
Ed Boyden (MIT Media Lab & Dept. of Biological Engineering)
Gary Bradski (Stanford and Willow Garage)
Tom Carden (Stamen Design)
Liam Casey (PCH International)
Elizabeth Churchill (Yahoo! Research)
Cindy Cohn (Electronic Frontier Foundation)
Steve Cousins (Willow Garage)
Bo Cowgill (Google Economics Group)
Mike Culver (Amazon)
Jason Davis (Disney Online)
Regine Debatty (We Make Money Not Art)
Danielle Deibler (Adobe Systems)
Michael Dory (NYU Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP))
Nathan Eagle (MIT)
Alvaro Fernandez (SharpBrains.com)
Timothy Ferriss (The 4-hour Workweek)
Eric Freeman (Disney Online)
Limor Fried (Adafruit Industries)
Johannes Grenzfurthner (monochrom, and University of Applied Sciences Graz)
Saul Griffith (Makani Power/Squid Labs)
Karl Haberl (Sun Microsystems, Inc.)
Jury Hahn (MegaPhone)
Justin Hall (GameLayers)
Jeff Han (Perceptive Pixel, Inc.)
Timo Hannay (Nature Publishing Group)
Marc Hedlund (Wesabe)
J. C. Herz (Batchtags LLC)
Todd Holloway (Ingenuity Systems)
Pablos Holman (Komposite)
Tom Igoe (Interactive Telecommunications Program, NYU)
Alex Iskold (AdaptiveBlue)
Brian Jepson (O’Reilly Media, Inc.)
Natalie Jeremijenko (NYU)
Jeff Jonas (IBM)
Tim Jones (Electronic Frontier Foundation)
Terry Jones (Fluidinfo)
Damien Katz (IBM – CouchDB)
Nicole Lazzaro (XEODesign, Inc.)
Elan Lee (Fourth Wall Studios)
Jan Lehnardt (Freisatz)
Lawrence Lessig (Creative Commons)
Kati London (area/code)
Kyle Machulis (Nonpolynomial Labs)
Daniel Marcus (Washington University School of Medicine)
Mikel Maron (Mapufacture)
John McCarthy (Stanford University)
Ryan McManus (Barbarian Group LLC)
Roger Meike (Sun Microsystems, Inc.)
Chris Melissinos (Sun Microsystems, Inc.)
Dan Morrill (Google)
Pauline Ng (J. Craig Venter Institute)
Quinn Norton
Peter Norvig (Google, Inc.)
Nicolas Nova (Media and Design Lab)
Danny O’Brien (Electronic Frontier Foundation)
Tim O’Reilly (O’Reilly Media, Inc.)
David Pescovitz (BoingBoing.net, Institute for the Future, MAKE:)
Bre Pettis (I Make Things)
Arshan Poursohi (Sun Microsystems, Inc.)
Marc Powell (Food Hacking)
Jay Ridgeway (Nextumi)
Hugh Rienhoff (MyDaughtersDNA.org)
Jesse Robbins (O’Reilly Radar)
Eric Rodenbeck (Stamen Design)
David Rose (Ambient Devices)
Dan Saffer (Adaptive Path)
Joel Selanikio (DataDyne.org)
Peter Semmelhack (Bug Labs)
Noah Shachtman (Wired Magazine)
Michael Shiloh (OpenMoko)
Kathy Sierra (Creating Passionate Users)
Micah Sifry (Personal Democracy Forum)
Adam Simon (NYU Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP))
Michael J. Staggs (FireEye, Inc.)
Gavin Starks (d::gen network )
Alex Steffen (Worldchanging)
John Storm (ind)
Stewart Tansley (Microsoft Research)
Paul Torrens (Arizona State University)
Phillip Torrone (Maker Media)
Kentaro Toyama (Microsoft Research India)
Gina Trapani (Lifehacker)
Nate True (Nate True)
Lew Tucker (Radar Networks)
Andrea Vaccari (Senseable City Lab, MIT)
Scott Varland (NYU Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP))
Merci Victoria Grace (GameLayers)
Mike Walsh (Tomorrow)
Stan Williams (Hewlett-Packard Labs)
Ethan Zuckerman (Global Voices)

Attendee Registration

You can register as an attendee online or by Mail/Fax at the following address:

O’Reilly Media, Inc.
Attn: ETech Registration
1005 Gravenstein Hwy North
Sebastopol, CA 95472
Fax: (707) 829-1342

The conference fees are as follows (through Jan 29 – Mar 2 )
Sessions plus Tutorials $1,690.00
Sessions Only $1,390.00
Tutorials Day Only $595.00

Walk-ins: Standard registration closes March 2, 2008. The onsite registration fee is an additional $100 to the Standard Price above. 

More about ETech

Now in its seventh year, the O’Reilly Emerging Technology Conference hones in on the ideas, projects, and technologies that the alpha geeks are thinking about, hacking on, and inventing right now, creating a space for all participants to connect and be inspired. ETechs past have covered peer-to-peer networks to person-to-person mobile messaging, web services to weblogs, big-screen digital media to small-screen mobile gaming, hardware hacking to content remixing. We’ve hacked, blogged, ripped, remixed, tracked back, and tagged to the nth. Expect much of what you see in early form here to show up in the products and services you’re taking for granted in the not-too-distant future.

ETech balances blue-sky theorizing with practical, real-world information and conversation. Tutorials and breakout sessions will help you inject inspiration into your own projects, while keynotes and hallway conversation will spark enough unconventional thinking to change how you see your world.

More then 1200 technology enthusiasts are expected to attend ETech 2008, including:

  • Technologists
  • CxOs and IT managers
  • Hackers and grassroots developers
  • Researchers and academics
  • Thought leaders
  • Business managers and strategists
  • Artists and fringe technologists
  • Entrepreneurs
  • Business developers and venture capitalists

Representatives from companies and organizations tracking emerging technologies
In the past, ETech has brought together people from such diverse companies, organizations, and projects as: 37signals, Adaptive Path, Amazon.com, Attensa, August Capital, BBC, Boeing, CBS.com, Comcast, Department of Defense, Disney, E*Trade, Fairfax County Library, Fidelity Investments, Fotango, France Telecom, General Motors, Honda, IEEE, Intel, Macromedia, Meetup, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Mozilla, National Security Agency, New Statesman, Nielsen Media Research, Nokia, NYU, Oracle, Orbitz, Platial, Salesforce.com, Sony, Starwood Hotels, Symantec, The Motley Fool, UC Santa Barbara Kavli Institute, Zend, and many more.

Some of ETech’s past sponsors and exhibitors include: Adobe, Aggregate Knowledge, Apple, AT&T, Attensa, eBay, Foldera, Google, IBM, Intuit, iNetWord, Laszlo, MapQuest, mFoundry, Root, RSSBus, Salesforce.com, Sxip, TechSmith, Tibco, Windows Live, Yahoo!, and Zimbra.

The conference is expected to gather some of the brightest minds of today’s technology world and Web in particular. 
More

http://conferences.oreilly.com/etech/
http://en.oreilly.com/et2008/public/content/home
http://radar.oreilly.com/archives/2008/01/why-etech-is-oreillys-most-imp.html
 

Acquisitions, Business, Internet, Investments, Money, Social Networking, Society, Software, Spectrum Equity Investors, Venture Capital

Ancestry.com has been bought out by a private equity firm, preparing for an IPO

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One of the few dot com success stories Ancestry.com and their parent company The Generations Network has entered into a private buyout, a couple of months ago, with the private equity firm Spectrum Equity Investors for a reportedly $300M acquisition deal. Private equity buyouts have been a serious, if not the only, alternative of IPOs these past years.

Spectrum Equity Investors has led the investment of $300 million to purchase a majority interest in the company. Spectrum is a private equity firm based in Menlo Park and Boston and has been a shareholder in The Generations Network since 2003. Following the transaction, Vic Parker and Ben Spero from Spectrum will serve on the company’s new board of directors, along with Tim Sullivan, President and CEO of The Generations Network. Additional terms of the transaction were not disclosed but the investment was said will support and accelerate the company’s “strategic direction and growth plan”.

This is being said to be a liquidity event for most of TGN’s shareholders, although it was said that the deal does not represent a complete buyout. Employees and possibly some outside shareholders still have equity in the entity, which is almost certainly preparing for an IPO or other larger liquidity event. The company is said to be making over $150M in revenues per year and is reported to be hugely profitable according to online sources. The company’s current management team will continue to lead the company.

The Generations Network (formerly MyFamily.com Inc) is a genealogy discovery company which helps you map your family tree. The Generations Network, Inc. provides people the content, community, and technology to empower them to find the people most important to them — and discover and share their unique family stories. The company’s most popular brand is Ancestry.com, which has more than 5 billion names and 23,000 searchable databases for family history information, including the web’s largest collection of historical records.

The Generations Network operates a number of popular sites among which ancestry.com, ancestry.com.uk, ancestry.com.au, ancestry.ca, ancestry.de, ancestry.se, ancestry.fr, ancestry.it, myfamily.com, genealogy.com, rootsweb.com, familytreemaker.com, ancestrymagazine.com.

In late 2007 the company has launched DNA Ancestry — a new service combining the precision of DNA testing with Ancestry.com’s unrivaled collection of 5 billion names in historical records and the site’s unmatched online family history community.

This DNA testing service provides Ancestry.com’s growing network of more than 15 million users a tool that helps solve family-tree mysteries through science. By taking a simple cheek-swab test and comparing DNA test results in DNA Ancestry’s expanding results database, individuals may be able to extend the branches of their family trees, prove (or disprove) family legends, discover living relatives they never knew existed and find new leads where traditional paper trails dead end.

“DNA testing in family history is reaching critical mass,” said Megan Smolenyak, Chief Family Historian for Ancestry.com and co-author of the no. 1 selling book on genetic genealogy, Tracing Your Roots with DNA. “As more people add their results, the DNA Ancestry database becomes a powerful asset for users to make connections and discover their family tree. Already, many people have taken a simple DNA test to uncover genetic cousins and tap into their research, gathering names, dates, places and stories for their own family tree.”

DNA Ancestry offers Y-DNA and mtDNA tests — the two types of DNA tests most useful in family history, ranging in price from $149 to $199. The Y-DNA test analyzes the DNA in the Y chromosome, which is passed virtually unchanged from father to son. Test results can help users identify living individuals who share Y-DNA as well as predict ancient ancestors’ origins. Women can benefit from Y-DNA by having their father or other related male take the test. The mtDNA test analyzes DNA in an individual’s mitochondrial DNA, which passes from a mother to her children. Test results predict ancient ancestors’ origins and migration route from Africa and can aid in identifying living cousins.

Ancestry.com has also recently introduced the largest collections of U.S. military records and African-American historical records.

According to Quantcast, the company’s main site Ancestry.com is reaching 3M uniques per month but the site is not reported quantified so we can easily assume the site’s real reach is larger. Comscore, by contrast, says TGN’s group of sites had 8.2 million unique worldwide visitors in August 2007 (the only public date we have discovered online).

The Generations Network properties have more than 900,000 paying subscribers off the 8.2 million worldwide unique visitors per and in the last 18 months the company has solidified its position as one of the largest and most profitable subscription businesses online with success in several areas:

  • Ancestry.com is the world’s leading online family history resource, with more than 5 billion names from historical records, unmatched and proprietary search technologies and an engaged and passionate community f more than 2.5 million active members.
  • A redesigned Ancestry.com experience has transformed an online research tool into a platform for aggregating the world’s family history memories. Since late July 2006, more than 3.8 million family trees have been created on Ancestry.com, over 330 million names added to Ancestry Family Treesâ„¢, and more than 3.5 million individual photos, stories, or scanned documents have been uploaded by members.
  • Ancestry.com now boasts the only completely indexed online U.S. Federal Census Collection (1790-1930), the most comprehensive online compilation of U.S. ship passenger lists (1820-1960), the largest online collection of African American historical documents and the most comprehensive online collection of U.S. military records.
  • Beyond the United States, the Ancestry global network now includes local country sites for the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, Italy, France and Sweden.
  • The recent launch of DNA.ancestry.comâ„¢ now extends the Ancestry service into the rapidly growing field of genetic genealogy.
  • AncestryPressâ„¢, a digital publishing platform integrated into Ancestry.com, now gives every family the ability to create completely unique, professionally printed family history books.
  • Family Tree Maker® 2008, the No. 1-selling family history software package, is now available online and in major retail stores throughout North America and Europe.
  • The redesigned myfamily.com site now has new features, providing families everywhere a safe, private, and free family home on the Web.

“Spectrum Equity has been an incredibly supportive and strategic-minded investor in our company for several years, so I am thrilled to have them acquire this majority interest in The Generations Network,” said Tim Sullivan, company President and CEO. “2007 has been the company’s most successful and profitable year to date, and 2008 looks even more promising as we grow our core businesses further, expand our global presence, and innovate with new products and services that help us realize our mission to connect families across distance and time. I appreciate Spectrum’s vote of confidence in our direction and vision, and I am excited to work even more closely with Vic Parker and Ben Spero to continue to transform this amazing and unique business into a truly great company.”

Lehman Brothers acted as financial advisor to The Generations Network, Inc. in the transaction.

The Generations Network, Inc. has been founded in 1983 as a print publishing company called Ancestry and is based in Provo Utah. They’ve raised $95 million to date, although the last round of financing was closed back in 2001.

About Spectrum Equity Investors

Spectrum Equity Investors is a private equity firm focused on investing in profitable, growing services businesses. Founded in 1994 with offices in Menlo Park and Boston, Spectrum manages over $4 billion in capital across five funds. The firm’s investment team has deep experience in information services and online media, including investments in Demand Media, Interbank FX, iPay Technologies, NetQuote, Mortgagebot, RiskMetrics Group, Seisint (acquired by Reed Elsevier PLC) and WorldCheck.

The company’s web sites compete with a number of web 2.0 start ups that have aggressively entered the space one of which is Geni. Other companies include MyHeritage, familytreemaker.com, Story Of My Life, Our Story and 23andMe, founded by one of the Google’s founders, which competes with TGN’s DNA unit, among others. 

More

http://www.tgn.com/
http://www.ancestry.com/
http://www.spectrumequity.com/
http://dna.ancestry.com/
http://www.ancestry.com.uk
http://www.ancestry.com.au
http://www.ancestry.ca
http://www.ancestry.de
http://www.ancestry.se
http://www.ancestry.fr
http://www.ancestry.it
http://www.myfamily.com/
http://www.genealogy.com/
http://www.rootsweb.com/
http://www.familytreemaker.com/
http://www.ancestrymagazine.com/
http://blogs.ancestry.com/
http://blogs.ancestry.com/circle/?p=1960
http://tgn.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=111
http://tgn.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=110
http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/10/16/private-buyout-of-ancestrycom-for-300-million/
http://www.crunchbase.com/company/thegenerationsnetwork
http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/03/05/100-million-valuation-for-geni/
http://www.quantcast.com/ancestry.com
http://www.news.com/Google-invests-3.9-million-in-biotech-start-up/2100-1014_3-6185860.html
http://www.news.com/Ancestry.com-parent-sold-for-300-million/2100-1038_3-6214028.html?tag=resourceshelf
http://www.searchengineworld.com/tech/3456440.htm
http://www.topix.com/com/spectrum-equity-investors/2007/10/ancestry-com-parent-sold-for-300-million
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN1729430020071017