• PutPlace.com spotted that HP-Upline is getting out of the consumer backup business and closing down the Upline service. They are putting together a discount plan for HP-Upline users, but in the meantime you can use the invitation code “joe” to get started with a free plan for three months. Something to do with founder Joe Drumgoole perhaps…
• Comedian David Mitchell is the newest signing for video startup ChannelFlip. David Mitchell’s Soapbox has been the most popular thing on iTunes for the past week, beating out Stephen Fry, Jonathan Ross, Ricky Gervais. ChannelFlip served 10,000 video ads in October, 80,000 video ads in December and 500,000 video ads in February. Looks like something interesting in online video is going on then…
• Predictions market Hubdub got 6 out of 6 right in their Oscar predictions. And managed to beat esteemed stats whiz Nate Silver who got a measily 4 out of 6.
• Flirtomatic, the web and mobile social network, is now using Xtract’s Social Links solution, which analyses the social networking behaviours of members.
• Small businesses are missing out on savings and collectively wasting £7billion a year according to Humyo, by relying on traditional server technology and remaining unaware of new technologies. Humyo reckons SMEs could save themselves around £1,200 per year if they were a little more savvy with their IT spending.
• Price comparison site Twenga says it has had a 500% growth for 2008. Talk about a company positioned for the credit crunch.
• Embedded content is now one of the key factors in determining which new mobile handset consumers choose, according to the results of a poll published by GetJar, the independent mobile app store. 69% of respondents said the content provided with a new phone is now more important to their purchase decision than price, design or even touch screen capability. In other words, plenty of phones do the job, but it’s applications and content which are starting to matter more.
• The University of Oxford has been ranked as one of the top 10 university startup communities worldwide by YouNoodle, the online platform for the global entrepreneurial community. The data-driven leaderboard ranked the University of Oxford 6th overall based on data compiled from more than 10,000 startups.
• Mobitsu is a new service-based platform which enables people to make money from their mobile phone by uploading media. Members of Mobitsu can earn up to £1 each and every time an item is downloaded or purchased. I wonder which clips will be most popular…
• WorldTV developed an embeddable player and Facebook widget with ZoomTV and Facebook to power their coverage of the Oscars. The WorldTV/ ZoomTV /Facebook widget ran on the ZoomTV homepage during the Oscars with updated clips and original content for ZoomTV’s 300 million monthly TV viewers in India.
• Chinwag and UK Trade & Investment are organising two conferences to help companies prepare for the future – Digital Business: India and Digital Business: China. These one-day events feature line-ups of experts in their fields designed to bring companies up-to-speed on the opportunities and challenges presented by India & China, including the business environment, as well cultural issues.
• Warsaw-based New Europe Events is running TMT.Ventures’09 Warsaw in March for startups, local and regional VCs and angel investors.
• PlayOTTO.com, a new EU licensed online lottery with social gaming at its heart, has just been launched. Players play with their friends by creating a team and choose their own good cause or charity to benefit from the winnings and ticket sales. Cute. Let’s hope they fair better than Pikum.