TheRarestWords: Intriguing Semantic SEO Project from Russia
10:41 am PDT • May 23, 2008
A mysterious yet intriguing project from Russia has come across our inbox. It is a search-engine optimization analysis tool for Websites called TheRarestWords. For any given URL, like Microsoft’s or…
Deathwatch: GameStop Dumps the Zune Because Nobody Wants It
8:57 am PDT • May 23, 2008
The Zune Social may be winding down. One big retailer, GameStop, has decided to stop selling Microsoft’s digital music players because of a lack of demand. From TheStreet.com: “We have…
Identity 2.0 Startup Sxips Into the Deadpool
10:08 am PDT • May 22, 2008
After unsuccessfully trying to sell his startup Sxip Identity to Google or Microsoft, CEO Dick Hardt is now facing a lawsuit over the insolvency of his startup. Hardt is perhaps…
ScribbleLive: Two Guys In Canada Launch Sweet Liveblogging Platform
8:24 am PDT • May 22, 2008
I am at the Mesh conference in Toronto right now sitting next to two guys liveblogging the event on ScribbleLive: Michael De Monte and Jonathan Keebler. They are the founders…
Google Sites Moves Out Of the Enterprise
5:59 am PDT • May 22, 2008
When Google Sites launched in February, it was part of the Google Apps group that targets enterprises large and small. Now, consumers can create a wiki Website using Google Sites,…
Brightcove Subsidiary Launches In Japan With $5 Million
4:55 am PDT • May 22, 2008
Web video distribution player Brightcove is entering the Japanese market with a new subsidiary called Brightcove K.K. Rather than use some of the $86 million it has already raised, Brightcove…
On the Road to An IPO, Jingle Networks Prepares to Launch A Voice Ad Network.
3:36 pm PDT • May 21, 2008
Jingle Networks has already captured a six percent market share of directory assistance calls with its 1-800-Free411 service. But, with IPO rumors swirling, that might not be a big enough…
Update: ImageShack CEO Hints At His Grander Ambitions
3:14 pm PDT • May 20, 2008
Yesterday, I reported a strong rumor that Sequoia Capital had invested in image-hosting site ImageShack. Today, I spoke with CEO and founder Jack Levin. He would not comment specifically on…
The Biggest Tech IPO of 2008 Is Coming Out of Russia: Search Engine Yandex to Raise Up To $2 Billion
2:23 pm PDT • May 20, 2008
The Google of Russia is Yandex, and it is preparing for an IPO on Nasdaq in the fall with the hopes of raising $1.5 billion to $2 billion, reports Reuters.…
YouTomb: Where Videos Go to Die
9:25 am PDT • May 20, 2008
Ever wonder exactly how many videos are taken down from YouTube because of copyright violations or other reasons? So did the folks at the MIT Free Culture student group. They…
Popjax Launches Branded Video Trivia Games With Heavy Metal Rockers Avenged Sevenfold
8:39 am PDT • May 20, 2008
Two of the most popular things to do on the Web are play games and watch videos. Popjax, a startup backed by Shasta Ventures and Draper Fisher Jurvetson, combines the…
Exodus Watch: MySpace Loses A Sales Exec To Mochi Media
8:09 am PDT • May 20, 2008
With MySpace failing to meet its internal revenue targets, executives there whose compensation is tied to those targets may now be more open to job offers from startups. Mochi Media,…
Rearden Commerce Goes Mobile
12:09 am PDT • May 20, 2008
What good is a travel assistant that doesn’t go with you on the road? One of the gaping holes in Rearden Commerce’s enterprise travel application was the lack of a…
Google Backers Back Aster Data Systems. It's All About The Clusters.
11:41 pm PDT • May 19, 2008
Clusters are the way to go. Google and Yahoo run their Websites on distributed databases spread across vast clusters of servers. Now Aster Data Systems, a startup that is coming…
A $3 Million Round And A New CEO For Outside.in
10:10 pm PDT • May 19, 2008
Local news and blog site Outside.in has raised $3 million in a series A financing. Investors include Union Square Ventures, Milestone Venture Partners, the New York City Investment Fund. That…
ImageShack Rumored To Raise Money From Sequoia
9:27 pm PDT • May 19, 2008
Update: See follow-up post here with comments from ImageShack CEo Jack Levin. If you had to name the top five image-hosting services on the Web, would ImageShack be one of…
Scoop: Job Cuts at PHP Startup Zend Could Be Aimed With An Eye Towards a Sale
3:26 pm PDT • May 19, 2008
Israeli startup Zend Technologies has fired 25 percent of its R&D team (at least ten people), as well as others across the company, in an attempt to become cash flow…
Google Health: A Quick Hands-On Look
1:32 pm PDT • May 19, 2008
Now that Google Health has finally launched, I took a quick peek at it while Mark was taking notes at today’s Google Factory Tour presentation. It’s been a long time…
Microsoft Needs To Do Something. But Combining Facebook With Yahoo Search Ain't It.
8:46 am PDT • May 19, 2008
As Microsoft toys with Yahoo over the possibility of a resumed deal to buy only its search business, is it also thinking of throwing Facebook into the mix? That’s the…
CBS Centralizes Its Superdistribution of Videos on the Web
11:32 pm PDT • May 17, 2008
When it comes to Web video, CBS has been one of the most promiscuous media companies out there. And no, I am not talking about its $1.8 billion acquisition of…
Facebook's Friends Data Has Already Left the Barn
9:39 pm PDT • May 17, 2008
How much are your friends worth? That is the question behind the big debate going on around social networks and data portability. In the last ten days, Facebook, Google, and…
How To Structure a Yahoo-Google Search Deal: It's All About The Tail and the Torso
12:24 pm PDT • May 17, 2008
Even as Carl Icahn rallies angry shareholders to try to force Yahoo back to the bargaining table with Microsoft, one of the “strategic alternatives” Yahoo may still be trying to…
Slingpage Lets You Share the Web With One Click (500 Private Beta Invites)
6:36 am PDT • May 14, 2008
The idea of leaving sticky notes on the Web for others to find has been tried many times, but has never really taken off. Third Voice dotbombed with the idea…
Travel Search Site UpTake (Formerly Kango) Launches In Public Beta
3:59 am PDT • May 14, 2008
If you are looking for ideas for a family vacation, a pet-friendly hotel, or the perfect place for a romantic weekend, try travel search engine UpTake. It is geared only…
Dash Opens Up APIs For Its GPS Device to Developers
9:55 pm PDT • May 13, 2008
Dash Navigation is opening up its in-car GPS device to outside developers through an API program. The Dash already lets consumers create Yahoo map mashups on the Web which they…
eBay Vs. Craigslist, Round II. Craigslist Punches Back With Its Own Lawsuit.
3:04 pm PDT • May 13, 2008
Following the lawsuit eBay filed against Craigslist two weeks ago, Craigslist is punching back today. In a countersuit (complaint embedded below), Craigslist wants back the 28.4 percent of its shares…
Uh Oh, Icahn May Jump Into The Battle For Yahoo
1:46 pm PDT • May 13, 2008
Add billionaire and activist shareholder Carl Icahn to the list of investors who want to pressure Yahoo to go back to the negotiating table with Microsoft. According to CNBC, he…
Google Maps Adds More: Wikipedia Entries and Geo-Coded Photos
12:43 pm PDT • May 13, 2008
If you go to Google Maps, you’ll notice there is now a “”More” button right next to “Street View”” and “Traffic.” If you click on it after getting a map,…
Facemash Returns As (What Else?) A Facebook App Called ULiken
10:06 am PDT • May 13, 2008
Before Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook, he launched Facemash, a short-lived HotOrNot-like site that almost got him kicked out of Harvard. Now Facemash is back as a Facebook app called ULiken.…
Fifty Android Developers Get $25,000 Each: The List
9:35 am PDT • May 13, 2008
The winners of the first round of the Android Developer Challenge have been announced. Fifty developers will receive $25,000 each to build out their Android mobile phone apps. Only 46…