Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Y! Alert: TechCrunch

Yahoo! Alerts
My Alerts

The latest from TechCrunch

Seeking Alpha Finds $7 Million In Funding, Partners With Nasdaq.com Top
Financial information and analysis community Seeking Alpha announced that it has recently closed a Series B round of financing to the tune of $7 million, led by first-time investor DAG Ventures with participation from existing investors Benchmark Capital and Accel Partners . Seeking Alpha also inked a content partnership deal with Nasdaq.com , under which terms it will deliver opinion pieces from its now 3,272 contributors and timely news products like MarketCurrents and Wall Street Breakfast . You can see the integration in effect here and here . Seeking Alpha scored its first similar major content partnership agreement with Yahoo Finance around the time that it secured its first round of funding from Benchmark and Accel. The company also informed us that Instablogs, its blogging platform customized for finance that was launched in May 2009, recently crossed 2,000 publications from financial advisers, portfolio managers, newsletter authors, data providers and economists alike. According to PaidContent , Seeking Alpha claims more than 4 million monthly uniques based on internal Google Analytics stats. On a sidenote: it seems like there’s renewed interest from investors in innovative companies in the stock market analysis and discussion space: we earlier today reported that StockTwits scored another $3 million in funding from True Ventures and Foundry Group. Crunch Network : CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0
 
Web-Based Productivity Suite Zoho Launches Full Integration With Google Docs Top
Zoho is undoubtedly the lesser known name and an underdog in the productivity suite race with Google and Microsoft. But the startup has a compelling strategy: Zoho continuously launches integrations with its competitors and also iterates on it product to offer new and innovative products. Previously, Zoho has launched various integrations with Google sign-ins and with Google Apps. Today, Zoho is launching a full integration between Google Docs and Zoho’s Apps. Google Docs users can now attach files from Google Docs to Zoho’s CRM within Leads, Accounts, and Cases of Zoho CRM. When users try to attach a document from Google Docs, they will be prompted to authenticate using Google credentials. Google Docs will be listed within Zoho once users sign-in. And while composing emails in Zoho Mail, users can attach files directly from Google Docs and Zoho Docs. Zoho users also have an option to upload files directly from Google Docs to Zoho Docs. Zoho currently has a limit for users to to upload only 5 files at a time and plans to offer increased flexibility in the future. Lastly, files from Google Docs can now be attached directly in Zoho’s project management app Zoho Projects. This latest and more robust integration with Google Docs represents Zoho’s compelling strategy to continue to innovate by launching new products and add-ons to its existing offerings. Most recently, the startup launched Zoho Discussions , a online forum tool for businesses; and Zoho Recruit. Over the past two years, Zoho has added support for Sharepoint, mobile, Google and Yahoo IDs and group sharing. Zoho knows that it will have to fight an uphill battle to keep users from flocking to Google Apps and soon Microsoft’s Web-based version of Microsoft 2010. Although Zoho ’s the underdog, the startup’s strategy may be paying off—the startup has reached 2 million users in just 4 years. Crunch Network : CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.
 
StockTwits Adds $3 Million From Foundry Group And True Ventures Top
StockTwits , a social and microblogging service for stock investors, has pulled down another round of financing – $3 million in a Series B round led by Colorado-based Foundry Group . Foundry Group partner Seth Levine joined the company’s board of directors, and True Ventures , an investor from earlier this year, also participated in the round. The service launched just a year ago as a way for Twitter users to organize, share and discover their thoughts on public company stocks: “Users can eavesdrop on traders and investors, or contribute to the conversation and build their reputation as savvy market wizards. The service takes financial related data and structures it by stock, user, reputation, etc.” In September the service moved on from Twitter and built their own platform and Air desktop application. They kept the familiar 140 character format for messages, and users can easily cross-post to and from Twitter. StockTwits is also part of an official NASDAQ iPhone application . Traders are clearly enamored with the product and love the constant stream of company/sector specific data. And new products, like StockTwit TV , seem to be a hit (even if, for most people, listening to stock talk is like watching paint dry). The service will expand greatly next year, says CEO Howard Lindzon . Crunch Network : CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.
 
More Research To Back The Notion That Streaming Kills Piracy Top
Research conducted by London-based Global Web Index , a collaboration between online market research agency Lightspeed Research and Trendstream , suggests that streaming might in fact be the right antidote against content piracy . The findings are in line with other research and conclusions reached earlier this year by The Leading Question, MusicAlly's consumer research division, which suggested that the number of teenagers who download copyrighted content from illegal sources has fallen dramatically over the past few years in favor of streaming. According to the Global Web Index, streaming video online has unequivocally turned mainstream with almost two thirds (64%) of Internet users watching video clips, almost a third (31%) watching full length TV and video programming and 13% sharing videos. 27% of UK Internet users have downloaded free TV shows/films to their desktops. The research showed that the most active internet users – those who spend more than three hours a day online – are the most likely to download illegal content, either through a P2P network or unauthorized file sharing websites. Contrary to popular belief, the research also shows that people who download illegal media content are not only driven by the desire to access it for free, but increasingly by the fact that they want to get their hands on the content as soon as it’s available, even if only legally in other countries. Whilst the research shows that consumers don't really like using P2P networks to obtain content, people tend to use them when they can't find what they want any other way. Tom Smith, Managing Director of Trendstream says: "Thanks to the rise of online services such as Spotify, Hulu, iPlayer and of course YouTube, the environment has been created where you can stream almost all the content you would ever want. If everything I want is available on demand, the concept of ownership is diminished. I no longer need to have it on my hard drive. I just play what I want when I want. This is not only a threat to traditional packaged sales of music, TV and film, it will also kill off piracy. Why pirate when you can stream?" To reach its conclusions, Global Web Index interviewed 16,000 web users in 16 markets for a first wave. The survey was carried out online between July 6 and the August 7 of this year: 2000 internet users were interviewed in the US and the UK, 1000 users in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, China and Canada and 750 users took part in the survey in The Netherlands, Russia, Mexico, Brazil, India, South Korea , Australia, Japan. GWI plans a second wave this and next month. (Top image via Flickr / cc Maurits Burger ) Crunch Network : CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors
 
gWallet Collects $10.5 Million For Virtual Currency Platform Top
Virtual currency monetization platforms, like OfferPal, have recently come under fire (a.k.a. “Scamville” ) for scamming users of virtual games on social networks. gWallet is entering the space as a potential beacon of ethics, with a a service that hopes to legitimize virtual currency exchanges by connecting game publishers directly to the advertisers. Today, the startup is announcing a $10.5 million Series A round of funding raised from Adams Street Partners and Trinity Ventures, bringing the total funding for gWallet up to $12.5 million. Founded by serial entrepreneur Gurbaksh Chahal, gWallet works directly with brands directly as opposed to adopting an affiliate leads model. gWallet claims that its proprietary technology and transparent platform allows game developers and social networks to see when and where exact offers are being presented within their ecosystems. Chahal asserts that unlike its competitors in the space, gWallet has a full-time direct sales force that corresponds between high quality brands and agencies and game developers to ensure legitimacy. The key factor that differentiates gWallet says Chalal is that the platform works with advertisers directly, showing them the value that they can provide within a social gaming site, and also offering the advertiser the ability to customize any offers so that they are relevant to the consumer. Social gaming is a lucrative business and along with it, the virtual goods and currency market has heated up. Chahal says that virtual gaming is a$720 million a year business and expects it to grow to more than $2 billion in just the next three years. Games and currency platforms alike are making tons of money off of consumers and advertisers, and we all know that greed perhaps pushed some developers and companies to publish scammy lead gen offers within games. gWallet, with its assertions of legitimacy and ethical standards, is entering at the right moment when this type of platform is very much needed in the virtual currency industry. Partner for VC firm Adams Street Partners, says that gWallet could be the “White Knight in this space and put in place standards that work for marketers, publishers and consumers.” Chahal has significant experience in the advertising space and launched his first advertising startup, ClickAgents, at 16, which was sold to ValueClick for $40 million. His second venture, behavioral advertising network BlueLithium, was sold to Yahoo in October 2007 for $300 million. Chahal says that the new funding will be used to further gWallet’s international expansion, with offices opening in Europe to cater to global brands and advertisers. Currently, gWallet is working with several Facebook apps, including FooPets. While it looks like TechCrunch’s efforts to expose Scamville has made a lasting impact on both game developers like Zynga and social networks, including Facebook, MySpace and others, gWallet could be the breath of fresh air that is needed in the virtual currency monetization world. Crunch Network : CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors
 

CREATE MORE ALERTS:

Auctions - Find out when new auctions are posted

Horoscopes - Receive your daily horoscope

Music - Get the newest Album Releases, Playlists and more

News - Only the news you want, delivered!

Stocks - Stay connected to the market with price quotes and more

Weather - Get today's weather conditions




You received this email because you subscribed to Yahoo! Alerts. Use this link to unsubscribe from this alert. To change your communications preferences for other Yahoo! business lines, please visit your Marketing Preferences. To learn more about Yahoo!'s use of personal information, including the use of web beacons in HTML-based email, please read our Privacy Policy. Yahoo! is located at 701 First Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94089.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)