Yelp Removes Review Filter to Counter Fraud Claims

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
1

San Francisco – Facing a barrage of class action lawsuits, Yelp,
the provider of user-generated local restaurant and business reviews, announced
on Tuesday that it will no longer let businesses pay to push a
"favorite" review to the top of the page, and will no longer edit out
reviews it deemed to be fraudulent. Yelp has been hit with a number of class
actions, filed on behalf of businesses that have advertised on the service and
say that Yelp extorted them into paying for ads in exchange for favorable
treatment.

"Despite our best efforts to educate consumers and the small
business community, myths about Yelp have persisted," Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman
in a blog post.

"We’ve said all along we believe these incorrect notions
stem from the combination of the filter and this advertising feature — and
we’re practicing what we preach.

"Lifting the veil on our review filter and doing
away with ‘Favorite Review’ will make it even clearer that displayed reviews on
Yelp are completely independent of advertising — or any sort of manipulation."

Stoppelman added that the removal of the filter, which will surface all
previous reviews of a business that were previously edited out, for whatever
reason, will let a user "take a look at any business listing on Yelp and
see for yourself the work the review filter has done behind the scenes."

Users
will still be able to see the ‘filtered’ Yelp results if they wish, by toggling
a preference setting on the site.

Finally, the company said it has created a
Small Business Advisory Council to address concerns of small business owners.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/val1m
(Yelp blog)

http://snipurl.com/val3a
(Wired.com)

http://snipurl.com/valie
(DMW previous coverage)

http://snipurl.com/valif
(DMW previous coverage)

Rhapsody Completes Spinoff; Debuts $10 Mobile Streaming

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Seattle
– Rhapsody, the digital music service launched by RealNetworks (NASD:  RNWK) seven years ago that
would later become a joint venture with Viacom’s (NYSE:  VIA) MTV Networks, has officially
spun-off to become an independent company. Under the terms, the two companies will jointly own 95% of the new entity,
Rhapsody International.

Rhapsody
International will receive $18 million from RealNetworks and $33 million in
advertising commitments from MTV.

To coincide with the split, Rhapsody debuted a new
discounted pricing structure and a mobile application for the Android platform.

The new Rhapsody Premier subscription plan offers unlimited streaming to any
Internet-connected device — including mobile phones — for $10 per month;
previously, a plan that included mobile cost $15 per month.

 

Related Links:
http://investor.realnetworks.com/secfiling.cfm?filingID=950123-10-32214

http://snipurl.com/vakdo
(PaidContent)

http://www.rhapsody.com

Report: Three Finalists Emerge to Acquire ICQ from AOL

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York – Suitors for AOL’s (NYSE:  AOL) ICQ instant messaging service
are down to three companies, Reuters reported, citing the Russian business
daily Vedomosti.

Russia-based ProfMedia and Digital Sky Technologies, as well
as China-based Tencent all have submitted binding offers for the unit, which
reportedly has been valued at around $300 million.

 

AOL, which separated from
former parent Time Warner in December, recently has been trying to shed some of
its non-core properties, selling affiliate marketing network Buy.at and
reportedly shopping Bebo, ICQ and video site Truveo, among others.

 

Related Links:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6350P820100406?dbk

In Blow to "Net Neutrality," Appeals Court Rules Against FCC

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
2

Washington
– In a blow to supporters of "net neutrality," a federal appeals
court ruled on Tuesday that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) does
not have authority to regulate the treatment of content running through
broadband networks. Julius Genachowski, the chairman of the FCC who was
appointed by President Obama and formerly worked as a local venture capitalist,
has pledged to force broadband companies to treat all content passing through
their networks on an equal basis.

Large media and Internet companies have been
supportive of "net neutrality," but broadband networks have argued
that they should be able to control the speeds and content that flow through
their networks.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled on Tuesday in
favor of Comcast, saying that the FCC had not been granted the power by
Congress to regulate the broadband networks in such a manner.

The decision
could also affect certain parts of the FCC’s recently announced National
Broadband Plan.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/vaiuq
(PDF: D.C. Circuit ruling)

Stitcher Nabs $6 Million for Customized Talk Radio for Mobile

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

San Francisco
– Stitcher, a service that lets users customize talk radio programming on their
mobile devices, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $6 million in its
second round of funding, led by Benchmark Capital.

Previous backers New
Atlantic Ventures, Ed Scott and Ron Conway also participated in the round,
proceeds from which will go towards product and platform development.

San
Francisco-based Stitcher’s free service lets users create a personalized news
and talk radio playlist from over 1,000 sources on their mobile devices.

The
company’s mobile application is available for iPhone, BlackBerry, Android and
Palm platforms.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/vaiqp

http://www.stitcher.com

Yankee Group Gets $10 Million to Expand Connectivity Research

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Boston
– Yankee Group, a technology market research firm, announced on Tuesday that it
has raised $10 million from Alta Communications to expand its research team in
the field of connectivity.

The firm said it will also deepen its research and
data portfolio to further address the 4G (fourth generation) marketplace and
augment its analysis of the impact of rising user demand on telecommunications
networks.

"Opportunities in the communications sector leveraging a global
‘Anywhere Network’ are taking off; our own forecasts show that the ‘Anywhere
Economy’ will grow to almost $1 trillion by 2013," said Emily Nagle Green,
CEO of Yankee Group.

 

Related Links:
http://www.yankeegroup.com

Brightcove Raises $12 Million for Online Video Delivery

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Cambridge,
Mass. – Brightcove, a provider of
Internet video delivery technology, has raised $12 million in a round of
venture capital, according to a new filing by the company with the Securities
and Exchange Commission.

General Catalyst Partners and Accel Partners led the
latest investment round.

Founded in 2004, Cambridge, Mass.-based Brightcove offers
a platform that is designed to help video content producers monetize their content
with advertising revenue.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/vai86

http://www.brightcove.com

Armchair Revolutionary Debuts Crowdsourced Web Activism Site

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Los Angeles
– Armchair Revolutionary on Tuesday launched a beta version of its Web-based
social action service, which aims to fund science and technology projects
through microfinancing provided by social gaming and virtual item purchases.

The
platform was created by the founders of The Hollywood Hill, an entertainment
industry philanthropy group.

The company will take the 99-cent "gifts"
and virtual item fees crowdsourced from users and grant them to social change
projects, such as a video game designed to raise awareness about the world’s
oceans.

It also offers other means of digital activism, such as e-mail and
virtual phone bank campaigns, voting and quizzes.

Armchair Revolutionary told
CNET News.com it hopes to attract 10 million users, and fund some 250 projects
per year, many of which will require a minimum of $500,000.

 

Related Links:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-20001798-52.html

https://www.armrev.org

eBay Launches New Fashion Section

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

San Jose,
Calif. – Online auction giant
eBay (NASD: EBAY) on Monday launched eBay Fashion, a new section of the site focused on
clothing, shoes and accessories. The company said that it has added a new
"Fashion" tab at the top of its home page, and also has rolled out
several new browsing capabilities — including a "More Like This"
feature that will show other apparel and accessories similar in color, shape,
pattern and more.


 

Related Links:
http://fashion.ebay.com

Indie E-book Publisher Smashwords Adds iBookstore Distribution

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Los Gatos,
Calif. – Independent e-book
publisher and distributor Smashwords announced on Monday that it now offers authors
distribution through Apple’s iBookstore for the iPad. Smashwords currently
publishes nearly 10,000 original e-book titles from over 4,000 authors and 150
small independent publishers.


 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/va0z3

http://www.smashwords.com

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