Wistia Nabs $775,000 for Corporate Video-sharing Tools

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Lexington,
Mass. – Wistia, a provider of
video-sharing, management and collaboration tools for companies’ sales,
marketing and training purposes, has raised $775,000 in new financing from
angel investors, VentureBeat reports.

Founded in 2006, Lexington,
Mass.-based Wistia markets its video services for businesses as manageable by
non-IT department employees, and offers a range of analytics tools to track
viewing.

Customers include textbook publisher Pearson and Cirque du Soleil.

The
funds will be used to hire additional staff and expand marketing and
advertising efforts.

 

Related Links:
http://deals.venturebeat.com/2010/03/23/wistia/

http://www.wistia.com

KidZui Lands $4 Million for Kid-friendly Web Browser

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

San Diego
– KidZui, the developer of a kid-friendly Web browser, has raised $4 million in
new financing led by Mission Ventures with participation from previous
investors, TechCrunch reported.

Previous backers have included Emergence
Capital Partners, First Round Capital, Maveron and Scholastic Corporation.

San
Diego-based KidZui offers a software Web browser that allows kids to safely
access over 2 million parent- and teacher-approved websites, pictures, games
and videos.

The company debuted a kid-friendly video site, ZuiTube, in April
2009, and also operates ZuiGames.

TechCrunch noted that the company has also
recently signed partnerships with Best Buy, Comcast and DreamWorks.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/v1dtq
(TechCrunch)

http://www.kidzui.com

Mike Maples Launches Venture Capital Firm Floodgate

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

San Francisco – Mike Maples, whose investment vehicle Maples
Investments has over the past five years backed firms including Twitter, Digg,
Smule and Gowalla, announced on Wednesday the launch of a full-fledged venture
capital firm, dubbed Floodgate, TechCrunch reported.

Maples said that Ann
Miura-Ko will be brought in as his first full-time partner and co-founder of
Floodgate.

Maples calls his investment strategy the "Super Angel"
model, seeking out potentially "disruptive" technologies at early
stages.

"Looking at the world through the eyes of the entrepreneur, we’ve
filled a widening gap between Angel investors and venture capital firms,"
reads a note on Floodgate.com.

"But we help companies with more than just
fundraising: we help them discover, refine, evolve, and master the core
elements of their businesses so they will be in the best possible position to
one day ‘open the floodgates’ to market disruption and dominance."

 

Related Links:
http://techcrunch.com/2010/03/24/mike-maples-floodgate

http://www.maplesinvestments.com

http://www.floodgate.com

RealNetworks Introduces Mobile Video Portal

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Las Vegas
– RealNetworks (NASD: RNWK) on Tuesday introduced a new Mobile Video Portal for mobile
operators and media firms, which the company says will reduce the cost and
resources required to create and manage live and on-demand mobile video. The
company said the portal creates new sponsorship, co-branding and ad
opportunities within mobile apps and websites, as well as supporting various
paid models.


 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/v0ume

Opera Submits Mobile Browser to Apple iPhone App Store

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Oslo, Norway – Opera on Tuesday submitted
its Opera Mini mobile Web browser application to Apple (NASD: AAPL) for approval with use on
the iPhone, which the company said is "up to six times faster than
[Apple’s own] Safari." Opera Mini compresses data by up to 90% before
sending it to the phone, "resulting in rapid page loading and more Web per
MB for the end user." Wired.com noted that it’s unclear whether Apple will
accept an iPhone app that competes directly with one of its own native products
on the iPhone.


 

Related Links:
http://www.opera.com/press/releases/2010/03/23_3/

http://snipurl.com/v0uqe
(Wired.com)

March Madness Video Player Streams 8.7M Hours in Four Days

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Fort Lauderdale,
Fla. – CBSSports.com (NYSE: CBS) said on
Tuesday that its March Madness on Demand player streamed over 8.7 million hours
of live video and audio during the first four days of this year’s NCAA Division
I men’s basketball championship, an increase of 35% over 2009 figures. The content
was streamed by more than 6 million unique visitors to the player. "With
four overtime games in the first four days of the tournament, exciting finishes
and upset victories have really sparked March Madness on Demand consumption thus
far," said Jason Kint, senior vice president and general manager,
CBSSports.com.


 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/v0ukw

Blockbuster to Get Warner Movies a Month Before Netflix, Redbox

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
3

Dallas
– Video rental chain Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI) announced on Tuesday that it has signed a deal
with Time Warner’s (NYSE: TWX) Warner Bros. that will give it access to DVDs and Blu-ray
releases four weeks before they are made available on either kiosk or
subscription services. The deal directly addresses the market share now being
taken from the company by newer services like Redbox (NASD: CSTR) and Netflix (NASD: NFLX).


 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/v0urt

YouTube Discontinues Realtime Toolbar

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

San Bruno,
Calif. – Google’s (NASD: GOOG) YouTube has
discontinued the Realtime Toolbar, a feature that let users watching YouTube
videos communicate with one another in real-time. Google said the toolbar, launched
last year in beta for a limited number of users, "has inspired us for new
features on YouTube in the future."


 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/v0ush

Deutsche Telekom, Other Euro Telcos Plan iTunes Store Rival

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

London
– Deutsche Telekom is in talks with several other European telco firms on
launching a digital music store before year’s end to rival Apple’s iTunes,
Music Week reported, citing the German edition of the Financial Times. The
service is expected to be built on DT’s existing Mediaload, Videoload and
Gamesload platforms. Details on potential partners or pricing details for the
service were mentioned in the report.


 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/v0uzm
(Music Week)

MTV, VH1 Programs to Utilize Foursquare Location Service

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York
– Viacom’s (NYSE: VIA) MTV and VH1 networks on Tuesday announced a partnership with
Foursquare, a provider of location-based social services. The networks will be
the first to launch a new Foursquare tool, Celebrity Mode, that lets users
‘follow’ celebrities. "Jersey
Shore’s DJ Pauly D will
be the first MTV celeb to use the new mode, and will provide "tips on the
best fist-pumping spots nationwide," the company said. Other programs to
utilize Foursquare will include "The Hills," "The City,"
"Real World: New Orleans,"
"The T.O. Show," "Fantasia for Real" and "What Chilli
Wants."


 

Related Links:
http://foursquare.com/user/-545316

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