Survey: 39% of Facebook Users Have Donated to Haitian Relief

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York – Thirty-nine
percent of Facebook users in the U.S.,
U.K. and Australia have already donated money or goods to
the relief efforts following the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti, including 13% through
text-messaging, according to a new survey by Facebook and The Nielsen Company.

Another 21% of users said that they have not yet given to the cause, but plan
to do so.

Facebook users ages 50 and older are nearly twice as likely to have
donated goods or money than teenagers (61% to 36%).

When it comes to corporate
support of the relief efforts, 29% of users believe corporations are doing
their part, while 42% say they are not.

The vast majority of respondents called
the earthquake a wake-up call, with three-quarters saying that they are either
"not very" or "not at all" prepared for a natural disaster,
themselves.

The survey involved more than 50,000 Facebook users ages 13 and
over.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u6ui4

College Test-sharing Site Koofers Scores $1.55 Million

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
1

Reston, Va. – Koofers, the developer of an online
community where college students share old exams, quizzes and class notes for
use as study aids, has raised $1.55 million in new funding, according to a
filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The company, said that
it still plans to raise another $500,000 in the round.

Though names of the new
investors were not overtly disclosed, Anthony Lee, a general partner from Altos
Ventures, and John Backus, a principal at New Atlantic Ventures, are listed among
the company’s directors.

Koofers secured its first $500,000 in institutional
funding in late 2008, after receiving seed funding from LaunchBox Digital.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u6u8m
(SEC filing)  

http://www.koofers.com

Judge Slashes $1.92M File-Sharing Verdict to $54,000

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Duluth, Minn. – A federal judge on Monday set aside
a $1.92 million damages verdict against Jammie Thomas-Rasset, the first person
to be convicted of copyright infringement on a file-sharing network. U.S.
District Judge Michael Davis has instead reduced the damages award from the
$80,000 per song for the 24 songs she was convicted by a jury of sharing on the
Kazaa file-sharing network, to $2,250 per song — for a new total of $54,000.

Judge Davis denied Thomas-Rasset’s attorneys’ motion for a new trial, and gave
her side a week to decide whether to accept the reduced damages or request a
new trial on the issue of damages.

"The need for deterrence cannot justify
a $2 million verdict for stealing and illegally distributing 24 songs for the
sole purpose of obtaining free music," Judge Davis wrote in his ruling.

Judge
Davis called his award of damages equal to three times the minimum statutory
damages amount "the most reasoned solution," adding that "this
reduced award is significant and harsh."

"It was the jury’s province
to determine the award of statutory damages and this Court has merely reduced
that award to the maximum amount that is no longer monstrous and shocking,"
Davis
concluded.

"We are pleased with Judge Davis’s ruling and intend to
continue to challenge the remaining award as unconstitutionally excessive,"
said CeCe Cohen, a spokeswoman for Thomas-Rasset’s attorneys, Camara &
Sibley LLP.

They intend to argue that "the award of statutory damages
bears no relation to the injury to the recording industry."

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u6u4d
(DMW previous coverage)

http://snipurl.com/u6u42
(DMW previous coverage)

INgrooves Adds E-books, Printed Media to Distribution Platform

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

San Francisco
– Looking to capitalize on the nascent e-book market, digital music and video distribution
firm INgrooves announced on Monday the launch of a new e-book and printed media
division.

The company currently provides distribution, marketing and promotion
services to artists, record labels and video producers.

INgrooves will now add
e-books and printed media to its ONE Digital software platform, which is
already used to distribute audio, music videos, concert films, images, TV shows,
ringtones and mobile wallpapers.

"With the recent consumer shift to
digital consumption of books and the continued support from industry leaders
like Amazon and iTunes, we felt the timing was right for this strategic
expansion," said INgrooves founder and CEO Robb McDaniels.

"We are
very enthusiastic about the initiative and INgrooves’ entry into this growing sector
of the digital landscape."

 

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

DOJ Approves Merger of Ticketmaster, Live Nation

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Los Angeles
– The U.S. Justice Department on Monday approved the proposed merger between
Ticketmaster (NASD:  TKTM) and concert promotion giant Live Nation (NYSE:  LYV). Under the terms, the company — which will be called Live Nation Entertainment — will divest Ticketmaster’s self-ticketing subsidiary, Paciolan, to Comcast-Spectator, and license its Ticketmaster Host technology to rival concert promoter AEG.

The deal also includes other undisclosed "terms that protect competitive conditions in ticketing and promotions."

The companies said 17 State Attorneys General also participated in the consent decree filed in federal court in D.C.

The combined company will be led by Michael Rapino as CEO and president of Live Nation Entertainment, while Irving Azoff will serve as executive chairman and CEO of Front Line, and Barry Diller will be chairman of Live Nation Entertainment.

CNBC reported earlier today that the Justice Department would approve the deal, citing
unnamed sources.

The
deal was originally announced in February 2009, and would be valued at around
$798 million today, Reuters noted.

The deal has drawn criticism from consumer
advocates, musicians and others who foresee a reduction in competition in the
live music industry, and the potential for higher ticket prices for consumers.

The
Justice Department has been conducting an antitrust review of the deal, which was
recently approved by U.K.
regulators; earlier this month, the shareholders of both companies also voted
overwhelmingly in favor of the merger.

The Wall Street Journal reported last
October that the Justice Dept. would seek "major concessions" from
the companies before approving any deal, while Reuters cited sources earlier
this month who said that the Justice Dept. "has had a litigation team
preparing the case for litigation for months."

 

Related Links:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2513450520100125

http://snipurl.com/u6t2n
(Silicon Alley Insider)

http://snipurl.com/u6t5i
(DMW previous coverage)

http://snipurl.com/u6t61
(DMW previous coverage)

http://www.ticketmaster.com

http://www.livenation.com

AOL Acquires Video Producer StudioNow for $36.5 Million

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York
– AOL (NYSE: AOL) announced on Monday that it has acquired StudioNow, a Web-based platform
for video creation and distribution, for $36.5 million in cash and stock.

Founded
in 2007, Nashville-based StudioNow helps companies create and syndicate video
content, by connecting them to a network of more than 3,000 freelance
filmmakers, editors, animators, voice talent, writers and producers.

AOL said
it plans to integrate StudioNow into its newly-launched Seed.com content
management system, utilizing its freelance network to beef up the content on
AOL’s more than 80 websites.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u6sus

http://www.studionow.com

StockTwits Acquires Financial News Blog Abnormal Returns

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York
– StockTwits, the provider of a real-time financial news service that utilizes
Twitter, has acquired financial blog Abnormal Returns, according to a post on
the company’s blog.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

New
York-based StockTwits said that five-year-old Abnormal Returns will continue to
operate as a standalone site under editor-in-chief Tadas Viskanta, and add a
real-time component via StockTwits.

"This aggregation will harness both
the power of the StockTwits community and editorial insight to bring a stream
of intelligent investment links to its readers," the company said.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u6sna

http://www.abnormalreturns.com

LivePerson Buys Web Analytics Firm NuConomy for $3 Million

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York
– LivePerson, the provider of a network of experts who dole out advice on the
Internet, has acquired Web analytics firm NuConomy for $3 million, TechCrunch
reported.

Founded in 2006 in Tel Aviv, Israel, NuConomy has raised about $3.3 million
to date, and is now headquartered in San
Francisco.

Founded in 1995, New York-based LivePerson
provides a network of "experts" in a broad range of categories
utilized by more than 7,000 companies to build relationships with their
customers.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u6sgf
(TechCrunch)

http://www.liveperson.com

http://www.nuconomy.com

NASA Astronaut Sends First Tweet From Space

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Houston
– A NASA astronaut aboard the International Space Station on Friday became the
first person to send a Twitter message from space. Flight Engineer T.J. Creamer
posted an update to his account @Astro_TJ: "Hello Twitterverse! We r now
LIVE tweeting from the International Space Station — the 1st live tweet from
Space! J
More soon, send your ?s."


 

Related Links:
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2010/jan/HQ_M10-011_Hawaii221169.html

http://www.twitter.com/nasa

Veteran Facebook Employee Joins Shawn Fanning Start-up

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Palo Alto,
Calif. – Dave Morin, a senior
product manager and longtime employee at Facebook, has left the company to join
Napster creator Shawn Fanning in an undisclosed new venture, TechCrunch
reported. Morin also spoke of the move on his personal blog, but said that the
venture with Fanning will "be in a stealth’ish mode" for now. Fanning
most recently sold his Rupture social gaming company to Electronic Arts for $15
million.


 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u5whj
(TechCrunch)

http://davemorin.tumblr.com/post/347832449

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