Aframe raises $7 million for collaborative video platform

By
digitalmediawi
-
0

Boston – Aframe, the developer of a web-based video production platform, announced it has raised $7 million in its first round of venture capital, which was led by Octopus Investments and Eden Ventures, with participation by Northstar Ventures.

Operational in the U.K. since November 2010, Aframe has over 50 customers including the BBC, MTV, Giant Film & Television, Thumbs Up, Zig Zag Productions, Shine Group and others.

The company’s web-based platform offers a shared space for any people who work with moving images. Using Aframe, producers can plan, create content, collaborate, store, edit, distribute and make footage searchable.

The company just opened its U.S. headquarters in Boston.

This article was also published in New England Tech Wire.

Related links:

http://www.aframe.com

Aframe blog post – Today is a Big Day for us

Aframe – press release

 

Report: iPhone users more likely than Android to utilize Wi-Fi [with chart]

By
digitalmediawi
-
0

Reston, Va. – iPhone users are significantly more likely than Android users to connect to the Internet through Wi-Fi networks, according to new data from Reston-based comScore.

According to the report, 71 percent of iPhones in the U.S. used both mobile and Wi-Fi networks to connect to the Internet in February, while only 32 percent of Android phones used both types of connections.

When it came to those browsing only through mobile networks, however, Android users outpaced iPhone users, 68 percent to 29 percent.

“As bandwidth usage increases and the spectrum becomes more scarce, operators, OEMs, and others in the mobile ecosystem should understand the different dynamics between the use of mobile and Wi-Fi networks to develop strategies to optimize resources and provide their customers with continued high-quality network service,” said Serge Matta, comScore’s president of operator and mobile solutions.

This article was also published in Potomac Tech Wire.

Related link:

comScore – press release

 

Chart: Mobile and Wi-Fi Internet Connection Activity Across iOS and Android Smartphone Platforms in the U.S. and U.K. (Feb-2012)Description: A U.S. analysis of Wi-Fi and mobile Internet usage across unique smartphones on the iOS and Android platforms reveals that 71 percent of all unique iPhones used both mobile and Wi-Fi networks to connect to the Internet, while only 32 percent of unique Android mobile phones used both types of connections. A further analysis of this pattern of behavior in the U.K. shows consistent results, as 87 percent of unique iPhones used both mobile and Wi-Fi networks for web access compared to a lower 57 percent of Android phones.Source: comScore Device Essentials, February 2012Tags: 3G, Wi-FiAuthor: comScorecharts powered by iCharts

Google creates 360-degree interactive White House tour [with video by Mrs. Obama]

By
digitalmediawi
-
1

Washington, DC – The Obama administration and Google have teamed to launch a 360-degree virtual online tour of the White House.

Utilizing the same “Street View” cameras it uses as part of its Maps tool, Google captured all of the rooms included in the public White House tour, using high-resolution imaging to showcase details of art and furnishings.

Among the highlights is a “gigapixel” look of the famous Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington, which allows viewers to even see spelling errors included in the masterpiece.

“Thousands of people have walked these halls and gazed at the artwork,” said First Lady Michelle Obama in an introductory video (see below). “And now you can do all of that without leaving your home.”

This article was also published in Potomac Tech Wire.

Related links:

The White House – You’re Invited To Take a Virtual Tour of the White House

The White House blog – Go Behind the Scenes as Google “Captures” the White House

Google – Museum View of art in the White House

Photo by Flickr user Yampy Yankee High Dynamic Ranger, used under Creative Commons license

 

SkipIt lets viewers pay to not watch online ads

By
digitalmediawi
-
2

Is 30 seconds of your time worth a dime? SpotXchange thinks so. The online video ad firm has unveiled SkipIt, a membership micropayments service that lets web viewers chip in 10 cents or less to skip over a video ad.

Publishers still get paid, an amount SkipIt said is typically a higher CPM than if they had actually run the video ad.  Advertisers get credited for each skipped impression and can expect better performance on the video ads viewers do choose to watch, the company said.

SpotXchange said online video ads have an abandonment rate of between 16-37 percent, which shows how much viewers don’t like sitting through random ads. It also wastes advertiser’s money, since in effect they’re paying to irritate consumers.

According to SpotXchange CEO Mike Shehan, advertisers don’t like forced viewing either. “If someone is a good match and they are willing to watch the ad, then great. That’s an impression they are willing to pay handsomely for,” he wrote in an open letter. “But if the consumer is so annoyed that they are willing to pay to skip, then they don’t want to risk the negative brand equity associated with forcing the user to watch the ad.”

Shehan said the SkipIt invitation to skip the playing ad is already presented to users more than 20 million times a day on many different websites. Among the publishers and partners that have signed on so far are FilmAnnex, Happy Tree Friends, IDG TechNetwork, CineSport, OneScreen, and several Meredith Corp. sites like Better Homes and Gardens and Family Circle.

Users get five free skips when they sign up with SkipIt and get another free skip for each dollar they put in their account, with each skip otherwise costing 10 cents.

Other companies are working on ways to improve content monetization using video ads too. For example, Solve Media offers Pre-Roll Insurance, which credits advertisers when viewers answer a question to skip an ad. Publicis VivaKi has The Pool, a more complicated system in which viewers choose which ad to watch.

Related links:

http://www.spotxchange.com

http://www.skipit.com

SpotXchange blog – Introducing…SkipIt!!!

SpotXchange blog – open letter from CEO Mike Shehan

Photo by Flickr user 401K, used under Creative Commons license

Dragonplay closes $14 million for social games [with adorable promo video]

By
digitalmediawi
-
0

Free-to-play social games developer Dragonplay has raised $14 million in Series A funding led by Accel Partners, with participation by Founder Collective and Entrée Capital. Adam Valkin, partner at Accel Partners, has joined the company’s board of directors.

Dragonplay is best known for Live Holdem Poker Pro, demonstrating the company’s focus on social game experiences in the cards, casino and board game category. The investment will be used to expand its portfolio of Android and Facebook games, launch on new platforms including iOS, and grow its team and game development capacity. It may also consider studio acquisitions.

Headquartered in Tel Aviv, Dragonplay was founded in 2010 by Sharon Tal and was one of the first social gaming companies to focus on Android. Its most recent games, released in 2011, are Live BlackJack, Farm Slots and Sea Battle in 2011.

“Dragonplay benefits directly from the spectacular growth of Android (estimated at more than 800,000 new activations per day), the emergence of smartphones as a primary gaming platform and the impressive growth of the virtual goods market,” Accel Partners’ Valkin said. “This together with Dragonplay’s cross-platform approach and the team’s excellent performance to date suggests that the company is well positioned to continue its rapid growth.”

Related links:

Dragonplay – press release

http://www.dragonplay.com

http://www.accel.com

http://entreecap.com

http://foundercollective.com

 

Anti-bully law could turn trolls into criminals

By
digitalmediawi
-
6

A bipartisan bill designed to stop online bullying has raised the specter of Internet censorship. The well-intended legislation, which has already passed through Arizona’s legislature, is drafted in a way that many feel could stifle political satire, friendly sports trash-talking, and other everyday types of communication.

Arizona House Bill 2549 currently awaits the signature of Gov. Jan Brewer. It basically takes Arizona’s existing law against annoying, offensive, harassing and threatening phone calls and broadens it to encompass anything online.

Comedy Central’s Indecision blog, which has a personal and professional interest in free speech, noticed the law and remarked, “See if you can use your experience of having visited the comments section of any blog, on any site, at any time in the history of the Internet to spot potential problems in the legislation….”

Media Coalition, a trade group protecting the First Amendment rights of content industries, has been campaigning against the bill throughout the process. In a March 29 letter to Gov. Brewer it wrote: “Bill Maher’s stand up routines and Jon Stewart’s nightly comedy program, Ann Coulter’s books criticizing liberals and Christopher Hitchens’ expressions of his disdain for religion, Stephen King’s novels or the Halloween films all could be subject to this legislation. Even common taunting about sports between rival fans done online is frequently meant to offend or annoy, and is often done using salty and profane language.”

UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh is another who is making his concerns known. Explaining that the bill amounts to censorship and may even be unconstitutional, he wrote on his Volokh Conspiracy blog that telephones communicate on a one-to-one basis, so an offensive phone call is probably intended to be offensive to the listener. “But computers used to post Facebook messages or send Twitter messages or post blog items can offend some listeners while persuading and informing others,” he pointed out.

The body of the bill reads:
“It is unlawful for any person, with intent to terrify, intimidate, threaten, harass, annoy or offend, to use any electronic or digital device and use any obscene, lewd or profane language or suggest any lewd or lascivious act, or threaten to inflict physical harm to the person or property of any person. It is also unlawful to otherwise disturb by repeated anonymous electronic or digital communications the peace, quiet or right of privacy of any person at the place where the communications were received.”

Reps. Ted Vogt and Vic Williams, both R-Tucson, are the main sponsors of the bill, with support from House Minority Leader Chad Campbell (D-Phoenix), Assistant House Minority Leader Steve Farley (D-Tucson) and Rep. Terri Proud (R-Tucson).

Related links:

Arizona House Bill 2549 – text of bill

Arizona House Bill 2549 – legislative history

Comedy Central’s Indecision – Arizona Bill Criminalizes Every Internet Comments Section, Ever

Comic Book Legal Defense Fund – Arizona Legislature Passes Sweeping Electronic Speech Censorship Bill

Phoenix Business Journal – Online bullying bill puts national spotlight on Arizona Legislature

Phoenix New Times – Arizona Legislature Apparently Trying to Criminalize Being Annoying on the Internet

Media Coalition – Arizona House Bill 2549: Bill to Censor Electronic Speech

Photo by Flickr user johnsnape, used under Creative Commons license

 

RealNetworks promotes Wan to CFO and treasurer

By
digitalmediawi
-
0

RealNetworks Inc. has promoted Tim M. Wan to chief financial officer and treasurer, effective April 18, 2012. He replaces Michael Eggers, who announced his resignation earlier this year.

Wan previously was vice president of finance. In that role he was responsible for budgeting, financial planning and analysis, SEC reporting and accounting. He was also involved in RealNetworks’ divesting of Rhapsody and its acquisition of WiderThan.

Before that, Wan served as general manager of business planning for Real Networks’ consumer division, where he helped launch RealNetworks SuperPass and its music and games businesses. He joined RealNetworks from JP Morgan Chase.

“After a thorough internal and external search, we are very pleased to promote Tim — a seasoned RealNetworks veteran — to the position of chief financial officer,” said Thomas Nielsen, chief executive officer and president of RealNetworks. “He knows RealNetworks’ business inside and out, has demonstrated superb leadership in driving our strategic planning and has developed a world-class finance organization. We are indeed fortunate to have him step into this role as we continue on our path toward creating RealNetworks 2.0.”

Related links:

RealNetworks – press release

http://www.real.com

http://www.realnetworks.com

Photo by Flickr user mightykenny, used under Creative Commons license

Plink raises angel funding for Facebook Credits loyalty perks

By
digitalmediawi
-
0

Plink, which awards Facebook Credits to users who patronize its restaurant and retail partners, announced angel investment of $633,000 on a pre-money valuation of $5 million. Among the participants are digital advertising company Matomy Media Group and angel investment firm Ahlborg Acquisitions.

Plink launched earlier this year, and last week added Arby’s Restaurant Group to its roster of partners that includes 7-11, Dunkin’ Donuts, Quiznos, Red Robin and Taco Bell.

“We’ve attracted a team of innovative and savvy investors who recognize the enormous potential of Plink’s online-to-offline loyalty platform,” said Peter Vogel, co-founder of Plink. “Facebook Credits are proving to be the missing ingredient that bridges the gap between social media marketing and offline sales.”

Related links:

http://www.plink.com

http://www.matomy.com

http://www.ahlborgacquisitions.com

 

'Angry Birds' slingshot into animated shorts and movie [with video]

By
digitalmediawi
-
0

One of the mysteries vexing today’s digital natives is, “Why are the Angry Birds so angry?” The latest project from Rovio, which was announced at MIPTV on Sunday, may explain that the answer goes deeper than the obvious egg-stealing nature of the pigs.

Nick Dorra, Rovio’s head of animation (pictured), said the company is going to roll out a weekly shortform animation series later this year. During his Media Mastermind keynote speech, he said, “Angry Birds is not just about the gameplay, and will be in the future less and less about the slingshot, actually, and more and more about the characters.”

The series will be 52 3-minute episodes and is set to debut this fall. Dorra said this programming would further engage the over 700 million people who have downloaded the Angry Birds games, while giving Rovio a way to reach those who don’t play games.

The shorts also will lay the groundwork for a feature film that is early in development with former head of Marvel Studios David Maisel.

Noting the proven appeal of the characters beyond the physics-based digital destruction, Dorra said Rovio has sold more than 25 million plush toys and licensed more than 20,000 branded products.

Rovio is not limiting itself to birds and pigs, however. Dorra said the company was on track to reveal completely new intellectual property before the end of the year. “You can’t put all your Angry Birds and their eggs in one basket, otherwise the pigs will steal them,” he quipped.

Related links:

MIPTV – blog post

http://www.rovio.com

 

Report: U.S. IPO momentum continues with strong first quarter

By
digitalmediawi
-
0

New York – Building on momentum carried over from late last year, the U.S. IPO market generated its highest first-quarter volume since 2007, according to new figures from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

Forty-four IPOs raised $5.8 billion in the quarter, up from 33 IPOs the year before, though average deal size dropped 67 percent to $131 million.

Still, March saw three of the five highest first-day IPO returns since January 2011, which helped the IPO market produce day one returns in the quarter of 16 percent.

“We saw strong first quarter IPO volume and filing activity, which coupled with the increased investor interest in IPOs, bodes well for the year ahead,” said Henri Leveque, leader of PwC’s U.S. Capital Markets and Accounting Advisory Services. “The IPO pipeline remains healthy with a diverse range of companies exploring public launches…  Major IPO activity from some of the larger well-known technology players, including Facebook, will likely lend support to a host of smaller technology companies looking to enter the public markets.”

This article was also published in Potomac Tech Wire.

Related links:

PricewaterhouseCoopers – press release

http://www.pwc.com

Photo by Flickr user THRILLHO, used under Creative Commons license

1...844845846...1,575Page 845 of 1,575