The Knot Inc. has acquired The Bump Media Inc., publisher of The Bump local magazine and website dedicated to pregnancy and first-time parents. The acquisition further enhances The Knot Inc.’s mission of helping couples at key lifestages connect with the content and services they need. This addition also provides the baby and maternity advertisers in The Knot local network an increased opportunity to reach this important market.
The Bump local magazines are detailed guides to the local maternity and baby scene in 11 top tier markets: Los Angeles, New York, Orange County, San Diego, Phoenix, Denver, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Seattle, and Portland. These convenient, digest-size publications are included in the prenatal packs that are provided to expecting moms at over 750 premier OB/GYNs and 100 high-end retail outlets across the country.
Me.dium released new versions of its web browser add-on that are compatible with Mozilla Firefox 3.0 and the Songbird Media Player. The new versions extend the compatibility of Me.dium’s add-on software to almost all of the major Web browsers including Internet Explorer 7 and Mozilla Firefox 3, as well as Flock and Songbird.
Me.dium is a real-time, social browsing application that enables users to surf the web with friends, see popular sites online and discover new people and places based on the activity of others. By extending its compatibility across the different web browsers, Me.dium is able to open its doors to expand its community and enable users to surf together regardless of what browser the user chooses.
MySpace, in cooperation with the Department of Defense’s Armed Forces Entertainment and America Supports You program, announced the launch of Operation MySpace, a landmark concert event designed to bring troops serving in Kuwait a taste of home and enable the MySpace community to show their support for troops serving overseas.
On March 10, MySpace Co-Founders Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe, along with some of today’s most popular musical acts, will participate in a 3-hour plus MySpaceLive! concert in Kuwait that will be streamed in high definition flash video using Kulabyte’s XStream Live Solutions exclusively on the official Operation MySpace profile. The MySpace community can watch the entire concert webcast starting at 11a.m. PT/ 2 p.m. ET.
Starting today, the Operation MySpace profile (http://myspace.com/operationmyspace) will serve as a communication hub where troops’ families and friends, along with the entire MySpace community, can post videos and messages of support via a video blog section. The profile will also feature a scrolling ticker of goodwill messages uploaded to the community during the live stream. A condensed 1-hour version of the show, featuring the best and most stirring moments, will be nationally broadcast on FX on April 12.
Overall, 81% of Australians are generally happy with their Internet and mobile phone service. More than that, about 60% said they will not switch to other Internet service providers.
Unfortunately, Australian farmers do not share the same sentiment. In the latest study by Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), this group is less satisfied about these services compared to small to medium business owners.
Poor speed is to blame why about a quarter of Aussie farmers are dissatisfied with Internet service. Given the growing importance of Internet, 70% say broadband access is a very essential service in the future.
On the other hand, 35% are not happy with mobile phone services due to drop-outs, poor call quality and interference. It’s worse in Western Australia where 44% of the farmers are complaining about this service.
Spying days are not yet over for the Germans. Now, it gets more advanced as Germany’s highest court decided to allow limited Internet surveillance in situations where lives are in danger or possible attacks to the country.
Based on the decision of the Constitutional Court, a judge must first approve any plans of online surveillance to suspected individuals or groups. It also prohibits any intelligence agencies to use information if it is connected to private lives.
This decision has reversed the law used in the western state of North-Rhine Westphalia in 2006 which allow the government absolute power to hack the computers of suspected terrorists.
Though this is less severe than the previous law, there are still concerns about abuse of privacy considering the dark past of Germany such as the Nazis and the communist rule. Another problem very visible here is the drafting of “clear guidelines†which could open up multitude of debates.
Crackle, a Sony Pictures Entertainment company, announced that Jonathan Shambroom will take over leadership as senior vice president and General Manager of the video entertainment company and will lead the company’s continued growth as it debuts new and original online short-form videos from Sony Pictures Television (SPT).
Crackle also announced they will have the exclusive debut window for new Sony Pictures Television distributed original short-form programming for new media, such as the new series. In addition to exhibiting content from outside producers, including the new upcoming SPT original short for program The Roadents, a flash-animated improvisational comedy described as “The Odd Couple†meets “Easy Riderâ€, Crackle will continue to develop programming in house from Crackle Studios. Crackle Studios incubates cutting edge and original talent from the Web to the living room.
Shambroom has overseen product development and marketing for the company since September, 2005. A proven product innovator, he has built category-defining products in the consumer entertainment space for 15 years. Previously, he was EVP, Products for Jumpstart, which launched Tagged.com and incubated Hi5.com. Prior successes include Evite.com, When.com and PF Magic, which were acquired by IAC, AOL, and Mattel, respectively.
Magnify.net has secured an additional $1 million dollars in financing. Proceeds from the round will be used to expand customer acquisition efforts, increase staffing for its Ad Share ad network, and continue to innovate in the technology that is evolving video into a community-centric solution for web publishers. Magnify.net lets people easily and instantly create and run online, “themed” TV stations as a destination or an extension to an existing corporate or personal web site.
The new round included all existing investors including Next Stage Capital, New York Angels, Rose Tech Ventures, Active Angel Investors, and a number of individual investors including Chris Anderson. Joining in this round were new investors Ogden Capital and Gideon Gartner, founder of The Gartner Group.
Unlike typical social networks that host video and connect people, Magnify.net provides the tools and resources to discover, review, organize and broadcast themed video – regardless of where it’s hosted.
Last.fm launched a new section called “Build.last.fmâ€, a gallery promoting the growing number of Last.fm third-party applications that extend the Last.fm experience across the web.
Built by fans and partners of the social music discovery network, “Build.last.fm†organizes and showcases the many Last.fm applications and widgets tÅ“hat have been developed using the site’s open platform architecture and free webservice tools, which have been available since 2003.
Last.fm estimates that activity around third-party applications on other websites added 19 million music fans to its user base in January, in addition to the 21 million active users engaging with the Last.fm site itself.
Disappointing news to all hopeful creative minds in the online community. According to Reuters, the debut of online movie quarterlife to TV screen has flopped. And what’s more heartbreaking is that it is the worst rating of NBC for that time slot since 1987.
Based on the data from Nielsen Media Research, quarterlife has managed to get only 1.3 rating or 3.1 million viewers in the age bracket 18-49 years old for the 10 PM segment. It’s very low compared to NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” with rating of 4.5 and 12 million viewers for the same time slot.
Sad to say, this dismal performance might trigger the early termination of quarterlife in the TV screen. The problem is this will discourage other major networks to follow this strategy and open the door to aspiring talents thriving in the online world.
One angle for this poor performance is viewer fatigue since this made-for-Internet series is already shown online and cable network MTV even aired it after its NBC premiere.
Call it press release, but NBC still believe this venture is “worth a try†and the network will continue to experiment on new models. Moreover, the network has confirmed quarterlife is still on schedule for now. How long will run will be based on its succeeding performance.
Jupitermedia Corporation has launched ITChannelPlanet.com, a new content and community site that provides strategic intelligence for IT partners. Channel industry veteran Al Senia heads up the site that features the latest industry developments in the Channel, Business, Enterprise, Networking, Security and Technology sectors, as well as a blog, commentary and IT Job boards.
Overall, 81% of Australians are generally happy with their Internet and mobile phone service. More than that, about 60% said they will not switch to other Internet service providers. 
Spying days are not yet over for the Germans. Now, it gets more advanced as Germany’s highest court decided to 
Disappointing news to all hopeful creative minds in the online community. According to 
