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Archives for August 2008

Microsoft acquires Greenfield Online for $486 million

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Microsoft is buying Greenfield Online, an Internet surveying company, for $486 million.

The deal is expected to strenghten Microsoft’s presence in European search. It is also Microsoft’s largest acquisition since abandoning its bid for Yahoo.

“We are investing heavily in EMEA because we see this as an interesting market for us and an opportunity to provide better services to consumers,” John Mangelaars, Microsoft’s vice-president for consumer and online services in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said.

StudioNow raises $2.38 million to accelerate growth

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StudioNow, the online source for creating professional-quality videos, today announced that it has secured $2.38 million in private equity funding from existing investors and Clayton Associates.

Clayton Associates’ additional capital infusion in StudioNow brings the total Series A investment in the company to $4.1 million. Clayton Associates has more than 13 years of private equity experience and more than $175 million in committed capital in four funds. Its investments are focused on early stage and expansion stage companies in media and communications, healthcare services and technology and diversified services, as well as selected real estate ventures.

“StudioNow is very pleased to welcome this investment from Clayton Associates, which will help carry the company to the next level in order to meet the increased demand for our online video services,” said David Mason, CEO, StudioNow.

Recent announcements from StudioNow have included agreements for providing StudioNow online video creation services to a variety of online advertising, software and music industry partners, including Clear Channel Radio, CBS Radio, CitySearch, Sony Creative Software and Athlon Sports, among others.

Burst Media launches wellness network

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Burst Media has launched the Burst Wellness Network, targeting women 35 years and older who frequently look to the Internet for information related to health, beauty, natural living, and fitness.

The Burst Wellness Network is comprised of more than 120 web sites that target women 35 years and older – the decision-maker for many household purchases. The Network delivers 54 million ad impressions and allows health and beauty marketers to engage an active and growing consumer demographic to whom the Internet is an essential information resource.

Many of the websites in the Burst Wellness Network have been pre-qualified to run custom advertising creative and rich media ad units like expandables, in-banner video, as well as customer sponsorships and placements.

This move is obviously to hit the ever-growing market of women.

Steve Jobs obituary mistakenly sent out by Bloomberg

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CNET is reporting that an electronic gaffe at news outlet Bloomberg mistakenly sent an incomplete obituary for Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

The wire also listed suggested contacts for extensive story on the Apple chief, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, Guy Kawasaki, among others.

The obituary said that Jobs “helped make personal computers as easy to use as telephones, changed the way animated films are made, persuaded consumers to tune into digital music, and refashioned the mobile phone.”

New Friendfeed Widgets Available

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Social activity aggregator FriendFeed has launched a new set of embeddable widgets, enabling blog owners to keep their readers informed of their every move.

Among the widgets: A FriendFeed Badge to show off the services you use and your recent FriendFeed activity; A FriendFeed Feed Widget that let’s you embed your feed or a room’s feed on your blog or Web site; And the FriendFeed Chicklet, the most compact way to link your site’s visitors to your FriendFeed.

Aside from getting your readers more involved with your activities, you can also share stores and conduct more customizations than ever before.

Access the new goodies here.

QuickBooks Online integrated with iPhone and Blackberry

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Intuit announced the integration of iPhone and BlackBerry to QuickBooks Online, the web-based small business accounting software.

Now the more than 130,000 small businesses that subscribe to QuickBooks Online have even more freedom to manage their business anywhere, anytime– even without a computer. These early version web-based mobile applications are part of Intuit’s Connected Services strategy to help entrepreneurs connect to their data when and where they need it.
Available on IntuitLabs.com, these iPhone and BlackBerry applications help QuickBooks Online users get an up-to-date view of their finances by:

• Checking current bank and credit card balances.
• Tracking who owes them money and who they owe.
• Finding vendor and customer contact info with addresses via Google Maps.
• Running balance sheet and profit and loss reports.

Filed Under: Web