Fast-growing video ad network VideoEgg raises $15 million worth of funds from Focus Ventures and previous investors WPP, Maveron, and August.

Founded in 2005, San Francisco-based VideoEgg delivers video solutions for online networks, providing users tools that make video editing, posting, serving and sharing fast and easy. Along with this, they also deliver ways to integrate advertising within user-generated videos.

Serving over 20 million videos a day, VideoEgg continues to grow its network of, not only users, but partners as well.

Microsoft launches Silverlight, their very own Flash-like platform that allows for multi-media streaming across all major browsers and operating systems.

A plugin-download, Silverlight promises to deliver high-quality videos and rich interactive applications both on Mac OS, and Windows. Also, Microsoft is reported to be working on Moonlight, a Linux-supported version of Silverlight.

With Silverlight’s launch are various partners that will use the platform to provide content such as Entertainment Tonight, HSN, and World Wrestling Entertainment.

While Mark Zuckerberg is still facing charges made by three of his Harvard classmates who claim to be the original founders of the ever controversial Facebook, another claimant makes himself known.

Aaron Greenspan, 24, also a Harvard classmate, claims he’s the real founder of the billion dollar social network, presenting email messages, including ones that have Zuckerberg’s responses, to strengthen his claim.

NY Times reports that six months before Facebook and ConnectU were launched, Greenspan created an online service entitled houseSYSTEM which thousands of Harvard students used for school-related purposes. In Greenspan’s houseSYSTEM, “the Face Book” is a feature that allows users to locate other students within the network. Zuckerberg was one of the users. Four months later, Zuckerburg launches “thefacebook.com”

While Greenspan is not pressing financial charges, he wasn’t at peace with how things turned out. Hence, as a last word, he’s written a 306-page unpublished autobiography entitled “Authoritas: One Student’s Harvard Admissions” which documents the story behind his “search for justice”.

“This book is partly a search for justice,” he wrote in the introduction of Authoritas. “You don’t write an autobiography in your early 20s unless there’s something you need to get off your chest.”

Zuckerberg was reported to be not available for an interview, saying he was not sure how to respond.

BMW is taking Google to the roads. A first of its kind, BMW now offers Google local search functionality in the car, allowing BMW car owners to search for local information on their dashboards, wherever they are. Or at least wherever in Germany they are.

This new BMW service allows car owners instant search for relevant on-the-road information such as names and addresses of hotels, banks, restaurants, and universities, among others — a development that bridges the gap between the automobile and the internet. Apparently, this is another step to the “ConnectDrive” initiative by BMW which “combines all individual online, assistance and service systems in the car”

While the service is only available in Germany, the idea is to expand it statewide. Also, what are the chances that the service becomes available across other car makes? Not far from happening.

Yahoo comes up with their very own social job network that, no doubt, will be another major rival to Facebook and LinkedIn — the Yahoo Kickstart.

This new venture is founded with their goal to create a venue for college students to connect with potential employers, alumni, as well as other striving professionals, as they “kickstart” their careers in whatever industry they’re interested in. Yahoo is currently conducting a survey among college students on what they expect and how they perceive the service.

Just like other social networks, members get to have their own profile page which, like Linkedin, is more focused on building up members professionally rather than socially. Yahoo Kickstart will also have university channels where users can interact with alumni of their own alma matter, as well as company pages that provide relevant information about a certain company that they may be interested to know. There’s no mention yet of when the network will be launched.

Via CNET.

Comparison shopping search engine TheFind.Com buys out female-powered startup Glimpse.com to add to its growing empire of shopping guide sites.

Based in Moutain View CA, TheFind continues its mission to deliver comprehensive results that would lead online shoppers to the right places through a technology they call “Product Ranking Engine.” With Glimpse reaching the cut for Time Magazine’s 50 Best Websites for 2007, this female shopping site is definitely an added asset as it continues to make fashion shopping easy to the vast female market across the web.

TheFind.com was launched last fall, and Glimpse.com just last April. There was no disclosure as to the amount of the buyout is concerned.

Fast growing online video site Dailymotion has raised $34 million in second round of funds, led by Advent Venture Partners (London) and AGF Private Equite (Paris).

Launched in 2005, this France-based startup is said to have overtaken YouTube last May as the number one online video site in France. Getting 3.2 million unique users in US, it also ranked second to the online video giant the same month. Dailymotion has just launched in US officially last June.

Now with the available funds, Dailymotion has more room to further enhance their service (YouTube beware!) and to address more content copyright concerns. They are reported to be working out on deals with content providing companies, as well as media companies such as TF1 and Viacom.

Remember when former Amazon executive Jason Kilar joined NBC Universal / News Corp to head an unnamed online video venture that is said to be the next big YouTube rival?

The unnamed video site is not unnamed anymore. Kilar has finally broken the silence and announced the coming of Hulu.com. Hu-what?

Hulu.com is NBC and News Corp’s “ambitious” venture into the world of online video programming which is set to go on beta this coming October. For now, they have announced the name. “Why Hulu?,” Kilar said in the site’s first official release, “Objectively, Hulu is short, easy to spell, easy to pronounce, and rhymes with itself. Subjectively, Hulu strikes us as an inherently fun name, one that captures the spirit of the service we’re building. Our hope is that Hulu will embody our (admittedly ambitious) never-ending mission, which is to help you find and enjoy the world’s premier content when, where and how you want it.”

Much is still unknown, but at the moment, Hulu.com is accepting sign ups for the site’s private beta. And if the images that adorn the site’s splash page could speak for itself, we can perhaps expect videos (full-length, I hope) from among the latest TV programs today such as Heroes, Family Guy, Friday Night Lights, Simpsons, and K-Ville, among others.

In spite of Kilar’s explanation, I still wonder how the name “hulu” materialized and how “it captures the spirt of the service”. But HU am I to judge? HU knows, HULU could be the next household name in the online video world — this I’ve got to see. (After all, HUever questioned why Google was named such?)

Update. Interestingly, Michael Arrington did a little investigation on the term “hulu” and got these findings. Hmm. Rename, quick.

Online photo and video sharing site Photobucket reaches 50 million users today, as announced on the website’s blog.

Founded in 2003 and recently acquired by Fox Interactive July of this year, this Denver-based startup is among the leading sites that allows for uploading, sharing, searching, and embedding photos, videos, and graphics.

Once a simple online platform for photo storage, Photobucket has indeed evolved to a full-blown one-stop photo (and video) shop with its huge online database of stocked photos and videos, as well as an online store where you can request to have your photos printed on shirts, mugs, calendars, stickers, posters and more.

To celebrate this milestone, Photobucket is giving away 10 free 4×6 prints to members as a gesture of thanks. All you have to do is to visit their online store, pick the photos you want printed out, and fill up information for shipping payments purposes.

YouTube inks deal with MCPS-PRS Alliance, a UK-based music community of over 50,000 composers, songwriters and publishers, whose database is now bursting with about 10 million music pieces for both personal and business-related purposes.

This agreement to license MCPS-PRS music files to YouTube is said to be the first of its kind. There was no disclosure as to how much the amount of the deal is.

The deal is just one of YouTube’s initiatives to address the ongoing concerns about illegal music distribution online. YouTube pays a flat rate, and the music alliance comes up with a way to share revenues to its members according to, say, the number of times their music is played on the site. With this latest development, it won’t be a surprise to see more video and music sharing sites to follow suit.