901am

New Media News Every Morning

Lulu sues Hulu

By

The big fuss on NBC’s chosen name for its much awaited YouTube rival, Hulu, has still not died down. And I don’t think it’s going to die down anytime soon.

Towards the end of August, CEO Jason Kilar, announced the launch of Hulu.com, after five months of being simply known as NBC’s “New Site”. Kilar did not do much explaining as to the origin of the name but simply stated in the site’s official release that they picked Hulu because it’s “short, easy to spell, easy to pronounce, and rhymes with itself.” Furthermore, he said that “Hulu strikes us as an inherently fun name, one that captures the spirit of the service we’re building.”

A lot of us would have just let it pass and watch from the sidelines how Kilar’s team would pull it off. After all, Hulu.com is still in private beta and has not laid down its aces just yet. Then again, that was before we knew what “Hulu” means in different translations, and that in Swahili, it means “cease and desist”.

The raised eyebrows following the announcement of Hulu.com should have been warned them enough. Apparently, a small internet publishing firm called Lulu Enterprises took NBC’s naming Hulu an unfair play. Filing a trademark infringement lawsuit against Hulu, Lulu’s founder Bob Young complains that “widespread consumer confusion will occur and Lulu will be irreparably harmed.” Team Hulu declined to comment as of the moment.

Now, Lulu vs. Hulu is up on the courts while the rest of the web awaits. Is the Swahili translation of Hulu really prophetic? Is this the point where NBC decides to let Hulu “cease and desist” and rename this much-awaited online video venture?

Via NYTimes

Active Network, online sports and recreational community, raises $65 million funding

By

The Active Network has raised a whopping $65 million worth of funds led by the Canaan Partners, backed up by ESPN and four other returning investors.

Based in San Diego, Active Network is an online community designed to reach out to active people whose interests include sports and recreational activities, lifestyle, nutrition, and fitness. It has the largest directory of facilities, venues and classes, and other recreation-related listings, and provides weekly and monthly newsletters, online tools, and related content. Being a social network in itself, members are also allowed to create personal profiles, upload videos, and interact with other members.

PEHub reports that, in an informal talk with Norman Dowling, Active’s CFO, the fund raised will be used to acquire more small niche sites instead of big ones that have already made a name for themselves.

Early iPhone buyers get $100 Apple store credits

By

steveweb.jpgThe iPhone craze has just gone crazier.

First, Apple launched a touch-screen wonder phone. Two months later, they dropped the price from $599 to $399 in time for the holidays. And now, about 24 hours later, they announce to give away $100 worth of store credit to early iPhone consumers who were, judging from the thousands of emails that came knocking at Apple’s inbox, upset of the sudden price drop.

“We need to do a better job taking care of our early iPhone customers as we aggressively go after new ones with a lower price,” Steve Jobs, Apple CEO, said. “Our early customers trusted us, and we must live up to that trust with our actions in moments like these.”

Visit Apple’s website (next week) for more credit details.

Multiply.com raises $16.6 million

By

Multiply.comSocial networking slash multi-media sharing site Multiply.com raises $16.6 million in its second round of funding, following its first round of $6 million more than three years ago when it was first launched.

With a slow start in 2003, this Florida-based startup slowly but steadily grew its market at the start of this year. Allowing users to share photos, videos, blogs, music, and other media with their network and with the rest of the world, Multiply was reported to get over 10 million unique visitors in August.

VentureBeat describes Multiply as a social network for 30-somethings, but from my end (being an avid user of the service myself), I can see a lot of young professionals and college students (early twenties) actively participating in the multiply scene. And now with this relatively large amount of VC funding, Multiply aims to expand their borders and enhance Multiply’s platform for better user experience.

Warner Brothers to launch animated virtual world T-Works

By

Joining the web2.0 scene is Warner Bros. Entertainment with its announcement of the new animated virtual world T-works that will come in spring 2008.

This initiative is to bring Warner Brother’s cartoon characters out of the television and movies and into the online community for fans of all ages. It will feature WB’s originally produced online series, games, customizable and personalized tools, comic books, consumer products, sitewide reward system, and more.

“T-Works fits perfectly with our overall digital strategy of creating original content online, as well as developing compelling consumer destinations,” said Bruce Rosenblum, President, Warner Bros. Television Group. “T-Works will not only provide a great collaborative opportunity for projects that bridge a number of divisions at the company, but it will also be an invaluable resource in developing and incubating properties that may transcend their online roots and live in other media.”

“T-Works will offer original entertainment content, social interaction and an intimacy with our beloved and iconic characters like never before in an environment that’s safe and appropriate for all ages,” said Lisa Judson, President, Warner Bros. Animation. “People have literally grown up with Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, the Flintstones and Scooby-Doo, and we’re building an innovative, creative, cutting-edge home where people of all ages can interact and play with our characters in a compelling entertainment environment.”

Know more about T-Works from WB’s official press release here.