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Eventful secures $10 million from Telefonica

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Eventful has raised $10 million from lead investor Telefónica and existing investors, Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Bay Partners.

Eventful will use the capital to extend its leadership position in the local events space through expanding sales and marketing, increasing its lead in the mobile channel and exploring international expansion opportunities.

“The strength and diversity of Eventful’s business, along with the proven ability of its executive team to create technologies that attract millions of users, make Eventful precisely the sort of investment we look for,” said Russ Shaw, Telefónica’s Global Director of Innovation.

Originally posted on October 15, 2008 @ 9:31 am

Digg gets $28.7 additional funding

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Kevin Rose’s Digg today received $28.7 million in additional funding from Highland Capital Partners, Greylock Partners, Omidyar Network and SVB Capital. The additional funding brings the total amount raised by Digg to $40 million.

The new funding would allow Digg to pursue its international expansion plan, promote its brand aggressively, and more than double its current size of employees.

The new funding should also put to rest any rumors of acquisition.

“We want to be independent,” Digg CEO Jay Adelson said.

Originally posted on September 24, 2008 @ 3:36 pm

Little Widgets Equal A Lot of Money

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Currently the largest widget syndicator service in the world, Clearspring has just secured an $18 million round of financing.  The company, which says it tracks 4 billion widgets a month,  plans to use the new-found cash to expand its viral marketing network and make more of an international push.

Publishers, developers and advertisers can spread their content over 80 social networks and track results – even making some money along the way.

From Honda automobiles to Snapple beverages to recording artist Radiohead, Clearspring widgets are used by a wide array of people and corporations.

Personally, I’ve used the widgets to help promote one of my podcasts.  While the player is customizable and sleek, I’ve always been disappointed that the audio will not play until 100% of the file is downloaded.

The company’s founding principals is to keep it simple, always improve, listen, adjust, and innovate – and basically, enjoy the ride.

Originally posted on May 21, 2008 @ 10:53 am