TicketLeap becomes first ticketing startup with reserved seating options (updated)

April 27, 2012 11:40 AM Sean Ludwig

Ticking startup TicketLeap has become the first ticketing startup to add a reserved seating feature and the ability to create custom seating charts, the company announced today.

While Ticketmaster has offered the ability to do this for event organizers and …

Check out the world’s longest invoice: $8.5M and counting

April 27, 2012 11:32 AM Jolie O'Dell

Jolie O'Dell

Freelancing has its upsides: flexible hours, working from wherever, calling the shots, and generally doing it for yourself. But there’s one major downside that almost no freelancer has escaped: the deadbeat client who refuses to pay an invoice.

That abhorrent …

Google Zerg rush attacks your search results with this fun Starcraft-inspired easter egg

April 27, 2012 10:32 AM Rob LeFebvre

Rob LeFebvre

Quick, get your trigger finger ready. Head over to Google.com and type “zerg rush” (without the quotes) into the search field. Clicking on the search icon or hitting return on your keyboard will cause the Google logo to drop tons …

Non-gamers, here’s why you should care about games

April 27, 2012 10:00 AM Tim Chang

Guest Post

As an early investor in social gaming, I’m often speaking on panels to audiences of gamers, investors, and game company execs. At one such event — the Future of Media conference hosted by Stanford’s Graduate School of Business — the …

Big Fish Games CEO hands reins back to founder Paul Thelen

April 27, 2012 9:47 AM Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi

Jeremy Lewis is stepping down as chief executive of casual game company Big Fish Games. Company founder Paul Thelen, who had previously served as chairman and chief strategy officer, will replace him.

Lewis (pictured above) did not offer a reason …

Why one company is making all its employees learn how to code

April 27, 2012 9:07 AM Michael Jaconi

Guest Post

The most successful companies are ones that are never satisfied with the status quo. They are too busy looking for ways to improve their products, personnel, and experience for their customers.

There are many approaches a company can take to …

Google’s millions at work: the YouTube founders are going on a hiring/acquiring spree

April 27, 2012 9:02 AM Jolie O'Dell

Jolie O'Dell

Chad Hurley and Steve Chen (pictured), founders of YouTube, have just received a cash infusion for their new company, AVOS.

The funding is the duo’s first institutional round, and it was led by (no surprise) Google Ventures and NEA, with …

Intuit to buy SMB marketing software player Demandforce for $423.5M

April 27, 2012 8:04 AM Sean Ludwig

Sean Ludwig

Business-software giant Intuit has agreed to acquire small-business marketing software firm Demandforce for $423.5 million in cash, the companies announced today.

Intuit, the maker of QuickBooks, TurboTax, and Quicken, will add Demandforce’s software-as-a-service offerings to its line up to make …

The DeanBeat: Follow the people. Follow the money. Into casino games.

April 27, 2012 8:00 AM Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi

When you’re tracking a hot trend or market, it’s always good to keep track of where the smart betting is happening. Follow the money. Follow the people.

I attempted to do that this week at the crowded Global iGaming Summit …

Casino games surpass farm games as the darlings of social networks

April 27, 2012 8:00 AM Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi

FarmVille took Facebook by storm in 2009 and gave rise to a sea of rival farm simulations. But those games have begun to decline, and they are giving way to social casino games according to research collected by analytics firm …

Samsung topples Nokia as top phone-maker, shipped 93M handsets in Q1

April 27, 2012 6:33 AM Sean Ludwig

Sean Ludwig

On top of hitting record quarterly profit in Q1, research firm Strategy Analytics says South Korea-based Samsung has also ended Finland-based Nokia’s 14-year run as the world’s top handset maker.

Strategy Analytics told Bloomberg that it estimates Samsung shipped 93.5 …

Viddy, the Instagram for video, raising $30M at a $300M+ valuation

April 27, 2012 5:44 AM Ben Popper

Ben Popper

If Instagram is worth an eye-popping one billion dollars, who’s to say the fast growing Viddy, which lets users easily record videos, apply filters and share with friends, isn’t on the same rocket ship trajectory.

The company, founded in April …

How IBM’s computers are blocking injuries on the rugby pitch

April 27, 2012 5:00 AM Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi

Nexon to publish A Bit Lucky’s Lucky Space in South Korea (exclusive)

April 27, 2012 5:00 AM Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi

Nexon, the online gaming giant that went public in December, plans to publish A Bit Lucky‘s Lucky Space social game in Korea.

The move is a boost for A Bit Lucky, a game startup in San Mateo, Calif., and it …

iPhone app downloads plummeted in March while marketing costs held steady

April 27, 2012 5:00 AM Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi

The number of iPhone app downloads crashed in March, but the cost of marketing those apps held steady according to the latest Fiksu index report.

Mobile app downloads fell by 30 percent, or 2 million downloads, in March and returned …

Two Angry Birds leaders leave the nest to start Boomlagoon (exclusive)

April 27, 2012 5:00 AM Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi

Antti Stén, the lead server architect for the original Angry Birds, and Tuomas Erikoinen, lead artist, have left Rovio to create a new game studio called Boomlagoon.

Nintendo CEO Iwata: No Wii U pricing at E3; digital downloads coming to 3DS and Wii U

April 26, 2012 10:35 PM Evan Killham

Evan Killham

During a financial results briefing today, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata announced that the company will not be revealing pricing for its upcoming Wii U console at next month's Electronic Entertainment Expo and outlined a new digital distribution model.

Samsung reports $4.4B record quarterly profit, up a staggering 82%

April 26, 2012 7:51 PM Sean Ludwig

Sean Ludwig

This Samsung kid really can sing. South Korean technology giant Samsung reported a record 5.05 trillion won ($4.45 billion) quarterly net profit for the first quarter, the company announced today.

If you’ve been paying attention, the record profit may not …