Roundup: Cuts at One Laptop Per Child, Yahoo takeover plans and more
Here’s the latest action:
One Laptop Per Child cuts 50 percent of staff — The group says it is refocusing its efforts and that the remaining 32 team members are facing salary cuts.
Investment group eyes Yahoo takeover — Silicon Valley executives and investment bankers are putting together a takeover deal that would be largely financed by debt from Microsoft, according to TechCrunch.
Google’s Eric Schmidt wishes he could save newspapers — But he says there’s no clear solution yet, and… Continue Reading
Roundup: Layoffs hit Revision3, Google Earth on the iPhone and more
Here’s the latest action:
Layoffs hit Revision3 — A number of shows are leaving the online video network or have been canceled.
Google Earth now available for the iPhone – The Google Earth Blog declares that the new iPhone app is “awesome.”
Microsoft opens Surface to third-party developers — The goal is to find the “killer app” for Microsoft’s tabletop computer.
AOL to use Brightcove video player — The move marks a shift in AOL’s strategy, because it has spent the last… Continue Reading
TC50: Ashton Kutcher thinks online content and television are merging and Blah Girls is a part of that
Original video content online has a stigma attached to it. Although it is original, it’s generally thought to be a lower form of content than the stuff made in Hollywood. While that used to be because much of it was user generated or amateur content, we’re seeing more Hollywood players such a Seth MacFarlane (the creator of the Fox show Family Guy) getting involved in its creation. Still, the stigma remains. But if Ashton Kutcher,… Continue Reading
MediaDefender: Defending you from online media
Online video site Revision3 was knocked offline over this past Memorial Day weekend by a denial of service attack. Normally, when you hear about such attacks, it’s a hacker or group of hackers attempting to take down a high-profile site to make some sort of statement. This case was a little bit different. It was started by an anti-piracy group.
The situation, as laid out by Revision3 chief executive Jim Louderback on the company’s blog details… Continue Reading
Roundup: A Silicon Valley start-up television show, FBI posts fake hyperlinks to snare child porn suspects and more
A Silicon Valley start-up television show — A Silicon Valley public access channel (KMTV Channel 15) will debut a new series next month dealing with the “trials, tribulations and successes” of various start-ups and their VC-backers. The show is produced by the nonprofit Silicon Valley Association of Startup Entrepreneurs and will be called “Silicon Valley Entrepreneur”. Look for it every Tuesday at 9pm starting April 1. [via VentureWire]
FBI posts fake hyperlinks to snare child porn suspects —… Continue Reading
Roundup: Facebook IPO talk, the video firehose, Ning’s ridiculous valuation & more
Here’s the latest action (updated):
Airborne mash-up: lawn chair travels 193 miles –Oregon resident Kent Couch tried to fly to Idaho last weekend — in an apparatus made out of his lawn chair carried by 105 large helium balloons. He carried instruments to measure altitude and speed, and also a parachute. He didn’t make it, though. (Image courtesy of AP)
More adult supervision at Facebook — Chamath Palihapitiya, a former AOL executive turned venture capital investor at the… Continue Reading
Revision3 raises $8M more for niche TV
Revision3, a San Francisco company creating high-quality video shows on niche topics, has raised $8 million more from investors.
Like several other companies, including Podtech (see our coverage) and Next New Networks (our coverage), its seeks to exploit the trend toward niche video viewing. Revision3’s own slant has been toward serial content, with regular hosts of shows lasting between 20 minutes and an hour. They include the geek show “Diggnation,” and cooking show “Ctrl-Alt-Chicken.” The idea… Continue Reading
Next New Networks gets funding — for another niche video play
Next New Networks is the latest company to launch a niche content strategy — this time, online TV sites tailored to specific themes.
The New York company has received $8 million in a first round of funding from Spark Capital, an East Coast venture capital firm focused on media companies.
The logic is clear. Advertisers like niche sites. Nothing really new here, so this investment is not very surprising. The only question is, why does it need… Continue Reading
PodShow raises $15M more for….podcasting. Yikes!
Podshow, a company that promotes podcasts and finds sponsors for them, has raised $15 million more in a second round of venture capital from its big-name investors, following up on $8.85 million in a first round last summer.
Dan Primack has the scoop.
This is, frankly, surprising, because the business model still hasn’t been proven for this medium. This is a lot of money. There are other players out there, too, like Odeo (funding from Charles River… Continue Reading
Digg founders launch Revision3, a new video studio
Updated
Jay Adelson and Kevin Rose, the co-founders of the news ranking site Digg, have started yet another company. Called Revision3, it is an Internet video production house that will exploit the trend toward TV viewing via mobile phone and podcasting.
Digg chief executive Jay Adelson will be interim chief executive of the new company, he told VentureBeat in a briefing last week.
It is the outgrowth of Internet video activities they’ve been developing on the side. They’ve… Continue Reading