Strands launches first lifestreaming iPhone app
Strands has become the first “lifestreaming” company to get an app in Apple’s iPhone App Store. Like other aggregator services, including FriendFeed and socialmedian, Strands’ web service (in beta) lets you share your activity on Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and many other sites, and see what your friends on Strands are sharing.
The company’s new iPhone app is very young, even though it can claim the distinction of “first.” For the time being, it’s primary use is… Continue Reading
Roundup: Job report hurts stocks, BlackBerry reviews surface and more
Here’s the latest action:
Increase in joblessness spurs stock decline — After the Labor Department reported that applications for jobless benefits exceeded expectations, the Dow fell more than 80 points.
Reviews surface on BlackBerry Storm — CNET’s verdict: The touchscreen is nice, but corporate users are better served by the BlackBerry Bold.
AT&T funds privacy nonprofit — The Future of Privacy’s backing from the telecom giant is just one reason why GigaOM’s Stacey Higginbotham is skeptical that the nonprofit group actually… Continue Reading
Blackberry awards $150K to three mobile apps
Blackberry Partners Fund has awarded $150,000 prizes to three makers of applications designed to work on the BlackBerry handheld.
And the winners are:
Multiplied Media’s Poynt search service, which uses GPS to connect users with local businesses
Strands’ Social Player, a social-networking music player that connects users and recommends songs based on their tastes, soon to be released
Nobex Technologies’ Radio Companion, an app that tells users what’s playing on 2,700 radio stations and gives them the… Continue Reading
Baynote, Strands, RichRelevance — will they survive the “recommendation engine” consolidation?
With all the “recommendation” technology companies out there fighting for business, you’d think this is a tough market to be in.
By some counts, there are at least 50 to 100 active companies in this area.
But some companies, including Strands, and apparently Baynote, say they are making revenue from their technology, though they won’t comment whether they’re profitable. Their recommendation engines offer up products, music or news articles to people based on their personal tastes.
They’re forging… Continue Reading
Strands loses Expensr founders six months after buying their company
At the end of April, Strands, a San Francisco company best known for its music recommendation engine and its $55 million of venture capital, announced that it had acquired the money management service, Expensr, under undisclosed terms. Within a month, a source tells us, Expensr’s founders moved on.
Expensr’s two founders, Reman Child and Shawn Gupta, had actually been at Strands for about six months, integrating Expensr’s service with Strands’ recommendation technology. The combined product, moneyStrands,… Continue Reading