115,000 social networks created on Ning: a meaningless stat?
updated below
Ning, a service that lets users create their own social networks, has passed a new milestone: Users have created more than 115,000 social networks, the company said.
But Ning’s efforts to build a real audience and retain it faces some serious challenges, and it’s not clear how it will ever get big enough to justify the massive $44 million investment it received earlier this year, which gave it a $214 million post-money valuation.
First, here’s what… Continue Reading
Oanda gets $100M for online currency trading for masses
Oanda, one of the first companies offering online currency trading for consumers, has received a $100 million second round of investment from firms including Legg Mason, Cascade Investment and NEA.
The currency trading market has been considered somewhat closed to small investors, having long been the haven of banks and large funds. Trading currency, despite its innate risk, can offer several advantages, including better tax rates and superior margins, when compared to trading stocks.
New York City’s… Continue Reading
Sermo links doctors to one another — and to investors
(UPDATED: See below.)
Cambridge, Mass.-based Sermo, an online social network with a twist, offers physicians the opportunity to ask for and offer advice free of charge. The catch: Well-heeled investors can pay to listen in.
Sermo, which just raised $26.7 million in a third funding round (details below), offers doctors the opportunity to share, discuss and vote on the importance of each others’ medical observations. The intriguing notion here is that doctors are likely to identify emerging trends… Continue Reading