StartupSearch

Welcome to the July 30 edition of the Startup Search Weekly Web Wrap-up. Each week we summarize news and announcements affecting the web technology ecosystem. In this week's issue: Digg signs a new ad partner, Twitter closes its first funding round, Sideshare adds audio, and Picnik shines in the spotlight.

Digg signs ad deal with Microsoft

Social news site Digg announced an advertising partnership with Microsoft AdCenter. Microsoft's advertising network will deliver highly targeted advertising from a deep inventory to Digg's over 17 million unique monthly visitors.

Twitter raises first round

Micro-publishing site Twitter announced its first round of funding led by Union Square Ventures, Charles River Ventures, and a group of angel investors. Twitter did not disclose the total size of the round or the full breadth of its investors.

Slideshare adds audio synchronization

Presentation sharing site Slideshare introduced SlideCasts: slide presentations with an accompanying audio track. Publishers who share their slide presentations online may now add MP3 audio to better describe their content.

Picnik featured in Wall Street Journal

Online photo-editing site Piknik was featured in Wall Street Journal columnist Walt Mossberg's Personal Technology column last week. Walt gave the site a glowing review, closing with "If you want to see how good a Web application can be, take Picnik for a spin." Site traffic to Picnik.com doubled in the two days after the favorable mention.

Welcome to the July 23 edition of the Startup Search Weekly Web Wrapup. Each week we summarize news and announcements affecting the web technology ecosystem. In this week's issue: Pageflakes introduces a social network, WordPress users get social face-to-face, and Facebook makes its first acquisition.

Pageflakes gets social

Personalized homepage company Pageflakes released a major update incorporating social networking features into each user's shared module pages. Pageflakes users can update a profile, share customized sets of homepage modules, and discover similar Pageflakes members. The new release also includes an updated user interface, themes, and improved support for Apple's Safari web browser.

WordPress users gather for WordCamp

Blog software startup Automattic hosted its second annual WordCamp conference in San Francisco last weekend. The two-day conference brought together 400 WordPress users and developers from around the world.

Facebook makes first acquisition

Social networking site Facebook announced the acquisition of desktop software company Parakey last week for an undisclosed amount. Founders Blake Ross and Joe Hewitt will work on the development of Facebook Platform.

Welcome to the July 16 edition of the Startup Search Weekly Web Wrapup. Each week we summarize news and announcements affecting the web technology ecosystem. In this week's issue: large financing rounds, measuring video and widgets, open financial data, and an online chat update.

Ning raises $44 million

Social network provider Ning announced a $44 million Series C investment led by Legg Mason hedge funds. Ning, formerly known as 24 Hour Laundry, was founded in October 2004 and operated for almost three years with funding from founder Marc Andreessen and a few outside angels.

Quantcast tracks widgets and online video

Web metrics company Quantcast added support for video and widget metrics last week. Quantified video publishers will now have access to distribution statistics, audience demographics, total media consumption, and site overlaps.

Wesabe API

Online financial community Wesabe released its first API for authenticated memebers. The Wesabe API lets members download and manipulate data collected by Wesabe for processing in any script or application. Members now have direct access to proxied bank and credit card data collected by Wesabe in over 30 countries.

Meebo announces system statistics

Meebo announced updated usage statistics from across its online chat portfolio. Over 7.65 million screen names have been created on the service. The average user spends 65 minutes inside the web application per login. Meebo delivers over 126 million messages a day!

Welcome to the July 9 edition of the Startup Search Weekly Web Wrapup. Each week we summarize news and announcements affecting the web technology ecosystem. The Independence Day holiday slowed down startup release schedules but we still have some interesting news emerging from the trenches. In this week's issue: library milestones, large publishing partners, and executive replacements.

LibraryThing keeps growing

Book sharing site LibraryThing now catalogues over 15.7 million books with over 20 million tags. That makes the online community's virtual bookshelves the second largest collection in the United States, behind only the Library of Congress.

Widgetbox partners with Forbes

Widgetbox built branded feed widgets for publishing site Forbes.com. The Flash-based widgets may be embedded on personal homepages, social network profiles, blogs, and more. Widgetbox's online directory will feature Forbes content as a preferred partner.

Technorati management changes

Two members of Technorati's senior management team announced their resignation last week. VP Engineering, Adam Hertz, and Chief Technologist, Tantek Çelik, have left the company for consulting and other opportunities. The company continues its search for a new CEO.

Welcome to the July 2 edition of the Startup Search Weekly Web Wrapup. Each week we summarize news and announcements affecting the web technology ecosystem. In this week's issue: live Internet broadcasts of iPhone anticipation, how GPL v3 affects the Web, and Meebo finds new partners.

Apple iPhone lines streamed live

Apple released the iPhone last Friday at 6 p.m. ending months of anticipation from the technology community. Lines outside AT&T and Apple retail locations wrapped around the block as fans camped outside for days to be one of the first people in their city to own the new mobile computing device. Lifestreaming companies Justin.tv and Ustream.tv provided live capture and streaming distribution for a few fans waiting in line, attracting hundreds of thousands of viewers in the 24 hours before the phone went on sale.

GNU GPL v3

The Free Software Foundation released version 3 of the GNU General Public License on Friday, the first major update to the popular open source license in 16 years. The GPL license governs the use of the Linux kernel, compiler software, and 66% of open source software projects tracked by Freshmeat.net.

The latest version of the license addresses the intellectual property landscape, software patents, and compatibility with other open source licenses, among other issues. Companies shipping GPL-licensed software must not block or refuse to communicate with modified software. The new license affects companies such as TiVo and DRM providers from interfering with modifications. The new license also includes a software as a service clause and lets software authors specify additional restrictions and requirements for their contributions.

Meebo Rooms adds commercial partners

Web-based chat company Meebo upgraded its new Meebo Rooms product with support for paid member features and partner integration. The Meebo partners program hosts interactive chat rooms for partner brands such as Capitol Records, RockYou, and VH1. Partners can customize their chat room's look and feel with custom skins, receive increased room capacities, and can track traffic and advertising performance.