VentureBeat:
Mark Pincus, chief executive of Zynga, said in a blog post today that his company is suspending the use of offers as a monetization option in the company’s games until a better way to police them is found.The decision stemmed from the launch of Zynga’s new game, FishVille, which had a couple of thousand users before it was (Read More)
paidContent.org:
You’ve got to hand it to Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis. They braved not one but at least two high-risk court actions to wrestle back the phone app they created seven years ago - and it’s they who emerge as winners from riday’s settlement.The entrepreneurs - one Swedish, one (Read More)
Valleywag:
After a long, hard, bloody, awful debate that brought out the worst in our national conversation, the Democratic health care package just passed by a House vote of 220-215. An anti-abortion federal funding amendment sealed the deal. So: now what? I don't know. The lone Republican "Yea" vote for the bill was Joseph Cao of Lo (Read More)
Silicon Alley Insider:
Matthew Garrahan, FT: News Corporation is paying more than $1m a month to rent an empty office complex in Los Angeles that it has been unable to sub-lease since scrapping an ambitious plan to move MySpace and its other digital businesses there.The company is locked into a 12-year lease worth about $350m that it signed in Au (Read More)
paidContent.org:
When Scripps Networks Interactive execs finally met with analysts Friday, CEO Ken Lowe called the acquisition of a majority stake the Travel Channel the worst-kept secret in M&A. Sorry, Ken, that distinction belongs to a deal being played out in the press with leaks that might (Read More)
TechCrunch:
As we prepare for our next RealTime CrunchUp on November 20th in San Francisco, we're seeing if anything an acceleration of the phenomenon known as RealTime. Startups, cloud platform vendors, the open standards community, and virtually every software and hardware category are being refreshed and reinvented in the new model. (Read More)
VentureBeat:
Stream Processors, a chip design firm focused on video processing, is shutting its doors and is engaged in an asset sale, VentureBeat has learned.Jack Horng, an officer for the company, said that Stream Processors will be formally shut in a month or so. The former chief executive, Chip Stearns, is forming a new company to a (Read More)
VentureBeat:
Here’s the latest from VentureBeat’s Entrepreneur Corner:Shoestring marketing for startups – Young companies typically don’t have the budget for a substantial marketing campaign, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. As you search for your niche and your company evolves, serial entrepreneur Scott Olson offers advice on th (Read More)
TechCrunch:
I’m in India this weekend with fellow TechCrunch/BusinessWeek writer Sarah Lacy. After we’re done with the elephant rides in Jaipur, we’re going to be meeting local tech startups. Then we head back to New Delhi to meet more aspiring entrepreneurs. Sarah is writing a book on how startup culture has gone global and I’m resear (Read More)
VentureBeat:
As a web generation, when we’re looking for a dentist, plumber, or other small business, our first instinct is to go online when we need these services. Sure, there’s Yellow Pages that can find a name, number and address, but as consumers we are used to more and these small businesses usually lack a formal online presence. (Read More)
TechCrunch:
Brizzly is on a roll right now. Just yesterday, it became the first web-based Twitter client to implement Lists, and last week it rolled out Facebook support. Today brings good news for its parent company: More funding.At the end of this month, Thing Labs will close a $600,000 round which is basically an extension of its Se (Read More)
VentureBeat:
VentureBeat is throwing a new mini-conference and networking event, DiscoveryBeat.DiscoveryBeat addresses one of the biggest conundrums for Silicon Valley’s most dynamic startups and developers: How to get your social game or mobile application noticed in an age of noise?It will be held in the afternoon of Dec. 8 at the Aut (Read More)
VentureBeat:
Last week’s announcement of $3.4 billion in stimulus funds for utilities was big news for smart meter makers. Almost every recipient of the money said they would be using it to add millions of advanced meters to their coverage areas. Now major meter maker Landis+Gyr has proved that the government grants will stimulate priva (Read More)
TechCrunch:
More good news for Indian entrepreneurs! Infosys co-founder and chairman N. R. Narayana Murthy’s new VC firm, now called Catamaran Venture Fund, just added a whole lot more money to its coffers. A few weeks ago, we reported that Murthy was turning to “the dark side” after selling a large amount of company shares in order to (Read More)
TechCrunch:
It’s not yet clear what Chomp exactly is, but we do know that it’s a rather hot property right now. It took the still stealth start up just 10 days to raise a nice seed round from Ron Conway and a few other big name angel investors, we hear.So what do we know? Well, the company is definitely in the mobile space. In fact, it (Read More)