Bubble, Bubble, Bubble – The startup ranks are starting to thin. We’ve added three companies to the TechCrunch DeadPool in the last week (Raw Sugar, FilmLoop and Browster). Even Google got into the spirit of things when they shut down Google Answers at the end of the year. And over on the Forum users are asking “Who’s Next?” But this doesn’t mean we’re in a bubble. In fact, I think the exact opposite. I think a few failures are direct evidence that we are not in a bubble and that the private venture markets are actually in the process of letting off a little steam to keep things rational. Story: http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/01/07/bubble-bubble-bubble/ Immigrants Driving Force Behind Tech Start-Ups – Immigrants have become such a driving force behind Internet startups that at least one in four technology and engineering companies launched in the last 10 years had at least one foreign-born founder, according to a study released last week. The report, from researchers at the University of California-Berkeley and Duke University, found that these founders came mostly from India and China, and have helped start hundreds of companies with a combined estimated sales of $50 billion.
Google Exec Defends “Frienemy” Slur – Are media companies whose content is freely distributed across the Web being held hostage? Google may not be out to create content, but it looks like it wants to force those who do to use its delivery services. Eun has been in charge of getting that ball rolling. His team struck the MTV deal last year that would let AdSense publishers display MTV and other Viacom content on their sites in exchange for a cut of ad revenue. He also got CBS and Universal Music Group to allow their content to be distributed on YouTube for another slice of ad revenue. “Our whole business model is structured around partnering,” Eun says, and he’s right: Google shelled out $780 million Google to its partners last quarter.
Time.com Adds Blogs, News Feed – Time magazine today is again reinventing itself online, this time by revamping its site to emphasize breaking news and blogs. The latest online iteration of Time–a work-in-progress since the company launched its Pathfinder site in 1994–also strives for a cleaner look to better showcase photography and afford more space for advertisers.
CNN.com Taps Inform For News Search – CNN.com has tapped Inform Technologies to provide an on-site search engine, which allows users to search other news sources without leaving the CNN site. The service aims to discourage Web users from clicking away from news publishers’ sites to visit search engines like Google and Yahoo.
Pew: Most Teens Create Social Networking Profiles – Several years ago, social networking sites were all but unknown to the general public, but today the majority of online U.S. teens–55%–have profiles on such sites. MySpace is far and away the leading such site, with 85% of youngsters ages 12-17 reporting they use the service.
Acclaim Taps IGA for In-Game Ads – Video game publisher Acclaim has partnered with in-game ad firm IGA Worldwide to monetize six massively multiplayer online games with targeted spots. The deal encompasses “BOTS!!,” “9Dragons,” “2Moons,” and “DANCE!” in addition to two as-yet unannounced titles. Prior to signing with IGA, Acclaim had a deal with its competitor, Massive Incorporated, to serve in-game ads into BOTS!!, which has now expired.
Second Life to Go Open Source – Aiming to take advantage of its already-impressive momentum, San Francisco’s Linden Lab, developer of the Second Life virtual online world, will announce Monday that it is taking the first major step toward opening up its software for the contributions of any interested programmer.
