93South - Thoughts on New England Web 2.0

93Startup Profiles - Is Your Company Listed?

David — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:00:10 +0000

I’ve decided to launch a new feature and allow local entrepreneurs to post a profile of their companies on 93south. These posts would be a "in their own words" type article that will enable companies to present their businesses through a series of standard questions.

I’ll post profiles from interesting New England startups ranging from the individual entrepreneur launching a micro-business to the larger tech startups with buckets of funding. I plan on posting 1 - 2 profiles per week depending upon what I receive. I’ve already received a few profiles from some local startups and some of the finalists from the 2008 MITX awards. Please submit your profile today.

Interested in Having Your Company Profiled?

Companies interested in having a profile up on 93osuth should answer the following questions and email it to dave [aht] 93south {dot} net. Please keep it brief - just a few sentences per question.

PROFILE QUESTIONS
- What is your elevator pitch?
- Who is your target market?
- What makes you different or stand out?
- Who are the founders / key people? (Name & 1 sentence on each)
- What is your startup story? (Where did the idea come from, inspiration,
funny anecdote, etc., etc.)

OTHER BASIC QUESTIONS:
- City, State
- Funding Status & Amount (if public)
- # of Employees
- Site URL
- Blog URL (if you have one)
- Career Page URL
- Screenshots: A good representative image(s) of the product - please send .JPG or PNG formats.

Thank you!

Announcing Your Engagement Through Facebook - Congratulations!

David — Wed, 07 May 2008 01:06:19 +0000

I guess it is a whole new world - it used to be the norm to have your parents post the news of your engagement (no…this is not a post about Facebook user engagement) in the local newspaper but not anymore. I logged into my neglected Facebook account to find the engagement announcement of 2 close friends Steve and Katerina!

The couple purposely publicized the announcement of their engagement through Facebook as the easiest way to spread the news. Here is the question - what is the most unexpected item that you found out about on Facebook (or other social site)?

I will save my "top-10 new things to announce on Facebook" for another post and just say congratulations!

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[ Ring Image Credit ]

2008 MITX Finalists Announced, Thank You MITX

David — Mon, 05 May 2008 14:05:35 +0000

I’ve had the great opportunity this year to be a judge in the 2008 MITX Technology Awards. My panel this year was the Collaboration & Social Networking category. I wanted to hold off on posting until the finalists in the category were announced and the judging process was complete.

Sitting through the business presentations for each of the finalists in the category was fascinating and a worthwhile experience. Having other entrepreneurs present their pitch to you is a great way to gain a different perspective on how to deliver a message and capture someone’s attention.

I should have more on the finalists in the coming weeks leading up to the big announcement of the winners. Here are all of the finalists for 2008.

If your company is listed here, feel free to contact me (leave a comment below) with a profile of your business. I’ll try to get a post out soon.

Collaboration & Social Networking

Acquia, Inc.
Acquia - Commercially Supported Drupal
Awareness
Awareness Enterprise Social Media Platform
Punchbowl Software
MyPunchbowl.com
Mzinga
Mzinga - Market Leader in Business Social Media
WorkLight Inc.
Secure Web 2.0 Consumer Tools in the Workplace
StyleFeeder
StyleFeeder - Personalized Shopping Engine

Analytics & Business Intelligence

Progress Software Corporation
Complex Event Processing and Event Processing Made Accessible
Visible Measures Corp.
Measuring and Monetizing Internet Video
SiteSpect
Non-Intrusive Multivariate Testing for Web Site Optimization
Lexalytics
Text Analytics Beyond The Document Summary

Content Management

Aetna
Aetna SmartSource
EveryZing, Inc.
EveryZing, Inc.
FlightView
FlightView’s Real-Time Flight Information

Data Management

Progress Software Corporation
Breaking down data silos to achieve true SOA
Certica Solutions, Inc.
Certify: K-12 Data Certification Software
Dataupia
Free Your Data with the DataupiaT Satori Server
mValent
mValent Integrity v5
Permabit Technology Corporation
Permabit Enterprise Archive Data Center Series

Data Protection

Double-Take Software
Double-Take® 5.0
ExaGrid Systems, Inc.
ExaGrid Disk-Based Backup with Data De-duplication
Diligent Technologies Corporation
ProtecTIER - Diligent’s Game-Changing De-duplication Solution
Veracode
Veracode, Inc.
VidSys
VidShieldT Physical Security Information Management System and platform

Enterprise Technologies

BBN Technologies
BBN TransTalk - Winning Hearts and Minds by Breaking Down Language Barriers
Marathon Technologies
everRun VM: World’s First Fault-Tolerant, High Availability Software for Server Virtualization
GotVMail Communications, LLC
GotVMail Virtual Phone System
Virtual Iron Software, Inc.
Virtual Iron Version 4.2
ZINK Imaging Inc.
ZINK Zero Ink Digital Printing Technology, featuring ZINK Paper

Marketing/Customer Relationship Technologies

HubSpot
HubSpot Internet Marketing System
Neolane, Inc.
Neolane - New generation marketing that delivers
Network World (IDG)
Network World iDemand
Mall Networks
Shop.org/Cyber Monday
Visible Technologies
TruCast
Chitika, Inc.
Viral Brand Advertising Units

Mobile

Azimuth Systems
Azimuth Systems ACE 400WB MIMO Channel Emulator
iSkoot
iSkoot for Skype
Monitise Americas
Monitise Americas: Mobile Banking and Payments Provider
Pyxis Mobile
Pyxis Mobile’s Application Studio
Mobicious, Inc.
SnapMyLife

Video

Brightcove
Brightcove Internet TV Platform
Gotuit Media Corp
Gotuit VideoMarker Pro
PeerApp Ltd.
Intelligent Media Caching for Accelerating the Video Internet
Lycos
Lycos Cinema
PermissionTV
PermissionTV’s smartplayer Redefines Online Video

Newton’s WorkLight Pulls Down $12M

David — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:14:24 +0000

Newton and Israel based WorkLight, Inc. announced that it has closed a series B round of funding totaling $12 million led by Pitango Venture Capital, Israel’s largest VC. Proceeds from WorkLight’s series B round funding will be used to further expand its presence in North America, Europe and Asia.

WorkLight was founded in 2006 with an initial round of funding from Genesis Partners, Index Ventures and Shlomo Kramer totaling $5.1 million. It produces a technology that connects enterprise technology to popular existing networks like Facebook.

Courtesy of Mashable.

POPSignal…the Next TechCocktail

David — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 19:06:28 +0000

It’s great timing that the same week I put up a post about the thin tech scene in Boston, a cool event is announced. The same group that brought you TechCocktail is orchestrating another event called POPsignal on May 15th in Boston.

From the invite…

POPSignal parties are aimed at bringing together the local tech and startup community in a fun and informal environment. There is no format, presentations, or speeches. However, there is always a free open bar, free food, music, fun activities from sponsors (see below), and great conversation. You must RSVP at http://popsignal.eventbrite.com.

Join us for an evening of fun mingling with other technology enthusiasts, VCs, bloggers and entrepreneurs on May 15th, 2008 at Tequila Rain near Fenway Park. The event is from 6:30pm - 9:30pm.

You must be 21+ to attend and must be on the RSVP list for the event to get in. Space is limited, so please RSVP only if you plan on attending. Can’t wait to see you there!

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POPsignal

Date
Thursday, May 15, 2008

Time
6:30 pm ET - 9:30 pm ET

Location
Tequila Rain by Fenway
3 Lansdowne Street
Boston, MA 02215

Map
Google | Yahoo | Mapquest | Microsoft

Link To This Event

Add to my calendar

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Courtesy my RSS reader, BUZZ in the Hub & Datum.

Social Networking Wars Video

David — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:28:19 +0000

You probably have seen this one before but its so true - enjoy!

Thanks to Hao for sending it along!

StyleFeeder Partners with Shopping.com and The Glam Network

David — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 04:02:41 +0000

StyleFeeder, the local social shopping startup, announced partnerships with both Shopping.com and The Glam Network today. The company will extend it’s reach and technology to Shopping.com users and the Glam Publisher Network of more than 400 popular lifestyle websites and blogs targeting women.

StyleFeeder recently announced a new open API initiative for social media developers and since last year has grown significantly with more than four million page views each month and more than 800,000 unique visitors per month. StyleFeeder is currently the largest shopping application on Facebook with nearly one million installs.

Is it me, or does the team image on their management page look like the back cover of a 90s-era rock band?

Which one is the bass player? Is Shergul on the phone and his celly?

Congratulations!

It’s Web 2.0 Event Season…on The West Coast

David — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 01:30:29 +0000

Can you tell where the action is in an industry by where the notable events are being held? I was checking out the upcoming web 2.0 event listings published today on Mashable and noticed (with one exception) that all of the events are being held 3,000 miles away.

Here is a condensed version of the list (minus a few) - you can check out the full list on Mashable.

SMX Social Media Marketing - April 22-23, 2008 - Long Beach, CA
New Communications Forum - April 22-25, 2008 - Sonoma County, CA
Web 2.0 Expo - April 22-25, 2008 - San Francisco, CA
TECH Cocktail - April 24, 2008- Washington, DC
DealMaker Forum - April 30, 2008 - San Francisco, CA
Sun Startup Camp - May 4-5, 2008 - San Francisco, CA
The SanFran MusicTech Summit - May 8, 2008 - San Francisco, CA
O’Reilly Where 2.0 Conference - May 12-14, 2008 - Burlingame, CA
Communitelligence Social Media Conference - May 21-22, 2008 - Los Angeles, CA
Google I/O page. - May 28-29, 2008 - San Francisco, CA
Under The Radar Conference - June 3, 2008 - Mountain View, CA
Twiistup - July 17, 2008 - Los Angeles, CA

Where are the big web events in the Boston area?

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Some resources for Boston area events:

Note:

- Updated list with Webinno and Nantucket Conference - Thanks Scott!
- Updated the list with ROFLcon - thanks Tom!

GuildCafe Entertainment becomes GamerDNA and Lands another 3 Million!

David — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 15:03:10 +0000

Jon Radoff and the team over at GuildCafe (now in posh Central Square) announced another round of funding today and the launch of their new brand gamerDNA. The new $3 million of funding was led by Flybridge Capital Partners.

The current GuildCafe.com site, a social network built to organizing groups within MMORPGs like World of Warcraft and Guild Wars, will still operate and continue to improve as the company focuses on building out the new gamerDNA service.

Congratulations!

Courtesy of Xconomy & FLYBRIDGE.

Stuff Bostonians Like?…

David — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 13:18:23 +0000

Can someone please start this blog? For the past few weeks, I have turned to the Stuff White People Like blog when I needed a quick laugh. You either love or hate this spoof blog but it is funny (and rings a bit true). Apparently, it has sprung quite a few knock-offs so why not a Boston version? Can someone write this please?

Somehow, I think the site might be better titled Stuff Cantabrigians Like?

Here is the complete list of "Stuff White People Like"