Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 4, 2009

There is much confusion on how to use the Twitter @ sign – even amongst daily Twitter users. So as part of my ongoing series Twitter Insights , I wanted to cover how the @ actually works (even experienced users may be surprised by some of the points). The basics: 1. When you use the @username (e.g. @msuster for me) the message you write appears in my @msuster inbox on Twitter.com and on any of the desktop or mobile clients.

Tips 291

Tips Social Media Social Network Venture Capital 291

socalTECH

AUGUST 4, 2009

Beverly Hills-based Hydra , which operates a cost-per-action (CPA) advertising network, disclosed Tuesday afternoon that the firm is in a partnership with brand monitoring firm BrandVerity. According to Hydra, the deal with BrandVerity will be used to detect unauthorized bidding on branded and select keywords on Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Financial details on the business deal was not disclosed.

Beverly Hills 145

Beverly Hills Yahoo Advertising Google 145

SoCal Tech Calendar

AUGUST 7, 2009

Thursday, August 13, 2009 -- How To Get Stock to Your Employees and Consultants. TCVN. Please join us for this roundtable workshop in which you will learn the best ways to properly develop equity incentives for your employees, vendors and contractors. You will learn how to: Use equity incentives to attract top talent and retain your best employees.

TCVN 100

TCVN Equity Develop Development 100

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 2, 2009

This post is part of my ongoing series Twitter 101 for all those that still “don’t get” Twitter. I’m now moving from the 101 basics into the business applications. I think we all know by now that a conversation is happening on Twitter and that this extends to talking about brands. Twitter is the new CRM (customer relationship management) channel. The volume of Tweets is enormous and growing at a rapid pace so tools are emerging to help brands manage this information.

Social Network 235

Social Network Writing Tool Startup 235

Advertiser: Aggregage

Office leases are one of companies’ largest expenses, and if your whole team is working from home with no clear end in sight, you may be wondering what to do about your lease.

Company

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 3, 2009

ExpenseBay Wins Showoff. Twiistup 6 has come to an end. It proved to be a great transitional year. Out is the “cocktail only&# Twiistup and in is the new format of a conference that should take its rightful place on the national technology calendar. I believe that Twiistup is now a platform from which to grow and highlight what is uniquely LA.

Twiistup 228

Twiistup SoCal Southern California Yammer 228

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 3, 2009

I recently appeared on Fox Business News covering the topic of raising Venture Capital. If you’re in the market or thinking about VC in the future the following video may be of interest to you – click here to view. Video is about 7 minutes. If you want to learn more about “Pitching a VC&# make sure to check out the entire series here.

Venture Capital 210

Venture Capital Startup Summary Social Network 210

socalTECH

AUGUST 4, 2009

Taking a page from the X Prize Foundation, NASA has launched its own prize competition which challenges companies to create aircraft that can average at least 100 mph on a 200-mile flight, while getting greater than 200 passenger miles-per-gallon. NASA said it would award $1.5M to the best performance, and $150,000 to the best aircraft fueled by bio-fuel.

Competition 124

Competition Company Companies 124

socalTECH

AUGUST 6, 2009

Laguna Niguel-based Symwave , a developer of USB semiconductors, has received a $4M investment from a strategic partner, SMSC. According to SMSC, it is in a strategic relationship with Symwave to accelerate its delivery of USB 3.0 products, and will invest $4M in Symwave, with a committment of an additional $1.3M in needed, and the right to acquire Symwave under certain conditions.

Invest 113

Invest San Diego Venture Capital Capital 113

socalTECH

AUGUST 6, 2009

Santa Barbara-based D2 Technologies , a developer of IP communications software for the embedded market, said this morning that it has promoted two of its executives and created two new business units. The firm said it has promoted Doug Makishima to Chief Operating Officer of the firm heading up a new Mobile and Personal Communications Business, and promoted Paul Wu to Vice President of a new Fixed Access Business Unit.

Technology 113

Technology Santa Barbara IP Software 113

socalTECH

AUGUST 5, 2009

Further details on the deal between Yahoo and Microsoft have come out in a filing by Yahoo with the SEC, with Yahoo saying that Microsoft will hire at least 400 Yahoo employees, and potentially another 150 employees to help with the transition, as Microsoft takes over the search engine features of Yahoo's sites. Yahoo and Microsoft said last Wednesday that Yahoo will abandon its search engine development efforts, and instead use Microsoft's technology--including Microsoft adCenter.

Yahoo 113

Yahoo Southern California Burbank Santa Monica 113

socalTECH

AUGUST 4, 2009

San Diego News Network , an online, local community news site run by Neil Senturia and Barbara Bry, as well as former executives of the San Diego Union Tribune, has raised $707,220 in funding, part of a $2.0M funding effort by the company. The funding was disclosed in a regulatory filing Tuesday. SDNN operates an online local news site, driven both by partnerships with other news organizations, bloggers, and contributors.

San Diego 113

San Diego News Networking Sites 113

socalTECH

AUGUST 3, 2009

Sean McDonald is founder of Jute Networks (www.jutenetworks.com), which is in a startup developing highly visual, graphical tools to help people use their professional networks and connections to further their business. Sean is looking to locate his startup in the area, so we sat down with Sean to learn more about the company's software, as well as what brought him to the Los Angeles area.

Networking 113

Networking Startup Social Network Software 113

SoCal Tech Calendar

AUGUST 7, 2009

Wednesday, August 12, 2009 -- How To Get Stock to Your Employees and Consultants. Please join us for this roundtable workshop in which you will learn the best ways to properly develop equity incentives for your employees, vendors and contractors. You will learn how to: Use equity incentives to attract top talent and retain your best employees. Use equity incentives to compensate vendors and consultants and thereby reduce your cash burn.

Equity 100

Equity Develop Development 100

socalTECH

AUGUST 7, 2009

Thanks to all of the sponsors and advertisers, who allow us to keep you updated on Southern California's high tech news and companies. They include: Sponsors. Redpoint Ventures (www.redpoint.com). Backing Southern California's next great technology companies. Silicon Valley Bank (www.svb.com). Helping entrepreneurs succeed. Key Information Systems (www.keyinfo.com) Providing IBM Storage Solutions.

SoCalTech 100

SoCalTech Orange County Southern California IP 100

socalTECH

AUGUST 7, 2009

Santa Monica-based Edmunds.com , the online automotive information site, said Friday that the Cash for Clunkers program is increasing prices on cars, and has resulted in shoppers getting less of a discount off sticker price for those automobiles. The online site said that, according to its numbers, discounts have dropped fairly dramatically on some models, such as the Dodge Caliber, where dealers were on average discounting prices off sticker by 11.7 percent before the program, and now are only

Pricing 100

Pricing Edmunds Santa Monica News 100

socalTECH

AUGUST 7, 2009

Los Angeles-based ShopIt , which develops online, e-commerce software which allows people to buy and sell products through social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, has been acquired by Altrinsic. Financial terms of the acquisition were not announced. ShopIt was venture backed by Emerson Ventures and Propulsion Ventures, and had raised $2.5M in a Series B in October.

Social Network 100

Social Network Commerce Media Acquisition 100

socalTECH

AUGUST 7, 2009

Camarillo-based Surfware , a developer of CAD/CAM software, announced Friday that the firm has signed the School of Engineering at the University of Alabama, Birmingham (UAB) as a customer. The firm said that the company is the 25,000 seat of the firm's software, which is used for designing milling plans for computer-aided-manufacturing systems. The firm's software helps guide hardware for machining parts.

Customer 100

Customer Custom Guide Software 100

socalTECH

AUGUST 7, 2009

Santa Barbara-based FarStone Technology , a developer of backup software, reported this week that it has released a new line of backup and recovery appliances supporting the iSCSI storage standard. The firm said that its TreasureStone appliances support up to 15TB of data, and is integrated with its DriveClone software. Pricing on the new product was not disclosed.

Santa Barbara 100

Santa Barbara Pricing Software Report 100

socalTECH

AUGUST 7, 2009

Westlake Village-based Row 44 , the in-flight wireless hardware provider headed by John Guidon, said Thursday afternoon that it has received a permanent operating license from the U.S. Federal Communications COmmission (FCC). The firm said the license will allow it to provide uninterrupted airborne Internet throughout North America. Row 44 had earlier obtained an interim license from the FCC to test its systems, which the firm has so far deployed in tests for Alaska Airlines and Southwest Airlin

Westlake Village 100

Westlake Village Capital 100

socalTECH

AUGUST 7, 2009

San Diego-based ChemNavigator , a developer of informatics tools for the pharmaceutical industry, has been acquired by scientific equipment firm Sigma-Aldrich. Financial terms of the buy were not disclosed. According to Sigma-Aldrich, the buy will add ChemNavigator's suite of virtual screening and selection tools, plus a searchable database of over 60 million chemical compounds to its offerings.

San Diego 100

San Diego Screening Tool Acquisition 100

socalTECH

AUGUST 6, 2009

Hawthorne-based SpaceX , the commercial spaceflight operation run by Elon Musk, reported today that it has named Marv Vander Weg to Vice President of its EELV Customer Office, which appears to be a new office targeted at the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. government's EELV (Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle) program. The EELV program is an effort to replace the USAF's legacy rockets with newer technology.

SpaceX 100

SpaceX Hawthorne Report Customer 100

socalTECH

AUGUST 6, 2009

Woodland Hills-based United Online move to diversify away from its dial-up business appears to paying off, at least in profits, as the firm reported late Wednesday that it had $68.5M in income on $260.8M in revenues. In its quarterly results, the firm continued to see a slide in the firm's dial up business, down to $54.1M for Q2, down 17% from Q2 last year.

Woodland Hills 100

Woodland Hills Slides Report Media 100

socalTECH

AUGUST 6, 2009

Santa Monica-based online coupon site Savings.com has tapped Jason Calacanis, founder of Mahalo and Internet celebrity, for its board of directors, the firm said Thursday. Savings.com provides coupons and coupon deals to Internet users, and is venture backed by U.S. Venture Partners, as well as unnamed Southern California angel investors. Calacanis is CEO and founder of Mahalo, a human-powered search engine also based in Santa Monica; Calacanis had his big win at Weblogs, which was acquired by A

Mahalo 100

Mahalo Santa Monica Southern California Sites 100

socalTECH

AUGUST 6, 2009

Santa Monica-based ARTISTdirect said this week that it is suspending reporting to the Securities and Exchange Commission, and will no longer be filing financial reports for the firm. The move will remove the firm's stock from the OTC Bulletin Board, where the firm has been since it was delisted from the NASDAQ in 2003, when its shares and value fell below NASDAQ standards.

Report 100

Report Santa Monica Company Companies 100

socalTECH

AUGUST 6, 2009

Last month, San Diego-based Advanced Telemetry (www.advancedtelemetry.com) announced that the company had scored a Series B round of funding from clean technology investor Quercus Trust and 21Ventures, for the firm's energy monitoring solutions. We recently talked with the firm's CEO and co-founder, Gus Ezcurra , to learn more about the company and what part of the energy monitoring market the company is focusing on.

Startup 100

Startup Customer Custom Outsource Development 100

socalTECH

AUGUST 6, 2009

Santa Monica-based FlipGloss Media , a developer of visually driven, photo-centric web technology aimed at the fashion and news industry, announced today that it has launched a new web site for entertainment news provider Variety. According to FlipGloss, it is powering photo features on Variety's Emmy Central destination site, which will allow users to flip through images from the Emmy's, including information on shows, actors, and more.

Santa Monica 100

Santa Monica News Yahoo Web 100

socalTECH

AUGUST 6, 2009

Irvine-based Spectrum Pharmaceuticals has acquired the remaining rights to RenaZorb, the firm's nanotechnology compound being used for treating hyperphosphatemia in patients with chronic kidney disease. The firm said it is paying $750,000 in restricted common stock for the rights to owner Altair Nanotechnologies. Spectrum had acquired a worldwide license to the compound in 2005.

100

100

socalTECH

AUGUST 6, 2009

The patent lawsuit filed Wednesday,/a> against popular micro-blogging site Twitter by a Texas company, TechRadium , has echoes of a lawsuit spawned by the acquisition of Sherman Oaks-based NTI Group last year. TechRadium is accusing Twitter of violating three patents related to instant messaging and notification, related to TechRadium's emergency notification services.

Patents 100

Patents Sherman Oaks Southern California Blogging 100

socalTECH

AUGUST 6, 2009

Stealthy San Diego alternative energy vehicle firm V Vehicles , which just raised $62.25M in a funding round, apparently has added Google Ventures as an investor in the company. V-Vehicles--which counts Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers and T. Boone Pickens as backers--disclosed in a regulatory filing that David Drummond--Google's Senior Vice President for Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer--is now on the board of directors.

Google 100

Google San Diego Venture Capital Capital 100

SoCal Tech Calendar

AUGUST 6, 2009

Wednesday, August 12, 2009 -- Association of Women in Technology Networking and Silent Auction Event. Please join us for a summer evening of smooth jazz, professional networking, and a silent auction benefiting the AWT Charitable Foundation. See [link] (more).

AWT 100

AWT Technology Networking 100

SoCal Tech Calendar

AUGUST 6, 2009

Wednesday, August 12, 2009 -- Return of the Angels: How angel investing is changing, and what it means for entrepreneurs. DealMaker. Angel investors are the new black. In a down market, with venture activity slowing, many entrepreneurs are looking to angels for salvation. But they may be in for a rude awakening  angels are not exempt from economic pressures, and their outlook, strategies, and requirements are changing.

Angel 100

Angel Activity Entrepreneur Invest 100

socalTECH

AUGUST 5, 2009

Southern California was for the most part passed up on the Department of Energy's $2.4 billion in awards, announced today, for stimulating the electric battery industry in the U.S., with only a single project--a $45.4M project from the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD)--receiving funds from the program. The Recovery Act Awards for Electric Drive Vehicle Battery and Component Manufacturing Initiative granted 48 projects funding, with the bulk of the funding going to companies i

Southern California 100

Southern California Diamond Bar SoCal Santa Monica 100

socalTECH

AUGUST 5, 2009

Southern California was for the most part passed up on the Department of Energy's $2.4 billion in awards, announced today, for stimulating the electric battery industry in the U.S., with only a single project--a $45.4M project from the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD)--receiving funds from the program. The Recovery Act Awards for Electric Drive Vehicle Battery and Component Manufacturing Initiative granted 48 projects funding, with the bulk of the funding going to companies i

Southern California 100

Southern California Diamond Bar SoCal Santa Monica 100

socalTECH

AUGUST 5, 2009

Los Angeles-based NanoH2O , a UCLA spinout commercializing water filtering and desalination technology, has raised $5M in a equity funding, according to a regulatory filing from the firm Wednesday. Details on the funding have not yet been released by the company. The filing continues to list Samir Kaul of Khosla Ventures and Brian Hinman of Oak Investment Partners on the board; both Khosla and Oak are prior investors in the firm.

UCLA 100

UCLA Venture Capital Equity Los Angeles 100

socalTECH

AUGUST 5, 2009

San Diego-based KidZui , which develops kid-friendly browser software, has launched into the online video market today with a new web site, ZuiTube.com. The firm said its new site offers kid-friendly video content through a YouTube-like user interface; and, in fact, the site is powered by YouTube through a developer's license. KidZui said the launch of the new site is a result of increased demand for the YouTube experience from young kids, and complements the firm's existing browser, which offer

Sites 100

Sites Software Review San Diego Screening 100

socalTECH

AUGUST 5, 2009

Video game and entertainment software retailer GameStop has snagged Chris Petrovic , former VP of Digital Media at Playboy Enterprises, as its new digital media head, setting up Petrovic and a team in a corporate office here in Southern California. According to Gamestop, Petrovic will head up digital media and digital sales efforts for the retailer.

Media 100

Media Southern California Venture Capital Entertainment 100