No more robot reporters: Narrative Science is now focused on data
Narrative Science, a startup that specializes in generating readable text from multiple data sources, plans to announce on Friday that it closed a $10 million funding round.
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Former HP CEO Carly Fiorina weighs White House bid
Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO who engineered its $25 billion acquisition of Compaq, is considering another top job: President of the United States
Updated: “Alex from Target” was a stunt, one that shows the sophistication of the teen social media machine
Everything you know is a lie, even yesterday’s viral meme that spread around the web: #AlexfromTarget.
Twitter’s proposed polling feature isn’t much help for brands
Brands might not like Twitter’s new embedded polling feature if it rolls out to the public.
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Actor files copyright claim against Google over torrent site links to “Innocence of Muslims” video
A troubling legal campaign against YouTube took a new twist, as another performer from “Innocence of Muslims” filed a lawsuit to try and expand the scope of an order against Google.
Self-driving cars are coming soon and will revolutionize cities and society
Self-driving cars are imminent and will be transformational, says designer and technologist Bran Ferren.
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Open Road acquires 15-year-old ebook publisher E-Reads
Open Road, the digital publisher cofounded by former HarperCollins CEO Jane Friedman, has acquired E-Reads, an ebook publisher launched in 1999 by literary agent Richard Curtis.
Everything Is A Remix maker is back with the VHX-distributed This Is Not A Conspiracy Theory
The man who taught us that “Everything is a Remix” is back to delve into the mysteries of conspiracy theories — with help from VHX, which will be distributing the film in installments.
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Author Tim Ferriss launches publishing venture aimed at audio-books
Tim Ferriss, the author of popular how-to lifestyle books like “The 4-Hour Body,” says he is launching a custom publishing venture aimed…
In a connected world, what’s the role of the physical store?
Life as a connected consumer doesn’t mean you’ll never have to go to a physical store or bank again. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
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From the founder of Aptera, tiny (and stackable) ultra-efficient organic farms
The founder of electric car company Aptera is back with a new company and a new plan to disrupt urban organic farming.
Post-Google, Frommer’s will publish print guidebooks again
After buying his brand back from Google, Arthur Frommer will release Frommer’s travel guides in print again starting this year.
Oprah brings digital soaps One Life to Live and All My Children to cable
This spring, beloved soap operas “One Life to Live” and “All My Children” found new life as online-only shows. Now they’ll air on cable, too, via a limited-time engagement on Oprah’s OWN Network.
Need help with stock options or patents? UpCounsel wants to be a TaskRabbit for lawyers
A San Francisco start-up has created a platform where individuals and small companies can buy a la carte legal services from top lawyers.
French court orders Apple to pay $6.5M copyright tax on iPads, country mulls future cultural levies
A new French court ruling raises questions about how far the country, which has robust support for artists and musicians, should go in imposing cultural taxes on connected devices.
Six book publishing lessons from Open Road Media’s first three years
When Open Road Media launched in 2009, the idea of an all-digital publisher was still fairly new. Nearly four years later, it’s encountering more competition as publishers of all sizes hone their digital strategies. Here’s what it’s doing to try to stay ahead.
Klout dips into Q&A and local commerce with launch of new questions feature
Klout is adding a new product Wednesday that will ask people to answer questions about topics they’re knowledgeable about in an attempt to improve local search and discovery.
Google sold Frommer’s Travel — but kept all the social media data
People wondered why Google sold Frommer’s Travel barely nine months after acquiring it in the first place. The answer is that it’s keeping a huge number social media followers from sites like Facebook.
Arthur Frommer buys travel guides back from Google to keep print editions alive
Arthur Frommer, the founder of Frommer’s Travel Guides, has bought his brand back from Google after the search giant reportedly decided to stop publishing the guides in print. Google had acquired Frommer’s from Wiley in 2012 for $22 million.
Matter, a media startup accelerator, picks first class of six media tech companies
Matter, one of San Francisco’s newest accelerators, has announced the six companies that will make up its first class looking to apply technology to issues in media, publishing, and broadcast.
5 tips for startup founders from startup founders
Co-founders of several tech startups have some words of wisdom to share with wannabe founders. Some might surprise you.
Canada’s futile quest to own postal codes: why governments should make data a public good
Canada’s postal service is pushing on with its plans to own basic geolocation data. This month it decided to share some of it but its ongoing copyright lawsuit shows it is out of touch with how governments should treat their data.
Perfect stocking stuffer gifts for iPad and iPhone fans
Still undecided what to get someone on your holiday gift list? From backup phone batteries, to warm gloves you can wear while tapping on your iPhone, we’ve collected some essential items and accessories all under $100 that any iPhone or iPad users could use.
UK literary agency partners exclusively with Amazon to break authors into US
U.K. literary agency Curtis Brown will publish over 200 titles exclusively through Amazon in a program designed to break U.K. authors into the U.S. market. Curtis Brown is working with Amazon “White Glove,” a little-known service aimed at literary agents.
Morgan Freeman, Richard Branson take to YouTube to oppose the war on drugs
Some of the most prominent critics of the war on drugs are taking to YouTube to promote a new documentary called Breaking the Taboo that will be released for free on the site next week. So far, their bid for attention seems to be working.
Second-screen hopefuls hard-pressed to disrupt Hollywood ‘cabal’
A stream of research reports continues to show people using mobile devices whilst watching TV. But what does the opportunity really add up to. Not a lot, says an influential digital media banker.
Searching your data? Recollect is making backup and browsing beautiful
Is it possible for data storage and backup to be a delightful, enjoyable experience? The founders of Recollect, a new backup and archiving service for social media and photos, are hoping to mix design and function to keep users engaged and paying.
A lack of boardroom diversity is risky business
According to recent research, companies with women on their boards perform better in volatile markets than those with all-male boards. Samantha F. Ravich, co-chair of the National Commission for the Review of R&D Programs in the Intelligence Community, explains why tech companies should take notice.
Twitter acquires mobile testing app Clutch.io
Clutch.io, which provides A/B testing for mobile developers on iOS, has been acquired by Twitter, the company announced Monday, to help Twitter scale its products and move forward.
Hulu shows off new series – why one of them needs to be a hit
The company hasn’t reported Hulu Plus subscription data since revealing that it hit the 2 million mark earlier this year. Of course, with Hulu presenting its new originals and foreign acquisitions to TV critics Tuesday in Beverly Hills, having a hit series wouldn’t hurt subscriber growth.
iPad book publisher Open Air raises $800k, adds iPhone support
New York-based startup Open Air Publishing, which sells original books for iPad (s AAPL), has raised $800,000 in seed funding and is expanding to the iPhone.
Dow Jones reshuffles, president out
One of the few remaining fixtures from Dow Jones’ pre-News Corp days has moved on. Dow Jones announced today that President Todd Larsen has resigned, ending his two-year tenure at that position and 13 overall years at the company.
Can Bleacher Report turn its writers into media personalties?
Bleacher Report is looking less like a geeky fan site and more like a sports media operation.
New York Times explains decline in digital ad dollars, paywall plans
The New York Times Co. (S NYT) raised eyebrows among media watchers this morning when it announced that online ad revenue had…
42Floors makes searching for commercial real estate easy
A new startup called 42Floors is devoted to taking away some of the pain of searching for commercial real estate, making your search for office space more like searching for your next apartment, with a web-based interface to scan based on price and location — and pictures!
Annual off-sites: Time to trade plane tickets for web cams?
As more and more of working life becomes virtual, there’s one bastion of face-to-face interaction that seems least likely to go remote – the leadership off-site — but at least one high profile pundit thinks it’s time to rethink the annual executive get-together.
February gets a new holiday: Anywhere Working Week
Gloomy February is generally in need of more celebrations, and it has gotten one: Anywhere Working Week is on now. But this initiative from UK business, government and nonprofits to promote remote work is hardly getting pulses racing. Flexible work deserves a higher profile.
Can companies, or countries, make workers switch off?
Constant connectedness means an increased risk of communication addiction, with knowledge workers checking their devices at all hours and burning themselves out in the process. But whose problem is this? Should companies, individuals or even countries be responsible for setting boundaries? Wharton School experts debate.
What I learned from teaming up with Google
When Mobify CEO Igor Faletski participated in a Google event, he didn’t realize that the tech giant could teach him so much about running his startup more effectively. Here are the four lessons he learned and advice on how to put them into action.
SAY Media Acquires ReadWriteWeb, Hires Dan Frommer As Editor-At-Large
SAY Media, which in recent months has acquired Remodelista and Dogster and launched Jane Pratt’s xoJane.com, is expanding into the tech spac…
Prospect Park Aims For January 2012 Launch Of New AMC, OLTL Network
The new virtual home of All My Children and One Life To Live has a name and a launch target. Prospect Park partners Rich Frank and Jeff Kwat…
How-To Books Created For The iPad
Most of the interactive iPad books published up to now have been for kids, but the first title from Open Air Publishing is decidedly adult.…
Senator Franken Joins Chorus Opposing AT&T/T-Mobile Merger
Add Minnesota Senator Al Franken to the list of people who oppose the merger of AT&T (NYSE: T) and T-Mobile, and he’s not joking. Allowing t…
Brit TV favorite Misfits fits in on Hulu
The acclaimed British series Misfits couldn’t find a home on American networks. But that didn’t stop Hulu, which will be airing not just the first two seasons of the cult hit this summer, but the third season this fall when it premieres on British television.
Open Road To Publish Literary-Agency-Turned-E-Publisher’s Books In The U.S.
As literary agency Dystel & Goderich argues that its enhanced e-book services don’t put it in competition with publishers, some other litera…
Open Road Launches “Summer Steals” Promotion Across E-Bookstores
Publishers’ experiments in e-book pricing continue: Open Road Integrated Media today launched “50 Summer Steals,” a two-week promotion prici…
We R Interactive Raises $5 Million To Make Online Games
Less than a year after taking its first venture funding, We R Interactive, a would-be web game maker, is taking a $5 million second round fu…
Mediabrands’ Latest Reorg Moves Freeman To McCann
Four months after moving Universal-McCann’s Matt Seiler into the CEO position at Interpublic Group’s Mediabrands unit, Matt Freeman will shi…
Twitter Gets Fluther’s Staff — But Doesn’t Buy The Q&A Site
Twitter isn’t buying Fluther — but it is taking in the Q&A site’s staff. The company says that five of Fluther’s employees, including CEO B…
Everything is a Remix? That’s What Kirby Ferguson Says
The newest project from Goodie Bag’s Kirby Ferguson, Everything is a Remix manages in seven minutes to show how ingrained sampling and remixing are in the music industry, using examples like the enduring baseline from Chic’s Good Times and Led Zeppelin’s greatest hits.
Alloy’s Teen-Skewed First Day is Decent But Derivative
if you’re looking for a example that defines the concept of “derivative television,” here you go: Alloy Entertainment’s First Day has TV-level production values, a strong lead actress and nothing to set it apart from a show intended for television, as opposed to the web.
Hedge Fund Manager Falcone’s Big Bet On Wireless Broadband
Investors in the Harbinger’s hedge fund are increasingly uncomfortable with Philip Facone’s obsession with building a high-speed wireless br…
Longtime IAC Executive Foley Leaves; MacDonald New Pronto CEO
John Foley, who most recently was serving as CEO of IAC-owned comparison shopping site Pronto and was also heading up Evite and Gifts.com, i…
When It Comes to Investments, FCC Is Doing All Right
At least someone things FCC is doing a bang-up job, indicated by financial investments in emerging competitors to traditional broadband and mobile…
Former HP CEO Carly Fiorina's Unfortunate Climate Change Ad
Former CEO of HP Carly Fiorina is still finding her way when it comes to her run for a California Senate seat, and is clearly new to the political arena. That’s no more obvious than in this ad on Senator Barbara Boxer’s stance on climate change.
Video: Internet Investor Brad Feld on Entrepreneurship, Startups & the New VC Reality
The venture capital industry is going through a revival, according to Brad Feld, one of the founders of the Colorado-based VC firm, Foundry Group. During a 20-minute video chat he talks about his journey from Boston to Boulder, the myths of entrepreneurship and much more.
Weekend Vid Picks: Completely (Un)Forgettable Celebrity Baseball Pitches
It’s baseball season, and Will Ferrell’s most recent turn as disgraced Venezuelan pitcher “Rojo” Johnson at a minor league baseball game in…
Match.com Picks Fight With Competitor Plenty of Fish
Match.com has sent a strongly worded letter — written by the company’s lawyer — to competitor Plenty of Fish, accusing the free dating service of making unsubstantiated claims about its traffic and the number of users the site has.
YouTube’s Blair Fowler Pwns The Internet
Behold, a new YouTube star rises. There’s nothing terribly new about seeing a teenage girl use YouTube (s GOOG) to discuss the…
Following Sabbatical, Google’s Fischer Defects To Facebook
David Fischer, who returned to Google (NSDQ: GOOG) after a three-month sabbatical in January to handle some of the search giant’s ancillary…
U.S. X Factor: Digital Features Highly, But Won’t Be Online Only
Sir Philip Green may have declared his hope for a big online element to the planned U.S. X Factor show – but don’t expect that show to be on…
Simon Fuller’s Separation Contract with 19: Rich, Rich, Rich
Simon Fuller’s a rich guy, that we all know. And even as he separates from 19 Entertainment, a company he founded, and starts his own gig, h…
New-Look Skype Picks Flint For Chair, Gurle For Business VP
The new man charged with keeping the peace between eBay (NSDQ: EBAY), Silverlake, Andreessen Horowitz, CPP and Joltid is former Sony (NYSE:…
Conviva CEO Swap Official; Feher In, Co-Founder Zhang To Chief Scientist
More than three months after we reported that Darren Feher left NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) to head Conviva, the content delivery company is ma…
Goodie Bag.tv Offers a Grab Bag of Ranting and Fun
[show=goodiebag size=large]Everyone loves a good rant — series like Project Rant are based entirely on that concept. But Kirby Ferguson, a New…
Scott Gairdner’s Tiny Fuppets: Just the Tip of a Hilarious Iceberg
[show=scottgairdner size=large]There are people whose brains go in one linear direction, whose ideas make sense and come from a decidedly logical place.…
Engine Yard Raises $19M in New Funds
Engine Yard, a San Francisco-based startup that makes Ruby on Rails automation and management products, has raised $19 million in its third…
oneforty Launches Twitter App Store
Every platform has an app store these days, and so it was almost inevitable that there would be a Twitter app store.…
MMC Relaunching Finke's Site Under Deadline.com; Expansion Into Other Cities
Jay Penske, the CEO of MMC, the LA-based online media network, has managed to do the impossible: convince Nikki Finke to, well, change anyth…
Why Handset Makers and Social Networks Need Each Other, Take Two
[qi:gigaom_icon_mobile] Social networks and mobile phones are a match made in heaven. Om has written previously about how mobile carriers are reaping…
Utility Energy Web Sites Could Be A Pain Point for Smart Grid Security
You know you’re at a hacker convention when the word Pwned is used in numerous speeches and conference literature. I spent a…
Surely You’re Joking: Feynman Physics Lectures Online
Outside of my dad, I don’t have a lot of “heroes,” though physicist Richard Feynman comes pretty close. I’m not smart enough…
Bonnie Fuller Gives Up On Her Startup; Joins MMC’s HollywoodLife Instead
It certainly isn’t easy doing a startup in the already crowded celeb media sector, and Bonnie Fuller, the former editor of Us Weekly and edi…
Why Diversification Results In Mediocrity
When in doubt, diversify. That’s the underlying logic behind diversifying. The benefits of diversification with respect to risk come at a cost — that of losing whatever edge you might have been able to gain from skill. If you seek extraordinary performance, focus on what you know very well, have conviction and take a stand. It’s the right way to build a product or to build a company.
Layoffs and Reorg at IAC-Owned Evite
Evite, the invitation service owned by IAC (NSDQ: IACI), is doing a reorg and laid off 9 employees out of 38 total, we have learned and conf…
Updated: Mail.com Media Acquires Nikki Finke’s Deadline Hollywood; “Seven Figure” Deal
Nikki Finke (pictured), who delights in Hollywood scoops and gigging the entertainment establishment, has sold her one-woman DeadlineHollywo…
T-Mobile Dash 3G Arriving in July
T-Mobile officially tipped us off that the successor to one of my favorite Windows Mobile (s MSFT) handsets is landing next month.…
@ Cable Show: Forget The ‘Lost Generation’ — Start Younger
Liberty Global CEO Michael Fries isn’t giving up hope when it comes to kids and TV. Forget the handwringing over the so-called lost generati…
Flickr Founder Caterina Fake’s ‘Hunch’ Comes Out Of Stealth Mode
Add one more social media startup with a tongue-in-cheek name to the roster: Hunch. In a blog post, Flickr founder Caterina Fake revealed so…
@ Apple Event: iPhone 3.0, From App Store To Accessories
Scott Forstall, the SVP of iPhone software, said there are 1,000 new APIs with iPhone 3.0. Here are a few of them.
The App Store 3.0: Fors…
Industry Moves: Daren Forsyth Leaves BBC-Land To Launch A Twitter-Esque Startup
By Jemima Kiss: BBC executive Daren Forsyth is leaving Media Trust after one year to explore the potential of a Twitter-inspired business fo…
Industry Moves: Barrons.com Shuffles Editors; Yahoo Finance’s Bartalos Returns As Site Editor
Barrons.com is making a few changes at the top of its masthead, saying it wants to better focus its operations. Randall Forsyth is being pro…
Industry Moves: Ex MySpace UK MD Fischer Running Film Site Jaman
Fox Interactive Media’s first UK and Europe MD David Fischer, who left after a year in the job in April 2007, is back, this time leading UK…
@ OMMA: Agencies And Google: Who Should Feel More Threatened?; Plus: Yahoo’s Comeback?
It seems that it is impossible to have a conversation about the state of the ad industry without addressing Google (NSDQ: GOOG). For agencie…
What's on GigaNET: The Weekend Edition
OStatic: Famous writer David Foster Wallace, author of Infinite Jest killed himself. We will miss him and his word play. NewTeeVee: Barebones…
Blogging Ike- assessing the damage
The winds are still strong but not as ferocious as they have been since last night so we’ve been able to begin…
Industry Moves: Former Omnicom Interactive Exec Finnegan Joins Publicis’ SMG As Digital Head
Nearly nine months after Sean Finnegan left Omnicom as CEO of its in-house interactive shop, OMG Digital, for in-text advertising start-up V…
Industry Moves: 24/7 RealMedia Adds UK Media MD Fitzpatrick
Online ad outfit 24/7 RealMedia has found a UK media MD in Brian Fitzpatrick, formerly biz dev VP at child internet monitor Glubble, MediaWe…
EconCeleb Video: Bonnie Fuller: On Her New Venture And Being Her Readers’ Best Friend
Last week we had our first EconCeleb conference at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Kicking off the afternoon with the keynote Q&A, Bonnie Ful…
NYT CTO: Kindle Version Gaining ‘Some’ Traction; Taking Advantage Of Mobile’s Unique Aspects
In addition to delivering news and info via handheld devices, The New York Times (NYSE: NYT) wants to take advantage of attributes CTO Marc…
Hulu CTO on HD and Video Beyond the PC
Hulu CTO Eric Feng rolled into NewTeeVee HQ this morning to give us an update on what the company has been up…
@ EconCeleb: Bonnie Fuller: Celeb Content ‘May Be Even More Successful Than P*rn’
We’re kicking off the afternoon with a chatty keynote interview by Kara Swisher of All Things D with Bonnie Fuller, most recently EVP and ch…
Online Video Management Company Qumu Raises $10.7M Third Round
Content management company Qumu has secured a $10.7 million third round funding as it seeks to speed development of CDN products and build u…
CEO of B2B Media Firm Penton Media Resigns
Penton Media, one of those troubled B2B media companies, is seeing more upheaval: John French, the CEO, is resigning. He will continue to st…
Bonnie Fuller’s New Online Venture: Femme-Friendly Bonnie Fuller Media
Some dribs and drabs had been trickling out about Bonnie Fuller’s new online venture ever since she left American Media under some controver…
Industry Moves: Tribal DDB CEO Freeman Steps Down To Head Up GoFish
Matt Freeman has left his post as CEO of Omnicom Group’s DDB Worldwide digital shop Tribal DDB to lead kids-focused online media company GoF…
Updated: Jamba COO Lee Fenton Leaves, Replaced By Kaj Hagros
Update: Jamster COO Lee Fenton will be succeeded by Kaj Hagros, an Airwide Solutions VP, at the start of July. Jamster (via emailed release)…
10 Reasons Why Documentation is a Startup Secret Sauce
Congratulations for reading this far. Most people won’t, because there is nothing less flashy than the idea of writing things down. But…
Search-To-Phone Takes Investment From Gold Systems For Local Search
Boulder, CO-based Search-To-Phone, a provider of mobile directory assistance, has taken an unspecified investment from Gold Systems, a provi…
Jango and Seeqpod Hope to Monetize Music
Online music discovery and sharing sites are a dime a dozen, but they still continue to launch. For those watching this phenomenon…
@ CES: Hollywood Talks Techology; Caruso Cameo
Back in the Hilton Theater Monday afternoon for a session with execs from Hollywood — Albert Cheng, EVP-digital media, Disney-ABC Televisio…
Forsee To Move To University Of Missouri
Ex-Sprint (NYSE: S) CEO Gary Forsee will reportedly be named the next president of the University of Missouri system, the uni where he got h…
More On Fox Digital Media: Buying Beliefnet, Expanding Mission
As we explained last night, Fox Digital Media is expanding its role within News Corp., (NYSE: NWS) starting publicly with the acquisition of…
SixApart Sells LiveJournal To A Russian Group
Less than three years after it acquired LiveJournal, San Francisco-based blogging software company, SixApart has decided to sell the business to a…
Google 'Talks TV Production' With Idol's Fuller, But Partnership Unlikely
More highly unsubstantiated fun from the Sunday UK papers – 19 CEO Simon Fuller (he behind the Pop Idol franchise and the Spice Girls) has b…
Climate Change Insurance: WeatherBill Raises $12.5M
Climate change means we’ll be facing more unpredictable weather — and if you’re in a weather-sensitive business like farming or owning a…
Gary Forsee-Ya Later
[qi:026] In the third quarter of 2007, Reston, VA-based Sprint Nextel (S) announced that it will lose approximately 337,000 subscribers. Make that…
The Why and How of Firing Clients
“Web Worker” is a big tent. Some of us are building Web 2.0 and beyond, hopping from coffeehouse to meeting room and…
Joost, Now in Delicious Apple Flavor
Om reports over on GigaOM that Joost, previously known as The Venice Project, has released a beta version of the application for…
Introducing DTV: Internet TV
DTV is a new, free and open-source platform for internet television and video. An intuitive interface lets users subscribe to channels, watch video, and build a video library. Our publishing software lets you broadcast full-screen video to thousands of people at virtually no cost. The project is non-profit, free and open source, and built on open standards. A Windows version of DTV and a full website are well underway and will arrive in the next several weeks.
Wireless Networks Link Computers to Stereos, TVs (Reuters)
Reuters – Electronics firms have a new concept to sell: wireless home networks that snatch movies, photos and music files from computers…
