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Chinese Social Network Renren Prices $743M IPO At $14 Per Share, At High End Of Range
May 04, 1:35PM
Chinese social network Renren has priced its its initial public offering of shares at $14 per share, with a total offering size of $743.4 million. The price per share falls into the high range that the Street expected, which was $12 to $14 per share. The shares will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange today under the symbol "RENN." Of the 53,100,000 ADSs being offered, 42,898,711 ADSs are offered by Renren and 10,201,289 ADSs are offered by the selling shareholders. The Company has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 7,965,000 ADSs at the initial public offering price to cover over-allotment.
Warner Bros. Acquires Social Movie Site Flixster (And Rotten Tomatoes)
May 04, 1:14PM
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group has acquired social movie discovery site Flixster. The acquisition also includes Rotten Tomatoes, a movie review site Flixster acquired from News Corp. last year. Under the terms of the deal, Flixster will continue to operate independently and will expand its services beyond movie discovery. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Warner's interest was originally reported by AllThingsD in March, and the price of the site was valued at between $60 million and $90 million. Flister has raised a total of $7 million in funding. 
Scrible Launches Rich Web Annotation App To The Public
May 04, 1:00PM
Startup Scrible is launching its rich web annotation tool to the public today. Scrible is also announcing that it has received a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The service's bookmarklet allows users to save and organize web pages and richly annotate articles with highlighters and sticky notes. You can also share annotated web pages with others. All of your saved web annocations are stored within your Scrible account and the startup will index this so your can search and filter through your saved content.
Would You Like A Slashtag With That? Blekko Begins Powering Topix Search
May 04, 12:55PM
Topix, the largely under-the-radar platform for local news, information, and influence, has been aggregating local news and community discussions for nearly 7 years. Over this time, the platform has quietly grown to over 13 million monthly visitors, according to Quantcast. It's now aggregating local content from more than 50K sources and offers more than 360K edited news pages. Topix has become a respectable web property, which is why today's announcement that it will be partnering with young search engine, Blekko, seems like an interesting move. Blekko only launched publicly back in November of last year, so the human-curated, slash-tagging search engine is still very much an unestablished entity. 
TaskRabbit Gets $5M From Shasta Ventures, First Round And Others To Help People Get Stuff Done
May 04, 12:29PM
Task management service TaskRabbit is announcing a raise of $5 million in Series B this morning, in addition to its already existing $1.8 million in Series A. The financing was lead by Shasta Ventures and followed on by First Round Capital, Baseline Ventures, FLOODGATE, Collaborative Fund, 500 Startups and The Mesh author Lisa Gansky. In addition to the financing, Shasta Ventures' Sean Flynn will be joining TaskRabbit's Board of Directors. Founded in 2008 and formerly RunMyErrand.com, TaskRabbit is a two way marketplace that helps its community of over 1500 task runners connect with the the thousands of tasks posted on the site monthly. Task senders can sign up to the site for free and post a task which will be bid on by runners, who are vetted through a three step background check. Senders can accept task bids and re-route payment through the site, scoring a runner on their performance once a task is complete. Founder Leah Busque tells me that the average task response time is 10 minutes, down from 30 minutes a year ago.
SoundCloud Does A Google, Launches SoundCloud Labs
May 04, 11:18AM
SoundCloud, the audio platform, has unveiled SoundCloud Labs, a new site to house experimental projects and features developed in-house, including via its open API. The idea of creating a separate space for cutting-edge development branded as Labs isn't a new one, of course, mostly notably employed by Google. But in SoundCloud's case it perhaps makes even greater sense since the service was originally targeted at music makers but is now aiming to be a much wider consumer play. Strapping on additional features that move too far away from its core proposition could, arguably, dilute SoundCloud's brand. However, cordoning these off goes someway to mitigate this, while at the same time doesn't discourage innovation.
AOL's Q1: Display Ad Revenues Finally Going Up, But Profits Are Down 86 Percent
May 04, 11:16AM
Our parent company AOL has just released its quarterly earnings for Q1 2011, and it's a mixed bag (again). Revenue came in at $551.4 million, which is better than most analysts had anticipated - the company was expected to earn $0.17 per share on revenues of $536.35 million. Actual earnings came in at $0.04 per share, down 86 percent.
Brammo To Make Electric Motorcycles That Feel More Like Gas-Powered
May 04, 11:05AM
Today, electric motorcycle makers Brammo revealed that the company will add new electronic transmission technology, and a redesigned motor, clutch and gear shift to its lineup, that will make its motorcycles perform more like their gas-powered predecessors. The first incorporation of this technology into the company's product lines will be into Brammo's new, not-yet-in-production Engage and Encite dirt bikes and racing bikes. The electric transmission was created by SMRE srl, an Italian engineering company, which agreed to give Brammo an exclusive, global license on this technology earlier in the week according to Brammo chief executive officer Craig Bramscher...
Gigwalk Launches: Wanna Get Paid for Taking Pictures with Your iPhone?
May 04, 10:59AM
In the 1990s, peer-to-peer networks were a revelation. They allowed people to pool together tiny parts of their computers, and those pooled together parts could do far more together than the average computer or connection could do on its own. It enabled everything from swapping pirated music to making cheap transcontinental calls via Skype. But what if you could do the same thing with tiny parts of people's day? Grab five to ten minutes here or there, at the right time and the right place, to complete a massive task no one person could do on his or her own. That's exactly what a new startup called Gigwalk is trying to do using the power of-- you guessed it-- the iPhone. You download the app, enter your PayPal information and get assigned entry level "gigs" or jobs that may take just a few minutes at a time, if you're in the right location.
TransferWise Sees $1M In Transactions, Opens Up To Businesses
May 04, 10:31AM
TransferWise, the peer-to-peer online currency exchange that aims to give banks a run for their money with its flat-fee exchange rate, has announced that it's seen $1m worth of transactions in three months since launch. These have come from consumers-only since until now TransferWise wasn't available to business customers. Today that changes after the company responds to the fact that business-to-business currency transfers were by far the most requested feature to-date.
Viber To Release Free Calling, Messaging App For Android This Week
May 04, 10:03AM
I'm a huge fan of Viber's iPhone app, which lets me call, and since recently, send messages to many of my contacts, free of charge. Needless to say, it's imperative for Viber to go cross-platform as quickly as possible, because evidently not everyone has an iPhone. We knew the startup was cooking up an Android application, but not when it would hit. Now we do: expect the Android app to become available - albeit in beta form - in the next few weeks. You can sign up to test the application early after the jump.
Will A Thunderbolt Hit The iPhone/iPad Before A Full Ascension Into The Cloud?
May 04, 9:50AM
This morning's upgrades to Apple's iMac line of computers brought a range of nice features. But most were just spec bumps. The big new addition is Thunderbolt. Following the initial roll-out to the MacBook Pros, the new super high-speed ports are clearly destined to be a key component across Apple's product lines. But what about Apple's two key newer products: the iPhone and iPad? Apple hasn't said a word yet about what Thunderbolt means for them. During a call with Apple this morning, I specifically asked about when we might see Thunderbolt-enabled adapters for iPhone/iPad. Apple would only say that they had nothing to share at this time. That's usually code for "it's coming, but just not yet." And that makes sense. Why pour all this money into a new technology if you're not going to use it in places where it makes the most sense? But it's also not that simple.
MOL Red Paperclips Its Way To A Facebook Fortune
May 04, 8:25AM
In 2005 Kyle MacDonald made a series of fourteen trades, beginning with a red paperclip and ending with a house. It took him less than a year. You all know the story. The Office did even an episode this year about the idea as well. Well, Malaysia's MOL Global now has somewhere around over $100 million in Facebook stock at the current secondary market valuation of around $31 per share. Until now, no one except insiders even knew they had any Facebook stock at all. But they do, and here's how they got it, and it reminds me a lot of the Red Paperclip. MOL Global bought Friendster, you may recall, in late 2009. They paid $39.5 million for the company, but with adjustments for things like Friendster's cash in the bank it was actually somewhat less.
Obama 'Situation Room' Photo Is Already Half Way To Becoming Flickr's Most Viewed Pic
May 04, 6:51AM
If you ever wanted a glimpse of what the Spiderman "With great power comes great responsibility" quote looks like actualized, take a second to digest the above photo of President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and various others in the White House Situation room, captured as they "receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden." Because I look exactly like Clinton when I receive "updates." Not surprisingly the unnervingly human photo has captured popular imagination over the past day and a half, becoming the point of origin of a multitude of Photoshop memes which range from Jersey Shore's Situation being placed in the Situation Room, to the Royal Wedding's Grumpy Flower girl joining in on the fun, to everybody wearing Princess Beatrice's absurd Royal Wedding hat, which was particularly inspired. Sure this is great guys, but I'm still waiting for the Tiger Wood's cigar dude, Dramatic Squirrel and Disaster Girl insertions, granted I'm a dork.
iPod, Meet Spotify; iTunes, Say Hello To Your Future Rival
May 04, 6:31AM
Spotify, the music service Americans don't get to enjoy, announced several very cool new features today. The European music service is rolling out new versions of its desktop and mobile apps today, which will allow all users (even those pesky ad-supported freeloaders) to sync Spotify desktop tracks with mobile devices, be they iPods, iPhones or Androids. And just in case it wasn't clear whether or not Spotify intends to compete directly with iTunes, Spotify is also introducing its own music store, or "download service", in which users can buy a range of MP3 "bundles" at 10 songs for roughly 8 pounds. Or 100 songs for 50 pounds. (Roughly the equivalent of $13 and $82, respectively.)
AppDirect Raises $3.25 Million To Create A Marketplace For Business Apps
May 04, 4:13AM
AppDirect, a platform that allows businesses to find, buy and manage web-based applications, has announced that it has closed a $3.25 million round of seed funding to hire engineering talent and expand its network overseas. The round was led by iNovia Capital with Stingray Digital contributing. You probably haven't heard of AppDirect yet, but it's an interesting business. AppDirect is creating a marketplace for marketplaces, or a marketplace-as-a-service. (That's "MaaS" in cloud-speak.) What does that mean? The startup is essentially building a network of branded application marketplaces it hopes will become a central hub for providers, developers, and business app users. 
955 Dreams Set To Rock The iPad Again With "On The Way To Woodstock"
May 04, 3:34AM
A couple months ago, we noted that a company called 955 Dreams was playing the iPad like jazz with their hot app, The History of Jazz. Now they're back again with another musically-themed iPad app. And it's far out, man. On The Way To Woodstock takes everything that 955 Dreams learned from the jazz app and expands upon it. I had a chance to sit down with the team a few days ago and play around with the app. It's beautiful, fun, and engaging. And much like The History of Jazz, I suspect it's exactly the type of app Apple likes seeing pop up from developers to showcase their device.
Boingo Wireless Prices IPO At $13.50 Per Share
May 04, 2:53AM
Boingo Wireless, a nationwide WiFi provider, has just issued a release stating that it is pricing its IPO tomorrow morning at $13.50 per share, which falls into the expected range. The shares will begin trading on the NASDAQ under the symbol "WIFI." Boingo is looking to raise $75 million in its public offering. Boingo claims that it is one of the largest commercial Wi-Fi networks in the world, with 211,000 Wi-Fi locations in over 100 countries. The company installs, manages and operates wireless networks in locations like airports and restaurant chains, which Boing says had more than 800 million visitors in 2009.
Qwiki iPad App Hits 250K Downloads In 11 Days
May 04, 2:21AM
TechCrunch Disrupt winner Qwiki launched its iPad app in the App Store a less than a week ago and after 11 days has hit the quarter of a million downloads milestone. This is notable for an iPad app, especially when compared to other highly publicized iOS app milestones; It took iPhone app Instagram six days to hit 100K, SoundTracking two weeks to hit 250K and FourSquare a whopping seven months to get to 60K users. Qwiki PR rep CeCe Cheng tells me that Qwiki.com has "millions of users" but that the Qwiki app, which lets users see notable Qwikis around them in map format, has already eclipsed pageview traffic on the Qwiki site by 5x. By the end of the day tomorrow it's estimated that the app will hit 300K users after only two weeks. Individual user sessions are now averaging 24 minutes. 
Facebook's Social Widgetization Of The Web, In A Sweet, Sweet Infographic
May 04, 1:54AM
On April 21st, Facebook celebrated the 1st birthday of its now ubiquitous "Like" button, and promptly shared the news that 10,000 sites are, like, using the plugin every day. The social networking behemoth then continued its parade of social widgets last week, giving the Like button a new partner in crime with the "Send" button, which allows users to directly share content with their Facebook Groups, Facebook friends, or any standard email address. And gives site designers yet another widget to integrate into their code. Huzzah! With the "Send" button, Facebook seems to be continuing its quest to eventually replace email with some sort of Facebook-related social service. The button is already available on over 50 sites including The Washington Post, last.fm, 1-800 Flowers, Gilt Groupe, The Huffington Post and Orbitz. With more to come, I'm sure.
Google's Chrome Team Lends Their Support To The It Gets Better Project With A New Video
May 04, 12:56AM
A few weeks ago, a video entered wide circulation in the tech press for two reasons: 1) it featured lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Apple employees talking about their difficulties growing up. And 2) it was very, very well made. But the truth is that the It Gets Better Project has been around since last September, when columnist and author Dan Savage kicked things off with his own YouTube video with his partner to talk about their experiences. The Apple video simply reinvigorated the project in our circles, helping to keep the message going. And now Google is doing their part to continue the message as well. Yesterday the Chrome team uploaded a new, great It Gets Better video. Watch it above.
Developers, The Rap (Featuring Steve Ballmer, Naturally)
May 04, 12:18AM
One upon a time, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer interrupted a speech at a developer's conference with a chant that would set the Internet ablaze. "Developers, developers, developers, developers" was quickly put on the web and just as quickly mixed, remixed, and placed on the mantle of pure Internet gold. But to the best of my knowledge, no one has ever crafted an actual song around it. Until now.
COLOURlovers Raises $1 Million To Make Everyone An Artist
May 03, 11:47PM
If you have even the slightest hint of a creative streak, you may be interested in COLOURlovers, a startup whose products let you easily express yourself using shapes and colors, even if you aren't particularly good at it. The Y Combinator-backed company has built up a community around creating color palettes, a matching iPhone app, and even a tool for sprucing up your Twitter profile. And now the company has closed its first seed round. COLOURlovers has raised $1 million from investors including Atlas Venture, Morado Ventures, Founder Collective, Charles River Ventures, 500 Startups, Seraph Group & Zelkova Ventures, Matt Mullenweg, Alexis Ohanian, Don Hutchison, Dharmesh Shah, Jared Friedman, and Shawn Bercuson (the startup says it got in touch with many of them via Angel List). 
P2P Learning Startup Skillshare Gets $550,000 From Founder Collective and SV Angel
May 03, 11:47PM
Peer-to-peer education startup Skillshare, which just launched in April, raised a $550,000 angel round, according to an SEC filing. Investors in the New York City startup include Founder Collective, SV Angel, Collaborative Fund, David Tisch, and Scott Heiferman. Skillshare is a community where people can offer classes to other members. People sign up online, and meet in person for real classes for everything from how to bake cupcakes to how to get startup funding. People can charge for the classes and Skillshare takes a 15 percent cut. Co-founder Michael Karnjanaprakorn used to be head of product at Hot Potato (since acquired by Facebook), and co-founder Malcolm Ong was the product manager at OMGPOP.
Google Dissolves Search Group Internally, Now Called "Knowledge"
May 03, 9:46PM
Google has seven major product groups. Advertising, Commerce & Local, Mobile (Android), Social, Chrome, YouTube and Search. Search is, of course, Google's first and most important product. But that group actually no longer exists internally. As of April, when Larry Page took over as CEO of the company, the search group was renamed the "knowledge group" internally. Google confirms the change. And, they point out, it was actually publicly announced in an SEC filing made on April 11. Nobody seems to have noticed that someone was named the SVP of a Google product group that previously hadn't existed. Why the change? That's a longer story.
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