Tuesday, May 14, 2013Google Celebrates Atari Anniversary With Breakout GameIt's the 37th anniversary of the videogame Atari Breakout, and the game has gotten its own tribute on Google. Google launched an online game--Atari Breakout--today, letting users play a version of the famous videogame created by Los Angeles resident Nolan Bushnell. Users searching for "atari breakout" on Google Image Search are presented with a working, real version of the videogame, played with image blocks made up of Atari Breakout photos. Bushnell, who founded both Atari and Chuck E'Cheese, h (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, May 14, 2013(Full story)
StyleHaul Adds Another $6MLos Angeles-based fashion video producer StyleHaul, the YouTube network headed by Stephanie Horbaczewski, has raised another $6M in funding, the firm disclosed Tuesday. The funding came from RLG Group, a European media company. StyleHaul's YouTube network focuses on celebrity, shopping, and fashion. The firm has previously raised funding from
Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments, Juvo Capital, RezVen Partners, Siemer Ventures, and Machinima's Allen DeBevoise.
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Melon Heads Towards Halfway Mark On Crowdfunding GoalOnly hours after the launch of its crowdfunding effort on Kickstarter, Los Angeles-based Melon is making progress towards the halfway mark on its crowdfunding goal of $100,000. According to the company's Kickstarter page, the firm was past $38,000 in terms of its goal since launch this morning. The startup--out of current Launchpad LA class, is developing an brainwave-reading headband which ties to your smartphone via a Bluetooth link, allowing users to monitor their brain patterns. The startup (More info...)
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Wallaby Helps Consumers Find Credit Cards, Rewards With New ServiceWallaby Financial, the developer of credit card recommendation and other financial apps, said today that it has launched a brand new product to help consumers find the best credit cards for their needs. Wallaby, one of the startups out of LA's MuckerLab accelerator, said its new Wallaby Boost product helps recommend the ideal mix of credit cards for a users' needs. The new tool analyzes a consumer's spending, and combines it with rewards preferences, favorite airlines, and more, and cranks out s (More info...)
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NetDNA Powers Wordpress Optimization ServiceLos Angeles-based content delivery network provider NetDNA is powering a web performance optimization service for WordPress blog owners this morning. NetDNA said that W3 Total Cache, which develops a plug-in for the popular WordPress web publishing software, is using its MaxCDN services to help its customers with optimizing WordPress sites. Financial impact of the deal were not disclosed. W3 Total Cache's plugin helps WordPress developers to manage browser caching, minifying scripts and code, an (More info...)
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DogVacay Launches Concierge ServiceNeed some help finding and booking someone to take care of your dog when you're away? Santa Monica-based DogVacay, the online, peer-to-peer dog boarding marketplace, is hoping to make it much easier to use its service, through the launch of a new "conciege" service today. DogVacay said it will use live operators to walk "pet parents" through the process of booking someone to board your pet.
According to DogVacay, the service is particularly aimed at pet owners with more complicated needs, or (More info...)
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Carving An Internet Niche With FamousBirthdays.comYou often hear the advice: do one thing, and do it well. That one thing, in the case of Los Angeles-based FamousBirthdays.com, is creating an online resource all about--you guessed it--famous birthdays. We caught up with founder Evan Britton about how his company has created the top site in the Internet niche of celebrity birthdays, and how that intense focus on a single niche--and user experience- has paid off for the company in terms of user engagement and growth.
What is FamousBirthdays. (More info...)
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Beachfront Expands Into Mobile Ad ServingVideo publishing software developer Beachfront Media is expanding into the mobile ad market today, saying that it has launched a new platform called Beachfront.io, which will help developers monetize their mobile apps with video advertising. According to Burbank-based Beachfront, the new tool helps serve up video advertising for app developers, handling mobile devices and tablets and optimizing video ads for app developers.
Beachfront, which is headed by Frank Sinton, said its new tool also (More info...)
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Melon Launches Crowdsourcing Effort To Get Into Your HeadWhat, exactly, is your brain doing--and why is that important to your productivity and focus? And, how can pulling brainwave data to your smartphone help you focus? A new, Los Angeles startup, Melon, has launched a Kickstarter campaign this morning to build a device to monitor your brainwave activity, and pull that data into your smartphone. The startup--one of the latest companies to emerge out of LA accelerator LaunchpadLA--said it wants to help users to understand their mental focus by gather (More info...)
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StockTwits Links With Online Broker Ditto TradeStockTwits, the online stock-focused communications and messaging service based in San Diego, has linked with online stock broker Ditto Trade, the two said Monday. According to the two, they have launched a new "Premium Ditto Profile" to identify StockTwits members offering trading and alert services through Ditto Trade. The two said the move allows people to follow the actual trades of StockTwits members. Ditto Trade offers up an online stock brokerage service which lets users follow--and imita (More info...)
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TrueCar Wins U.S. News and World ReportTrueCar, the auto pricing and automotive buying technology provider based in Santa Monica, said today that it has been selected by the U.S. News & World Report to provide used car pricing and valuation to the publisher. TrueCar said that U.S. News is now incorporating its ClearBook used car valuation tool on various places on its website. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. TrueCar's ClearBook tool provides used car valuations, based on actual used car sales data.
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EdgeCast Partners With TeliaSoneraSanta Monica-based content delivery network operator EdgeCast Networks and TeliaSonera said today that they are in a partnership, which will offer up site acceleration and CDN products to TeliaSonera's customer base. According to the companies, they will both make "significant" investments in network infrastructure, plus sales and marketing efforts, to provide acceleration and CDN services across TeliaSonera's Nordic markets. Financial details of the partnership were not disclosed. The two said (More info...)
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uSamp Snags Beachmint's CTOEncino-based market research and sampling firm uSamp said today that it has named Carl Trudel as its new Chief Technology Officer. Trudel was most recently CTO of BeachMint, and also served at Ticketmaster as SVP of Software Engineering, in addition to serving at Taleo. According to uSamp, Trudel has 18 years of experience in the field. uSamp provides market research services and sampling, and is venture backed by DFJ Frontier, Greycroft Partners, OpenView Venture Partners, and Webtigo.
posted on Tuesday, May 14, 2013(Full story)