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AOL relaunches sports site, focuses on blogs

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AOL SportsAOL today launched a new version of its sports site that focuses on community content and blogs, and leverages the power of its top sports blog the FanHouse. The overhauled sports and news sites build on the success of the blog-centric format first used by celebrity gossip site TMZ.com, a joint venture of AOL and Telepictures Productions.

In addition to the new web 2.0 features, the sports site features traditional sports news, exclusive columnists, up-to-the-minute scoreboards, and user-generated video. AOL also announced a new fantasy football experience that provides simple sign up, and will include free live scoring, line-up analyzer and free online draft kit.

The new AOL Sports blog format invites discussion and debate about top sports stories. Posts are tagged by topic and team so fans can easily find news on their favorite team or rivals. The site also incorporates the FanHouse on the main sports page, giving users the power to engage in a real-time dialogue with other sports fans.

Originally posted on July 2, 2007 @ 8:10 am

Charitable organization places first iPhone sold in New York in eBay to raise funds

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spike_lee.jpgKeep A Child Alive, a charitable organization that gets anti-retroviral treatment to children infected with AIDS in Africa, is auctioning the first iPhone on eBay along with 2 Jawbone Bluetooth headsets, 2 round-trip domestic plane tickets and 2 VIP passes to the Black Ball. The iPhone will be personalized with a celebrity voice mail recording and presented by Alicia Keys at the organization’s Black Ball honoring Bono on October 25th in New York City.

Supporters of Keep A Child Alive took advantage of the wildly hyped iPhone launch by standing in line for 4 days and communicating the charity’s grassroots mission to New Yorkers and media from around the world. At 6 pm on Friday, June 29th, Spike Lee, renowned director, producer, writer and actor, joined Keep A Child Alive volunteers at Apple’s Soho location to purchase the first iPhone.

“We’re thrilled to see this is the most expensive iPhone on eBay,” said Elizabeth Santiso, VP at Keep A Child Alive. “It’s an unbelievable experience that we’re offering – not only does the highest bidder get the first iPhone sold, but it will be personalized for them and he/she gets to meet Alicia Keys at the Black Ball.”

Originally posted on July 2, 2007 @ 7:50 am

Movavi launches free online video conversion service

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MovaviMovavi today launched Movavi Online, a web-based service that enables users to convert video from one format to another – for sharing, podcasting, cellphones, iPods, and more – for free.

Because it’s online, there is no software for users to install. Instead, the service converts video uploaded from any Windows, Mac or Linux-based PC with access to the Internet via a Web browser. Users simply upload a file, choose the desired output format, and provide an email address. When complete, Movavi uses the email address to notify users when and where they can download their converted files. The process usually takes less than a day, and users may convert up to five 10-minute, 100MB clips during one session. The service supports a range of popular video formats, including AVI, MP4, MPEG 2 (PAL and NTSC), MPEG 4, iPod at 320×240, iPod 5G at 640×480, PSP, 3gp and 3gp2 for cellphones, MOV for podcasting, and FLV Flash video.

Movavi also offers at no charge six different widgets with which bloggers, designers, developers, individuals and companies may embed a line of code in order to offer video conversion services from their own Web sites, blogs and social networking pages.

Originally posted on July 2, 2007 @ 1:00 pm

MTV introduces WannaBeMade.com for personal development journeys

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verticle_140.jpgMTV’s Emmy-Award winning series “Made” has chronicled the struggles of a generation of young people on their paths to personal fulfillment. Now, a new online community from MTV, WannaBeMade.com, allows viewers to launch their own personal development journeys with the help of others. The most emotional and rewarding stories will be incorporated into the current season of “Made.”

By simply visiting WannaBeMade.com, viewers who chose to “wanna be made” can quickly and easily find coaches to help them in a potentially endless amount of areas – from cheerleading to acting, break dancing to becoming a prom queen. A viewer, for instance, who wants to be made into a surfer can find surfing aficionados who can recommend all the right boards, offer tips on techniques, and share insight about the best surfing spots for beginners, experts and everyone in-between. Every journey will be chronicled on the viewer’s profile page including diary entries and a personal progress rating.

Originally posted on June 30, 2007 @ 10:35 pm

Konnects.com launches social networking platform

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KonnectsKonnects.com has launched the first professional networking platform that enables any person or organization in the world to earn revenue by creating their own professional online social network on the Konnects platform.

Konnects is a cross between Ning and Linkedin. Anyone can setup their own Konnects powered community in minutes and generate revenue through subscriptions as well as posting their own Google ads. Users have complete control over their online community with branding and communication tools as well as detailed analytical reports on community and user activity.

“We are very excited about this launch. There isn’t a tool like Konnects in the market today and we feel there is a big need to give traditional organizations a place to stay connected online,” says Jim Crabbe, Konnects CEO.

Originally posted on June 28, 2007 @ 2:27 pm