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Google gets presentation sharing Zen with Zenter buy

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Google has acquired another tiny Web start-up as it continues to build out its portfolio of products. The latest little fish eaten by the Internet big fish is Zenter. No financial terms were disclosed.

What is Zenter you ask? It is a company which, according to a Google blog post, “provides software for creating online slide presentations.” Google plans to roll Zenter’s technology into Google Docs & Spreadsheets, looking in particular to add presentation-sharing capabilities to its online answer to Microsoft Office.

Zenter was previously a Y Combinator start up, according to TechCrunch.

Originally posted on June 19, 2007 @ 7:31 pm

Cnet adds new bloggers to site

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cnet-blogs.jpgTech Web site Cnet announced today a new group of blogs “written by leading industry experts about technology’s influence on a variety of topics.” These bloggers, apparently hand-picked by Cnet’s editors, join blogging coverage the site already offers on technology topics.

18 bloggers were invited to join the Cnet Blog Network and the tech Web site has plans to add more topics in bloggers in the coming months. Here is a sample of some of the new blogs added, as described by Cnet:

  • Cellular Obsession – Popular talk-show host Ronn Owens from San Francisco’s KGO Radio has talked so much to his listeners about the latest cell phones that it’s become a passionate hobby. Owens offers his opinions on the latest phones with the Cnet audience.
  • Design and Technology – Design enthusiast Jean Aw finds the most incredible things in the most unlikely of places and loves bringing them to the attention of her readers.
  • (parent . thesis) – Author of a book titled, “Mojo Mom”, Amy Tiemann and her husband Michael Tiemann offer the latest news and musings about raising kids in today’s hyper-connected, 24/7 world.
  • Sports Tech – As one of the founders of golf’s leading fitness resource, the Titleist Performance Institute, Dave Phillips writes about technology’s significant impact on golf today, and the sports gear that is giving today’s players an inside edge to every game they play.

“Cnet fosters a community where people can share their ideas and thoughts on the technology topics that most interest them,” said Jai Singh, senior vice president and editor-in-chief of Cnet. “The inclusion of these new independent voices on our network provides users with an even richer and comprehensive experience, as they turn to Cnet to learn about the latest in tech and consumer electronics.”

Originally posted on June 19, 2007 @ 3:56 pm

Snap adds social networking profile, RSS previews

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new-snap-stuff.jpgSnap Technologies, owners of Snap.com, today announced the addition of two preview features to its visual approach to search called Snap Shots. These features involve social networking profiles and RSS feeds.

ProfileShot, said Snap, delivers details about people when it discovers information referencing social network pages. The profile contains the username, age, gender, location, tagline and a photo — all contained in the shot window. Links from MySpace are the first to be supported with additional support for other social networking sites in the near future.

RSS Shot, meanwhile, provides previews of sites enabled with RSS feeds. The RSS Shot will show in the window a summary (including date/time stamp) of the most recent articles posted (typically 2 to 4) from the feed or an excerpt from a linked ‘permalink’ page for the blog.

Additional overall enhancements to the Snap Shots service, added Snap, include the Zoom feature, which enables anyone to increase (and then decrease) the size of any Snap Shot bubble at will during a user’s session.

Originally posted on June 19, 2007 @ 8:14 pm

YippyKya launches as e-commerce enabled social networking site

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yippykya.jpgYippyKya, a new social networking site with an entrepreneurial bent, launched today. The site is the product of John Reger, a pioneer of several Houston, TX brands.

YippyKya, which will initially cover the Houston area, describes itself as “a revolutionary social networking site that provides people the opportunity to make money or get discovered as artists, all while making friends across the world.” The site lets users create online stores through which they can sell personal items and creations directly to their customers as well as personalizing their store to market to other YippyKya users. The idea, it seems, is to create a social marketplace where users can discover the talents and wares of as yet undiscovered artists, including fashion designers, musical performers, painters, models, DJs, photographers, jewelers, and cinematographers.

“While many of today’s social networking sites are simply extensions of various social cliques, YippyKya has developed a “go to market” strategy that encourages its users to interact…everywhere!” said Reger.

Originally posted on June 19, 2007 @ 8:30 pm

OPA study shows ad habits of online video viewers

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The Online Publishers Association is out with a new study which states consumers are more likely to act on video ads viewed on media sites. It also found the frequency by which consumers are watching videos online continues to make huge gains. All of this information is being shared as part of the OPA’s ongoing Eyes of the Internet tour.

The OPA, in its study Frames of Reference, sampled 1,422 online video users. During its survey the OPA observed consumers are more likely to act on ads they see on media sites versus portals or user-generated content sites. Over one-third of consumers on magazine (38%), newspaper (37%), and online-only news (35%) sites say they have searched for more information after watching a video ad, while about one-quarter did so after watching an ad on a portal (27%) or UGC (24%) site. This, along with other data, promoted the idea that if a consumer has a positive attitude toward an advertised brand, and likes the video content that the ad appeared within, brand consideration jumps.

In terms of online video viewership in general, the OPA observed online video viewers are watching videos far more often than they did a year ago. In March of 2006 5% of online video viewers watched once a day and 24% watched at least once a month. As of this year weekly viewership has jumped more than 80% since last year — with 44% watching weekly — while those watching daily climbed to 8%.

It was also observed that the leading video content category is news/current events, followed by weather and jokes/funny clips.

Originally posted on June 19, 2007 @ 3:41 pm