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Bebo Expands U.S. Reach by Targeting Hispanics Posted: 09 Mar 2009 10:14 AM PDT Bebo has launched its U.S. Latino website, in an effort to expand its reach within the U.S. market as well as further integrate this AOL property with other aspects of the larger AOL experience. In addition to launching the U.S. Latino site, Bebo has also teamed up with Hearst Magazines Digital Media unit, which already powers AOL’s bilingual portal for U.S. Hispanics and AOL Latino. The new U.S. Latino site is customized for the niche demographic target, with brands and entertainment geared towards the Hispanic market. It’s a move that most major social networks have taken, most notably MySpace, with joint concerts and specialized media campaigns that involve the expanded advertising to go along with it. The new U.S Latino site also appears to be the next step in Bebo’s continued growth road map, which has already taken the network to several countries across Europe. What started out as a UK site has since been acquired by AOL and is seeking some rather aggressive American expansion, with this U.S. Latino site appearing to be the latest of such initiatives. Bebo is also relying on its new format and Open Media Platform for catering to the Hispanic market, and more readily integrating content from its media partner Hearst. With the Lifestream and Lifestory features that Bebo has been rolling out, in part due to its acquisition of SocialThing late last year, Bebo is hoping that the new layout and design will better enable users to retrieve, consume and share media with each other. It’s clear that Bebo is hoping that these features become effective channels for branding and ad delivery, especially as social networks are seeking improved and integrated ways to push ads through the site. Though Bebo is also experimenting with some other potential forms of revenue, including virtual goods and direct market exchanges between users and services, there is still a need to explore better ways in which advertising can be moved through social networks. Especially as Bebo and others continue to open their platforms for application and other uses, the types of advertising and marketing campaigns that can be pushed through a social network like Bebo continues to evolve.

New Opportunities and Tools for Startups Seeking Funding Posted: 09 Mar 2009 07:03 AM PDT With the second quarter coming up it’s time for incubator programs to get moving, helping out startups and putting them on the right track for growth and success throughout the rest of the year and beyond. A handful of incubator programs, including Capital Factory, Launchbox Digital, and Angelsoft, have already taken the steps to seek out the companies they’ll be working with this spring and summer, in an effort to have well-run programs that are beneficial to the entrepreneurship experience even in the current economic climate. Capital Factory has in fact chosen its final 10 mentors that will be advising the startups participating in their incubator program. The Austin-based technology incubator has announced its advisors as Andrew Busy, founder and CEO of Challenge Games, Russel Hinds, former Chairman and COO of Sponsorwise, Kip McClanahan, former CEO and board member to several companies including 3Com/TippingPoint, andAdam Moor, co-founder of Springbox, to name a few. Add this to the other 10 technology entrepreneurs, including founders Joshua Baer, Sam Decker and Bryan Menell, that are taking part in Capital Factory’s incubator program, and the lineup is looking increasingly promising for this newly formed incubator. The deadline for startups interested in applying for the Capital Factory program is March 27, so click here if you’re interested in taking part. Launchbox Digital is also looking to finalize its lineup. The D.C.-based incubator has in fact already seen the end of the early admission submission deadline, and is currently determining the viability of these existing applicants. However, there’s still time for the rest of you. The final application deadline March 16. And as LaunchBox has already stated the criteria for rating applications, the latecomers that are thinking of applying for LaunchBox’s incubator program should take note. The three main points of consideration include market opportunity, the product/service itself, and the team behind the startup. If you’re interested, click here for more information. Lastly, there’s Angelsoft’s new Investor Search Engine. While this isn’t an incubator program, it is a new service set up for connecting entrepreneurs with investors. The aim of the Investor Search Engine is to make the process of finding funding easier for startup companies. The search engine itself has detailed profiles on 1,000+ venture capital firms as well as angel investment groups, with search filters that have been likened to those seen on travel search engine Kayak.com. With this comparison in mind, it appears that Angelsoft’s new Investor Search Engine will enable entrepreneurs to search on a variety of factors, from geography to areas of expertise, with a handful of recommendations set in place as well. Other factors for Angelsoft’s Investors Tools, such as a group’s average response time and the number of applicants a group receives each month, are all used to enhance the results provided in the new search engine. It will be interesting to see if this automated matchmaking approach will work on the investor end, but for now it seems like this search engine could at least be quite helpful for entrepreneurs.

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