VentureBeat » DemoBeat http://venturebeat.com News About Tech, Money and Innovation Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:00:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 DEMO’s visits to London and Boston show California is great place to launch http://venturebeat.com/2009/10/30/demos-visits-to-london-and-boston-show-california-is-great-place-to-launch/ http://venturebeat.com/2009/10/30/demos-visits-to-london-and-boston-show-california-is-great-place-to-launch/#comments Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:37:53 +0000 Matt Marshall http://venturebeat.com/?p=138133 I’ve been on the road lately, in a continued effort to find and meet with the best companies around to launch new products at the DEMO conference, and have been developing some cool ideas for DEMO’s next conference in March. I’ll share more about those ideas in future posts.

First, here are a few thoughts, after wrapping up a trip to London this week, and Boston last week.

In each of these places, there are hordes of ambitious, talented entrepreneurs. As I mull whether to keep the conference in California, or to possibly hold it in some other city (or at least alternate locations), the feedback I get suggests there are very compelling reasons companies should launch their product at a conference like DEMO — precisely because it takes place in California. The next DEMO is in Palm Springs, on March 21-23. The DEMO conference draws much of the U.S-based tech media, as well as venture capitalists and corporate development people — all in a single place where companies can both launch and grab time with all of these players at the same time. It’s quick (in a day and age when quick is crucial) and efficient. The almuni companies that have launched there include names like Saleforce.com, TiVo, Palm, ETrade, Adobe’s Acrobat — the list goes on.

On Wednesday, I met about 70 entrepreneurs in London at the Sanderson Hotel, after meeting about 100 people in Boston at Vox. The refrain I heard from these entrepreneurs was the same: It’s fine to launch companies anywhere in the world, but traveling to California, at least for visits, is often unavoidable.

Take, for example, the case of Shazam. Today I visited with the fast-growing company, which lets you hold up your phone to a radio and instantly recognizes the song that is playing — so that you can find it later, buy it or share it with friends.

Shazam is based in London and just became the first ever English company to get funding from Kleiner Perkins, the Silicon Valley venture firm that has helped build big consumer brands, including Google and Amazon. Shazam chief executive Andrew Fisher told me he reached out specifically to Kleiner in order to get the help needed to build such a brand. If you’ve heard the meme about how Silicon Valley has lost its edge, ask Fisher what it’s like to run a music business from London. He can manage, but he lives near Heathrow airport and basically spends half his time in the U.S. doing deals.

He provided other reasons why the U.S. market is crucial if you’re a web company building a consumer brand. Earlier in its life, Shazam focused mostly on striking deals with U.S. mobile phone operators (Verizon, AT&T, etc), because it wanted to get its application on the decks of phones. This need wasn’t enough to force the company to move to the U.S., because Fisher still had to travel throughout the U.S to visit each carrier’s offices; these were spread out enough so that no single U.S.-based office would have served Shazam’s needs (Fisher found it just as easy to fly over from London).

However, the mobile locus of power is now moving away from the operators, and Shazam is striking deals with all kinds of other players. Shazam needs agreements with music labels — to list songs within its database. It’s doing deals with advertisers and partnering with other Web companies (it is not a music store itself and wants to work with existing companies where users have profiles, including Facebook, Myspace and Twitter), and here again, California is a more central base to do this from. More recently, the company is doing deals with major handset manufacturers, in part because Google’s Android operating system has given manufacturers more ways to customize their interface (including highlighting certain applications like Shazam). Again, this is arguably easier to do from California than the UK. So Shazam now has an office in San Mateo, Calif., not far from the San Francisco airport. And it’s expanding staff there: The company is looking to hire a senior level strategic marketing executive.

In the valley, Fisher says, “everyone is an entrepreneur.” Most employees, even if they’re not CEOs, think about a company’s business value. In London, by contrast, fewer people have the same work ethos. So his team been very selective while hiring. Shazam, he says, has a “mini valley culture,” and a high proportion of its workforce are people not originally from the UK.

We’ve also heard through the grapevine that Spotify, another English music company, is in the same boat. Its executives have been visiting the U.S. regularly (to sign deals with labels and strike other partnerships) and is searching for a CEO for a separate U.S. operation it is setting up. Legally, you have to have a U.S.-based organization in order to strike licensing deals for the tracks (Kazaa showed the labels how dangerous it was to deal with companies outside of the U.S.).

Clearly, there’s no doubt you can build a modern Web company anywhere in the world. But if you’re building a global brand, there’s a big chance you’ll need to be in California. And what better stage of a company’s life to be there than at its product launch — when it can get in the same room as all of the main players.

I’ll be talking more about DEMO’s plans over the next few weeks. One idea we’ve been mulling is how to create more focus on specific verticals, such as consumer internet, cleantech, healthcare, mobile, enterprise, software, social media, etc.

Meantime, the next DEMO tour stop will be in San Francisco on Dec 2. Sign up now. This is going to be fun; we’ll have a live jam session.

]]> DEMO LaunchI’ve been on the road lately, in a continued effort to find and meet with the best companies around to launch new products at the DEMO conference, and have been developing some cool ideas for DEMO’s next conference in March. I’ll share more about those ideas in future posts.

First, here are a few thoughts, after wrapping up a trip to London this week, and Boston last week.

In each of these places, there are hordes of ambitious, talented entrepreneurs. As I mull whether to keep the conference in California, or to possibly hold it in some other city (or at least alternate locations), the feedback I get suggests there are very compelling reasons companies should launch their product at a conference like DEMO — precisely because it takes place in California. The next DEMO is in Palm Springs, on March 21-23. The DEMO conference draws much of the U.S-based tech media, as well as venture capitalists and corporate development people — all in a single place where companies can both launch and grab time with all of these players at the same time. It’s quick (in a day and age when quick is crucial) and efficient. The almuni companies that have launched there include names like Saleforce.com, TiVo, Palm, ETrade, Adobe’s Acrobat — the list goes on.

On Wednesday, I met about 70 entrepreneurs in London at the Sanderson Hotel, after meeting about 100 people in Boston at Vox. The refrain I heard from these entrepreneurs was the same: It’s fine to launch companies anywhere in the world, but traveling to California, at least for visits, is often unavoidable.

Take, for example, the case of Shazam. Today I visited with the fast-growing company, which lets you hold up your phone to a radio and instantly recognizes the song that is playing — so that you can find it later, buy it or share it with friends.

Shazam is based in London and just became the first ever English company to get funding from Kleiner Perkins, the Silicon Valley venture firm that has helped build big consumer brands, including Google and Amazon. Shazam chief executive Andrew Fisher told me he reached out specifically to Kleiner in order to get the help needed to build such a brand. If you’ve heard the meme about how Silicon Valley has lost its edge, ask Fisher what it’s like to run a music business from London. He can manage, but he lives near Heathrow airport and basically spends half his time in the U.S. doing deals.

shazamHe provided other reasons why the U.S. market is crucial if you’re a web company building a consumer brand. Earlier in its life, Shazam focused mostly on striking deals with U.S. mobile phone operators (Verizon, AT&T, etc), because it wanted to get its application on the decks of phones. This need wasn’t enough to force the company to move to the U.S., because Fisher still had to travel throughout the U.S to visit each carrier’s offices; these were spread out enough so that no single U.S.-based office would have served Shazam’s needs (Fisher found it just as easy to fly over from London).

However, the mobile locus of power is now moving away from the operators, and Shazam is striking deals with all kinds of other players. Shazam needs agreements with music labels — to list songs within its database. It’s doing deals with advertisers and partnering with other Web companies (it is not a music store itself and wants to work with existing companies where users have profiles, including Facebook, Myspace and Twitter), and here again, California is a more central base to do this from. More recently, the company is doing deals with major handset manufacturers, in part because Google’s Android operating system has given manufacturers more ways to customize their interface (including highlighting certain applications like Shazam). Again, this is arguably easier to do from California than the UK. So Shazam now has an office in San Mateo, Calif., not far from the San Francisco airport. And it’s expanding staff there: The company is looking to hire a senior level strategic marketing executive.

In the valley, Fisher says, “everyone is an entrepreneur.” Most employees, even if they’re not CEOs, think about a company’s business value. In London, by contrast, fewer people have the same work ethos. So his team been very selective while hiring. Shazam, he says, has a “mini valley culture,” and a high proportion of its workforce are people not originally from the UK.

We’ve also heard through the grapevine that Spotify, another English music company, is in the same boat. Its executives have been visiting the U.S. regularly (to sign deals with labels and strike other partnerships) and is searching for a CEO for a separate U.S. operation it is setting up. Legally, you have to have a U.S.-based organization in order to strike licensing deals for the tracks (Kazaa showed the labels how dangerous it was to deal with companies outside of the U.S.).

Clearly, there’s no doubt you can build a modern Web company anywhere in the world. But if you’re building a global brand, there’s a big chance you’ll need to be in California. And what better stage of a company’s life to be there than at its product launch — when it can get in the same room as all of the main players.

I’ll be talking more about DEMO’s plans over the next few weeks. One idea we’ve been mulling is how to create more focus on specific verticals, such as consumer internet, cleantech, healthcare, mobile, enterprise, software, social media, etc.

Meantime, the next DEMO tour stop will be in San Francisco on Dec 2. Sign up now. This is going to be fun; we’ll have a live jam session.

]]> http://venturebeat.com/2009/10/30/demos-visits-to-london-and-boston-show-california-is-great-place-to-launch/feed/ 3 VentureBeat-DEMO meetup in London — see you at the Sanderson Hotel http://demo.venturebeat.com/2009/10/23/venturebeat-demo-meetup-in-london-see-you-at-the-sanderson-hotel/ http://demo.venturebeat.com/2009/10/23/venturebeat-demo-meetup-in-london-see-you-at-the-sanderson-hotel/#comments Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:47:59 +0000 Matt Marshall http://venturebeat.com/?p=136581 VentureBeat is coming to London!

We’re hosting cocktails on Wednesday, Oct 28., at the groovy Sanderson Hotel in London’s Soho from 6 to 8pm. I’ll be in London to moderate at the Symbian mobile conference SEE next week, but wanted to take the opportunity to meet up with local technology entrepreneurs, too. We’re meeting for casual conversation at the Hotel’s Long Bar Courtyard, where we have a private table area reserved with a hostess. Register here.

If you’re one of the first 40 people who show up, you get a free drink (come see me, or just ask the hostess!).

As executive producer of DEMO, the leading conference for technology product launches, I’d also like to meet entrepreneurs interested in showcasing their product at the next DEMO conference.

The next DEMO is on March 21-23 at in Palm Springs, Calif. We’re already scouring the globe for the best companies to select for the next event. We had a meetup last night in Boston, where it was great to see enthusiasm among local entrepreneurs running high. Also there was Jason Carlson, chief executive of EMO Labs, one of the companies that shared the $1 million DEMO media prize during the last DEMO in Sept. He said he’s had spectacular publicity since the event, having had 80 articles about the company.

After London, I’ll return to the U.S. and do more meet-ups around the country, including in New York on Dec 10 at the 310 Lounge at the Bowery (more on that later).

Here’s more about our most recent DEMO event, where 70 companies launched products and announced innovative business plans.

]]> sanderson-1VentureBeat is coming to London!

We’re hosting cocktails on Wednesday, Oct 28., at the groovy Sanderson Hotel in London’s Soho from 6 to 8pm. I’ll be in London to moderate at the Symbian mobile conference SEE next week, but wanted to take the opportunity to meet up with local technology entrepreneurs, too. We’re meeting for casual conversation at the Hotel’s Long Bar Courtyard, where we have a private table area reserved with a hostess. Register here.

If you’re one of the first 40 people who show up, you get a free drink (come see me, or just ask the hostess!).

As executive producer of DEMO, the leading conference for technology product launches, I’d also like to meet entrepreneurs interested in showcasing their product at the next DEMO conference.

sanderson-4The next DEMO is on March 21-23 at in Palm Springs, Calif. We’re already scouring the globe for the best companies to select for the next event. We had a meetup last night in Boston, where it was great to see enthusiasm among local entrepreneurs running high. Also there was Jason Carlson, chief executive of EMO Labs, one of the companies that shared the $1 million DEMO media prize during the last DEMO in Sept. He said he’s had spectacular publicity since the event, having had 80 articles about the company.

After London, I’ll return to the U.S. and do more meet-ups around the country, including in New York on Dec 10 at the 310 Lounge at the Bowery (more on that later).

Here’s more about our most recent DEMO event, where 70 companies launched products and announced innovative business plans.

]]> http://demo.venturebeat.com/2009/10/23/venturebeat-demo-meetup-in-london-see-you-at-the-sanderson-hotel/feed/ 0 Demo ‘10 begins in Boston — calling all awesome startups http://demo.venturebeat.com/2009/10/20/demo-10-begins-in-boston-calling-all-awesome-startups-2/ http://demo.venturebeat.com/2009/10/20/demo-10-begins-in-boston-calling-all-awesome-startups-2/#comments Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:59:04 +0000 Matt Marshall http://venturebeat.com/?p=135759 It’s been a few weeks since Demo took San Diego by storm, and I posted a few days ago about a few of the cool things that happened to some of the demonstrating companies.

More on that in a sec. But here’s a reminder that we’re gearing up to do it all over again with DEMO ‘10, March 21st-23rd in Palm Desert, CA.

The applications are already rolling in, which means it’s time for myself and other VentureBeat team members to meet the next wave of entrepreneur applicants, in other words YOU!

Start your DEMO application here and meet me next Thursday, the 22nd, in Boston’s Vox bar. If you’re one of the first 40 folks to show up, you’ll get a free drink (but register here). There I’ll be joined by our co-host Bob Buderi of XConomy. Bob will be coming off a Wednesday XConomy conference on New England venture capital, featuring an intimate conversation with VC legends Peter Brooke, chairman of NVCA, and Terry McGuire, managing director of Polaris Ventures. Grab the few remaining tickets here and we’ll talk about it all on Wednesday. Most importantly though, I’d like to learn about your startup’s vision for DEMO ‘10. I’m taking meetings on Friday too.

In fact, we found several companies in Boston when we visited before the last DEMO, and one of them was Pinyadda, which became one of the first “Alpha Pitch companies” — getting 90 seconds to pitch in front of the full DEMO audience of investors, corporate development executives and media. As mentioned last week, they said they had a great time at the conference. They took home a “DEMOGod” award.

For those of you unfamiliar with Pinyadda (we’ll likely be writing more about them), the company’s product allows you to use friends and other trusted sources to get information relevant to you. It calls its approach “personalized information networks” (hence the name pinyadda). The startup’s VP of Product, Austin Gardner Smith, noted that their decision to come to DEMO started as a desire for the company to plug into the West Coast, Silicon Valley network of startups and VCs. In retrospect, Smith told us, the quality and helpfulness of DEMO attendees created a collaborative environment that helped the startup get different use cases for its product and explore new possibilities for its beta release (something we heard from several others, including 80legs.)

Smith’s main advice for DEMO candidates: Get your pitch down. Take it from the winner: Smith pointed out his team used the pitch to drive traffic to their pavilion display, not as a one-time chance to pitch their product. DEMO conference SEO — we like it!

Since DEMO, the startup has been gearing up for its beta release. We’re looking forward to watching them grow, and want to see them back at DEMO. I expect to see many more stories like Pinyadda’s emerge throughout DEMO ‘10.

]]> bostonIt’s been a few weeks since Demo took San Diego by storm, and I posted a few days ago about a few of the cool things that happened to some of the demonstrating companies.

More on that in a sec. But here’s a reminder that we’re gearing up to do it all over again with DEMO ‘10, March 21st-23rd in Palm Desert, CA.

The applications are already rolling in, which means it’s time for myself and other VentureBeat team members to meet the next wave of entrepreneur applicants, in other words YOU!

Start your DEMO application here and meet me next Thursday, the 22nd, in Boston’s Vox bar. If you’re one of the first 40 folks to show up, you’ll get a free drink (but register here). There I’ll be joined by our co-host Bob Buderi of XConomy. Bob will be coming off a Wednesday XConomy conference on New England venture capital, featuring an intimate conversation with VC legends Peter Brooke, chairman of NVCA, and Terry McGuire, managing director of Polaris Ventures. Grab the few remaining tickets here and we’ll talk about it all on Wednesday. Most importantly though, I’d like to learn about your startup’s vision for DEMO ‘10. I’m taking meetings on Friday too.

In fact, we found several companies in Boston when we visited before the last DEMO, and one of them was Pinyadda, which became one of the first “Alpha Pitch companies” — getting 90 seconds to pitch in front of the full DEMO audience of investors, corporate development executives and media. As mentioned last week, they said they had a great time at the conference. They took home a “DEMOGod” award.

demo-logo-269For those of you unfamiliar with Pinyadda (we’ll likely be writing more about them), the company’s product allows you to use friends and other trusted sources to get information relevant to you. It calls its approach “personalized information networks” (hence the name pinyadda). The startup’s VP of Product, Austin Gardner Smith, noted that their decision to come to DEMO started as a desire for the company to plug into the West Coast, Silicon Valley network of startups and VCs. In retrospect, Smith told us, the quality and helpfulness of DEMO attendees created a collaborative environment that helped the startup get different use cases for its product and explore new possibilities for its beta release (something we heard from several others, including 80legs.)

Smith’s main advice for DEMO candidates: Get your pitch down. Take it from the winner: Smith pointed out his team used the pitch to drive traffic to their pavilion display, not as a one-time chance to pitch their product. DEMO conference SEO — we like it!

Since DEMO, the startup has been gearing up for its beta release. We’re looking forward to watching them grow, and want to see them back at DEMO. I expect to see many more stories like Pinyadda’s emerge throughout DEMO ‘10.

]]> http://demo.venturebeat.com/2009/10/20/demo-10-begins-in-boston-calling-all-awesome-startups-2/feed/ 2 DEMO rocked! Now the party starts again http://demo.venturebeat.com/2009/10/09/demo-rocked-now-the-party-starts-again/ http://demo.venturebeat.com/2009/10/09/demo-rocked-now-the-party-starts-again/#comments Fri, 09 Oct 2009 20:29:48 +0000 Matt Marshall http://venturebeat.com/?p=133658 It’s been two weeks since the end of DEMO. I’m awestruck by the experience, both by all of the incredibly talented people that convened there in San Diego, and by the traction 70 entrepreneurs were able to get during those short few days.

Thank you to all of the people who came and make it such a terrific event.

I’ll talk about highlights shortly, but now it’s time to to start it all over again. We’re already gearing up for the next DEMO. I have to admit, this is going to be a different hat for me; I’m used to wearing the hat of hard-nosed reporter. But it’s turning out to be a lot of fun.

If you’re an entrepreneur with a product you’d like to demonstrate (or pitch as an Alphapitch) at the next DEMO, to be held in March 23-23 in Palm Springs, California, you should sign up soon!

During this DEMO, we had to put some companies on a waiting list. Even some qualified companies couldn’t make it in. So don’t wait around. Set up an appointment to meet with me in San Francisco, because I’m eager to get started. Or if you’re not local, our cross-country tour is now kicking into gear again, starting with an evening of cocktails at the VOX bar in Boston on Oct 22. Please join us. If you’re one of the first 40 folks to show up, you’ll get a free drink (but register here). I’ll be announcing other regional stops soon.

Back to the DEMO experience in San Diego. I’ve pored over the feedback from demonstrators. One remarkable factoid: Every single company that filled out a survey was satisfied. Not a single company said they were dissatisfied. Mostly, they cited the credibility of the event, the networking with VCs and corporate development executives, and the press they got out of it.

Thankfully, it wasn’t all work; there were laughs too. One of my favorite memories was the launch by French entrepreneur Micha Benoliel, chief executive of Digitrad Communications. When he went on stage, he was so pumped up he literally screamed out his introduction. After he was done, he ran out of the conference hall, and across the street, yelling “I did it!”

To witness the stress these entrepreneurs undergo beforehand, and then the amazing adrenalin they get during the demo, and to see the tangible results afterward — there’s just nothing like it.

Shion Deysarkar, chief executive of 80legs (pictured above), has written up a good overview of what it’s like to launch at DEMO. He covers the nerve-wracking lead-up, the presentation itself, and finally, the results he got. Here’s an excerpt:

When I woke up the next day, I saw several hundred emails, about 300 tweets referring to 80legs and dozens of articles discussing us… Here are some quick stats showing how well we did on this front:

# of articles on 80legs: 16 # of times 80legs was mentioned as “Best of DEMOfall09″: 2 # of re-tweets of articles: 700+ I should also note that we got posted to Hacker News, Digg and Slashdot. # of users that logged in since DEMO: 1554 # of jobs run since DEMO: 1557

At left is a chart of his traffic. Notably, DEMO also gave him feedback that helped change his business model. A number of companies reached out and asked for customized services on top of 80legs. So now 80legs is going to help them either build customized products that are powered by 80legs, or 80Apps that run within 80legs. The company had originally expected third-party companies to build these services and products themselves.

There were a ton of other testimonies. The folks from TwirlTV reported a surge in traffic helped by a prominent article in USA Today after DEMO. They also scored CBS TV as a founding sponsor advertiser. Noam Bardin, of traffic application site Waze, said DEMO helped push his app to #4 in the navigation category on the iPhone.

Here are a few other quotes:

“DEMO has been a valuable and delightful experience. A chance to make deep connections with influencers, active investors and other presenters. A better place to announce for an early stage enterprise company than just another tradeshow.” — Vitaly M. Golomb, CEO, Keen Systems, Inc.

“DEMO is a great brand for launching new technology. We are extremely happy with the PR exposure that DEMO made possible. The AlphaPitch was the perfect opportunity for a bootstrapping company like ours to stand out without stretching our budget.” — Ringful.com Team

“Top to bottom this conference rocked. The group of presenters and attendees were great, the events were incredibly fun and the DEMO staff works harder than a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest to deliver a great experience. I will definitely be making it back to DEMO in the future.” — Chase Garbarino Co-founder and CEO, Pinyadda Inc.

“DEMO was absolutely one of the greatest venues I’ve ever participated in. Classy, Intellectual, and just down right legit. You’d be silly to launch anywhere else.” — Tom Serres, Founder and CEO of Piryx.

Can’t wait to do this again. See you in March. Deadline for application is January 18, 2010! Oh, and we’re going to use #DEMO to carry on the conversation on Twitter.

]]> demo-launchIt’s been two weeks since the end of DEMO. I’m awestruck by the experience, both by all of the incredibly talented people that convened there in San Diego, and by the traction 70 entrepreneurs were able to get during those short few days.

Thank you to all of the people who came and make it such a terrific event.

I’ll talk about highlights shortly, but now it’s time to to start it all over again. We’re already gearing up for the next DEMO. I have to admit, this is going to be a different hat for me; I’m used to wearing the hat of hard-nosed reporter. But it’s turning out to be a lot of fun.

If you’re an entrepreneur with a product you’d like to demonstrate (or pitch as an Alphapitch) at the next DEMO, to be held in March 23-23 in Palm Springs, California, you should sign up soon!

During this DEMO, we had to put some companies on a waiting list. Even some qualified companies couldn’t make it in. So don’t wait around. Set up an appointment to meet with me in San Francisco, because I’m eager to get started. Or if you’re not local, our cross-country tour is now kicking into gear again, starting with an evening of cocktails at the VOX bar in Boston on Oct 22. Please join us. If you’re one of the first 40 folks to show up, you’ll get a free drink (but register here). I’ll be announcing other regional stops soon.

demo-receptionBack to the DEMO experience in San Diego. I’ve pored over the feedback from demonstrators. One remarkable factoid: Every single company that filled out a survey was satisfied. Not a single company said they were dissatisfied. Mostly, they cited the credibility of the event, the networking with VCs and corporate development executives, and the press they got out of it.

Thankfully, it wasn’t all work; there were laughs too. One of my favorite memories was the launch by French entrepreneur Micha Benoliel, chief executive of Digitrad Communications. When he went on stage, he was so pumped up he literally screamed out his introduction. After he was done, he ran out of the conference hall, and across the street, yelling “I did it!”

To witness the stress these entrepreneurs undergo beforehand, and then the amazing adrenalin they get during the demo, and to see the tangible results afterward — there’s just nothing like it.

Shion Deysarkar, chief executive of 80legs (pictured above), has written up a good overview of what it’s like to launch at DEMO. He covers the nerve-wracking lead-up, the presentation itself, and finally, the results he got. Here’s an excerpt:

When I woke up the next day, I saw several hundred emails, about 300 tweets referring to 80legs and dozens of articles discussing us… Here are some quick stats showing how well we did on this front:

  • # of articles on 80legs: 16
  • # of times 80legs was mentioned as “Best of DEMOfall09″: 2
  • # of re-tweets of articles: 700+
  • I should also note that we got posted to Hacker News, Digg and Slashdot.
  • # of users that logged in since DEMO: 1554
  • # of jobs run since DEMO: 1557

chart-trafficAt left is a chart of his traffic. Notably, DEMO also gave him feedback that helped change his business model. A number of companies reached out and asked for customized services on top of 80legs. So now 80legs is going to help them either build customized products that are powered by 80legs, or 80Apps that run within 80legs. The company had originally expected third-party companies to build these services and products themselves.

There were a ton of other testimonies. The folks from TwirlTV reported a surge in traffic helped by a prominent article in USA Today after DEMO. They also scored CBS TV as a founding sponsor advertiser. Noam Bardin, of traffic application site Waze, said DEMO helped push his app to #4 in the navigation category on the iPhone.

Here are a few other quotes:

“DEMO has been a valuable and delightful experience. A chance to make deep connections with influencers, active investors and other presenters. A better place to announce for an early stage enterprise company than just another tradeshow.” — Vitaly M. Golomb, CEO, Keen Systems, Inc.

“DEMO is a great brand for launching new technology. We are extremely happy with the PR exposure that DEMO made possible. The AlphaPitch was the perfect opportunity for a bootstrapping company like ours to stand out without stretching our budget.” — Ringful.com Team

“Top to bottom this conference rocked. The group of presenters and attendees were great, the events were incredibly fun and the DEMO staff works harder than a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest to deliver a great experience. I will definitely be making it back to DEMO in the future.” — Chase Garbarino Co-founder and CEO, Pinyadda Inc.

“DEMO was absolutely one of the greatest venues I’ve ever participated in. Classy, Intellectual, and just down right legit. You’d be silly to launch anywhere else.” — Tom Serres, Founder and CEO of Piryx.

Can’t wait to do this again. See you in March. Deadline for application is January 18, 2010! Oh, and we’re going to use #DEMO to carry on the conversation on Twitter.

]]> http://demo.venturebeat.com/2009/10/09/demo-rocked-now-the-party-starts-again/feed/ 3 WhoDoYouKnowAt: A more exclusive, private LinkedIn http://entrepreneur.venturebeat.com/2009/10/08/whodoyouknowat-a-more-exclusive-private-linkedin/ http://entrepreneur.venturebeat.com/2009/10/08/whodoyouknowat-a-more-exclusive-private-linkedin/#comments Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:00:38 +0000 Camille Ricketts http://venturebeat.com/?p=133438 When LinkedIn first launched, it touted itself as the premiere site for networking and personnel discovery on the web. Since then, it has grown massively, with people joining at all ranks and across all sectors. This has put a strain on arguably the most important component of the site: the ability to contact others who could help you further your career. As more users join, top-tier executives are becoming less and less inclined to provide contact information, or to use the service at all — there’s just too much noise. Enter WhoDoYouKnowAt, a new, similar networking service claiming enhanced exclusivity and functionality.

To make networking connections more useful and relevant, WhoDoYouKnowAt has applied a “circles of trust” system, allowing its users to classify their links on the site with different levels of access. For example, an executive might approve a connection between herself and her assistant, but choose a “low” level of trust so that her assistant’s friends can’t view her contact information. In this way, it works very similarly to Facebook’s limited profile options, which allow you to choose which of your friends can view your wall postings, contact information, group affiliations, etc. All of this is designed so that your business relationships online reflect what they actually are offline. WhoDoYouKnowAt gives you five “circles of trust” to choose from, as well as an option for “no trust,” which are listed and able to be toggled next to each of your contacts. In the fifth circle, only your name, company and title are displayed, nothing else. You can also choose to “pair” with a connection, which allows for a full exchange of personal and professional data.

The site takes sharing contact information to a new level with its Contact Data Integrity Management tool. It asks you to input both your present and past contact information, and then crawls your connections’ contact lists to see what data they have for you. If they have an outdated email or phone number for you, and are within a certain level of trust, the system will automatically send them your new information. Accordingly, when others update their info, you will be notified of their new coordinates. WhoDoYouKnowAt syncs with almost every contact manager on the web, from Gmail to Twitter to Facebook.

Also different from LinkedIn, the site provides a special arena for networking and exchanging information within your current company. The idea is that people communication differently with their current colleagues than with prospective employers or other friends. By demarcating certain contacts as current co-workers, you can either hide or show your other contacts to them as a group. Let’s say you want your colleagues to know that you have a connection with a VP within the company — you can make sure that’s viewable to all of them as a batch. On the other hand, if you don’t want them to know that you’re in talks with a VP at a different company, none of them will be able to view that link.

Beyond these basics, WhoDoYouKnowAt allows you to set up email alerts notifying you of events on the network (like someone gaining a new contact or switching positions), provides “relationship weighing” algorithms so you can view which people might be the best to know or have the most impact on your career, tracks prospects for various deals and hires, and hosts forums for discussions on various topics (all within various circles of trust).

After you sign up, you have four different levels of membership to choose from: Basic is free, allowing only three connection requests at a time and only three alerts at a time, and not including access to all of your co-workers’ contacts; Bronze ($9.99/month), Silver ($29.99/month), and Gold ($39.99/month) memberships simply allow for more or unlimited requests and alerts, with Gold granting full access to co-workers’ contacts. After importing your contacts, you assign them different circles of trust and get going.

WhoDoYouKnowAt debuted at DEMOFall 2009 three weeks ago. The Texas-based company says it has been self-funded so far. It was founded by Lee Blaylock, a former executive at Oracle and Dell and founder of $500 million investment firm Annandale Capital. It has already recruited several high-profile companies, including Google, Dell, Oracle, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Honeywell and Intuit. Below is a video of their product demo:

Editor’s note: This is part of VentureBeat’s series “Startup Spotlight.” Every week, we’ll sift through the scores of companies applying to be promoted and profile the best one. Companies can sign up here at the Entrepreneur Corner, which is currently sponsored by Microsoft. (Of course, you’ll still find lots of startup news and innovation in our day-to-day coverage.)

]]> startup-spotlight-c2ab-entrepreneur-cornerWhen LinkedIn first launched, it touted itself as the premiere site for networking and personnel discovery on the web. Since then, it has grown massively, with people joining at all ranks and across all sectors. This has put a strain on arguably the most important component of the site: the ability to contact others who could help you further your career. As more users join, top-tier executives are becoming less and less inclined to provide contact information, or to use the service at all — there’s just too much noise. Enter WhoDoYouKnowAt, a new, similar networking service claiming enhanced exclusivity and functionality.

To make networking connections more useful and relevant, WhoDoYouKnowAt has applied a “circles of trust” system, allowing its users to classify their links on the site with different levels of access. For example, an executive might approve a connection between herself and her assistant, but choose a “low” level of trust so that her assistant’s friends can’t view her contact information. In this way, it works very similarly to Facebook’s limited profile options, which allow you to choose which of your friends can view your wall postings, contact information, group affiliations, etc. All of this is designed so that your business relationships online reflect what they actually are offline. WhoDoYouKnowAt gives you five “circles of trust” to choose from, as well as an option for “no trust,” which are listed and able to be toggled next to each of your contacts. In the fifth circle, only your name, company and title are displayed, nothing else. You can also choose to “pair” with a connection, which allows for a full exchange of personal and professional data.

whodoyouknowat

The site takes sharing contact information to a new level with its Contact Data Integrity Management tool. It asks you to input both your present and past contact information, and then crawls your connections’ contact lists to see what data they have for you. If they have an outdated email or phone number for you, and are within a certain level of trust, the system will automatically send them your new information. Accordingly, when others update their info, you will be notified of their new coordinates. WhoDoYouKnowAt syncs with almost every contact manager on the web, from Gmail to Twitter to Facebook.

Also different from LinkedIn, the site provides a special arena for networking and exchanging information within your current company. The idea is that people communication differently with their current colleagues than with prospective employers or other friends. By demarcating certain contacts as current co-workers, you can either hide or show your other contacts to them as a group. Let’s say you want your colleagues to know that you have a connection with a VP within the company — you can make sure that’s viewable to all of them as a batch. On the other hand, if you don’t want them to know that you’re in talks with a VP at a different company, none of them will be able to view that link.

Beyond these basics, WhoDoYouKnowAt allows you to set up email alerts notifying you of events on the network (like someone gaining a new contact or switching positions), provides “relationship weighing” algorithms so you can view which people might be the best to know or have the most impact on your career, tracks prospects for various deals and hires, and hosts forums for discussions on various topics (all within various circles of trust).

After you sign up, you have four different levels of membership to choose from: Basic is free, allowing only three connection requests at a time and only three alerts at a time, and not including access to all of your co-workers’ contacts; Bronze ($9.99/month), Silver ($29.99/month), and Gold ($39.99/month) memberships simply allow for more or unlimited requests and alerts, with Gold granting full access to co-workers’ contacts. After importing your contacts, you assign them different circles of trust and get going.

WhoDoYouKnowAt debuted at DEMOFall 2009 three weeks ago. The Texas-based company says it has been self-funded so far. It was founded by Lee Blaylock, a former executive at Oracle and Dell and founder of $500 million investment firm Annandale Capital. It has already recruited several high-profile companies, including Google, Dell, Oracle, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Honeywell and Intuit. Below is a video of their product demo:

Editor’s note: This is part of VentureBeat’s series “Startup Spotlight.” Every week, we’ll sift through the scores of companies applying to be promoted and profile the best one. Companies can sign up here at the Entrepreneur Corner, which is currently sponsored by Microsoft. (Of course, you’ll still find lots of startup news and innovation in our day-to-day coverage.)

]]> http://entrepreneur.venturebeat.com/2009/10/08/whodoyouknowat-a-more-exclusive-private-linkedin/feed/ 5 VentureBeat is looking for a Chief Technology Officer http://venturebeat.com/2009/09/28/venturebeat-is-looking-for-a-chief-technology-officer/ http://venturebeat.com/2009/09/28/venturebeat-is-looking-for-a-chief-technology-officer/#comments Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:02:18 +0000 Matt Marshall http://venturebeat.com/?p=131126 VentureBeat continues to roll. Our next big move: We’re looking to hire a chief technology officer.

The specs are listed below. We’re looking for someone who does more than fulfill the technical requirements of this job. We’re searching for someone who can think really, really big.

That means helping VentureBeat develop the best media platform on the Web. We’ve got several projects in the works, designed to allow our high-profile readership to interact with our quality content in all kinds of new ways. But we want to do a whole lot more!

To start with, we’ve just acquired a site, now called VentureBeat Profiles, that has tens of thousands of profiles of companies and executives. Since announcing the deal at DEMO last week, we’ve been overrun by companies and public relations people interested in having a presence on the site. We’ll be integrating that site with VentureBeat in more intimate ways, including forging additional links with the offline community we’re developing through our executive events (DEMO, MobileBeat, GamesBeat, GreenBeat and more). In short, we’re looking for someone who is both creative and preemptive in the area of building a web community. It will be one of the most important leadership roles at VentureBeat.

Here are some of the qualifications and responsibilities:

Must be a self-starter with intimate knowledge of web development, who is able to learn quickly, multi-task in a fast-paced environment, and drive results within a team through excellent interpersonal and written/verbal communication skills; Must have experience on the WordPress platform; Proficiency in Javascript/HTML/CSS/PHP coding skills; Discipline in testing and quality assurance; Ability to produce easy to use, intuitive user interfaces from prototypes and wireframes, and lead the development for design (experience building consumer web application interfaces); Command of web standards, CSS-based design, cross-browser compatibility; Knowledge of interaction design principles; Ability to think critically and provide recommendations for solutions or improvements; Meet regularly with product team to discuss release schedules as well as product strategy; Apply social media tools and channels (Wordpress, Twitter, Facebook); Manage the technical platform for the site, including hosting, coordinating with outside developers.

Experience:

At least 3 years professional web development (including dynamic database driven sites); Translating comps and wireframes into flexible and usable code templates; Rapid prototyping of new products and features

Ideally the candidate will also have the following:

Visual design skills; Database knowledge (MySQL) SEO knowledge; Knowledge of Google Analytics and other tracking tools; Knowledge of MS Office Suite.

Submittal Requirements:

Describe three improvements you would make to VentureBeat if you were given two weeks to make them. Describe your most recent work: methodologies, sources, guidelines, and tactics you employed to improve the project. Please provide a description of the actual result and how many of your ideas were implemented.

How to apply: Submit your resume to jobs@venturebeat.com with subject line “developer”

]]> venturebeat-developer1VentureBeat continues to roll. Our next big move: We’re looking to hire a chief technology officer.

The specs are listed below. We’re looking for someone who does more than fulfill the technical requirements of this job. We’re searching for someone who can think really, really big.

That means helping VentureBeat develop the best media platform on the Web. We’ve got several projects in the works, designed to allow our high-profile readership to interact with our quality content in all kinds of new ways. But we want to do a whole lot more!

To start with, we’ve just acquired a site, now called VentureBeat Profiles, that has tens of thousands of profiles of companies and executives. Since announcing the deal at DEMO last week, we’ve been overrun by companies and public relations people interested in having a presence on the site. We’ll be integrating that site with VentureBeat in more intimate ways, including forging additional links with the offline community we’re developing through our executive events (DEMO, MobileBeat, GamesBeat, GreenBeat and more). In short, we’re looking for someone who is both creative and preemptive in the area of building a web community. It will be one of the most important leadership roles at VentureBeat.

Here are some of the qualifications and responsibilities:

  • Must be a self-starter with intimate knowledge of web development, who is able to learn quickly, multi-task in a fast-paced environment, and drive results within a team through excellent interpersonal and written/verbal communication skills;
  • Must have experience on the WordPress platform;
  • Proficiency in Javascript/HTML/CSS/PHP coding skills;
  • Discipline in testing and quality assurance;
  • Ability to produce easy to use, intuitive user interfaces from prototypes and wireframes, and lead the development for design (experience building consumer web application interfaces);
  • Command of web standards, CSS-based design, cross-browser compatibility;
  • Knowledge of interaction design principles;
  • Ability to think critically and provide recommendations for solutions or improvements;
  • Meet regularly with product team to discuss release schedules as well as product strategy;
  • Apply social media tools and channels (Wordpress, Twitter, Facebook);
  • Manage the technical platform for the site, including hosting, coordinating with outside developers.

Experience:

  • At least 3 years professional web development (including dynamic database driven sites);
  • Translating comps and wireframes into flexible and usable code templates;
  • Rapid prototyping of new products and features

Ideally the candidate will also have the following:

  • Visual design skills;
  • Database knowledge (MySQL)
  • SEO knowledge;
  • Knowledge of Google Analytics and other tracking tools;
  • Knowledge of MS Office Suite.

Submittal Requirements:

  • Describe three improvements you would make to VentureBeat if you were given two weeks to make them.
  • Describe your most recent work: methodologies, sources, guidelines, and tactics you employed to improve the project. Please provide a description of the actual result and how many of your ideas were implemented.

How to apply: Submit your resume to jobs@venturebeat.com with subject line “developer”

]]> http://venturebeat.com/2009/09/28/venturebeat-is-looking-for-a-chief-technology-officer/feed/ 6 DEMO: Basically one big tech party (photo gallery) http://demo.venturebeat.com/2009/09/25/demo-basically-one-big-tech-party/ http://demo.venturebeat.com/2009/09/25/demo-basically-one-big-tech-party/#comments Sat, 26 Sep 2009 01:13:36 +0000 Anthony Ha http://venturebeat.com/?p=130850 The big draws at DEMOfall 09, the emerging technology conference co-produced by VentureBeat, were of course the 70 companies launching or previewing new products. But now that we’ve pointed out the best of the bunch, it’s important to note that DEMO isn’t just about the presentations. It’s also about hallway conversations, swapped business cards, and oh yeah, dancing.

So after covering 56 launching companies and 14 Alpha Pitches, here are some pictures of the rest of DEMO.


VentureBeat Editor Matt Marshall inherits DEMO Executive Producer Chris Shipley’s dancing shoes. Yeah, we posted this once already, but I think it’s worth publishing again.


The opening reception.
Matt Marshall and Chris Shipley engage in on-stage banter. Note that Chris’ index cards are much bigger than Matt’s. [photo by Dean Takahashi]

Chris Shipley (far left) talks to Donna Dubinsky, co-founder of brain-based software maker Numenta, and Numenta’s partners. [photo by Dean Takahashi]

All 70 companies got to show off their wares inside the DEMO circus tent. [photo by Dean Takahashi]


Chris Shipley dances with Mashable Co-Editor Ben Parr.

Under the circus tent, people will do anything to get you to notice their demo. [photo by Dean Takahashi]


Attendees unwind at the “DEMO After Dark” party.

VentureBeat’s Anthony Ha (i.e., me) is hard at work outside the DEMO hotel. I only lasted a few minutes because the sunshine was too bright. Sunlight is bad for bloggers. [photo by Dean Takahashi]

Judges Larry Augustin (of SugarCRM) and Mark Pincus (of Zynga) discuss the presenting companies. VentureBeat writer Dean Takahashi and I were big fans of Pincus’ shoes.


The winners of DEMO’s new lifetime achievement award.


Incoming DEMO Executive Producer Matt Marshall and outgoing Executive Producer Chris Shipley with Pat McGovern, founder and chairman of IDG, which owns the DEMO brand and organizes the conference with VentureBeat.

Chris Shipley imparts one last (dance) lesson to IDG’s chairman Pat McGovern. [photo by Dean Takahashi]

[All photos courtesy of DEMO and taken by Kenneth Yeung, unless otherwise noted.]

]]> The big draws at DEMOfall 09, the emerging technology conference co-produced by VentureBeat, were of course the 70 companies launching or previewing new products. But now that we’ve pointed out the best of the bunch, it’s important to note that DEMO isn’t just about the presentations. It’s also about hallway conversations, swapped business cards, and oh yeah, dancing.

So after covering 56 launching companies and 14 Alpha Pitches, here are some pictures of the rest of DEMO.

matt-dancing

VentureBeat Editor Matt Marshall inherits DEMO Executive Producer Chris Shipley’s dancing shoes. Yeah, we posted this once already, but I think it’s worth publishing again.

opening-reception

The opening reception.
demo-last-6Matt Marshall and Chris Shipley engage in on-stage banter. Note that Chris’ index cards are much bigger than Matt’s. [photo by Dean Takahashi]

demo-last-2Chris Shipley (far left) talks to Donna Dubinsky, co-founder of brain-based software maker Numenta, and Numenta’s partners. [photo by Dean Takahashi]

demo-last-5All 70 companies got to show off their wares inside the DEMO circus tent. [photo by Dean Takahashi]

parr-shipley-dancing

Chris Shipley dances with Mashable Co-Editor Ben Parr.

demo-last-4Under the circus tent, people will do anything to get you to notice their demo. [photo by Dean Takahashi]

jam-session

Attendees unwind at the “DEMO After Dark” party.

demo-last-3VentureBeat’s Anthony Ha (i.e., me) is hard at work outside the DEMO hotel. I only lasted a few minutes because the sunshine was too bright. Sunlight is bad for bloggers. [photo by Dean Takahashi]

augustin-pincusJudges Larry Augustin (of SugarCRM) and Mark Pincus (of Zynga) discuss the presenting companies. VentureBeat writer Dean Takahashi and I were big fans of Pincus’ shoes.

lifetime-achievement-winnrs

The winners of DEMO’s new lifetime achievement award.

marshall-shipley-mcgovern

Incoming DEMO Executive Producer Matt Marshall and outgoing Executive Producer Chris Shipley with Pat McGovern, founder and chairman of IDG, which owns the DEMO brand and organizes the conference with VentureBeat.

demo-last-1

Chris Shipley imparts one last (dance) lesson to IDG’s chairman Pat McGovern. [photo by Dean Takahashi]

[All photos courtesy of DEMO and taken by Kenneth Yeung, unless otherwise noted.]

]]> http://demo.venturebeat.com/2009/09/25/demo-basically-one-big-tech-party/feed/ 3 Best of DEMO — VentureBeat’s picks for the 10 best companies http://demo.venturebeat.com/2009/09/25/best-of-demo-venturebeats-picks-for-the-10-best-companies/ http://demo.venturebeat.com/2009/09/25/best-of-demo-venturebeats-picks-for-the-10-best-companies/#comments Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:50:38 +0000 By Dean Takahashi, Anthony Ha and Kim-Mai Cutler http://venturebeat.com/?p=130522 VentureBeat’s staff has chosen our top 10 picks of DEMOfall 09, the emerging technology conference that we co-produced.

These picks are separate from the official DEMOgod award winners announced by DEMO. With 56 DEMO presenters and 14 DEMO Alpha Pitch companies unveiling their plans at the conference in San Diego this week, there are lot to sift through, so here are the ones that stood out from the crowd. We’ve ranked them in order of our favorites, from first to last. While you’re at it, check out our favorites from the previous DEMO conference in March.

1. Emo Labs — This company was a winner for almost everyone we talked to. Emo Labs spent four years developing invisible speakers made out of piece of clear plastic. The speakers work by vibrating the edges of the screen in a way that makes sound come out of plastic itself. It could certainly cut the material costs of high-quality speakers. There are no separate pair of speaker boxes or cables to connect in the back of the unit. The company is licensing the technology and products with it should appear sometime next year. See our video interview with chief executive Jason Carlson where he explains how they work.

2. Tune Wiki — This company has a smartphone app that lets you view the lyrics of a song as it’s playing. If you have the video of the song, you can see the words to the lyrics as they’re being mouthed by the singer. You can also see who else in the world is listening to the same song at any given time, based on the geo-location data in the phone. It turns music into a social experience. The location information is also useful for concert planners who want to know where to schedule stops on a tour. The latest versions are now available for Nokia phones and they can translate text into foreign languages.

3. Intelius — Funny, spooky, useful, or all of the above? The Date Check iPhone app inspired a lot of discussion. Date Check will run background checks on your date in real time. It can find out things like whether your date is telling you the truth about his or her name, age, address, family situation, and even net worth. It can even look up your date’s astrological information to see if you are a good match. Intelius gathers the information from public sources of data, ranging from criminal court records to MySpace pages and property records. The free app presents you with a summary report as to whether there are criminal records. If you want to drill down on the data, then you have to pay for it. See our video interview with John Arnold, executive vice president of Intelius.

4. Tinker.com — Glam Media used DEMOfall 09 to launch a new web site dubbed Tinker.com. Samir Arora, chief executive of Glam, noted that this was his fifth time on the DEMO stage talking about a company or product. This site lets you socialize and monetize a live event by taking the feeds from the event — such as Twitter messages that are all related to the event — and then aggregating them on a web site for others to watch. It delivers the Zeitgeist of an event, but not all of the boring details. That’s because the feeds are curated so that you can zero in on comments from people who have established credibility or knowledge about the event. Ads run alongside your Tinker.com feed so that you can actually monetize what people are saying about your event.

5. Symform — Cloud storage gives you the safety of backing up your company’s data to a different location. But it isn’t as cheap as you might think. A small business storing a terabyte of data might pay $500 a month, even though a terabyte hard drive only costs $100. So Symform has come up with a way to lower the costs. It gives you storage in the cloud in exchange for the same amount of storage on your hard disk. If you want a gigabyte in the cloud, you give up a gigabyte on your computer. Symform uses that gigabyte on your computer to store bits and pieces of data from other people. It takes a file, encrypts it, then breaks it into 96 pieces that are stored redundantly on the hard drives of other users. The company is signing up small business resellers to offer its service to users.

6. Liaise — This startup helps you organize your email so that you don’t forget items that require some kind of action from you or your team. Liaise has created a plug-in for Microsoft’s email program Outlook. It looks at the contents of your emails, figures out what items require action, and then turns those items into a to-do list. The KeyPoint Intelligence technology does this by analyzing the words in the post that suggest some kind of task. It also tries to gauge the priority that should be assigned to the task and even learns from your writing style. Liaise then presents a task list of things to do, and of things you have assigned. The software is free while in beta testing but will eventually have subscription fee.

7. Hand-Eye Technologies — You can use your mobile phone to interact with some TV shows such as American Idol, where you can vote for winners via SMS text messages. But this startup goes to the next level with a software platform that lets mobile phones interact with digital media in a number of ways. You can buy items you see on the television, search, and vote. The technology works by embedding hot spots in the video content which your cell phone can detect. If you want to buy the outfit that a celebrity is wearing on a show, you could use your mobile phone to do so. Your phone almost becomes like a remote control for TV commerce.

8. Rseven — This company introduced us to the term “lifecaching.” It appeals to the narcissist in everyone, allowing you to use your cell phone as a personal recording device. With the communications and location features of a phone, Rseven can document everything you do during a day. It can, for instance, geographically tag where you were when you took photos, sent text messages or made phone calls. It preserves all of the text messages that you send and records your phone calls as well. The latter part is controversial, as it’s illegal in some states to record calls without the other party’s permission. Rseven gets around this by inserting beeps into the call every 15 seconds. You can use all of the data to analyze your life, like why you’re calling your girlfriend more than she’s calling you, or why you talk to certain people on the phone more than you talk to your mother. It’s available on Windows Mobile and Nokia and Samsung Series 60 Symbian phones. See our video interview with Rseven chief executive Hisyam Halim.

9. Article One Partners — The patent office is overwhelmed with the research it has to do on patent applications. That’s probably why a lot of bad patents slip through the cracks and, during litigation, about 45 percent of patents under dispute are invalidated. So Article One can help by crowdsourcing the problem. It pays experts — anyone who wants to do the research — who can come up with evidence that invalidates bad patents. That includes evidence of prior art, or evidence that suggests that somebody else came up with the idea first. It works on a worldwide basis, allowing it to draw upon experts who are not limited by English-language-based patent search engines. The company has tested the system for nine months and it has come up with invalidating evidence in about 33 percent of the projects it undertakes. Now the companies that post project requests can communicate directly with those doing the research.

10. LocalDirt — Critics of industrial food and large-scale farms can take interest in this company, which wants to tap into demand for locally produced and eco-conscious food. The startup connects buyers and sellers of locally-grown produce, meat, and dairy products. It’s free for buyers such as businesses, buying clubs, and individuals. Distributors can use it for $720 a year, while big sellers like cooperatives can use it for $360. You can search for farmers by user ratings and reputation. LocalDirt handles invoices for parties, but sellers have to contact customers directly to arrange payment and pickup.

]]> VentureBeat’s staff has chosen our top 10 picks of DEMOfall 09, the emerging technology conference that we co-produced.

These picks are separate from the official DEMOgod award winners announced by DEMO. With 56 DEMO presenters and 14 DEMO Alpha Pitch companies unveiling their plans at the conference in San Diego this week, there are lot to sift through, so here are the ones that stood out from the crowd. We’ve ranked them in order of our favorites, from first to last. While you’re at it, check out our favorites from the previous DEMO conference in March.

emo_logo11. Emo Labs — This company was a winner for almost everyone we talked to. Emo Labs spent four years developing invisible speakers made out of piece of clear plastic. The speakers work by vibrating the edges of the screen in a way that makes sound come out of plastic itself. It could certainly cut the material costs of high-quality speakers. There are no separate pair of speaker boxes or cables to connect in the back of the unit. The company is licensing the technology and products with it should appear sometime next year. See our video interview with chief executive Jason Carlson where he explains how they work.

tunewiki2. Tune Wiki — This company has a smartphone app that lets you view the lyrics of a song as it’s playing. If you have the video of the song, you can see the words to the lyrics as they’re being mouthed by the singer. You can also see who else in the world is listening to the same song at any given time, based on the geo-location data in the phone. It turns music into a social experience. The location information is also useful for concert planners who want to know where to schedule stops on a tour. The latest versions are now available for Nokia phones and they can translate text into foreign languages.

intelius-2113. Intelius — Funny, spooky, useful, or all of the above? The Date Check iPhone app inspired a lot of discussion. Date Check will run background checks on your date in real time. It can find out things like whether your date is telling you the truth about his or her name, age, address, family situation, and even net worth. It can even look up your date’s astrological information to see if you are a good match. Intelius gathers the information from public sources of data, ranging from criminal court records to MySpace pages and property records. The free app presents you with a summary report as to whether there are criminal records. If you want to drill down on the data, then you have to pay for it. See our video interview with John Arnold, executive vice president of Intelius.

tinker-logo14. Tinker.com — Glam Media used DEMOfall 09 to launch a new web site dubbed Tinker.com. Samir Arora, chief executive of Glam, noted that this was his fifth time on the DEMO stage talking about a company or product. This site lets you socialize and monetize a live event by taking the feeds from the event — such as Twitter messages that are all related to the event — and then aggregating them on a web site for others to watch. It delivers the Zeitgeist of an event, but not all of the boring details. That’s because the feeds are curated so that you can zero in on comments from people who have established credibility or knowledge about the event. Ads run alongside your Tinker.com feed so that you can actually monetize what people are saying about your event.

symform15. Symform — Cloud storage gives you the safety of backing up your company’s data to a different location. But it isn’t as cheap as you might think. A small business storing a terabyte of data might pay $500 a month, even though a terabyte hard drive only costs $100. So Symform has come up with a way to lower the costs. It gives you storage in the cloud in exchange for the same amount of storage on your hard disk. If you want a gigabyte in the cloud, you give up a gigabyte on your computer. Symform uses that gigabyte on your computer to store bits and pieces of data from other people. It takes a file, encrypts it, then breaks it into 96 pieces that are stored redundantly on the hard drives of other users. The company is signing up small business resellers to offer its service to users.

liaise-logo16. Liaise — This startup helps you organize your email so that you don’t forget items that require some kind of action from you or your team. Liaise has created a plug-in for Microsoft’s email program Outlook. It looks at the contents of your emails, figures out what items require action, and then turns those items into a to-do list. The KeyPoint Intelligence technology does this by analyzing the words in the post that suggest some kind of task. It also tries to gauge the priority that should be assigned to the task and even learns from your writing style. Liaise then presents a task list of things to do, and of things you have assigned. The software is free while in beta testing but will eventually have subscription fee.

hand-eye-logo17. Hand-Eye Technologies — You can use your mobile phone to interact with some TV shows such as American Idol, where you can vote for winners via SMS text messages. But this startup goes to the next level with a software platform that lets mobile phones interact with digital media in a number of ways. You can buy items you see on the television, search, and vote. The technology works by embedding hot spots in the video content which your cell phone can detect. If you want to buy the outfit that a celebrity is wearing on a show, you could use your mobile phone to do so. Your phone almost becomes like a remote control for TV commerce.

rseven-logo8. Rseven — This company introduced us to the term “lifecaching.” It appeals to the narcissist in everyone, allowing you to use your cell phone as a personal recording device. With the communications and location features of a phone, Rseven can document everything you do during a day. It can, for instance, geographically tag where you were when you took photos, sent text messages or made phone calls. It preserves all of the text messages that you send and records your phone calls as well. The latter part is controversial, as it’s illegal in some states to record calls without the other party’s permission. Rseven gets around this by inserting beeps into the call every 15 seconds. You can use all of the data to analyze your life, like why you’re calling your girlfriend more than she’s calling you, or why you talk to certain people on the phone more than you talk to your mother. It’s available on Windows Mobile and Nokia and Samsung Series 60 Symbian phones. See our video interview with Rseven chief executive Hisyam Halim.

article-one19. Article One Partners — The patent office is overwhelmed with the research it has to do on patent applications. That’s probably why a lot of bad patents slip through the cracks and, during litigation, about 45 percent of patents under dispute are invalidated. So Article One can help by crowdsourcing the problem. It pays experts — anyone who wants to do the research — who can come up with evidence that invalidates bad patents. That includes evidence of prior art, or evidence that suggests that somebody else came up with the idea first. It works on a worldwide basis, allowing it to draw upon experts who are not limited by English-language-based patent search engines. The company has tested the system for nine months and it has come up with invalidating evidence in about 33 percent of the projects it undertakes. Now the companies that post project requests can communicate directly with those doing the research.

local10. LocalDirt — Critics of industrial food and large-scale farms can take interest in this company, which wants to tap into demand for locally produced and eco-conscious food. The startup connects buyers and sellers of locally-grown produce, meat, and dairy products. It’s free for buyers such as businesses, buying clubs, and individuals. Distributors can use it for $720 a year, while big sellers like cooperatives can use it for $360. You can search for farmers by user ratings and reputation. LocalDirt handles invoices for parties, but sellers have to contact customers directly to arrange payment and pickup.

]]> http://demo.venturebeat.com/2009/09/25/best-of-demo-venturebeats-picks-for-the-10-best-companies/feed/ 0 DEMO: ShareGrove extends Facebook to conversations http://venturebeat.com/2009/09/24/demo-sharegrove-extends-facebook-to-conversations/ http://venturebeat.com/2009/09/24/demo-sharegrove-extends-facebook-to-conversations/#comments Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:10:20 +0000 Kim-Mai Cutler http://venturebeat.com/?p=130574 Some criticize social networks like Twitter and Facebook for promoting superficiality over depth. When users post hundreds of miniature updates about their lives, what suffers are conversations, say the founders of ShareGrove, a San Mateo-based startup that presented at this week’s DEMOFall 09 conference.

While one of Facebook’s biggest aims is to strengthen the “weak ties” in a person’s social network, like distant acquaintances or friends from the past, most of a user’s online interactions tend to be with a handful of their closest friends, said ShareGrove co-founder Kent Libbey.

ShareGrove is a site that uses Facebook Connect to bring a person’s closest friends into a space that’s a hybrid between e-mail, a Facebook wall and group chat. It immediately updates whenever a member of the group posts an item (like Friendfeed which was recently acquired by Facebook) and incorporates search when a user types in a comment. So if you type in the name of a book for sale on Amazon, that will appear in a left-hand column as an object that you can drag and drop into the comment. It’s also a revenue model for ShareGrove as Amazon pays a small percentage of its sales to partners that refer them customers.

ShareGrove’s one of a handful of projects (like Zenbe and Google Wave) that are trying to find a new form of communication that melds the best of breed from all others, so that users don’t have to constantly switch between e-mailing, Twittering and blogging. (Lissn is another variant of this that launched at TechCrunch50 last week. But ShareGrove is private and Lissn is public.) While ShareGrove might have trouble gaining the same user traction that Google Wave will have when it comes out for public beta next week, its thinking and incorporation of search points the way to a more integrated form of communication in the future.

ShareGrove is seed funded by Elm Street Ventures.

]]> conversationsSome criticize social networks like Twitter and Facebook for promoting superficiality over depth. When users post hundreds of miniature updates about their lives, what suffers are conversations, say the founders of ShareGrove, a San Mateo-based startup that presented at this week’s DEMOFall 09 conference.

picture-83While one of Facebook’s biggest aims is to strengthen the “weak ties” in a person’s social network, like distant acquaintances or friends from the past, most of a user’s online interactions tend to be with a handful of their closest friends, said ShareGrove co-founder Kent Libbey.

ShareGrove is a site that uses Facebook Connect to bring a person’s closest friends into a space that’s a hybrid between e-mail, a Facebook wall and group chat. It immediately updates whenever a member of the group posts an item (like Friendfeed which was recently acquired by Facebook) and incorporates search when a user types in a comment. So if you type in the name of a book for sale on Amazon, that will appear in a left-hand column as an object that you can drag and drop into the comment. It’s also a revenue model for ShareGrove as Amazon pays a small percentage of its sales to partners that refer them customers.

ShareGrove’s one of a handful of projects (like Zenbe and Google Wave) that are trying to find a new form of communication that melds the best of breed from all others, so that users don’t have to constantly switch between e-mailing, Twittering and blogging. (Lissn is another variant of this that launched at TechCrunch50 last week. But ShareGrove is private and Lissn is public.) While ShareGrove might have trouble gaining the same user traction that Google Wave will have when it comes out for public beta next week, its thinking and incorporation of search points the way to a more integrated form of communication in the future.

ShareGrove is seed funded by Elm Street Ventures.

]]> http://venturebeat.com/2009/09/24/demo-sharegrove-extends-facebook-to-conversations/feed/ 2 DEMO: What everyone else is saying http://demo.venturebeat.com/2009/09/24/demo-what-everyone-else-is-saying/ http://demo.venturebeat.com/2009/09/24/demo-what-everyone-else-is-saying/#comments Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:37:00 +0000 Anthony Ha http://venturebeat.com/?p=130555 We’ve bombarded you with our coverage of this week’s DEMOfall 09, the emerging technology conference that VentureBeat co-produces. But there were plenty of other reporters who watched the presentations and formed their own opinions. So I’ve pulled together some highlights from other publications.

First, some articles focusing on the individual companies that won the conference’s various awards, plus a cool DEMOlabs presentation:

Audio speakers get a new look and feel — “The idea behind the new speaker technology, known as Edge Motion, from Emo Labs is to jettison the traditional magnet-and-cone model in favor of something a lot more space-efficient, an innovation that is crucial in today’s environment of rapidly shrinking devices.” (Geek Gestalt)

Invisible: New technology turns TV screens into speakers — “One company making some big buzz at the DEMO 2009 conference is Emo Labs, which revealed their ‘invisible speakers’ to the applause of the audience.” (Mashable)

Liaise: Possibly the coolest email add-on ever — “I really hope that this product will support GMail sometime soon (perhaps with some Google Gears integration?) but for now this is the first software in a long time that’s made me give Windows a second look.” (ReadWriteWeb)

Eliminate the ’sleaze’ factor on your next date with Date Check — “Looking for someone to date — but want to eliminate losers, criminals and crackpots? There’s a new app for that.” (TechFlash)

Local Dirt aims to help focus on local food — “Ultimately, Local Dirt is meant as a way for every participant in the ecosystem — the farmers, the buyers and the sellers–to find the best way possible of getting what they need from the local food market” (Geek Gestalt)

Vitamin D brings smart searching to security footage — “Vitamin D’s first product allows users to search through surveillance camera videos without having to watch though hours of footage where nothing is happening.” (TechCrunch)

And here are some writers with thoughts on a number of companies, or on the conference itself.

DEMOfall’s two worthy winners– “I didn’t get to chime in, but if I had, I might have voted for the two products that won.” (Technologizer)

Six launching startups make use of Facebook — “Here’s a very brief look at six presenting companies that somehow made use of Facebook.” (Inside Facebook)

Time for Demo to change — a lot — “It’s been my favorite conference for years. But it’s an old structure and it’s time to give it a thorough inspection and probably change out some of the foundation.” (Rafe’s Radar)

]]> office_gossipWe’ve bombarded you with our coverage of this week’s DEMOfall 09, the emerging technology conference that VentureBeat co-produces. But there were plenty of other reporters who watched the presentations and formed their own opinions. So I’ve pulled together some highlights from other publications.

First, some articles focusing on the individual companies that won the conference’s various awards, plus a cool DEMOlabs presentation:

Audio speakers get a new look and feel — “The idea behind the new speaker technology, known as Edge Motion, from Emo Labs is to jettison the traditional magnet-and-cone model in favor of something a lot more space-efficient, an innovation that is crucial in today’s environment of rapidly shrinking devices.” (Geek Gestalt)

Invisible: New technology turns TV screens into speakers — “One company making some big buzz at the DEMO 2009 conference is Emo Labs, which revealed their ‘invisible speakers’ to the applause of the audience.” (Mashable)

Liaise: Possibly the coolest email add-on ever — “I really hope that this product will support GMail sometime soon (perhaps with some Google Gears integration?) but for now this is the first software in a long time that’s made me give Windows a second look.” (ReadWriteWeb)

Eliminate the ’sleaze’ factor on your next date with Date Check — “Looking for someone to date — but want to eliminate losers, criminals and crackpots? There’s a new app for that.” (TechFlash)

Local Dirt aims to help focus on local food — “Ultimately, Local Dirt is meant as a way for every participant in the ecosystem — the farmers, the buyers and the sellers–to find the best way possible of getting what they need from the local food market” (Geek Gestalt)

Vitamin D brings smart searching to security footage — “Vitamin D’s first product allows users to search through surveillance camera videos without having to watch though hours of footage where nothing is happening.” (TechCrunch)

And here are some writers with thoughts on a number of companies, or on the conference itself.

DEMOfall’s two worthy winners– “I didn’t get to chime in, but if I had, I might have voted for the two products that won.” (Technologizer)

Six launching startups make use of Facebook — “Here’s a very brief look at six presenting companies that somehow made use of Facebook.” (Inside Facebook)

Time for Demo to change — a lot — “It’s been my favorite conference for years. But it’s an old structure and it’s time to give it a thorough inspection and probably change out some of the foundation.” (Rafe’s Radar)

]]> http://demo.venturebeat.com/2009/09/24/demo-what-everyone-else-is-saying/feed/ 1 DEMO: Emo Labs founder reveals how “invisible” speakers work (video interview) http://venturebeat.com/2009/09/24/demo-emo-labs-founder-describes-how-clear-plastic-speakers-work-video-interview/ http://venturebeat.com/2009/09/24/demo-emo-labs-founder-describes-how-clear-plastic-speakers-work-video-interview/#comments Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:39:32 +0000 Dean Takahashi http://venturebeat.com/?p=130489 Here’s a video interview with Jason Carlson, chief executive of Emo Labs, the co-winner of the $1 million advertising prize at DEMOfall 09.

His team has been working for four years on a set of speakers made out of clear plastic. This technology astounded everyone with both its simplicity and great sound quality. It’s good to see such great unexpected innovation. Look for major speaker companies to launch the product under a license sometime next year.

Please take a look at our video interview. (photo courtesy of DEMO and taken by Kenneth Yeung; video editing by Alexa Lee of Ooyala)

]]> carlsonHere’s a video interview with Jason Carlson, chief executive of Emo Labs, the co-winner of the $1 million advertising prize at DEMOfall 09.

His team has been working for four years on a set of speakers made out of clear plastic. This technology astounded everyone with both its simplicity and great sound quality. It’s good to see such great unexpected innovation. Look for major speaker companies to launch the product under a license sometime next year.

Please take a look at our video interview. (photo courtesy of DEMO and taken by Kenneth Yeung; video editing by Alexa Lee of Ooyala)

]]> http://venturebeat.com/2009/09/24/demo-emo-labs-founder-describes-how-clear-plastic-speakers-work-video-interview/feed/ 0 DEMO: Matt Marshall inherits Chris Shipley’s dancing shoes (video) http://venturebeat.com/2009/09/23/demo-matt-marshall-inherits-chris-shipleys-dancing-shoes/ http://venturebeat.com/2009/09/23/demo-matt-marshall-inherits-chris-shipleys-dancing-shoes/#comments Thu, 24 Sep 2009 06:04:20 +0000 Dean Takahashi http://venturebeat.com/?p=130459 We smuggled this grainy police video out of the hotel at DEMOfall 09 today. It is proof positive that our fearless leader, Matt Marshall, can dance. Sort of. At the close of the presentations at the event in San Diego today, Chris Shipley, the executive director of DEMO for 13 years, handed the reins over to Matt. As part of the deal, Matt had to learn Chris’ signature dance. As awkward as it seemed at first, it does look like Matt’s ready to follow in Chris’ footsteps. [photo courtesy of DEMO, picture taken by Kenneth Yeung]

]]> matt-4We smuggled this grainy police video out of the hotel at DEMOfall 09 today. It is proof positive that our fearless leader, Matt Marshall, can dance. Sort of. At the close of the presentations at the event in San Diego today, Chris Shipley, the executive director of DEMO for 13 years, handed the reins over to Matt. As part of the deal, Matt had to learn Chris’ signature dance. As awkward as it seemed at first, it does look like Matt’s ready to follow in Chris’ footsteps. [photo courtesy of DEMO, picture taken by Kenneth Yeung]

]]> http://venturebeat.com/2009/09/23/demo-matt-marshall-inherits-chris-shipleys-dancing-shoes/feed/ 0 DEMO: Up close and personal with Intelius’ DateCheck app (video interview) http://venturebeat.com/2009/09/23/demo-up-close-and-personal-with-intelius-date-check-app-video-interview/ http://venturebeat.com/2009/09/23/demo-up-close-and-personal-with-intelius-date-check-app-video-interview/#comments Thu, 24 Sep 2009 05:42:49 +0000 Dean Takahashi http://venturebeat.com/?p=130455 It didn’t win the big prize at the DEMOfall 09 event. But Intelius‘ DateCheck app for the iPhone was one of the most-talked-about at the show.

The DateCheck app runs background checks on your date in real-time so you can figure out if it’s time to make an excuse and head for the door or stick around.

John Arnold, executive vice president of Intelius, explains to us in this video what the app can do, it’s implications for safety and privacy, and how the company plans to make money with the app. Editing courtesy of Alexa Lee of Ooyala.

]]> intelius-21It didn’t win the big prize at the DEMOfall 09 event. But Intelius‘ DateCheck app for the iPhone was one of the most-talked-about at the show.

The DateCheck app runs background checks on your date in real-time so you can figure out if it’s time to make an excuse and head for the door or stick around.

John Arnold, executive vice president of Intelius, explains to us in this video what the app can do, it’s implications for safety and privacy, and how the company plans to make money with the app. Editing courtesy of Alexa Lee of Ooyala.

]]> http://venturebeat.com/2009/09/23/demo-up-close-and-personal-with-intelius-date-check-app-video-interview/feed/ 1 DEMO: Emo Labs and Liaise win $1M media prize http://demo.venturebeat.com/2009/09/23/demo-emo-labs-and-liaise-win-1m-media-prize/ http://demo.venturebeat.com/2009/09/23/demo-emo-labs-and-liaise-win-1m-media-prize/#comments Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:17:50 +0000 Anthony Ha http://venturebeat.com/?p=130402 Two companies have been selected as winners of this week’s DEMOfall 09 conference and will receive a total of $1 million in free advertising. (That’s $500,000 each.) The winner on the consumer side was Emo Labs, which developed a speaker that delivers great sound, despite the limited space in high-definition TVs. The enterprise winner was Liaise, which makes email more useful by looking at the contents of your inbox, figuring out which items require action, and turning them into a to-do list.

The companies were chosen by a group of expert judges and will receive the free advertising over six months. Those ads will be placed in publications owned by IDG, which owns the DEMO brand and which partners with VentureBeat to produce the conference. IDG publications participating in the prize include CIO magazine, Computerworld, InfoWorld, Network World, and PC World among others. VentureBeat will also participate.

Besides the big prize, seven companies also received DEMOgod awards. Five of them were launching presenters:

Emo Labs

Intelius, whose DateCheck application can tell you instantly with a quick background check whether you need to make an excuse and back out of a date.

Zorap, which delivers video chat rooms where friends can hang out, chat, and share video or audio.

LocalDirt, which connects buyers and sellers of locally-grown produce and meat and dairy products.

TwirlTV, which launched a new social TV web site for friends to share TV viewing experiences, even when they’re not together.

There were also two winners who participated in the Alpha Pitch program, where they gave 90-second pitches about products that are still in development:

Pinyadda, which helps people deal with news overload by highlighting articles recommending by their friends.

ShareGrove, which helps people start private conversations with friends on Facebook and other social networks.

In addition to celebrating new companies, the conference also gave out lifetime achievement awards to past presenters who have gone on to do big things. The lifetime winners were:

Shai Agassi, Founder & CEO, Better Place (DEMO Debut: TopTier, 1997) Colin Angle, Chairman of the Board, CEO & Co-Founder, iRobot (DEMO Debut: iRobot, 2000) Helen Grenier, CEO of Droid Works, Inc. (DEMO Debut: iRobot, 2000) Ed Colligan, Former President and CEO, Palm, Inc. (DEMO Debut: Palm, Inc., 1996) Donna Dubinsky, Founder, CEO & Board Chair, Numenta (DEMO Debut: Palm, Inc., 1996) Jeff Hawkins, Founder, Numenta (DEMO Debut: Palm, Inc., 1996) Marc Benioff, Founder & Chairman, Salesforce.com (DEMO Debut: Salesforce.com, 2000) Mike Cassidy, Co-Founder & CEO, Ruba, Xfire, Direct Hit, and Stylus Innovation (DEMO Debut: Xfire, 2005) Diane Greene, Entrepreneur, Founder and Former CEO, VMware (DEMO Debut: VMware, 1999) Subrah Iyar, Founder & “former” CEO, WebEx (DEMO Debut: WebEx, 1999) Keng Lim, Founder, Chairman & CEO, NextLabs (DEMO Debut: Kiva, 1997) Kevin Lynch, CTO, Senior VP, Experience & Technology Organization, Adobe Systems (DEMO Debut: Adobe Systems (for Air/Flex), 2007) Teresa Meng, Reid Weaver Dennis Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Stanford University (DEMO Debut: Atheros Communications, 1999) Andy Rubin, Vice President, Engineering, Google (DEMO Debut: Danger Research, 2001) Ben Trott, Founder & CTO, Six Apart (DEMO Debut: Six Apart, 2004) Mena Trott, Founder & President, Six Apart (DEMO Debut: Six Apart, 2004)

At the end of the ceremony, a surprise lifetime achievement award was given to Chris Shipley, DEMO’s executive producer, who’s handing the role over to VentureBeat Editor Matt Marshall. (Okay, it wasn’t really a “surprise,” but it wasn’t announced ahead of time.)

For more DEMO coverage, check out our roundup of presenting companies.

]]> demofall_0911Two companies have been selected as winners of this week’s DEMOfall 09 conference and will receive a total of $1 million in free advertising. (That’s $500,000 each.) The winner on the consumer side was Emo Labs, which developed a speaker that delivers great sound, despite the limited space in high-definition TVs. The enterprise winner was Liaise, which makes email more useful by looking at the contents of your inbox, figuring out which items require action, and turning them into a to-do list.

The companies were chosen by a group of expert judges and will receive the free advertising over six months. Those ads will be placed in publications owned by IDG, which owns the DEMO brand and which partners with VentureBeat to produce the conference. IDG publications participating in the prize include CIO magazine, Computerworld, InfoWorld, Network World, and PC World among others. VentureBeat will also participate.

Besides the big prize, seven companies also received DEMOgod awards. Five of them were launching presenters:

Emo Labs

Intelius, whose DateCheck application can tell you instantly with a quick background check whether you need to make an excuse and back out of a date.

Zorap, which delivers video chat rooms where friends can hang out, chat, and share video or audio.

LocalDirt, which connects buyers and sellers of locally-grown produce and meat and dairy products.

TwirlTV, which launched a new social TV web site for friends to share TV viewing experiences, even when they’re not together.

There were also two winners who participated in the Alpha Pitch program, where they gave 90-second pitches about products that are still in development:

Pinyadda, which helps people deal with news overload by highlighting articles recommending by their friends.

ShareGrove, which helps people start private conversations with friends on Facebook and other social networks.

In addition to celebrating new companies, the conference also gave out lifetime achievement awards to past presenters who have gone on to do big things. The lifetime winners were:

  • Shai Agassi, Founder & CEO, Better Place (DEMO Debut: TopTier, 1997)
  • Colin Angle, Chairman of the Board, CEO & Co-Founder, iRobot (DEMO Debut: iRobot, 2000)
  • Helen Grenier, CEO of Droid Works, Inc. (DEMO Debut: iRobot, 2000)
  • Ed Colligan, Former President and CEO, Palm, Inc. (DEMO Debut: Palm, Inc., 1996)
  • Donna Dubinsky, Founder, CEO & Board Chair, Numenta (DEMO Debut: Palm, Inc., 1996)
  • Jeff Hawkins, Founder, Numenta (DEMO Debut: Palm, Inc., 1996)
  • Marc Benioff, Founder & Chairman, Salesforce.com (DEMO Debut: Salesforce.com, 2000)
  • Mike Cassidy, Co-Founder & CEO, Ruba, Xfire, Direct Hit, and Stylus Innovation (DEMO Debut: Xfire, 2005)
  • Diane Greene, Entrepreneur, Founder and Former CEO, VMware (DEMO Debut: VMware, 1999)
  • Subrah Iyar, Founder & “former” CEO, WebEx (DEMO Debut: WebEx, 1999)
  • Keng Lim, Founder, Chairman & CEO, NextLabs (DEMO Debut: Kiva, 1997)
  • Kevin Lynch, CTO, Senior VP, Experience & Technology Organization, Adobe Systems (DEMO Debut: Adobe Systems (for Air/Flex), 2007)
  • Teresa Meng, Reid Weaver Dennis Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Stanford University (DEMO Debut: Atheros Communications, 1999)
  • Andy Rubin, Vice President, Engineering, Google (DEMO Debut: Danger Research, 2001)
  • Ben Trott, Founder & CTO, Six Apart (DEMO Debut: Six Apart, 2004)
  • Mena Trott, Founder & President, Six Apart (DEMO Debut: Six Apart, 2004)

At the end of the ceremony, a surprise lifetime achievement award was given to Chris Shipley, DEMO’s executive producer, who’s handing the role over to VentureBeat Editor Matt Marshall. (Okay, it wasn’t really a “surprise,” but it wasn’t announced ahead of time.)

For more DEMO coverage, check out our roundup of presenting companies.

]]> http://demo.venturebeat.com/2009/09/23/demo-emo-labs-and-liaise-win-1m-media-prize/feed/ 1 DEMO: Gogrok uses voice for better document collaboration http://demo.venturebeat.com/2009/09/23/demo-gogrok-uses-voice-for-better-document-collaboration/ http://demo.venturebeat.com/2009/09/23/demo-gogrok-uses-voice-for-better-document-collaboration/#comments Wed, 23 Sep 2009 22:50:50 +0000 Anthony Ha http://venturebeat.com/?p=129671 Gogrok is launching a better way to work with others on documents — not only are you able to co-edit a document in real-time, but you can also annotate it and chat with your collaborators using instant messaging and phone calls using voice over IP. That means disputes and confusion can be resolved much more quickly.

Gogrok is launching at today’s DEMOfall 09, the technology conference co-produced by VentureBeat. The company says you can share individual applications, or your whole desktop. Possible uses include sharing with your friends to show them driving directions, a designer sharing graphic designs with his or her customers, and consumers sharing their computer screens to get help with software that isn’t working.

]]> gogrok_logoGogrok is launching a better way to work with others on documents — not only are you able to co-edit a document in real-time, but you can also annotate it and chat with your collaborators using instant messaging and phone calls using voice over IP. That means disputes and confusion can be resolved much more quickly.

Gogrok is launching at today’s DEMOfall 09, the technology conference co-produced by VentureBeat. The company says you can share individual applications, or your whole desktop. Possible uses include sharing with your friends to show them driving directions, a designer sharing graphic designs with his or her customers, and consumers sharing their computer screens to get help with software that isn’t working.

]]> http://demo.venturebeat.com/2009/09/23/demo-gogrok-uses-voice-for-better-document-collaboration/feed/ 0