Monday, November 5, 2007

Wise Mapping is the web mind mapping tool

What Company Is Offering:
Wise Mapping is the web mind mapping tool that leverages the power of Mind Maps mixing new technologies like vectorial languages and the power of the whole Web 2.0 concept.
How It Works:
A mind map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks or other items linked to and arranged radially around a central key word or idea. It is used to generate, visualize, structure and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, organization, problem solving, and decision making.

It is an image-centered diagram that represents semantic or other connections between portions of information. By presenting these connections in a radial, non-linear graphical manner, it encourages a brainstorming approach to any given organizational task, eliminating the hurdle of initially establishing an intrinsically appropriate or relevant conceptual framework to work within.

A mind map is similar to a semantic network or cognitive map but there are no formal restrictions on the kinds of links used.

The elements are arranged intuitively according to the importance of the concepts and they are organized into groupings, branches, or areas. The uniform graphic formulation of the semantic structure of information on the method of gathering knowledge, may aid recall of existing memories.
How is It Useful For Us:
Users will be able to create and read their mind maps from everywhere whenever it's needed. Once you have your mind map created the features that distinguish WiseMapping appears: Embed it in your own web page, blog or post, "Wise it" linking documents to it, "Share it" to anyone in the world.
More at:http://www.wisemapping.com/

RVS Ventures, Acquired beRecruited.com

What Company is offering:
beRecruited provides a platform for student athletes to connect and interact with college coaches across the nation, giving students the tools to research and build profiles of verified athletic and academic information, as well as providing coaches with a vast, searchable database of potential recruits. To date, beRecruited has more than 100,000 registered student-athletes, 8,000 college coaches and 7,000 high school & club coaches.
About VCs Deal:
RVS Ventures, Inc., the investment company of entrepreneur Raymond Sozzi, and Madison Parker Capital, LLC, a Boston-based private equity firm, acquired beRecruited.com in October, 2007 and formed beRecruited, Inc. As part of the growth strategy, the Company hired former ESPN.com executive Jeff Cravens as president.
Who Is Behind This Company:
1.
Raymond Sozzi, Chairman

Raymond Sozzi is CEO and Chairman of the Board of RVS Ventures, Inc., a private equity and consulting firm. He also sits on the Board of Directors of several private companies and non-profit organizations. Over the past 10 years, he has orchestrated nearly $200 million in acquisitions and public and private company financings. In 1992, he founded Student Advantage, Inc., a leading youth media and marketing company. For more than 10 years, he served as President, CEO and Chairman of the Board, charting the company's growth to more than 500 employees and nearly $75 million in revenue. Sozzi has appeared in more than 200 different publications, including the New York Times, Boston Globe, Wall Street Journal and Ad Age. He was featured by BrandWeek as a Marketer of the Next Generation and in Chief Executive Magazine as one of the top 10 up and coming CEO's in America. In 1999, Sozzi was recognized by Ernst and Young, USA Today and Dow Jones as the nation's Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Sozzi, a graduate of Dartmouth College, began his career as an associate consultant for Bain & Company.

2.Jeff Cravens, President

With more than 10 years of executive management in online businesses, Cravens joined beRecruited.com in October 2007. He joined the business after serving as Vice President/General manager of ESPN360.com. Cravens oversaw the successful relaunch of ESPN360.com, with a strategic programming focus on live events and an enhanced user interface. ESPN360.com is ESPN's premier broadband service distributed to more than 17 million homes. Cravens was responsible for overseeing ESPN's programming on other digital platforms, including Video On Demand, Digital Downloads (iTunes),online pay-per-view programming and other emerging digital platforms.
More at:http://www.berecruited.com/

Wikitravel--Your Complete Holiday Or Travel Guide

What Is Wikitravel:
Wikitravel is a project to create a free, complete, up-to-date and reliable world-wide travel guide. It is built in collaboration by Wikitravellers from around the globe.
How It Works:

To create Wikitravel we have to use a tool called Wiki which lets any Internet reader create, update, edit, and illustrate any article on the Web site. We all share our pieces of knowledge, edit them, distill them, and assemble them into a pleasing and cohesive whole. The more people that use the Edit link, the better Wikitravel becomes.
What's Its Purpose:
Whenever travellers meet each other on the road, they swap info about the places they came from and ask questions about places they're going. We want to make it easy to share that knowledge and let others share it; our copyleft license means that the facts you know can spread far and wide.
More at:http://wikitravel.org/

Today's Dreamers Are Tommorrow's Entrepreneurs

Barclays Local Business research reveals untapped potential of today’s workforce. Workers caught staring into space at their desk or ‘away with the fairies’ during business meetings are a mass of untapped, entrepreneurial talent, according to research from Barclays Local Business.

The latest survey by Barclays Local Business reveals how employees showing signs of distraction are likely to get out and start their own business, as nearly half of today’s UK business bosses (44 per cent) admit to having plotted their entrepreneurial future whilst daydreaming in the work place of a previous employer.

Although an increasing number of bosses are paranoid about employees wasting time at work on social networking sites like Facebook, it appears they cannot stop employees from dreaming of a more productive and satisfying future in their working life.

John Davis, marketing director for Barclays Local Business said: “This survey highlights what many bosses have probably suspected for a long time – that for some employees, their current job is the last thing on their mind when they are at work. However, whilst they may be wasting their employer’s time they are not necessarily being idle; as they are planning for their own future. For budding entrepreneurs, the routine of their day-job can spark dreams of going onto bigger and better things.”

These dreamers turned entrepreneurs clearly know the value of downtime with only eight per cent interrupting their holidays to come up with a killer small business idea. Similarly, just six per cent were prepared to think about being their own boss in between pints down the pub. It’s also no surprise then that the survey also reveals that almost 40 per cent of UK business bosses view plain old common sense as the winning ingredient for ongoing success.

Davis added: “For employers there is nothing more frustrating than letting untapped talent slip through the net as staff showing entrepreneurial signs provide huge benefits and help small, medium or larger companies grow. Perhaps it will serve as a warning to any boss that they shouldn’t take their eye off the ball when it comes to keeping their staff interested and engaged and developing their people.”

The survey also uncovers the concerns keeping aspiring entrepreneurs awake at night; just under 40 per cent admit to feeling nervous about giving up the financial stability of a full time job, while nearly one in five (19 per cent) worry about getting into debt. Added pressure on their home life was also a worry for six per cent.


Via-USPR

Skillfights---A platform for carrying out different kinds of digital competition

What Company Is Offering:
Skillfights.com offers a platform for carrying out different kinds of digital competition, rated by the community through votes.
How It Works:
Users have the possibilities to search, join and create competitions. Those can be of different nature, for example they can search for the best image, flash, video, soundfile or text.
More at:http://skillfights.com/

BuzzLogic

What Company is Offering:
BuzzLogic’s mission is to unlock the power of influence with applications that help players across the social media ecosystem—businesses, online publishers and the individuals creating influential content themselves—reap the rewards.
How It Works:
The new ad targeting lets advertisers isolate blogs and social media conversations that are going on around specific conversations about products, brands and issues. This offers a way of presented targeted ads towards the audiences and users involved in these online conversations.

This works in a similar manner to a key word search which scans participating sites for the online discussions going on around various topics. A few options for ad placement with this new tool from BuzzLogic include text or display ads from the BuzzLogic dashboard, and ads can be customized for campaigns.

This provides an interesting intersection of ongoing, dynamic content being created by users and web publishers, and ads being created and offered in a similar dynamic manner. The process also lends itself a bit to market research, in some cases regarding both consumer perceptions and public opinion.
Who Is Backing This Company:
Rob Crumpler, President and Chief Executive Officer
1.Rob Crumpler joined BuzzLogic as President and CEO in October 2005, bringing with him more than 20 years of experience with fast growth technology companies, including Microsoft and Intuit. While at Microsoft, Crumpler played a key role in defining the advertising technologies and business models that drove the revenue growth of MSN.
2.Todd Parsons, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer
A co-founder of BuzzLogic, Todd Parsons is responsible for the strategic planning and delivery of BuzzLogic’s software products and services. Prior to founding BuzzLogic, Parsons led development of the Knowledge Bank and Online Business Services for Silicon Valley Bank, where he managed development of productivity and business intelligence products for the bank and venture capital community. Previously, Parsons was a co-founder Textus Worldwide, a supply chain management consulting firm .
More at:http://www.buzzlogic.com/

Innovate Like Edison

Edison is probably one of the most referenced inventors ever. Not to undermine his great achievements in the act of creation (1% imagination and 99% perspiration as the saying goes), he also did a remarkable job in developing and marketing products for which were innovative That legacy has manifested itself into one of the greatest companies of the world, GE.

A new book by Michael J. Gelb and Sarah Miller Caldicott, Innovate Like Edison, boils down Edison's process to five key steps. Below is an excerpt from the book where the authors " give you a taste of his approach, using the example of Edison's first product, the stock ticker. His system is culled from historical documents and written as Edison might have noted them.



1. Identify trends in the marketplace, observing where and how needs are shifting. In 1868, I read in the newspapers that the rebuilding of the American South after the Civil War has sent commodities prices rising, since demand for lumber, brick, stone, and other building materials has increased and supplies are strained. The reporting of these prices - as well as the price of gold and precious metals - is eagerly sought by American businesses at an increasing rate.

2. Determine if there are any gaps created by these changing needs. I've noted that few efficient machines and few services exist to rapidly - and reliably - report commodities prices, precious-metals prices, and stock prices to businesses around the country.

3. Identify the core insight (the "aha!") or need at the heart of each gap. I think I can apply the principles of -telegraphy to make a machine that reports prices.

4. Link your insights to your capabilities as a company and your strengths and weaknesses in relation to your competitors. I can combine my talents for telegraph equipment assembly and design to develop price--reporting machines that operate rapidly and efficiently.

5. The hypothesis is an "if-then" proposal for a practical experiment about the goal you'd like to fulfill based on the linkage you've created. If I can build an efficient, reliable telegraph-like machine that can help businesses report commodities and metals prices all over the country, then I will make a significant profit.

The result? Edison's stock-reporting machine launched his career as a successful inventor and innovator. "

Via-manyworlds

Mediastores--Enables Anyone To Build Their Own Online Store For Free

What Company Is Offering:
Mediastores enables anyone to build their own online store for free, selling their choice from over one million Books, DVDs and CDs and earn 20% commission. The full build your own service will launch in Spring 2008 but the first five mediastores to demonstrate the concept have recently gone live grouped around the charity Double Gift campaign.
How It Works:
You can personalize the color scheme of your online store and add your company’s logo, and the best part is that you earn a 20% commission off of any purchases made from your store. This service will be up and running in 2008, but in the meantime, they’re running a Double Gift campaign staring 5 charities and the help of some celebrities. Each of the five charities has created a mediastore in the same vein that everyone will be able to create in the future. When buying gifts for your loved ones this holiday season, you can purchase them from one of the charities’ online stores. By purchasing through one of their sites, 20% of each purchase goes toward helping that charity. The gift recipients even get a little card in their present showing them that their gift helped a charity in its purchase.
More at:http://mediastores.com/

Backtags to assess, analyze and rank the popularity of any website on leading social bookmarking sites

What Company is offering:
Backtags allows users to:assess, analyze and rank the popularity of any website on leading social bookmarking sites ,identify tags used to describe websites ,rank websites according to tag/user popularity ,compare and rank competitors analyze user perception of websites identify and track trends.
How it Works:
Enter a domain name to check the social popularity of any domain or enter a keyword to search for relevant sites.
The domain results will summarize the total references on leading social bookmarking sites and rank in real time.
The keyword or tag results list domains according to user popularity on leading social bookmarking sites.
Enter futher domains to compare and analyse.
More at:http://www.backtags.com/

Predictify---Predict And Earn

What Company Is Offering:
Predictify provides a simple, fun way to engage in current and future newsworthy topics. Users can find events that interest them, predict the outcome, build a reputation based on accuracy, and even get paid real money when they’re right and it’s free too – no points or bets required.
How It Works:
Predictify is a prediction platform that taps into the collective wisdom of Internet users. Users can also post questions about future events and collect a large sample of predictions about the outcome. Predictify’s unique system captures the full distribution of beliefs, not just the average, and provides easy-to-use graphical tools to analyze the results. Posting questions is free – or, for a small fee, add predictor profile data and keep the results private.
More at:http://www.predictify.com/

Ratevegas--Reviews of Las Vegas casinos, hotels, resorts, and restaurants, pictures, photos and trip reports! Gambling Information

What Company Is Offering:
At Ratevegas ,visitors can rate and review hotels, casinos, restaurants, shows and more. Unique data mining technology allows us to make suggestions about new experiences to users accurately.
How It Works:
Reviews of Las Vegas casinos, hotels, resorts, and restaurants, pictures, photos and trip reports! Gambling Information! Cheap Las Vegas Hotels!
Take the RateVegas.com information with you on your PalmOS or PocketPC based PDA, or access it live via a WAP-enabled cellular phone. Never wonder what the best Italian joint on the Strip is again.
More at:http://www.ratevegas.com/

ISPONS--Online Sports Sponsorship Community

What Company Is Offering:
ISPONS is an online sponsorship community, providing a simple solution for athletes and teams to showcase their skills and event results to connect with sponsors .
ISPONS provides companies a streamlined approach for sponsorship programs as well as sport marketing.
How It Works:
ATHLETES
If you are an athlete-novice or pro- there is no doubt that you would probably enjoy having your racing efforts (or career) financed or supported by a sponsor. But ask any one of thousands of competitive athletes out there, sponsorship just does not happen without some old-fashioned, hard work. The more active you, as an athlete, are in the pursuit of your own sponsors, the more likely it is you’ll find the support you need.
ISPONS provides you with a simple solution to connect you to sponsors and manage your profile/ resume online.
Athlete Opportunities
* Create your custom profile.

* Showcase your skills and event results.

* Set yourself apart from the competition by uploading photos, videos and blogs to let sponsors see for themselves!

* Establish your professionalism and gain instant credibility with potential sponsors.

* Give yourself a place to direct potential sponsors, media, fans, friends etc. to find detailed info about you and your athletic accomplishments. (and saves the time and money of having to create and mail/fax this type of info each time you need it)

* Research companies to find what type of athletes and sports they are interested in, as well as, what level of sponsorships they offer.

* Send your resume to one, a few or all ISPONS sponsors.

* Manage your sponsorships online.

* Build a local or national network of sponsors, fellow athletes and fans.

* Receive valuable tips from sponsors and the pros in your sport as to how to make yourself more valuable to sponsors.

* Chat online with ISPONS athletes and Sponsors.

* Buy and Sell products and services from other athletes.

* Receive incidental exposure to other potential sponsors, fans etc. who are directed to the ISPONS website by our agents and other athletes.

* Promote yourself and Get Sponsored!
More at:http://www.i-spons.com/

Quigo ----Advertise on the web's most recognized brands and local media sites

What Company Is Offering:
AdSonar Exchange is a category-aligned network of publishers and advertisers brought together by Quigo to generate a content-targeted advertising marketplace.
AdSonar Exchange raises the "relevancy" bar. AdSonar borrows from traditional and tested marketing concepts by using content categories to begin matching relevant advertisers and publishers in a highly organized manner.
AdSonar for Publishers gives Web publishers an immediate way to place contextually relevant ads onto their Website, generating additional revenue without investing in costly infrastructure or timely sales calls. AdSonar provides Publishers with a way to add relevant content that enriches and monetizes their site.
How It Works:
AdSonar will give you a simple piece of code to place on the pages where you want ads to appear. Then AdSonar's proprietary algorithms automatically identify, match and deliver the most relevant ads to each page of content.
Set-Up is Easy - You define choices such as ad format and placement. Once users click on AdSonar ads on your site, you start earning money. (AdSonar Supports dynamic and password protected sites *)
Improve Ad Relevancy - Only advertisers in your category can appear on your site.
Gain More Control - You can generate reports at the URL, domain and ad level to see where your ad revenues are originating.
Increase Your Profits - You define your own default ads and even serve ads from your own listings to stop unprofitable "filler ads.
More at:http://www.quigo.com/