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Video app ShowYou works to make mobile couch surfing easier

Video app ShowYou works to make mobile couch surfing easier

For a couple of years now, executives at YouTube have been working on what they call "the lean-back experience" -- ways of watching online video that don't require viewers to choose something else to watch every two or three minutes.

The company has tried various tactics to increase the time users spend on its site, from deep integrations with connected televisions to funding channels led by celebrities. It has also redesigned its Web site and mobile apps to emphasize a left-hand "guide" feature, which is designed to make it easier to find stuff you might … Read more

Just in time for Festivus, @SeinfeldToday feed debuts

Just in time for Festivus, @SeinfeldToday feed debuts

The hit sitcom "Seinfeld" might have gone off the air long before some of the technology we enjoy today was invented, but that hasn't stopped one person from taking to Twitter and guessing at what the modern-day "Seinfeld" would look like.

On Sunday, BuzzFeed sports editor Jack Moore opened a Twitter account, called @SeinfeldToday, where he shares storylines that could have been produced if the show was airing today. The tweets center on scenarios in which Jerry, George, Kramer, or Elaine interact with today's technologies.

"Jerry joins Twitter only to find that a … Read more

'Hacker hostels' let tech hopefuls snooze -- and schmooze (video)

'Hacker hostels' let tech hopefuls snooze -- and schmooze (video)

From the outside, it looks like a typical California suburban home: garage, driveway, tidy yard. But walk down the path leading to the front door and you'll find your first clue that a traditional family of four does not live inside. On the front porch are dozens and dozens of pairs of men's shoes, all removed before entering in order to keep the house as tidy as possible.

When we knocked, Carlos De La Lama Noriega, the manager of the house, greeted us and welcomed us inside for a tour. The main living space was clean and airy … Read more

Messaging app Kik, now at 30M users, adds slick way to share

Messaging app Kik, now at 30M users, adds slick way to share

At a time when mobile instant messaging is available in so many ways -- standard SMS, for free via through Facebook Messenger and through Apple's iMessage for iOS users -- you might think that a free messaging app wouldn't stand a chance as a standalone business.

Ted Livingston, a 25-year-old mobile wunderkind based in Waterloo, Ontario, is out to prove doubters wrong.

His app, Kik, became a viral sensation when it launched in the fall of 2010 -- it added 2 million users in 22 days -- and now claims more than 30 million registered users. More impressive … Read more

Ron Conway steps back as Y Combinator cuts team funding

Ron Conway steps back as Y Combinator cuts team funding

Superstar angel investor Ron Conway will no longer be part of the team of investors giving money to the dozens of startups taking part each year in Y Combinator, one of the world's most prestigious incubators.

Y Combinator said today that it is sharply reducing the amount of venture funding each startup coming through the program is given. For the last two years, each team was seeded with $150,000 in funding from Conway, of SV Angel, Yuri Milner, and Andreessen Horowitz. Starting today, that amount has been slashed to $80,000 per team, the incubator said, as it … Read more

YouTube programmer Maker Studios raises $40M -- report

YouTube programmer Maker Studios raises $40M -- report

Maker Studios, a company that delivers professional programming to YouTube, is getting a big cash infusion from Time Warner, according to a new report.

Time Warner Investments, the venture-capital division at the media conglomerate, is leading a $40 million round of financing for Maker, All Things Digital reported yesterday, citing people with knowledge of the deal. The round is expected to close by the end of the year.

Maker Studios stands with Machinima, a company that produces gaming videos, at the leading edge of what has become a more professional push on YouTube. Maker Studios offers what's called "… Read more

NYC's Silicon Alley badly trails Silicon Valley in startup influence

NYC's Silicon Alley badly trails Silicon Valley in startup influence

With the success of companies like Tumblr, Foursquare, and Kickstarter, New York's startup scene has gotten a lot of attention recently.

But despite the influence of those outfits and venture capitalists like Union Square Ventures' Fred Wilson, the Big Apple is a backwater when it comes to the world startup scene, according to a new report from the Startup Genome project.

In the study, New York City came in as just the fifth-ranked startup ecosystem in the world, trailing Silicon Valley, Israel's Tel Aviv, Los Angeles, and Seattle.

To come up with its rankings, the Startup Genome -- … Read more

Medium hires former literary agent as director of content

Medium hires former literary agent as director of content

Medium, a publishing platform being developed by Twitter co-founder Ev Williams, has hired a director of content.

Williams announced on his company's blog yesterday that Medium has hired Kate Lee, former literary agent at International Creative Management. Lee left her job at ICM in April, after deciding that she wanted to have some time off. She spent 10 years at ICM and focused heavily on bringing blog writers to the book publishing world.

In her new role at Medium, Lee will serve as director of content, a job that will see her "help get great stuff onto Medium,&… Read more

Steve Case: America must 'double down on entrepreneurs' (Q&A;)

Steve Case: America must 'double down on entrepreneurs' (Q&A)

Steve Case, who made his vast fortune as the co-founder of America Online, wants to help America's startup scene flourish. Not the scene in Silicon Valley, but in all the pockets between there and the East Coast -- what he calls the "rise of the rest." Cities like Cleveland, Memphis and Detroit. Through his Washington, D.C-based firm, Revolution, Case has invested in about 25 non-Valley startups, including LivingSocial and the now-public Zipcar.

That mission plays into his big cause at the moment, pushing to reform America's high-skilled immigration system so that the country keeps and … Read more

Uber faces new legal challenge, at home in San Francisco

Uber faces new legal challenge, at home in San Francisco

It looks like Uber has yet another legal hurdle to surmount, this time on its home turf in San Francisco.

The popular ride-summoning startup, which has recently dealt with regulatory challenges in Washington D.C., New York, and Chicago, is now being sued in San Francisco by the city's cab drivers, who are claiming unfair business practices.

The fast-growing service, which allows customers to use smartphones to arrange transportation in several U.S. cities, announced last month that in the San Francisco market it was testing out a taxi service option within the Uber app, alongside its existing sedan … Read more