PayPal



PayPal

August 11, 2009: CNET News



video:

video:

PayPal on Tuesday is introducing a new service for parents with kids who are in high school or college. Called Student Accounts, it centers on the use of a special PayPal-branded Mastercard debit card that's tied to a parent's PayPal accounts. The parent acts as the provider and can funnel money in whenever they feel like it at predetermined dates, or--at what will most-frequently happen--the behest of their kids.

Some of the perks include no overdraft fees and the use of a debit card that's not tied to a particular bank account, meaning the balance can come from a variety of sources.

The system has more of an allure for parents though. It's easier for them to dole out cash and track where it goes. In other words, your kid can have the $20 they said they needed for gas money, but if it ends up being for the late-night beer run, you're going to know about it.

The other design behind the card, and one that goes far beyond tracking beer money spending, is to create an ecosystem of PayPal users that become acclimated to handling their finances within the service's confines. Considering parent-child money transfers may happen long after college attendance is complete, PayPal has incentive to get both parties used to dealing with its system.

A good example of this is that these students will one day have the option to "graduate" to having their own full PayPal accounts that they manage on their own and that includes a complete history of transactions they made when they were in school. Don Fotsch, who is PayPal's VP of user experience and design, told me that you cannot currently do this--but that it would be worked in by the time some of the early users reached that point. PayPal will also be working on a way to let students integrate any outside income they're getting from an after or during school job to be able to continue using that debit card on other purchases.

Of course, PayPal being PayPal there is a cost to this service. PayPal takes a $1 cut for every ATM withdrawal, which comes on top of any ATM fee considering the card is not affiliated with any banks. There are also the typical PayPal percentage fees for using that debit card outside of the U.S. either on purchases or trips to the ATM. For things like online purchases, or in-store purchases, there are no fees or limits though. There also aren't any sign up fees, load card fees, or annual fees.

One thing that makes the service really neat is that if the child runs out of money, they can send a text to PayPal to request more. The parent then gets a text message from PayPal asking if they want to transfer the money and can reply with a simple yes or no. The money is then piped into the account within two minutes.

As Fotsche explained to me, this system worked out great for him when his daughter needed to spend an extra $10 on a checked bag at the airport. But parents could also just set up one of these cards for their kids as a real emergency credit card and one they wouldn't have to worry as much about if it were stolen since it couldn't be maxed out. And even if some parents do end up setting up one of these cards for such a purpose, that's two users already in PayPal's pocket.

July 23, 2009: Masable



For years, PayPal had no rival in the online payments industry. Then, in 2007, Amazon launched its Amazon Payments, which not only gave PayPal a rival with real muscle, but was considered friendlier and more open to third party developers, thus why many apps utilized Amazon Payments instead of PayPal. And let’s not forget about Google Checkout, which also competes in the space.

However, Paypal is taking a swing back at the competition today, revealing PayPal X and Adaptive Payments, a new initiative that allow third party developers to utilize PayPal in completely new ways. Prepare yourself for split payments, payment aggregation, and PayPal on other websites.

PayPal is essentially opening up its platform to developers so that they can build new products off of PayPal. This is called PayPal X. The first part of this new initiative is PayPal Adaptive Payments, which refers to the new APIs (application programming interfaces) that will help developers do new things with PayPal.

All of the developer-related information will be placed on PayPal’s one-character domain, . Here are some of the things that are now possible:

- Send Money: Peer-to-peer payments can and will happen on multiple platforms, not just on

- Split Payments: You can now split payments among many recipients via the Platform. For example, if you need to pay multiple people a commission on the sale, you can send just one payment instead of four or five.

- Payment Preapproval: Once you log into a system and confirm prepayments, the API will automatically transfer funds based on pre-set specifications.

- Payment Aggregation: To reduce the costs of payment transactions, users can soon aggregate multiple payments into one lump transaction. Amazon

Payments already offers this.

This could be good news for a lot of smaller firms and third-party developers. Let’s take TwitPay as an example. TwitPay allows users to send and receive micropayments via Twitter([pic]). It is run on PayPal, and in fact is one of the first apps utilizing the Adaptive Payment platform (and probably the reason they switched from Amazon Payments). The new API lets you do things like send payments right on Twitpay.me (and hopefully soon split payments).

PayPal Adaptive Payments doesn’t come out to all developers and users until November, but expect to see more websites utilizing the new PayPal X very, very soon.

eBay

Oct 19, 2009

eBay and PayPal Now Offer Bill Me Later

SAN JOSE, Calif. - October 19, 2009 - Giving customers even more choice in how they pay online, eBay and PayPal now offer Bill Me Later as a payment option during checkout. With Bill Me Later, qualified eBay and PayPal customers in the U.S. can now manage their budgets more easily, buying items quickly and effortlessly and paying for them over time, without using a credit card.

On eBay, Bill Me Later will be available as a payment option for both Buy It Now and approved auction purchases.  Qualified customers can also use Bill Me Later at tens of thousands of their favorite online merchants that accept PayPal Express Checkout. When customers select the PayPal checkout button, Bill Me Later will be available as a funding choice along with their stored PayPal balance, bank accounts or credit cards. Customers select Bill Me Later as their funding choice and follow simple steps to take advantage of the payment flexibility, convenience and security that Bill Me Later offers.

"Bill Me Later is the perfect complement to PayPal and eBay," said Sam Shrauger, vice president of global product strategy for PayPal. "By offering Bill Me Later as part of the PayPal payment service, customers now have the choice to buy the items immediately and pay for them when they want with Bill Me Later's flexible financing options."

"Bill Me Later provides a great e-commerce experience for eBay buyers and sellers, and we're excited to give our customers an easy, safe new way to pay just in time for the busiest shopping season of the year," said Dinesh Lathi, vice president of buyer and seller experience of eBay Marketplaces.

For merchants, Bill Me Later helps increase sales and higher average order values by giving consumers promotional financing options and deferred payments, such as no payments for 90 days.

To use Bill Me Later directly, consumers simply select Bill Me Later as their payment choice, enter top-of-mind information including their date of birth and the last four digits of their social security number and accept the terms. Bill Me Later uses a real-time credit model to make decisions about credit within seconds, so consumers don't have to complete a lengthy application prior to making a purchase. PayPal customers will be able to access their Bill Me Later statements directly from their PayPal accounts, with the option to pay their Bill Me Later balances with PayPal.

Oct 14, 2009

Venture Capitalists Discuss the Future of Online Payments At PayPal X Innovate 2009 Conference

Developer Conference to Feature Executive Keynotes, Technical Sessions and Exclusive API Release

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Oct. 14, 2009 - A panel of leading venture capitalists (VCs) will discuss breakthrough opportunities in payments available to entrepreneurs at PayPal X Innovate 2009, PayPal's first developer conference. Moderated by GigaOm blogger Om Malik, the panel will include Brian Ascher from Venrock, Roger Lee from Battery Ventures, Eric O'Brien from Lightspeed Venture Partners and Dana Stalder from Matrix Partners.

"Payments are becoming a game changing technology, with opportunities everywhere you look-and this is not lost on the VC community," said Osama Bedier, vice president of PayPal Platform and Emerging Technology. "Developer innovation has been stifled until now because it's so hard to make money. It's not about technology, it's about solving fundamental challenges people face when trying to pay or get paid."

"By opening up its payments platform, PayPal is essentially giving developers the tools to easily monetize their ideas, which has been a long-time challenge," added Dana Stalder, general partner, Matrix Partners. "This will be of significant importance to the VC community and marks a major shift in payments as we know it."

PayPal X Innovate 2009 will also feature keynote addresses from eBay Inc. CEO John Donahoe, PayPal President Scott Thompson and Vice President of Platform and Emerging Technology Osama Bedier. Publisher and Web 2.0 activist Tim O'Reilly will close out the first day of the conference with the afternoon keynote. Other speakers include innovative developers and partners who will unveil new applications based on PayPal X, PayPal's open development platform.

The conference will feature dozens of interactive technical sessions covering everything from mobile applications and financial innovation, to creating peer-to-peer applications in developing markets. Attendees will get a preview of the PayPal X 2010 roadmap and have the opportunity to work directly with 200 PayPal engineers on their ideas. Those in attendance will also receive exclusive access to PayPal's new application programming interfaces (APIs), which will be announced at the conference. The APIs will not be available to non-attendees until 2010.

Oct 7, 2009

eBay Teams With The Uniform Project to Launch Re+Purpose Campaign

Championing Eco-Conscious Ways to Shop, Save and Be Green

SAN JOSE, CALIF. - October 7, 2009 - The vintage dress that gives you a brand new look. Last year's laptop that saves you money, and helps save the planet. An antique couch that now looks great in your living room instead of in a landfill. For savvy consumers around the world, discovering new value in existing products is becoming a smarter, greener way to shop. The latest consumer trend didn't just arrive in stores, it's using what we already have and can buy and sell from each other.

This fall, eBay's Green Team champions this growing consumer mindset with their six-week "re+purpose" campaign. Re+purpose is designed to inspire people to make more sustainable shopping choices and increase awareness that the greenest products are often ones that already exist, whether vintage, used, or repurposed.

eBay's re+purpose campaign kicks off October 7 through a collaboration with The Uniform Project - designer Sheena Matheiken's year-long mission to increase awareness about sustainable fashion and raise money to support education for underprivileged kids in her native India. Beginning October 22, eBay's re+purpose campaign moves into its second phase via a collaboration with PopTech and MAKE Magazine to show how old items can be transformed into creative and functional new products. And on November 4, the eBay Green Team will launch the third and final phase of re+purpose alongside by holding a national competition for the most creative do-it-yourself home décor reuse project. To follow the re+purpose campaign, visit greenteam.

"The trend towards repurposing is something we see consumers embracing around the world," says Amy Skoczlas Cole, Director of the eBay Green Team. "These consumers recognize how much stuff there is in the world. They see buying used and vintage as not only a way to shop smart, but also to help the planet by extending the useful life of things that already exist. Useful stuff doesn't need to become useless trash. By connecting buyers and sellers in the world's largest online marketplace, eBay helps create value for vintage, used and refurbished products. The re+purpose campaign promotes three of the best creative reuse efforts we see today."

The eBay Green Team - comprised of over 100,000 eBay consumers and employees from more than 25 countries - is committed to encouraging smarter, greener shopping choices. The community draws inspiration from some of the ways in which the eBay marketplace is intrinsically green. Because of the green advantages of buying used combined with the environmental benefits of eBay's business model, which leverages existing transportation modes:

• Over the past three years, the sales of pre-owned handbags instead of new on eBay had the same effect as planting over 2 million trees

• Last year alone, the sales of used laptops on eBay instead of new saved 96,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions

 

1 dress, 365 days - unlimited possibilities

The re+purpose campaign launches with a focus on fashion. In May 2009, Brooklyn-based Sheena Matheiken pledged to wear the same dress for an entire year as an exercise in sustainable fashion. Inspired by the uniforms she wore as a child in India, she called her venture The Uniform Project, and her challenge has been to reinvent the uniform dress every day by accessorizing it with sustainable goods-vintage, borrowed, purchased on eBay and elsewhere. The Uniform Project has succeeded in proving that reuse is stylish, yet Sheena's ultimate aim is to raise funds for the Akanksha Fund, a non-profit organization that is bringing education to underprivileged children living in the slums of India.

To help The Uniform Project achieve its mission, the eBay Green Team will engage its 100,000+ member base in the effort. At greenteam, members can find featured content from The Uniform Project - including a design-your-own-look application, as well as opportunities to win a $5,000 vintage shopping experience on eBay. From October 7-21, for every person who joins the eBay Green Team, designs their own look, or tells a friend, eBay will donate $1 to The Akanksha Fund in support of the cause.

Master makers at work

The second phase of the re+purpose campaign will tap into the community of "makers"-people who turn existing items into functional or artistic pieces, giving them a second life. From October 22-November 3, eBay Green Team will collaborate with PopTech, the leading "innovation" exchange, and MAKE Magazine to celebrate some of the most creative and innovative makers worldwide. At PopTech 2009: America Reimagined conference in Camden, Maine (October 21-24), two "master makers" will set up shop in a community storefront. Using old electronic and other items purchased through the eBay marketplace, the team will create new, useful items.

Consistent with the theme of showcasing inspiration for reuse, the greenteam site will have exclusive, behind-the-scenes content from the PopTech event, along with instructions for creating unique masterpieces from reused items, inspired by the "makers." During this phase, eBay will donate $1 for every new and returning eBay Green Team member to RAFT - Resource Area for Teaching - an organization that provides creative materials for teachers, a large portion of which are donated and reused items. eBay Green Team members will once again be eligible for a $5,000 pre-owned shopping experience on eBay.

Ecofabulousness

The third and final phase of the fall campaign drives home the fact that reuse is cool-especially the "sexy, sustainable stuff" curated by creative DIY maven Zem Joaquin, 's founder and editor-in-chief. From November 4 - 19, the eBay Green Team will hold a Creative Reuse Competition, a national call for the best examples of DIY projects - made from reused items - from around the country. Members and fans will vote on their favorite, and the winner-to be juried by Zem and eBay-will be featured as a Creative Reuse Expert for eBay, winning a $1,000 shopping experience with Zem on eBay and gaining international exposure on the web site, not to mention possible media opportunities. For the duration of the collaboration, greenteam will feature custom content from Zem to serve as inspiration and will reward new and returning eBay Green Team members with $1 donated on their behalf to Global Green USA, the American affiliate of President Gorbachev's Green Cross International, a leading environmental organization focused on fostering a global value shift to reconnect humanity with the environment by creating healthy, affordable green homes, schools and communities.

Oct 7, 2009

eBay Invests Big in Small Businesses

eBay awards $120,000 in cash grants to help foster and encourage online entrepreneurship

San Jose, Calif. -- eBay, the world's largest online marketplace, today announced the four entrepreneurs who were selected as winners of the eBay Sellers Challenge, a contest designed to spark the entrepreneurial spirit among eBay sellers. These entrepreneurs have each been awarded $25,000 from eBay to bring their business plans to life, and will also receive free marketing advice and support from the company. An additional four runners up were also awarded $5,000 each to pursue their plans for starting or growing a business on eBay.

Sponsored jointly with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the world's largest foundation devoted to entrepreneurship, the eBay Sellers Challenge asked existing and aspiring eBay sellers to submit their best ideas for growing their presence in the online marketplace. Following a business plan review by the Kauffman Foundation, eBay members selected the winners across four categories which represent the diverse base of more than 25 million eBay sellers:

First-time Sellers on eBay: Tori Nichel, a first-time eBay seller who will use the site as a way to establish an e-commerce presence for her growing Brooklyn-based fashion apparel business

Part-time Sellers on eBay: Ryan Pugh, a longtime eBay member who recently decided to make her Las Vegas-based eBay business a full-time job, selling products she believes help people to "live clean"

Full-time Sellers on eBay: Janell Anderson-Ehrke, a full-time eBay seller who helps low-income artisans and micro-entrepreneurs in Nebraska to connect with a community of buyers on eBay

U.S. Veterans and Service Members: Thomas Costello, a Lance Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and Chicago-based eBay seller who uses eBay to take advantage of a growing market for used computer equipment

"eBay presents a wonderful opportunity for a small business owner like me to become locally accessible to customers throughout the world," said Tori Nichel, women's fashion designer and winner of the eBay Sellers Challenge for a first-time seller. "As I work to bring my boutique online, this grant will go a long way in helping me achieve my goals of growing my customer base and reaching a more diverse group of consumers."

Runners up in each category include:

First-time Sellers on eBay: Sam Widman, Albany, Ga.

Part-time Sellers on eBay: Silas Martine and family, Lakewood, Calif.

Full-time Sellers on eBay: John Eastman, Wells, Me.

U.S. Veterans and Service Members: Jesse Carmona, Whittier, Calif.

"Entrepreneurial spirit is deeply embedded in eBay's history and culture, which is why we're so committed to supporting emerging entrepreneurs with the tools they need to build and grow a successful business," said Lorrie Norrington, president of eBay Marketplaces. "The passion, dedication and hard work of the exceptional sellers who participated in the Challenge truly embody this entrepreneurial spirit. We are proud to recognize and support their ventures, and hope their success encourages other would-be entrepreneurs to take the steps towards starting their own businesses."

"It's encouraging to see companies like eBay work to inspire individuals from all walks of life to realize their entrepreneurial calling," said Thom Ruhe, director of entrepreneurship at the Kauffman Foundation. "Indeed, entrepreneurship is central to the economic welfare of the United States. We are proud to work in partnership with organizations like eBay that share our commitment to entrepreneurship."

More information about the eBay Sellers Challenge and the winners, along with resources, tips and advice for starting and growing a small business online can be found at the Sellers Challenge Web site at sellerschallenge..

Sep 21, 2009

eBay Inc. Commits to 15% Corporate Emissions Reduction Target by 2012

Focuses on a long-term commitment to energy efficiency, investments in renewable energy and promoting greener employee behavior through its Green Team initiative

eBay Inc., the world's leading online marketplace, today announced its first greenhouse gas emissions reduction target through the Carbon Disclosure Project, an independent not-for-profit organization holding the largest database of corporate climate change information in the world. By 2012, eBay has committed to reduce its corporate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 15% over a 2008 baseline.

The target will be achieved through an ongoing commitment to energy efficiency and conservation, continuing investments in renewable energy and by promoting more sustainable behavior - such as travel habits and personal energy use - among its global workforce of 15,000 employees.

"eBay continues to demonstrate our long-term commitment to responsible energy use and environmental leadership with our first greenhouse gas emissions reduction target," said eBay Inc. President and CEO John Donahoe. "As a company whose business continues to grow year over year, we recognize that the goal is ambitious, but we're confident that it is achievable."

In 2007, 2008 and 2009, eBay Inc. worked with leading environmental consultant ICF International to prepare a GHG emissions inventory. While eBay reported on these efforts qualitatively in 2007 and 2008, the company elected to disclose GHG figures quantitatively in 2009 to the Carbon Disclosure Project, becoming one of the first

Internet companies to do so.

Energy Efficient Operations and Data Management

As an ecommerce company, eBay has a relatively small carbon footprint with a majority of the company's environmental impact coming from the energy consumed by its data centers. The company's approach to data management and infrastructure will be a key efficiency driver. In 2010, eBay will unveil a new state-of-the-art green data center that will house more than a third of its global data infrastructure. The site, which is being built to the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold standards in South Jordan, Utah, will deliver state-of-the-art efficiencies in cooling and power management, as well as in IT infrastructure and software.

eBay also operates on a two-year tech refresh system that allows the company to process more transactions per watt. While this system drives energy efficiency in its operations, it comes with environmental collateral damage in the form of e-waste.  To address this, eBay has undertaken new initiatives in the past year to actively repurpose and extend the useful life of hardware.

An example of the company's commitment to reuse can be found in its recent donation of old servers to the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. The server donation initiative not only puts old eBay servers to work in Notre Dame's research labs to power AIDS and cancer research, but leverages the heat generated from those servers to warm a greenhouse that sits adjacent to the laboratory.

Investments in Renewable Energy

eBay continues to support the use of renewable energy to green its operations. The company opened a 197,000 square foot office building in San Jose last year, which features a 650 kW solar installation and has also been LEED Gold certified - with dimming systems and the use of recycled materials throughout.  Following that, eBay is installing a new 100kW solar installation at the company's offices in Denver, Colorado. A fuel cell strategy is also under way - to be announced in early 2010.

eBay Green Team - Driving Greener Behavior

A final key component of eBay's carbon reduction strategy comes from encouraging more sustainable behavior among its global workforce of more than 15,000 employees. These actions are largely driven by the company's Green Team - a group of more than 2,000 employees in 23 countries who are committed to making eBay a greener company. The Green Team, incubated in a company with a strong entrepreneurial spirit and an ethos of individual empowerment, has taken on projects of all sizes, all over the world. Some of these projects include:

• Under the leadership of employee Kasey Hesse, PayPal's Omaha Green Team started a community garden project in the Spring of 2009 - one of the first community gardens of its kind. PayPal's La Vista campus offers 20 10' x 10' garden plots for PayPal employees to grow fresh vegetables, fruit and flowers.

• Led by CS Product Manager June Rouine, the Dublin Green Team is eBay's largest in Europe, with nearly 100 members. In 2009, the team engaged in a variety of initiatives to inspire employees and green the office environment, like participating in local organic markets and National Cycle to Work week.  

• At eBay headquarters this summer, the San Jose Green Team co-hosted an electronics recycling drive to benefit the Blind Center of Nevada, a nonprofit and eBay PowerSeller that refurbishes and resells donated items on eBay to provide meaningful employment to blind and visually impaired individuals. Hundreds of employees participated, donating more than 8,200 pounds of personal electronic equipment-keeping nearly four tons of dangerous materials out of landfills.  

Sep 2, 2009

eBay Teams with Community of 88 Million Users to Create Positive Social Change

First-Ever eBay Initiative Highlights the Power of the Individual to Make a Difference on eBay – and Rewards Them for Participating!

SAN JOSE, CALIF. – September 2, 2009 – eBay, the world’s leading online marketplace, today announced the launch of the eBay Give. Good. Green. campaign, social-media focused initiative designed to inspire their community of 88 million buyers and sellers – and any individual that is inspired to join – to make a difference through a variety of activities on eBay.

Rooted in eBay’s belief in the power of the individual to make a difference,  the campaign is the first of its kind to link all of five of the company’s pro-social initiatives – eBay Foundation, eBay Giving Works, MicroPlace, by eBay, and the eBay Green Team – together to create collective, lasting, and scalable social good.

“eBay Inc. was founded on the belief that people are basically good,” says Robert Chatwani, Head of eBay Global Citizenship. “Over the years, we experimented with a variety of ways to empower our users to not only be good – but do good when they use our products and services. Today, we have a strong portfolio of five powerful programs, each unique in their social mission and purpose, but bound by a common trust in the power of every individual to make a difference. It’s our hope that the Give. Good. Green. campaign sheds some light on how eBay and our community can promote more sustainable commerce.”

How it Works

Anyone interested in participating can do so via the campaign website at . From there, individuals are given a menu of ways to take action on eBay – from investing on MicroPlace, to joining the eBay Green Team, to buying on – each of which is rewarded with an entry into a sweepstakes to win one of a whole list of amazing prizes: including an exclusive $20,000 Tazzari ZERO electric car!

Additionally, for every person who uploads their photo to the Give. Good. Green. community page, eBay Foundation will donate a dollar to one of three charities (Oxfam America, HandsOn Network, and the Environmental Defense Fund), showcasing how eBay continues to partner with its community to make a difference in the world.

The eBay Global Citizenship Initiatives

eBay Foundation contributes to the economic and social well-being of local communities by engaging our employees and everyone through charitable giving and volunteerism.

eBay Giving Works offers consumers many convenient and trusted ways to give to more than 19,000 nonprofits while they buy or sell on eBay.

connects consumers with ethically sourced and eco-friendly goods. Independent organizations called Trust Providers verify the positive impact of every product on people and our planet.

MicroPlace enables individuals to extend their budget to make a difference in the fight against poverty by making investments that fund loans to the world’s working poor.

eBay Green Team connects thousands of eBay buyers and sellers, who are committed to helping the world buy, sell, and think green every day. The Green Team is reducing, reusing, and recycling to make a big difference for the planet.

Fast Facts

• More than $2,000 worth of goods are traded every second on eBay

• Every 18 seconds, someone makes a difference on eBay

• Since inception, eBay Foundation has invested more than $19 million in nonprofit organizations

• The eBay community has raised more than $165 million for charity to date

• by eBay empowers impoverished artisans in over 85 countries around the world

• More than 30,000 microloans have been funded by investments through MicroPlace since its inception

• In the last three years, buying pre-owned handbags on eBay had the same effect as planting more than two million trees

Sep 1, 2009

Skype

eBay Inc. Signs Definitive Agreement to Sell Skype in Deal Valuing Communications Business at $2.75 Billion

eBay to Receive Approximately $1.9 Billion in Cash; Retain Approximately 35 Percent Stake

SAN JOSE, California, eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its Skype communications unit in a deal valuing the business at $2.75 billion. The buyer, who will control an approximately 65 percent stake, is an investor group led by Silver Lake and includes Index Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz and the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) Investment Board. eBay is expected to receive approximately $1.9 billion in cash upon the completion of the sale and a note from the buyer in the principal amount of $125 million. The company will retain an approximately 35 percent equity investment in Skype. The transaction, which is not subject to a financing condition, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2009.

"This is a great deal, unlocking both immediate and long-term value for eBay and tremendous potential for Skype," said eBay Inc. President and CEO John Donahoe. "We've acted decisively on a deal that delivers a high valuation, gives us significant cash up-front and lets us retain a meaningful minority stake with talented partners. Skype is a strong standalone business, but it does not have synergies with our e-commerce and online payments businesses. As a separate company, we believe that Skype will have the focus required to compete effectively in online voice and video communications and accelerate its growth momentum."

Commenting on the deal, Egon Durban, managing director at Silver Lake, said: "Skype is an innovative, next-generation company that has changed how people and businesses communicate with each other. This transaction benefits all parties involved and will allow Skype the opportunity to accelerate the growth of its business by harnessing the deep technological and company development expertise that resides within the investor group. Josh Silverman has done a strong job leading the company and we look forward to working with Josh and his team to grow the Skype franchise."

In April 2009, eBay announced plans to separate Skype from the company, beginning with an IPO in 2010. The decision followed a year-long review of Skype within eBay's portfolio. As it prepared for an IPO, the company said it would naturally consider bids for Skype that offered an attractive valuation. Donahoe said the deal offered by the investor group achieved that.

"This deal achieves our goal of delivering short- and long-term value to eBay and its stockholders, without the possible delays and market risk of an IPO," Donahoe said. "Selling Skype now at this great valuation, while retaining an equity stake, makes sense for the company. And it allows us to focus all of our energies on the opportunities in front of PayPal and eBay."

Acquired by eBay in 2005, Skype has strengthened considerably since early 2008 when Donahoe was named eBay's CEO and tapped company executive Josh Silverman to lead Skype. Silverman has driven strong momentum while building a new management team and delivering a series of Skype innovations such as software upgrades with dramatically improved video and calling quality, the widely popular Skype iPhone app and mobile partnerships with companies such as Nokia and Hutchison. In 2008, Skype generated revenues of $551 million, a 44 percent increase compared to 2007. Total eBay Inc. revenues for 2008 were $8.5 billion. Registered Skype users reached 405 million by the end of 2008, a 47 percent increase from 2007. Skype is attracting hundreds of thousands of new users each week.

About eBay Inc.

Founded in 1995, eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) connects hundreds of millions of people around the world every day, empowering them to explore new opportunities and innovate together. eBay does this by providing the Internet platforms of choice for global commerce, payments and communications. Since its inception, eBay has expanded to include some of the strongest brands in the world, including eBay, PayPal, Skype, StubHub, , and others. eBay is headquartered in San Jose, California. For more information, please visit .

About Skype

Skype is software that enables the world's conversations. Millions of individuals and businesses use Skype to make free video and voice calls, send instant messages and share files with other Skype users. Every day, people everywhere also use Skype to make low-cost calls to landlines and mobiles.

About Silver Lake

Silver Lake is the leading investment firm focused on large scale investments in technology, technology-enabled, and related growth industries. Silver Lake's mission is to function as a value-added partner to the management teams of the world's leading technology franchises. Its portfolio includes or has included technology industry leaders such as Ameritrade, Avago, Business Objects, Gartner, Instinet, Intelsat, NASDAQ, Sabre / Travelocity, Seagate Technology, SunGard Data Systems and UGS. For more information, please visit .

About Index Ventures

Index Ventures is a leading European venture capital firm active in technology, biotech and clean tech venture investing since 1996. The firm is dedicated to helping top entrepreneurial teams in the Information Technology and Life Science sectors build their companies into market defining global leaders. The firm has offices in Geneva, London and Jersey and focuses on investments from seed through growth stage companies. Index's portfolio includes Lehigh Technologies Inc., Playfish and Weatherbill and exits of note include MySQL (the world's most popular open source database recently acquired by Sun), Last.fm (the world's largest social music platform, recently acquired by CBS) and BioXell (BIOX, floated on the SWX in 2007). Index Ventures was one of the original venture capital backers and owners of Skype. For more information, please visit .

About Andreessen Horowitz

Andreessen Horowitz was established in June 2009 by entrepreneurs and engineers Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, based on their vision for a new, modern VC firm designed to support today's entrepreneurs. Andreessen and Horowitz have a track record of investing in, building and scaling highly successful businesses. Andreessen Horowitz is based on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, California. Mr. Andreessen is a member of eBay's board of directors.

About Canada Pension Plan (CPP) Investment Board

The CPP Investment Board is a professional investment management organization that invests the funds not needed by the Canada Pension Plan to pay current benefits on behalf of 17 million Canadian contributors and beneficiaries. In order to build a diversified portfolio of CPP assets, the CPP Investment Board invests in public equities, private equities, real estate, inflation-linked bonds, infrastructure and fixed income instruments. Headquartered in Toronto, with offices in London and Hong Kong, the CPP Investment Board is governed and managed independently of the Canada Pension Plan and at arm's length from governments. At June 30, 2009, the CPP Fund totaled $116.6 billion. For more information about the CPP Investment Board, please visit cppib.ca.

Forward Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements relating to eBay's future performance that are based on its current expectations, forecasts and assumptions. Those statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those discussed. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, the receipt and timing of regulatory approval for the transaction; the possibility that the transaction may not close; the reaction of Skype's users and commercial partners to the transaction; the reaction of competitors to the transaction; the anticipated continuation of Skype's growth; and the potential longer-term value of Skype.

More information about factors that could affect eBay's operating results can be found in the company's most recent annual report on its Form 10-K and its subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q (available at ). All forward-looking statements are based on information available to eBay on the date hereof, and eBay assumes no obligation to update such statements.

Aug 17, 2009

eBay / Marketplaces

eBay Sellers Access 3rd-Party Applications within My eBay for the First Time Selling Manager Applications Now Available to help eBay Sellers Improve Efficiency, Grow their Business, Streamline Operation

San Jose, Calif.—August 17, 2009— eBay today made it easy for sellers to find and subscribe to third-party applications that improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their eBay businesses. Available immediately through My eBay (my.) for subscribers of Selling Manager and Selling Manager Pro are about a dozen applications that have been pre-approved by eBay to be embedded on . eBay anticipates steady growth in the number of tools available through the Selling Manager Applications platform to address specific needs of eBay sellers including: shipping, inventory management, sales tracking and customer support.

 

All Selling Manager applications are free to try. An app store for eBay sellers, third-party applications are subscribed to at My eBay (my.) with eBay managing billing on behalf of third-party developers. In April, eBay announced that it would no longer charge sellers to subscribe to Selling Manager, turning it into an open platform where third-party developers could embed their applications into my., allowing them to connect with sellers directly.

More than 96,000 third-party developers have already built more than 13,000 live applications that consume eBay's Web services. These developers – along with new applicants – form the base of a vibrant developer community and expanding application marketplace.

Today's announcement is also the latest milestone in eBay's commitment to making it easier for sellers of any size to start, grow and maintain their business on eBay. In July, eBay rolled out enhancements for search relevancy, the automation and speed of the resolution process for unpaid items, new bulk editing tools, and an update to its highly regarded Seller Dashboard. These changes were part of the launch of the company's Top-rated seller status, which is awarded to sellers that are ranked highly by their buyers through eBay's detailed seller-ratings feedback system.

Sellers can access the applications directory for Selling Manager and Selling Manager Pro by simply pointing their Web browsers to . eBay's Selling Manager and Selling Manager Pro currently have 270,000 active subscribers in the U.S. and the tools can be accessed at and .

 

Quotes

Dinesh Lathi, VP of eBay Seller Experience

"eBay's Selling Manager Applications Platform is an app store for eBay sellers that makes it easy to find and subscribe to tools that can help our customers increase the efficiency and velocity of their businesses on eBay."

Kumar Kandaswamy, Senior Manager, eBay Platform

"eBay's API platform already attracts 96,000 developers who have built more than 13,000 live applications. Selling Manager Applications addresses the need of developers to more readily connect eBay sellers who are seeking useful tools for their eBay businesses. Under the eBay Selling Manager Applications revenue sharing agreement, applications that pass eBay's rigorous approval process will be put in front of an active audience of more than 270,000 professional eBay sellers. By managing the billing on behalf of developers, we are simplifying the process for both eBay sellers and third-party developers."

Andrew E.R. Sukow, Co-Founder, CTO, Terapeak

"The ability to embed our application inside My eBay gives us an opportunity to both reach sellers in an entirely new, more personalized way and also capture revenue streams. We'll also get a much better sense of the needs of sellers as we think about creating new applications."

Video Overview

A video overview of the eBay Selling Manager Applications platform:

June 16, 2009



eBay, the world's largest online marketplace, today launched its five free insertion fees pricing for sellers. The new money-saving offering allows consumers to receive free insertion fees on five auction-style listings every 30 days."eBay is the fastest and safest way to showcase your items to millions of potential shoppers worldwide with just a few clicks," said Lorrie Norrington, president of eBay Marketplaces."By eliminating the upfront costs of selling on eBay, we hope this new structure will encourage all sellers - new, occasional or experienced - to use the offering as a cost-effective way to sell on our site and earn a little extra cash."

eBay provides selling tips for users to familiarize themselves with the process, from suggesting how to price an item to recommending free shipping. Now, with five free listings, sellers have an opportunity to "get their feet wet" or try new selling techniques. For further information, visit . Millions of consumers from coast to coast use eBay everyday to sell new and used products, from top tech toys to the latest fashions. Since its inception, eBay has been dedicated to providing the tools and know-how to help improve the selling process and make selling most effective. The company's online Sellers Resource offers everything from easy-to-follow how-to guides for

first-time sellers to expert advice for at-home businesses. For more information about the new pricing structure, please visit .

hi5

October 14, 2009

hi5 Launches New Social Entertainment User Interface Featuring hi5 Stars™ 3D Avatars

New 3D engine serves as the basis for new revenue streams and a more game-like user experience San Francisco, CA; October 14, 2009 — Global social entertainment site, hi5, today unveiled an entirely re-designed user interface, focused on games, virtual goods, direct user payments and high-fidelity interactivity. Featuring a streamlined, high-energy look, the new hi5 is the first major social site to introduce animated, 3-dimensional avatars, called hi5 Stars™, on every user's profile page - providing a compelling medium for interactivity and self-expression.

The new is available in public beta at and begins going live globally to hi5's millions of users worldwide this week. Highlights of the new hi5 user experience include:

• Re-designed, high-fidelity user profile page, featuring hi5 Stars 3D avatars

• hi5 Stars designer tool for customizing avatars as a fun, supplemental representation of users on the site

• Simplified top-level navigation, highlighting the hi5 Games channel and hi5 Coins virtual currency, with mouse-over secondary navigation to other popular pages

• New corporate identity, emphasizing hi5's social entertainment value proposition around gaming, friends, and fun.

"hi5 Stars provide a new level of self-expression and interactivity to the hi5 user experience," said Andrew Sheppard, executive producer, hi5. "We designed our avatars to be an integral part of the hi5 user's online experience and a natural extension of their real-world persona - complete with moods, motions, and status updates. Stars serve as the basis for extending game-like mechanics into the online social experience."

With the launch of Stars, hi5 is pioneering a new level of fidelity for social sites. The customizable, fully-animated characters are powered by a breakthrough 3D rendering engine, developed by hi5. This framework is built on top of the Adobe® Flash® Player from Adobe Systems, which enables engaging, interactive animations directly in a web browser with no additional download or plug-in required. hi5's 3D engine will form the basis for future development of even more immersive animated features on the site.

"hi5 Stars are a compelling example of an interactive, 3D user experience that is delivered entirely within a standard Web browser running Adobe Flash Player 10, with no additional download," said Tom Barclay, senior product marketing manager for Flash Player at Adobe. "The 3D engine hi5 has built to run on Flash Player is a great example of the type of next-generation, immersive online experiences that the Adobe Flash Platform enables across the Web."

In addition to forming a foundation for a more interactive and immersive user experience, hi5 Stars represent a new monetization opportunity for hi5. In Q4, hi5 will extend the current virtual goods store on the site to include premium merchandise for hi5 Stars. Payments will be made using hi5 Coins, the site-wide virtual currency. Avatar merchandise also presents a new promotional opportunity for hi5's advertising partners.

"Our new user experience featuring hi5 Stars further delivers on our distinct social entertainment value proposition," said Bill Gossman, CEO, hi5. "In addition to games and virtual gifts, avatars are a third key pillar in our strategy of driving revenue from direct user payments. Micro-transactions using our virtual currency, hi5 Coins, already account for over 15 percent of our overall revenue, and we expect premium items for hi5 Stars to further spur that growth."

The new site has been in private beta since August. Adoption and enthusiasm around the look of the new site, and hi5 Stars in particularly, has been significant during the beta program. Average page views per session in the new version is nearly double previous levels, and average minutes per session has also increased. The new site began deploying worldwide this week.

August 6, 2009

OLX Adds hi5 to its International Social Networking Partners

OLX, one of the largest classifieds sites in the world, is joining forces with hi5, a fellow global powerhouse. Already providing services to many social networks such as Friendster, MySpace Latin America, Fotolog and Sonico, OLX's new partnership with hi5 has immense potential to benefit both companies by providing additional exposure to the international audiences that each targets. The partnership makes the 70 million unique visitors each month across 90 countries on OLX available to hi5's global user base of over 60 million monthly unique visitors worldwide. Joining forces, OLX and hi5 aim to strengthen their hold on the Latin American market, and accelerate their growth in the rest of the world.

"Like OLX, hi5 has a strong and growing global presence. We're excited about this new partnership because it will bring some great new features to loyal users of each site. It provides more social promotion features to OLX users and it provides a new classifieds platform for hi5 users." says Fabrice Grinda, Co-CEO of OLX. "We expect it to also attract new users, who will find a better social networking and online classifieds experience than they can get anywhere else."

hi5 will now have OLX features that include the ability to display ads on a user's profile page and to see hi5 friends' ads, as well as a feature to tell friends about your own ads. OLX also allows users to include videos and pictures in listings, comment on listings, post/view listings in over 39 languages and 90 countries, and access the site from a mobile phone-making it an ideal fit for hi5's global user base.

"Classified listings are a valuable service for our users, and a promising incremental revenue stream for our business," said Peter Foster, Chief Advertising Officer at hi5. "OLX's global prominence, broad language support, and localized listings made them a logical choice to serve our diverse global audience."

OLX is the largest 100% free classifieds site in the world with over 70 million unique visitors each month and provides a simple solution to the complications involved in selling, buying, trading, discussing, organizing, and meeting people across the globe. hi5 is one of the largest web sites in the world, with over 60 million monthly unique visitors from over 200 countries. Both companies are at the top of the Spanish-language markets, are internationally-known, and expect their deal to increase their presence both in the United States and around the world.

About OLX

OLX is an internet company based in New York, NY and Buenos Aires, Argentina. The OLX website hosts free user-generated classified advertisements for urban communities around the world and provides discussion forums sorted by various topics. . The company was co-founded in March 2006 by Internet entrepreneurs Fabrice Grinda and Alec Oxenford. Fabrice previously founded Zingy, a mobile ringtones company that sold to For-Side for $80 million in May 2004. Alec previously founded DeRemate, a leading online auction website in Latin America. DeRemate sold to , an eBay affiliate, in November 2005. Alec is also a member of the World Economic Forum's List of Young Global Leaders. As of January 2009, OLX is available in 90 countries and 39 languages. For more information and to explore the site, visit:

July 14, 2009

hi5 Expands its Social Entertainment Offering with Downloadable Games from RealNetworks

Distribution of 1,500 Titles Creates New Revenue Stream for Both Companies

hi5, the leading social entertainment web site, expanded its successful online games offering today with the launch of an extensive downloadable games portal, powered by RealNetworks®, Inc. Distributing over 1,500 RealGames titles, the deal creates a new revenue stream for hi5 while expanding Real's global distribution reach.

hi5 users can download popular games from among nearly 20 different gaming genres. The catalog includes popular titles from leading publishers, ranging from classic casual games to core gaming hits. Prices are determined by the game publisher and range from free trial versions of select games to more than $50.00 per title. hi5's downloadable games store is live today on .

"Adding downloadable games expands our overall value proposition to gamers and presents a promising new revenue stream for our social entertainment business," said Ramu Yalamanchi, founder and chief product officer of hi5. "This partnership allows us to address a broader range of entertainment interests for our millions of active users, from casual gamers to core gamers, with many of the top PC game titles."

Initially launched in February 2009, hi5 Games has rapidly become one of the most popular areas of the hi5 site - driving over 3 million game plays per day. In just five months, hi5 Games has grown to nearly 5 million monthly unique visitors, which, if it were a stand-alone site, would already place it among the top 50 online gaming sites.

The entry of hi5 into the downloadable games category complements the company's existing online gaming channel, hi5 Games, located at . The popularity of these gaming categories - online games and downloadable games - have been largely responsible for the resurgence of the PC as the leading platform for games, ahead of all three major game consoles combined. According to gaming analyst firm DFC Intelligence, PC online game revenue, not including retail sale, is projected to grow from $7 billion in 2007 to $19 billion by 2013.

Tencent

August 28, 2009

China's First Postdoctoral Research Base for Internet Intellectual Property Lands in Tencent

On August 28 2009, Tencent and Zhongnan University Of Economics & Law, a well-known institution of higher education for intellectual property teaching and research in China jointly announced that they would set up the 'Intellectual Property Postdoctoral Research Base of Zhongnan University Of Economics & Law' and the 'Innovation Base for Postgraduate Students of the School of Intellectual Property of Zhongnan University Of Economics & Law' at Tencent to conduct research on Internet intellectual property protection in China. It is also the first postdoctoral research base for Internet intellectual property in China.

The Intellectual Property Research Center of Zhongnan University Of Economics & Law is one of the earliest institutions engaged in intellectual property teaching and research in China. Undertaking comprehensive academic research, exchanges and talent training since its founding, the Center has provided the government with policy research and consultancy services concerning intellectual property protection and trained a large number of intellectual property professionals.

In the future, Zhongnan University Of Economics & Law will dispatch outstanding postdoctoral researchers to Tencent each year to conduct research in the fields of Internet law, media law and intellectual property law. In 2009, the two sides will focus on the four major topics of online intangible property, use and protection of personal information on the Internet, new trends of software protection in the Internet era and new digital media and copyright permit. In addition to providing necessary funding support for relevant research, Tencent will offer researchers with assistance in social practice through its rich and comprehensive product lines in the Internet field.

Chen Yidan, one of Tencent Group's founders and Chief Administration Officer (CAO) said that Tencent has long been taking core competency building through independent intellectual property innovations as its strategic direction, and established a compound intellectual property protection system that covers domain names, copyright, trademarks and patents. Currently, Tencent has made more than 2,000 patent applications with over 400 already granted, enabling it one of the enterprises with the biggest number of Internet patents in the world. In addition, it has obtained more than 500 trademarks. Its QQ Trademark has been certified by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce as a well-known trademark. The Internet is both a virtual and a real space where technology progress is integrated into, runs into conflict with and adapts to the social, cultural and ecology environment. Profoundly innovating the way of social production and life, the Internet, as a fertile ground for intellectual property education and research, has brought a wide range of new thoughts and topics.

Professor Wu Handong, President of Zhongnan University Of Economics & Law said that the joint postdoctoral research base which his university has co-founded with Tencent embodies a new thinking for cooperation of universities, industries and research institutions. He noted that this pioneering move is good for helping the whole society to pay more attention to the intellectual property protection and will greatly push forward the maturity and improvement of relevant legislations in China.

MySpace

July 13, 2009

MySpace and Fox International Channels (FIC) Announce Multi-Territory Advertising Partnership

LOS ANGELES, July 13, 2009 - MySpace and Fox International Channels (FIC) today announced a multi-territory partnership under which FIC will manage local advertising, marketing, and promotion across a number of territories. MySpace advertising and local sites in Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Italy, Poland, Mexico, and Turkey will remain active through the partnership.

“The new partnership with FIC allows MySpace to reduce operational costs and better leverage our local knowledge and relationships,” said Owen Van Natta, Chief Executive Officer of MySpace. “This initiative, which is the first result of our international operational review, will allow MySpace to continue serving the needs of our users, partners and advertisers across some of our fastest growing territories.”

Starting today, FIC - which operates 170 linear and non-linear television services, their respective websites and an international online advertising business – will manage marketing and advertising sales for MySpace in Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Italy, Poland, Mexico, and Turkey, effectively expanding the local reach of MySpace with advertisers in these territories.

“We’re delighted to work with MySpace’s international operations across Europe and Latin America. We look forward to jointly leveraging our Internet and advertising expertise to create meaningful experiences for MySpace’s international audience and its many global advertisers and affiliates,” said Hernan Lopez, Chief Operating Officer, FIC

August 19, 2009

MySpace To Acquire iLike

LOS ANGELES, August 19, 2009 - MySpace today announced an agreement to acquire iLike, a leading social music discovery service. The acquisition brings together two companies who share a common vision revolving around social discovery and distribution of quality content.

“The iLike acquisition advances our relentless pursuit of innovation and the need to create new distributed social experiences in music and beyond,” said Owen Van Natta, Chief Executive Officer of MySpace. “We are deeply committed to bringing world class talent into all areas of the company and this acquisition demonstrates our focus on this objective.”

Brothers Ali and Hadi Partovi founded iLike in 2006, and in just two years made it the largest music application across all social networks with 55 million total users and 1.5 billion monthly impressions. The entire iLike team will stay intact including, CEO Ali Partovi, President Hadi Partovi and CTO Nat Brown. All three are seasoned entrepreneurs who’ve held executive positions at both start-ups and Fortune 100 companies. Prior to iLike, Ali Partovi founded and sold LinkExchange to Microsoft and Hadi Partovi independently co-founded and sold TellMe Networks, also to Microsoft. Hadi Partovi also incubated (now ). Brown has a deep and respected history as an early architect at Microsoft, and he was involved in the creation the first Xbox, .NET/CLR, and ActiveX/COM/OLE.

“MySpace’s strengths have been a long-time source of inspiration for iLike,” said Hadi Partovi, President of iLike. “Combining MySpace’s existing platform, reach and resources with iLike’s syndication network and social discovery tools creates the potential for truly exciting innovation and commerce across any vertical entertainment category -- our combined assets now span all the major social networks. I'm enthusiastic about what this combination will mean for our users, artists, advertisers, and our staff. We are beginning an exciting new journey together.”

iLike users and the artist community should expect the iLike experience to be unaffected by the acquisition. iLike will remain headquartered in Seattle.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not released.

October 1, 2009

MySpace today announced the official launch of the new MySpace Music platform in Australia. As the first territory in a global rollout, MySpace Music brings to Australia all of the functionality currently available to United States based users including an ever-growing catalogue of fully licensed audio tracks, user-friendly e-commerce solutions, personal music players and user and artist playlisting, in addition to monetisation opportunities for all artists.

MySpace Music is a joint venture among MySpace, EMI Music, Sony Music, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, MySpace Music not only offers users in Australia access to content from the four major music labels, but also access to The Orchard and IODA catalogues as well: two of the largest independent digital music aggregators.

MySpace Music also offers users in Australia the opportunity to purchase and download single songs and full albums on iTunes. Additional products and functionality include:

• MySpace Music Product Overview

• Free and unlimited ad-supported, full-length audio streaming of single songs and albums

• Free and unlimited ability to create and share playlists with easy addition of tracks to playlists via drag-and-drop functionality

• Access to MySpace Music’s vast catalogue of content from EMI Music,  Sony Music, Universal Music Group,  Warner Music Group, The Orchard and IODA artists and more

• The ability to purchase and download music on iTunes

• The My Music personal music management toolset allows  users to create and edit their playlists, discover  what their friends, favourite bands and celebrities are listening to, as well as browse and search for songs

The Artist Activity Feed in the pop-up player provides users with constant updates from their favorite artists, including new songs added to player, blog entries, recent uploaded photos and updates to their playlists

Ringtones powered by Fox Mobile

MySpace Music launches today with featured playlists from high profile Aussies including Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Missy Higgins, The Veronicas, The Leader of the Opposition Malcolm Turnbull, Environment Minister Peter Garrett Deputy Leader of the Opposition Julie Bishop and Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey.

“The nature of music consumption globally has changed, and MySpace Music is delighted to be part of that evolution,” said Rebekah Horne, MySpace’s Managing Director and SVP of International. “MySpace pioneered an open and social model which encourages the discovery of artists and music, and enables distribution of music and content worldwide. We’re excited to bring this experience to our Australian users whilst offering millions of artists on MySpace an unparalleled opportunity to connect and stay in touch with music fans.”

An ad-supported platform, MySpace Music will launch with a range of unique programs from inaugural Australian sponsors Toyota and KFC. Toyota’s sponsorship includes a MySpace branded community The Pulse [thepulse] presented by Toyota Yaris. A destination for music enthusiasts, The Pulse will showcase two celebrity playlists each month and will also give Australian MySpace users the opportunity to win a range of exclusive prizes, including two tickets to the ARIA Awards and After Party in Sydney as well as a brand new Toyota Yaris.]

As KFC’s first ever online sponsorship venture, MySpace will create a new branded community called MySpace Music Real Bitz presented by KFC Krushers [realbitz]. The MySpace Music Real Bitz brand community will act as a hub for premium video content and will showcase short interviews with artists backstage at major music festivals across the nation.

Since officially launching in the United States in September 2008, MySpace Music has seen 1,017% growth in annual page traffic (according to Neilsen). This increase translates to a substantial user growth from 4.2 million unique visitors at launch to 20 million unique visitors in September 2009 (according to comScore).

Kiwi music fans will also have immediate to access MySpace Music, with the product also launching in New Zealand today. 

MySpace Music hosts more than 5 million major, indie, and unsigned artist profiles, providing a vast artist-powered collection of songs, music videos, tour dates, blogs, and photos.  MySpace’s deep, long-standing ties to the music community, has delivered numerous exclusive releases from some of the most popular and respected musicians in the world. The company’s new music product and marketing initiatives will greatly enhance the existing MySpace Music offline concert franchises including Secret Shows.

October 21, 2009

LOS ANGELES (BUSINESS WIRE), October 21, 2009 - MySpace today announced the next phase of the company’s music offering with a wave of new products and tools now available to artists and fans. Today MySpace begins the global rollout of a new comprehensive MySpace Music Video experience, the MySpace Artist Dashboard - a free data and analytics tool for artists globally - and the ability for users to purchase music on iTunes.

“Artist Dashboard and Music Videos are an important step forward in our mission to define the future of how content is socialized on the Web,” said Owen Van Natta, CEO of MySpace. “We’ll continue to build publishing tools, social tools and bring more content onto the MySpace platform to help us achieve our goal of being an important content distribution platform.”

“People want to experience content with others and the experience we’ve created in MySpace Music will be our spring board for how we socialize content site-wide.”

The launch of MySpace Music Videos offers fans one of the most comprehensive online collections of music videos available anywhere. MySpace’s Music Video catalogue includes fully licensed music video content from all of the company’s major and independent label partners.

Product functionality of MySpace Music Videos includes:

• New Music Video hub within MySpace Music

• Music Video recommendations based on what your friends are watching

• Browse via A-Z Video search for easy consumption, discovery, and sharing

• New Video player with dynamically targeted “Buy” buttons provided as part of Auditude’s video ad management platform

• Entire artist Music Video catalogues available in artist music players (alongside “Albums” tab)

• iLike now features MySpace’s Music Video catalogue within all partner websites

Also today, MySpace Music introduced the MySpace Artist Dashboard in beta - a free, comprehensive data dashboard for all artists and labels globally which unlocks detailed analytics about their content within the MySpace community. Every global artist with a MySpace profile will have free access to the Artist Dashboard starting today.

Product functionality of the new MySpace Artist Dashboard includes:

• Unlimited access to charts, graphs, and snapshots of MySpace Music data for all global artists

• Data includes fan geography, song plays, profile views, friend count, and profile visitors

• Trending data available for 7 day and 30 day glances

• iLike integration into MySpace Artist Dashboard provides top-level data from iLike’s partner networks

• Artist Dashboard is available in 17 languages in over 20 territories

“We had the chance to look under the hood of the new artist dashboard prior to launch and we’re very excited about this and other exciting changes at MySpace and MySpace Music. Creative marketing tools like these are valuable to bands at every level – from Pearl Jam-sized to the DIY indie artist looking to grow their followers on the web,” said Tim Bierman, Manager of Pearl Jam Ten Club.

Additionally, MySpace Music users can now purchase and download music on iTunes in addition to Amazon MP3, and MP3 ringtones via Jamster.

“Whether you're a small town garage band, an emerging indie, or a well-established act, our ultimate goal is to provide the right mix of tools and real time data to help you gain a deep understanding of who your fans are and how best to reach them,” said Courtney Holt, President of MySpace Music. “We're committed to providing the most comprehensive ecosystem of services for artists in an effort to deepen their connection with the most important influencers – their fans.”

Facebook

May 26, 2009

Facebook Receives Investment from Digital Sky Technologies

Facebook today announced that Digital Sky Technologies (DST), one of the leading internet investment groups globally with significant stakes in Eastern European and Russian internet businesses, has made a $200 million investment in Facebook in exchange for preferred stock, representing a 1.96 percent equity stake at a $10 billion valuation.

In addition, DST has indicated that it is planning to offer to purchase at least $100 million of Facebook common stock from existing common stockholders that would facilitate liquidity for current and former employees’ vested shares in the company. The details of the plan are expected to be announced to eligible participants during the summer. Consistent with Facebook’s practice with other recent investors, DST will not be represented on the Facebook board or hold special observer rights.

“This investment demonstrates Facebook’s ongoing success at creating a global network for people to share and connect,” said Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. “We’ve worked hard to bring more than 200 million people – 70 percent outside of the U.S. – onto Facebook to share with friends, family and co-workers. A number of firms approached us, but DST stood out because of the global perspective they bring – backed up by the impressive growth and financial achievements of their internet investments. We’re looking forward to working with the DST team.”

“Our investment experience in other regions reveals the tremendous value social networking companies create as they redefine how people communicate and interact,” said Yuri Milner, chief executive of DST. “By every important metric – user growth and engagement, technological innovation and financial performance – Facebook is on a similar trajectory, though on a much more global scale. We’re delighted to invest in Facebook, Mark and his management team as they make the world more open and connected.”

Based in London and Moscow, DST is a well-respected investor in a number of successful internet companies, holding significant interests in Russia and Eastern Europe, such as Mail.ru, Forticom and vKontakte. DST’s main assets account for over 70 percent of all page views in the Russian-speaking internet and its social networks are the market leaders in more than 13 countries, addressing a combined population of more than 350 million.

DST is run by its three partners who have complementary backgrounds in operations, investments and finance: Yuri Milner, previously CEO of Mail.ru, the #1 Russian language website; Gregory Finger, previously head of the Moscow office of NCH, a multi-billion dollar hedge fund; and Alexander Tamas, previously co-head of internet and software coverage in EMEA for the Investment Banking Division of Goldman Sachs. With its advanced understanding of opportunities in technology and social media, DST is a good fit for Facebook and an insightful partner that can help unlock additional growth opportunities.

August 10, 2009

Facebook Agrees to Acquire Sharing Service FriendFeed

Facebook today announced that it has agreed to acquire FriendFeed, the innovative service for sharing online. As part of the agreement, all FriendFeed employees will join Facebook and FriendFeed’s four founders will hold senior roles on Facebook’s engineering and product teams.

“Facebook and FriendFeed share a common vision of giving people tools to share and connect with their friends,” said Bret Taylor, a FriendFeed co-founder and, previously, the group product manager who launched Google Maps. “We can’t wait to join the team and bring many of the innovations we’ve developed at FriendFeed to Facebook’s 250 million users around the world.”

“As we spent time with Mark and his leadership team, we were impressed by the open, creative culture they’ve built and their desire to have us contribute to it,” said Paul Buchheit, another FriendFeed co-founders. Buchheit, the Google engineer behind Gmail and the originator of Google’s “Don’t be evil” motto, added, “It was immediately obvious to us how passionate Facebook’s engineers are about creating simple, ground-breaking ways for people to share, and we are extremely excited to join such a like-minded group.”

Taylor and Buchheit founded FriendFeed along with Jim Norris and Sanjeev Singh in October 2007 after all four played key roles at Google for products like Gmail and Google Maps. At FriendFeed, they’ve brought together a world-class team of engineers and designers.

“Since I first tried FriendFeed, I’ve admired their team for creating such a simple and elegant service for people to share information,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO. "As this shows, our culture continues to make Facebook a place where the best engineers come to build things quickly that lots of people will use."

FriendFeed is based in Mountain View, Calif. and has 12 employees. will continue to operate normally for the time being as the teams determine the longer term plans for the product.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not released.

August 27, 2009

Facebook Announces Privacy Improvements in Response to Recommendations by Canadian Privacy Commissioner

Facebook today announced plans to further improve people’s control over their information and enable them to make more informed choices about their privacy. These improvements will include new notifications, additions to Facebook’s Privacy Policy, and technical changes designed to give people more transparency and control over the information they provide to third-party applications.

The changes announced are a result of the company’s work with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, which has spent more than a year reviewing Facebook’s privacy policies and controls. In their report, The Office of the Privacy Commissioner gratefully acknowledged Facebook’s cooperation in the course of the investigation and commended Facebook for providing its users with extensive privacy settings. The Commissioner also made a number of recommendations, to which Facebook has responded with commitments for significant enhancements that will be implemented over the next 12 months. The Commissioner has reviewed these proposals and is satisfied with the commitments Facebook has made.

“Our productive and constructive dialogue with the Commissioner’s office has given us an opportunity to improve our policies and practices in a way that will provide even greater transparency and control for Facebook users,” said Elliot Schrage, Vice-President of Global Communications and Public Policy at Facebook. “We believe that these changes are not only great for our users and address all of the Commissioners' outstanding concerns, but they also set a new standard for the industry.”

Specific changes Facebook will be making:

• Updating the Privacy Policy to better describe a number of practices, including the reasons for the collection of date of birth, account memorialization for deceased users, the distinction between account deactivation and deletion, and how its advertising programs work.

• Encouraging users to review their privacy settings to make sure the defaults and selections reflect the user’s preferences.

• Increasing the understanding and control a user has over the information accessed by third-party applications. Specifically, Facebook will introduce a new permissions model that will require applications to specify the categories of information they wish to access and obtain express consent from the user before any data is shared. In addition, the user will also have to specifically approve any access to their friends’ information, which would still be subject to the friend’s privacy and application settings.

Work on the planned changes will begin immediately. However, some changes will take some time before they are visible. For example, updates to the Privacy Policy will require a notice and comment period for users. In addition, the changes to how users share information with third-party applications will require significant time and resources, both for the updating and testing of the new Facebook API, and for third-party application developers to reprogram and test their applications. Facebook anticipates this entire process will take approximately 12 months.

“We strongly believe that the changes to the permission model for third-party applications will give users more confidence in Platform and will, thus, help ensure the long-term health and vitality of the ecosystem that has grown around Platform,” said Ethan Beard, Director of Platform Product Marketing at Facebook. “We will be communicating regularly with developers about the changes and we’re going to take our time to make sure the outcome is something users understand and that developers have ample time and notice to adapt.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download