For both providers and customers of cloud technology, these are exciting times, and yet, in the midst of all of the energy and confusion that the cloud inspires, I can’t help but think that we’ve been here before. I see remarkable similarities between today’s adoption cycle of cloud technologies and the adoption of the Internet as a useful and essential tool.

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Long plagued by legal challenges from major record labels, bankrupt MP3 search engine SeeqPod has been on the brink of extinction for months. But CEO Kasian Franks recently told Wired.com that SeeqPod was in final acquisition talks with a major media company, and that its savior would be able to confer legitimacy on the company by negotiating agreements with the labels that he himself could not. Now, the company appears to be tipping its hand, suggesting that Microsoft is the buyer.

SeeqPod’s home page, which has been down more often than not over the past few weeks, now features a pair of links suggesting that the service is cocooned for rebirth. One of the links points to search.microsoft.com -– not necessarily something I’d free-associate with metamorphosis. Continue »

Although we at GigaOM are well aware that we’re part of the next generation of media, much of what we do and how we do it is governed by some of the most basic rules of traditional journalism, a profession whose ethics and mission we hold very dear to our hearts. So we were especially honored to learn that when presented with 10 of the top technology blogs on the web, tech reporters ranked GigaOM as the most credible one.

PR firm Brodeur, a division of Ominicom, teamed up with Marketwire to find out how beat reporters viewed the influence of social media on traditional news delivery; the survey also asked the reporters to rank blogs and other social media sites. From the survey:

Tech reporters ranked Engadget, Gizmodo, and Boing Boing as by far the most popular among the top 10 tested. But when it comes to credibility of content, journalists rated Arstechnica and GigaOm, along with Engadget, the top three sites. GigaOm scored the highest with 45% saying its content was “very credible.”

We have you to thank for this. Our community hold us to an incredibly high standard; if we’re doing something wrong, you are the first ones to tell us. And it is this evolution of media to which we are most dedicated — the ability to continue the conversation with those whose opinions matter to us the most: our readers.

Of course, we are always looking for good writers. If you’re interested in contributing to the site, drop me a line at carolyn at gigaom dot com.

LaunchBox Digital, an early-stage investment firm founded by three tech industry veterans and with an initial focus on web and mobile businesses, is due to be unveiled Thursday, we’ve learned. The Washington, D.C.-based company will provide between six and 10 entrepreneurs seed investment and help in incorporation through an intensive, 12-week program, during which time they’ll be able to draw on the advice and experiences of the firm’s founders and advisors as they develop a prototype or demo and craft their business plans.

At the end of the program, known as LaunchBox08, the entrepreneurs will be given an opportunity to present their businesses to VCs and other investors, strategic partners and others.

The founders of LaunchBox Digital are Julius Genachowski, formerly chief of business ops at IAC/InterActive (IACI); Sean Greene, founder and ex-CEO of The Away Network; and John McKinley, who served as president of digital services and CTO of AOL (TWX).

The company will begin accepting applications for LaunchBox08 immediately. LaunchBox Digital will also accept proposals from early-stage business for immediate seed or angel investment.