Tech — GigaOM

A Startup Finds That Metrics Don’t Create Good Apps

By Liz Gannes Aug. 30, 2010, 6:12pm PT 4 Comments

There’s a lot of talk these days about data-driven product development. But at least one startup, Lolapps, is finding that data isn’t everything. Now it is switching its strategy, hiring experienced game designers and conducting user tests where the goal is maximizing fun. Read More »

RockYou Sued Over User Data Breach

By Liz Gannes Dec. 30, 2009, 3:19pm PT 4 Comments

Following RockYou allowing 32 million users’ e-mails and passwords that had been stored in plain text to be accessed by at least one hacker through a SQL security hole, one such user has filed a proposed class action lawsuit. Read More »

Another $50 Million for RockYou…Why?

By Om Malik Nov. 17, 2009, 7:35am PT 8 Comments

Wow…I had completely forgotten about RockYou, a Redwood City, Calif.-based startup that started out as a widget maker but then turned social app developer and now is trying out hawking virtual goods. Sort of like the company it loves to imitate: Slide. RockYou made… Read More »

RockYou Gets Another $17 Million in Funding

By Om Malik Nov. 3, 2008, 4:43am PT 3 Comments

Some venture capital investors don’t seem to be fazed by the current downturn in the financial markets and overall economy. Today, Redwood City, Calif.-based RockYou announced that it has raised another $17 million from Softbank and SK Telecom Ventures, the venture capital arm of SK Telecom. By… Read More »

Microsoft Doesn't Want Your App Startup

By Stacey Higginbotham Jun. 20, 2008, 7:44am PT 16 Comments

In an interview published this morning in the Financial Times, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said he wouldn’t be looking to pick up any other Internet companies just because the Yahoo deal failed. One can only imagine how far shares of Facebook would have plummeted… Read More »

All that Glitters is Gold: RockYou Raises $35M

By Liz Gannes Jun. 9, 2008, 5:00am PT 3 Comments

RockYou, the maker of applications such as SuperWall and Likeness that ride on top of social networks, has raised $35 million in a round of venture funding led by DCM. We confirmed with a company spokesperson that previous investors Partech, Lightspeed and Sequoia participated in… Read More »

Why Social Gaming Network Got $15M in Funding

By Wagner James Au May. 13, 2008, 6:01am PT 7 Comments

What began last March with Warbook, a no-frills Facebook fantasy strategy game first conceived by an intern, has lead to today’s announcement: Social Gaming Network, a startup still based in a Palo Alto garage, is getting $15 million in Series A funding from… Read More »

Companies Can Make Money With Widget Ads

By Stacey Higginbotham Feb. 21, 2008, 12:00am PT 14 Comments

Brand and comparison advertising done through ad-focused widgets is emerging as a viable way of using the ubiquitous applications. Widgets’ interactive features, their ability to be virally distributed and potentially be placed on a target’s own page makes the creations appealing to advertisers. Read More »

Widget Me This

By Stacey Higginbotham Jan. 26, 2008, 12:00am PT 18 Comments

The time to prove that widgets can make money is here. But much like the early days of banner advertising, when people just sold whatever unused space they had, the world of widget ads is a Wild West with no set sizes, rules about placements, or… Read More »

Investors Take a Stroll with Widgets

By Anne Zelenka Nov. 27, 2007, 4:08pm PT 14 Comments

2007 was supposed to be the Year of the Widget, according to Newsweek, and Jon Swartz of USA Today apparently agrees that the promise has been fulfilled. He says: [Widgets] are all the rage on the Web. Marketers are thinking of ways to use them… Read More »