Qmerce Brings Brand-Cus...

With $450K behind it in funding, Israeli-based Qmerce is helping business large and small add social games to their communities, particularly on Facebook. The premise behind Qmerce’s value proposition isn’t new. That is, branded social games aimed at driving user engagement via rewards, achievements and consequently, loyalty. With over 40 customers to date, including Crocs and Pizza Hut (the Israeli franchises), and 300,000 games played, it looks like this upstart might be going somewhere. Qmerce is targeting online media, marketing and community managers, to use their platform to create customized/branded games for their audiences. Usually a high-cost endeavor, with Qmerce social games can be created minutes. Pizza Hut, for example, used Qmerce to create a campaign that featured a time-race game tilted ‘Keep It Hot.’ The in-game ‘Car’ was changed to a pizza delivery motorcycle, with the Pizza Hut logo on the delivery box. In-game achievements had real-life counterparts in the form of free pizza and coupons. I was a bit skeptical that wizard-built games can generate compelling engagement, but Qmerce CEO, Moti Cohen, claims that average user play is 50-minutes. I’ve already gone ahead and filed this under: ‘Eat hat.’ Creating social games on Qmerce is free for the time being. The company does however plan on providing a premium service with a higher degree of customization than available directly through the current interface. For those of you that want to meet the Qmerce team, they will be taking part in the Israeli Pavilion at TechCrunch Disrupt NYC.

Obvious, CrunchFund, Tr...

The Obvious Corporation , the ideas incubator and firm started by Biz Stone, Evan Williams and Jason Goldman, has announced its latest investment—online community Neighborland. While it’s unclear how much the startup raised, other backers include True Ventures, Lerer Ventures, SV Angel, CrunchFund, and Voodoo Ventures. From the startup’s site, it appears New Orleans-based startup Neighborland is an online community for local neighborhood residents to share their ideas and insights for cities, support neighbors’ ideas, and connect with fellow residents who share similar interests. It aims to provide residents, neighborhood organizations, economic development groups, and municipalities with a simple platform to “connect and make good things happen.” And it’s a centralized place where people can share ideas and figure out how to make those ideas a reality. For now, Neighborland is available in Houston, Boulder and New Orleans. Obvious writes of the investment: Neighborland has the potential to connect residents virtually. A connected citizenry is amazingly powerful, as recent events have proven. When neighbors can collectively discuss issues, propose ideas, and unite to have their voices heard, there is virtually nothing they cannot achieve to improve their communities. According to Neighborland, the process of engaging the community begins with a simple fill-in-the-blank form: “I want ____ in my neighborhood.” You fill this out, choose a location, describe your idea in detail with text, pictures, and video, and share it with your friends. Other members in Neighborland can support the idea and the top ideas for the month are featured on the site. Obvious’ other recent investment include Lift, an app development startup; and Branch, a startup aiming to disrupt online conversations and public discourse.

Genbook, The eSchedulin...

It always annoys me when I want to make an appointment, whether it be for a haircut or a doctor’s visit, and I go online to make said appointment only to find that the company or provider doesn’t offer eBookings. You would think that, if airlines have managed to do it, most businesses might have followed suit by now. Online scheduling software enables customers to book appointments from their browser, reducing friction for them, and streamlining workflow for SMBs. And, hey, even Siri can schedule appointments. Of course, for SMBs, adding a scheduling option to their website can be a pain in the ass. Or, at least the prospect of building a calendar app/module can feel like a pain in the ass. Which is why there are companies like Genbook , which offer local merchants the ability to automate their appointment scheduling through cloud-based software that can integrate with SMBs’ existing software — or allow them to introduce that capability. Genbook’s solution adds a “BookNow” button to merchants’ websites and Facebook Pages, so that customers can scroll through available times, schedule and confirm their appointments with a few clicks. The online appointment and CRM platform is accessible from any computer, iPad or iPhone or Android smartphone, and for merchants, Genbook automatically collects and publishes customer reviews to help promote local merchants within their communities. And they’re genuine reviews, not just canned comments. While Genbook has competitors like Schedulicity , Appointy , and BookFresh , each of which offers a similar service with varying limitations on how much functionality you’ll get for free (Genbook is free for 30 days, and then it’s $20 a month after that), the startup seems to be having some success. Today, Genbook is announcing that it has scheduled over 10 million appointments for SMBs in the U.S., and has scheduled more appointments in 2011 than in any of the four years it’s been around. Just in October, local businesses scheduled 500,000 appointments. The cloud scheduling platform has attracted 5,000 customers, which it says consists of businesses like massage therapists, spas, photographers, chiropractors, etc. — obviously any small company that requires appointments to do business. And for those SMBs, as one can imagine, this can have a positive effect on their bottom lines, as scheduling software that lets customers book in realtime, at any time of day, can prevent no-shows and reduce friction. What’s more, plugging that capability into a social network via Facebook Pages, for example, extends the reach and can presumably provide a boost to customer acquisition. And at less than $250 a year for solo operators and less than $500/year for SMBs, it’s not a bad deal. For more on Genbook, check out the video below:

Huffington Post Hits 37...

The Huffington Post Media Group (HPMG), which I should point out is owned by our parent company AOL , is to announce an acquisition today, along with some key stats, hires and new site launches. Kara Swisher obtained and published the press release. HMPG has acquired Localocracy , an “online town common” where registered voters weigh in on local issues and come together to solve problems in their communities, using their real names. According to the release, The Huffington Post has recruited its leadership team (founders Conor White-Sullivan and Aaron Soules, and tech lead Jay Boice). According to Swisher, HPMG paid less than $1 million for Localocracy. The Huffington Post is also launching four sites this week (Huff/Post50, HuffPost Gay Voices, HuffPost Weddings and HuffPost High School), the latest of 21 new verticals since the merger with AOL , which occurred last March. In addition, HMPG says it has hired former NYT blogger Lisa Belkin as Senior Columnist; she’ll be covering parenting, work/life balance and family. Finally, The Huffington Post says it has recorded its largest number of unique monthly visitors ever (37 million), and for the first time topped 1 billion page views. The network also posted a record 5.1 million comments in August 2011. Crunchbase LOCALOCRACY AOL : Website: Learn more Company: Localocracy Website: localocracy.org Launch Date: October 3, 2011 Funding: $173k Localocracy provides an online town common where registered voters, using real names, can weigh in on local issues. Localocracy was awarded two rounds of seed funding from the UMass, Amherst Innovation Challenge in 2009 and 2010. Learn more Company: AOL Website: aol.com IPO: NYSE:AOL AOL is a global advertising-supported Web company, with display advertising network in the U.S., a substantial worldwide audience, and a suite of popular Web brands and products. The company’s strategy focuses on increasing the scale and sophistication of its advertising platform and growing the size and engagement of its global online audience through leading products and programming. On March 13, 2008, AOL Internet division announced their plans to buy social network Bebo for $850 million in cash. History of Aol: AOL was... Learn more

Cup of Joe: How To Buil...

Let me first start off by apologizing for what looks like a ridiculous indie art project. I mean seriously what the heck does a girl wandering in the woods have to do with this quote? Anyways do your best to ignore the picture and focus on the wise words of Mr. Mark Twain. Twain’s words are spot on. Of course avoiding people that belittle your ambitions seems to be common sense. However, understanding that your success is tied to those that support you is oftentimes completely ignored. Because the truth is there are no self made men or women. Everyone finds success and even failure with the help of their communities. Great people do great things with the support of others. You are only as good as the people supporting you. Therefore it’s only logical to help empower your community as much as possible. This philosophy is not some feel-good personal dogma but rather the cornerstone of running a good business. If you work every day to empower your clients, customers, and users you are automatically building the base of support that is required for your business to succeed. Your investment in your customer’s empowerment has a direct effect on yours. This is why it is vital to not only focus on cutting-edge marketing, but also superior customer service, and outstanding product development. Because at the end of the day if your customers and users aren’t empowered by your products and services, then they can’t be much help to your cause even if they want to be. The key to building a strong army of supporters is empowering individuals every day. Through this empowerment you empower yourself and your company. [ photo credit ]