Netflix To Debut Origin...

Netflix is launching a new original series next month called Lilyhammer , which will kick off the company’s foray into original programming for 2012. The series will star The Sopranos actor and E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt in a “fish out of water” story that takes place in Norway. The story follows New York mobster Frank “The Fixer” Tagliano as he enters the federal witness protection program. He moves to Lillehammer – the Norwegian town that hosted the 1994 Winter Olympics. He calls it “Lilyhammer,” however, which is how the show gets its name. The series will include eight episodes in its first season, beginning February 6th in the U.S., Canada and Latin America. All episodes will be available for streaming on connected TVs, tablets, game consoles, computers and mobile phones – but not  on DVDs by mail. We reported in March 2011 that Netflix would be soon bankrolling original content . The company successfully outbid HBO and AMC for the rights to House Of Cards , an adaptation of the successful 1990 British miniseries. The show stars Academy Award winning actor Kevin Spacey, and is being produced David Fincher ( Fight Club, The Social Network ). Netflix confirmed that show will arrive in the U.S. and Canada by “late 2012.” In November, the company announced it would resurrect critics’ and fan fave Arrested Development , with episodes starting in 2013. Netflix had previously said that Lilyhammer would arrive in early 2012 and that at least two seasons have been planned. You can check out the trailer for the series here on YouTube .

10 Tips for Online Mark...

Marin Software recently shared a white paper titled "The Online Marketer's Guide for the Holidays: Ten Tips for a Successful 2011." It aims to put the 2010 holiday season into perspective and offer best practices for the 2011 holiday season.

Cup of Joe: With a Litt...

Just as a little bit of a warning: In this post I totally jump the shark and start singing kumbaya and giving everyone hugs like a dirty hippie. You have been warned. Man, I am happy! Like really happy. Why’s that? I am happy because the business I started 4 years ago is doing pretty good. But, more importantly, so many of my friend’s businesses are doing really well too. As an entrepreneur it feels good to see success both in yourself and in those working along side of you. I was talking about how good this all feels yesterday with my buddy, Alan Bleiweiss. After talking for a bit, Alan and I both decided that a central part of our success is our inclusion in such an amazing community. Both Alan and myself have prospered financially, socially, and yes even spiritually, through being part of such an amazing community. And the truly amazing part of all this, is that it really isn’t that hard . Now, don’t get me wrong, starting a business has been one of the most challenging things I have ever done. But, once I started being active in a community it got a lot easier. How To Prosper From A Community Cultivate Character – On the web we say “content is king”. In a community,  character is king. This simply means that you need to be a nice gal or guy. You don’t need to be funny. You don’t need to be flashy or loud. You just need to be nice. Think about the successful people you know, are they nice? Its just common sense. People like doing business with nice people. People like listening to nice people. People like hanging out with nice people. Be nice in everything you do, and mountains of opportunities will come your way. Be Open – Keep an open mind. Everyone in a community has different ideas. Embrace all of them for what they are, even the bad ones. Accept that you always should be learning. Ask questions and advice. People like helping, give them the chance. Understand and practice humility, because your ego can and will get in the way if you don’t. Give Back – If all you do is take and never give, you are no longer part of the community, you are a leech on its back. Don’t be a leech, leeches are disgusting. Be An Elevator – Demand high standards for yourself and those around you. When you speak to the community do it with purpose and a tone that doesn’t belittle those that are giving you their attention. You owe it to them to elevate the dialog. As you can see its not that hard. In fact, once you join a community and start meeting amazing people, it gets easier. Because that’s what a community is all about, learning from each other and sharing our experiences. It’s through these shared experiences that amazing opportunities and ideas are presented. But before you can take full advantage of a community, you need to join one, so stop reading blogs already and get out there and meet some people! [ photo credit ]

Webair Integrates IPv6 ...

Webair hosting is enhancing their top tier Cloud Computing services by announcing the successful integration of IPv6 support throughout their global network.

The i3 Platform: A (Pai...

A research firm focused on clean energy and green innovation, the Cleantech Group , launched its i3 Platform today— and it’s something like a paid Crunchbase , with a dash of Alltop and Gartner , for green tech ventures. The product became privately available to some of Cleantech Group’s clients in late May. Now, some of the i3 Platform is available for free public use via Research.cleantech.com . Free users get basic search and brief— as in one sentence — company profiles. Paid subscribers to i3, however, get access to detailed company profiles, complete search results, market mapping tools (see: image below) regular Industry Insights and quarterly investment reports from the Cleantech Group. The product is meant to help the firm’s clients see how green tech players are connecting, and what relationships have led to the successful commercialization of energy, and environmental problem-solving technologies. The i3 Platform is populated with Cleantech Group’s new and archived research about: investments, acquisitions, companies and their inter-connectedness in the cleantech space. Cleantech Group also invites entrepreneurs to submit to or update their company profiles within the i3 system. Any user-submitted content that it publishes via i3 will be verified and edited by Cleantech Group analysts, said the firm’s chief executive officer Sheeraz Haji. He calls this not user-generated, but “structured contributed content.” On its submissions page , i3 requires users to disclose whether or not they are seeking funding, currently. Could the i3 Platform become a kind of specialized AngelList? Haji said it’s not in the cards: “We have always connected fund seekers with prospective investors by providing good visibility, and information across the board. Our customers can log in and search for which companies in the system are raising capital, maybe in this state or that region, or in these sectors or subsectors of cleantech. We’re not building that to take a piece of equity or to get a transaction fee, though.” [ Ed's note : Crunchbase is TechCrunch's open database of technology ventures, investors, products and deals. It includes user generated content, data and graphics, research from our staff and contributors, and aggregated news links from valid sources online. Any researchers and developers can use the Crunchbase API to access our data, and use it in their systems. Cleantech Group is not doing so yet, but has expressed some interest.] CrunchBase Information Cleantech Group Information provided by CrunchBase