Outbrain's OutLoud: Earned Media Maximizer

One of the biggest problems in the PR field called Media Relations is that media placements, these days called "earned media", have a limited shelf life. Sure, a media placement such as an article in the New York Times can live on forever in Google News Search, but how do you maximize the longevity of a "PR hit" in the New York Times or Wall Street Journal.

Outbrain, an NYC startup that provides content recommendation technology to over 25,000 websites, has come up with an answer: "OutLoud". “OutLoud”, lets customers submit articles, blog posts or videos for only $10 a month and have them distributed in a scaled and targeted way. "Amplify your earned media and positive press, build an audience for your corporate blog, or bring new audiences to your own crafted content" says Outbrain, which will be featuring OutLoud at this week's AdTech event. BTW: Bruni PR is using OutLoud to blast a recent Financial Times placements on behalf of Beyond Media, a New Brunswick NJ based client.

What if retailers had a Digg-like social media game that predicts what they should sell for the Spring 2010 season?

Believe it or not, Limited Brands is spending substantial money right now on just that. It has hired a new NYC-based startup called StyleHop to conduct "predictive" research on what young female consumers will be buying next Spring.

StyleHop has been gathering results from a panel of 10,000 monthly "StyleHoppers"/ users and feeding the findings to Limited. StyleHop (www.stylehop.com) CEO David Reinke thinks that Limited and other clients, including Calvin Klein, are spearheading a "revolution" in the use of predictive behavior research.

E.Factor: the largest Entrepreneur Group on the Globe

E.Factor (www.efactor.com) is fast becoming the largest entrepreneur group on the planet, approaching 1 million members, according to VP-Marketing Stephanie Frasco. E.Factor branches are sprouting up around the world, especially in Europe and Southeast Asia.

Another first for E.Factor: the first even Health Insurance plan for entrepreneurs. E.Factor and Access Health are offering the three-tier plans (individual/couple/family) to members.

Livestream Launches Twitcam

Livestreaming finally comes to Twitter as Livestream, a NYC startup, launches Twitcam.

Cairo: the new Call Center Mecca | The News is NowPublic.com

Cairo: the new Call Center Mecca | The News is NowPublic.com

UpNext iPhone app

You can fly like Superman around buildings on the amazing new UpNext NYC iPhone app. Google might offer a great Streetview of Manhattan, but this young NYC startup has come up with something that's on, well, a higher level. As you zoom thru Manhattan you can tap a building to see what's inside or search for bars, restuarants, hotels, etc. In the Top 20 in the Travel section of the iPhone app store. It's worth more than the $2.99 fee.

Plagium

Plagiarism is a huge problem today. During the past several months, Science and Medical journals have been reporting an upsurge in academia and the research community. Even high schools are now using software to check term papers.

How do you check to see if your content, words, quotes or ideas are being ripped off? Septet Systems, a NY-based computer/software consulting firm, has come up with a solution: www.plagium.com. This cool little Google-like interface allows you to type in content and check across the Web to see if anyone is stealing your stuff.

Bruni PR will be pitching this to Publishers Weekly and other key trades in the publishing world as well as the mainstream media outlets.