LUMINOSO/ TIME magazine called it the "next big thing" in Big Data a year ago. They were right. Everyone is using Text Analytics, a process that derives high quality information from text. The Drug Industry has seen breakthroughs result from Elsevier and other publishers opening up vast archives. Brands such as MARS, Microsoft and 7-Eleven, and ad giants Omnicom and WPP are using Text Analytics A Cambridge, MA based company called Luminoso is spearheading the latest advances in Text Analytics and Visualization.. Luminoso has raised substantial seed capital and has several major clients --- and hasn't even launched yet. With clients such as MARS, Aegis Media and British Telecom, this "graduate" of the MIT Media Lab is already disrupting Big Data. "We go way beyond sentiment analysis to discover actionable knowledge," the company's website declares. "The Luminoso API constructs models of language that let computers understand the meaning behind the words" Luminoso can also look into real-time trends. Luminoso generated attention at SXSW with their Twitter analysis of the buzz around that event. Luminoso (www.luminoso.com) launches on April 15th.

MAIA Yogurt

MAIA YOGURT ----------- Can you use Social Media to build the biggest yogurt brand in the US? We'll find out in the coming weeks as Maia Yogurt comes to NYC. Maia's CEO is betting that he can expand from a handful of locations featuring Maia (including Whole Foods in Tribeca, Fairway in the UWS and other key spots) into a city-wide penetration of all supermarkets and grocery stores... by enlisting the help of yogurt lovers. Maia's huge advantage over Choban and others is Authenticity when it comes to pro-biotics yogurt. 100 million strands vs. 50-60 million for Chobani per tablesspoon. It's the most high tech yogurt around. Started in is apartment in the UWS, Hamilton, its founder/CEO has outsourced production to a PA-based food processing plant and invaded several states (including Conn. and upstate NY) with great success. He personally hawks the yogurt and locations. He doesn't advertise or spend money on PR (not yet). Maia is driven by Social Media and has built a community of fans and followers through its Facebook page and Twitter. Check out Hamilton's latest email instructions to Maia Community fans and you'll get the "flava": Step 1: Facebook post: (and make sure to like our page if you haven't yet!) All NYC friends! The best yogurt around, @Maia Yogurt, can now be found at the Tribeca & UWS Whole foods. Pick up some today...nutritious and delicious Step 2: Twitter: All NYC residents. It's time to try the newest yogurt on the market -- delicious and healthy @ Whole Foods: UWS and Tribeca @maiayogurt #maiayogurt Step 3: Instagram: (download attached photo) Caption: Introducing Maia Yogurt, the best around. Now on shelves at Whole Foods -- UWS and Tribeca. #maiayogurt

Pinblu Launches

Do Manufacturers need a social commerce network for doing business? Miami-based Pinblu (http://pinblu.com) thinks so and launched (earlier today) the first "secure Social Commerce marketplace" with an advanced review & rating system. "The U.S. is the No.2 manufacturer and still has no Social Commerce marketplace for manufacturers to do business", said Gino Pacini V., the CEO/Founder of Pinblu. "We need to take the social networking concept to the next level. When you integrate the purchasing of products and services via a social networking platform, the opportunities that lay ahead for Pinblu are endless", Mr. Pacini said. He cites the success of Alibaba, the China-based networking site for manufacturers. But, unlike Alibaba "wanna be" startups (Tradesparq, Diytrade, HD Trades, Globalsources, Tradekey) that have emerged during the past couple years, Pinblu is charting a global mission. "Our geographic focus is the world, not just China," Mr. Pacini said. "And our business focus is both B2B and B2C". Pinblu is targeting the SMB market, since many small and medium sized manufacturers lack an online sales platform. Pinblu will initially cover several key industries: electronics, jewelry and apparel. Pinblu's "advanced search" engine enables you to search metadata on products/services by category + subcategory, then seamlessly "track/message/connect" the manufacturers of specific products found in the search process. BRUNI PR will be pitching the Pinblu story to our media contacts....

YouNow "ElfYourself"

This Christmas season, one of out of every ten Americans will "Elf" themselves thanks to OfficeMax's "ElfYourself" campaign, one of the "most successful viral campaigns of all time". (AdAge). Since 2006, half a billion people have "Elfed", or pasted their photos on dancing elves. This Season, many will also do "ElfYourself" videos on OfficeMax's media partner -- YouNow, the hot "American Idol" style video platform that now has 2.1m fans on Facebook. NY-based (www.younow.com) now has over 200,000 monthly users, many of whom come to discover "hidden gems" (TechCrunch) among the thousands of amateur performers appearing every day on YouNow. How can you "ElfYourself" on YouNow? "Transforming into an elf is as easy as jumping into one of the Elf Yourself channels and going live! Once your elf transformation is over, easily share it with your family and friends for all to enjoy. After sharing your broadcast, you are eligible to enter the Elf Yourself Sweepstakes for a chance to win the $3,000 grand prize OfficeMax gift card and the $250 OfficeMax weekly prize gift card! Simply click the “Enter Now” button, fill out sweepstakes form, submit and you’re entered! Camera shy" Here's a link to their blog and a video explaining the "Elf" process: http://blog.younow.com/post/35633663998/elf-yourself-live-for-a-chance-to-win

BRUNI PR was in the dark like most of Silicon Alley this week. But, for just nine hours. The biggest challenge wasn't our Net connection (Road Runner, which performed very well) or AT&T (despite 1 our 4 cell towers out). It was the Media, which focused totally on Sandy all week. It's tough to pitch stories that aren't related to Sandy right now... Some Alley companies turned their plight into PR gold. Fab.com, which was run out of CEO Jason Goldberg's apartment this week, garnered a ton of positive coverage. Others, like Centzy, a hot "pricing search" startup, managed to "buddy up" and share office space with startups in areas not affected by the storm.

PhotoLikeIt Launches

BRUNI PR's newest client blows away Pixable and other "keepers" of your Facebook photo Likes. Just launched, PhotoLikeIt (www.photolikeit.com) is a killer FB photo analytics tool for FB fanatics, photo lovers and others who like to keep "score". PhotoLikeIt is "the iPhone mobile app for Facebook photos". PhotoLikeIt ensures you never miss out on the latest and best photos posted by your friends on Facebook. The app automatically updates you on your friends’ latest, most liked and commented photos for today, this week and this month. Unlike Pixable, which pulls photos only from timelines, PLI pulls from entire photo albums. A monumental computing task. Some interesting stats from PLI, which has already seen a spike in downloads since launching this week. Here are some stats on FB photo enthusiasists who downloaded PLI: - 200+ photos are uploaded daily in user network. - 1100+ likes daily in user network on photos. - 300+ comments posted daily in user network on photos. - 40% of photos don't get any likes. - 70% of photos don't get any comments. - 6+ likes are received on average on every photo uploaded. - 1+ comments are received on average on every photo uploaded.

GREENROOM LAUNCHES -------------------- Bruni PR's newest client is Greenroom, which launched yesterday with major coverage in Mashable, All Things Digital (Wall Street Journal) and other news outlets/blogs. Greenroom (www.greenroom.com) is the first social media platform that enables celebs/sports figures/experts to have one on one video and phone conversations with fans/followers/readers. Greenroom pushes the envelope of video platform technology and has signed a huge roster of stars/celebs, including Olympics gold medalist Sanya Richards-Ross, NFL star Ray Rice, NBA star Ty Lawson, author Jackie Collins, comedian Adam Carolla, and others.

Internet Week: Party Like It's 1999

What was my Internet Week highlight? The Webutante Ball 2012 was the must attend event of the week, and BRUNI PR was in the house. I haven't seen Silicon Alley party like this since the heady days of the '90s. The Webutante Ball took me back to the days of Josh Harris and his famous loft parties. Though not everyone was in a gown and black tie, it was a great way for Alley entrepreneurs (and their dates) to celebrate another year of prosperity in the Alley. Reece Pacheco, the founder of Shelby.tv, was rightfully crowned King of the Ball this year. Shelby is one of the coolest video sharing sites around right now. Last year, it was Dens Crowley, of Foursquare fame. Sort of like the passing of the baton from one group of startups to the next.