First we had the Google vs China debacle, then came Saudi Arabia’s tussle with RIM. And now it’s India’s turn : threatening to block RIM, Google and Skype unless the companies agree to set up localised servers, all the better for state monitoring of communications. Curiously, compared to the outrage levelled at the Saudi and Chinese governments, American reaction to India’s move…  Read More →

When I read Twitter CEO Evan Williams post tonight about the state of Twitter from a mobile perspective, the first thing that jumped out at me what that Twitter for Android, an app Twitter worked hard on, isn’t even in the top 10 most-used apps for the service. But Williams also used the post to whip out some impressive numbers. Chief among them: Twitter now has over 145 million registered users (though presumably less than 150 million,... 

Since Yammer launched as the “Twitter for businesses” at TechCrunch 50 in 2008, the startup has continued to improve on its already solid product, releasing mobile apps and new desktop clients, adding threaded conversations, hosted versions and more. The fact is that in just under two years, Yammer is being used by more than one million users and 80,000 companies worldwide (which includes 80% of the Fortune 500). That’s impressive... 

Sometimes the titles just write themselves. On Tuesday Virgin America and Loopt partnered to offer people two-for-one tickets to Cancun or Los Cabos from California. All you had to do was check in on Loopt at SFO, LAX or one of a variety of taco trucks in San Francisco and Los Angeles in a four hour window. So how did it go? Loopt says 1,300 people checked in to a single taco truck in San Francisco, and 80% of those people have already bought... 

Premium streaming video service Ooyala , serving such influential media properties as Fremantle Media, Vice Magazine, Glam Media, Electronic Arts as well as yours truly, today announces its plan to expand its operations to Australia. To helm this initiative, the company has appointed former Adobe executive John Treloar as Managing Director for the Australia and New Zealand region. Founded by former Googlers, Ooyala’s “killer app”... 

RadioTime , a Dallas, Texas-based provider of applications for finding and listening to online radio stations, has acquired the TuneIn Radio iPhone app, one of the best-selling and highest rated Internet radio applications for iOS devices. Terms of the acquisitions have not been disclosed, but I’m told the deal was part cash, part equity. The developer of the TuneIn Radio app, Ben Alexander, was hired by RadioTime to oversee the development... 

I’ve heard from two sources close to the Digg CEO search that there were a glut of good candidates. That’s something companies always say, and I frankly found it hard to believe. I don’t necessarily mean that as a knock on Digg. I was surprised there were a ton of “great” CEO candidates to run any company in the unsexy critical-mass-but-not-flavor-of-the-month category—…  Read More →

In a short amount of time since its launch in April, 2009 and its redesign a year later, realtime analytics startup Chartbeat has gained an impressive following of more than 2,500 paying corporate customers. All of this was done so far with 5 employees, led by general manager Tony Haile. Now, the betaworks-incubated company has gained an impressive roster of investors in a $3 million Series A financing. The round was led by Index Ventures, and... 

You might say the company’s just a tad late to the party, but Miniclip has finally seen the light and is expanding its casual gaming empire by entering the world of mobile games. With a self-declared user base of more than 57 million casual gamers worldwide and a library of more than 600 online games, it’s a wonder really that the London-based company hasn’t made the move sooner. After all, Apple’s App Store for one now... 

It’s time for this week’s episode of OMG/JK , the TechCrunch TV show that features fellow TC writer MG Siegler and myself discussing the top stories in tech. In this episode we cover the integration of Gmail with Google Voice (which is awesome), the launch of Digg 4 (finally), and a peek into our crystal ball to weigh in on next week’s Apple event (MG is already prepping his double rainbow reaction to whatever Steve Jobs holds... 

Ali Partovi is an angel investor, startup advisor, and serial entrepreneur. He co-founded iLike , acquired by Myspace in 2009, and previously LinkExchange , acquired by Microsoft for $265mm in 1998. His portfolio has included such successes as Zappos, Tellme, Ironport, and Facebook. He was among the first to recognize the importance of the Facebook Platform, and, as this article suggests, also among the earliest to grasp the business opportunity... 

Success in Silicon Valley, most would agree, is more merit driven than almost any other place in the world. It doesn’t matter how old you are, what sex you are, what politics you support or what color you are. If your idea rocks and you can execute, you can change the world and/or get really, stinking rich. For the most part I’ve sat on the sidelines over the years…  Read More →

This is a guest post by Hunter Walk ( @hunterwalk ) who conducted a survey of 500 Foursquare users to better understand their check in behaviors and motivations. His obsession with Foursquare is unrelated to his day job leading the consumer product team at YouTube , although he did at one point hold the Mayorship of their San Bruno headquarters. Have you noticed “Off the Grid” [ OTG ] appearing in your Foursquare feed recently? No, it’s... 

An interesting paradox in the technology world is that there is both a shortage and a surplus of engineers in the United States. Talk to those working at any Silicon Valley company, and they will tell you how hard it is to find qualified talent. But listen to the heart-wrenching stories of unemployed engineers, and you will realize that there are tens of thousands who can’t get jobs. What gives? The harsh reality is that in the tech world,... 

I promise this is my last word on the subject. I had already promised myself, actually, that I wouldn’t write any more about my decision to quit Facebook, Linkedin, Foursquare, Blippy, Yammer, Dopplr and every other social network other than Twitter. But then I added Twitter to the list – deleting my 10,000 follower+ account and returning to more traditional blogging – and suddenly all (social media) hell broke loose. For reasons...