Blekko Search Gets More Social

Redwood Shores, Calif. (PRWEB) April 21, 2011

Blekko, the new search engine that uses human curation to eliminate spam from search results, announced today that it has made search even more social with the integration of Facebook Comments to its search results pages.

Blekkos integration of Facebook Comments is revolutionizing the way people search by merging trusted search results with the growing trend of sharing breaking news, opinions, insight and updates through social comments continuously and in real-time. With this integration, people who login to blekko with Facebook can use Facebook Comments to communicate directly with their friends when searching for information.

Now when searching on blekko, the results page will combine the best quality results from the Web with the top related comments that the individuals friends and social network have posted. Additionally, people who use blekko can choose to add the slashtag /facebook to any search query and see all results from their entire Facebook news stream.

The Web is increasingly a social experience and search has got to get more social too, said, Rich Skrenta, CEO of blekko. Integrating Facebook Comments brings the social graph and social commentary right to the results page. Because what your friend says about information is as important as any experts advice could ever be.

Earlier this year, blekko announced it leveraged Facebook Likes as a way to help create a more trusted and social search experience. People who login to blekko with Facebook can see whether or not their Facebook friends Like particular search results or can choose to search only sites that are Liked by friends.

Blekko launched in November promising to create a new kind of search experience that would enlist human editors in its effort to eliminate spam and personalize search. Since then, the company has taken dramatic steps to clean up the swampy Web and change the search experience.

About Blekko

Blekko was founded in 2007 to pursue innovation in search. The company has raised $ 24 million since its founding in 2007 from US Venture Partners and CMEA Capital, as well as leading angel investors including Ron Conway, Mike Maples, Jeff Clavier, and Marc Andreessen. Blekko has 25 employees, including former Google and Yahoo! Search engineers.

Facebook

BlogHer Inc. to Launch BlogHerMoms.com Social Hub

Belmont, CA (PRWEB) April 28, 2011

BlogHer, Inc., the largest community of women bloggers online with 25+ million monthly unique visitors, and the leading participatory women's network on the Web, today announced plans to launch a new site, BlogHerMoms.com.

BlogHerMoms.com will act as a social hub and showcase for blogging by BlogHer's 1,700 affiliated moms who write about the journey of motherhood, and embrace BlogHer's gold standard for publishing editorial and advertising. BlogHerMoms.com readers will receive a guide to whats hot on blogs by moms -- and dads! -- today, as well as a searchable directory of more than 8,000 parenting blogs, and comedic videos on parenthood provided by Rooftop Comedy.

"Since 2005 when we hosted the first mommy-blogging panel at BlogHer's inaugural conference, BlogHer has been at the forefront of developing new publishing models and opportunities for women whose voices make them leaders in social media and offline," said Lisa Stone, co-founder and CEO. "As we continue to create conversations for the whole woman, where she can discuss everything from food to entrepreneurism, BlogHerMoms.com also will create a special space devoted to the journey of motherhood."

Stone, a mother of three, noted that women in the BlogHer community turn to each other for information and advice, and 80% have purchased a product based on a blog recommendation.

"The women in our community say there is no better source for product advice than a blogger they know and trust, whether it's laptops, lipstick or diapers, and I can agree from personal experience!" said Stone. "A key feature of BlogHerMoms.com will be developing and distributing dialogue between brands, influential bloggers, and their readers and social media followers who happen to be mothers and are making key purchase decisions every day. With this launch, BlogHer is furthering our mission to build bridges between marketers and influencers, and to create economic empowerment for our members, who will share in advertising revenue from advertising distributed across the BlogHer Publishing Network."

The site launch, coming June 1, is the latest in a series of BlogHer initiatives leading up to Mother's Day that celebrate the voices of women who blog about motherhood:

Listen to Your Mother: A five-city tour starting April 30, featuring live readings by local writers on the beauty, the beast, and the barely-rested of motherhood, in celebration of Mother's Day that will culminate in San Diego, CA at BlogHer Conference '11 in August. Created by blogger Ann Imig (Ann's Rants), born of the creative work of mothers who publish online, and inspired by the annual BlogHer Conference Community Keynote, each production is directed, produced, and performed by local communities, for local communities in Austin, Madison, Northwest Indiana, Los Angeles and Spokane. See http://www.listentoyourmothershow.com.

Let's Panic: In April, BlogHer sponsored the West Coast leg of the book tour for Let's Panic About Babies by bloggers Alice Bradley (Finslippy) and Eden Kennedy (Fussy), a humorous look at parenthood. Because if you don't laugh, you'll often want to cry, and laugh lines are so much more attractive than worry lines. Go to http://www.lets-panic.com for more information.

EveryMotherCounts.org: In support of EveryMotherCounts.org's advocacy and mobilization campaign to increase education and support for maternal and child health, BlogHer will donate the support of its network. An exclusive interview between co-founder Christy Turlington Burns and SteamyKitchen.com blogger Jaden Hair, will headline the network, as well as an invitation to watch the documentary No Woman, No Cry on May 7th at 9:30pmET/8:30pmCT on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, on the eve of Mothers Day.

About BlogHer

Reaching more than 25 million women each month (Nielsen Site Census, January 2011), BlogHer is the leading participatory news, entertainment and information network for women online. Founded in February 2005 by Elisa Camahort Page, Jory Des Jardins and Lisa Stone, BlogHers mission is to create opportunities for women who blog to pursue exposure, education, community and economic empowerment. Today BlogHer creates opportunities for members via a community hub (http://www.blogher.com), annual conferences and a publishing network of more than 2,500 qualified, contextually targeted blog affiliates. BlogHer provides the highest quality content on a range of topics, with all blogs continually edited to meet strict editorial standards, including content quality, category relevance and blog frequency. BlogHer enjoys a strategic partnership with iVillage, part of Women@NBCU. BlogHers investors are Venrock, GE/NBC Universal's Peacock Equity Fund, and Azure Capital Partners.

# # #

Find More Angel Investor Capital Press Releases

Pat Buchanan Claims Charges of Social Darwinism And Racism are Uninformed

San Jose, CA (PRWEB) November 11, 2011

In an exclusive interview with radio/television host and author, Rebecca Costa, political advisor to three United States presidents, Pat Buchanan, refuted accusations that he advocates social Darwinism and racism in his latest book Suicide of a Superpower: Will America Survive to 2025?

According to Buchanan these indictments come from individuals who have misread the book, Even identical twins are not born equal. What we want is equality of rights and opportunity - similar to the Olympics where everyone can try-out but we choose the people who represent the United States based solely on their proven ability to excel. Thats the way societies move forward. . .

He continued, I was in the most egalitarian society of the 20th Century when I stepped off the plane with Richard Nixon in the Peoples Republic of China - where everyone was equal, but no one was free. When you have absolute freedom, it automatically produces inequality because we are unequal in our talents and abilities and drives and courage and perseverance. . . No system is perfect, but the free enterprise system has done more to uplift humankind. Im not just talking about the robber barons of the 19th century but the average working man had horrendous working conditions. But these improved over 10, 20, 30 and 40 years, until Americans the same people who were once swept out of Europe had the highest living standards the world had ever seen. Freedom is what did that.

When asked how Buchanan reconciles every person according to their talents with religious responsibilities to care for those with lesser talents, Buchanan explained that society is obligated to provide a floor of decency under every family, but no roof over any mans head.

Buchanans latest book posits that America is coming apart because the government is committed to multiculturalism, and equal outcomes in spite of unequal effort and talents. He contrasts immigrants who arrived in the United States between 1890 and 1920 from Italy, Poland, Ireland and other countries immigrants who attended public schools and learned the same history, participated in the same holidays, and were joined by the same literature and language, making them part of the great melting pot - against modern immigrants who retain their allegiance to their native countries and have no desire to assimilate. In Buchanans view, the same multiculturalism which has failed in Europe currently threatens the survival of the United States.

The full interview with Pat Buchanan is available at http://www.rebeccacosta.com

College Money Now Available through Social Media Contest

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) May 12, 2011

Revolution Prep, a company which helps students achieve academic goals by improving upon traditional educational tools through innovative solutions, is giving away over forty-seven thousand dollars in college money and education related services on June 1st through its latest social media contest. The company is offering eight prizes to high-school sophomores and juniors who would be helped by a scholarship and believe they have what it takes to be the Next Test Prep Star.

The entry period starts on May 11th and runs through May 22nd. Students wanting to participate will be required to post a photo along with a one to five hundred word essay. Each essay must be a compelling piece describing why the student wants to attend college, why a scholarship would help them, and why other students would want to follow him or her through their future videos covering the SAT test prep process. Students will not be allowed to participate if they have already taken a test prep class or an official SAT or ACT test. Participants must be available to take the June 4th SAT as a way to track their improvement.

The voting, via http://www.RevolutionPrep.com/Star, will initiate on May 23rd and run through May 29th, with winners being announced on June 1st. During this time frame, students must obtain their votes through friends and networks to help increase the visibility of their entry. Students can campaign through various social media resources, like Twitter or Facebook, as well as using text messaging and email.

On May 30th the judging will take place by Revolution Preps voting panel. Students who are participating in the contest will be chosen based on their essay, creativity, and social media voting results. The contest, and further details, can be accessed at http://www.RevolutionPrep.com/Star. Revolution Preps official Facebook and Twitter Pages will also offer continuous updates on the contest.

The Next Test Prep Star will have three Grand Prize winners. Each Grand Prize winner will receive a $ 2,500.00 college scholarship plus forty hours of Revolution Preps premium live online test prep tutoring. Two second place winners will each receive premium live online tutoring. The three third place winners will receive a Revolution Group Course or Premium Instructor Online Course. All winners will also receive a special media mention in the companys winners release as well as on the companys website and within related marketing collateral.

Revolution Prep decided to initiate this contest as part of its social mission. From never turning a student away because he or she could not afford a test prep program, to company service days and partnership programs, Revolution Prep is committed to making a difference. The company is also noted for their proven curriculum and instructors from top universities. Tutors offer a personalized experience and teach students critical SAT techniques as well as life-long learning skills.

Further information on Revolution Prep can be found at http://www.RevolutionPrep.com. An EPK, or interview, will be made available upon qualified media request.

# # #

Related College Text Press Releases