Venture-Backed Clearspring Technologies Introduces Widget Syndication Services
Platform, Tracking and Analytics Tools Enable Digital Content Providers To Reach and Engage New Audiences.
Arlington, VA. - Nov 6, 2006 — Clearspring Technologies, a leading provider of widget syndication services, today announced the introduction of the company's hosted platform that enables content providers to easily deploy, track, and analyze content assets as widgets through a single point of management. Following an initial assessment phase with key partners, Clearspring will open this platform for developers.
Earlier this year Clearspring secured financing from Bethesda, MD-based Novak Biddle Venture Partners and a limited group of strategic investors. Accomplished technology veteran Miles Gilburne and Novak Biddle general partner Phil Bronner have joined Clearspring's board of directors.
Clearspring captures content and services in a framework that enables tracked widget distribution through social networks, blogs, start pages, personalized Web sites and more. A massively scalable data collection engine compiles information that provides perspective on the reach and impact of content accessible through Clearspring's easy-to-use reporting and analytics tools.
"Widget technology presents an enormous opportunity for content owners to unlock the value of their assets. Demand for personalized Web experiences is exploding and widgets are a new distribution mechanism to reach and engage new audiences," says Chris Marentis, CEO of Clearspring. "The Clearspring platform simplifies the publication and tracking of content and services to multiple channels, enabling content owners and publishers to capitalize on this massive shift in online consumer behavior."
Clearspring designed its robust services in collaboration with content providers and developers. Key benefits of the platform include:
- Ability to publish new media content, such as videos, images and text assets as portable applications web users can distribute on personalized web sites
- Ability to track audience, interaction, page placement, viral spread and other key metrics
- Extensive analytics to optimize creation, distribution and monetization efforts
- Single point of management to reduce complexity and consistently manage widgets across various channels (blogs, websites, social networks) and content-types
"Sites like NetVibes and MySpace are just the beginning. Widgets will become increasingly important as the web transforms from a publication mechanism into a platform for online services" said Hooman Radfar, co-founder of Clearspring. "With our platform, developers will have the ability to capitalize on the growth of the personalized web with tools to manage and track widgets in an open environment."
"Dennis Digital is continually seeking innovative ways to deliver our branded content," said Russell Kern, Director of Business Development at Dennis Digital, publisher of the leading men's lifestyle website Maxim.com. "Clearspring's widget platform looks to provide a great set of tools for us to reach new audiences on blogs, social networks and other relevant websites."
About Clearspring
Clearspring is the leader in social distribution, connecting publishers and advertisers to audiences on the social Web. Clearspring's content sharing products, ranked No. 1 by comScore, enable publishers, developers and advertisers to easily distribute and track digital content such as widgets, videos, photos and links to the most popular destinations, including social networks, start pages, bookmarking sites, blogs, mobile devices and desktop platforms. The company provides additional distribution of content on a paid performance basis to the world's leading brands through a targeted social distribution network of affiliate partners. The company reaches over 534 millionusers worldwide. Its tools are served billions of times monthly and they power programs for many major brands and over 400,000 other long-tail developers. To learn more, visit www.clearspring.com.