Video chat service Viddyou has been acquired by video sharing service Motionbox for an undisclosed sum.

Viddyou launched in 2007 into the then new “video chat” space, eventually competing against sites including Phreadz and Seesmic. As the space faltered, the company reinvented itself as more of a YouTube style sharing site, and was one of the earlier sites to support HD video.

Video sharing site Montionbox is a competitor of sorts to Viddyou, pitching itself as a share your memories type service with related services including the ability for users to put their video on DVD. With its consumer slant, Motionbox hasn’t gained a lot of attention in the tech space, but is smartly backed to the tune of $17.2 million from Canaan Partners, Constellation Ventures and SAS Investors.

Viddyou CEO Aaron Wadler said in an email to Viddyou users that “it is with great pride that we are able to take our mission to the next level and announce that Viddyou has been acquired by Motionbox.com.”

Under the terms of the acquisition, Viddyou will cease to trade as a separate site, with Viddyou accounts to be migrated onto Motionbox’s platform. Viddyou Premium users will be given Motionbox Premium subscriptions.

Related posts:

1. Hands on with Viddyou
2. One of the Best Video Sharing Sites out there…And you’ve still probably never heard of it.
3. TokBox Releases Video Chat Via Facebook

A video posted by Seesmic founder and CEO Loic LeMuer today suggests that Seesmic has acquired TweetDeck.

Having watched the video three times I’m not sure whether Loic (Seesmic) and Iain Dodsworth (TweetDeck) are joking or not, but the video does clearly refer to a big announcement and acquisition. Dodsworth also says that he has a “new job” and holds up a Seesmic sticker for good measure (see picture above). The pair say the announcement will be made “tomorrow” and will create a “dominant force” according to Dodsworth.

If they’re being serious, this is a huge buy for Seesmic and will immediately place the company into the leading position in the Twitter client market. Rumor has it that Loic has been sitting on a pile of VC dollars for a long time, and with the original Seesmic video product all but closed down, it had to find a home eventually.

If true: congrats to all involved. The video of the announcement of sorts below.

Update: we’ve got emails in asking for confirmation or whether they were just taking the piss. A couple of stats: TweetDeck took an angel round of $500,000 from BetaWorks in January at an unknown valuation. Seesmic has taken $12 million over two rounds, and as noted above, rumor has it that Loic is still sitting on at least half of that money. Hard to value TweetDeck, but I’m going to suggest something around the $4-5 million mark, maybe a little less (I’d bet the January valuation was in the $1-2m range.) Given Loic and Iain talk in the video of a partnership, the deal (if it happened) may have consisted of cash and Seesmic equity.

Update 2: Loic has responded via email claiming the video was a joke, although we hear that there is some sort of announcement due tomorrow from another source. We’re thinking probably less than 50% likely at this stage, but we’ll wait to tomorrow to be sure.

Thanks to JJ Projects for the tip and video via Kosso.

Related posts:

1. God bless competition: Seesmic Desktop and Tweetdeck release new features
2. TweetDeck Releases New Version; Seesmic Releases New Product
3. Seesmic Desktop (Twhirl) takes the good fight to TweetDeck

Twitter desktop client Seesmic Desktop launched back in April with limited features and like its predecessor Twhirl, was as ugly as sin lacked in the looks department. But things for the new comer are on the up.

At the beginning of May, Seesmic Desktop became the first Twitter desktop client to properly incorporate the Facebook stream; that is, complete Facebook data with the ability to like and view threads. Impressive, but one step on the road to challenge front runner TweetDeck. I’m pleased to note that in its latest version, the frog may have turned into a half decent looking prince.

Seesmic founder Loic Lemeur has finally taken design away from the engineers and handed Seesmic Desktop to someone who isn’t visually retarded visual design challenged. Today, Seesmic looks great….sexy even. Gone are the awful background gradients, replaced instead by subtle color themes that define various columns. Coming from the minimalist conformity of TweetDeck, it is a little bit of a shock at first, but likewise the choices make sense, and they work. Looks have been scrubbed out of the negative column for Seesmic Desktop.

Is it enough to make me switch though? Maybe not quite yet, although I’m close and I may yet change my mind. Facebook isn’t a killer app for me, but multi-account support in Twitter is, and that’s something Seesmic Desktop does that Tweetdeck doesn’t. There are though still limitations with Seesmic Desktop. There’s still no options for visual customization; while it looks great now, I feel that the text is a little cramped, and I would love the ability to do white on black. Seesmic Desktop is still a little feature poor compared to TweetDeck; I regularly cite the lack of TweetShrink, but likewise a choice of URL shortening is something else that immediately stands out for me. For others, there’s a range of extras Seesmic Desktop doesn’t yet offer.

If you haven’t tried Seesmic Desktop lately, it’s worth another look. You can download it here.

Related posts:

1. God bless competition: Seesmic Desktop and Tweetdeck release new features
2. Seesmic Desktop (Twhirl) takes the good fight to TweetDeck
3. A suggestion for Twitter client developers

Some have suggested that with Facebook opening up and SPI for developers that they are changing the game. That maybe the case but Seesmic Desktop, the next generation version of Twhirl, just dropped version 0.2RC on their testers with support for Facebook baked into it. I still have a few bones of contention with Seesmic Desktop (more on than further down) but if Seesmic polishes this up the right way it definitely is going to have an impact on both Twitter and Facebook.

As you can see from the screen capture above once I added my Facebook account to Seesmic Desktop I was able to post from the application to Facebook. As well, the current default Home display will show posts from both Twitter and Facebook in the same timeline. I did a test of posting to my Facebook account from Seesmic Desktop, after switching the “SHARE as” to show my Facebook account, and it worked fine.

The only thing I have found is you can’t reply yet to someone who has posted in your Facebook timeline. I’m still playing with it so there still might be things I haven’t found yet.

Now as for some of my problems with this build. Well, the biggest one really is that you still can’t resize the left most column so everything still looks squished together. The one other thing I would like to see now that it supports Facebook is some way to differentiate between Twitter messages and Facebook messages.

As it stands right now they share the same color scheme and it can be confusing as to which message is coming from which service at a quick glance. Yes, you can try and read the small text at the bottom of each message but having a different color option would make it much easy to tell at a glance.

I’m tempted to start using Seesmic Desktop fulltime but the ‘squished’ feeling of the main timeline display is rather irritating. Other than that this release with Facebook integration is looking pretty good and I know that it will excite a lot of folks to see the support for Facebook.

Keep it up guys, you’re getting close to fulltime usage, for me at least.

Related posts:

1. Twitter desktop client Seesmic Desktop is worth another look
2. Seesmic Desktop (Twhirl) takes the good fight to TweetDeck
3. God bless competition: Seesmic Desktop and Tweetdeck release new features

TweetDeck v0.25 will see a few new fixes and features as well, including improvements to the program’s performance that’ll resolve some memory issues experienced in previous versions. It’ll also allow for viewing of TwitPic images within the interface and previewing of shortened URLs before you click on them. Be warned, too: There’s a flashy new yellow icon that may catch you off-guard.

The release comes right as Seesmic is unveiling its new Twhirl alternative, Seesmic Desktop — an AIR-powered application that looks curiously like TweetDeck. Seesmic Desktop introduces multiple columns with multiple group support. It also boasts the ability to manage multiple Twitter accounts and to drag-and-drop or even pop-out any columns within the window. Facebook, Digg, and Ping.FM support are all expected to be built-in eventually.

The race, it seems, is getting tighter. The stats vary depending on where you look, but most metrics services agree that TweetDeck is by far the dominant choice when it comes to third-party Twitter applications. Seesmic’s new update could give it a stronger chance at stealing some of those users away, but TweetDeck’s fast-moving, feature-adding progress certainly won’t make it easy.

Related posts:

1. Seesmic Desktop (Twhirl) takes the good fight to TweetDeck
2. God bless competition: Seesmic Desktop and Tweetdeck release new features
3. Twitter desktop client Seesmic Desktop is worth another look

The new version of Twhirl, now known as Seesmic Desktop, was launched in San Francisco this evening and takes the good fight to popular Twitter client TweetDeck.

Seesmic Desktop is a complete code rewrite, delivering a fresh user experience and feature set. Included in the new version is multiple column and single app support (with Twhirl you had separate windows.) The defining point in the release is the ability to group multiple sources into one central stream, including multiple Twitter accounts. For example, you can blend your Identi.ca and Twitter streams in the one column/ view.

The new client also gets a user interface change, with the introduction of a side bar of navigation results.

We’d tell you more but the live stream failed about 10 minutes into the presentation, not exactly a positive omen. There’s also not a full list available at the time of writing about the additional features. From the choppy video which replaced the black fail screen, there was mention of recording from webcam, multiple image upload support (not sure if this was just Twitter related), and list/ search support similar to TweetDeck.

From what I have seen, it looks like a winner and will offer strong competition to TweetDeck. The multi-account and service support is a feature I’d use, so I’m looking forward to getting my hands on it.

To get Seesmic Desktop, sign up at desktop.seesmic.com and Seesmic will email you a download link when the client is released. No idea yet as to when it will be available. It’s now released. Downloading now.

Update: the preview release only supports Twitter. The other negative: it’s not pretty to look at.

Related posts:

1. God bless competition: Seesmic Desktop and Tweetdeck release new features
2. Twitter desktop client Seesmic Desktop is worth another look
3. New Twhirl Preview Release Adds Seesmic Recording, Ping.fm Support

He was gracious enough to sit down with me and chat on camera a bit about his news regarding the new Twhirl-like client for monitoring and updating Facebook status updates.

He covered a lot of the news and information you saw already in many of the reports about the product, including:

• Twhirl will be rebranding itself as Seesmic (they have a hard time as a small company maintaining two brands).
• That means you won’t be a Twhirl user any more, you’ll be a Seesmic user.
• They’re focusing almost half their staff on integrating the new Facebook client into the rest of the site experience.

In addition, he talked a bit about his expectations of how this might transform the usage of Facebook entirely. He hinted here and off-camera that this is the thrust of their focus, and they really want to position themselves as one of the primary ways to access Facebook.

I think, given the addictiveness of Twhirl and Twitter, I think it’s a safe bet.

We also caught up a bit, since the last time we spoke, he was on his way to go visit then-President Bush.  He’s since steered clear of politics, but commented on the bit of disappointment he feels when politicians engage greatly with social media tools during campaigns, but not during the governance.

Mark Rizzn Hopkins blogs a Rizzn.com and Silicon Angle.

Related posts:

1. Seesmic Update: Nokia client, Twhirl update with Laconi.ca support
2. New Twhirl Preview Release Adds Seesmic Recording, Ping.fm Support
3. Seesmic Desktop (Twhirl) takes the good fight to TweetDeck

The next version of Twhirl, currently in preview release (so not yet available for download) adds a range of new features that brings the still popular Twitter client back into the ball game.

Top of the releases is the long waited support for recording Seesmic videos from the client. Seesmic viewing support was added last year, but the client was always limited; you could watch, but not respond in video. Recording a Seesmic video is as simple as hitting the record button.

Added to the Twitter part of Thwirl is support for Ping.fm. Users can now opt to send all Tweets out to other networks, such as MySpace, Facebook, Utterli, Kwippy and many more. There is potential here for duplication, so you need to make sure that you’re not sending out to services that may already be getting your tweets, for example, I took Facebook out of my Ping.fm account because I already import tweets there, likewise FriendFeed isn’t on the list because it imports by tweets.

Also included in the release is the ability to set up search tabs based on keywords, taking it into TweetDeck territory. Every search can be activated, and per the shot above right, appears as a tab.

Privately a number of users had expressed concern that perhaps Seesmic had dropped development of Twhirl after regular updates ceased in the second half of last year; others have switched to using TweetDeck and other clients. As a Twhirl user it’s great to see the updates, and this will deal Twhirl back into contention as a desktop Twitter client of choice.

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1. Seesmic Desktop (Twhirl) takes the good fight to TweetDeck
2. Seesmic Update: Nokia client, Twhirl update with Laconi.ca support
3. Seesmic Now Available In Twhirl

I can see why people are upset, and I sympathize strongly withe the arguments against the proposal. The thing is, the debate fails on my official patented importance meter. I’ve tried adjusting the nobs and I’ve recalibrated it a couple of times, but the result is the same every time.

Who gives a shit.

You know the news cycle is quiet when this is the biggest story of the day. It’s really not that important. If Twitter did implement it, it won’t be the end of the world, and most people wouldn’t notice, care, or use the feature anyway.

Oh, and it won’t happen either. After all, Twitter couldn’t even get search right in the first place, so they had to acquire a company that was offering Twitter search. Unless there’s a 3rd party Twitter tool provider by the name of “elitist people search for Twitter” I’m not aware of they can buy to do it, I’m ranking this dead in the water…or should that be Loic’s Perrier.

Surely there’s something better to write about, for example how Loic and Michael just played you all for suckers

Related posts:

1. Twitter gets a serious tart up, embraces search
2. Yet another Twitter search company to go public June 18
3. Twitter Expands and Improves Search With New ‘Discovery Engine’

Long term, negative campaigns don’t work. Just ask John McCain. Negativity is a sure sign of desperation, praying for salvation as Rome burns. It is however representative of human nature, and nothing will change that. But there’s one strange thing that’s come out of these bad times, and that’s the use of Seesmic as a noun to describe a bad startup.

Seesmic bashing is all the rage. I do understand why the company is being targeted: it’s different, it doesn’t have a clear monetization strategy yet, and they’ve already done two rounds of layoffs.

But that doesn’t make the attacks fair.

Is Seesmic really the worst startup out there? What, because they’re already laying off staff, does that mean somehow that they are poorly equipped to handle the downturn, before the worst of it is clear?

Seemsic does have a niche appeal, but there’s a lot to like about the company. They’ve led in the field of video microblogging, person to person discussions that offer a dose of real life beyond the limited text of Twitter. I saw one site this week describe Seesmic as nothing more than a blog video commenting service and totally ignore the strong and interesting community on Seesmic itself.

Seesmic does have an interesting risk profile, but so does Seesmic’s competitors. Any existing video site could easily extend themselves into this space, but although we’ve seen the inclusion of direct video recording on sites such as YouTube, I’ve not seen any of the broader video providers compete head on in threaded discussion.

CEO Loic LeMeur has been willing to make cuts now to slow the money burn for the site so as to decrease their costs coming into the recession, where few Bay Area startups are yet to act; I’m sorry, but planning ahead isn’t a bad thing, that’s sound management, and a positive business step. Seesmic may have been the first, but many others will be forced to follow, presuming that cutting staff will keep many of them afloat at all.

Some like to reminisce about how the last web crash resulted in smarter, more innovative startups, and companies like 37signals, Flickr and Delicious are mentioned. There is a serious problem in the space today, as a direct result of the second web boom, that has seen an army of clones get funding. Here’s the thing: Seesmic is different. They’re not the only player in the space, but they are the biggest, and were one of the first. They’re not just another clone of 20 other sites, they actually went out and tried something new. Sometimes those risks fail, sometimes they work, but at least Seesmic has (aside from a handful of smaller competitors) something strongly unique about it.

Seesmic may end up with an EPIC FAIL stamp in the not to distant future, and I’m not suggesting that they won’t. But I also don’t believe using Seesmic as a noun to describe a bad startup is anywhere close to justified or fair either.

(img credit)

Related posts:

1. Seesmic Gets Threaded Comments
2. Seesmic Now Available In Twhirl
3. Seesmic Now Available On MovableType

Like Mark I don’t mean to pick on specific companies like Seesmic or Twitter but the fact is they are the poster children of this faux web business that keeps seeing larger and larger valuations. Valuations that are based on nothing more that highly questionable pageviews and possible membership counts that can supposedly be translated into eyeballs pointed towards ads. Sure there are profitable Web 2.0 companies but they are companies that came into this with their eyes wide open and a business plan in hand. These types of companies are also few and far between in a web landscape that is predominately free models supported by VC dollars.

The idea that companies like Seesmic, Twitter and countless number of Web 2.0 startups can even be considered as real viable businesses because their main source of income comes from VCs is ludicrous. The thing is even VCs expect to be paid back at some point and how can a company like Seesmic; who recently took another VC payday of $6million, expect to pay those investors back when they aren’t even concerned with having a true viable source of income. Even Facebook has said that they are not concerned about making money at this point and don’t expect to need a monetization plan for another three years. Then there is Twitter who just recently got handed $15million but still no business plan in sight.

How much more of a hot air bubble example do we need to have in order to understand Web 2.0 can’t be sustainable with this current model of VC supported free businesses. Again pointing back Mark’s post I agree when he said

Not to pull a Robert Scoble and suddenly go doom and gloom but maybe we got suckered again. All the lessons learned seven or eight years about crazy schemes, companies raising lots of capital without a plan on how sell stuff, and the hype/euphoria surrounding the Web’s Next, Great growth phase were mostly forgotten.

The interesting thing is that due to the ongoing economic problems VC are saying that things have to change if Web 2.0 business want to succeed. Even though they might be saying this there are still startups with no business plans getting funding right now so I guess we’ll see how much change actually takes place.

However one interesting I had as I thought this post through is that this currently economic instability and uncertainty could have been the saving grace of Web 2.0. With the way that Web 2.0 was going with this utter reliance of VC money and a total lack of real business plans that we were on the road to a repeat of the Web 1.0 crash and burn. This time around though it was a totally different segment of financial market that was the cause of the meltdown it could have very well been the bursting of the Web 2.0 bubble that once again sent us into a downward spiral.

Under the current sircumstances Web 2.0 has been given a chance to gently deflate and give us all a chance to re-evaluate and regroup. It has given us a chance to take a deep breath and get a grip on what basic business principals are and bring them back into the realm of Web 2.0 where they are in short supply.

No related posts.

Tough times. Tough decisions.also read my blog post http://www.loiclemeur.com/english/2008/10/tough-times-tou.html

Social video service Seesmic has announced further job cuts today, in what founder Loic LeMeur describes as a getting “Seesmic ready for what most are anticipating to be a bleak economic outlook for the considerable time going forward.” Full video above.

LeMeur did not specify which seven employees would be looking for new jobs, but the announcement follows three employees working in content creation being put off by Seesmic mid September.

It’s a smart move by Loic, that cuts the cash bleed at Seesmic at a time where no one quite knows what the future may bring. Expect lots and lots and lots of similar announcements from startups in the coming days, weeks and months.

Related posts:

1. Seesmic Now Available In Twhirl
2. TweetDeck acquired by Seesmic?
3. Seesmic Gets Threaded Comments

According to The Next Web, Seesmic founder and CEO Loic Le Meur was in Seesmics’ San Fran office watching a big LCD screen where the desperate person was depicted. “People emailed us that he looked very serious”, Le Meur said, “the guy was about to kill himself, what do you do?”

While Seesmic members tried to convince the man to not kill himself, Le Meur called his lawyers, then shortly after called the police after receiving legal advice on Seesmic’s liability. Seesmic provided authorities with an IP address that resulted in Police knocking on the suicidal guys house. The report wasn’t clear though as to what happened next, but we presume some sort of intervention took place.

It’s a first for Seesmic, and the communities role in highlighting the user speaks well for Seesmic as a whole, even if what followed had some Hollywood color to it.

Related posts:

1. Seesmic Raises $6 Million From Omidyar Network
2. Seesmic Update: Nokia client, Twhirl update with Laconi.ca support
3. Seesmic Desktop (Twhirl) takes the good fight to TweetDeck

Two news stories on the Seesmic front this week that we’re late in covering: Seesmic on Nokia phones, and a Twhirl update.

Seesmic is now available on Nokia N95 phones, the first time Seesmic has offered a cell phone client. With the client, Seesmic users are able to record and watch videos directly on their phones. Users can also use the client to reply to their friend’s videos and build a threaded conversation. To download, visit m.seesmic.com. Details also in the video above.

In a positive response to a challenge I laid down in July, Twhirl now supports any install of Laconi.ca, the open source client behind Identi.ca. The first user was Leo Laporte for his TWiT Army. It’s a logical an easy add on for Twhirl that will help encourage development on the Laconi.ca code base, and a big thumbs up to Loic and Seesmic team for doing it.

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1. New Twhirl Preview Release Adds Seesmic Recording, Ping.fm Support
2. Seesmic Desktop (Twhirl) takes the good fight to TweetDeck
3. Seesmic Now Available In Twhirl

I have been a member of a particular video sharing site for a while now & I have come to realize that generally this site is virtually unheard of amongst the people who would probably make the most use of it.

Duncan reviewed the site back in June & frankly I thought it was worth a revisit. 

The site is viddyou.com and in my honest opinion, it’s the best video sharing site out there – here’s why:

1. The site itself is crisp, clean, visually pleasing & easy to navigate – despite the fact that Duncan believes the pink is too girly(!) 

2. Wonderfully clean player – probably the slickest, in terms of design, I’ve seen in fact.

3. Faster upload than the majority of the video sharing sites out there.

4. The quality of the videos is second to none with a higher bitrate than majority of video sharing sites out there.

This is a standard quality video, not HD. 

5. Smooth playback for both normal & HD videos (this was a recent update).

6. Strong & Innovative privacy settings, one example highlighted by the Viddyou team in the video below:

7. Ability to respond to other videos “on the fly” essentially allowing for video conversations.

8. One click video blogging from your webcam.

9. Watch videos virtually anywhere including mobiles and yes, the iPhone!

10. Premium Accounts (Yes! They have a business model!) and for only $35 dollars a year, this brings you: 

• High Definition shareable video quality.
• Downloading of your videos
• 1 GB Video Uploads & 20 minutes on site video recording.

An example of HD Video below: (how can you not be impressed).

There is absolutely no doubt they’re in a crowded marketplace & on face value it’s easy to categorize Viddyou with sites such as Phreadz & Seesmic because of their slant towards personal videos & conversation. I must admit, I have yet to get involved with the Viddyou community in that respect so it’s by no means a must that you use the site for “video conversations”. Personally, I have stuck to using Viddyou as most of us use sites such as Vimeo & Viddler – more for sharing my personal & home videos and that is who I envisage Viddyou’s competition to be. What I love is the fact that a “premium” option does exist, it gives me the confidence that these guys are serious about sticking around and not having to rely on a fickle advertising market to ensure they stick around. Check out Viddyou at Viddyou.com .

About the author: Zee is the Co-founder of London based marketing agency WeDoCreative. He is also a devoted European Tech Blogger, Design Connoisseur, Social Media Junkie & Web Application devotee. You can find him at zee.me, twitter & friendfeed.”