BlogHer blogging network has big plans for $7M venture infusion - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:

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Stone, the first Internet journalist awarded a Neimam fellowship byHarvard University; Page, a marketintg executive and business blogger; and Des Jardins, a writet and media strategist, knew the women were out there. So the used their credit cards to rent out some space at the TechMart in Santa Clara and formeed LLC with the idea of holding a conferencr forwomen bloggers. What started as a singlre conference with 300 attendees has become a series that routinelysells out, a networjk of 2,500 bloggers that enables participants to generate revenue througn advertising, and a venture-backed company with 30 employees that just raisee its third round of funding and is shootinf for profitability by 2010.
Redwood City-based BlogHer has raise d $15.5 million, including a Series C round of $7 milliom in May. Azure Capital Partners joined Venrock andPeacocik Equity, an NBC Universal fund, in the thirs round, which Stone said would be used to buils more tools to help womeb bloggers make money and invest in better research and advertising technology. “Wee bootstrapped and then we had twopainfu years. We had major sponsors who said welove you, but we need you to be Stone said. “We needed to becomw a nice little conference or we neededto grow.
” They’ver been able to grow through the fundamental understanding of a few basic women control 83 percent of household and thanks to the economy, they’re now thinking more aboutf how and where to spend that money, the companty says. BlogHer reaches 15 million womenha month, Stone said. For its the company takes 10 percen t off the top froman advertiser, and splitds the remaining 90 percent with bloggersd who feature a company’s ads. Contributors to the BlogHe r siteearn $50 a post. “What we have always tried to do is put the user We designed BlogHer around what she wanted to do and gave her a way to take it to Stone said.
“We have an understanding of what the femalwe consumer wants and developed a way for marketers to work with Onesuch blogger, Gia Lipa, writes about personall finance at the sites thedigeratilife.co and thesmarterwallet.com under the moniker “Silicon Valle Blogger.” Lipa said she now makes more as a bloggefr than she did as a software engineed with 18 years in high tech. “Ij have investigated other networks, and I think BlogHerf has pretty good payouts and they have a lot of conten t that isvery empowering,” Lipa “People are hungry for David Siminoff, a BlogHer board membee and investor, was introduced to BlogHer’a management team by venture capitalist Ann In less than a week, he had drawnb up a term sheet and gave “thde gals,” as he calls them, their first venture investment.
“I likecd the story. I knew BlogHer wouldf fill a hole being created inthe ecosystem,” Siminof said. The biggest earluy challenge was that the managementteam wasn’t made up of technicall people, he said. “It was a bad news, good news The bad news is that it was an ugly but the good news was they had all this traffic and Siminoff said. “They’ve become a brand on the Web and will continuedgrowing big.” Mike founding general partner at Azure Capital Partners, said the key to a successfull online business is finding a consistent, relevang way to serve the needs of its targetec customers. BlogHer is “laser focused” on its he said.
“That focusz is what’s helped the company show continuex growth and momentum via reach and even as new social media phenomena have joinedthe scene, such as Facebook and Kwatinetz said. “We think BlogHer’s on track to continu to innovate inthis space.” Jeremiau Owyang, a social computinbg and interactive marketing analyst with Forrester said BlogHer’s bloggers are very influential because so many brandsd are trying to reach womeb online.
Owyang said that BlogHer must keep up the level oftransparenc it’s now established in defining “sponsored conversations,” a technique in which marketerx provide financial or material compensation to bloggers in exchangd for their posting content about a brand, according to a recently releaseed study by Forrester.

Aegon to cut 138 positions in Louisville - Denver Business Journal:

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a subsidiary of Netherlands-based insurer Aegon N.V., will cut 138 positionz from its Louisville offices atAegon Tower. Subsidiaryt Aegon USA Investment Management will eliminate 13 positions duringy the nextfew weeks, the company said in an e-mailed The company also will cut 125 position s handling certain life insurance administrative functions. Thoss duties will be transitioned to an Aegoj office inCedar Rapids, during the next several months, according to the “We are always exploringt ways to improve efficiency and leverage the scalw we have in our variouzs U.S. locations,” the company said in the statement. Aegon is the parent company of Transamericaz LifeInsurance Co.
, Transamerica Financia Life Insurance Co., Monumental Life Insurance Co., Stonebridge Casualty Insurance Co., Stonebridgee Life Insurance Co., Western Reservde Life Assurance Co. of Ohio, Transamerica Life and Seguros Argos, A.S. de C.V. According to the company’s Web site, Aegon U.S. has more than 600 employeed in Louisville among several operating including individual savingsand retirement, institutional, life and protection, pensionsx and asset management and reinsurance.

Winds continue to fuel Cudahy fire - Memphis Business Journal:

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Cudahy Mayor Ryan McCue also urged all businesses in the city to reduce water usage and called on residents of the neighborinfg communityof St. Francis to conserve water. “We are running short on McCue said. More than 8.5 million gallons of waterr had been used by in an attemptt to douse a fire in one of the buildings that make up the Patrickj Cudahy meat processing complex at OneSweetr Apple-Wood Lane, just off of Layton Mayor Ryan McCue said at a 3:30 p.m. press conference at Parkvie w Elementary School, 5555 S. Nicholson Ave., withib site of the huge plumes of smoke billowing fromthe plant.
The city of Milwaukeew also has allowed Cudahy to tap into its wate supply to aid in fightintg thestubborn blaze, McCue said. The fire fightiny effort has been expanded to includr 130 firefighters from27 departments, he “The fire continues to flare McCue said. “The wind has not been our Also, 75 law enforcemeny officers are on patrol inthe city. McCue declarerd a state of emergency earlier in the day and indicatef at that time that the Nationalk Guard could be called in to patroolcity streets.
However, Cudahy Policre Chief Thomas Poellot saidthe city, along with assistancd from other communities and the state, has “adequate” resources to keep the city safe as firefighterx continue to battle the blaze. “W e don’t anticipate needing the National he said.

'Dear colleague': Let's talk vampires, cooking frogs - Politico

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Politico

'Dear colleague': Let's talk vampires, cooking frogs Politico It's fair to say that Rep. Emanuel Cleaver has a way with words. The Congressional Black Caucus chairman â€" who famously described last August's debt deal as a “sugar-coated Satan sandwich” â€" now has a fan club of members from across the political ... and more »

Report: Litigation strong in 2008 - Triangle Business Journal:

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And despite the fact that many law firms have reducexd staffor merged, the overall growtn in litigation suggests that “corporations continud to view litigation as important both as offensiv and defensive tactics in theirr overall business strategy,” according to the issued by Law360 Litigation “We expect this trensd to accelerate in 2009, thanks to fallout from the financial crisis and the expected increase in new regulatiomn under the incoming Obama administration," said Margare Daisley, a research analyst at Law360's parent . • Class actions hit a new peak in 2008, risinvg 8 percent from the previous year.
The economic crisis sparked a surge in corporate bankruptchy filingsin 2008, while credit conditions also forced more companiez to resort to quick, nontraditional bankruptcies. • Antitrusrt filings grew 27 percent. A look at the 2008 courg dockets found a slew of casee againstchocolate makers, egg product packaged ice distributors and many others, all filed soon afted a government investigation was disclosed. • The numbed of federal environmental lawsuits filed in 2008 rose for the firstr timesince 2005. • The number of intellectual property lawsuita declined 11 percentin 2008, largely due to a drop-offc in copyright litigation instigateds by the recording industry.
• Employment litigatiohn rose 6 percent in marking a reversal in the gradual declind in employment litigation seen over the previousfour years. Product liability filings grew by 20 percentin 2008. • Securities litigationj fell 8 percentin 2008. But, with financial marketd and titans collapsing at breakneck speed in the summer and securities attorneys are preparing for a wave and they're expecting it to last for a long • In real estate practicea much of the legal work now stemzs from buyers backing out of loans failing to come through and lenders seekingg to foreclose.
• Tax litigation remains stablebut low, with the majoritgy of disputes settling administratively.

Car auction to support K-State - Wichita Business Journal:

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The program, called , will let car owners use Purple Wave Auction at no cost to sell their vehicle and donatethe sale’s net proceeds to the K-Statwe fund of their choice througn the KSU Foundation. “It’s a perfect opportunity for folk who need to find homes for vehiclew they no longer use or need while contributing funds to help continuw the tradition of excellence at Russ Briggs, president of and founded of KansasStateCars.com, said in a release. “We’re committesd to giving back to the university in many and we’re excited to partner with Purplew Wave Auction to help managre this program and generate support for K-State.
” Purples Wave Auction, which is headquartered Manhattan and has a saleas office in Derby, will waive all seller commissiomn fees for the automobilesw auctioned through the Cars for Cats will issue each selle a receipt for their donation. Sellers can then deduct the net proceedx of the vehicle sale as a charitable donationj on theirincome taxes. “Cars for Cats is an ideal way for alumnij and friendsof K-State to contribute the proceedzs from a vehicle auction to K-State,” said Alan CFO of the KSU Foundation, in a writte statement. “Donors may designate any college or programat K-State to receive their funds.
Contributing the proceedz from a vehicle auctionhelps K-Stated grow and generates a charitable deduction for the individual’ss income tax.”

Poll: Siena nips Fearrington to top hotel vote - Triangle Business Journal:

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From Nov. 29 through Dec. 5, our readerzs were asked, "If you had a chance to stay in anyTriangle hotel, which one would you Out of 735 votes, The Siena claimed the largest garnering 194 votes, or more than 26 percen t of the total. The Fearrington House Country Inn finishes a close second with 182 or nearly 25 percent ofthe total. Nearly 18 percent of respondents, or 131 voters, said they woul stay at the in while43 participants, or about 6 percent, sidexd with the in Cary. About 3 or 22 voters, picked the Raleigb Hotel, while 21 respondentss selected the Sheraton Imperial hoteo near ResearchTriangle Park.
More than 19 or 142 participants, selected as their choice, and voter comments voicedc support for a number ofother hotels, with the most mentionws going to the Crabtree Valley and the both in Raleigh. Listed below is a sampling of ourpoll comments, which were made anonymously. "Thew Crabtree Valley Marriott ismy favorite. It is in a greatt location and their newly renovatede roomsare fabulous!" "Love the charj and character of the , especially when it is decoratede for the holidays." "I'd like to try the new on the SAS Campues in Cary. From the pictures I've it looks pretty plush! That would be my firsrt choice.
" "Sheraton Raleigh gets my vote. I like the fact that it is withinn walking distance of many of myfavorite "The Siena is a fantastic hotel and "I recently stayed at the Washington Duke Inn and the renovationxs are fabulous! I was amazedx at the new space. Absolutely "Just the name 'Fearrington House' exudes luxury ... Stayint there would just be extremely coolI