Google Ventures and Hearst Interactive Media make whoopie to @gomiso

Looky looky what just popped up in my twitter feed ...

Per Miso Blog: We’re thrilled to announce some amazing developments here at Miso.

• Google and Hearst Invest in Miso.  We are excited to announce that right at the end of 2010, we closed our Series A round, raising an additional $1.5M. The round was led by Google Ventures with Hearst Interactive Media also participating.  With this money, we plan to hire more engineers which will allow us to continue to innovate, build Miso, and improve our second screen platform.  While the last year was focused on building a ‘check-in’ foundation, in 2011, we will create more ways for people to engage around the second screen, secure more partnerships, and lead innovation around the intersection of social, TV, and the second screen.  We are 100% focused on making TV watching better by making it more social, more useful, and more fun.  In addition to the financing, Joe Kraus from Google Ventures and Scott Wolfgang from Hearst Interactive Media will be joining our board.  Joe, a Silicon Valley veteran, has been with us since our seed round and has been paramount in helping us to where we are today.  We’re excited to welcome Scott and Hearst Interactive Media to the Miso family.  Hearst, with its extensive media holdings, including ESPN, Lifetime Television, A&E Network, History and 29 local television stations, is certain to be a valuable partner for Miso to gain a deeper understanding of how we can provide more value to TV networks and TV content creators in addition to building a world-class second screen platform.

• Approaching 100K registered users & over 2M engagements. 2010 has been an exciting year for us.  In nine months, we have built presences on the iPhone, Android, iPad, and web and are quickly approaching 100K registered users with over 2M engagements to date.  In the last thirty days, we have seen over 400K engagements averaging about an engagement (including check-ins, comments, and ‘likes’) every 4 to 5 seconds.   We have a lot more to do to make Miso simpler, more social, and more fun, so look out for more in the coming months.  We are not even 1% of where we want to be.

• Introduction of Miso API. We have received hundreds of requests to create a Miso API, and it’s finally here!  With the the API, TV sites, TV manufacturers, set top boxes, or any developer can access Miso in the same way our applications work today.  Developers can develop new apps, integrate ‘check-in’ functionality into their own apps, and much more.  Widgets and RSS feeds will be coming soon as well!

• First partnership of 2011 with OWN. In 2010, we have delivered over a dozen network partnerships, and we are extremely excited to start 2011 by teaming up with OWN: the new Oprah Winfrey Network for a new reality series where ten contestants compete to get their very own show. Watch the premiere of Your OWN Show: Oprah’s Search for the Next TV Star on Friday at 9/8c on OWN to earn exclusive badges from Miso!

With CES starting tomorrow, new tablets being introduced, and new innovations on top of the TV, the opportunity to build an amazing second screen is now.  TVs are becoming internet enabled.  New guides, new remotes, more tablets – 2011 is the year we’ll see an incredible amount of innovation in the living room, and we are excited to be part of that revolution.

I wanted to personally thank the Miso community for being with us since day one and continuing to push us to think outside the box.  We have a lot more coming — some ideas might take off and some might fail — but we are maniacally focused on building something that will make TV watching better.  Stay tuned – no pun intended!

Somrat Niyogi
CEO
@sniyogi



DUDE! So awesomeeeeeee!! I'm SO fascinated by the social TV components of social media. Clearly, since TNTML is totally like got a pilot thang goin on! It's just SUCH an open market since no loyalties in the nerdy community have been established. TV's days as a one way medium are numbered. For really reals reals. Don't get me wrong, you're still going to want to zone out and watch regular TV to fall asleep and such ... there is still DEFINITELY a market for that type of entertainment. What I am talking about is a completely separate need because of Facebook that has created this want and desire to interact, engage, and comment on things that we are experiencing. Think about it - when was the last time you watched TV and didn't have either your laptop on your lap, or your smartphone in your hand. It's nutty buddy!! Super super suppperrrr stoked! Congrats on your steps in the right direction Miso!

#nerdsunite

#NowWatching: Casino

I was just watching Casino and I have this like weird thing that when I walk away from movies, I literally feel like I am still in them. For reals, it's pretty intense. I just get so absorbed in the content ... clearly only awesome movies, but yeah! It happens none the less.

There was just a helicopter outside, and I'd totally be lying if I didn't just scream "THE FEDS!!!!" HAHAHAAHAHAAHAHAA such a nerd ...

I think in all fairness, I should explain to you exactly what it is that I do. For instance tomorrow morning I'll get up nice and early, take a walk down over to the bank and... walk in and see and, uh... if you don't have my money for me, I'll... crack your fuckin' head wide-open in front of everybody in the bank. And just about the time that I'm comin' out of jail, hopefully, you'll be coming out of your coma. And guess what? I'll split your fuckin' head open again. 'Cause I'm fuckin' stupid. I don't give a fuck about jail. That's my business. That's what I do.

#Awesome

#Nerdy Thoughts on My Generation

Alrite, so I just got done watching My Generation on hulu. *cue @gomiso checkin*

Now, I have to admit - I do have a personal connection to this show ... which I can't announce yet - but my word and honor are the absolute only thing I have in life, so I just need to lay that card down on the table. All personal whatevs aside, I have to say at the risk of being unpopular, it just wasn't that good.

This is one of those cases where the buzz doesn't do the show justice. I totally dug the concept. This is my kinda show!!! Historical fiction!! DUDE!!! BEST GENRE EVER!!!! Friggen love it - like for real, would donate one of my fallopian tubes to the cause of there needing to be more historical fiction shows in this world.

Okay, I'm getting ahead of myself, the show's concept is this "where are they now" type scenario, where cameras came into the class of 2000, and filmed what their hopes and dreams were. Flash forward a decade, we are caught up on what they are actually doing. OMMMGGGGGGGGGGG the stereotypes were just so effin forced. I just, BAHHHH!!!

For real, I didn't have a clique in high school. I was kinda a floater. I pretty much got a long with people, but was not spared a few moments of humiliation and taunting. I just kinda did my thing, and graduated early. But I can say, that all this show did was highlight all that hollywood does wrong in portraying high school kids. Seriously, the nerd in the class totally thinks they are the coolest kid ever. Nerds don't realize they aren't cool, because we live in our own little world where the sun shines every day. Nerds are very cerebral, duh - and we just march to the beat of our own drummer and don't care about the rest. The dude that played the nerd was the Michael Cera type, socially awkward, longing for the girl blah blah blah. Newsflash: the nerds did get the girl. I get laid more being a nerd than I ever did being a model - haha, very true story ... so yeah, hello Hollywood - this is nerds IRL and um, yeah - you got it wrong.

I am definitely willing to give the show another chance, but comeeeee oonnnnnnn!! I already know what my friends are doing from high school, hello, Facebook!!? Anyone ... anyone!! One of the characters, Brenda, checked her Facebook - but other than that ... its like really?!?! Maybe it's a Texas thing (as the show is set in Austin, TX) - but in Connecticut, we are all up in everybody's business. I KNOWWWW what the kids from my school are up to, I read about it in my newsfeed. So yeah, social media disconnect for sure ... and for real - a nerd longing for love?? Seen it. Been there. Done that. My ADD is no longer interested.

#sigh

Facebook Places, Foursquare, & @GoMiso: The Future of #Checkins

I tried using Facebook Places today, and was met with nothing but epic failure on my Motorola Droid. I can only assume it had more to do with a crappy GPS than the actual application. But oh yeah, if you guys didn't know ... Facebook announced its venture into LBSM (location based social media) yesterday. Here's the official TNTML social commentary on social media ... aka the real time chat on my uh, Facebook wall.

Can I just say, this is just the greatest thing since sliced bread. Literally ... sliced bread ...

yeah baby, cut me like that ... uh huhhhh!!!!

Alrite, sim simma ... for reals ... I've been using FourSquare for about the last year or so, and people still think I'm nuts. Hence why I even emailed Foursquare back in January with my idea for an experiment I could conduct to establish value. The nerd community is fairly divided. A lot of peeps I know dig Foursquare and are heavily addicted to checkins, and the others refuse to join because they never leave their house. Totally kosher either way, I don't care how anyone chooses to lead their life, as long as they're happy ... but let's at least give people options.

Stories have been buzzing all day that, Facebook Places is going to be a Foursquare killer ... and I could not disagree more. No really - given, as long as Naveen and Dennis honestly don't mess up royally on a business management level (ala Brad Greenspan post myspace LiveVideo venture *cough cough*), the public's diehard love for Foursquare I think will only add value to location based social media as a whole.

Facebook has a built in base of 500 million users. I mean crazy, crazy, crazy ... yet, people still never understood WHY they needed to checkin places. That whole stalker thing still freaked people out. This will IMMEDIATELY establish value in the public's brain of why they think its cool to checkin. Because whether or not you want to, your friends will still be able to check you in, unless of course you opt out - but again, I really do not believe the majority of people will.

I'll let mashable break down Facebook Places for you. I personally have yet to use it, although yes - I was checked in by a fellow TNTML nerd while I was at the Dodgers game tonight. I can't speak to my personal experience for it, but HOLY CRAPPPPPPP!!! I am so excited about where this is going!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is the actual post.

This appeared on my wall.

Don't leave your house a lot, but still dig the desire to checkin? Don't worry, try @gomiso. I just met with their CEO a few months back, who is just all shades of awesome applesauce ... and now baby is their time to shine. For reals ... their app just became available on the Droid, and I totally downloaded it this morning. It's awesome. Easy to use, and really, really, really, cool!!! However, again - we need more. Foursquare is great because of the tips AND badges. Yes, @gomiso does have badges which are pretty and all - but the tips are the total tipping point for me. That time that I was at Urth Cafe, and wanted help deciding between an Americano or a latte, and I read the tip of how awesome their foam was, it just about made my nerdy little life. For reals, it made my life. I love being a nerd!!!!!!

Anywho, given the current trend, I think there's only about 3 months before checkins becomes mainstream for entertainment, web based or otherwise. We're going to start to get a feel for checkins via Facebook Places, and again - I think it is only going to add that much more of a value to Foursquare and @gomiso ... but @gomiso really need to step up their game. One thing I LOVEEEE is that anytime I checkin on @gomiso, someone, somewhere will tweet me and tell me some tidbit about something I am watching.

See, today ... @adamreisinger commented about watching the movie 21.

All the buttons on the elevator were set to awesome on that one, and boy oh boy, I dug it. That will add value to my entertainment, and will get me to want to checkin more. Again, if Marky Mark and his funky bunch are going to introduce it, I think it's fab oh fab that services like @gomiso can really add value to people's experiences even if they don't leave the house. Everyone is going to have that urge to checkin and engage ... so give the people want they want, and keep them coming back by ADDING VAALLUUUEEEEEE!!!!! #Bah! I just get so darn excited. Thanks for listening!

Download @gomiso everyone!!!! Now its available on the droid and iphone - so you have no excuse.

#nerdsunite