Small companies can do quick market research with Peanut Labs’ Crowdvibe (exclusive) Peanut Labs is launching its Crowdvibe site today to allow anyone to create quick polls or market research surveys with large numbers of respondents in a variety of targeted markets. Crowdvibe (at the site Crowdvi.be) taps Peanut Labs’ network of more than 50 million consumers on 200 social networks to get users to fill out online surveys that you create. The cost comes out to a dollar per user or less, which is much cheaper and less hassle than setting up an online research campaign. And you can watch results arrive in real-time, with an average of 40 seconds for the first response. You simply purchase virtual currency that lets you create a survey with one or two questions. “As speed becomes more of a necessity, we understand the value of time-sensitive research,” said Noman Ali (pictured below), chief executive of Peanut Labs. “We saw a gap where small and medium business could not get consumer insight the way that the big companies could,” Ali said.
WebMobi helps anyone build a mobile app, no experience required WebMobi, a new mobile application builder for businesses, has added integration with online storage provider Box to easily collect customer information. WebMobi helps businesses create apps for all the major mobile platforms without the need to understand coding. All you need to do is drag and drop the features you want in your app. To make the process extremely easy, businesses can choose from several pre-made app templates that already have specific features included, such as forms, calendars, or surveys. Apps created with WebMobi can be updated in real-time with no approval process from app stores needed. The company announced today it has added integration with Box, so customer data can be stored and organized in the collaborative file-sharing service. WebMobi will soon add https security to securely send data to Box, where encryption will keep your information safe.
McClatchy Buys Citizen Journalism Site Fresno Famous California-based citizen journalism site Fresno Famous was purchased yesterday by the Fresno Bee — one of the crown jewels in the historic McClatchy newspaper chain. Fresno Famous was founded in 2004 by 26-year-old Jarah Euston. The site is a community portal, with blogs, podcasts, Flickr photo galleries, and forums. The Bee will own Fresno Famous, but the new acquisition be managed separately from the newspaper. Reactions of the Fresno Famous community to the sale are strongly mixed. Also purchased by McClatchy is Modesto Famous, sister site to Fresno Famous founded in May 2006. “Purchasing a strong franchise such as Fresno Famous gives The Bee another way in which to reach younger readers with information they seek,” said Valerie Bender, vice president of custom publications for The Bee. Bender will be taking over management of Fresno Famous from Euston, who will aid the transition over the next six months. In a unusual way, this development echoes the evolution of the McClatchy chain.