Clearspring Acquires AddThis to Create the World’s Largest Sharing Service for the Web

Company’s Reach Now Comparable to 7th Largest Web Property

Clearspring Technologies, the leading widget network connecting publishers and advertisers to audiences on the social Web, today announced the acquisition of AddThis, the No. 1 bookmarking and content sharing service on the Internet. Together, Clearspring and AddThis will serve over 20 billion views per month and reach more than 200 million unique visitors, creating the most widely used set of content sharing services on the Web.

Both companies achieved market leadership by delivering distinct content sharing products – AddThis providing the market’s most widely used tool for bookmarking and sharing Web pages, and Clearspring as the company that introduced the concept of point-and-click tools enabling users to easily move content between Web sites. Together the companies will offer the most comprehensive set of sharing tools available – becoming the de facto universal content sharing platform for Web publishers and end users. The collective footprint of the combined entity will reach a worldwide audience comparable to the 7th largest Web property.

“The Internet is becoming the backbone for digital communications – an essential part of our everyday lives,” said Ted Leonsis, chairman of the board at Clearspring. “With the acquisition of AddThis, Clearspring is now at the forefront of that evolution, connecting digital content publishers and consumers via a single set of universally recognizable tools that enable people to easily communicate with content.”

Fast Cash for Students - Break.com Pays For Your Original College Videos

College Students to Receive $800 for Videos Featured on Break.com Home Page

Break Media, the Internet’s leading entertainment community for men, is offering college students a simple way to make money in these difficult economic times. All students need do is upload their best original college videos to Break.com -- those students whose videos are featured on the Break.com home page receive an impressive $800. With higher tuition, gas prices and increasing inflation affecting the everyday life of a student, Break.com wants to provide much needed support for students struggling to make ends meet. On top of the cash, college students will also get the cache of being featured on one of the most trafficked video sites in the world and have their videos seen by millions of people each month.

Break.com will continue to pay non-college students $400, already one of the highest cash rewards for content, for original videos on the homepage as well. To date, Break.com has paid over $1,000,000 to users for their original videos.

Bridgevine and Verizon Sign Agreement on FiOS Services

Bridgevine Offers Consumers Both Fiber Optic TV and High Speed Internet

VERO BEACH, Fla. & ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bridgevine Inc., the trusted source for consumers to compare and shop for cable TV, fiber optic TV, high speed Internet and other home services, announced the company will now offer to consumers the Verizon FiOS TV and FiOS high speed Internet services.

“These fiber optic TV and high speed internet services are a proven hit with consumers and we’re proud to add them to our suite of offerings,” states Bridgevine’s President and CEO Vinny Olmstead. “We offer three Verizon FiOS TV plans. FiOS Local that includes all local channels. FiOS Premier with more than 200 channels including music and the ability to add premium movie channels and FiOS TV La Connexion, which has 140 channels including 35 English, 25 Spanish-language and additional music channels.”

Verizon FiOS Internet is a broadband service designed to provide Internet access with the fastest download speeds currently available — up to 50 megabits per second. The package includes a suite of services with access to newsgroups, nine email accounts and 10 MB of personal web storage. FiOS is an alternative to DSL and cable, provided on a state-of-the-art fiber-optic network. These services are available directly from the Bridgevine.com website or from Bridgevine’s shopping platform, dslnational.com.

Bridgevine’s consumer-facing website, Bridgevine.com, addresses the often daunting task of shopping for services in a marketplace where constantly changing prices, promotions and package offerings can leave consumers unsure if they are getting the best deal, or even the service that best meets their need. Unlike other “comparison” shopping sites, the Bridgevine experience is differentiated by a unified shopping cart, real-time pricing, order status and scheduling to deliver the best customer experience in the industry. Bridgevine’s deep integration with leading service providers enables the company to deliver the most accurate information on services, pricing and special promotions, adding even more value to the bundled services shopping experience.

About Bridgevine

Founded in 2003, Bridgevine, Inc. is headquartered in Vero Beach, FL with an office in Atlanta, GA. The company’s consumer-facing website, Bridgevine.com, is a trusted source for consumers to compare and shop for the services that shape their lives. From communications to entertainment to security, Bridgevine.com lets consumers choose individual services that are best for them, or create personalized bundles from trusted providers resulting in saved time and money. Unlike other “comparison” shopping websites, Bridgevine’s powerful technology offers a unified shopping cart, real-time pricing, order status and scheduling to deliver the best customer experience in the industry. Bridgevine’s deep integration with leading service providers from across the country — including Comcast, AT&T, D-Link, Time Warner Cable, Verizon, DIRECTV, RealNetworks, Panasonic, GameFly and more — enables Bridgevine to deliver the most accurate information on services, pricing and special promotions, adding even more value to the bundled services shopping experience. The company’s proprietary ecommerce platform is licensed by leading retailers, websites and Fortune 500 companies, making it possible for them to monetize online, call center and in-store traffic. Bridgevine was ranked 57 on the prestigious 2007 Inc. 500 list of fastest growing private companies. For more information, please visit www.bridgevine.com.

Bridgevine, Inc., Vero Beach
Mark Ballard, 772-539-0618
mark.ballard@bridgevine.com

AT&T Ready for Tropical Storm Hanna in South Carolina

Provider Offers Tropical Storm Communications Tips for Residents and Small Businesses

As residents and businesses across the Southeast begin to recover from the impact of Hurricane Gustav, AT&T Inc. is also taking steps to prepare equipment and facilities for a potential strike by Tropical Storm Hanna.

Despite the extensive commercial power outages caused by Hurricane Gustav, AT&T's network continues to perform well because of extensive pre-storm preparation. The company has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to create and maintain its Network Disaster Recovery capabilities.

A critical element of AT&T's efforts to maximize network reliability is the company's ability to swiftly respond when disaster strikes. This is made possible by AT&T's pre-season and pre-storm preparation which includes: ongoing readiness drills, topping off fuel at generators positioned at cell sites and switching centers, testing high-capacity backup batteries, adding capacity to the wireless network, and staging additional emergency response equipment in strategic locations.