Mediafed snaps up social news curator Taptu

Faith Merino · September 20, 2012 · Short URL: https://vator.tv/n/2a4d

The deal is expected to launch Mediafed and Taptu to the frontline of digital publishing

There are two major technology trends today: social and mobile.  If you’re not doing one of those things, then you’re enterprise software and you’re boring; stop emailing me. 

One of the big ideas to explode into a million tiny clones was social content curators for the iPad, such as Flipboard, Pulse, Zite, Tweetmag, Taptu, and so, so many more.  Taptu became known for its “DJ your news” hook, which allows users to select and merge different news feeds into one stream.  Now the company is taking its mobile content curation magic over to the world of content monetization with its acquisition by Mediafed, an RSS feed advertising and publishing company.  The deal Thursday, but the financial terms have not been disclosed.

“Taptu is fulfilling Mediafed's need for althorithmic search technology, for the most tailored content delivery experience, and a mobile component to further extend the company's existing global reach across 55 countries,” said Mediafed CEO Ashley Harrison.

Harrison tells me that the majority of Taptu’s team will be moving over to Mediafed, for a combined total of 35 people.  Taptu CEO Mitch Lazar’s new role will be that of advisor to the board.

Founded in 2007, Mediafed monetizes RSS feeds by allowing publishers to see how their feeds are being used, how many people are using them, where they are being read, and so on.  Named one of Europe’s top ten fastest growing digital media companies at the 2011 Media Momentum Awards, Mediafed has partnerships with a number of top publishers, including New York Times, Le Monde, Reuters, Axel Springer, Hachette Filipacchi, IDG, El Mundo, La Gardere and WSJ China.

The company reaches more than 125 million consumers and has doubled its mobile user base to 50 million users from 20 million.

“We are thrilled to become a part of the Mediafed family and feel we have found the perfect partnership to take the lead in digital publishing,” said Taptu CEO Mitch Lazar, in a statement. “Mediafed has developed a powerhouse in content monetization that together with Taptu’s team and platform will provide a compelling opportunity for advertisers, publishers and our customers.”

Mediafed says that Taptu users will still be able to use the Taptu mobile and Web apps, which will be getting new features down the line.

Taptu, which has offices in Cambridge, England, and Denver, Colorado, has raised $18 million from DFJ Esprit and Sofinnova Ventures.

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Founded in 2006, Taptu is an award-winning social media and mobile technology company based in Cambridge, England, and Denver, Colorado. Taptu builds innovative platforms, tools and applications that enable highly personalized creation, curation, recommendation, search, discovery, management, consumption and sharing of content across all personal screen-based devices. Known for its ability to allow users to "DJ the news", Taptu gives users the option of creating endless streams of news content focused on topics and keywords that interest them most. Recently launching two Tapform supported apps for European publishers De Pers and the Guardian, Taptu plans to expand it's news aggregation platform to other content sources in the future. Taptu is available on Android and iOS devices, as well as on the Barnes & Noble NOOK tablet. Wapedia, Taptu’s popular mobile Wikipedia with over 2 million downloads, is also available for download at the Apple App Store and on the Android Market.

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