ReputationDefender
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ReputationDefender, the online identity and privacy startup, has bought PaperKarma, a mobile app built to help users identify and then stop spammy snail mail. In a letter to users (embedded below), PaperKarma’s founders Sean Mortazavi and Brendan Ribera say that the app will continue to work as before; but ReputationDefender notes that it will also be tapping into the startup’s software expertise for a wider remit: building up ReputationDefender’s mobile capabilities, and applying PaperKarma’s address-tracking algorithms to online data as well.

“With the addition of PaperKarma, we’ve added mobile capabilities to our portfolio that empower our customers to easily take control of unsolicited contact from vendors and marketers,” notes ReputationDefender CEO and founder Michael Fertik in the official announcement.

“At PaperKarma, we’ve focused on the green aspect of our app – but privacy services have always been on the roadmap,” Mortazavi and Ribera noted. “We’re excited to accelerate that vision by joining ReputationDefender.” PaperKarma caused a bit of buzz last year when Apple selected it as one of the most disruptive apps of 2012, alongside Airbnb, Uber, Square Wallet, TaskRabbit and Hotel Tonight (pretty impressive company).

While many associate the idea of “online reputation” with social media marketing and companies like Klout and LinkedIn with its endorsements and influencers, ReputationDefender is tapping into another trend on the internet: the ideas of privacy, online identity, and safeguarding them.

These are issues that have always been around, but for many users they still sit on the sidelines. For example, for all the people concerned with how much Facebook or Google knows about them, there are millions more who do not bat an eyelash. However, there are signs that might change: the news still emerging around the PRISM project from the NSA; the growing prevalence of ad tracking (and solutions to counteract that); the rise of “big data” repositories that collect and track information; and of course the numerous security breaches we have seen all point back to questions of online privacy and identity management.

To that end, this topic could (and maybe should) become something all of us will think about more longer term.

This is the second acquisition this year for ReputationDefender, which in January acquired UK-based rival Reputation 24/7 to help expand internationally. As with the PaperKarma deal, financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed but will involve “millions” in extra investment.

Both deals are a sign of the company’s ramped-up ambitions in the wake of raising nearly $68 million in funding, including a $41 million round nearly two years ago, in July 2011, led by August Capital, with participation also from Insight Capital and previous investors Jafco Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Bessemer Venture Partners. PaperKarma had raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from SV Angel.

Original article: http://techcrunch.com/2013/06/28/reputation-com-buys-snail-mail-filtering-app-paperkarma-to-boost-its-mobile-privacy-management-business/ 

It only seemed like a matter of time before someone big swooped up PaperKarma, the popular junk mail eliminator app.

And that’s happened today. ReputationDefender, a leading provider of online reputation products and services, has acquired PaperKarma, the Seattle startup that allows recipients of junk mail to snap a photo of the worthless offer, catalog or flyer, and, in a few simple clicks, unsubscribe from the distributor’s list.

Redwood City-based Reputation would not disclose financial terms of the acquisition. PaperKarma co-founder and CTO Brendan Ribera is now part of the Reputation team, while co-founder and CEO Sean Mortazavi will be a consultant and continue working full-time at Microsoft.

PaperKarma debuted in February 2012 and picked up traction immediately as Ribera and Mortazavi struggled to keep up with demand. We were impressed with the simplicity of the app and so were many of our readers who made the PaperKarma story one of the most popular on GeekWire.

Mortazavi told us that he came up with the idea after speaking to Seattle entrepreneur Hadi Partovi, an adviser to the company and avid junk mail foe. Prior to PaperKarma, Partovi collected names in an Excel spreadsheet of advertisers that sent him junk mail. The former Microsoft and iLike exec would then spend hours calling each company one-by-one asking to be removed from the lists.

“The idea popped into my head that perhaps we could make this process less painful by enabling people to just snap pics of their junk mail and have someone take care of the rest of it,” said Mortazavi, adding that the environmental aspect of the idea really resonated with a lot of people.

The company hit a major milestone late last year when Apple named PaperKarma to the prestigious lineup of “disruptive services” alongside well known names such as Airbnb, Uber, Square Wallet, TaskRabbit and Hotel Tonight.

Reputation’s Leslie Hobbs told us that the recognition from Apple, along with the app’s traction, made PaperKarma very attractive.

“It has an incredibly enthusiastic following and a great team,” Hobbs said. “It also aligns with our privacy advocacy as a company.”

PaperKarma fans will still be able to use the app as before and its privacy policy will remain the same.

“Like PaperKarma, ReputationDefender does not sell, rent, share or trade your personal data to third parties,” the co-founders wrote in an email to users. “Our two teams believe strongly in obtaining your explicit consent, versus relying on a hard-to-read terms of service document.”

Founded in 2006, Reputation has more than one million customers in more than 100 countries. The 160-person company has raised $63 million in VC funding from August Capital, Insight Venture Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Jafco Ventures and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. This is the company’s second acquisition.

Original article: http://www.geekwire.com/2013/paperkarma-acquired-reputation/

ReputationDefender, a Redwood City, Calif.-based provider of online reputation management and privacy control solutions, has acquired PaperKarma, an app that eliminates unwanted mail. No financial terms were disclosed. ReputationDefender has raised over $63 million in VC funding from August Capital, Insight Venture Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Jafco Ventures and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. PaperKarma was seeded by SV Angel. www.reputationdefender.com

Original article: http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2013/06/27/ma-and-ipos-26/

Also in today’s VentureWire: In its second acquisition this year, ReputationDefender is building its mobile capabilities with the purchase of Readabl, which makes an application called PaperKarma that automatically removes customers from junk-mail lists by taking a picture of the unwanted mail with their phone..

Original article: http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2013/06/27/the-daily-startup-kleiner-perkins-arbitration-bid-denied-in-pao-case/ 

In its second acquisition this year ReputationDefender Inc. is building its mobile capabilities with the purchase of Readabl Inc.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Readabl makes an application called PaperKarma that automatically removes customers from junk-mail lists by taking a picture of the unwanted mail with their phone.

ReputationDefender sells a variety of products and services that enable business and individuals to manage their online reputations and their privacy.

The acquisition helps bring ReputationDefender into the mobile market with a strong application and a team that understands that part of the business, said Michael Fertik, its chief executive and founder.

Earlier this year the company acquired Reputation 24/7, which enabled its entry in the U.K. market.

ReputationDefender last disclosed funding two years ago with a $41 million round led by August Capital. Mr. Fertik declined to say whether it has raised capital since.

Readabl’s investors include Crunchfund and SV Angel.

Original article: http://pevc.dowjones.com/Article?an=DJFVW00020130627e96ranngf&cid=&ctype=&from=Search

REDWOOD CITY, CA., June 27, 2013 – ReputationDefender, the market and technology leader in online reputation management and digital privacy, today announced it has acquired the popular PaperKarma mobile app, which eliminates unwanted mail and was named one of Apple’s “disruptive services apps” of 2012.

“ReputationDefender continues to invest in growth through strategic acquisition, building on our first international acquisition in the U.K announced earlier this year,” said ReputationDefender CEO and Founder Michael Fertik. “With the addition of PaperKarma, we’ve added mobile capabilities to our portfolio that empower our customers to easily take control of unsolicited contact from vendors and marketers.”

“At PaperKarma, we’ve focused on the green aspect of our app – but privacy services have always been on the roadmap,” said founders Sean Mortazavi and Brendan Ribera. “We’re excited to accelerate that vision by joining ReputationDefender.”

The PaperKarma app helps people and businesses alike by eliminating unwanted mail, which reduces clutter and waste for recipients as well as unnecessary delivery and printing costs for companies. Users simply snap a picture of unwanted mail, press “send” and are unsubscribed by PaperKarma.  Apple named PaperKarma one of its 2012 best apps in the disruptive services category, in good company with Airbnb, Uber, Square Wallet, TaskRabbit and Hotel Tonight.

“The PaperKarma app makes it easy for people to reduce the mail they don’t want while positively impacting the environment,” Fertik added. “Each U.S. household receives about 850 pieces of unwanted mail annually, which is a direct result of consumer targeting.  This adds up to more than 100 billion pieces of mail in the country, and 44 percent goes directly to the landfill unopened.”

The technology complements ReputationDefender’s MyPrivacy product, which helps people remove personally identifiable information, such as names, addresses and incomes, from exposure on the web.

About ReputationDefender

ReputationDefender was founded in 2006 to give individuals and businesses the power to control their digital privacy and reputation.  The company continues to pioneer patented solutions that safeguard and remove personal data from the Internet, monitor and respond to online reviews, build a positive and accurate Web presence for clients, and help businesses proactively engage customers.

ReputationDefender is a World Economic Forum Global Growth Company and multiple award winner, including the recent Silver for the Best in Biz Awards for “Most Customer Friendly Company” in 2012.  It is funded by top-tier venture capital firms and has customers in more than 100 countries.

The Food Network said on Friday it would drop celebrity chef Paula Deen after the Southern food doyenne was sued for racial discrimination and admitted in a legal deposition to using a racial slur in the past.

The impending loss of Deen's broadcast deal represents a potentially huge setback for a television personality who has built an empire on high calorie food, with cookbooks and restaurants in her native Georgia and other states.

The Food Network said in a statement it "will not renew Paula Deen's contract when it expires at the end of this month."

A spokeswoman declined further comment but the network, which is owned by Scripps Network Interactive Inc, said on Thursday it "does not tolerate any form of discrimination and is a strong proponent of diversity and inclusion."

The network's decision to drop Deen was announced hours after she failed to make a scheduled appearance on the NBC television morning show "Today" to discuss the controversy. She later apologized on video that was posted online.

"I want to apologize to everybody for the wrong that I've done. I want to learn and grow from this," Deen said in one video posted on YouTube and other websites.

The controversy surrounding Deen erupted earlier this week when a deposition was released in transcript form in which Deen, who is white, was asked if she had used the "N-word," and responded, "Yes, of course." The "N-word" is a euphemism for "nigger," an epithet for black people.

Asked about the epithet in the deposition, Deen said she had used the slur when describing, probably to her husband, how a black man robbed a bank where she was working in the 1980s. She said she had used the word since, "but it's been a very long time."

A former employee of Paula Deen Enterprises, Lisa Jackson, is suing Deen and her brother, Earl "Bubba" Hiers, in federal court alleging racial and sexual discrimination in the workplace. The deposition was related to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges that, while discussing with Jackson plans for Hiers' 2007 wedding, Deen said she wanted a "true southern plantation-style wedding."

"Well, what I would really like is a bunch of little niggers to wear long-sleeve white shirts, black shorts and black bow ties, you know in the Shirley Temple days, they used to tap dance around," Deen said, according to the lawsuit.

'PLENTY OF MISTAKES'

In one video message posted on Friday to YouTube, Deen apologized to "Today" host Matt Lauer for failing to show up for her interview, as she tried to reach out directly to the public.

"I want people to understand that my family and I are not the kind of people that the press is wanting to say we are," Deen said in that message.

In another video statement posted on YouTube and other websites, Deen said she had made "plenty of mistakes along the way."

"But I beg you, my children, my team, my fans, my partners, I beg for your forgiveness," she said.

Deen did not directly mention the lawsuit or her deposition in either of the two widely shared video statements.

A spokeswoman for Deen did not return calls or an e-mail seeking comment.

Howard Bragman, vice chairman of the reputation management service ReputationDefender, told Reuters the chef "needs to be honest, emotional and convincing."

"She's never going to come back whole, she's never going to come back to where she once was," Bragman said in a phone interview. "Do I think she can salvage some measure of a career? Yes I do, there's a lot of people who still like her – the butter manufacturers of America. But she's never going to come back whole."

Long before becoming a celebrity chef, in 1989 Deen started out of her home a catering service called The Bag Lady. It later became the critically acclaimed restaurant The Lady and Sons in Savannah, Georgia.

Her show "Paula's Home Cooking" debuted on The Food Network in 2002 and her program "Paula's Best Dishes" premiered in 2008. She had a longstanding love for butter as an ingredient, but after revealing last year that she had Type 2 diabetes, she became a paid spokeswoman for drug maker Novo Nordisk and introduced light recipes.

Original article: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/21/entertainment-us-usa-pauladeen-slur-idUSBRE95J03I20130621

Image credit: Reuters 

The pioneering British fast-track visa system for business founders is being undermined by the lack of an equivalent system for foreign-born executive talent, several successful UK-based entrepreneurs have claimed.

Nick Halstead, the Reading-based founder of Datashift, credited with creating the ‘retweet’ button for Twitter, said he almost lost a Japanese-born developer who was crucial for his company’s expansion into Asia, after a mix-up over the his existing work permit at King’s College.

Mr Halstead had to secure an emergency hearing for the developer’s visa application in Liverpool, one of only seven UK Border Agency offices that deals with on-the-spot applications.

The developer was almost barred from the hearing because he did not have his passport, which the Home Office had held on to after the original application was refused.

Mr Halstead only managed to resolve the matter because, by chance, the deputy director of the Home Office happened to be in Liverpool that day and was able to overrule the local stewards barring the developer from entry.

Even then, Mr Halstead had to increase his new developer’s salary to above €70,000, as offering anything below this amount would have meant he would have had to advertise the position for 12 weeks to satisfy UK immigration law.

“It started getting quite farcical,” Mr Halstead said. “Basically they broke their own rules to allow it to happen.”

Such frustrations are in contrast to the praise many overseas founders and their backers lavish on the UK’s tier 1 entrepreneur visa system, which allows individuals with more than £50,000 to invest to come to Britain and start a business.

Michael Fertik, founder of New York-based ReputationDefender, recently bought UK-based start-up Reputation 24/7 to expand his operations into Europe.

He claims that the UK currently has the world’s most entrepreneur-friendly regulatory environment and is benefiting from a shortage of H-1B visas in the US that is preventing American start-ups from hiring qualified foreign staff.

It is the shortcomings of the US visa system that is driving companies like Google, which recently announced plans to build a new UK headquarters close to the redeveloped King’s Cross Station complex, to set up teams of developers outside the US, according to Mr Fertik.

“This is a huge boom for the London technology scene,” he said. “It is just a nonsense to put engineers anywhere apart from your home office. If you are doing that it is because immigration [law] is getting in your way.”

However, many entrepreneurs believe the US will resolve its problems soon, possibly through the immigration reform legislation currently passing through Congress.

“When the US does the right thing by itself I think this will be a bad thing for London,” Mr Fertik said.

A Home Office spokesman said the UK offered an “excellent visa service”, having introduced online applications and booking systems to make the process simpler, quicker, clearer and easier to access.

There was a 5 per cent increase in visas issued for skilled individuals under Tier 2 in the year to March 2013 showing we are attracting the brightest and best to the UK and supporting the growth agenda,” he added.

Still, some start-up founders say they remain frustrated with the current system.

Alex Cheatle’s London-based lifestyle management business Ten Group employs 350 people in six countries. He claims that the UK’s tier 2 visa application process has become markedly more difficult in the past 18 months and it has made him seriously consider moving more of his operations overseas.

“If you cannot recruit managers for a team here you have to shift the entire department offshore,” he said.

A recent senior appointment at Ten almost fell through because the lawyer the company had hired to complete the process entered a wrong code number on the tier 2 visa application form. “That was someone who was supposed to be an expert in this field who gave me the wrong information,” Mr Cheatle said, adding that he now has senior executives double check every application.

The irony is that the UK has made it far easier than other places to create a company, according to Mr Cheatle, who notes it is now easier to obtain work visas for senior hires in all the countries Ten operates in outside the UK, including China, Japan and Mexico.

“I am very passionate about being a British-based business, but it becomes much more difficult to sustain that when you have got a global company,” he said.

Original article: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/e71209c4-dd8f-11e2-892b-00144feab7de.html#axzz2XGy89Y3Y

New college graduates looking for work may want to purge their social media of embarrassing hijinks that could turn off potential employers.

Rebecca Martinson and Taylor Chapman learned the hard way what happens when outrageous behavior hits the Internet and goes viral in the worst possible way.

Martinson gained notoriety when the profanity-laced email she wrote to her sorority sisters at the University of Maryland leaked online. Martinson, who later quit the sorority, made an attempt at damage control, pulling down her Facebook and Twitter accounts. By then, though, numerous websites had already captured and reposted several of her comments.

Chapman’s 15 minutes of infamy came last week, when her Dunkin' Donuts rant made headlines across the web. Chapman also deleted her social media accounts, but her eight-minute tirade has been immortalized on YouTube.

These cases land on the extreme end of the spectrum, and it's where some college graduates might unfortunately find themselves just as they venture into the working world. Those Jägerbombs, the dirty joke retweeted 'round the world, the hijinks on Vine all create a social media presence that can plague these new job-seekers.

“Over 90 percent of recruiters use social networks to review candidates’ backgrounds,” Dan Schawbel, author of "Promote Yourself: The New Rules For Career Success," told MSN News. “College recruiters review a student’s social network accounts because they are looking to trim their piles of résumés, and that information is right in front of them at their fingertips."

“New grads think that employers can’t see their information with a private profile, but they are wrong,” said Schawbel, whose consulting firm targets Gen Y clients.

There are services for new grads who need to ditch a drunken fist-pumping past in favor of a more refined future.

One option is SimpleWash, formerly known as FaceWash, the brainchild of Camden Fuller, Daniel Gur, and David Steinberg, three computer science students at Kent State University. SimpleWash inspects your Facebook and Twitter accounts for comments, status updates and tags that contain potentially offensive words. It then flags questionable content and presents it for deletion.

Options also exist to limit further damage. Secure.me monitors the content you share — posts, photos — as well as content others post about you, using a combination of language-recognition and biometrics to find and alert you to potentially compromising content.

Schawbel suggests that concerned grads take a more pro-active approach by doing the dirty work themselves.

“You can censor yourself on all of the [social] networks,” he said. “None of them are tough to clean up. It really depends on your digital footprint. When Facebook changed our profiles to the Timeline format, our privacy settings changed. I spent two days censoring everything I did in college over four years by hiding every post.”

If they’re willing to pay, graduates whose dirty laundry already has been widely disseminated on the Internet can turn to an online reputation management firm — Facebook fixers, of sorts. An entire industry has sprung up to reduce the visibility of a person’s negative web presence and replace it with one that’s favorable.

Websites such as ReputationDefender and Brand.com offer to suppress a toxic online reputation by creating and then pushing positive web content to the top of search results. Depending on the damage, services like these can be costly.

"No matter where you post, never forget: Once it’s out there, it’s out there," Brent Franson, vice president of ReputationDefender, told MSN News. "Don’t ever post something if you have any doubts about how it could be perceived."

And if you are in doubt, consider the advice of Google's executive chairman, Eric Schmidt, who famously said: “If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.”

Or, as Franson put it: "Nothing says “don’t hire me” like a keg stand [photo] from two weeks ago."

Original article: http://news.msn.com/pop-culture/time-for-new-grads-to-clean-up-their-act-online