Hook 'em! | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Wikipedia)

HILL COUNTRY. Made in NY: Austin will celebrate New York based tech startups at South by Southwest on March 11 from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. at the Fast Company Grill at Cedar Door in the Texas Capital. The event will be hosted by Gust, and the New York Tech Meetup and will be attended by over 250 NYC based startups. RSVP here. You might even be able to get there in a real NYC yellow taxi.

GroupMe is also heading to Austin for SXSW to keep you connected to your fellow conference-goers. Start a group on the GroupMe SXSW landing page and get exclusive updates, news and a chance to win prizes.

Be sure to RSVP for the GroupMe Major Rager end-of-the-weekend celebration at Cedar Street Courtyard featuring DJ sets from the likes of COMA and Nancy Whang of LCD Soundsystem.

Pixable is going to SXSW with a special section dedicated to the interactive conference based on what's happening, where you should be and what's most popular "#SXSW Live Feed" is a real time stream of all #SXSW tagged photos on Instagram and Twitter and "#SXSW Popular" is a showcase of the most shared and liked pics.

PIIIIIING. Sonar, the mobile app that shows hidden connections to the people around you based on the information you publicly post online, is going to SXSW with an Android App in beta. And that's not all—new features are also live including a people tab, to show users whose around no matter what the venue may be, Facebook and Twitter location data integration to show more people with more context and the entire app has been reengineered under the hood for improved speed and power.

GIRLS. GirlDevelopIt now has over 2,300 members and will be on hand at SXSW celebrating women in tech with a totally unofficial All Girl* Dev Brunch. The nerdettes also announced that classes in San Francisco are open for enrollment.

*Boys allowed.

ISPs 4 U AND ME. KeyWifi, the disruptive little startup spearheading the effort to bring Internet access to all by sharing hotspots, came out on top at the Silicon Alley Battlefield event at the New York Entrepreneurs Business Network. Betabeat believes uninhibited access to information is a good thing, so it's nice to see KeyWifi win with a refined pitch after struggling to connect with judges at last month's Common Pitch.

TESTING 1-2-3. After over a year of beta testing, Broadcastr 2.0 is available in the iOS app store and in the Android Market. Broadcastr allows users to " find memories, insights, and enriching information about eclectic and everyday places on every continent on Earth." New features include imprived filtering options, a gallery view, curated story collections and more intuitive map browsing.

ADITUDE. Solve Media heard our prayers and has come up with a way around 30 second ads for online videos that are sometimes only half that length. With Solve Media's solution, viewers will be able to type a sponsor's message in a text box to bypass the commercial. Users will be less frustrated and sponsors will know that their message was heard instead of playing to nobody while the intended target is making a sandwich.

CHA-CHING. Covestor, an investment management company that basically lets users see the transactions of pro traders and copy their moves, is joining forces with SlashDeclare, a cooperative movement of financial services companies calling for fairness and transparency in financial markets.

Covestor’s Next Invest, a virtual conference, is set for March 20 and 21 where Charles Lewis Sizemore, of the Sizemore Investment Letter, will talk about "using content to build a money management practice."

LIFE COACH. "It is time for you to stop stalking your exes and start living your life!" proclaims LifeGunk, a startup that touts itself as "the world's first life-management network." LifeGunk allows you to maintain schedules, take notes, log goals on your calendar, and send yourself reminders. When you accomplish one of your goals you can even give yourself a checkmark. Sort of like Google Calendar—but more patronizing. LifeGunk is currently self funded. Investors—get in while you can.

45 RPM. Turntable.fm is rolling out new features including a private chat function, improved search and a guest list so you can see how else is is jimmying to your jams. Best of all, there's a new free iPhone app—gratuitous guitar solo goes here.

MAXIMIZE. Clickable just made some big expansions to their senior leadership team as they plan to continue their rapid growth as a platform that combines search and social across Facebook, Google, Twitter, Foursquare, Bing and LinkedIn. Dave Fall joins Clickable as COO, David O. Smith as CRO, Sanjay Gupta as senior director of engineering and Brian Tucker as the VP of agency sales.

WORK FOR CHANGE. Gawker is looking for a new creative director with coding proficiency. Apply Here. Hyperpublic needs a web developer who's comfy with MongoDB, Javascript and JQuery. Throw your hat into the ring. Betaworks wants a senior backend engineer and architect for contract or full-time. Expertise in Python, Mongo and AWS is preferred. Tell 'em why it should be you. GetGlue, the social network for entertainment, has an opening for a senior product manager with 3-5 years experience and a social media presence. Apply here. Signpost, the "Google AdSense of local commerce," is on the prowl for a new publisher development manager. Strong business acumen and three years of marketing/sales experience gives you a good shot. Shoot. Work Market, a labor and HR management platform, backed by Union Square Ventures, is looking for a back-end Java developer, operations engineer, community manager and many other positions. Check 'em out here. Foursquare has internships for young, budding techies on the software engineering and community fronts. They've also got more than a few job openings. Check it all out here. And last but not least, Boxee wants to pay an intern on their product team. If you're based in NYC apply here.

SOPA, THE FILM. Some filmmakers, possibly from an agency, possibly independent, are making the rounds at New York startups (we heard Foursquare, General Assembly, and Aviary, among others) asking them to participate in an anti-SOPAvideo. It's unclear who's paying these filmmakers, but they claim Google might link to the video from Google.com.

SPEAKING OF SOPA. Some people on Twttr think other people on Twttr are being dumb for changing their avatars.

If changing you Twitter avatar were an effective form of political aBctivism, our current president would be a Mad Men cartoon.

— Anil Dash (@anildash) January 13, 2012

But it was so effective when everyone changed their locations to Tehran and made their avatars green during the Green Revolution. Wait, why is Paula Deen trending? BRB! OMG SHE HAS DIABETES.

BROKEN TRUST. BROKEN HEARTS. The embargo! Companies send a press release on condition that the blogger will cross their hearts, hope to die, not write about the invariably fascinating information in the embargo such as the addition of new advisors. On Wednesday, Betabeat had two embargoed stories: ZocDoc Adds Former Senators Bill Frist (R-TN) and Tom Daschle (D-SD), Healthcare Heavyweights, as Advisors and GetGlue Raises $12 M. With All Existing Investors Participating. Both embargoes were broken; we received flustered emails from both companies. Mashable broke the GetGlue embargo; it's still unclear exactly who broke the ZocDoc embargo. "I probably shouldn't have covered GetGlue. I'm told as they have bad history of this crap with their embargoes," one blogger told Betabeat. "They just don't know how to manage them."

JUST ANOTHER FASHION STARTUP. Aussie-native Ryan Junee, a Y Combinator alum who sold a company to Google in 2008, is spending more time in New York City and wonders if the Soho House is worth it? We're told he's poached Sarah Kunst from Mediaite to head up business development and open the New York office of his latest company, Inporia, "your shopping concierge." Rumor has it they're releasing the product, for which there is an invitation waitlist, in time for Fashion Week.

This round is a series D, doubling the company's total investment to $24 million, according to Crunchbase.

GetGlue lets users "check in" to TV shows, movies and music, partnering with major networks and studios to get audiences talking about their productions. "Users check-in and share what they are watching, listening to and reading with friends; get fresh recommendations, exclusive stickers, discounts and other rewards from their favorite shows and movies," GetGlue says.

According to a press release, GetGlue hit two million users in 2011 and sits on a database of more than 350 million data points including check-ins, ratings, "saves" and reviews. The top ten shows of 2011 garnered 6,008,737 check-ins, according to GetGlue, and were as follows:

1. The Big Bang Theory
2. True Blood
3. Glee
4. Dexter
5. Fringe
6. American Horror Story
7. The Walking Dead
8. Doctor Who
9. Supernatural
10. The Vampire Diaries

GetGlue has shown striking adoption and seems to be the frontrunner of the social TV-watching apps; except for Twitter and Facebook, that is, which still serve as the default place to talk about anything for most of the social networking public. (Foursquare, too, recently made it possible to check into movies.) The startup's challenge is to make it more comfortable and rewarding to talk about TV on GetGlue than anywhere else. Right now GetGlue seems to be putting a lot of effort toward rewarding users with branded "stickers."

The startup has also been working to secure discounts at places like the HBO Online Store.

The main challenge for GetGlue, which has had a stellar run securing partnerships with Big Media, is the cold start problem associated with creating an entirely new social network from scratch. The app integrates with other networks, sometimes confusingly; tweets are shown in their own column alongside GetGlue check-ins, and GetGlue offers an API. But the entertainment check-in service's separation from Facebook and Twitter (read: potential acquirers) results in lower engagement rates, so that many updates on GetGlue remain thoughts floating in a void. "I just love watching people do something they are good at and some of these dancers are just awe-inspiring," one user commented on "Got to Dance," to nobody in particular. Betabeat checked into "Nikita," the no. 3 trending show, and wrote "this ep sux," hoping to provoke an answer. None came.

So where will the money go? The company is hiring for an iPhone / JavaScript developer, web developer, designer, QA engineer, senior product manager and marketing manager. The company is also planning to update its iPad app in the first quarter and make its guide feature, currently a grid with thousands of entries, more personalized.

"There's a big opportunity to personalize it and highlight shows you typically watch and what your friends are watching in addition to show trends," GetGlue public relations manager Claire Gendel wrote in an email. "As people check-in and watch the show there is an opportunity for additional bite size content such as video, images, etc. Since GetGlue already provides conversations on the second screen, additional content is a natural extension to further the user engagement."

(maketecheasier.com)

BIG BITES. Big Apps winner MyCityWay partners with NYC app Bitehunter. "No other app helps you navigate a city like a true local than MyCityWay and now... the apps make it possible to roam and find a great meal for cheap. Users can share tips on activities, hot spots and restaurants with each other, as well as create 'best of' lists to share with users and, as of today, foodies can find the top local deals for each market thanks to BiteHunter’s thousands of sources."

GEORGIA STARTUPS. OnWednesday, January 18th, Union Square Ventures will host the first Flashpoint Demo Day. Flashpoint is a three-month accelerator program based at Georgia Tech; 17 startups will demo.

ONLY IN THE ALLEY. The 12-startup calendar, from SNAP Interactive and Hotlist, has been released and the syndicate will ring the opening bell at the NASDAQ on December 28.

CHRIS CLINGLE. "Clingle launched a new feature that ‘merries’ social, tech and the holidays to let you gift conveniently and thoughtfully right from your smartphone.

Here’s how Clingle Gifts work:

1. Download the Clingle App (available for iPhone and Android)
2. Select a friend on the Clingle platform or through Facebook.
3. Choose a gift from a choice of 40+ brand partners, powered by iStash, including Zappos, Barnes and Noble, SpaFinder, Wine.com and Travelocity.
4. Pay securely by credit card and attach a video or audio message to send to friends."

HOLIDAY LARGESSE. "For each new group created on our special Happy Holidays page or in the Featured tab on your GroupMe app between now and New Year’s Day, we’ll donate $1 to the Food Bank For New York City, for up to 2,000 groups.  For every $1 donated 5 meals can be provided to New Yorkers in need."

GET UPDATES. "GetGlue rolled out major updates to its iPhone app and website... These updates will enable users to be introduced to new content based on their check-ins and connect them to other fans who like the same type of content." The features include redesigned profiles, different UX for real time chat, a more visual stream, and a Guides tab to help users find stuff to watch.

APP LAUNCH. Pocket Card Greetings is made in NYC. "The latest is an iOS app perfect for the holidays--it lets you send virtual greeting cards to your friends and loved ones.  The front of the card is a Christmas/NewYears/Holiday message and the back of the card is a 30 second video message."

DEADLINES: Peter Thiel cradle-robbing fellowship: Dec. 31. Rockstart Accelerator Amsterdam, Jan. 6. FinTech Innovation Lab, Jan. 18. TechStars NYC, early deadline Jan. 10, final deadline Jan. 23. NYC Big Apps Awards, Jan 25.

JOBS. Spotify looking for head of communications. SignPost needs a product manager. P2PU is looking for a Django developer. Lot18 needs a junior operations associate. Loosecubes needs an office manager. Producteev is looking for a social media manager (intern).

Fitocracy goes mobile.

FITOCRACY MOBILE. "After what seems like an eternity, we've finally released the very first version of our mobile web app. That's right, you can now log your workouts on the go if you have an iPhone or an Android phone!"

INCUBATE ME. Blueprint Health recently closed its fund and opened for applications.  "The program will be launching on Jan 9, 2012 with an application deadline of November 13."

FACE ME. Facebook is hiring in New York. Via Inside Startups, the company is seeking a "Strategic Partner Development, Media" with "high levels of creativity and strategic thinking, extensive experience in the media industry, eight-or-more years experience, including 5 years of related partner or partner facing experience, a proven track record of initiating and successfully driving new business opportunities, exceptional communication and presentation skills."

NEW MUSIC. Exfm is about to release its next major version, due out this afternoon. Look for a "push play music experiences available at ex.fm, new extensions for Firefox and Safari, plus a completely revamped one for Chrome" as well as a new embeddable site player for music blogs.

NEW GILT CITY. "Gilt City is excited to announce that we have acquired Joe Bastianich and Jeff Zalaznick’s upscale private dining booking engine, DinePrivate.com. Gilt City’s acquisition of DinePrivate.com will allow members access to over 90 of New York’s top private dining accommodations in restaurants such as Del Posto, Bluefin, Megu, Marc Forgione and Da Silvano."

USERS. "ONE MILLION. That’s how many subscribers have signed up for FanBridge’s Social Digest in just 24 hours. I wanted to reach out again with this update, as it means that Social Digest has established itself as a new, viable revenue channel for FanBridge, especially since they control 4 advertising and partner inventories in the digests, and are now opening the doors, at scale, for advertisers looking to get in."

BINDING. "DIRECTV and GetGlue have partnered together to create a first for the TV industry: people can now share what they are watching with their friends, right through their TV screen. Additionally, GetGlue’s enhanced iPhone app now automatically detects and pairs with DIRECTV customers’ set-top boxes, allowing one-tap check-ins.  The integration enables DIRECTV and GetGlue customers in the U.S. to use their remote control to check-in to their favorite TV show, view the feed of their friends’ check-ins and easily change channels to see the shows their friends are watching, automatically detect what they’re watching on DIRECTV with their iPhone, check-in on GetGlue via DIRECTV’s iPad app."

HOPSTOP GETS A PATENT. The New York-based startup is going to need a patent arsenal to compete with its big cousin Google. "The United States Patent and Trademark Office has awarded the company a patent for its popular location-based service that provides door-to-door mass transit and walking directions. The patent touches on major trends in mobile applications and local navigation."

F&*$ YOU, PAY ME. New Jersey baby startup Takeoff Video is taking off. "We’re turning Takeoff into a paid product," the company writes on the eve of the close of its free beta. "This will allow us to continue our service, feed our families, and ensure Takeoff is the best it can be for years to come. We’ve got great plans in the near future including custom skinning (aka white labeling), native mobile apps, public sharing, editing program integration, and much more!"

NYU STARTUP WEEK. Started Monday. You can still catch "How to Get a Job at a Startup" with Union Square Ventures and others, and "Designers as Entrepreneurs" with Khoi Vinh.

"The last thing you want is some variant on an old AOL chatroom, with tens of thousands of people talking about a program at the same time," says GetGlue COO Fraser Kelton. "What we're seeing is a burst of activity at the start of each program. The way we interpret that is, checking in to GetGlue has become part of the ritual of settling in to watch TV."

As the network of users has grown, the amount of activity spilling over onto the big social services, Facebook and Twitter, has grown. "Users used to share about a quarter of their GetGlue check ins with these other sites, and that has grown in recent months to around 40 percent."

GetGlue is now seeing an average of one check in per second and as much as ten per second during prime time. Along with the million user milestone, the service now claims 100 million data points, with 500,000 added per day. In the first quarter of 2011, GetGlue saw as many check ins as they did in all of 2010.

Over time this kind of information will become very valuable to advertisers and studios looking to learn about consumers viewing behavior. "There’s no question that the real-time conversations around TV shows on social networks — the virtual water cooler, if you will — enhance engagement and drive on-air ratings," Lisa Hsia, a senior VP at Bravo Digital Media, recently told Mashable.