Wilkinson and Pugh

For a long time, web video platforms didn't treat viewing the same way as traditional TV. Each clip was an autonomous unit. Maybe users got a few recommendations after they finished watching a video, but there was no sense of a continuous curated stream of entertainment like there is while watching network TV.

VHX, which launched today, is looking to use your social network to program your web video watching. Users open the service up to their contacts on Gmail, Facebook and Twitter, then get a dashboard of videos pulled from the friends they are following.

These videos are being plucked from all over the web using a simple dashboard widget, making the overall experience akin to Tumblr;  grab, share and follow.

The venture is the creation of Casey Pugh and Jamie Wilkinson. Mr. Pugh was a senior app developer at Vimeo and then ran web development for Boxee. Mr. Wilkinson was co-creator of Know Your Meme, taught the 'internet famous' class at Parsons and shared an Emmy with Mr. Pugh for Star Wars Uncut.

"We're really stoked to take the curation features to the next level with mixtape-esque playlists," said Mr. Wilkinson. "That way I can finally make an entire show of kids jumping off sheds."

The big boys in web video are exploring the curated playlist turf as well. Youtube is looking to compete with big TV networks by pouring $100 million into a series of channels of professionally produced programming. It was why Google acquired local video start-up Next New Networks. On a local level, TechStars start-up Shelby.TV similarly creates a web channel of videos shared in users' social networks.

"We're much more flexible, work faster, and care more about the "small-time" curators out there," Mr. Wilkinson said. "The people YouTube are going to ignore."

Have a crappy Monday? At least you didn't fall down the glass stairs at the Apple Store in Soho. "It was 3 p.m., and I was waiting for the Genius Bar appointment," one entrepreneur, mortified, IMed Betabeat from the scene. "It was like a 40-something dude, well dressed, tye-dye jeans, like very stylish Euro. And it was a loud thud and people looked down, and a staff member helped him." (These are some crazy stairs with beguiling effects on walkers. 'I remember the first time I walked up those glass stairs, I felt as if I were floating into Mac-heaven,' one MacRumors forum member wrote.) The fall started on the landing so it was about seven stairs, the source estimates--"Like kind of a lot." And of course, the store was packed. We called the Apple Store to ask if such slips are common and a bewildered, off-guard employee assured us they are not. Also, they are still out of iPads.

Networking overload: You know how Adam Neary, CEO of Profitab.ly, wrote that blog post loving up on General Assembly and how it basically got them funding? Well, we heard his tech lead fucking hates it there.

Vindication: Betabeat reported last week that Know Your Meme would be bought by a media start-up. Now we know who: It's the Cheez. Know Your Meme founder Andrew Baron blagged up a post once the news leaked to let everyone know that he got lots of money for the company--a "super seven figure deal" as opposed to the "low-seven figure deal" that was reported--had plenty of options, asked his staff and they were all totally into it, and that there's a new start-up in Memetown.

Blind funds: Tip top secret rumor here! What London-based early and later-stage VC firm is opening up a shop in New York? Betabeat couldn't confirm on the record, but someone from the firm told a developer at South By Southwest and that developer told someone who told Betabeat but nobody knows what we're talking about! "London is such a weird beast from a tech standpoint," one blogger told Betabeat. "There's sort of one track of tech there that's 'let's copy this successful U.S. startup for the EU market' and then there are these really interesting leading-edge mobile thinkers, and then the money guys seem like a third, unrelated group." Maybe that's why nobody's ever heard of them.

Founders, beware: What New York tech goliath is rumored to have nixed a ready-to-close deal with a vaguely-similar David some weeks ago? Sources and passive-aggressive tweets suggest a certain hipster CEO has the power to single-emailedly quash the decisions of one of its investors, who supposedly figured the companies were like not competitive or whatever and waited until the last minute to check with the rest of the portfolio. When he finally did--oops--the deal became no deal. Drama was refreshed last week when a VC from the firm blogged about its lofty morals in the area of noncompetitive investments and the sacredness of relationships. Virtual group hugs ensued among the portfolio.

Adam Neary's tell-all blog post about Profitably's exhausting quest for funding made a big splash this week in the normally hypersensitive climate of the New York start-up scene. Founders and VCs have been muttering, speculating to Betabeat that the post was unwisely frank, especially in its discussion of the institutional New York Angels. Will our hero suffer a backlash?

Zach Greenberger, the New York developer behind the fastest-growing Facebook application in January, Profile Banner, was recently the victim of a Hong Kong-based Facebook app syndicate.Profile Banner had more than a million users 12 days after launch when Facebook inexplicably shut it down. The black hat MiniMax swept in with an application of the same exact name and content scraped from the original Profile Banner. "It sounds like they often copy successful applications and take their names," Mr. Greenberger told Betabeat. "It was suggested that they might have been responsible for getting me shut down by filing fake complaints against me. But I have no proof of that. And the more distance I get from the incident, I'm more inclined to believe it was bad luck. I've heard from other sources that Facebook has automated systems in place to detect applications that are growing 'too fast.'" But the story has a happy ending. Facebook tossed the imposters and Mr. Greenberger is back on top with more than three million users and a new app, Top Friend Photos.

Blind item!: We're hearing that a certain media start-up is in talks to buy Know Your Meme. "I haven't heard the price, but whatever it is, I'm sure it's lower than those guys are worth," a source told Betabeat. "I know that everyone's happy to see them break free of Andrew Baron."

What a tease!: Now that they've got the cash money, Forrst is announcing something big next week! "We're about to do something pretty awesome but that's all I can say," Kyle Bragger said when Betabeat harassed him about it. Mr. Bragger did not give in to the temptation to squeal, but was too excited to keep totally mum--he sent these three images from Google as hints. "But it's not what you think!" he said. Okay, so it's not a daily deal site for drug lords? We're stumped!

Obtuse item!: It's rumored that the titillating slogan "money, power and the city" may soon be up for grabs, if any start-ups out there are scouting for a tagline. (Business Insider? Hashable?)