I was in the showroom Sunday and you helped me pick out some spectacular frames. Just wanted to say thanks for the confidence boost. As I was leaving I told you that your own glasses are amazing. I should've mentioned your brilliant smile, too. Still thinking of it. :)

Here's to hoping this girl isn't creeped out by Internet strangers.

Peas in a pod Start-Ups: Silicon Valley star and "lifecaster" Sarah Austin snapped this pic of her and a friend hanging out with everyone's favorite early-aughts celebrity, Paris Hilton. The trio were partying at Sundance in Park City, Utah. Don't they look like a match made in heaven?

(Photo: Facebook)

Fight fight fight Sounds like GroupMe cofounder Steve Martocci recently tangled with that most reviled of New York institutions: Time Warner Cable. Seems a phone call to customer service got a tad heated. “‘If we had choice in NY we would NOT CHOOSE YOU...I urge the city of New York to change laws & eliminate your broken system’ -@smart to @TWC” tweeted Poptip founder Kelsey Falter.

Could this be another sign of techies ready to flex newfound political muscle? It seems not quite. In the @replies, Mr. Martocci admitted that he was “so so mad, figured there was some law holding back choice, either way, this just fucking sucks.” It's true that cable providers are probably the leading cause of inchoate rage in the five boroughs. And sadly, the traditional recourse seems to be out of Mr. Martocci’s reach: “my building was built in 1897, never getting fios.” Damn those historic homes!

Moving day Midtown no more: We hear that the Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator has picked up stakes, relocating from the Times Square area to the far hipper environs of the Flatiron district. The current class of 10 companies (plus several alums) is now ensconced in a spacious 10,000 feet in Chelsea, with FIT as a neighbor. It comes complete with ping-pong table, kegerator-equipped kitchen, and a “videogame cave.” Party at ERA’s house?

Cozy!

Inquiring minds want to know If there’s one thing that unites denizens of both the Alley and the Valley, it’s frustration at the extent to which the rent is too damn high. But relief may very well be on the way! “Is it rude to ask if/when the Series A bottleneck/whatnot will produce cheaper rents in SF?” asks Techmeme founder Gabe Rivera. Hope springs eternal, we suppose.

Hey ladies Are you a hacker? Are you a lady? Have we got a Technologist thinker Gabriella Coleman tweets, “Lady hackers, especially with a political bent, Cosmo is wanting to write a story on hacker/hactivistas, Interested?” Boy oh boy, the Hacker News thread about this is going to be one for the ages.

Annals of awkward What's more "insufferable and obnoxious and annoying" than a venture firm producing a glossy music video mash-up of "Call Me Maybe" and "Gangnam Style"? For one thing, said venture firm producing a "making of" video about the mash-up, and embedding it in their annual report. So tell us, Josh Kopelman, about doing your own stunts—did your tush get toasted when the fireworks went off? "I couldn't feel anything," the First Round Capital partner said. "I just felt humiliated."

You and us both.

I'll Take Stingy for $5, Alex

Hacks/Hackers has a very welcoming attendance policy and routinely waives fees for students so that no one gets shut out. But if your portfolio's aggregate revenue teeters up into the billions, just pry your hands off the fiver, dude.

App Maker, App Maker, Build Me an App "Did you know Spotify only has 53 apps?" a tipster wrote in Betabeat earlier this week. We had not. But considering how quickly third-party apps helped grow sites like Twitter and Facebook, it didn't seem like a good sign. That might be why the tipster reported that Spotify is asking big publishers to help them get saturation. Perhaps the meetings went well. At last count, Spotify's app store is now up to 57.

Scobleized After that phreakin Pheed Forbes piece was passed around, prolific blogger and "technology evangelist" Robert Scoble decided it was time to sign himself up for the new social network, which has gained popularity with celebs like Miley Cyrus and Paris Hilton and purports to rival Twitter. "Great, another social network. Yes I Pheed," he tweeted, almost like a humblebrag, along with a link to his Pheed feed. But the new site didn't seem to live up to the Scobleizer's exacting standards. "I am on Pheed but so far I prefer Facebook," he wrote on his Pheed. " Personally it is Twitter's fault that this was born. Twitter refuses to innovate. Lists, there, suck, for instance. It is why I moved much of my time to Facebook. Anyway, now I can say I Pheed too!"

Power tweeter and Radar writer Alex Howard (a.k.a. @digiphile) took Mr. Scoble to task for his impolite introduction. "You came here just to say you prefer other places and that Twitter features 'suck?' Ouch. Wonder how people here will interpret that introduction. :)" Hey, it wouldn't be an early social network if the tech elite weren't arguing on--and about--it.

Thiel Treasure Facebook and Paypal investor Peter Thiel is apparently having investment discussions with Airbnb. If all goes well, a $150 million or so investment from Mr. Thiel would make Airbnb very valuable, to the tune of $2.5 billion. Citing sources familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reports details of the deal are still up in the air, but Airbnb investors Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital are still on board for the second round as well. Now if only we could convince Mr. Thiel to list his mansion on Airbnb...

Sing Me to Sleep Gizmodo blogger Sam Biddle shared an earnest college memory with his devoted Twitter followers. "You're my favorite TV channel, no lie," he tweeted at MTV Jams, a hip hop music video channel from MTV. "I spent a sad amount of time watching MTVJ in my apt. senior year." Perhaps Mr. Biddle should consider becoming a Rap Genius site member?

As always: Overheard a juicy tidbit about impending departures or imminent acquisitions? Dying to dish about startup blunders or frothy financing? Holler at your girls: tips@betabeat.com We've also implemented an anonymous tip box for you covert tipsters out there; you can find it on the top-right corner of our homepage.

Person of interest. (Photo: David Shankbone, via Flickr Creative Commons

Just a couple of weeks ago, the Internet got what it's so clearly needed all along: an, ahem, portal to the universe of smut. Launched September 27, Search.xxx is meant to provide a secure alternative to just Googling your most secret fetish, so you won't get outed the next time someone borrows your laptop.

ICM Registry, the company behind the site, reached out to Betabeat to share a few statistics. Search.xxx received a whopping billion impressions within its first week, as grateful porn connoisseurs and teens stuck using the family computer flocked to the site.

The most searched celebrity, we are told, is Kim Kardashian. Given that she owes much of her fame to a sex tape, we believe this is what's called “coming full circle.” Her name "has seen between 1K and 2K unique searches in just 2 weeks," a spokesperson told Betabeat via email. Also appearing on the famous-lady leaderboard: Paris Hilton, Jenna Jameson, and Kate Middleton. One of these things is not like the other!

Other details: "Blondes" far outstripped "brunettes" in popularity over the same two-week period, with approximately 10,000 searches versus 5,500. (Whether it was actually gentlemen expressing their preferences is anyone's guess.) That old straight-guy standby, "lesbian," was searched around 10,000 times, with "bisexual" coming up a distant second at 7,000, and "gay" bringing up the rear, with 6,400.

Imagine what old Mr. Kinsey would have to say.

Path? That's hot. (flickr.com/pimkie_fotos)

The climate for Internet startups is heating up. Startups are closing rounds faster, getting popular more quickly, scoring higher valuations and getting acquired with increasing greediness. As local luminary and angel investor Chris Dixon notes, the preponderance of hockey stick growth among the top tier of startups is creating a heavy set of expectations that weighs upon the littler startups. These A-list startups are like the impossibly pretty cheerleaders or the improbably studly jocks who discourage the rest of the high school with their sheer existence. They're the "it" startups, and they can do no wrong. In other words: they're hot. 

10. Foursquare—hot like a new club in the Meatpacking District.

9. Facebook—like global warming, hot and inevitable.

8. Path—hot as ice.

7. Branch—hot like a hot-button issue.

6. Tumblr—hot like the tattooed boys and girls on the L train.

5. Dwolla—hot like $5 million burning a hole in your pocket.

4. Codecademy—hot like the fire of your desire to learn code.

3. OMGPOP—hot like the fever of heroin withdrawal.

2. Pinterest—hot like Stacy's mom.

1. Instagram—hot like a steamy black and white shot of Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez.

Who'd we miss?

Paris Hilton with Broadcastr co-founder Scott Lindenbaum.

Broadcastr, the audio social network from the bookish start-up Electric Literature, just inked a deal with Oxygen Media.

Oxygen and Broadcastr plan to inaugurate their partnership with exclusive content on the augmented reality app, narrated by Paris Hilton, as she shares her 10 favorite places around the world with fans of “The World According to Paris.”

The service has been growing steadily since it launched publicly last month. There are now more than 7,000 audio clips mapped on Broadcastr, the company told Betabeat, and 40,000 "active users," unique users who spend five minutes or more on the site.

This deal is huge for Broadcastr, co-founder Scott Lindenbaum told Betabeat last night, because Oxygen will be promoting the service on air.

Oxygen is also working with another New York start-up, sponsoring group texts via GroupMe. Will watchers feel overwhelmed by the social medias?

Disclosure.