Bix (website)
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Online competitions, Entertainment |
| Founded | February 2006 |
| Fate | Acquired by Yahoo! |
| Headquarters | Sunnyvale, California , United States |
| Parent | Yahoo! |
Bix was an online platform specializing in competitions, providing users with tools to independently create contests where participants could submit entries and cast votes. Established in February 2006, the company received venture capital backing from Trinity Ventures and Sutter Hill Ventures.
History
Bix debuted in July 2006, introducing a web-based video recorder that allowed users to compile their karaoke performances into contest submissions. The service earned acclaim from technology commentators such as Walt Mossberg of the WSJ. Shortly after launch, Bix broadened its offerings to incorporate contests featuring audio karaoke, videos, photographs, and text entries. In November 2006, the platform implemented a faceoff-style voting mechanism, which significantly increased daily voting activity from 5,000 to 150,000 votes and eventually peaked at approximately 1 million votes per day in 2007. On average, users participated by casting around 25 votes during each session.
Among Bix's competitors were Singshot (now defunct) and Worth1000.
Yahoo! acquisition
On November 16, 2006, Yahoo! acquired Bix and subsequently moved the team to Yahoo’s Sunnyvale headquarters by March 2007. The platform monetized through corporate-sponsored contests for notable clients including Extra (TV series), Black Entertainment Television, rapper The Game, Capitol Records, and Electronic Arts.
Yahoo discontinued Bix on June 30, 2009.
Patents for Bix
- Automated Reward Management for Network-Based Contests
- Network Based Content Creation
- Automated Administration of Networked-Based Contests
Further reading
- Automata, Languages and Programming. pp. 339–.
- Bruno, Antony (August 2009). "Check the Mic". Billboard.