Miso Social TV Platform Gets Seed Funding, New Web Version

Bazaar Labs, the company behind the Miso social TV iPhone/iPod touch app (note: Internet programming service, Revision3, recently announced that it would use the app to drive awareness of and tune-ins to its programs--see the article published on itvt.com, May 10th), says that it has secured seed financing from a group of investors that includes Keith Rabois and Jawed Karim, and ex-Googlers, Georges Harik, Richard Chen, Thomas Korte, Kurt Abrahamson and others (note: Rabois will also join the company's advisory team, drawing on what Bazaar Labs says is his "extensive social and consumer Internet experience from his work at Slide, LinkedIn and PayPal"). The company says that it will use the new funding to expand its platform--which it alpha-launched just two months ago, and which it describes as "Foursquare for TV"--in order to expand to more platforms, provide "richer experiences" and "create a magical second screen experience."

Bazaar Labs has also now launched a Web version of Miso, GoMiso.com. According to the company, the site allows users to check-in and share what they are watching, via Facebook and Twitter; unlock badges for checking into their favorite movies and TV shows; search and browse shows and see who else has checked in; and view their Miso check-in history, including the shows they have watched, the badges they have launched, and more.

(Note: At the TechCrunch Disrupt event, Monday, Comcast unveiled a social TV service, called Tunerfish, that appears to be very similar in concept to Miso--for more on that service, see the article published on itvt.com, May 25th.)