Webware Radar: FirstString launches social network for athletes
Also: FetchDog raises $4 million in a round of funding; Pollsb secures its own round of financing for $1.3 million; and InterCall has partnered with Huddle for conference calls.
An online social network for high school athletes launched Wednesday. Dubbed FirstString, the service connects athletes in the same conference and division, providing them with access to competitors' rosters, opponents, and schedules. According to the company, its network will allow users to post photos, videos, and awards, while providing them with tools to converse and stay up to date on player stats.
Each athlete profile is viewable by all teammates, approved friends, and opponents. It includes personal details, along with stats, team information, and a comment board. The site itself features a sportscasting function, which constantly updates users about game outcomes, as well as a highlight reel of photos and videos uploaded by teams or players. The network is live now and ready for teams and players to start using the service.
FetchDog.com, a site that sells dog gear and provides articles on man's best friend, announced Wednesday that it has closed a $4 million round of funding led by Borealis Capital Partners and Harbor Light Capital Partners. The company will use the funding to "develop new content, entertainment and philanthropic initiatives." It also plans to expand its executive team and announced that it has hired former Ziff-Davis Media executive Claude P. Sheer to help the company "rapidly increase its scaling efforts."
Pollsb, a company that provides polling tools to help you learn about yourself, announced Wednesday that it secured $1.3 million in a series A round of funding led by Tamir Fishman Ventures. The company's executives hope to use the funding to continue the site's evolution to one that "deals with the user and their identity."
InterCall, the world's largest conferencing provider, plans on giving all of its customers an account with social collaboration service Huddle, reports TechCrunch. According to the report, InterCall customers will be able to schedule meetings with Huddle and share dial-in information through the service. InterCall users should have Huddle accounts soon.