Friday, October 8, 2010

GumGum Rolls Out Image Toolbar

Los Angeles-based GumGum, which helps web publishers license celebrity and other photos, has rolled out a new Image Toolbar feature for the firm's service, the firm said today. According to Ophir Tanz, the firm's CEO, the tool allows users to share images with others using Facebook and Twitter, see related images via a search page, and zoom into the firm's photo, among other features.

GumGum allows publishers to use celebrity and other photos, without the usual, high cost of licensing those images from photography agencies, and allows those publishers to share advertising revenues with the owners of those photos. GumGum's photos include clickable ads embedded within those images.

Tanz said that the Toolbar is already running on 450 publisher sites, and that it is seeing around 125 million impressions a month for the toolbar. The toolbar is apparently running on sites such as AskMen.com and a number of Internet Brands properties. GumGum is one of this year's class of Launchpad LA members, and is backed by GRP Partners, First Round Capital, and others.

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