Plain Spleak-ing: What's Next After Hearst Deal?

(MoneyWatch)  Yesterday we analyzed the partnership between the giant Hearst Corp. and pipsqueak, Spleak. Today, I asked Spleak's CEO, Morrie Eisenberg to explain his product, which is part chat-bot, part web-widget, and a mashup tool for professional media content and user generated content to co-exist semi-peacefully.

"Spleak is really a content distribution platform in that it interconnects different networks," Eisenberg explained. "User generated content and professional content sit side by side in the same pipes."

Although its widget is available on Facebook and MySpace, most users add the bot as a friend on their IM channels, in order to exchange celebrity gossip. CelebSpleak, the first user community organized by the company, attracts young users interested in those people whose faces stare out at you from magazine covers at every grocery store checkout lane.

"Kids love to IM before they go to bed," says Eisenberg. "After school, they're on IM the rest of the evening. IM and text messaging is also very popular at school. Some kids do their homework this way."

The bulk of Spleak's user base to date is in the U.S., but it also has a sizable community in the U.K. "Probably our peak usage time is mid-day in the States, when it's evening in the U.K." Eisenberg notes. "We're getting both groups online at the same time."

Spleak, like many applications, depends on a ratings system. If users react to a particular piece of content with LOL or Wow, it will rise in the system. If users label it as mediocre or as Spam, it'll sink out of view. With an estimated daily user base of 100,000, the best stuff rises to the top.

But, how to make sure the top content stays fresh? Spleak's geeks reduce an item's rating significantly as it ages. "That's the math behind all this," says Eisenberg. "It's fighting against time."

No money exchanged hands in the Hearst deal. Chris Johnson, VP, content & business development for Hearst Magazines Digital Media, stated:

"Our partnership with Spleak fits neatly into our strategy for teens. Our business is built on creating award-winning content, and distributing it where consumers are most likely to want or need it. With Spleak, we're taking original digital content and distributing it through Spleak's network -- which gives users a reason to grab the CelebSpleak widget. And if they like what they see, they'll find their way back into our sites for more."

Johnson added that "(t)he deal came together relatively quickly, over the course of several weeks, once we fully defined a concept that benefitted both Spleak and its audience, and Hearst Magazines Digital Media and visitors to CosmoGirl.com, Seventeen.com and Teenmag.com."

I asked Eisenberg what's next for Spleak. "When you've knocked down one big media partner (Hearst), you'll get others. Our next play will be SportsSpleak. Then there will be others."

Spleak's A-round financing came from the VC firms Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Sunstone Capital.
Thanks to David Speiser and Andrew M. Palladino for help on this piece.