IAC Plans Wave of Web Startups

Sick of Groupon knockoffs yet?

(NEWSER) - Sure, maybe the little kid down the block just happened to think of setting up a, um, limeade stand right after you started hawking lemonade, but in the real-life world of startups the consequences are somewhat more serious—and annoying. Business Insider runs down the seven moldiest startup trends out there right now:

• Daily deals: The field is clogged, and Groupon and Living Social have clearly won. No room at the inn.

Match.com pays $50M for its free-service rival

(NEWSER) - Match.com has bought rival OkCupid for $50 million, consolidating its hold on the online dating market, Mashable reports. The acquisition provides Match.com—a high-end service that charges its 5.8 million users—with access to lots of new customers. OkCupid is a mostly free site with 3.5 million users. No word yet on whether the pay models will change, notes Time . More»

IAC cuts ties with Liberty Media

(NEWSER) - Barry Diller stepped down as CEO of his IAC media empire today, but he will stay on as chairman, he announced in a press release. Greg Blatt, former CEO of Match.com, replaces Diller; Diller will retain the largest voting share in the company, which he can increase from 34% to 41% of the votes of IAC's shares over the next nine months. IAC is also cutting ties with Liberty Media after an often-contentious history: Liberty will dump its 60% stake in IAC in exchange for Evite.com, Gifts.com, and $220 million, Deadline reports. More»

(NEWSER) - A Silicon Valley couple has forsaken a traditional wedding registry for venture capital, Gawker reports. “The World's First Start-up Wedding Registry” doesn’t ask guests for appliances or candlesticks; instead, they can give enough to “feed an outsourced engineer for a day” or pay a month’s worth of utilities for the couple’s startup, Aboomba. What better gift than a slim shot at Internet superwealth? More»

Will head new company created with Barry Diller

(NEWSER) - Ben Silverman is leaving NBC Entertainment and hitting the Internet, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The division's co-chair—who may have jumped and may have been pushed—will partner with Barry Diller and IAC to create “a next generation enterprise that bridges the gap between traditional television and the Internet,” Diller announced today. Silverman is already in talks to get Ryan Seacrest involved, TMZ reports. More»