Yahoo acquires contest website Bix.com

By Amy Dry, Brand Republic 17-Nov-06, 12:00

NEW YORK - Yahoo has bolstered its social media offering with the purchase of Bix.com, a site where users can arrange contests to rate other people's creative talents.

The website provides users with the chance to judge participants on their abilities in activities such as karaoke, dance, photography, writing, beauty and comedy contests.

Co-founded by Mike Speiser, Bix is part of a growing trend for internet service providers to capture a share in the booming world of user-generated content websites.

It is the latest in a string of social media sites acquired by Yahoo!, including online video-sharing and editing website Jumpcut, Flickr and Del.icio.us.

Last month, Yahoo!'s quarterly results revealed a 38% decline in profits to $155m (£83m), despite a 20% growth in revenues.

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