That was very quick: Bix.com, which just launched its service in August, is being bought by Yahoo. Bix.com allows users and advertisers to create, enter into and judge online contests. The startup raised about $6.78 million in funding, with investment from Sutter Hill Ventures, Trinity Ventures and Stanford University. Bix founder and CEO Mike Speiser previously founded Epinions. He will become VP for community at Yahoo.
Besides the user-driven contests, here’s where the real value probably lies for Yahoo, as the NYT story explains: Some advertisers are using the site to reach potential customers. Six Flags, for instance, has created a contest on Bix.com called the Great American Scream-Off, in which participants upload videos of themselves screaming for prizes including free passes.
Yahoo said it planned to keep Bix.com as a stand-alone site and also to integrate it with some of its other social media properties, which include Yahoo Groups, Yahoo 360 and Flickr.
Walt Mossberg reviewed the site, also in August, if you are interested.