- Among the assets purchased is the CommentsRadar service
- Comments are a primary metric for advertisers leveraging influencer generated content, providing real-time feedback and sentiment on campaign positioning and impacts
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NEW YORK, Feb. 25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --  Ideanomics (NASDAQ: IDEX ) ("Ideanomics" or the "Company"), a global fintech advisory and Platform-as-a-Service company, is pleased to announce it has completed the purchase of various assets of SolidOpinion, Inc., a Delaware corporation. Among the assets purchased is SolidOpinion's CommentsRadar technology and the supporting development team. This is a strategic acquisition intended to be integrated into the Grapevine family. Having an AI delivered comments and profile drawing engine enables Grapevine to index comments made in response to influencer generated content and provides significant data points which can be leveraged by brands and agencies for greater ROI on their advertising campaigns with precision targeting. "We are excited to bring the CommentsRadar product, and its team, into our influencer business unit, Grapevine Logic. CommentsRadar tracks how billions of people engage with stories across different content platforms on the Internet. This product helps to deliver unique insight into the types of content consumed online, what online audiences care about, and what's proven to engage historically," said Alf Poor, Chief Executive Officer of Ideanomics. "That's powerful information that can be leveraged by both Social Media Influencers, as well as the Agencies and Brand Advertisers that partner with them". "We are excited to have our CommentsRadar service recognized by Ideanomics as a leading solution in the marketplace. They were able to demonstrate to us synergies with their Grapevine platform and our features set was compelling enough to Ideanomics that they wanted to acquire the service. We're pleased to have a strong outcome for the product and believe it will help the Grapevine team take their offering to the next level", said Constantine Goltsev, CEO and Founder of SolidOpinion. Comments are one of an advertiser's best way to measure and act on user sentiment. Every commenting platform, communities like Reddit and social media giants such as Youtube and Instagram are indexed with hundreds of top media included. Leading brands and publishers use this unique data to discover, engage, analyze and make smarter business decisions for their advertising campaigns
About SolidOpinion
SolidOpinion is an engagement company. We track, power, and drive engagement. SolidOpinion is a free and simple way to make the most of your site's comment section. We know where people look, what they ignore, who their influencers are, how online reputations are built and why they matter. About Ideanomics
Ideanomics  is a global fintech advisory and Platform-as-a-Service company. Ideanomics combines deal origination and enablement with the application of blockchain and artificial intelligence technologies as part of the next-generation of financial services. The company is headquartered in New York, NY, and has offices in Beijing, China. It also has a planned global center for Technology and Innovation in West Hartford, CT, named Fintech Village . Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains certain statements that may include "forward looking statements". All statements other than statements of historical fact included herein are "forward-looking statements." These forward-looking statements are often identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects" or similar expressions, involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, and include statements regarding our intention to transition our business model to become a next-generation financial technology company, our business strategy and planned product offerings, our intention to phase out our oil trading and consumer electronics businesses, and potential future financial results. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, they do involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties, and these expectations may prove to be incorrect. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of risks and uncertainties, such as risks related to: our ability to continue as a going concern; our ability to raise additional financing to meet our business requirements; the transformation of our business model; fluctuations in our operating results; strain to our personnel management, financial systems and other resources as we grow our business; our ability to attract and retain key employees and senior management; competitive pressure; our international operations; and other risks and uncertainties disclosed under the sections entitled "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our most recent Form 10-K and Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and similar disclosures in subsequent reports filed with the SEC, which are available on the SEC website at www.sec.gov .. All forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these risk factors. Other than as required under the securities laws, the Company does not assume a duty to update these forward-looking statements. Investor Relations and Media Contact 
Tony Sklar, VP of Communications at Ideanomics 
55 Broadway, 19th Floor New York, New York 10006

Ideanomics Solidifies Grapevine Service Solutions With The Acquisition of SolidOpinion

May 10, 2018 09:43
Contextual Ad Unit Establishes New, Premium Display Opportunity for Brands
Seamless Integration, Increased Viewability, High-performing Product Keeps Audiences Top of Mind
NEW YORK, May  10, 2018  (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hearst Newspapers, the publisher of 24 dailies and 64 weeklies reaching more than 44M unique visitors across the U.S., today announced it has selected SolidOpinion’ s pay-per-article advertising platform for its digital properties. The SolidOpinion platform creates new, high-performance inventory that is leveraged for contextual advertising messages by brands. Concurrently, SolidOpinion generates accretive value for publishers by creating a new, premium ad unit, enabling advertisers to target their messaging above headlines of directly relevant articles. “At Hearst Newspapers, we are always looking to diversify our revenue portfolio with new advertising products,” said Fergal Carr, Hearst Newspapers senior vice president of Consumer Product. "We are pleased to work with SolidOpinion on its pay-per-article product and platform across Hearst Newspapers’ major digital desktop and mobile properties.”
“We designed the platform with audiences in mind first,” said Arthur Meyerovich, SolidOpinion co-founder. “We are thrilled to join forces with a publishing group that recognizes and appreciates the role that audiences play in digital publishing.”
See Laurie Sullivan’s article in MediaPost for more on this. About SolidOpinion
SolidOpinion is the leading commenting solution for web publishers worldwide. The company’s core product is a fully customizable discussion platform that generates revenue, traffic, actionable data, and in-depth engagement for publishers. SolidOpionion’s engagement platform is powered by the EGT token, which can be stored in Ethereum (ERC-20) compatible digital wallets. It enables agencies and marketers to manage campaigns simply and seamlessly, with robust targeting and measurement functionality. Launched in 2015, SolidOpinion’s enterprise-scale commenting platform delivers billions of monthly impressions across hundreds of publishers in 14 countries and languages. For more information, please visit: https://solidopinion.com
About Hearst Newspapers
Hearst Newspapers is the operating group responsible for Hearst’s newspapers, local digital marketing services business and directories. With more than 4,000 employees across the nation, Hearst Newspapers publishes 24 dailies and 64 weeklies reaching more than 44 million unique visitors across the U.S. with related mobile websites and digital products. It also operates digital marketing services and directories businesses under the LocalEdge brand. Mark Naples

Hearst Newspapers Partners With SolidOpinion on Pay Per Article Product to Increase Revenue Across its Major Digital Properties

These women provide a breath of refreshing diversity in the constantly evolving internet age and the dawn of Web 3.0. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Blockchain is so hot right now. Coinschedule reported  that 235 ICOs (initial coin offerings) debuted in 2017 alone. But do you really understand how the multiple Blockchain variations at play in today’s landscape work? An founding document behind the technology, Satoshi Nakamoto’s 2008 paper , contains sophisticated mathematical proofs that are probably incomprehensible to the average bitcoin buyer, never mind the general public. That's why it's vital to find industry influencers who truly understand what they’re talking about. This means people who'll help you sort out Blockchain, even if you're lacking a Ph.D. in math or experience at writing code. The influencers I'm about to suggest to help you with this sorting out are all female -- with a reason. And that reason is that I find it so refreshing to see so many women jumping into the Blockchain universe, given the barriers to women in tech overall. This helps creates diversity (welcome!) in that space and reassures all interested parties that the future of the internet will have more to offer than the traditional Silicon Valley archetype. So, here are nine influencers I follow -- again, all women -- who have helped me understand Blockchain's unique aspects, its trends' future and the current state of cryptocurrency. They may do the same for you. 1. Christa Freeland , director of Partnerships, Nano Vision: This revolutionary healthcare startup uses microchips, cryptocurrency and AI to gather and analyze healthcare research data. Freeland has built key partnerships for the company's Blockchain and data platforms. She’s also a notable entrepreneur in her own right, having founded Switch Cowork, a platform that facilitates shared coworking spaces. Currently, she also serves as managing director of Powershift Group, a company that founds, funds and scales promising tech startups. 2. Elena Knysh,  VP of Sales, SolidOpinion. This ICO company uses Blockchain cryptocurrency to incentivize quality customer engagement and allow content-smart ad placement by advertisers. SolidOpinion’s clients include the Chicago Tribune, the Baltimore Sun and Spil Games. Reading this  white paper  from SolidOpinion provides a great look into the ad space and how Blockchain will play a major role. 3. Anna Irrera , fintech correspondent, Reuters. She's an experienced financial reporter with a close understanding of the Blockchain economy. Her articles consistently deliver breaking news and astute analysis. 4. Tamara McCleary , expert on marketing, branding and Blockchain. McCleary is the founder of Thulium, a hugely successful financial and technology branding firm. She was named one of Onalytica’s top 50 Blockchain influencers . 5. Elizabeth Stark , co-founder and CEO, Lightning. This company is responsible for a decentralized, scalable and fast system of Blockchain-based financial transactions. A former professor at Yale and Stanford, Stark anticipated,  in an article published on Coin Telegraph , that the further decentralization of the Blockchain system is inevitable. 6. Meltem Demirors,  director of development at blockchain advisory firm Digital Currency Group. Demirors manages a portfolio of 100 companies. She is also a Blockchain and technology lecturer at the MIT Media Lab and at the University of Oxford. 7. Diana Biggs , twice named one of the UK's top 25 fintech Influencers by CityAM . CityAM is London's first free daily newspaper. Biggs currently serves as industry engagement advisor for the University College London’s Centre for Blockchain Technologies and as HSBC’s head of business model innovation for the U.K. and Europe. 8. Neha Narula , director, the Digital Currency Initiative at the MIT Media Lab. Narula leads the Lab's research on new digital currency and Blockchain applications. She’s delivered a Ted talk on “ The Future of Money ," and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Blockchain 2016-2017. 9. Imogen Heap , Grammy-winning British artist. She’s the founder of artist and musician collective Mycelia, a group that explores how Blockchain technology can be used to disrupt the music economy ecosystem and ensures fair pay for artists. She practices what she preaches, having released her album, Tiny Human, on the blockchain Ethereum in 2015.

9 Blockchain Influencers for You to Follow -- Who All Happen to Be Female

Cryptocurrency to battle election fraud? De-corrupt charities? Make the world greener? Who knew? Now, more than ever before is a time to be thinking about cryptocurrencies. Over the past few years, cryptocurrency has grown exponentially because of its attractiveness to people looking to use this alternative money. Bitcoin, the best known of the new cryptocurrencies, is one of those words surrounded by automatic buzz, in part because everyone's so excited about its potential. And it's no surprise that cryptocurrencies are exciting, overall. Because they're decentralized (no banks! ), anonymous and electric, they've got the potential to change the world as we know it. Interestingly, that change will extend beyond the finance sector: Cryptocurrency, it turns out, has a huge number of uses, many of which will surprise you. Just take a look at these ten:
1. Wealth management
Wealth management is one of the most exciting ways cryptocurrency can be used. That's why companies such as SwissBorg -- a company that's created its own tokens for investment solutions -- are giving investors some great opportunities to manage their wealth without boundaries or restrictions. According to the SwissBorg website, "Whether you are an individual, a DAO [decentralized autonomous organization] or a financial expert, SwissBorg is a democratic ecosystem where you can manage a portfolio of crypto assets." 2. Digital publishing engagement
Digital publishers and advertisers are scrambling to find ways to increase their relevancy with one another. Today, traditional banner ads that have almost nothing to do with an article are simply ineffective with users. To fix the irrelevance problem, SolidOpinion has introduced a new type of pay-per-article advertising where advertisers can pay for valuable ad real estate just above a relevant article that a target audience member is consuming on a publishing site. This technology utilizes a proprietary form of cryptocurrency, Engagement Token , to fuel engagement; both publishers and audience members can earn tokens by commenting and publishing original content, and advertisers buy tokens to select their ad placements among relevant articles. A great cryptocurrency is the ability to take advantage of its trackability. So with advertising, this technology makes sense: SolidOpinion , for example, has created its own digital currency (engagement tokens) that track engagement and the viral spread of information, which gets online advertisers the information they need and the capability to use it efficiently. 3. Ethical business practices
Cryptocurrency can also be used to encourage ethical business practices. Because blockchain makes it possible to track every transaction with complete transparency, businesses with a record of human rights abuses -- the fishing industry, for instance, -- will (hopefully) take on more ethical business practices. 4. Battling electoral fraud
Another ethical application of cryptocurrency will be its ability to help battle electoral fraud. Santiago Siri is the co-founder of Democracy Earth, a non-profit that's designing an app to combine voting with blockchain technology. Siri says that with cryptocurrency, electoral fraud -- or any other kind of corruption involving money -- will no longer be possible. "The blockchain is incorruptible; no one can modify or subvert how the votes are stored, and that's vital for democracy," Siri has said. 5. De-corrupting charities
Additionally, cryptocurrency can be used to avoid corruption in charitable organizations. Because of its ability to keep companies accountable, blockchain can eliminate many problems occurring with charities, such as fund leaks. That's why the World Food Programme (WFP) is using blockchain to securely distribute cash assistance to the hungry. 6. Going green
If you're an environmentalist, you'll be happy to hear that cryptocurrency can be used to make the world greener, too. For example, there's the Brooklyn Microgrid . With this system, people who already have solar panels are able to sell environmental credits through a phone app, to residents who don't have direct access -- which means using less carbon-based power and more solar-based energy. 7.Travel
As Bitcoin becomes accepted by more and more retailers, people are going to have the chance to use them for a huge number of transactions. Travel transactions are just one category. The website cheapair.com , a travel agency where you can purchase flights, hotels, car rentals and cruises, has been accepting Bitcoin since 2013. 8. Education
More and more, schools are accepting cryptocurrencies as a form of payment. According to Futurism.com , universities in Switzerland, Germany, Cyprus and the United States have started to accept Bitcoin as payment. This form of payment will surely grow as this currency becomes more and more popular. 9. Fund-raising
Many startups are now using cryptocurrencies in order to fund their ideas, services and products. Instead of using traditional VC funding, or using fund-raising websites such as IndieGoGo or Kickstarter , startup leaders are looking to cryptocurrency as a way to raise money for what they need. Because it's easy to track and obtain money this way, it's revolutionizing the entire fund-raising process. 10. Augmented reality
I saved the best for last as I have a slight bias because of my company Blendar , which rewards users for viewing AR experiences with cryptocurrency. Thanks to the Pokemon Go craze and companies like Candy Lab , which have paved the way for location-based AR, a whole new breed of startups has evolved. Location-based augmented reality experiences will be the future of experiential marketing. And here, Fluffr.io , is another company to keep your eyes open for, as it has partnered with Blendar and Candy Lab to drive revolutionary in-person experiences, using a social currency based on the blockchain. As you can see, there are plenty of ways that cryptocurrency is changing every single aspect of our lives. As cryptocurrencies gain popularity in the business world and in our daily lives, more and more uses will come about, revolutionizing the world as we know it.

10 Incredible Uses for Cryptocurrency and Blockchain You Probably Haven't Thought of

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The ICO craze is peaking. As of November 8th, 2017, 203 projects raised a total of $3.25 billion through initial coin offerings. However, only 1 in 10  tokens are being used following the ICO. Although the awareness for the token market is on the rise, the slew of companies who have promoted these sales, and subsequently struggled to successfully implement their coins, is causing investors to take pause and question the long-term value of these new coin-based initiatives. It’s not just investors who are raising their eyebrows at the bevvy of new organizations pitching pre-sale ICOs and revolutionary technologies. A recent Bloomberg article titled, Dear Publicists: Stop Spamming My Inbox With Crazy ICO Pitches , tells you a lot you need to know about the shifting attitudes towards ICOs. What was intriguing a few months ago has grown somewhat tiresome because many initiatives are failing to live up to their own hype following their coin offerings. As is the case with most buzzworthy trends, once the dust settles on the initial excitement, people start to ask “but is it really worth it?” Many of these burgeoning organizations are introducing new tokens into the cryptocurrency market with little more to show for them than whitepapers. Constantine Goltsev, CEO of SolidOpinion expounded on the current state of ICOs, and offered these four points on how organizations can overcome these challenges:
Projects needing their own blockchain
While most new tokens are being created on the Ethereum , this does not necessarily mean that this blockchain is a viable long-term option for every project seeking funding through an ICO. As an open source, public blockchain, Ethereum is still evolving and might not necessarily support the plans laid out by current whitepapers. Entries on Ethereum’s blockchain are also subject to fees and time dependencies outside of the control of individual projects or companies relying on them. These constraints may force micro-transaction-based projects to develop independent blockchain solutions in the future. This is a time and resource consuming endeavour which might not have been taken into consideration by a number of past ICO whitepapers. Suitable marketplace
Newly created tokens should facilitate marketplace interactions more efficiently than existing tokens or fiat currencies could. This improvement could be the removal of friction—such as high fees or time delays—or an increase of the utility of an existing reward system. In the case of SolidOpinion , users on the platform are already accumulating points and a purchasing these for fiat currencies through a merchant gateway. By replacing the point system through a newly minted token, users gain an immediate additional marketplace utility and exchange mechanism to other tokens, such as Ethereum’s Ether. Simultaneously, transaction fees are drastically reduced as transactions are recorded on the blockchain, cutting out merchant account and credit card fees for all marketplace participants. Proof of concept
Whitepapers published by current ICO projects often assume that users will adapt the newly created token in their day-to-day interactions with the company issuing the token, without first providing a proof of concept. However, these startups should consider building a minimum viable product using a simple reward mechanism first to test the assumption that a new token will find community adaption. This will not only minimize the risk of disappointing token buyers not finding a secondary market to sell the token to, but will also create the start of the community to support the project long term. Build a strong user foundation
In the past, companies usually did not attempt to go public until they had already built a solid user-based that investors could look at with some confidence. Because the blockchain world is still in its infancy, the approach is somewhat backwards. Many organizations are offering up proprietary tokens without first proving value, usability, and an eager and existing user base. Essentially, they’re asking investors to take an enormous leap of faith. This approach to fundraising has created a bubble that is just waiting to burst. A whitepaper, no matter how much it has been vetted and lauded, can only go so far in proving an application’s worth. The best way to encourage investor, and public support, is to first build a functioning service first. SolidOpinion—as an example—is a platform that empowers publishing site visitors to interact with content through article engagement—such as comments—in exchange for tokens. Additionally, advertisers will use these tokens to purchase space under relevant article headlines that serve as a natural tie-in to the product or service featured in the ad placement in an auction-based pay-per-article model. The result of this model is closer relevancy and increased content engagement. The platform already attracted more than 4.4 million users and is providing value to publishers and advertisers who are receiving more relevant and contextual advertisement placements. Following SolidOpinion’s impending ICO, the Engagement Toke n will offer immediate utility to users and advertisers on the platform who are currently buying points for US Dollars. This is what token buyers should be looking for when they take part in an ICO. It’s easy to get excited about the prospect of launching a venture off the back of an ICO, but taking a step back from the frenzy and devising a strong go-to-market strategy is necessary if you want your application to gain real momentum and long-term validity. This post is part of our contributor series. The views expressed are the author's own and not necessarily shared by TNW. 1

How emerging companies can overcome ICO challenges

Hearst operates as a global information, services, and media company. The company's portfolio includes financial services, healthcare solutions, transportation software, television stations, newspapers, magazines, and cable networks. Hearst serves sectors such as financial services, healthcare, aviation, media, and entertainment. It was founded in 1887 and is based in New York, New York.

Hearst

NEW YORK , May 10 , 2018 -- Hearst , the publisher of 24 dailies and 64 weeklies reaching more than 44M unique visitors across the U.S. , today announced it has selected SolidOpinion ' s pay-per-article advertising platform for its digital properties .

Acquired

SolidOpinion is a commenting platform that can turn an ordinary discussion into a self-moderated, engaged community that promotes content and earns users money. Users earn points for being engaged in the discussion - for example, for posting and viewing comments. They earn a reputation on a site. They can also use points to buy fun power-ups and dominate the discussion, engage in micro-transactions or sell points to other users.

Date	Round	Amount	Investors	Valuation Valuations are submitted by companies, mined from state filings or news, provided by VentureSource, or based on a comparables valuation model.	Revenue	Sources
2/25/2019	Acquired		Ideanomics	$XXM	0 FY undefined	1
11/4/2016	Unattributed - IV	$XXM	Subscribe to see more	$XXM	0 FY undefined	10
9/12/2016	Unattributed - III	$XXM	Subscribe to see more	$XXM	0 FY undefined	10
2/16/2016	Debt - II	$XXM	Subscribe to see more	$XXM	0 FY undefined	10
10/30/2015	Unattributed - II	$XXM	Subscribe to see more	$XXM	0 FY undefined	10

Date	2/25/2019	11/4/2016	9/12/2016	2/16/2016	10/30/2015
Round	Acquired	Unattributed - IV	Unattributed - III	Debt - II	Unattributed - II
Amount		$XXM	$XXM	$XXM	$XXM
Investors	Ideanomics	Subscribe to see more	Subscribe to see more	Subscribe to see more	Subscribe to see more
Valuation	$XXM	$XXM	$XXM	$XXM	$XXM
Revenue	0 FY undefined	0 FY undefined	0 FY undefined	0 FY undefined	0 FY undefined
Sources	1	10	10	10	10

First funding	2/25/2019
Last Funding	2/25/2019
Investor	Ideanomics
Rounds	1 Acquired
Board Seats
Type	Corporation
Location	New York

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SolidOpinion

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