I am pleased to announce that Joost (an Index Ventures portfolio company) and Tellme Networks (now a subsidiary of Microsoft) are the winners of the coveted Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Awards. Joost won in the category of Media/Broadcasting and received a Bronze award in the overall category. Tellme Networks won in the category of Network/Internet Technologies.

Apparently, Wall Street Journal received more than 800 entries, with only about 4% receiving an award. Needless to say, competition was extremely intense. Full coverage of the awards appears in The Wall Street Journal’s three global editions today as well as for online subscribers at http://online.wsj.com/page/2_1323.html.

Here’s what they wrote about Joost:

The Bronze went to Joost NV, Luxembourg, for a free service that delivers TV programming over the Internet. Unlike YouTube and other video sites, Joost offers full-length and full-screen programs. Founders Janus Friis and Niklas Zennström also developed the Skype Internet phone service and Kazaa file-sharing service. Like Kazaa, Joost uses peer-to-peer technology for faster, more reliable downloads. But unlike Kazaa, which faced charges that it encouraged piracy, Joost is signing deals with big media companies.

…

MEDIA/BROADCASTING

Bronze winner Joost’s Internet television service launched in May. It offers free, advertiser-supported programming from Viacom Inc.’s MTV and VH1, documentary specials from Time Warner Inc.’s CNN and classic shows from Warner Bros. Television, among others. Compared with other video sites, the full-screen service “seems a better user experience, which potentially could increase the actual take-up of this service,” says Barry Jaruzelski, vice president and lead marketing officer at Booz Allen Hamilton.

And about Tellme:

NETWORK/INTERNET TECHNOLOGIES/BROADBAND

Tellme Networks Inc., Mountain View, Calif., a unit of Microsoft Corp., stood out with technology that gives cellphone users visual results for directory searches. Users ask for the listings using voice commands, and Tellme’s service delivers a visual list of the results. Users can connect directly to the listing, get driving directions or a map, or forward the listing via a text message.

-Jeff

The pictures are already hanging on the walls, the new conference rooms have all been named, and every day we are all a little more familiar with our new neighborhood. That’s right. Spark moved into new offices last week. After # years in the charming but sometimes malodorous McLea Court, we are now smack-dab in the middle of San Francisco scenery.

Our new address is 2 Bryant Street, Suite 100, SF, CA 94105. We’re on the corner of Bryant and Embarcadero, under the Bay Bridge and across from Red’s Java House

As we know from our work with Terabitz, we’re not just changing offices, we’re also changing neighborhoods. Here’s a snapshot of our new digs.

Stay tuned for an invite to our office-warming party next month!

- Tim Smith