Media Newcomer of the Year
AO Take: MerchantCircle aims to help small businesses get more local customers through the power of referrals, making online advertising accessible, affordable, and effective for local merchants and service providers. Businesses get a simple MySpace-like profile. It lets them promote themselves on the Internet to local users and lets them create affiliate networks, with referrals to other businesses on MerchantCircle that they trust. MerchantCircle has positioned itself to offer a wide range of "small-business marketing services made easy," including coupons, blogs, and newsletters. By going after the Holy Grail of local advertising (historically the province of the yellow pages), services like MerchantCircle aim to bridge the gap between local merchants and online advertising—and take the pain out of it for the less-tech-savvy local merchant community.

Headquarters: Los Altos, CA
Founded: 2005
CEO: Ben Smith
Employees: 8
Investors Include: Bank of America Ventures, Steamboat Ventures, Rustic Canyon Partners
AO Media 100 Category: Community Platforms