Finnish startup bets on universal media manager

HELSINKI, FINLAND: Finnish startup Linkotec hopes to create a flourishing business by making consumers' lives easier: its free software links all digital media devices to all key social networks.

The firm's Dazzboard (www.dazzboard.com) is an Internet-based application that connects with phones or digital cameras, storing all media in the same location and allowing it to be shared with different networks. "I have one interface, one window to manage all the content," Tero Salonen, chief executive of Linkotec said. "You have no interest to copy your content to seven places."

Similar offerings from other software firms are usually limited to sending content from one device to multiple social networks.

The company, which opened Dazzboard to the public in July, aims to build up a user base and then start making money by offering paid content in addition to users' own content.

Linkotec is owned by its founders and a number of Finnish private investors.