Hubdub was a web-based
prediction market
Prediction markets (also known as betting markets, information markets, decision markets, idea futures or event derivatives) are open markets where specific outcomes can be predicted using financial incentives. Essentially, they are exchange-trad ...
in which players used virtual money to trade predictions on future events. Over time users built up a portfolio of live predictions across their chosen categories of interest such as politics, sport, entertainment, technology or other categories. Each player's performance was tracked allowing them to compete on leader boards which demonstrate their knowledge and expertise in their chosen category.
Background
Hubdub launched at the DEMO 08 technology conference on January, 28th 2008. Politics and sports tend to be the most active categories followed by technology and entertainment. Hubdub had a largely U.S. audience base which was evidenced by its mainly U.S. news content.
On January 14, 2009, the company announced that it had taken on board
venture capital
Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which ha ...
funding of $1.2m from Pentech Ventures although there was still considerable speculation around what commercial model the company will pursue going forward.
PunditWatch
On June 4, 2008, Hubdub launched PunditWatch which was a feature which tracks major
pundits
A pundit is a person who offers mass media opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport).
Origins
The term originates from the Sanskrit term ('' '' ), meaning "knowledg ...
from technology, politics and entertainment. Pundits included
TechCrunch
TechCrunch is an American online newspaper focusing on high tech and startup companies. It was founded in June 2005 by Archimedes Ventures, led by partners Michael Arrington and Keith Teare.
In 2010, AOL acquired the company for approximately ...
,
Henry Blodget
Henry McKelvey Blodget (born 1966) is an American businessman, investor and journalist. He is notable for his former career as an equity research analyst who was senior Internet analyst for CIBC Oppenheimer and the head of the global Internet ...
's Silicon Alley Insider,
Pat Buchanan
Patrick Joseph Buchanan (; born November 2, 1938) is an American paleoconservative political commentator, columnist, politician, and broadcaster. Buchanan was an assistant and special consultant to U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, an ...
and
Perez Hilton
Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr. (born March 23, 1978), known professionally as Perez Hilton, is an American blogger, columnist, and media personality. His blog is known for posts covering gossip items about celebrities, and for posting tabloid p ...
. Every time the pundit made a public prediction it was logged using a shadow account on the Hubdub prediction. The performance of each of the pundit's predictions was then tracked over time and the pundit's overall accuracy derived. Commentators such as the Wall Street Journal described the concept of PunditWatch as good but the execution flawed.
Premium Game
On July 21, 2009, the team behind Hubdub.com launched
FanDuel
FanDuel Group is an American gambling company that offers sportsbook, daily fantasy sports, horse racing, and online casino. The company operates sportsbooks in a number of states including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana and West Virginia, as ...
a premium fantasy sports game.
Closure
On April 14, 2010, Hubdub announced that it would close the site on April 30, 2010, due to financial reasons. On 30 April 2010, the website was officially closed down.
NGSBahis
/ref>
References
{{reflist
Prediction markets
Betting exchanges