For more than a decade, Takenet has been enabling Brazilian and Chilean Telcos, Enterprises, media companies, service providers and digital communities to deploy their mobile presence. As a Value Added Service enabler, Takenet provides technology integration services, content distribution and licenses platforms such as Collect SMS.

UTV Indiagames is India’s benchmark mobile and online games company and leading global mobile game publisher. Indiagames powers mobile game storefronts for leading Indian carriers including Idea Cellular.

With each partner, Sidebar will leverage its Smart Menu(TM) platform to make mobile content – including music, games, videos, news & information – more discoverable and targeted. The Smart Menu platform is a cloud based, SaaS solution that uses machine learning to “learn” consumer preferences and behaviors over time, providing valuable insight for mobile operators looking to optimize their sales and service operations.

“By combining Sidebar’s technology with mobile content from Takenet and UTV Indiagames, we will be able to give mobile operators new tools to better differentiate themselves and regain mobile content marketshare,” said Patrick Kennedy, CEO of Sidebar. “Together, our goal is to deliver a highly customized, personalized experience for consumers, which leads to increased engagement, loyalty and ARPU. And with Gartner estimating worldwide mobile application store revenue to surpass $15 Billion this year, the business opportunity is bigger than ever before.” Sidebar and partners will unveil program details as their solutions roll out with mobile operators worldwide later this year.

About Sidebar, Inc.

Sidebar, Inc. is a leading personalization technology provider that is focused on enabling content discovery across any platform. Sidebar’s enterprise, cloud based Smart Menu(TM) solution allows carriers, publishers, platforms and content owners to measurably increase their business metrics by presenting each user the content they most likely want to consume in an easy and discoverable manner. The company is funded by Mobile Media Ventures and is headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif.

“Ian brings a wealth of experience in mobile, web and broadband industries to our team and we’re honored to welcome him to our Board,” said Patrick Kennedy, CEO of Sidebar. “As we continue to position Sidebar for growth and success across each of those segments, we look forward to benefitting from Ian’s extensive background and insight.”

Gilchrist, 61, has enjoyed a career in investment banking spanning 30 years. He was the Managing Director of Citigroup/Salomon Brothers until his retirement in July of 2008 and prior to that, held positions with CS First Boston Corporation where he was Managing Director, PaineWebber Incorporated as Managing Director, and Warburg Paribas Becker Incorporated as a Vice President

Gilchrist currently serves on the Board of Directors for Liberty Media, schmap.com, Troika Design Group, Yale University Development Board/”Yale Tomorrow” Capital Campaign Committee and the Yale University Men’s Hockey Advisory Board. He has served as a member of the Financial Affairs Committee of the National Cable Television Association in Washington, D.C. and has testified before the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee on Legislative matters regarding the communications industry.

“Sidebar offers a world-class solution that benefits carriers, cable operators, publishers, storefronts and content owners and I am looking forward to working with the team to help further their leadership across the telecommunication and cable space,” said Gilchrist. “The company is well-positioned to deliver exciting breakthroughs in the personalization of content delivery and I’m excited to be a part of their future success.”

About Sidebar, Inc.

Sidebar, Inc. is a leading personalization technology provider that is focused on enabling content discovery across any platform. Sidebar’s enterprise, cloud based Smart Menu™ solution allow carriers, telcos, publishers and platform providers to measurably increase their business metrics by presenting each user the content they most likely want to consume in an easy and discoverable manner. The company is funded by Mobile Media Ventures and is headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif. For more information, visit www.sidebar.com.

Our business solves the universal problem for consumers when it comes to finding the content that’s right for them while at the same time, maximizing profitability for the storefront operator. It amazes me to see how consumers are treated as if they all have the same interests and aspirations. Mobile content is one of the most personal of all purchases and should be merchandised accordingly.

However, the company has since shifted its focus away from these consumer-focused apps, and towards a more B2B strategy, where it provides its recommendation technology to operators and other retailers of mobile content…