Inform, a news aggregation service, got off to a tough start in October when it launched a not-ready-for-prime-time-beta (alpha?) that lost its more points than it scored - much like upstart (start-up?) browser developer Flock blew most of its goodwill by releasing a 0.5 version that was really much closer to 0.1. Anyway, Inform will launch a new and improved version of the service on Monday that will feature the ability to access audio and video, and create RSS feeds. It looks fairly impressive, which talks to how Inform has become better and/or the power of a Webex presentation. To be honest, the news aggregation world as a tough market given the competition and business models that rely - at least initially - on advertising. While unapologetic about its willingness/eagerness to launch a service that wasn't fully-baked, Inform has one more solid shot at establishing a market foothold as it fights it out with rivals such as memeorandum.

A big pat on the back to everyone who helped me survive round one of the Canadian Blog Awards. I'm one of five finalists in the business category. Voting starts Dec. 3 (that's tomorrow) and lasts for a week. Click here to vote for Mark Evans for best business blog.

After rampant speculation, BCE Inc. has finally dealt with Bell Globemedia, a "non-core" asset that's been on the block for more than a year. It's not quite the deal everyone perhaps expected, though. Rather than dump its entire 68.5% stake in BGM, BCE will hang on to 20%. The Thomson family will boost its stake to 40% from 31.5% while Torstar, which owns the Toronto Star (Canada's largest daily newspaper) and the $88-billion Ontario Teachers' Pension Fund will each own 20%. The question now is what BCE does with the $1.3-billion of cash it will receive. Does it pay down debt? Does it invest more in next-generation networks so it can deliver services such as video? Does it buy back shares or issue a special dividend. Torstar's involving is perhaps the most fascinating part of the deal given it has no TV exposure but makes it clear its interest lie in BGM's CTV network and digital channels.. Other than the Toronto Star, Torstar is probably best known for owning Harlequin Enterprises, which publishes all those romance novels. .
(BGM owns CTV, the Globe & Mail newspaper, 15 specialty stations including TSN, 40% of Workopolis.com and 15% of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, which own the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors and the Air Canada Centre.
For more details on the BGM deal, click here for my story in the National Post.