Herman Blackbook Offers Funds for iPhone, Boxee, Twitter Developers

New York-based consulting firm Herman Blackbook is offering seed funding for developers making applications for open-source platforms like Twitter, the iPhone, Boxee, AppNexus and more. With their "New Platforms Fund," the company will give up to 10 "cutting edge" ideas (they're not talking iFart here) $1,000-$3,000 each to develop into the alpha stage, and take minor equity stakes as they grow, too.

"The fund will focus on innovation that has low barriers for mainstream adoption as we find that all too often, innovation is too far ahead of the adoption curve," said Darren Herman, principal of Herman Blackbook, in a statement.  "We know we cannot fund every idea through our door and our investment philosophy is not for everyone, but should that golden egg exist that falls beyond our investment scope, our Hb network of angel investors and venture capitalists will come in handy."

In September, I wrote about independent developers working on fun applications for the iPhone.  I also wrote about Boxee reinventing the living room. Funds like Mr. Herman's will encourage even more personalized, unique innovation for these platforms. "At Boxee we hope to bring some of that wild creativity into the living room," said Avner Ronen, CEO of Boxee. "The TV screen sure needs some of that Web mojo, and we're excited that Herman Blackbook may help folks get us there."