Active Anime has announced the winners of its 3rd anniversary contests:

Manga Studio Software:
Lissa Pattillo of Nova Scotia, Canada

Galaxy Angel Rune:
Erin Hatcher of Avondale, Arizona
Kate Renner of Brookyn, NY

ADV Films has re-launched its official website. As a result, the ADV Manga section of the website also received a re-design after almost three years of inactivity.

Del Rey Manga has completely revamped its official website. Visit Del Rey's official forum to discuss the new design.

Source: AoD

Okazu, one of the "oldest and most comprehensive blog for Yuri anime and manga reviews, information and events" celebrated its 5th anniversary today:

Today is a milestone. Five years ago today I wrote the first Okazu post. In it, I explained why I chose "Okazu" as the title of my blog [...]

Del Rey Manga has launched its official forum as part of AoD's Official Forums:

We have a new addition to our Official Forums section today as we're now hosting the Official Del Rey Manga Forums. This will be linked from their site later today and provide a place for fans of Del Rey's manga and prose releases to talk with each other and with representatives from the company.

A year ago we featured MangaCast on Backstage. A lot of things have changed since then, new faces can be seen among the crew, and rumors have been floating around regarding a MangaCast 2.0.

A year after the original feature, we caught up with Ed Chavez once again to discuss the past, present and future of MangaCast!

Read the full interview at MangaCast 2.0: Ed Chavez on the Growth and Future of MangaCast.

Also included is a small peak at the mysterious MangaCast 2.0 in the Layout section.

Smarticlesmart, Inc. today announced the launch of a new social network expressly for anime fans, www.animemine.com. The site has a unique blend of functions that will enable anime otakas (fans) to connect and share their interests, art, and music in the anime world. Officially launched on 31 July of this year, visitors to AnimeMine.com will find an array of opportunities to connect with others.

Windsor, ON -- August 1, 2007 -- Smarticlesmart Inc., owner of Smarticlesmart.com, today announced the launch of a new social network expressly for anime and manga fans, AnimeMine.com.

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From THAT Animeblog comes a "chronological history of the anime blogging community", an overview of the anime blogging community's history fro pre-2003 to 2007.

Del Rey has launched their official Comic-Con manga blog on Active Anime. Currently there are no news announcements, but there are some photos and various stories from Del Rey's staff.

Anime social networking animeOnline has been shut down after the site announced the end of its beta-testing period:

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