Archive for Web 2.0
October 19, 2007 at 12:36 pm · Filed under Web 2.0, Beta, Social Networking
InviteShare, my new go-to source for beta invites doesn’t have a line on anything for Twine. If anyone out there has an invite to the beta they’d be willing to share, I’d love to be able to check it out.
What’s is it? Twine, the product of Radar Networks, is one of the more promising semantic search engine efforts to date. Yes, the phrase “Google killer” is being used. Venture Beat did a great write-up on Twine yesterday if you want to learn more about it. The post on VentureBeat does a great job explaining not only Twine, but the concept of semantic search. There is also a more concise post about Twine on TechCrunch.
Tags: Beta, Beta Invite, Google, InviteShare, Radar Networks, Search, Semantic Search, Social Networking, Twine, VentureBeat, Web 2.0Share This
October 9, 2007 at 10:13 pm · Filed under Web Applications, Web 2.0, Events, Programming, Social Networking
There is about to be a major announcement in the social networking space. Developers will have access to the once closed data of a major social networking player.
Highlights:
- The platform will consist of a set of APIs and a markup language to create applications
- Applications will have the ability to use Flash and iFrame content
- Deep integration will be possible - access to members of the social networks’:
- Profile information
- Friend list
- Activity
- History
- Monetization - Developers will be able to monetize their applications by way of advertising and keep 100% of the revenue.
- The announcement will be made in tech savvy San Francisco
No, I’m not late to the party. Following rumors which first surfaced this June, Michael Arrington at TechCrunch is reporting the launch of the MySpace Platform will take place next week at the Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco.
UPDATE: 10 Oct 2007: Meghan McCarthy says it’s not so over at Valleywag. Her sources are saying that MySpace will have an announcement at the Web 2.0 Conference, but it won’t be in relation to their platform launch.
UPDATE: 17 Oct 2007: Looks like Arrington was dialed in on this one. During a Q&A session with John Battelle at the Web 2.0 conference Rupert Murdoch and Chris DeWolfe devulged details of the MySpace Platform.
Tags: Events, Facebook, Monetization, MySpace, Programming, Social Networking, Web 2.0, Web 2.0 Conference, Web ApplicationsShare This
September 17, 2007 at 11:01 pm · Filed under Web Applications, Usability, Web 2.0, Alpha, Social Networking, Beta, User Experience
I like participating in betas for web sites and web-based applications. Trouble is, I’m just a regular guy. And, historically hunting for invites has yielded a relatively poor return on my time investment. Thankfully, a new site has made it easier for us regular guys to participate. It’s aptly called InviteShare. Here’s how it works:
How Beta Invites are Distributed
When a startup with a killer moves into a limited beta phase, they delve out a small number of invitations to friends or people who have requested participation online. Each of the people receiving the invitation are granted the ability to invite a few more people. And so on… And so on…
Enter InviteShare
InviteShare’s has formalized (and in essence taken control of) the whole process by creating an exchange for beta invitations. Since the distribution of invites usually proliferates exponentially, if a user who receives an invite simply returns the favor to other InviteShare members, the ball keeps rolling.
My first experience with InviteShare was great. After creating my account I logged in, and, after a bit of fumbling around with the site I arrived at the Streamy.com invite page and gave my last Streamy invite to the next person waiting in the queue. Then, I searched on Mash and requested an invite. Less than 5 minutes later I had an invite in my Inbox from another InviteShare member named Ian. Genius.
Any negatives? One glaring one: This ain’t no 37signals app. InviteShare’s user experience needs an intervention. Applying some sound usability principles would go a long way for InviteShare.
Tags: 37signals, Alpha, Beta, Beta Invite, InviteShare, Social Networking, Streamy, Usability, User Experience, Web 2.0, Web Applications, Yahoo, Yahoo MashShare This
May 6, 2007 at 10:00 am · Filed under Web 2.0, Branding, Visual Design
Remember back in the 90’s, when the name of an Internet-based company needed to either (a) mean nothing or (b) weld two actual words together (or a word and a fragment of a word) which might (but not necessarily) ultimately hint at what the company is or does? Here’s a few to refresh your memory:
Meaning Nothing at All:
Kozmo.com - note to self, rent E-Dreams
Flooz.com
Boo.com
Product of Word Welding:
govWorks - note to self, rent Startup.com
WebVan
DigiScents (yes, that one was the one based on delivering scent over the Internet)
Great stuff! And great memories. Some of these methods are still in use today—hell, I work at a company named Terralever, and Boo.com is back from the dead as a completely different company in the “Web 2.0″ world (it was hip apparel prior to the bubble bursting, now its a user generated travel information site).
So, here we are in the middle of Web 2.0. What kinds of trends are we seeing? Let’s take a look at some Web 2.0 company names:
YouTube
MySpace
Digg
Del.icio.us
Script.aculo.us
Flickr
Meebo
JumpCut
Alright. So what do we have here? I see some of the old tricks, but we have some new ones also. Including:
Hip Illiteracy
Misspelling is IN. Make no mistake about it, dropping a vowel, or acting like your keyboard double-struck a letter when you thought of your name is a good thing. Some of the most successful Web 2.0 plays leverage this trend.
Can’t get the Domain—Get there by Sub-Domain
We were all taught during the first wave that one thing that had to happen to be a successful online venture was the domain had to be available. Period. Well, since the 90’s we’ve lost a lot of potential domain names. Anything remotely making sense is owned by someone that thought they’d cash in for millions. How can you get around that? Find a top-level domain that can be the end of the word, get a domain that fills in a few more letters, and add a sub-domain to finish it off. Del.icio.us and Script.aculou.us anyone?
Stlll Thinking “How can I get my Web 2.0 company name?”
It’s easy! Even naming and branding is free with the power of Web 2.0. If you’re looking to create your own Web 2.0 company, and are at a loss of creativity, do try the Web 2.0 Company Name generator. When you’re done, get your logo created correctly in Web 2.0 style at the Web 2.0 Logo Creatr (brilliant naming by the way!).
I gave it a shot, here’s three names I came up with:
Voonoodle
BabbleZ
Flipshare
Voonoodle—a bit long for Web 2.0, but it just might work. So what would Voonoodle’s logo look like? Let’s take a look at what the Logo Creatr came up with for me:
Very nice! I went with the Beta option (VERY 2.0). Now I just need to figure out what Voonoodle is/does and I’ll be on my way!
Tags: Branding, Internet Bubble, Visual Design, Web 2.0Share This
April 17, 2007 at 11:16 am · Filed under Web 2.0
Who is Sick is a mashup of Google Maps and user supplied health (or lack thereof) information. From their web site:
Who Is Sick was started in 2006 with a mission to provide current and local sickness information to the public - without the hassle of dealing with hospitals or doctors. With a strong belief in the power of people and a faith that user generated content can be extremely valuable, our team set out to create an entirely new system for tracking and monitoring sickness information.
Tags: Google, Google Maps, Web 2.0Share This
