No Reason to Write Web 2.0 Off
- Buzzwords Have Their Uses
- Help define a complicated and nebulous set of concepts
- Eases communication
- Good for non-technical people
- Good way to promote a group of technologies
Web 2.0 is a State of Mind
- Term invented by Tim O'Reilly and Dale Dougherty
- Saw that many of today's successful companies shared a similar set of characteristics
- Very different approach from the dotcom companies of 2000
- Hence web 1.0 and web 2.0
Web 1.0 vs. Web 2.0
- Hotmail vs. Yahoo Mail
- Ofoto vs. Flickr
- Mp3.com vs. iTunes
- Geocities vs. Blogger
- MapQuest vs. Google Maps
- Encarta vs. Wikipedia
- Netscape vs. Firefox
What Makes a Web 2.0 Application?
Open Data- Open data formats
- No data lock-in or walled gardens
- User created data
- User owns their own data
- Ability to use data outside the confines of the application
- Data used across devices
Web 2.0 Revolution
- Using existing technologies in new and innovative ways
- Change in the way people view the web
- More mature industry
- Healthier web economy
- Need to innovate just to maintain position
But what about the Web 2.0 companies that haven't made the cover of a magazine?
This is their week. The Chronicle today highlights some of the startups from this hot sector of the tech world -- companies that fulfill the Web 2.0 philosophy of community, sharing and user-created content, and that fit in the modern gestalt with things like video, music and digital photos.
The only real requirement is that the companies are something you probably haven't heard of before. And if you have, consider yourself hip. Debbie Landa, chief executive officer of the IBDNetwork, which runs the Under the Radar conference, says, "I'm definitely jaded because I know most of these really well."
This survey is far from scientific. Many intriguing companies did not make the list, including FareCast, which tells you when the airline ticket you want to buy is likely to go up or down in price, and Vyew, a utility (like Google's Writely) that lets you collaborate with someone online, and -- well, a list like that might never end.
In the first quarter of this year, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, 134 Web 2.0 companies received $869 million in venture funding, on pace to beat the $3 billion that 465 firms raked in last year. And that's just the companies taking funding. Much of Web 2.0's appeal is that engineers can start firms in their basements.
So next year, check those magazine covers for the companies on The Chronicle's list. These guys are growing. StumbleUpon
Web address: www.stumbleupon.com
Where they are: San Francisco
What they do: A free, downloadable browser button that lets people rate and recommend random Web sites to their friends as they "stumble" around the Internet.
The skinny: Three guys from Calgary, Alberta, developed the software and moved to San Francisco this year. They have $2 million in funding from some big Net names, including Lotus founder Mitch Kapor, Google board member Ram Shriram and famed angel Ron Conway.
The competition: Anyone who leads a Net surfer to something interesting. One could say competitors range from the news-ranking site Digg, Netscape and other news sites built on user ratings, to Google and Yahoo and other search giants. Imeem
Web address: www.imeem.com
Where they are: Palo Alto
What they do: Users participate by joining online communities, called meems, or creating private meems where they can share music, video, photos, comments and blogs with their friends. It also rolls in instant messaging.
The skinny: Founder Jan Jannick came from the original Napster, as did many of Napster's engineers. In three months, its audience has grown from 50,000 to 800,000, though still less than the millions that congregate on MySpace.
The competition: It faces an uphill battle against other social networking and online community sites, such as the original and newly cash-infused Friendster, Tagworld, Bebo and South Korea's Cyworld. And of course the biggest and baddest of them all, MySpace and Facebook. Slide
Web address: www.slide.com
Where they are: San Francisco
What they do: It's a toolbar that sits on your desktop as photos slide by, fed from whatever site you fancy -- whether it's your friends' Flickr feeds, or things you want to buy on eBay.
The skinny: Founded by Max Levchin, who struck it rich in his 20s when he co-founded PayPal and sold it to eBay, Slide attempts to organize the sprawling information of the Internet. It's a neat gadget but a crowded field. Net-watchers say Levchin's work ethic, to say nothing of his stellar track record and computing expertise, may give him an edge.
The competition: RockYou, which purportedly has a larger following, and FilmLoop, which has had more exposure. Meebo
Web address: www.meebo.com
Where they are: San Francisco
What they do: Instead of downloading popular instant messaging services such as Yahoo Messenger and AOL Instant Messenger, Meebo lets you access your buddy list and IM all you want from its Web site.
The skinny: Backers include Sequoia Capital, the same folks that invested in Google, PayPal and YouTube.
The competition: Instant messaging services from AOL, Yahoo, Microsoft, Skype and others, as well as copycats such as KoolIM. popURLs
Web address: www.popurls.com
Where they are: Austria
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