Posted by Matt on April 4th, 2008
One of the presenters at the latest Web Innovators Group conference, WebInno17, was Traackr. The startup’s offering is basically a way for you to get a grip on how popular your content is on the web. You simply enter in the networks you are a part of (Flickr, YouTube, Revver to name a few) and the application tracks and aggregates the hit counts of your content. You can organize your content into campaigns, view charts on various statistics, and compare your online popularity to other Traackr users.
Analyzing your website’s performance is crucial.
While I am certainly sick of web companies with double vowels and missing ‘e’s, I see potential in Traackr. If it nails down the user interface, it could prove to be a very useful tool. The fact remains that user activity data is of the utmost importance to any media outlet, and the internet is no exception. To be able to track the popularity of your latest published content is crucial in paving the way for your improvement on the webosphere. Yes yes, I know it’s another aggregation tool, but hell, at least this one can prove useful.
Posted by John on January 28th, 2008
This is my first post. It’s so exhilarating. I thought I’d post some of my thoughts and early observations on some of the presenters for WebInno16 on Tuesday night 1/29/08. It’s at 6:30PM at the Royal Sonesta in Cambridge, MA. Keep in mind, I have briefly gone through the sites and browsed the Walkthrough/Tour/FAQ sections. I will return tomorrow night with a post to see if my thoughts have changed and who I felt exceeded my expectations, or those who unfortunately did not meet my expectations.
MakeMeSustainable is a very novel idea. In fact, it’s a great idea. Unfortunately, I don’t see it working. It’s true, GREEN is in. In fact, the hot new MacBook Air even has a blurb about how green friendly they are. It’s got these nifty graphs and percentages and visual keys to indicate how much you’re saving the world. The unfortunate thing is, I think the average person is lazy. Few people are going to go out of their way to go to a site, look through all the interesting stuff and take the time and effort to go through with it. Sure some may, and even get into it for a little bit. The honeymoon is short though, and the appeal will wear off. As for going out of your way to join another community, it might be better served as a Facebook App. Don’t get me wrong, I hope this site will work, I just don’t think it will.
Would I join:? Not likely
SpotScout is an interesting concept. It’s also been done before. Companies such as mobileParking LLC and ParkingCarma have done this concept. I’m not going to down the pros and cons of these companies, but the idea has been done before. It’s the whole scenario in which we drive, we can’t find a spot, and yes, you are my answer to linking my problem finding a spot and your service finding a spot for me. And the same paramount issue is about information that a spot is available, and parking in that spot. Oh, I would absolutely love getting a text alert that a spot is open, only to find that it’s been taken…. 2 hours ago. This idea is a tough one to execute. SpotScout, just like MakeMeSustainable tout the “green is good” motto of course. But the twist on this company is, it’s the “ebay” of parking spots. That’s a great idea, but just like uBid, if you don’t have a wide enough user base, why sell there? So if adoption of this site doesn’t increase at a rapid pace, the usability is defunct.
Would I use it: I’ll give it a whirl.
So to be quite honest, Urban Interactive seems the most intriguing to me. That doesn’t necessarily mean best, but in my opinion, it might have the most potential. And I unfortunately have not heard of any companies with similar business models, so it is also the most unique out of the “main dish presenters” that are presenting at Webinno. Let’s get down to business. Right off the bat, the homepage has a quote from the Boston Globe, “It’s a blend between ‘The Amazing Race’ and the TV show `Treasure Hunter.” I mean, that alone caught my eye. First, I thought this was some sort of Geocaching website. I’ve never tried geocaching, but it looks fun. I simply don’t have the time, but seems like it would be entertaining. Back to this site, so it’s not really geocaching. It’s more of a set theme adventure. The activity could be a mystery or spying on an “agent”, all that good espionage stuff…
Basically you get a cool phone to use for the game. That’s actually what caught my eye the most. An iPhone or Nokia E61. But you use the device and with your team you do the adventure and solve the crime or mystery. There are these improv actors along the way that contribute to the adventure as well. Now the business guy I am, I was thinking…. what’s the business model? My initial thought, ooh the adventures might have product placement or some sort of advertising model. It took me all the way to the registration page where I found out the price, $60 a team. Team is a max of 4, so $17 a person. Hmm, there’s a lot I can do with $17. But honestly, I really wanted to try it, when it’s warmer that is. It’s kind of like that guilty pleasure like watching Bravo or MTV shows. It looks kind of dopey, but it also looks fun! As Matt would say, Web2.0 is all about the free.
Would I use it: I think it might be fun to try!
Let’s see what impresses, and what doesn’t tomorrow evening.
Posted by Matt on November 8th, 2007
WebInno15 took place last Tuesday, and I must say that I am impressed at the growing audience. While I don’t know the exact number, it looked like over 450 people came to see some of the latest local startups show their stuff. Of the three “main dish” presenters, FlipKey, Lemonade, and iiProperty, the best of show for me was iiProperty. I believe the market is wide open for a clean property management system and iiProperty brings enough useful features and intuitive design to get a thumbs up in my book. More to come about iiProperty later.
Other Notables
Other notables include Untravel Media, another step towards location aware content with its Boston audio tours, and StudentConcourse, a web based organizer designed and developed by highschoolers. One company that had a lot of potential but blew its thirty second pitch was 360Gadget. No one could understand what the presenter was saying and it clouded an otherwise great product, basically an iGoogle for Facebook. Look here for more information on these startups in the coming days.
Posted by Matt on November 5th, 2007
One of the “main dish” presenters at WebInno15 is a startup called Lemonade. The company’s offering is basically a customized ad widget for blogs and social networking profiles. Users can decide which products to advertise and any click-throughs earn them money. The widget is very easy to setup and there is some flexibility on the appearance. Also, similar to that sour sweet refreshment you once sold at the nearby street corner, Lemonade adds a bit of charity to the equation. The company donates a percentage of its revenue to several non-profit organizations.
Give me that ad money!
It seems everyone is jumping into ad money lately. With both Myspace and Facebook developing their own ad platforms, people are getting excited about this space again. However, I just don’t see ideas like Lemonade strong enough to base a business on.
Posted by Matt on October 22nd, 2007
For those unfamiliar with the Web Innovators Group, it’s basically a community for web and mobile innovation serving the greater Boston area. Founded and currently led by David Beisel of Venrock, the Web Innovators Group has held a demo conference every month or so for the past couple years. The conference, named WebInno, allows local web and mobile startups to present their offerings in order to seek feedback, advice, and even funding from the community.
The latest WebInno conference, WebInno15, is scheduled for November 6th and they have just release the names of the presenting startups. The “main dish” presenters are FlipKey, Lemonade, and iiProperty, who will showcase their recently launched services to the entire crowd. Carbon Rally, Mix and Meet, Panospin, 360Gadget, and Student Concourse will demo their services in booths in a more informal mingling session.
I have attended WebInno a few times in the past and each time the audience grows. With over 400 people in attendance last time, WebInno has become a great place for local Boston entrepreneurs and startups to get their feet wet in the community. While the presenting companies are sometimes stale, the overall quality of services and products introduced is high. Stay tuned this week on TheWebosphere for coverage on these local Web 2.0 startups.
