Web 2.0 This WeekSeptember 25 – October 1
The excitement is building over this week’s upcoming Web 2.0 Conference (October 5-7) in San Francisco. The event is sold out. It’s clear that a number of companies intend to launch this week, and so I expect we’ll be kept quite busy checking them all out.
1. Recent TechCrunch Profiles
PubSub LinkRank, Skype Video, zvents, Jotspot Live, Rollyo, FilmLoop, Slide, OPML Editor, Goowy (update), CustomScoop, Writeboard, Zoho Writer
2. Web 2.0, The Definition, Continued…
Richard MacManus summarizes this week’s evolution on the web 2.0 definitional thinking, inlcuding Tim O’Reilly’s important essay on the subject.
I also agree with Dave Winer – John Furrier may have said it perfectly in his comment to Om Malik:
Come on this is so simple.. Web 2.0 is the next version of the Web 1.0 (second generation) – it’s simply a better version than the previous version.
3. Yahoo Blog Search This Week
Stephen Baker says Yahoo will launch blog search this week.
4. New Blogging Study by Forrester Research
Information Week highlights new data released by Forrester Research last week. Ten percent of consumers now read blogs at least once per week:
Participation in three of the technologies highest on the Internet’s buzz list — blogging, reading RSS feeds, and engaging in social networking — is climbing, a research firm said Wednesday, but two of the three haven’t cracked the 1-in-10 barrier.
Ten percent of consumers read blogs once a week or more, said Forrester Research at the opening of its annual Consumer Forum. That’s double the 5 percent who browsed blogs in 2004.
Real Simple Syndication (RSS) use tripled in the same period, from 2 percent in 2004 to 6 percent this year, while use of social network sites such as Friendster.com and MySpace.com increased from 4 percent last year to 6 percent in 2005.
Via Fred Oliveira on webreakstuff.
5. Mashup Matrix
John Musser creates a great visual matrix of current mashups on Programmable Web. Let’s see how long he can keep it updated before it is simply too complicated to be usable. Great stuff.
6. Attention Trust Recorder Coming on Tuesday
Dan Farber says Attention Trust (profile) is launching a Recorder this week.
On Tuesday the organization will launch the AttentionTrust Recorder, a royalty-free, open sourced downloadable piece of code that keeps track of an individual’s behavior online. You can get the details in a podcast that features AttentionTrust Chairman Seth Goldstein and fellow ZDNet blogger and President of the organization, Steve Gillmor.
We’re big supporters of AttentionTrust and it’s ideals.
7. Google and NASA Party Together
Google is partnering with NASA on all kinds of stuff:
NASA and Google have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that
outlines plans for cooperation on a variety of areas, including
large-scale data management, massively distributed computing,
bio-info-nano convergence, and encouragement of the entrepreneurial
space industry. The MOU also highlights plans for Google to develop up
to one million square feet within the NASA Research Park at Moffett
Field.
The best commentary I’ve seen so far is from Greg Yardley, who writes:
I’m not installing the Google Implant until it’s out of beta, though.
Me either.
8. Meetro Gets some Wired Love
Wired writes about Meetro, the cool new location-aware instant messaging service. We profiled Meetro here. Digg the story here.
9. Writing about me-too’s
I wrote about Zoho Writer earlier this evening. It’s very much like Writely, and Zoho has another product out that is very much like 37Signal’s Backpack.
An interesting discussion sprang up almost immediately in the comments section, led by Jason Fried at 37Signals and Sam Schillace at Writely. Both comment that TechCrunch loses credibility by writing about companies that largely copy existing applications.
Jason writes:
I’d think twice about covering such blatant rips like this — it hurts your credibility to support these sorts of businesses and ventures.
Sam writes:
I love this blog, but it would be nice to get a little deeper review of competitors than this. I think a more accurate characterization of zoho writer right now would be a ’skin’ that looks like Writely, and is strictly following along right now.
These are two individuals that I respect greatly for their contributions to the web and so I do not take their comments lightly. I’m still thinking through what our policies should be in this area…and I appreciate any feedback.
10. Wedding Proposal via Search Engine
In an incredibly romantic moment, Barry asks Yisha to marry him via Ask Jeeves. This may be only slightly better than doing it at a baseball game, but she said yes, so…Congratulations!!!
So, I don’t get it. Is Jason arguing that you shouldn’t have covered writeboard because it’s so similar to Writely and Jotspot Live which came first?
I think the issue is that TC is being asked to: (a) cast a more critical eye in its reviews, and (b) refer to key competitors so as to put the site in proper content. Probably a little more of b than a.
See below URL’s for similarity.
http://www.google.com/ig
http://www.start.com/3/
Peter.
I think the power of the TechCrunch profiles is their objectivity. Unlike most news we receive today, it is more of a “here’s the facts”, uneditorialized source of information. Stay as unbiased as possible, cover all products (even those that appear to copy others), and then let the people opine. If a company releases a blatant rip-off of a product, you can rest assured that the community will call them out.
Web 2.0? It’s 1 louder!
Is the conference going to have RSS of any kind so we can attempt to keep up (aside from the great Tech Crunch coverage of course).
Scott, you lazy slug, do you ever leave San Diego?
I say report on companies if the product actually works and they actually put effort into their offering.
The fact that there are already too many of these similar wiki/todo/”word for the web” companies should be a sign to writely and 37 signals: internet apps have a low barrier to entry.
BTW, it is hard to give you guys feedback other than comments. You need a ‘Feedback’ form.
Hey! I resemble that remark!
Just for that I’m going to have to drive wayyyy up the coast and drink your beer at the next TC bbq. 
I will be taking a rare trip out of town to Podcast Expo next month.
I’ve got to agree with Ken’s thoughts about point 9. It doesn’t really matter if they’re a copy or not–I just care about the facts. If all they are is a copy, there isn’t much to write about, and they aren’t going to generate much interest. After all, if it’s just another implementation of something that another company has been doing longer or better, nobody’s really going to be interested in the new guy. But if they are actually able to take a good idea and improve it, I for one appreciate hearing about it. It is after all Web 2.0 …
This isn’t about a “low barrier to entry” it’s about ripping off the entire concept of an app and for all intensive purposes the entire interface. This isn’t about being influenced, it’s about ripping off the execution of specific ideas. Influence is one thing, but copying is another.
Jason:
What we built is a response to your own arrogant challenge to your users to go build it if they want more features or a lower price. We will give both, real soon (it is called “Beta” for a reason). Price is a perfectly legitimate dimension for competition too, by the way. And remaining compatible with a market leader (Open Office looks and acts like MS Office, for example) is perfectly legitimate too.
What you are attempting to do is to characterize a legitimate competitor with terms like “blatant rip-off” hoping that the mud will stick. We will not let that go unchallenged.
Whether we add value or not is for the market place to decide. If we offer no value at all, we will not get many customers, and will die a natural death.
So why don’t we fight it out in the market place, like real professionals? Our rule in AdventNet is to never attack or insult a competitor. We did not attack you, nor question your integrity.
On the other hand, you are questioning our integrity, by using terms like blatant rip-off. We didn’t take your proprietary code, did we? On what legal, moral or ethical basis are you making your claims here? Put up or shut up.
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