Comments on: Grouply Closes $1.3 Million Round http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/ Startup and Technology News Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:51:41 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 By: Mandar Joglekar http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-2546205 Mandar Joglekar Tue, 25 Nov 2008 14:34:51 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-2546205 Check out rich group features at <a href='www.myvishwa.com' rel="nofollow">www.MyVishwa.com</a>. Next generation All in One Place experience. Check out rich group features at http://www.MyVishwa.com. Next generation All in One Place experience.

]]> By: Vern http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-2451633 Vern Sun, 31 Aug 2008 03:07:30 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-2451633 I'd expect tech savvy users to use extreme caution with ay site that requests, or requires, passwords from other sites to which one may belong. There is certainly room for mischeif and/or interesting errors, or downright foul play. I teach classes in social networking and see how this might be attractive & useful, but presently I'm in the 'wait & see' mode for Grouply.com! I’d expect tech savvy users to use extreme caution with ay site that requests, or requires, passwords from other sites to which one may belong. There is certainly room for mischeif and/or interesting errors, or downright foul play. I teach classes in social networking and see how this might be attractive & useful, but presently I’m in the ‘wait & see’ mode for Grouply.com!

]]> By: chamtech » Blog Archive » Tech news links 13/01/08 » technology news, comment and views http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-2159657 chamtech » Blog Archive » Tech news links 13/01/08 » technology news, comment and views Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:17:05 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-2159657 [...] From TechCrunch, LinkedIn’s Reid Hoffman invests in discussion aggregator and management servi... [...] [...] From TechCrunch, LinkedIn’s Reid Hoffman invests in discussion aggregator and management servi… [...]

]]> By: Harry http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1955140 Harry Thu, 31 Jan 2008 18:51:45 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1955140 It may be a worthwhile service, if it's on the level. But I've been around the internet many years now, and am involved in computer security. Something about a company asking me for my logins & passwords rings alarm bells for me. Quoting their site... "In fact, the main reason we ask for your Yahoo username and password when you register is so that we can ensure that your group membership information in Grouply is current." Sorry, not good enough. And this, also from their speil... "Your Yahoo password is encrypted and can be read only by the Grouply application, not directly by a human." Ya right. Tell that to all the illegal software crackers out there. Keygens are everywhere. And if Grouply's app can encrypt, then it has the key to decrypt. Being as how they're a relatively new startup, I'd advise a little caution. I see that they're TRUSTe certified, but all that means is that they promised not to be naughty. Anyone can make promises. They've managed to get a bit of serious funding in as well... "Online discussion aggregator and management service Grouply has taken $1.3 million in funding from Reid Hoffman, SoftTech VC, Harvard Angels, and Western Technology Investment. The funding is on top of their initial $935,000 taken from the same investors in June 2007." On the surface, it's got potential. But the potential is also there for a huge violation. Just think for a moment, what would you do with a few hundred thousand logins & passwords, and $2 million in your back pocket? Too much room for exploitation for mine. But that's just one man's words of caution (experience is a great teacher). I think I'll wait a while & see how it develops. It may be a worthwhile service, if it’s on the level. But I’ve been around the internet many years now, and am involved in computer security. Something about a company asking me for my logins & passwords rings alarm bells for me. Quoting their site…

“In fact, the main reason we ask for your Yahoo username and password when you register is so that we can ensure that your group membership information in Grouply is current.”

Sorry, not good enough.

And this, also from their speil…

“Your Yahoo password is encrypted and can be read only by the Grouply application, not directly by a human.”

Ya right. Tell that to all the illegal software crackers out there. Keygens are everywhere. And if Grouply’s app can encrypt, then it has the key to decrypt.

Being as how they’re a relatively new startup, I’d advise a little caution.

I see that they’re TRUSTe certified, but all that means is that they promised not to be naughty. Anyone can make promises.

They’ve managed to get a bit of serious funding in as well…

“Online discussion aggregator and management service Grouply has taken $1.3 million in funding from Reid Hoffman, SoftTech VC, Harvard Angels, and Western Technology Investment. The funding is on top of their initial $935,000 taken from the same investors in June 2007.”

On the surface, it’s got potential. But the potential is also there for a huge violation. Just think for a moment, what would you do with a few hundred thousand logins & passwords, and $2 million in your back pocket? Too much room for exploitation for mine. But that’s just one man’s words of caution (experience is a great teacher).

I think I’ll wait a while & see how it develops.

]]> By: Grouply Brings A Bit Of Facebook To Yahoo/Google Groups http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1938576 Grouply Brings A Bit Of Facebook To Yahoo/Google Groups Fri, 25 Jan 2008 02:59:24 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1938576 [...] absorbing users and data from existing systems and enhancing their functionality. Grouply recently raised over $1.3 million. Grouply Loading information about Grouply… Tangler Loading [...] [...] absorbing users and data from existing systems and enhancing their functionality. Grouply recently raised over $1.3 million. Grouply Loading information about Grouply… Tangler Loading [...]

]]> By: Grouply Brings A Bit Of Facebook To Yahoo/Google Groups http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1938544 Grouply Brings A Bit Of Facebook To Yahoo/Google Groups Fri, 25 Jan 2008 02:27:05 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1938544 [...] absorbing users and data from existing systems and enhancing their functionality. Grouply recently raised over $1.3 million. Grouply Loading information about Grouply… Tangler Loading [...] [...] absorbing users and data from existing systems and enhancing their functionality. Grouply recently raised over $1.3 million. Grouply Loading information about Grouply… Tangler Loading [...]

]]> By: HairBallTamer http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1917863 HairBallTamer Sun, 13 Jan 2008 07:43:22 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1917863 @josh S- If 99% of your 200+ friends are not tech savvy enough to use newsgroups (a favorite medium of stay-at-home moms in the Midwestand other places far from Silicon Valley), that suggests 198+ of your pals are technological retards. So you either live in a nursing home or a day care center amongst 4-year olds. Inquiring minds (and circus peddlers) want to know: which is it? @josh S-

If 99% of your 200+ friends are not tech savvy enough to use newsgroups (a favorite medium of stay-at-home moms in the Midwestand other places far from Silicon Valley), that suggests 198+ of your pals are technological retards. So you either live in a nursing home or a day care center amongst 4-year olds.

Inquiring minds (and circus peddlers) want to know: which is it?

]]> By: @josh S http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1917632 @josh S Sun, 13 Jan 2008 01:43:31 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1917632 Entrepreneurial ramblings indeed, josh. "Group users" are not "tech savvy"? Are you effing serious? 99% of my 200+ friends are not "tech savvy" and would have no idea wtf these "groups" are for or why they would use them. Please get a clue and stop trying to be something your are not. If you got A's in school you are an employee, not an entrepreneur! Entrepreneurial ramblings indeed, josh. “Group users” are not “tech savvy”? Are you effing serious? 99% of my 200+ friends are not “tech savvy” and would have no idea wtf these “groups” are for or why they would use them. Please get a clue and stop trying to be something your are not. If you got A’s in school you are an employee, not an entrepreneur!

]]> By: Josh Saunders http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1917556 Josh Saunders Sun, 13 Jan 2008 00:04:23 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1917556 Decent idea. Will it make it big, probably not. Who really is their target market? The large majority of group users I would guess are non-tech savvy. They join one or a couple groups, but not dozens. I would be very interested to know the marketing plan for this company (if there is one). Decent idea. Will it make it big, probably not.
Who really is their target market?
The large majority of group users I would guess are non-tech savvy. They join one or a couple groups, but not dozens.

I would be very interested to know the marketing plan for this company (if there is one).

]]> By: shawn http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1917388 shawn Sat, 12 Jan 2008 21:19:33 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1917388 ...and special-interest group discussions are a pretty prime target for targeted advertising. Wonder what Yahoo thinks about layering the app on top of Y!groups, and whether they will want to throw the functionality into their offering directly. …and special-interest group discussions are a pretty prime target for targeted advertising. Wonder what Yahoo thinks about layering the app on top of Y!groups, and whether they will want to throw the functionality into their offering directly.

]]> By: iCluck - SEO/SEM http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1917322 iCluck - SEO/SEM Sat, 12 Jan 2008 20:13:09 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1917322 Oh and as for the number of users, it must be rather low for no uniques are registering up from what I can see, but the best way to see this data is after next month...I'd love a follow-up on this topic. Oh and as for the number of users, it must be rather low for no uniques are registering up from what I can see, but the best way to see this data is after next month…I’d love a follow-up on this topic.

]]> By: iCluck - SEO/SEM http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1917321 iCluck - SEO/SEM Sat, 12 Jan 2008 20:12:12 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1917321 Yeah, it's a very useful idea, they just need to infect the sneezers with this new service. They currently have 1500 links and they aren't really attracting that much traffic, but I think that the idea is rather exceptional and the investments will benefit them greatly. They should be able to build traffic with the need of very little money - simple social network analysis and an ad up on Google and Yahoo Groups or a grouping of some sort of partnership would benefit this greatly. Google would like the idea of the mashup, but I'm unsure as to if anyone has tried this type of web app out yet. I'm giving this one a shot later on when I get a chance - looks interesting... Yeah, it’s a very useful idea, they just need to infect the sneezers with this new service. They currently have 1500 links and they aren’t really attracting that much traffic, but I think that the idea is rather exceptional and the investments will benefit them greatly. They should be able to build traffic with the need of very little money - simple social network analysis and an ad up on Google and Yahoo Groups or a grouping of some sort of partnership would benefit this greatly. Google would like the idea of the mashup, but I’m unsure as to if anyone has tried this type of web app out yet. I’m giving this one a shot later on when I get a chance - looks interesting…

]]> By: HairBallTamer http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1917279 HairBallTamer Sat, 12 Jan 2008 19:38:44 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1917279 I don't expect this to be the next Google but the lack of a unified interface for the 4 major platforms is a significant issue for a good chunk of the 200M+ people who use newsgroups. Looks more useful to me than 80% of the new ideas i see getting funded. I don’t expect this to be the next Google but the lack of a unified interface for the 4 major platforms is a significant issue for a good chunk of the 200M+ people who use newsgroups. Looks more useful to me than 80% of the new ideas i see getting funded.

]]> By: Buy Website http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1917194 Buy Website Sat, 12 Jan 2008 17:38:30 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1917194 It is hard to build a platform that will interface with multiple sources. Anxious to test this out. Michael It is hard to build a platform that will interface with multiple sources. Anxious to test this out.

Michael

]]> By: micfo.com http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1917116 micfo.com Sat, 12 Jan 2008 14:50:52 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1917116 @grouply email about group updates on your behalf- that may work nice if you've only active group. @grouply email about group updates on your behalf- that may work nice if you’ve only active group.

]]> By: ITrush http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1917090 ITrush Sat, 12 Jan 2008 14:13:40 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1917090 Organizing information on a single interface...very interesting! nhick http://www.itrush.com Organizing information on a single interface…very interesting!

nhick
http://www.itrush.com

]]> By: Raskin http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1917077 Raskin Sat, 12 Jan 2008 13:54:43 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1917077 Arg... Arg…

]]> By: hiddenweed http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1917043 hiddenweed Sat, 12 Jan 2008 12:50:10 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1917043 good idea. information requires integration. that is why we tend to use outlook to collect and manage our emails, to use even file management programs. i came up with an idea just like blog. how about a personal "readers' digest"? maybe the tech behind it is quite simple, it is really a new idea of customize a personal digest, isn't it. Of course, you can use google blogger or simply subscribe rss to get information. But blog interface is not a social and attracting one. How about a customized e-magazine? but for grouply maybe the details of discussion is hard to publish in a magazine cover haaa. well easy money? but new ideas are worth rewards, aren't they? And moreover, grouply will not waste the money. cheer-up! good idea. information requires integration. that is why we tend to use outlook to collect and manage our emails, to use even file management programs. i came up with an idea just like blog. how about a personal “readers’ digest”? maybe the tech behind it is quite simple, it is really a new idea of customize a personal digest, isn’t it. Of course, you can use google blogger or simply subscribe rss to get information. But blog interface is not a social and attracting one. How about a customized e-magazine?
but for grouply maybe the details of discussion is hard to publish in a magazine cover haaa. well easy money? but new ideas are worth rewards, aren’t they? And moreover, grouply will not waste the money. cheer-up!

]]> By: Rajeev http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1916990 Rajeev Sat, 12 Jan 2008 12:19:32 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1916990 Too many sites are there around discussions good to know that this onehas succeeded to survive. http://tekno-world.blogspot.com Too many sites are there around discussions good to know that this onehas succeeded to survive.

http://tekno-world.blogspot.com

]]> By: Vijay http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1916734 Vijay Sat, 12 Jan 2008 08:32:28 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1916734 LimeAll (www.LimeAll.com) is also looking for funding. LimeAll (www.LimeAll.com) is also looking for funding.

]]> By: Mark http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1916575 Mark Sat, 12 Jan 2008 05:59:20 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1916575 Reserve space in deadpoo Reserve space in deadpoo

]]> By: Appsly http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1916520 Appsly Sat, 12 Jan 2008 05:21:59 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1916520 Good try :-p Good try :-p

]]> By: Jimmy http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1916462 Jimmy Sat, 12 Jan 2008 04:32:31 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1916462 I don't think it is easy money. They are doing pretty good job there -- not necessary everything must be unique but how it benefits user. I don’t think it is easy money. They are doing pretty good job there — not necessary everything must be unique but how it benefits user.

]]> By: ShanghaiLee http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1916420 ShanghaiLee Sat, 12 Jan 2008 04:09:47 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1916420 Money is gone with the wind! The idea behind this is not unique at all. What is the ROI on this investment? What is the market cap on this? etc. Too many questions. Easy money again! Money is gone with the wind!

The idea behind this is not unique at all. What is the ROI on this investment? What is the market cap on this? etc.

Too many questions. Easy money again!

]]> By: Joel http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1916417 Joel Sat, 12 Jan 2008 04:01:25 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/11/grouply-closes-13-million-round/#comment-1916417 $1.3 million? Really? For this? Bah. $1.3 million? Really? For this? Bah.

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