Wakoopa, the application monitoring service that we’ve described as a Last.fm for desktop apps, has raised $1 million in a funding round led by Big Bang Ventures and HENQ Invest.
Wakoopa monitors the amount of time each application is open on a user’s desktop (or iPhone), and uses the aggregated data to create a social network. The site also serves as an application database that can be used to look up general information or reviews.
Wakoopa launched in May 2007 and has grown to 30,000 users that that have generated 250 million hours of software usage data. The site has compiled the data to create Alexa-like graphs, though most of the data is highly biased towards the tech-savvy.
RescueTime is a similar offering in this space, but it is geared more towards improving productivity than discovering new useful applications. You can see a recent analysis we did on their data here.
Is it just me or does it seem like there are just too many companies trying to be the next myspace or facebook?
Does this mean I can add Microsoft Office as my friend?
@Sean
What does that even mean? This company has a completely different niche than a mass-market site like Facebook or Myspace.
I’m still waiting for the Linux version, I was one of the top users until I made the switch from Windows..
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http://crunchlabz.com
I definitely see using this to find some new useful software. Don’t know how “social” I’ll be on it but if my mere presence allows me to find some cool new software it’s not a bad idea. It won’t really be a full blown social network though, at least in my opinion
The Wakoopa founders are visiting San Francisco from June 6 till June 13 next week. They are eager to meet interesting people so don’t hesitate to contact them. And make them pay for drinks…
the **** is this shit?
Met these guys at the Next Web conference in Amsterdam and they seemed like a smart bunch. Congratulations on the funding!
Nice going guys.
I don’t get it.
Wapoopa ought to take some of that funding and get a logo and name that doesn’t look and sound like every other web 2.0 company that went into business in the last 3 years.
Obviously they will sell all that private data to some company, in the future.
If you enjoy the idea of tracking time spent in each application (and document) but don’t care for sharing that information with others, this will do the trick: http://dot3labs...ocrastitracker/
@Aardappel
the procrastitracker look pretty cool
the owners of wakoopa are the ‘white suits’ guys who broke into michael arrington’s house last year. i don’t get the point of this website, and even less a way to monetize it. just like their other venture (fleck), my take on this is destination deadpool.
Thanks for the write-up, Jason! We’re obviously very happy with this investment, it will allow us to focus on becoming the number one destination site when it comes to software. Keep an eye on our blog at http://blog.wakoopa.com for some interesting updates soon!
@elbert We’re working on it!
@pam Not really true, they are minor shareholders though!
The thing about last.fm, in practice it’s not really a repository for listening data because it only really works with the last.fm player. You can’t “scrobble” songs from Winamp.
It’s a good news~~I have heard this news earlier at http://www.Richromances.com where many members are busy with talking about this story. Many related blogs can be found at that site.
wakoopa more money
Like it, I wanna add our viral & mobile apps to it!
Dan Course : http://www.thoughtden.co.uk
i can not believe they will achive.
http://www.digalexa.com
This is a potentially good site for gamers to hook up with people that play their obscure executable.
So the service pairs up people who spend a certain amount of time on certain apps?
Alex
AppVee.com – The definitive source for iPhone app reviews
a: In all likelihood, the data will be sold to companies. BIG privacy issues here.
b. Such an application can be VERY useful for perennial procrastinators like me (and like 95% of us). I’m only worried about the social aspect. For mere productivity, I’d use Rescue Time