Archive for July, 2007

The Next Step for Search

Thursday, July 26th, 2007

Magnifying glassSearch has come a long way since the glory days of WebCrawler, Excite, and Altavista. The introduction of Google’s PageRank system forever changed the search landscape. Algorithms have evolved and innovation continues to occur. But what is next on the horizon for search?

Verticals, verticals, verticals

I know I keep emphasizing the importance of verticals over and over. However, their value is priceless. I will not rant about them again in this post. Instead, if you want to read more about my stance on verticals, you can do so by reading the following:

Search engine education

Most users are unaware of the full capabilities of a search engine such as Google. Did you know, for example, that Google search can be used as a calculator? A stock quote tool? A parcel tracker? A flight status checker? A dictionary? Chances are you probably don’t. Further education and instruction is needed to maximize the user experience and provide exposure for these little-known functions.

Indexing of ALL pages

This has been a topic of discussion for quite some time. It is 99.99% likely that not all of the web pages on the Internet have been crawled or indexed. Search engines strive to reach the 100% milestone, although it will never happen. The constant surge toward this target (and the innovation that goes along with it) is critical. Making as much information available as possible creates more relevant search results and more efficient browsing.

Removal of clutter and SEO landing pages

As we all know, the web is riddled with redundant, meaningless clutter. Parked pages and SEO-tailored landing pages continue to appear, decreasing overall efficiency on the web. Add to that duplicate content that has been ripped off and republished, and there is a widespread problem that needs to be dealt with in a systematic manner.

The notion of removing pages seems to contradict my last recommendation of ‘indexing ALL pages’. However, as I’m sure you’ll agree, these clutter pages are useless and do nothing more than make life on the web a pain.

Personalized search

Over and over again, the concept of personalized search seems to resurface. What fails to surface is exactly what this looks like and what it means to us. Painting a clear picture of personalized search will be the biggest obstacle. Obviously, behavioural search patterns and trends will play a key role. But how? Are search results displayed in a new way? Are SERPs tailored to your individual profile? I have no idea. Yahoo and Google are making strides in the area, but it will be years before we can truly realize and appreciate the true potential of such a concept.

Conclusion

The way I see it, search is still in its infancy. Anyone who’s read the book “The Search”, by John Battelle, would probably agree with me. Soon, we will be able to search for anything, at any time. He sees a day when you can Google your lost luggage in an airport. I see a day like that as well.

Successful Start-Up Ideas: Science or Serendipity?

Tuesday, July 24th, 2007

Question MarkTry and say that ten times fast. Tongue-twisters aside, the topic has spurred endless debates and countless discussions. Though a successful business requires more than just a great idea, the idea itself plays a key role in the vision and evolution of company. Perseverance, determination, and dedication are all critical to any new venture, but the basis for any new company must start with the core offering. This leads us to the original question: do the most successful start-ups stem from the identification of a market need and/or inefficiency, or from a simple problem-solving exercise that happens to bring about an unlikely business opportunity?

Science

Some believe it is more of a science. These entrepreneurs start by identifying a potential market inefficiency or flaw. Research and due diligence is then conducted. If the idea is validated and a significant opportunity presents itself, then a business venture is launched.

This systematic approach usually follows a more traditional path, which includes the likes of an incorporation, financing, and strategic business plan. Specific goals and milestones are set forth and board meetings ensure that these targets are being met.

The key to this approach is tactical planning and pinpoint execution. If the idea is good and the implementation is smooth, then success is probable.

Serendipity

Often times, serendipity plays a role in the business creation process. An average citizen, likely with little business knowledge or expertise, attempts to solve a nagging problem. In doing so, he/she stumbles across an ingenious solution which may help others with the same problem. This discovery stage leads to a entrepreneurial stage when a business is created.

A more sporadic, less formalized business direction is usually followed. This dynamic form of business bodes well for flexiblity and change, but lacks in terms of guidance. Nevertheless, such an unplanned strategy has worked successfully for many in the past. Craigslist is a great example of this. Initially, Craig Newmark launched a simple, regional list of current events. His idea eventually blossomed into the world’s largest online classified ads site.

Conclusion

What can we all learn from this? Successful start-ups can stem from either origin. Essentially, this means that we haven’t learned anything at all, other than the fact that a great business idea can be conceived at any time, under any circumstances.

In order to gauge the success rate of both approaches, comprehensive research would need to be conducted. Even then, a case-by-case analysis is the only way to truly extract any reasonable conclusions. Therefore, an idea should be judged based on innovation and opportunity, not origin.

What’s your take on successful start-ups? A science? Serendipity? A combination of both? Neither?

Guess the Price: Parakey

Saturday, July 21st, 2007

The “Guess the Price” series of posts explores the fascinating world of Internet acquisitions. These short posts will appear when a start-up is bought for an undisclosed price. At this point, readers simply ‘guess the price’ they think the start-up was purchased for. Justification is not required, but is encouraged.

“Guess the price” Facebook paid for:

Parakey

Note: I do NOT know the acquisition price, so your guess is as good as mine. But I’d wager yours is better ;)

How Facebook Is Bringing Web 2.0 Mainstream

Thursday, July 19th, 2007

Web 2.0 is an echo-chamber - let’s face it. Many deny the fact, but it’s true. Ask anyone on the street about RSS, widgets, APIs, or wikis and you’ll get a blank face. Chances are they’ll think you’re speaking another language. Even fairly tech savvy Internet users frown upon such terms and phrases. As much as we’d like to think web 2.0 is mainstream, it isn’t.

Those who live in this echo-chamber glorify the trends and technologies, as their value and potential is recognizable. This bleeding-edge Internet group wants the world to learn about these technologies, but the fact of the matter is that they are very daunting and intimidating to the average user. In other words, web 2.0 needs to be humanized before it can ever be adopted by the mainstream.

Who is leading the pack when it comes to humanizing web 2.0? Facebook. Here is proof: Facebook new logoask any Facebook user if they know what RSS is or if they’ve ever used it? Chances are they have no idea what it is and they’ll admit to never using it. Little do they know, the Facebook ‘News Feed’ is essentially a rebranded RSS reader. Instead of pulling blog posts and news articles, the reader aggregates updates from your friends’ profiles.

This brings me to the most important point of all: Facebook is educating the masses about web 2.0 without them even knowing. In other words, Facebook IS bringing web 2.0 mainstream.

How is Facebook accomplishing such an improbable feat? By rebranding the terms and phrases that seem so daunting and sophisticated. This facilitates the education process and reduces the learning curve, making it easier for regular folk to adopt these technologies.

The term “social network” is synonymous with web 2.0. Though the nature of the term may be rather self-explanatory, people understand it. Sites such as MySpace, hi5, and Friendster have helped to provide clarity around its meaning. This education process is exactly what is happening at Facebook as we speak.

Let’s explore some of the web 2.0 technologies that Facebook has rebranded as internal features:

Wikis - By definition, a wiki is a collaborative space that can be edited by anyone with access to the site. This notion of participation and cooperation creates a more productive, usable information portal for all affiliated members.

Facebook has rebranded this concept as ‘Groups’. Within a given group, you are able to start a conversation (with a message), add photos, and provide simple commentary. Furthermore, administrators and officers have added control and functionality.

Blogs - When a user writes a ‘Note’ on Facebook, they are expressing their thoughts or opinions in a given manner. A collection of these notes, in reverse chronological order, can be classified as a ‘weblog’ or blog.

The offline concept of a diary has been around for centuries. It doesn’t take a huge leap of faith to consider a jump into the online world.

User-Generated Content (UGC) - Once again, the term may seem rather self-explanatory, but it does need some clarification. UGC is content created by the user - it is not production quality. Examples include photos, videos, and audio clips.

Not only does Facebook upload an astonishing amount of photos each day, but they also provide a simple, yet powerful video experience. Simply put, users are constantly interacting with user-generated content. They just don’t know it.  

API - An API is an Application Programming Interface. In other words, it is a way to let others integrate with your service by tapping into your data. This is what Facebook has done with their new F8 Platform’. They’re allowing others the ability to tap into Facebook’s database and create applications which can then be added to the system and adopted by users.

Micro-blogging - This new phenomenon is essentially a mini-form of blogging. Recently made popular by companies such as Twitter and Tumblr, micro-blogging is a way to provide a short message (usually less than 200 characters) about your life, mood, or current state via the web, e-mail, text, or IM. To meet demand in this area, Facebook launched ‘Status Updates’, which is simply another way of labelling micro-blogging.

Widgets - Though the comparison may be a bit rough, it is still worth acknowledging. A widget is an embedded device that provides some level of value to the publisher. This is somewhat akin to what Facebook has done with their ‘F8 Platform’, and more notably ‘Applications’. Once a user adds a given ‘Application’, it appears on their profile page, where other users can see it and interact with it (or even add it themselves).

RSS - The concept of the ‘News Feed’ acting as an RSS reader was outlined above. Having said that, Facebook has started to integrate actual RSS protocol within the site as well. Anyone now has the ability to subscribe (via RSS) to another user’s ‘Notes’, in many cases. I’m sure RSS is being used in other places within the site, but I have just failed to notice them. In any case, I expect the adoption of RSS within the Facebook community to be slow, but steady.

On top of all these obvious examples, Facebook also makes extensive use of AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) throughout the site. This creates a more intuitive, enjoyable user experience.

I could probably go on and on and outline further examples, but I think we can all get a grasp of the situation that is unfolding. What can we learn from all this? Facebook is a rebranding machine. The ability to provide such advanced technologies in a simple manner is truly remarkable. The day that excites me the most is the day that people realize that they understand what all these web 2.0 technologies are. That will be the day that web 2.0 goes mainstream - and I have a funny feeling that that day is coming sooner than we imagine.

Guess the Price: InviteShare

Thursday, July 19th, 2007

The “Guess the Price” series of posts explores the fascinating world of Internet acquisitions. These short posts will appear when a start-up is bought for an undisclosed price. At this point, readers simply ‘guess the price’ they think the start-up was purchased for. Justification is not required, but is encouraged.

“Guess the price” TechCrunch paid for:

InviteShare

Note: I do NOT know the acquisition price, so your guess is as good as mine. But I’d wager yours is better ;)