Leveraging Context

Essentially, this would entail Twitter parsing over the Tweets of a given user, as well as the Tweets of the users he/she is following. Common keywords, themes, and phrases are then pulled from this data and associated with that user. As a result, highly-targeted ads can be displayed based on the user's network of content ("web design", for example). These simple text ads would look very similar to regular Tweets, but would be clearly marked as "Sponsored Content". Facebook employs a comparable strategy through their News Feed, although ads are based on demographic information as opposed to context. These Twitter ads would appear every 20 or so Tweets depending on the frequency chosen by the company.

Integrating ads into the content stream is a delicate process. Caution must be exercised and full notification must be provided. One wrong step may prove costly. Nonetheless, if ad integration can be accomplished in a seamless, unobtrusive manner, it can be extremely effective.

Ad System

The ads would be generated via a proprietary auction system developed by Twitter. Advertisers would bid on desired keywords and phrases, somewhat akin to Google AdWords. These specified terms, or bundles of terms, would ultimately be assigned to the highest bidder each month (as an example). The ads would run until the advertiser budget runs dry or the month ends. If the former is the case, excess inventory would be allocated to the second highest bidder. If no bidders are left, superfluous ad space can either be filled with Google ads, ads from partner networks, or house ads.

Obviously, most of the ads would be tech-centric -- after all, Twitter has yet to break into the mainstream. Its user base is filled with bleeding-edge tech enthusiasts. Armed with this knowledge, advertisers can directly target tech innovators, influencers, and early adopters while Twitter is able to command premium ad dollars.

Tiered Model

This strategy paves the way for a two-tiered "freemium" model. Any users that choose not to view the ads could be charged a small, yearly fee that would create an additional revenue stream. Ad-free account could be combined with premium features and added functionality beyond the basic offering to give users more value.

The combination of highly-targeted, contextual ads and a premium subscription should suit the needs of most users. Those who don't want to pay for the service don't have to. Those who don't want to view the ads don't have to either. At the end of the day, creating a flexible revenue model that doesn't cause a user backlash is the ultimate goal. If personalized, contextual ads appeal to the user, I have no doubt that users will not only accept this new model, but embrace it.

MeeboMe

MeeboMe is the leader in the space. This spin-off of the original multiple client chat (Meebo) is a nice, simple chat widget. It features publisher status, user nickname editing, and sound control. Also be sure to check out MeeboRooms, launched earlier this year.

Plugoo

Plugoo is a slick little chat widget that enables you to talk with site visitors via your IM client. In other words, you can work as usual without having to keep an eye on the chat box. Then if someone initiates a chat, a message will pop up on your IM. Great concept.

Mabber is a simple, basic chat widget. No frills or gimmicks. It has an easy set-up process and intuitive interface, which makes this a good choice if you're looking to add a little something extra to your site.

Pladeo

Formerly InCircles, Pladeo is beautifully designed Flash chat widget. Some might call it overkill though. Site owners can choose a vertical or horizontal layout, as well as the color. Nicely designed, but it may take away from the rest of your site.

Userplane

Userplane is a more sophisticated chat offering. I found the sign up process to be a bit tedious, but the end product was worth it. The company launched a revenue-sharing program in May of this year. [disclosure: Userplane is a R/WW sponsor]

Geesee

Geesee is highly functional and robust, yet it's also a cumbersome service. I found the interface and color scheme to be a bit childish, although I suppose the service is tailored as a more 'fun' offering than some of the others.

Gabbly

Gabbly is a slick, multi-user chat widget. The service also provides RSS and audio functionality. I found it to be a pretty good overall offering, unless you're looking for something extremely basic.

Chatango

Chatango is a personalized chat widget. The set-up was easy, yet it still provided a high level of customization. The interface wasn't the slickest, but it was intuitive. Overall though, I thought Chatango was mediocre.

Zoho Chat

Zoho Chat was one of my favorite services that I tested. It is extremely easy to set-up and very slick. The widget is very simple to use and professional-looking. [disclosure: Zoho is a R/WW sponsor]

ParaChat

ParaChat is more of an application than a widget. The embedded chat box is a "presence" and feels like it's part of the website. However the look n' feel is very web 1.0 and the ads take away from the experience. Overall, I wasn't overly impressed.

Conclusion

The implementation of a chat widget should be analyzed on a case-by-case basis. Not all websites may benefit, as some people may not have the time or resources to operate the technology. Having said that, the ability to facilitate real-time, pertinent discussions cannot be understated. Check out one or more of the above chat widgets and let us know what you think. Also if you know of other chat widgets or embedded chat programs that we missed, be sure to list them in the comments.

For in-depth analysis on start pages, check out Read/WriteWeb's The Future of Personalized Start Pages and Business Models For Start Pages.

Netvibes is one of the leaders in the space. The interface is not only clean, but also very well thought-out. Usability seemed to be a big factor when designing the experience - and it shows. In March they released their Coriander Edition - a "super personalized homepage, including a "Netvibes Reader" with multimedia capabilities and new "instant sharing" capabilities.

Pageflakes

Pageflakes is another leading start page. I am a big fan of the initial 3 step set-up process and the high level of customization. It's a very nice overall service. In July Pageflakes announced their latest version, code-named Blizzard. It introduces social networking functionality, themes, a slick Ajax UI, and more.

Protopage

Protopage is very cool. It may not be quite as practical as the front runners, but the 'sticky note' type interface gets big points. Though the messaging is scattered, the drag-and-drop is wonderfully smooth.

iGoogle

iGoogle is probably the most simple of all the offerings. It is Google's first big kick at AJAX start pages. The offering is extremely basic and lacks any clutter. See a full review here: iGoogle: The Epitome of Google Personalization

MyYahoo

MyYahoo is clearly tailored for the average Internet user. Messaging and instructions are clear and concise. Having said that, the interface is rather bland and functionality is limited. However, this is soon to change - as in March Yahoo announced a new beta My Yahoo with web 2.0 features. The beta My Yahoo has a fresh new design and some neat interactive features (using ajax of course!). It also aims to make personalization simpler.

Inbox

Inbox is a portal with an AJAX start page wrapper. As is the case with Yahoo, this offering will most likely appeal to regular folks, as it is easy-to-use. Advanced users may skip over it, as it lacks in the functionality department.

Eskobo

Eskobo ressembles a Netvibes clone, but there are slight differences. The service provdes a nice, clean page, but does not include anything revolutionary or particulary interesting.

ItsAStart

ItsAStart is a generic, two-column AJAX start page. There is nothing overly flashy or extraordinary about the service. In fact, I found that it offered the least attractive interface.

Favoor

Favoor is a beautifully designed start page, but it lacks in two key areas. Firstly, there is a mandatory registration process. Secondly, there is no default content once you finally access the page. Once these two obstacles can be eliminated, I think the site may have a chance at competing with the big boys.

24eyes

24eyes immediately engages the reader with a page full of news content. However, this can be somewhat daunting, as my eyes got lost! Perhaps I need 24 eyes to truly enjoy the experience to the utmost extent.

Conclusion

The need for a start page is undeniable. The ability to personalize and customize your own space saves time and hassle. A drag-and-drop interface is extremely easy and intuitive for newcomers to the feed aggregation concept. Adoption is simply dependent upon further education. One key question still remains however - where is the revenue model? Though these mini-portals are able to attract millions of users, monetization is needed for long term survival.

There are many other AJAX start pages available on the net. We have only chosen to list 10 of them and we're not claiming this to be a 'top ten' list. Please feel free to add others in the comment section below. Also, let us know which is your favorite.

Twitter

Twitter is the key player in space and the company name is used synonymously with micro-blogging. The free service allows users to post status updates via SMS, e-mail, or web browser. What's more, Twitter has an open platform allowing third party developers to build on top of it.

Pownce recently launched a micro-blogging platform with added functionality. On top of messaging, users can quickly and easily share links, files, or events with any or all of his/her contacts. See our in-depth review of Pownce for more details.

Tumblr

Tumblr is a very clean, slick micro-blogging platform. Its focus is on simplicity and elegance. Similar to Pownce, users can share a variety of things, including text, photos, quotes, links, chats, or even videos.

Jaiku

Jaiku is considered by many to be Twitter's closest competitor. Most features and functions are similar. It will be interesting to see how the company plans to emerge from the shadow of its main rival.

MySay

MySay is what it says. Instead of text updates, users call MySay and say how they are doing today. Then, friends or family can listen via phone, e-mail, or the web.

Hictu

Hictu is a service for video microbloggers. A webcam and a mouse-click are all that is needed to create a videopost. This streamlined solution saves time and effort for traditional vloggers.

Moodmill

Moodmill is a way to express your mood or current state of being. A sliding scale facilitates this process, while a quick text update completes the personalized service.

Frazr

Frazr is also very similar to Twitter. The main difference is one of language. Frazr is focused primarily on the French and German markets.

IRateMyDay

IRateMyDay allows you the ability to (yes, you guessed it) rate your day on a scale of 'Worst' to 'Great'. Users can also provide a short text update to accompany the rating.

Emotionr

Emotionr is a way to gauge your happiness on a scale of 1-10 (decimals included). As the name touts, it is a way to express and share your emotions and feelings with those around you.

Conclusion

Micro-blogging isn't a short-term trend - it is here to stay. The evolution of blogging has spawned this new mini version of blogging and many are latching on. The simplicity and ability to post frequently are what attract most to the concept. We expect much faster adoption and mainstream penetration than blogging in general.

Clicky

Clicky is a clean, all-encompassing analytics package. The service is tailored for small websites and blogs. It's easy to implement and contains advanced features such as real-time visitor tracking and in-depth content analysis.

Enquisite

Enquisite is focused specifically on incoming search engine and PPC traffic. It provides in-depth statistics including page position, landing pages, and specific geographic data.

CrazyEgg

CrazyEgg provides the ability to track, evaluate, and optimize your site based on where your visitors click. Heatmaps and overlays quickly provide perspective into user behavior and habits.

103bees is a real-time search engine analysis and statistics tool. It is highly focused on natural search engine traffic and the analysis of keywords and terms for SEO purposes.

Measure Map

Measure Map provides free, easy-to-understand web stats for bloggers. Currently the site isn't offering new accounts, but you can enter your e-mail for future notice. Owned by Google and some of its technology was ported to Google Analytics.

whos.amung.us

Whos.amung.us is an attractive, real-time visitor counter. It displays the total number of visitors on your site at any given moment. The easy-to-install widget requires no registration.

FeedBurner

Feedburner, as many already know, is tailored for blogs. In-depth feed statistics and general blog statistics are provided in a slick, intuitive interface. Now owned by Google.

Snoop

Snoop offers real-time visitor tracking. The service streams the page-to-page activity of visitors right to your desktop. Advanced features include audible event triggering and name tag integration.

ClickTale

ClickTale literally records the actions and activity of visitors. The website owner can then analyze the video footage to understand user behavior and increase the usability of the site.

MyBlogLog

MyBlogLog is essentially a social network for blogs. However, the service also provides valuable statistics; including onsite clicking habits and referral information. Owned by Yahoo.

Conclusion

There are many ways to monitor user activity beyond the capabilities of a generic stats package. The niche offerings listed above can provide insight and understanding, to help optimize your traffic and create a more compelling online experience.

Of course there are many other great Web analytics products out there - please list your favorites in the comments.

It wouldn't truly be "Google Personalization" week if we didn't talk about iGoogle. After all, it is the epitome of personalization for Google. It was their fastest growing product in 2006 and is available in 40 countries and 26 languages. Formerly known as Google Personalized Homepage or the abbreviated Google IG, iGoogle is a personalized AJAX start page.

Much like its close rivals Netvibes, Pageflakes, Protopage, you do not need an account to gain initial access to the default start page. Immediately, you are thrown into the mix. You are able to edit, drag, drop, add, delete, expand, or collapse to your heart's desire. But once you are set on using the service, you will need to register or log into your Google account to save your settings. Doing so will allow you to access this personalized start page from any computer once logged in.

Next, you may want to choose a theme and/or color palette for your page. Initial default content will fill your screen based on your location. In my case, CBC News headlines and TSN sports tidbits occupied the space, as I am located in Canada. Other popular "gadgets" (a.k.a. widgets) populate the rest of the space. These may include horoscope, weather, as well date and time, to name a few.

Adding Content

Specific content can be added via a URL or RSS feed. Google also offers a list of categories to choose from. A simple one-click system facilitates the process for new users. The categories include:

• Popular
• News
• Tools
• Communication
• Fun & Games
• Finance
• Sports
• Lifestyle
• Technology
• New stuff

As a side note, I found a bit of bias toward Google content. In other words, it seemed that the YouTube and Gmail gadgets (among others) were more prominently positioned than some of the non-Google content.

Personalizing Your Page

Once you're satisfied with the content you've added, you can begin personalizing your page. You can move things around or delete any unwanted content. You can even edit individual gadgets. For example: if you are displaying a feed, you can customize it so that you only see the most recent item, or as many as the 9 most recent items.

Collapsing or expanding gadgets will provide better use of the page space. Doing so with the individual blog posts or news feeds is also a great way to catch up on the news and save time. However, some content providers do not provide full feeds. Others tack on ads at the end of full feeds to provide some incoming revenue.

With gadgets still in mind, iGoogle also:

• Provides recommendations to similar content.
• Enables you to learn more about the content source.
• Allows you to share with a friend.

You will also notice that Google makes excellent use of tabs. Think Firefox. You can create a tab based on a specific topic, area of interest, or category. These ensure that you will not need to scroll down your start page for hours in order to find a given piece of content. Subsequently, tabs can either be renamed, shared, or deleted.

Conclusion

AJAX start pages becoming very popular. Though iGoogle may lack some of the functionality and features of the space leaders mentioned above (most notably a more intuitive set-up process), I found the service loads and operates much faster. All in all, however, I was a bit disappointed by the overall service. I guess I've just come to expect demand a lot from Google. This offering was simple and clean, but nothing revolutionary or ground-breaking. I commend them on a job well done, but expect bigger things in future iterations.

Yet, there still remains a number of juicy, mouth-watering targets available on the market. This may be a great opportunity for traditional media, as well as some of the Internet behemoths, to make a leap into the new web world. Let's explore some of the most sought-after names still available on the market.

Note: Now may be a good time for any company looking to acquire Digg. My guess is that the recent HD-DVD meltdown may have eroded a significant portion of Digg's current market valuation (at least in the short term). This unfortunate situation pitted Digg vs. the community. In the end, the company was forced to let a submission containing an HD-DVD key reside on the site and deal with a cease-and-desist order. The community backlash coupled with a potential lawsuit most certainly shrunk the valuation to some degree.

Technorati: Blogs are undoubtedly helping to shape the new media landscape. Having said that, users need to be able to search these blogs. Technorati is the status quo blog search engine. This popular search vertical is here to stay. Competition is lacking (with the exception of Google Blog Search). This is inexcusable for any major search engine. Yahoo and/or MSN may want to consider the addition of Technorati to strengthen their core search offering.

Netvibes: Personalized homepages are not a fad - their long-term future is certainly optimistic. Netvibes is an AJAX-ified start page that offers information aggregation and page customization. Such an offering would provide a great doorway for any portal or media site. Though monetization of the homepage itself may be difficult, an extended service offering could generate revenues via this customer acquisition tool. Potential buyers include major portals lacking such an offering, such as About.com or Lycos. Though Google, Yahoo, and MSN all offer such a service (Google IG, My Yahoo, Live), Netvibes also brings to the table a large user base and, perhaps, a better service. Other companies of interest in the space include Pageflakes and Protopage.

SimplyHired: Job aggregators facilitate the job-seeking process by pulling postings from numerous sources. This saves valuable time and hassle for the searcher. Traditional job sites lack breadth, depth, and diversity. For this reason, aggregators are able to attract huge traffic and a diverse audience. Any current portal or high-traffic property looking to add a job listing component may want to contemplate SimplyHired. Potential buyers include Google and traditional publishers. Other companies of interest in the space include Indeed and Jobster.

Spock: The growth and success of Google goes without saying. This means that start-ups looking to enter the 'search' space are forced to choose a niche, if they want to stand a chance at competing. For this very reason, vertical search has exploded onto the scene this year. One search vertical, people-search, has garnered a huge amount of press recently as several new players have entered the market. One in particular, Spock, has attracted the most attention and scrutiny. This stealth start-up had been operating under a high level of secrecy until recently. Potential buyers include any major search engine looking to enter into people search vertical. Other companies of interest in the space include ZoomInfo, Wink, and ex.plode.us.

BONUS - Facebook: This social network continues to dominate the headlines and expand at a blistering rate. Along with this growth has come an unprecedented amount of acquisition rumors and speculation. However, Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly stifled such rumors, indicating that a sale is not in-store. Even if an acquisition was contemplated, a steep price tag would likely ward off many potential acquisitors. Facebook would be ideal for any large Internet player with deep pockets, looking to tap into a juicy database of demographic information. Yahoo is a front runner, but Google or MSN could also provide a good fit.

Others

Other companies that were considered for the list include:

• 37signals - Any major ASP may be interested in this web-based app producer (Basecamp, Backpack, Writeboard, etc..), although the company has repeatedly expressed its reluctance to sell.
• Cafepress - This on-demand, customized product creation company would be a great additional for any large e-commerce site (Amazon?).
• Compete - Criticism surrounding Alexa rankings has paved the way for this new entrant; any company looking to venture into the statistic/analytic space may be interested.
• Kayak - A simple, travel search engine that could be a great addition to any portal or outdated travel offering.
• LinkedIn - This social network vertical is prized for its highly sought-after business professionals and high net-worth individuals.
• Ning - The Ning platform allows anyone the ability to create and customize their own social network; the introduction to a larger audience would likely trigger widespread adoption.
• Pandora - Social music recommendation site; the acquisition of Last.fm by NBC shows interest in the space.
• SixApart - This parent company could introduce personal blogging (via Vox or LiveJournal) and business blogging (via Movable Type or TypePad) to an old media player (Yahoo?).
• Yelp - Business reviews by real people; it would be a great addition for any information portal.

Conclusion

With a limited number of high-quality names still available, it will be interesting to keep an eye on M&A activity in the near future. Though many of the top names have already been scooped up, there still remain a few gems. Fit and congruence are two important factors that cannot be overlooked when considering an acquisition. If the purchase does not tie into corporate goals and strategy, then it should be dismissed. If a deal is forced, it may be a waste of time and valuable resources (both financial and human). Nevertheless, a smart acquisition can provide added depth to any company offering. We've witnessed this with MySpace's strategic purchase of Photobucket. It made sense - the fit was there. In the end, it was an easy decision.

Any companies missing from this list? Any companies that should be removed?

Recently we profiled this company. I think the following statement on the front page of the company website sums them up:

"Finally you can purchase quality blog comments without the stress of finding someone to write the comments, or buying some high priced automated program. We specialize in selling blog comments for blackhatters who are looking for good quality backlinks."

In other words, the company is looking to add further comment spam to blogs.

User/Submitter and Subvert and Profit

These sites are essentially creating a black market for 'votes' on social news sites like digg and StumbleUpon. By bringing together advertisers and paid 'voters', these ill-intentioned startups are attempting to artificially inflate the popularity of advertiser links. This not only degrades the quality of content, but also ruins the overall user experience at social media websites.

RSS Equalizer and RSS Content Builder

These two tools help website owners automatically turn RSS feeds into website content. If used legitimately, they can be useful. But more often than not, these tools are used to steal other peoples content with the intention of financial gain.

This is a huge issue in the blogosphere. Often blog content is repurposed illegitimately. Because search traffic and incoming links drive page views, this translates to unearned ad revenue at the expense of the original publisher.

Any black-hat SEO oufit or link farm

These illegitimate outlets are engaging in illicit SEO techniques by gaming the search engines and artificially inflating PageRanks. This means less relevant search engine results for the user and more traffic for the cheater. The upshot is useless SEO-tailored landing pages and added Internet clutter.

Search engines are in a constant battle to stay on top of the game, especially Google (as the biggest search engine). But black-hatters are always nipping at their heels, finding new ways to beat the algorithms and make the web a less desirable place.

MySpace

Finally, we come to MySpace. Note: we don't classify MySpace in the same category as the scum above, but nevertheless this king of social networks has committed many design sins. Tiled backgrounds, flashing text, and cluttered layouts. Did I mention illegible text and comment SPAM? MySpace has basically morphed into Geocities 2.0.

Conclusion

Obviously, some of you will disagree with the companies listed above. Tell us why in the comments below. And who else do you think should be on the list?

So let's take a look at the startup launches that have packed the most powerful punch in '07. The selections below are in order of impact (number 1 having had the biggest). Our criteria? Mostly, huge user growth in a short period of time. But another important factor is getting maximum press and blogosphere exposure - i.e. there is a lot of buzz about these startups prior to launch, or shortly after. Note that these are 2007 launches - e.g. Twitter, an obvious candidate otherwise, launched late 2006. We also haven't counted big company product launches, such as the iPhone. Here then is our top 5:

Babelgum is a free, on-demand Internet TV experience. Set-up of the downloadable app is extremely easy and video content begins to stream immediately once logged in. A slick interface and TV-like feel further enhance the experience. Where Babelgum lacks is in the content column. The company plans to initiate a 50/50 revenue-sharing program with publishers with a guaranteed minimum CPM of $5.00, which is very reasonable.

Since launching just over a month ago, Babelgum has piggy-backed off the success of Joost. Internet TV seems to be an optimal choice for many traditional TV viewers, as it provides the high-quality programming of TV with the benefits of the Internet (i.e. free, on-demand).

4. Tumblr

Tumblr is a new way to share photos, quotes, text, links, chat, or videos. The interface of this micro-blogging platform is very slick and well-designed. The clean look is extremely similar to that of the Wordpress back-end, down to the use of the word “Dashboard”. So far, the simple concept and refreshing design have paid off for the company.

Like Babelgum, Tumblr can attribute a large part of its fame to the success of a competitor - Twitter in this case. The recent growth of the micro-blogging space has been phenomenal. Other notables in the space include Jaiku, Pownce, Moodmill, and Hictu.

3. Mahalo

Mahalo is a human-powered search engine. The editorial team comprises in-house guides, as well as outsourced editors under the Mahalo Greenhouse program. These editors are paid $10-15 to create search engine results pages (SERPs) for the web’s most searched terms. In essence, Mahalo is creating SEO-tailored informational pages, somewhat akin to what Wikipedia has done.

Mahalo is headed by Silicon Valley veteran Jason Calacanis, formerly of Weblogs, Inc. and Netscape. Calacanis is hoping this new engine will outperform traditional algorithm-based search engines, such as Google and Yahoo. Thus far, the popularity and exposure of the endeavor have to be attributed to the celebrity status that Calacanis brings to the table.

2. Pownce

Pownce is a new way of sharing things. Messages, links, files, and events can quickly and easily be sent to friends, family, and colleagues with very little hassle. You have the flexibility of being able to share with one person, a group of people, or your whole list. This web-based service is also available as a downloadable app, powered by Adobe’s new AIR platform.

Many are comparing Pownce to Twitter, although I’m not convinced this is a good comparison. In any case, due to the generic nature of the offering, competitors include the likes of e-mail, IMs, as well as file-sharing programs among others.

The small team of four is led by Kevin Rose of Digg fame. Much of the hype and buzz surrounding the launch of Pownce has to be credited to the fame of Rose. If Pownce does prove to be a success, it would be Rose'’s third hit in a row (Revision3 being the other).

1. Joost

Similar to Babelgum, Joost is an on-demand Internet TV service - and it ranks as our hottest product launch of 2007. The downloadable app allows viewers the ability to stream high quality programming anytime, anywhere. Joost has signed numerous content distribution deals and pulled in many top-tier advertisers.

Joost is led by the powerhouse duo of Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis (of KaZaA and Skype fame). When the two announced they were working on a new Internet TV start-up late last year, the world stopped to listen. Known as the Venice Project while in stealth-mode, Joost launched early this year to much fanfare. VCs lined up to finance the new venture, as the probability of success seemed certain under the current management team. With all due respect, Zennström and Friis could have launched a social network for European table-cloth enthusiasts and it probably would have still garnered the same amount of publicity and acclaim.

BONUS: Truemors

All jokes aside, this low-budget Guy Kawasaki side project did cause quite a stir when it launched in mid-May. The premise: users report rumors via e-mail, text, or phone. Popular rumors make it to the front page in a Digg-like fashion. In other words, Truemors is “Digg for rumors”.

Most attribute the success of the launch not to the service itself, but to the star power of Guy Kawasaki. The idea is novel, but this leads many to believe that the sustainability and long-term prospects of the company are questionable at best.

Conclusion

What do you think of our selections? Have there been any other hot startups that have launched in 2007, that perhaps should've made the list?