GoDaddy Unveils Mainstream Social Web Aggregator
GoDaddy has just unveiled an amazing new service called SmartSpace which lets anyone register a domain name and then instantly turn it into a social web site which aggregates any of the following components onto one page: a blog, a photo album, a chat application, email, RSS feeds, and even components from social networking applications like MySpace, Facebook, or LinkedIn. All you have to do is register the domain name you want and all the technical work is done for you - the site builds itself automatically.
Dynamic, Social Content
With the new SmartSpace service from GoDaddy, anyone can create a personal web site which aggregates your activity from across the social web, combine that with other sources of news and information, and then create a personalized start page containing everything of interest to them. The service can also be used as a blogging platform with social elements like chat already built in. The idea is that you can use the SmartSpace platform to create the kind of site that's right for you, whether that's a social network of sorts, a traditional web site with social elements, a place to host your podcasts, or whatever else you want.
SmartSpace is designed to be easy to use, even for non-technical users. With a click of a button, you can grab content from sites like flickr, YouTube, Google News, Facebook, MySpace, or any other web site that offers an RSS feed.
You can even customize this content to your own personal preferences. For example, if you only want to see Flickr photos of lolcats, you can just type in "lolcat" in the tag field provided. Alternatively, you could select the RSS feed of a particular person's photos.
In addition to this dynamic content form across the social web, GoDaddy also makes available various pre-selected news feeds which you can add if desired. This content is categorized by subject, and is similar to the types of selections that many of today's personalized homepages offer.
Chat & Email
The Chat application lets you have online text conversations right on the site. With the included administrative controls, you can launch a room, invite users, ban users, and participate in both public and private chat sessions. Again, there's nothing technical involved in adding this to your page - the app is already set up and ready to use. All you have to do is make a few choices about how it's displayed and whether it's loaded by default when you log in.
Also, because SocialSpace users have purchased a domain name via GoDaddy, there's an option to set up email addresses using that name. The interface for doing so is much easier to manage than GoDaddy's usual UI for creating email addresses (an ugly and geeky interface). Here, you're basically able to push a button and set up multiple email addresses associated with your domain. The inboxes for these can then be added as widgets to your homepage.
Photo Albums
If you don't keep your images online with a web service like Flickr, you also have the option to make your SmartSpace an online photo album using the SmartSpace photo application. With this, you can upload photos from your computer and then share those photos both publicly and privately in albums that are added to your page.
Web Site and Blogs
For text-based content, you can choose to either add a web site or blog to your homepage. With these options, you can select from a number of pre-built templates to configure the site. Although not as robust a platform as WordPress, the blog will probably work fine for casual users who want to take advantage of the other elements of the SmartSpace service.
Just Another Personalized Homepage Or A New Type Of Social Network?
SocialSpace could be linked to some patent filings the company filed earlier this year which describe a web portal that functions as a social network aggregator. According to those filings, the aggregation could be done using login systems like OpenID. Although there's no mention of OpenID integration in the SmartSpace support documents yet, we hope that integration is something they plan to add in the future.
Still, even without OpenID, what GoDaddy has launched today is a viable competitor to the other personalized homepages out there like iGoogle, My Yahoo, Netvibes, etc. But GoDaddy's SocialSpace goes beyond what those sites offer in a number of ways. Although widgetized content like photos and RSS feeds can be added to nearly any start page today, GoDaddy actually lets you own a domain name, set up a blog or website and then easily, instantly turn it into a personalized social network that aggregates content from the social web and includes chat functionality for instant interactions with your friends.
Will SocialSpace kill MySpace and Facebook? That's highly doubtful, but it could be a nice aggregator for those looking to establish a web presence with minimal work. And because it's from GoDaddy, a household name thanks to their high profile TV commercials and ad campaigns, this move also represents what may be the final leap where "social media" fully crosses over to the mainstream use and acceptance.
More Info
Prices for SmartSpace start at $4.99/month for 2 months. From there, the prices are as follows: 12 mo: $4.74/month, 24 mo: $4.49/month, or 36 mo: $4.24/month. You can watch a short introductory video here.
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"amazing new service" eh...i'll look forward to see what comes out of it. If these sites look anything like godaddy's site then it's a definitely nono from me. Hopefully that's not the case.
Are there any examples out there already?
ps. you've definitey got a point about "represents what may be the final leap where "social media" fully crosses over to the mainstream use and acceptance." - it really could be.
@Zee OK, maybe not amazing to us, but amazing in the sense that it mainstreams everything we've been involved in for years. Too much? lol
Eh.
Posted by: IAmGHOSTBLOGGER.com-BradW
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October 13, 2008 11:23 AM
That is really interesting mainly because it comes from a hosting provider.
Posted by: Rob Diana
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October 13, 2008 11:24 AM
Amazing?
Really?
Excitable, much? I don't see anything new here....
OK isn't this the "2.0" version of ...what was that...Bigfoot, or something? Yahoo bought it and then made site builder out of it, and so did a bunch of other web hosting companies(as in, they launched site building services as well).
This does look promising for mainstream users, not early adopters.
As a Godaddy customer i'm finding it hard to relate Godaddy with Friendly UI, although they have improved their site lately.
I'm gonna try this service, interesting to see if they somehow integrate it with currently owned domains and hosting packages (they already offer paying customers lots of other free services).
Thanks a bunch for the detailed update.
@Sarah :) I definitely agree with the fact that it is a step towards mainstream acceptance, no doubt...and that *is* amazing :D
I haven't checked out the tool yet though, waiting to see what other people produce first...I'm assuming this is a bit like a commercial hosted sweetcron?
Hmm, i added a comment on the post itself but it's not showing here :-) I'm sure i clicked CC to friendfeed
Posted by: Majento
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October 13, 2008 11:43 AM
Sorry, but GoDaddy's record on usability is pretty weak. I've moved all my domains from their site because their "control panel" is difficult to use. I can't imagine this app to be any easier to use.
Jason Kiesel
Founder & CEO
http://www.freedomspeaks.com
Sarah,
It is quite an interesting story. It seems GoDaddy becoming a new competitor to sites like Netvibes, or even Ning. But certainly it is a good move for GoDaddy.com since it sells new domains.
Moreover, GoDaddy may naturally integrate its SmartSpace service into its existing subscription-based business model, which could be a significant advantage over its free-subscription competitors such as Netvibes, especially in this economic downturn.
Good move, GoDaddy!
Yihong
the keyword here is "mainstream", very interesting
Posted by: JungleG
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October 13, 2008 12:02 PM
Disclaimer: Yihong owns 10,000,000 shares of GoDaddy stock.
Sorry. Couldn't help it but who actually CHEERS GoDaddy? I use them & don't get so excited about them.
I'll check out this feature, it will be interesting. Thanks, Sarah.
The best about GoDaddy are their GoDaddy girls -- and even that they over played.
Agree w/ Jason on their UI.
Right. It's not aimed at early-adopters. It's aimed at people who don't really know that they could do it themselves. That being said, it actually gives people who would use the otherwise free versions of the products at GoDaddy a very cheap way to remove the ads at the top of the page (costs less to get SmartSpace than upgrade any one of the products for no ads).
Posted by: Lindsay Donaghe
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October 13, 2008 12:05 PM
I'm glad I'm not the only one that feels strongly about GoDaddy's UI being the worst ever. I am semi-impressed with this move because it is identical to an idea I was thinking about doing exactly because GoDaddy sucks so bad.
Do they really need to offer new domains to users all the time? The registrars are still so focused on catering to domainers that the UX sucks ass.
They should also offer google apps for your domain, and any other 3rd party service that is better than they could do in 2 years of development.
I agree with others that GoDaddy could use some UI experts, although their recent redesign is a step in the right direction. The concept for this, though, is really pretty good.
Starving Entrepreneurs (wanted)
Interesting - looks like a direct competitor of Chi.mp.
Great move by GoDaddy. Have numerous 'unused' domains there. If it's this easy, why not experiment ??
@Not with GoDaddy
:-) I would be glad if your claim could be true.
Actually, I am not cheering for GoDaddy. I just believe that this is a positive move for the site if it look for growing. Be honest, its business model would be better than the Netvibes though I have no confident at this moment that its service could be better than Netvibes. Netvibes is so far quite cool.
Yihong
Entrepreneurs - Making Money
Invest in yourself. Become a entrepreneur. Enjoy a lifestyle by your own design with financial freedom. Training by a group of elite experts in the field.
@Sarah, neither you nor the FAQ at SmartPage explain why I should care to associate my private start page with a purchased domain name??
The power of services such as iGoogle or Netvibes is that everyone can log in from the same address. SmartPage DOESN'T have this basic user-friendly feature, yet they go and claim (GoClaim) that this difference is actually an advantage.
:S
Another good Website building tool is Webon from Lycos (www.webon.com) that gives users drag-and-drop tools to create and extend a personal web presence that incorporates Web 2.0 elements like blogs, RSS and Digg feeds, maps and more. Webon is designed to support the OpenSocial API for thousands of add-ons and widgets (such as iGoogle gadgets and Google FriendConnect), with no HTML or CSS knowledge needed, as well as OpenID to enable DIY social network connections.
Uh oh. What will Ruby on Rails developer charge for now?
Hello, have you heard of mypage.com? It's a nice website and free web app builder that you can use and it has social networking capabilities too!
I think it's a great way for GoDaddy to seperate them selves from the hordes of other web hosting companies.
Nowadays they are all offering more or less the same product, at the same prices, so they have to do something else to stand out.