So far in 2007 we've seen some exceptional web app launches. From video to
micro-blogging, new startups have transformed the web landscape. So what defines a 'hot
launch'? Obviously, a great product is essential, but also the ability to generate
buzz.
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).
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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?
Comments
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Interesting idea for a post, but it doesn't make 2007 sound like a very good year so far. Although I've had a look at a few of the six services in the top five, I only use one:
Posted by: Andrew | July 12, 2007 2:40 PMhttp://andwat.tumblr.com/
Mahalo? Truemors?
Are you kidding?
I really like this blog, but pa-leeze, gimme a break.
Top 2 reasons why Mahalo sucks:
Wikipedia kicks Mahalo's a$$. Instead of a small group of paid editors, Wikipedia has thousands of people editing and categorizing data. Try searching for things (like Tiger Woods) on Mahalo and Wikipedia and see what you prefer.
It isn't a search engine. It is a directory. Directories are expensive to maintain and get old very fast. The list of companies with major funding that have tried this and failed is long. Ask Yahoo, Newhoo/Dmoz/Open Directory, Netscape. And so on.
http://www.i-boy.com/weblog/2007/05/mahalo-and-goodbye.html
Too many other people have written about why Truemors is a half-a$$ed attempt, so I'll leave it to them ...
Echoing the first post, does this mean that 2007 has been a sh*t year for start-ups so far? Common all you entrepreneurs, here's your chance to shine! ;-)
~G~
Posted by: George Nimeh | July 12, 2007 5:31 PMGeorge, I agree -- but remember the criteria was how many users and media/blog coverage they got, not how good the apps actually are ;-)
But it is interesting that other than Joost and Babelgum (I don't know much about Tumblr), there haven't been many outstanding new innovations launched in 07 that have blown people away. Twitter was the last I can remember, other than the IPTV products coming out now (see last100.com for more coverage on those).
Where are the next YouTubes, Facebooks, Zohos, Pageflakes, etc?
Posted by: Richard MacManus | July 12, 2007 6:01 PMGeorge,
I am not crediting or discrediting the success of any of the companies listed above. Moreover, it would be naive to do so this early in the game. The post was designed to highlight the companies that have gained the most exposure and attention so far in 2007. They are high traffic properties with growing user bases. Whether these companies can sustain over the long-term is completely different question - for a completely different post.
In the case of Mahalo, it is pretty hard to argue against the spotlight that has shone on this start-up. The same goes for Truemors.
Once again, I encourage you to add any names I may have forgotten.
-Aidan
Posted by: Aidan Henry | July 12, 2007 6:06 PMgeni.com?
Posted by: aaron | July 12, 2007 7:09 PMI agree, the keyword here is launches. Not the best product or the hottest product, but the hottest launch.
Posted by: Brad | July 12, 2007 7:11 PMLet's not sleep on FantasySportsMatrix.com. =)
Posted by: Michael Vu | July 12, 2007 7:41 PM@Brad - good reminder. I take back geni and give you Yahoo! Pipes.
Posted by: aaron | July 12, 2007 8:05 PMmmm... funny how most of them relies on internet stars to build hype. maybe entrepreneurs should pay stars like this when launching their products.
also what about iphone? you talked about it on r/ww for a great deal of time.
Posted by: heri | July 12, 2007 8:09 PMheri, thanks for picking that up re iphone. To clarify, we were referring to startup product launches. I have updated the post to clarify that.
Posted by: Richard MacManus | July 12, 2007 9:54 PMGreat list, thanks.
http://www.ebooksbay.org
Posted by: eBooksBay | July 13, 2007 12:37 AMJoost tagline says TV anywhere, anytime...
But looking at the list of available programmes they are almost all limited to certain countries or regions. Doen't this defeat the whole idea of being able to watch shows from other countries, for instance people who immigrated and want to keep in touch with issues back home?
Posted by: edward | July 13, 2007 1:34 AMAt FindLikeMinds.com we don't have any big celebrity name or VC investment, which means a slower traffic curve. It’s hard work getting coverage but when your efforts work it’s very satisfying and it does mean you avoid the ‘hype let down’! How many people go to some of these new sites, have a look and just never ever go back? It's all about how good the idea is or how well you've improved on an existing concept.
I'm not saying Heri is wrong though, it would be great to have a big name promoting your product but in the beginning wasting money on a hyped launch might not be so smart - I'm all for steadily growing traffic and the long term.
At FindLikeMinds.com we aren't working with large budgets and masses of people (we are only two!) but have found that approaching the right people, in the right way can still deliver results, traffic, new members and gets people talking about you. We've just done exactly on the latest episode (#198) of GeekBrief.TV with Cali Lewis http://geekbriefwp.podshow.com/gbtv-0198-geekbrieftv
As George and Richard call for the next Facebooks, Zohos, Pageflakes and for entrepreneurs to shine, we can only hope to be talked of in the same breath, but we'll get there and without the celebrity, all the hype and the associated costs!
This article also raises another important question. Aside from the obvious 'social/Web 2.0' sites and the likes of some really helpful sites like MOMB http://momb.socio-kybernetics.net/ and http://www.go2web20.net/ what services are available to help launch new start-ups without a celebrity name, VC investment or a large budget!
Thoughts and visits welcome!
Posted by: Rob | July 13, 2007 2:35 AM2007 is not over yet! Have you checked out this new team management collaboration and communication platform called the we+ workspace from yooplus? Check it out at www.yooplus.com!
Posted by: Thomas | July 13, 2007 5:26 AMAidan,
thank you for mentioning Hictu in your post. For more information you can visit my blog for weekly updates. Hictu introduced the concept of micro-video blogging, letting users post text, audio and videos in their micro blog post.
New features are released weekly. Next on Monday 16th.
regards,
Luca
Posted by: luca | July 13, 2007 9:06 AMAt FindLikeMinds we don't have any big celebrity name or VC investment, which means a slower traffic curve and no big launch.
The reality is it’s hard to get coverage but when your efforts work it’s very satisfying and it does mean you avoid ‘hype let down’! How many people go to some of these hyped new sites, have a look and just never ever go back? It's all about how good the idea is or how well you've improved on an existing concept. A great idea without hype will outlast an average idea with it!
I'm not saying Heri is wrong though, it would be great to have a big name promoting your product (providing it's a great product and the association is relevant) but in the beginning wasting money on a hyped launch might not be so smart - I'm all for steadily growing traffic and the long term.
We aren't working with large budgets and masses of people (we are only two!) but have found that approaching the right people, in the right way can still deliver results, traffic, new members and can get people talking about you. We've just done exactly that on the latest episode of GeekBrief TV (#198) with Cali Lewis.
As George and Richard call for the next Facebooks, Zohos & Pageflakes and for entrepreneurs to shine, we can only hope to be talked of in the same breath. We'll get there but with a great idea and without the celebrity, the hype, the associated costs and the hype let down!
This article also raises another important question. Aside from the obvious 'Social/Web 2.0' sites and the likes of some really helpful sites like MOMB and Go2web20. What services are available to help launch new start-ups that don't have a celebrity name, a large team, VC investment or a large budget?
Thoughts and visits welcome!
Posted by: Rob | July 13, 2007 12:18 PMThanks for including us in the list, however "starting is easy, finishing is hard." We've gotten a ton of press and interest from users--which we are very thankful for--but we're only 5-10% complete with the product. We're still in very early alpha with only 6,500 pages(we launched with 4,000).
When we have 10-20,000 pages I think the product will be worth reviewing and using... right now we're a work in progress.
Mahalo for thinking of Mahalo!
Jason
Posted by: Jason | July 14, 2007 4:32 PM"I agree, the keyword here is launches. Not the best product or the hottest product, but the hottest launch."
I argree with this
Posted by: Lemon | July 14, 2007 11:04 PMBabelgum in the same category as Joost? Yeah, maybe in six months (if it makes it that long), Babelgum can be compared to Joost. Right now that's just 100% wishful thinking. It doesn't compare - on experience, on stability, on content partnerships. And there's no sign its evolving anywhere near as fast as Joost is. This doesn't need to be a one-horse race, but if you see how cavalier Babelgum (and Wurld) are being about this contest, they really seem to think there'll be some sort of market for them by the time they get their sh*t together.
Like Veoh. Or Revver. Or.. Oh well. You get the point.
Posted by: Mark Pesce | July 15, 2007 5:15 PMAnd wtf is up with your comment system? I put in my own URL, it turns into markpesce.consulting.com? What kind of crap is that?
Posted by: Mark Pesce | July 15, 2007 5:17 PMtesting
Posted by: Jitendra | July 15, 2007 10:59 PMTumblr is very nice to share Snaps...
Posted by: Sanghala | July 15, 2007 11:07 PMHope I adviced to all my friends
I think we've just defined Web3.0
- Custom CMS with a non-sensical name attached which, says nothing about what is being delivered to the user.
Joost
Pownce
Mahalo
Tumblr
Babelgum
Truemors
"Ms Jones? Can you please call marketing...?"
Posted by: Codemonkey100 | July 17, 2007 5:16 AMTruemors - seriously? - it's become a dull version of Digg - no interesting rumors just links to blog posts
Posted by: Phil | August 3, 2007 12:07 PM