Five Web 2.0 Apps that You’ll Digg
With the Web 2.0 conference taking place this week, I thought it would be a good time to dig up a few notable Web 2.0 applications you may not know about that have great potential. I’m always looking for which apps will be the next Digg.com or del.icio.us. Whose stock will rise this year? Because there are so many sites practicing the same overall premise, I’ve listed the five categories of Web 2.0 applications, with an example for each, which I believe will make some noise.
Categories:
1. Online Video
2. Mobile Phone - Social File Sharing
3. Social Localized Search
4. Social Question and Answering
5. Social Shopping
Examples:
1. Joost.com – You may have already heard of Joost from one of my recent blog postings, or you may have read about it in Time magazine. Joost, due to launch this summer is a new take on video that will revolutionize the way we look at TV. Although I haven’t been part of the beta testing, I’m confident that the cofounders will make this a success. The main reason is that they both founded Kazaa and Skype, which were both extremely successful in their own ways. One of the most exciting features is that Joost will provide full-screen, high quality video over the web. Other features include Joost producing as many as 5,000 to 50,000 channels. There would be a channel for anything and everything. Do you like fly fishing? There’s a channel. Are you a die hard Mr. Belvedere fan? Why not make that a channel. They will also include instant messaging, chat, and search capabilities all from a self touted extremely user-friendly interface.
Joost should be the application that will finally pave the way for Internet TV by combining the best of network programming, TIVO, On Demand, and community-based sites like YouTube. I'm psyched for the unveiling!
2. Moblr.com – This application works like YouTube and Flickr, but for cell phones. It allows you to share videos and photos straight from your wireless phone. As mobile-to-web technology continues to grow, more and more mobile applications are popping up on the web. You can see there is an international flare. The site is translated in English, French, and German.
While the U.S. is not adapting to the wireless web as fast as other countries, Moblr.com undoubtedly has potential.
3. Zipingo.com – This local search application brings a social aspect to Internet Yellow Pages (IYPs) by allowing users to rate and recommend local businesses. It’s a great twist on the Yellow Pages and IYPs. The need for having to choose a house painter by the looks of their generic ads is no longer necessary, thankfully. With Zipingo.com, you can rely on word-of-mouth.
Zipingo has a refreshing take on localized search. Another good example with the same premise is iKarma.com.
4. AnswerU.com – Where was this when I was searching for colleges? Someone could have told me that the cafeteria served lousy food. Then again, I’m sure that would be the case for 90% of universities. Social questioning and answering isn’t new. Both Google and Yahoo have pushed their answering services in the past (Google no longer makes their system available for questioning). But, what I like about AnswerU.com is the idea of making the site focused. You can go to Yahoo’s version and expect many different answers about all sorts of things, but this is one of the first that I have come across that solely focuses their attention on one concept.
AnswerU.com originated from two former MIT graduates who were frustrated with how long it often takes to get a simple question answered (wow, even MIT has those problems). They created a solution where college students can connect with other students to share advice, opinions and information. All the content on AnswerU is created by real students who developed their own extensive profiles.
The basis of the algorithm is that questions get routed to students who are most likely able to answer. Questions about squash get routed to people who list racquet sports as hobbies, while questions about specific dorms get routed to residents of those dorms. The site is currently open to any student with an .edu email address. They currently have 12 campuses to select from, but are adding more. They should look to include more schools soon as there is little interaction on the site.
Sites such as this, could pose to be an issue for institutions with regards to public relations and student recruitment. The ramifications can be disastrous for some institutions with howwell they deal with negative publicity on social networking sites like this. Annodyne provides online PR as a service, where we are able to combat negative comments on blogs and social sites, but it is time consuming. Most universities do not have the resources to handle this sort of negative press. Perhaps this will make them more likely to improve the overall quality of the school.
5. Crowdstorm.com – Want to stay up-to-date with what’s hip? Social shopping networks can allow you to do so. This site helps you find things to purchase by measuring the “buzz” around products. You can see recommendations from friends and people you have identified as trustworthy. Users will recommend products and can write comments about each product. This then allows the best items to go to the top.
Social shopping is yet another obstacle for marketers. What if your product isn’t buzz worthy? How can marketers affect their product’s popularity on such sites? Many companies are already utilizing viral marketing tactics to build brand advocates and give “incentives” to reputable bloggers for the positive reviews of their products. As an interactive marketing agency, Annodyne provides these services (sorry, another shameless plug). However, social shopping will not be as easily persuaded. It’s built with an algorithm, so we are really talking about social optimization.
Another worthy social shopping site to mention is ThisNext.com. There are many more. It will be interesting to see if the major online shopping sites adopt any of the social shopping functionality.
Your invited to post a comment. Please let me know your thoughts or if you have any other examples to share.
