2007年12月5日星期三
2007年11月28日星期三
7大在线活动组织及社会网络
Event Wax 是一个方便的组织活动的在线工具，组织者可以确定时间、地点、活动内容之后，把信息内容直接发布出来，通过设定的参与者注册来获取联糮.. ... Event Wax 是一个方便的组织活动的在线工具，组织者可以确定时间、地点、活动内容之后，把信息内容直接发布出来，通过设定的参与者注册来获取.
ActiveCiti 是用于活动组织的在线辅助工具，简洁的界面去繁取精，易于用户最有效率的在线完成包括活动的创建、策划、组织和管理。该工具支持多个同时开展的活动，可以非常方便的派送请柬，以及跟踪参与者的动态和意见。此外，活动发起人可以设立多个组织者，协同完成某一个较为复杂的活动组织工作。
MimeCity 是一个手机上的社会化网络应用，用户可以通过手机发布、共享和交流内容，也可以浏览、评论他人发布的信息。其中还包括一些实用的特性，比如同过这个平台来组织活动，并邀请好友和同事提出看法，进行交流 ---- 这相对只能在电脑前进行操作的方式要更深入随常生活。网站还提供细致的信息权限设置，用户可以针对自己的内容区分各种浏览权限。当然，MimeCity 也没抛弃电脑用户，同时提供 Web 操作界面。
ImThere 是一款手机社会化网络，一打开 Web 界面，就被其精致的 UI 设计吸引了，实在太漂亮了。而且功能上一样出色，通过手机可以上传图片、交互信息以及组织活动、创建事件。充分利用了手机用户的普及，推荐朋友们去玩玩。
中国的 Second Life 还在孕育中，国外已经冒出来第二家类似于 Second Life 的社会化网络：Kaneva。Kaneva 很像是一个 MySpace 和 Second Life 的混合体，既能提供一般社会化网络平台，包括个人资料页、Blog 平台、相片视频分享、好友联络，用户之间有方便的交流渠道，可以有讨论组进行集中讨论、组织活动，也能建立一个属于自己的三维实景空间，比如自己的公寓等场景。如果你还不能适应 Second Life 那种拟真度的操作，不妨试试看这个过渡性的社会化网络。
著名体育品牌 Reebok 发布了一个社会化网络 GoRunEasy，很明显，这是一个结合 Reebok 品牌的体育主题网站。其中整合了 Flickr 的图片存储以及电子地图功能，围绕长跑等日常的运动方便进行讨论、展示以及组织活动。不过感觉此类以品牌推广为目的的社会化网络，实在缺乏粘性与驱动力，或者认为 Reebok 是在做一个 Web 2.0 的实验也不为过，或许几个月之后也就自然消失了。
2007年11月26日星期一
中国版的 Second Life from http://www.cnstartups.com
"中国版的 Second Life" HiPiHi 之前启羁提到过一个演示视频，是一个在线的虚拟世界服务。最近他们获得了一笔投资，投资方为 ngi group, inc.，金额达 300 万美元。完成这一次投资之后，双方将在资本、市场、商务及客户、合作伙伴资源等各个层面进行战略性合作。
据介绍，HiPiHi 的全球化主要包括三个方面。首先，HiPiHi 将与全球IT互联网、通讯业领导企业合作，建立包括 PC 硬件和软件在内的 3D 互联网的相关标准；第二，与全球其他主要 3D 虚拟世界建立互联互通的标准，方便用户在不同的虚拟世界穿行和交易; 第三，推动和建立全球区域性市场合作伙伴、第三方开发者计划和社区合作伙伴计划等，构建 HiPiHi 虚拟世界的全球价值链。
更多的消息来自http://www.cnstartups.com
2007年11月8日星期四
网上订餐和MSN盘子！
最近大家讨论的一个热点就是来自北京上地的一个订餐公司，主要是利用msn机器人订餐，该公司除了有一个其他公司都有的餐馆，利用了现在流行的msn订餐之外，更重要的是他给了用户不同的体验。不光是菜饭的可口，更多的是他让用户在不知不觉中就等到餐来了，这一切都归功于他的一个智能机器人。这个机器人会陪同顾客聊天，了解顾客的需求，提供智能的服务，消磨等待送餐的时间。
从一个技术人员的角度，我们可能认为提供更全面的订餐方式包括网页，电话，短信，msn, qq, 等等方法，甚至是怎么样提供一个协同的订餐服务等等复杂的功能。当然这些功能可以让用户更方便的订餐，可是也许大家没有注意到订餐的人最注重的是什么？那是时间和速度，无论你采用什么样的订餐方式，中间的等待时间是必不可少的，那么怎么让用户不知不觉的度过这段时间就是提高用户体验的最高境界。还有位朋友认为订餐最重要的是饭菜的质量，其实也不尽然。个人订餐者，特别是工作餐订餐者主要关心的并不是这些，要不然他们就会出去一个吃大餐的地方好好享受了。
由此我们可以看到技术永远只提供了一种手段，如何让用户有更好的体验在于你怎么去运用好现有的技术。这不禁提醒我们这些技术创新崇拜者，技术只是创业成功的第一步，剩下的99步在于你怎么去运用这些技术。
2007年11月7日星期三
到处都是聚合，到处都是社会网络，到处都是UGC，如何更好地结合他们呢？
social network:
chinaren, facebook, linkedin, xiaonei
content aggregator:
delicious, blinks, zhuaxia, google news, rss, rss reader
user generated content:
bbs, blog, video, podcast, mini-blog
聚合的概念已经被用烂了，从最早的delicious，blinks，到抓虾；从google news，rss，到到rss reader。可是真正聚合做的好的并不多。这里面主要是一个用户体验的问题和如何利用这些聚合后的信息的问题。聚合谁都会做，给我一些source，我可以想办法把他们聚合在一起，自动的，实时的，可以做相当的整理比方说分类，聚类，时间检测等等。
社会网路也是一个被用烂了的概率了，从最早的chinaren，facebook，linkedin，到校内； 从general的社会网络到vertical的社会网络，从基于web的网络到移动的网络。 这里面主要是的问题是如何留住用户，建立网络本身没有问题，可是很多人注册了就再也不来了。导致现在很多社会网络都支持一种功能就是import你在其他网站的社会网络。
UGC也是一个大家用的很多的概念，从最早的bbs，blog，视频，podcast，到mini-blog，从讨论到评价，从digg到rating。 这里面最重要的问题是如何收集到足够多的且有用的UGC，以及如何更好的利用这些UGC。
如何将这三个概念结合在一起提供更好的服务呢？lijit就是一个做的很好的例子。记得去年在和lijit的cto，stan，一起吃饭的时候还不觉得这个东西怎么样，也许是理解不够，今天在仔细去看看发现这个想法不错而且把以上的三个概念结合的很好（因为最近发现了很多他们的广告）。先说说lijit是干什么的吧： 他是为大家提供了一个基于社会网络和UGC的专家查询和类似知识库的搜索服务。他的资源来自于从不同的UGC网站上收集到的关于某一个人的所有信息，博客，delicious，视频，你的blogroll，社会网络关系等等。比方说，你认识一个PHP的高人，现在你想学习php，那么你只需要到这个人的lijit上去搜索PHP，slides，pdf等等就可以得到权威的，有用的信息。这相当于是一个专家系统。 其实从技术上并没有什么特别的东西，但是我特别喜欢这个想法，而且认为这在很大程度上利用了以上三个概念来做了点实事，同时也是对现有搜索引擎的提高。
2007年11月6日星期二
由点评说开去
随着社会网络和博客等UGC（user generated content）的流行，点评成了一个非常诱人的创业点子。点评从餐馆（http://www.dianpin.com），酒店(http://www.17u.net)，旅游景点(http://www.tourseer.com)，老师(http://www.ratemyteachers.com)等垂直领域到宽泛的点评网（http://www.zanrenpin.com)，在互联网风靡的今天，在电子商务风靡的今天，其用处是无可否认的。曾经有英国科学家研究表明，网上的负面点评可以影响76%的人的购物抉择。记得1年多前看到了 http://www.become.com 的创始人的演讲，觉得很振奋人心，自己也想做一个类似的东西，从旅游开始。当时中国还没有相关的网站，后来由于工作的问题不了了之了。become这个网站很好的把购物作为一项服务来做，不是说你想买什么就给你什么东西就完了，而是帮你去尽可能的收集更多的相关信息，特别是其他用户的反馈和评价信息，从而来让你做一个更明智的选择。购物分成了research和shopping，就像逛街和真正买东西一样，往往人们花在逛的时间超过了购物的那一段短短的时间。由此可以看到点评和UGC的重要性。
同时还有一点是不容忽视的，就是这些UGC的可靠性的问题。尤其是在人力资本如此便宜的中国，人肉机器人还是很多的。类似点评网上的那些评手还是很多的，而且市场似乎还不错。因而又回归到了一个信任的社会网络的问题，就是说人们一般都只信任自己认识的好朋友或者某个领域的专家。这就是在各种UGC的网站上，如何保持这个社会网络的大小和多元化，和如何保持网络的可信度是两个需要互相牵制和平衡的问题。http://www.ishowpin.com 这样的网站的目的就是很明确，他们就是要建立一个比较可靠的社会网络，通过这个可靠的网络来推进物品，了解朋友，分享快乐等等。当然如何衡量一个人的可靠性一直是一个很难得问题，需要我们人自己和算法研究共同努力。
2007年11月4日星期日
Time Is On Your Side, Yes It Is (zz from A VC in NYC)
Several weeks ago I offered belated congratulations to Marc Andreessen on the sale of Opsware. In my note, I said to Marc:
It shows once again that all good things take time.
Opsware was started in September 1999 and it took eight years to create a business that will have $150mm of revenue this year. It was sold to HP for $1.6bn.
Compare that to YouTube, which in less than two years went from startup to a sale for $1.6bn (of which $500mm was escrowed for copyright settlements), without bothering to create revenues and EBITDA. This is not a criticism of YouTube, longtime readers of this blog know what a fan I am of that service and the team that created and sold it.
Marc responded and in his email back he said:
Time is (in my opinion) the hugely unappreciated and unanalyzed part of the whole startup experience.
In this post, I hope to add some appreciation and analysis of Time to the ongoing discussion of the startup experience, which is one of the many things this blog is about.
This summer I have had the pleasure of watching three companies go through processes which unlocked the value that has been building for a long time. comScore was formed in 1999 and went public (SCOR) in early July. TACODA was started in 2001 and was sold to Time Warner/AOL in late July. And Mercado Libre was formed in 1999 and went public (MELI) in this past week.
I was there at the start of comScore and Mercado Libre and showed up a year after TACODA was formed so I’ve had the benefit of watching these companies develop.
comScore started out with a big idea, to build a “megapanel” the first market research panel of over a million panelists using the web. And comScore planned to use this megapanel to measure not only raw audience on the web, but also what the audience was doing, including commerce. It took the team a bit over a year to build the technology to do this and in the summer of 2000, the service launched. The next three years were hell. Nobody cared about the Internet from the summer of 2000 until the fall of 2003. But comScore kept slogging away. And bit by bit, customer by customer, product by product, line of business by line of business, they built a company that is quite large, growing rapidly, and is dominant in all of its lines of business, and getting more so. And now comScore, instead of resting on its laurels is drawing up big plans for new products, new lines of business, and new markets. It’s a pleasure to watch. When you build a platform with ground warfare, in the trenches, slogging out, year after year, you often end up with something much stronger, that can be extended into new markets easily.
MercadoLibre started out with an obvious idea, to build an eBay like marketplace in the Spanish and Portugese speaking world where eBay had yet to enter with its own service. The team was comprised latin americans, fresh out of Stanford business school and eager to bring the revolution they were witnessing first hand in silicon valley to their home in latin america. But they were not alone. In the first year of Mercado Libre’s operation, we must have seen a dozen “eBay for latin america” business plans. Many got funded and a few developed significant traction, most notably a service called Deremate. That led to a number of years of direct competition to build latin america’s leading online marketplace. Mercado Libre ended up buying Deremate in late 2005 and finally was able to consolidate a leadership position in all of latin america. In fact, comScore's latin America numbers released several weeks ago show that Mercado Libre’s network is the fifth most visited network in latin america and the number one native latin network (after Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, and Terra) with almost 25 million monthly unique visitors. That’s quite an accomplishment for the team that started Mercado Libre in 1999 and still runs the business today. Again, it took time, a long time, and a dedicated focus on a single goal to make it a reality.
Although I was not there at the formation of TACODA in 2001, my partner Brad was, and I know the story well. After leaving Real Media, the company he formed in 1995, following the post bubble fire sale to 24/7, Dave Morgan started planning his next move. This time was going to be different. He figured it was a good opportunity to start targeting online advertising to people not pages. At the start, that meant building a sophisticated software targeting engine that was sold to leading online publishers. Three years later, after selling about 15 of such systems, TACODA was at a crossroads. It wasn’t making any money, the sales cycles were long, and many of its customers weren’t investing enough to get a return on TACODA’s technology. The management and investors decided to redirect the Company toward an ad network, where the technology was going to be free, the publishers were going to get paid, and TACODA was going to sell the behavioral campaigns. It took eighteen months to complete the redirection of the Company, but once it started pulling in a new direction, the wind was at its back and the business took off. Earlier this month, TACODA announced it was selling to Time Warner/AOL for $275mm, six years after it was formed in the summer of 2001.
What do these stories have in common? Time.
Time works for you if you have the patience to stay focused on the opportunity in front of you, if you have the tenacity to work through the inevitable hurdles you’ll face, and if you have the right kind of financial backers. Time allows you to recover from misteps, to build a team, to generate revenues, and even earnings. And when you've done all that, you'll have the wearwithal to choose when and how you want to exit from the business because you'll be selling a business instead of a team or a product or a feature.
So, if you are starting a company, prepare for a marathon, not a sprint. Take a deep breath. Commit yourself to the long haul. Let time work for you.