Depends on your audience. If you’re running a business with users that are technically astute, then it’s more like the 99/1 rule. Businesses like Brightkite built out their product by tapping into collaborative users and listening to everyone may prove to be more important than someone with a more traditional online business model. Older models (like a job board) are more likely to...
If you have narrow feet and want your own customized shoes, go to Puma’s Mongolian Barbeque. The site launched in 2006 (yes, that was three years ago; I’m just getting around to it. I’ve been busy!) and allows you to customize your shoe just about any way you’d like it; except allow you to order it in a different width. It is a perfect example of what most remember The...
Why can’t I stream movies from Netflix without being a member? I understand Netflix not wanting to send a non-member a DVD but I’m not talking about that. I just want to stream a movie and don’t really want to join. This is not because I don’t like the company but because I can’t plan out when I’ll watch a movie due to the constraints of fatherhood. Netflix is...
Just saw this video for the new NIN iPhone application and it begs the question as to whether iPhone applications could be used to monetize web 2.0 businesses. With a combined 30 milli0n iPhones and iTouches out in the wild and new app stores from Android and Blackberry this is going to be one way to generate revenue through one-time fees or subscriptions (with 3.0). Of course someone can access...
Businesses don’t shape business any longer. Users do. I’m of course referring to the online world and am sure this will extend the tangible world. Some would argue this has always been the way, with businesses putting things out and then users dictating what is popular. Today’s paradigm is a little different with businesses following users examples. Examples are: Users on...
Before the holidays, I interviewed Eric Wu the Vice President of Product for Fuser. Fuser is an aggregator of communications and handles email from Yahoo!, AOL, Gmail, etc and social networking messages from MySpace, Facebook and Twitter. Fuser was founded by Jared Polis to solve his communication problem. Jared Polis (now Congressman Polis) sold Blue Mountain to Excite for $780 million without a...
Fans of Twitter have openly wondered how they’re going to make money. They have over 2 million users (and growing), a rabid fan base but still no revenue. This is common among Web 2.0 companies; get the audience and then figure out how to monetize later. I keep wondering when the later will be. I started to think I had figured out how to monetize twitter; but later figured out it would fail...