SOMEWHAT FRANK

MapQuest Adds Draggable Maps at Last

MapQuest, the dinosaur of a now crowded field of online mapping services, has finally launched draggable maps. I wrote a map comparison review for TechCrunch in April 2006 and MapQuest did not fair very well in the navigational feature comparison.

Draggable maps should at least put MapQuest back on the same playing field from a usability standpoint. Not to mention, with draggable maps developers might be more inclined to leverage MapQuest's API's to produce creative mashups.

MapQuest also recently added a Navigator which could act as a GPS system in the palm of your hand. It costs $9.99 a month and is available on Sprint Nextel mobile phones.

Bottomline: MapQuest has been busy adding new features to keep up with a competitive online mapping industry. I wonder what features will come next? Satellite images?

AOL Pictures Launches With New Features

AOL Pictures, the online photo site by AOL, launched today to offer a number of new features and a totally new look. AOL Pictures now allows users to share picture gallery photos openly on the web which is a huge stride in the right direction as it works to gain ground on other sites that have been enabling similar sharing features for a few years.

AOL Pictures also offers an Ajax interface an has introduced tags (single item and multi-select tagging), comments and subscriptions, which are standard web 2.0 features but may be new to AOL users. AOL Pictures allows you to edit photos inline which I found extremely helpful as I currently have to use Preloadr to edit my Flickr photos outside of Flickr site itself. Though it is worth noting, the AOL Pictures edit features only works on the Internet Explorer browser since it requires an ActiveX control. Interestingly, Photobucket, another photo site, does not sport any of these features and boasts 25 million users - go figure.

As an avid Flickr user, I went into using AOL Pictures biased to Flickr. So at first it felt a little awkward to navigate and perform all the actions in AOL Pictures but after learning how it is set up I found it easy to use. I enabled the mobile upload feature and uploaded a number of photos with ease. AOL Pictures makes it easy to share photos via email which I plan on it using for sharing groups of photos with family and friends. Flickr does not offer easy sharing features for non-Flickr users. Since most of my family and friends outside of the web 2.0 echo chamber are non-Flickr users, from now on I am planning on sending my photos to both AOL Pictures and Flickr. TechCrunch was unimpressed by AOL Pictures' simple, non-fancy approach but softens to admit it could be just what AOL users are looking for. For more information and updates from AOL Pictures team, visit the AOL Pictures Blog.

RunFatBoy.net and Get In Shape

In a society raised on soft drinks and fast food, staying healthy and fit is not easy. Throw in life's busy schedule and lack of a solid fitness plan it seems impossible to find time to run on a treadmill. For some, personal trainers are an option which adds a level of motivation and commitment. Now there is a web 2.0 alternative for people looking for a fitness regiment and a nudge to get into the gym.

RunFatBoy.net has launched to offer a web-based fitness planning and tracking system. By entering your weight, age and answers to a few easy questions RunFatBoy.net generates a custom workout plan. The plan can be easily tweaked if the user finds the workout too easy or difficult. Additional exercises can be added to the plan as well.

RunFastBoy.net was created using a combination of Ruby on Rails and PHP by Jim Jones, founder and CEO, of MakeNoize, Inc. a Lincoln, Nebraska company. I recently asked Jim what sparked the creation and he had this to say:

"Being active through high school and college, the past few years, I definitely let myself go. After having some health issues related to my weight, I began working out again.  I noted how tedious it was keeping track of my individual exercises. I wanted a clean, simplistic system but something that didn’t require a lot of maintenance. Thus RunFatBoy was born."

RunFatBoy.net offers a clean intuative interface making it easy to use. RunFatBoy.net also sends email updates to remind you to workout and you can also subscribe to custom RSS feeds of your workouts. Each day a user can also add workout note as journal entries. RunFatBoy.net currently does not offer mobile capabilities but is considering adding SMS text messagaing daily of workouts plans to follow along on your mobile device which could be a valuable added feature. 

At only $5 a month (30 day free trial available) it is a lot cheaper than hiring a personal trainer and offers a place to log your workouts to stay on track. Check out this RunFatBoy.net demo and jump back into the swing of things by signing up today.

Techmeme Offers New Sponsorship Model

Techmeme, the technology news aggregator site created by Gabe Rivera, introduced a creative new sponsorship business model today (September 25, 2006). The model allows content producing web sites to purchase one of three available sponsorships slots which are handles as follows:

"A sponsor's blog feed is polled every few minutes, the latest post of which appears in its assigned slot (first, second, or third)."

So basically, you are buying real estate on the Techmeme homepage as shown below. This is prime real estate as Techmeme harnesses the attention of a highly targeted tech enthusiastic and inclined audience.

The sponsor slots are sold as follows: the first, second, and third slots are $4,500, $3,500, and $3,000 per month respectively, with a one month minimum term. Techmeme already has the first three sponsors which include oDesk, Socialtext and Wink.

I am a big fan of Techmeme so I am happy to see it generating some revenue. In addition, it is further validation to my belief that if you build a great product first you can always come up with creative ways to monetize later.

Attensa 2.0: Free Enterprise RSS Reader

Attensa, a Portland-based company, has continued to improve upon its enterprise RSS feed reader solution which I highlighted previously, by releasing Attensa 2.0. Attensa believes that an Outlook integrated feed reader is a core requirement for large corporations.

Attensa 2.0 offers all of the same features of the previous 1.5 version including the ability to leverage "attention" click stream data to fight information overload as the most influential information is bubbled to the top. Attensa 2.0 offers the ability to set desktop alerts to deliver server alerts, out of inventory updates, pricing changes or other specify needs. Attensa responded to feedback from its Attensa 1.5 corporate integrations and now offers audio and video podcasts inline. Inline audio and video enabled corporations to easily enable podcasts for corporate training and other internal uses as enclosures do not send users to external sites or intranets sites for playback. The screen-shot to the left shows an audio file being played inline.

Attensa 2.0 is being offered with forum support and a PDF user guide for free! Additional support and access to the Attensa knowledge base can be purchased for $24.95 per year per client. For more information on Attensa 2.0 check out these articles on TechCrunch and the Attensa Blog.

Blog Icons Unite on TalkCrunch Podcast

A meeting of the blogger minds has been unleashed on TalkCrunch today (September 24, 2006). The podcast, which is part of the CrunchNetwork, brings together Om Malik, Robert Scoble and Mike Arrington to discuss a number of topics ranging from the state of voice over IP (VoIP) to their favorite startups and the hot news this week in tech which include mentions of Digg, Facebook, Myspace, Skype, PicksPal, Techmeme, Jajah, Scrapblog, Rebtel, Hullo and GrandCentral. Surprisingly, they failed to mention one of the hottest startups on the web - TECH cocktail.   

These questions surfaced during this one hour podcast:

• Why is VoIP so complicating?
• Is Scrapblog the next MySpace?
• Can Digg kill local newspapers and/or disrupt Google News?

Listen in to these three don's of the blogosphere as they weigh in with their perspectives.

Geek, Poke and Laugh at Web 2.0

Continuing with my recent theme of exposing humor related to web 2.0 as I have here and here, I would advise you to check out Geek And Poke. Geek And Poke offers a nearly daily cartoon focusing on clowning web 2.0, podcasting and blogging concepts. Many of the cartoons are time or event sensitive so anyone with their fingers on the pulse of the web 2.0 movement should find them clever. So check out Geek And Poke and ease into the weekend with some comedy.

Crowd Wize Site For Product Reviews

The Internet has become an essential tool for finding product information. Many spend countless hours searching the web for information. For example, if you are searching for a new digital camera you might search the web for a wealth of information. But how do you know which digital camera is the one to buy? Sites like CNet, Shopzilla and Consumer Reports currently offer consumer reviews and purchasing options but now consumers have another option. Wize recently launched to bring a new wisdom of the crowds approach to a product research site.

Wize has created WizeRank which is similar to Google's PageRank to rank products online. WizeRank is derived as follows:

WizeRank can range from 0 to 100 with 100 being the highest ranking. There are currently 32 products that hold 100 rankings and are being dubbed the Wize100. Behind the scenes, Wize leverages the jux2 Meta Search Engine (which was purchased off of eBay!) combined with user-generated content.

Aside from WizeRank, for each product review Wize provides users with a number of links to online shopping options that specific item. I assume Wize is using some sort of lead generation business model and has agreements in place with these online retailers, but I could be wrong.

Interestingly, Wize also allows enables the ability for users to save and make notes on products they find interesting in an area on the site called "My Research." This can be done without the hassle of creating a Wize account since it is cookie-based and ties to your "My Research" area to your computer. The downside to this approach is that if you delete your cookies you lose your saved information. Also if you switch computers you will not have access to your saved products.

Lee Odden recently highlighted Wize and concluded by saying:

"This is the kind of search function that really makes me optimistic about how social media and consumer generated media can be used to make search better. That is, taking thousands and some day, millions of editorial decisions about content, in this case product reviews, and applying an algorithmic ranking to it."

Which is definitely an interesting notion. For more information and updates on Wize be sure to check out the Wize Blog.

Time59 Invoice & Keep Time Online

Timekeeping and invoicing can sometimes be a daunting task for bootstrapping startups and consultants alike. Chris Monaghan, a Chicago tech developer for over 20 years clearly encountered this problem decided to develop a solution by creating Time59. Time59 is a web-based timekeeping and invoicing product. According to Chris:

"The original idea for Time59 arose from my own timekeeping needs. So for the most part, I designed it according to my own requirements."

Time59 allows its users to:

• Create and manage multiple projects with various hourly rates.
• Generate and email invoices easily.
• Store client contact information for easy access.
• Export of data to Excel and ASCII formats.
• Integrate with QuickBooks for complete A/R management.

Time59 is free for the first 30 days and then is only $19.99 per year for unlimited use. So give Time59 a test drive and stay up to date on the latest on the Time59 blog.

Amie St: Music Downloads Market Priced

Amie Street, Rhode Island-based music site, has reinvented the online  music business model by allowing prices for pieces of music to fluctuate based on artist interest and demand. The songs start out free and rise in price all the way to 98 cents. Music can be valued by the market just like stocks on Wall Street and prices fluctuate in the same fashion. Amie Street has also built in a social network hook allowing users to become friends and recommend music to one another.

Why am I talking about Amie Street? Amie Street could be disruptive to the music industry as they let the market put a value on the price of music and not visa versa. Power to the people - it sounds like a web 2.0 approach to music if you ask me. Eric Olson wrote an article about this music industry  disruption where he said:

"Music labels may fear this type of pricing model because it throws some uncertainty into the mix. Specifically, it hampers their ability to determine how much they will make from a certain recording. Enter market pricing. Now labels don’t know what their product will sell for let alone if the artists will even be well received."

In an era of American Idol and web 2.0 sites like YouTube, AIM Pages and MySpace artists can distribute music independently circumventing the major music labels. Unless there is a huge push to make all online music "free" (which is probably unlikely) Amie Street is positioned perfectly to become the business model for online music.

Are You Playing AOL Gold Rush?

AOL launched the first ever, cross-platform reality game called Gold Rush this past week with the help of Mark Burnett and CBS. The game allows players to turn pop culture knowledge into gold. Yes, you could win real gold during one of the 12 rounds which are each worth $100,000. The first two rounds already are over but ten rounds still remain and you can sign up today to play to win. You do not need to participate in the first two rounds to start playing today. The game is hosted by Mark Stein of Entertainment Tonight fame and has launched the first ever Glog (Game Log) which reports on the game and all of its happenings.

So check out this video which helps to explain the game and register today. Remember to start paying attention all the things see while watching TV, glancing at checkout magazine stand at the supermarket, and listening to the radio could make you a winner - it could win you gold!

AOL Headquarters in Dulles, Virginia has been buzzing with Gold Rush promotions as gold and black flags and signs have popped up everywhere. The AOL.com website even briefly took on a gold bar background theme. Since I am an AOL employee I cannot play the game but don't let that stop you from signing up. Good luck!

Amanda Congdon Headed Across America

Amanda Congdon, of former RocketBoom fame,  has decided to start a new project as she relocates from the east coast to the Los Angeles-area which is fittingly called, AmandaAcrossAmerica. Laughing Squid pointed me to the new site and immediately after reading about it I thought about the traveling trivia blog, 88Slide, which I covered previously since it also sports a traveling video blog format.

AmandaAcrossAmerica combines a map which plots the locations Amanda has visited with Flickr photos and video blog features. It could prove to be a compelling vlog formula. I just wonder how long Amanda will keep her show on the road?

A Del.icio.us 3rd Birthday

Del.icio.us, the social bookmarking site, has turned three years old this past weekend.  Del.icio.us was one of the first web 2.0 social bookmarking sites to catch on with the masses and was purchased by Yahoo back in December 2005. I have referred to del.icio.us previously on SwF.

Happy birthday del.icio.us!

TECH cocktail 2 set for Early October

TECH cocktail, the series of technology/business mixer events I co-founded with Eric Olson back in May, is ready for the second event which is scheduled for October 12, 2006 from 6:30 to 9pm CST at The Gramercy in Chicago, Illinois. The first event was a great time and was well received so we are pleased to be keeping the events rolling on a quarterly basis. If you missed the first event be sure to check out the photos from TECH cocktail 1 and the TECH cocktail 1 video to see what it is all about.

TECH cocktail 2 event details were just posted here. The event is free and open to the public. I hope to see you there!

Tagged: techcocktail2

Go2Web20.net Web 2.0 Directory Launched

I am pleased to announce that Go2Web20.net has been officially unveiled by Orli Yakuel, a talented Israel-based web 2.0 blogger, enthusiast and friend. The site offers visually driven directory to companies and applications of web 2.0 glory. It was developed by Eyal Shahar a fabulous web designer. I received sneak-peaks of the application several times over the last few months as it was prepared for the big time so I am happy to see it finally launched.

Go2Web20.net offers a one page representation of web 2.0 companies and applications. You can sort through the companies by tag, alphabetically or by date added in addition to searching by keyword. Hovering over a logo in the left pane presents additional related information in the right pane area. If you notice products or companies that are missing from the directory you can suggest a company or application as well - I just submitted a few. Finally, an RSS feed is offered for the entire directory so you can stay on top of its latest updates. Currently, the RSS feed is not being handled by FeedBurner so I have contacted Orli to recommend she present a "Browser Friendly" FeedBurner feed rather than the current RSS page since it offers a better user experience and will provides feed metrics for the feed.

Bottom-line: Bookmark Go2Web20.net and subscribe to the feed!!! It is an excellent living aggregation of web 2.0 activity. Well done Orli and company - this will be an extremely useful application.

UPDATED 9/16/06: Go2Web20.net is now using FeedBurner to manage its feed which can be subscribed to here.