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Lots of web-related business ideas this week—from a new phone company that integrates Skype and instant messaging, to candy gifts for Facebook friends. Those of you who are less interested in online opportunities: don’t worry—we have plenty of offline concepts lined up for next week. Our next edition is due on 5 March 2008. In the meantime, check out our daily postings on www.springwise.com, send us your tips, and please don't forget to tell your friends and colleagues about us. Much appreciated! |
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By offering a set of sophisticated project management tools, Kluster aims to enable crowds to develop new concepts. The system is currently being demonstrated at the TED conference in Monterey, where the event's attendees will be able to work together to create a product prototype in 72 hours. (Rapid prototyping machines and a team of modellers are standing by.) Kluster wasn’t developed just for tangible objects though. It can also be used to create brand identities, plan events or for any other project that would benefit from crowd input. Granted—Kluster isn’t the first venture to create a platform for crowdsourcing. Cambrian House and CrowdSpirit both operate in this space. The main advantage Kluster offers is incentive: a highly developed system of rewards. Members can earn ‘Watts’ (the local currency) by helping solve problems or suggesting refinements or enhancements. They can also invest their Watts, and can cash out if a project is purchased by a third party. Investments grow along with a project’s value, and a member’s stake is based on how much he or she has contributed. As explained by Kluster: “Watts encourage users to participate and stay on target, keeping the community productive.” Anyone can initiate a project, and Kluster claims to use complex algorithms to let the brightest ideas surface, not just the loudest ones. Several companies have signed up to engage Kluster’s community and tap into their collective creativity. In the best case scenario, the crowds will help brands create new hit products. At the very least, using Kluster will let them interact with their most dedicated customers. Smaller companies, meanwhile, can use Kluster as an instant research and development lab, enlisting (and rewarding!) the community to help ‘flesh out’ ideas that they might otherwise not be able to develop. One to experiment with! Website: www.kluster.com Spotted by: Kare Anderson
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Last summer we wrote about a Facebook application that lets users of the popular social network send real flowers to their virtual friends, and now The Light Agency has expanded on that idea with a Mars-branded widget that makes it possible to send real candy. Launched on Valentine's Day, Celebrate allows UK users of Facebook to choose from a range of Mars confectionery gifts from the Celebrate Sweet Shop online. To send one, they simply select a friend, add a message and pay for the gift via tokens on their PayPal account. A message is sent to the gift recipient requesting their mobile number, and a unique Celebrate Voucher ID and gift details are then sent to them via SMS text. To collect the gift, the recipient just visits one of more than 12,500 participating PayPoint retailers and shows the Celebrate Voucher ID. As the lines dividing the real and virtual worlds continue to blur, consumers will increasingly value the ability to bring niceties like real-world gift-giving to the virtual realm. With just a few contenders so far, the sky's still the limit on opportunities—one to get in on early! Website: www.thelightagency.com Spotted by: Bjarke Svendsen
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Aiming to invigorate a stagnating housing market, Dutch ING Bank is helping potential buyers bid on houses that aren't yet for sale. The bank's WoonWaarUWilt ("LiveWhereYouWant") initiative, which launched yesterday, lets clients make an offer on the house they'd love to own. ING is partnering with online real estate firm iBlue. After potential buyers fill in a form on www.woonwaaruwilt.nl, including their dream home's address and the initial offer they're willing to make, iBlue contacts them to discuss whether the offer is reasonable, and adjusts it if necessary. A mortgage consultant also determines whether the buyers would be able to finance the purchase. iBlue then sends a preliminary offer to the property's current owners, explaining the situation and inquiring whether they'd consider selling. As with other 'Intention Economy' real estate ventures we've covered before (in Finland and elsewhere), the reasoning is that many homeowners aren't actively interested in selling, but can be persuaded to do so if the right offer comes along. By declaring their intention and backing it up with a lender’s financial approval, buyers can help eliminate the uncertainty associated with putting a house on the market. Meanwhile, the concept is a smart way for ING to get a head start on other banks when it comes to financing the transaction. Making an offer is free for clients, but if the owners are interested in pursuing the offer, iBlue acts as the buyer's agent and charges a commission once the deal is done. The Intention Economy was first described by Doc Searls as follows: “The Intention Economy grows around buyers, not sellers. It leverages the simple fact that buyers are the first source of money, and that they come ready-made. You don't need advertising to make them.” Which offers exciting opportunities for businesses who are willing to shift from marketing to buyers, to facilitating their intentions. Website: www.woonwaaruwilt.nl
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As the environmental consequences of driving cars become ever more clear, consumers are increasingly aware of the benefits of alternative modes of transportation. Walkit is a website that promotes the power of walking as a healthier way to get around. Walkit's goal is to help consumers make more informed decisions about whether they choose to walk for all, or part, of any given journey. The UK-based site currently offers walking routes for London, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Newcastle/Gateshead, and plans to cover all the UK's major cities by the end of this year. Users looking for walking routes simply enter their starting location and desired destination, along with whether they prefer the most direct route or the least busy one; there's also an option to request a route "via" some other spot along the way. Thanks to a feature just added earlier this month, users going through inner London can request "fresh air" routes with the lowest pollution as well. Either way, Walkit then supplies the user with a detailed map and written directions, including distance, walking time, the number of calories burned and the carbon dioxide avoided by walking rather than riding in a car, taxi or bus. Walkit first launched in London in late 2006, and over the course of 2007 it received more than 440,000 visits and generated nearly 670,000 walking routes. Glasgow is reportedly next on its list, and discussions are apparently also under way across the Atlantic in Boston. The site is supported by ads and sponsorships, including on-map icons and store locators. It's pretty safe to say demand will only increase for alternative ways to get around, and there's no cheaper alternative than walking. Why not help consumers in a city near you rediscover the power of their own two feet? (Related: Downloadable shopping maps.) Website: www.walkit.com Spotted by: Mark Boreland
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Start-up phone provider Ribbit aims to offer solutions to questions like: “Why can’t I forward voice messages like I can my email?” or “Why doesn’t my phone ring in my browser?” Ribbit, which is still in beta testing phase and set to launch in the coming months, is headed up by Silicon Valley tech veterans who plan to load their phone service with applications previously unavailable from a single phone network. Instead of simply displaying a caller ID, for example, Ribbit will create a mashup of relevant information culled from social networks like Twitter and Facebook, revealing what the caller is currently doing/reading/watching. What Ribbit is attempting, via its development platform Amphibian—is to combine all of the different ‘talk channels’ that consumers are using, and to overlay this unified communication hub with web-enabled features such as voicemail sorting tools and info-rich caller ID. Call routing is good example of their integrated approach. As explained by Ribbit: “Drag and drop personal call routing lets you connect all your phones together. It's your call—you determine where you want to take it. Route calls to Skype, MSN, Google Talk, home, office, or anywhere you want. Ring all, none, or some...answer one and they all stop ringing. And you can even move a live call from one phone to another.” Additional applications will come from independent developers using Amphibian’s API. These developers—more than 600 have signed on so far—can sell the tools they create via Ribbit’s online store. That’s where the opportunity for tech-savvy entrepreneurs may lie. Ribbit itself will create revenue through access fees to its API, along with support services and sales of applications developed both in-house and by third parties. Ribbit isn’t alone in this space, of course. Heavyweight Google recently announced its open model Android operating system for mobile phones. Another major player, eBay, is under pressure to wring more profits from its Skype subsidiary. And Apple has plans to further open up its iPhone to third party developers. Bottom line: the telecom industry is about to get even more lively, with lots of opportunities for small-scale developers to create their own profitable niches that serve consumers like never before. Spotted by: Mark Ingebretsen
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Until recently there has been online dating—traditionally a matter of photos and profiles—and speed dating, which took the offline dating world by storm. The two were obviously a match made in heaven, though, because in the last few months several new sites have begun offering speed dating online. WooMe, for example, which launched in November, is an online introduction platform that allows users to meet, see and hear people live in 1-minute conversations. Using a webcam and WooMe's optimized in-browser video and voice capability, users congregate online for five-minute "speed sessions" in which everyone gets to meet five new people. Users can create their own session focusing on a particular topic, or they can join one that's already scheduled. Either way, they decide whether they've been "woo'd" or not by each member they meet and pursue the connections with those they like. San Francisco-based WooMe is backed by the founders of Skype (Atomico Investments), Mangrove Capital Partners and Klaus Hommels, and its service is free. Camlink, meanwhile, is another free service aimed at bringing speed dating to the web. Still in beta, the New York-based service offers online speed date sessions of mini-dates ranging anywhere from 1 minute "turbo dates" to 5 minute introductions. Sessions are all based on themes, such as "New York movie lovers" or "Jewish singles." During each date in a session, users vote whether they like the person they're speaking with or not; if both sides vote "yes" the system detects the match and users are prompted to select which contact information to share. Finally, California-based SpeedDate, also free, lets users go on live, 3-minute dates through voice, video and IM, and then vote for those they like. Once again, if both parties click "yes" for each other, they are given the opportunity to contact each other and pursue the connection. Dating is an area that just keeps on spurring new innovation. While all three of these sites are open to users around the world, the concept begs for localized versions. One to bring to an area near you! (Related: Dating 3.0, Group dating.) Websites: www.woome.com — www.camlink.com — www.speeddate.com/date Spotted by: Luke Humble and Ozgur Alaz
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Companies including the likes of Google have long touted the potential of GPS-based advertising, and that promise recently came a step closer with a new, ad-supported GPS device from adNav. adNav's Boomerang is an ad-supported mobile concierge system with built-in GPS navigation that's currently targeted at hotels, airlines and car rental agencies as an extra amenity for out-of-town visitors. The idea is that when a traveller arrives at one of AdNav’s partner hotel or other locations, they are offered the Boomerang for a few dollars a day (the goal is for it to be free eventually, adNav says). In addition to voice-guided GPS navigation, the Boomerang includes unlimited connectivity to the web through wifi and cellular networks. Local city and restaurant guides give users access to hundreds of pages of geo-coded information, allowing them to simply touch the desired destination and be seamlessly directed there via GPS, and there is also unlimited access to live flight information, weather, a language translator, a currency exchange calculator, a tip calculator and games. The Boomerang device can be customized and branded for each partner with the addition of such features as hotel concierge recommendations and constant connectivity to the concierge desk. Tele Atlas, Citysearch, Ask.com, FlightView and CustomWeather are among the providers of the Boomerang's content. Brooklyn-based adNav has already rolled out the Boomerang in New York, with additional cities and locations to follow in the coming weeks through partners including DoubleTree and Omni Hotels, among others. Looks like a no-brainer for those in travel-related businesses, and a whole new world of opportunity for hyperlocalized advertising in general. The million-dollar question, of course, is how to bring this model to the mass market. (Related: Let your buses do the talking.) Website: www.adnavinc.com Spotted by: Marko Balabanovic _____ Note: For many more examples of ad-sponsored freebies and other types of FREE LOVE, be sure to read our sister site trendwatching.com’s current briefing! It's free, of course ;-)
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Last fall we wrote about Do Good 4 Debt, a site designed to let students relieve some of their educational debt in exchange for performing charity work. Student Gems, which launched shortly thereafter, picks up on a similar theme by matching students in need of work with businesses in need of occasional or one-time help. Student Gems is open to UK students or recent graduates 18 and older. To register, students begin by creating a profile that lists all their skills, including anything from language translation or website design to any of 1,400 other skills categorized on the site. Businesses or individuals in need of help can then search the database for someone who has the skills they require for a one-off or occasional job; if they can’t find a match immediately, they can post their job requirements. Students can also browse through tasks listed by businesses seeking someone with a particular talent and initiate contact themselves. Ad-supported Student Gems is free for use by both businesses and students; by mid-January, more than 1,000 students and 100 businesses had registered with the site, including a software house, a chartered accountant, a media company and even a firm of funeral directors. Cofounder Joanna Ward explains: “Most small businesses cannot afford to take on professional staff for small tasks. Studentgems.com allows them to find someone quickly and easily and negotiate a price that suits their budget.” Given skyrocketing levels of student debt and a tough employment landscape, this just could do the trick both for students and for smaller businesses. One to bring to other parts of the world? Website: www.studentgems.com Spotted by: Nigel Lamb
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Early last month, when we first wrote about nvohk—an eco-friendly, surf-inspired clothing manufacturer—we noted it was a good example of a crowd-funded business model. Hoping to build a brand from scratch, the Los Angeles-based company launched a drive to recruit 5,000 “owner managers” who will each contribute USD 50 annually. In exchange they’ll get a voice in deciding everything from the clothing styles to the advertising of nvohk’s line of environmentally responsible clothing. Plus, they’ll receive discounts along with 35 percent of the company’s profits, the latter doled out in the form of reward points that can be used to buy clothing items. Nvohk’s crowd-funded approach appears to have been right on the money. The company recently announced that 1,250 people have signed up to become members. An appealing and perhaps unexpected element to nvohk's approach is that the brand will be global from the start. "With about 40% of future members coming from outside the US to date, nvohk is a great example of how the internet and globalization are changing the business landscape forever," comments Brendan T. Lynch, co-founder of nvohk. We’ve noted other examples of crowdfunding in everything from TV prodction to soccer teams. And while it’s too soon to know how well companies relying on this new form of grass-roots financing will perform, the diverse nature of start-ups using crowdfunding suggests it can work well for anyone with an attention-grabbing idea and the business plan to back it up. Website: www.projectnvohk.com
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Dedicated readers may recall Crushpad, an urban winery we've already discussed on two separate occasions, and now the busy vintners there have given us reason to cover them yet again. Just before the holidays Crushpad introduced fusebox, a wine blending kit that lets users experience the wine-making process at home. Crushpad's 15-pound fusebox was created to contain everything a group of four might need to explore how some of the world’s greatest wines are blended: Six 375 mL bottles of blending wine from some of Napa's finest vineyards, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc; one 375 mL bottle of Mystery Wine; one graduated cylinder and 4 pipettes; four wine evaluation cards; four tasting place mats; recipe cards, a vinography aroma card and a corkscrew. Using the kit, wine enthusiasts can try to re-create classic Cabernet blends or invent their own; they can also test their discernment skills on the included Mystery Wine by playing the “Guess the Mystery Blend” online game at fuseboxwine.com. fusebox is priced at USD 120 and available for shipping only within the United States. “Crushpad’s mission is to turn consumers into creators,” explains Michael Brill, CEO of San Francisco-based Crushpad. “Whether it’s the multiyear experience of making a wine from vine to bottle or just spending a few hours with friends enjoying a blending session with fusebox, we want to give individuals the opportunity to experience the fun and sense of creative expression that comes from making wine.” Crushpad has always specialized in helping enthusiasts understand and make their own wines, providing desirable status skills along the way. With fusebox, that experience becomes an insperience, making for a winning combination. Crushpad is in the very early phases of signing up fusebox retailers and distributors. One to bring to the rest of the wine-loving world! Website: www.fuseboxwine.com Spotted by: RK
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One of the big advantages supermarkets have long had over consumers lies in the sheer number of products they offer—with some priced higher and others priced lower than the competition, it's near impossible to say that one store offers consistently better (or worse) deals every time. Well, supermarkets, those protected days may be drawing to a close. A new UK-based site provides a central way for consumers to compare prices as they shop online and then place their order with the cheapest store. mySupermarket is a free shopping and comparison website for supermarket shoppers that links the online portals of the UK's four main supermarket chains and compares prices on the fly. Consumers begin by choosing their favourite store—Tesco, ASDA, Sainsbury's or Ocada—and shopping through mySupermarket's lifelike online shelves. Grocery departments are displayed across the top of the screen, and clicking on any one reveals the shelves within. For each product, mySupermarket displays the weight or volume, price, special offers and price per unit; for foods and beverages, it shows the ingredients, number of calories, an overall traffic light rating, and detailed nutritional information. The best part is that as consumers shop, the site's Trolley Checker scans their trolley and displays its current total cost at each of the four supermarkets. The Price Checker, meanwhile, suggests swapping some products for others that are a better value, while the Health Checker makes suggestions for healthier substitutions. Once consumers settle on their product choices and store, they simply send their trolley for checkout at the supermarket of their choice. Rumours suggest that a like-purposed site may be coming soon in the US from Grocio.com. Once sites like these give consumers the long-desired ability to comparison-shop for groceries, there will be no turning back. Transparency tyranny strikes again—better get in on this one early if you're in retail! Website: www.mysupermarket.co.uk Spotted by: Junaid Kazi
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There's no doubt content is king in today's world of new media; what's less clear is how to get it. DailyArticle.com offers website owners, ad agencies and others an affordable way to buy the full rights to original, relevant and professionally written content for their sites. Back in 2006 we wrote about ScooptWords, which allows bloggers to sell their work, and sites like ConstantContent also focus on connecting writers with buyers. In most cases, however, purchases are for limited use and limited rights to the content. DailyArticle.com, on the other hand, is more like iStockphoto in that buyers get full rights to all the content they purchase, including the right to change it or resell it royalty-free. Hundreds of freelance writers contribute articles to the site of every length and on a multitude of topics, indicating for each the price they'd like to be paid. Content in the "Bargain Bin" costs less than USD 15, and there is also a small selection of free articles available. To ensure maximum value of all content for buyers' search-engine optimization (SEO) purposes, DailyArticle.com verifies its originality using Copyscape, and its editors approve the quality before posting. Publicly viewable articles on the site are even scrambled to prevent the content from being indexed by search engines. Virginia-based DailyArticle.com was founded last fall, and so far it seems to be the only such site focused exclusively on full-rights ownership. One to emulate in the niche of your choice? Website: www.dailyarticle.com Spotted by: Gavin Powell
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