YouTube Today, Joost Tomorrow?Business 2.0 Publishes 2(nd) Annual List of 25 Startup Companies to Watch NEW YORK New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of -- It's getting crowded on the Web 2.0 frontier, but there are still startups that have the ability to stand out on their path to potential future success. Following up its inaugural effort in 2006--its picks for the Web 2.0 wannabes Wannabes is an online interactive soap and game created for the BBC by Illumna Digital. Wannabes follows on from Jamie Kane, the BBC's previous foray into online interactive drama. The show/game consists of 14 10 minute episodes released twice a week. most likely to break out of the pack--Business 2.0 features this year's startup class in its March issue cover story, "THE NEXT NET." Many of the magazine's choices last year were forward-looking: Digg, Trulia, Technorati, JotSpot, Writely. (The last two were snapped up by Google.) But one of last year's 25 succeeded even beyond the magazine's expectations: YouTube, which was purchased in October by Google for a game-changing $1.65 billion. This year's field is populated pop·u·late tr.v. pop·u·lat·ed, pop·u·lat·ing, pop·u·lates 1. To supply with inhabitants, as by colonization; people. 2. with "me too" companies, and the bar for startups has been set even higher, in terms of both what customers expect and the kind of return on their investments the angels and venture capitalists want to see. The magazine highlights 25 companies from five categories that embody the spirit of the Next Net: social media, video, mobile, online advertising, and enterprise applications. Here are the 25 companies (listed by category) that appear on Business 2.0's NEXT NET list: SOCIAL MEDIA: * StumbleUpon: Launched in 2002 by three 20-somethings in a Calgary, Alberta, apartment, StumbleUpon now has 2 million registered users drawn by its knack for finding websites that match their interests and those of others with similar tastes as they "stumble" around the Net. StumbleUpon's technology also pairs online ads with targeted demographics and interests. Now StumbleUpon is attempting to do the same for online video and video advertising. In December the startup launched StumbleVideo, a service that offers the closest thing to channel-surfing on the Web. * Other profiled companies in this category: Bebo, Meebo, Slide, and Wikia. VIDEO: * Joost: The 30-minute, broadcast-quality Web 2.0 TV show is coming in all its full-screen glory. And if serial disrupters Janus Friis Janus Friis (b. 1976) is a Danish entrepreneur best known for co-founding the file-sharing application KaZaA, and the peer-to-peer telephony application Skype. In September 2005, he and his partner Niklas Zennström sold Skype to eBay for $2.6bn. and Niklas Zennstrom have their way, neither television nor the Internet will be the same. The duo behind peer-to-peer services Kazaa and Skype will officially launch Joost this spring, aiming to merge the best of TV with the best of the Net. The service provides more of a television-style experience than current online video sites, with channels users can flip through randomly or program themselves. * Other profiled companies in this category: Blip.tv, Dabble dab·ble v. dab·bled, dab·bling, dab·bles v.tr. To splash or spatter with or as if with a liquid: "The moon hung over the harbor dabbling the waves with gold" , Metacafe, and Revision3. MOBILE: * Fon: Finding a Wi-Fi signal can often be a problem--and a big opportunity for Fon, a Spanish company that's building a global community of hotspots one router at a time. Fon sells a $30 wireless router A network device that combines a wireless access point (base station), a wired LAN switch and a router with connections to a cable or DSL service. Wireless routers provide a convenient way to connect a small number of wired and any number of wireless computers to the Internet. to consumers. They hook it up, register their node, and agree to share their broadband with other "Foneros" for free. Those who want to charge outsiders for access can do so, and Fon gets a cut. Likewise, if someone wants to pay $2 or $3 to use the Fon network for a day, Fon takes a share of that revenue. Just over a year old, Fon's network boasts more than 70,000 hotspots. Initially focused on Europe and Asia, Fon plans a big push in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. in the coming months. * Other profiled companies in this category: Loopt, Mobio, SoonR, and Tiny Pictures. ONLINE ADVERTISING: * Turn: Led by former AltaVista CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. Jim Barnett Jim Barnett may refer to:
* Other profiled companies in this category: Adify, AdMob, Spot Runner Spot Runner is an American Internet-based advertising agency based in Los Angeles, Calif., that allows advertisers to produce, media plan and media buy all through its website. , and ViTrue. ENTERPRISE APPLICATIONS: * SuccessFactors: SuccessFactors, a profitable five-year-old startup in San Mateo San Mateo (săn mətā`ō), city (1990 pop. 85,486), San Mateo co., W Calif., on San Francisco Bay; inc. 1894. It is a commercial and retail center with some high-technology manufacturing. San Mateo, Spanish for St. , Calif., takes in an estimated $100 million in annual revenue by selling a suite of simple Web-based tools that automate important but previously paper-driven management chores--performance reviews, succession planning Management Succession Planning In organizational development, succession planning is the process of identifying and preparing suitable employees through mentoring, training and job rotation, to replace key players — such as the chief executive officer (CEO) — , and compensation. Ultimately the service helps to match employee skills with company objectives. * Other profiled companies in this category: JanRain, Logoworks, Rearden Commerce, and SimulScribe. Who does Business 2.0 believe is best positioned for success in 2007? The winners will be the players that invent new ways to tap into what the Web brings to the party: instant feedback, instant analysis, and the collective wisdom of a billion users. "The losers are likely to be those companies that try to make money by pouring old-media wine into the new Web bottles," the magazine adds. The complete list and descriptions of THE NEXT NET 25 appear in the March issue of Business 2.0 (on newsstands Monday, Feb. 26). Selections from "THE NEXT NET" and additional online coverage, including a video featuring Business 2.0's Erick Schonfeld and Revision3 co-founder Kevin Rose <noinclude></noinclude> Robert Kevin Rose (born February 21, 1977 in California U.S.[1]) is known for founding the social-bookmarking site Digg and as former co-host of the TechTV show The Screen Savers (later Attack of the Show! , will be posted online at www.Business2.com. Additional magazine content will be posted online beginning Feb. 22 and throughout the month of March. |
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