I'm sure I've seen another site do this, but I think it's cool. You can simply make t-shirt designs and people can buy them, rather than having to get a load screen printed....
http://www.tshirttakeaway.com/
Thursday, 31 May 2007
Tuesday, 29 May 2007
Money please Google
Call me cynical but it seems that the simple way to get rich these days is to create something specifically to attract Google to come and buy. Google seem to be the Abramovich of the web and are happy to pay whatever it takes and therefore over the traditional odds just to make sure that they aren't beaten to it by the likes of Microsoft, of whom they've said that they're publically taking on....a bold statement for a company yet to enter its second decade of being!
Anyway, that said your product does need to be good. This Australian company has created search technology which will index 80% of the websites which Google doesn't or can't. It's a live search which will link to dynamically updated sites and founder Rob Gabriel says;
"this technology could be snapped onto any of the major search engines and improve them.”
Talk about come and get us Google! Anyway it hasn't launched in beta yet so who knows but when it does at the end of June I think we might see a large chunk of cash transferring from
The Googleplex Campus to Melbourne. You heard it here first.
http://www.mylivesearch.com/search/index.php
Anyway, that said your product does need to be good. This Australian company has created search technology which will index 80% of the websites which Google doesn't or can't. It's a live search which will link to dynamically updated sites and founder Rob Gabriel says;
"this technology could be snapped onto any of the major search engines and improve them.”
Talk about come and get us Google! Anyway it hasn't launched in beta yet so who knows but when it does at the end of June I think we might see a large chunk of cash transferring from
The Googleplex Campus to Melbourne. You heard it here first.
http://www.mylivesearch.com/search/index.php
Friday, 25 May 2007
This is great, it's a friend of Ben's (another contractor) who's been badly treated by a recruitment consultant. Nothing to do with technology but very very funny, the Metro newspaper are doing an article on it...but you heard it here first (or maybe second or third...!)
Enjoy...
http://www.recruitmentforum.co.uk/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=474
Enjoy...
http://www.recruitmentforum.co.uk/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=474
Zune Vs Ipod - Latest tactics
Microsoft has obviously got a huge amount of ground to make up if it wants the Zune to compete at any level with the iPod by it's started by installing iPod amnesty bins in Microsoft HQs around the world. I long for the day when someone does produce something worthy of ditching my iPod for good.
Glad we didn't bother with this one!
Mike and I have had many discussions as how to harness web 2.0 concepts and develop various 'big' ideas for clients or ourselves to make money from. One such idea was a for a social network of people who wanted jobs done but didn't know how, didn't have the time or who just couldn't be bothered. Such a brilliant idea, we thought. Coming at a time when several of our projects are coming along nicely this was put on the back burner as a slightly weaker idea than the others currently we're developing.
Then I found a link to a site already doing it. 'Balls', I thought. As is so often the case with big online ideas, one tends to get swallowed up in such complete self belief that the discovery that someone beat you to it can be demoralising. Anyway in this instance the website which 'beat us to it' happens to be currently offering precisely zero jobs for its audience. It claims to have made a few thousand pounds for job doers although I suspect that was the founders' friends and family pitching in for the good of the idea. Its owner is Will King who founded 'King of Shaves' and presumably doesn't need the money but it proves that even if a great idea gets off the ground there's still every chance it'll fail if there wasn't much call for it in the real, offline world in the first place. Back to drawing board for now then.
Check out the site here
http://www.jodo.biz/
Then I found a link to a site already doing it. 'Balls', I thought. As is so often the case with big online ideas, one tends to get swallowed up in such complete self belief that the discovery that someone beat you to it can be demoralising. Anyway in this instance the website which 'beat us to it' happens to be currently offering precisely zero jobs for its audience. It claims to have made a few thousand pounds for job doers although I suspect that was the founders' friends and family pitching in for the good of the idea. Its owner is Will King who founded 'King of Shaves' and presumably doesn't need the money but it proves that even if a great idea gets off the ground there's still every chance it'll fail if there wasn't much call for it in the real, offline world in the first place. Back to drawing board for now then.
Check out the site here
http://www.jodo.biz/
Wii rage starts early
Meet Adam McConnell: Wii enthusiast... future criminal. See the wee lamb purposely (this time) smashed his father's 42-inch plasma after losing in Wii sports. Father Brian left the lad alone playing tennis to get the boy a drink -- presumably, a pint. While in the kitchen the father "heard two big bangs." Brian returned to find his son "using the handset to smash the TV screen." No claims of a broken Wiimote strap this time, the responsibility lies in the kind of pure, seething rage only a 3 year old can muster.
Friday, 18 May 2007
Alex Tue is back
Pixelotto
...if anyone remembers the original 'million dollar homepage' which Alex Tue ran in 2005 in order to not come out of uni in debt, they might be interested in his next project. His plan worked so well that his pixel site ended up making him the million dollars that he set out to make and didn't bother going to uni at all!
His latest project, Pixelotto is a bit underwhelming because it's based on pixels again; I was hoping he'd do something completely different, but anyway it looks like it's starting to work.
The concept is very similar to MDP in that advertisers pay for pixels ($2 per pixel / a million are available) and upload a logo and a link to their website. The page ends up as a wall of coloured logos and links. The difference is that non-advertisers, can register and click on up to 10 links per day. At the end of 12 months half of all money raised will be paid out to one lucky winner and a further $100,000 will go to a charity of the winning clicker's choice.
Alex's motto is simple. It's all about being first to market with a unique idea. Brilliant, why didn't we think of that.
...if anyone remembers the original 'million dollar homepage' which Alex Tue ran in 2005 in order to not come out of uni in debt, they might be interested in his next project. His plan worked so well that his pixel site ended up making him the million dollars that he set out to make and didn't bother going to uni at all!
His latest project, Pixelotto is a bit underwhelming because it's based on pixels again; I was hoping he'd do something completely different, but anyway it looks like it's starting to work.
The concept is very similar to MDP in that advertisers pay for pixels ($2 per pixel / a million are available) and upload a logo and a link to their website. The page ends up as a wall of coloured logos and links. The difference is that non-advertisers, can register and click on up to 10 links per day. At the end of 12 months half of all money raised will be paid out to one lucky winner and a further $100,000 will go to a charity of the winning clicker's choice.
Alex's motto is simple. It's all about being first to market with a unique idea. Brilliant, why didn't we think of that.
Thursday, 10 May 2007
Interview with Rob Small, Miniclip CEO from Guardian Unlimited: Technology
Interview with Rob Small, Miniclip CEO from Guardian Unlimited: Technology
...if anyone remembers Championship Conkers that we built 4 years ago, they'll remember that it went on the The Sun's website in their 'fun' section. The Sun have been using miniclip.com syndicated games in their fun section ever since then....miniclip.com is now the biggest privately held online games website in the world and has 34 million unique gamers per month. They have been profitable since year one and now make advergames for companies like Warner Bros, Gillette and Coke. A competitor network of theirs sold out last year for $600m!!!! I've been using their games since 2002 and assumed that they were part of some huge corporate but a couple of months ago I found out that it is in fact owned by Robert Small, a guy who was in my year at school! The git.
Here's an interview he's just given the Guardian.
...if anyone remembers Championship Conkers that we built 4 years ago, they'll remember that it went on the The Sun's website in their 'fun' section. The Sun have been using miniclip.com syndicated games in their fun section ever since then....miniclip.com is now the biggest privately held online games website in the world and has 34 million unique gamers per month. They have been profitable since year one and now make advergames for companies like Warner Bros, Gillette and Coke. A competitor network of theirs sold out last year for $600m!!!! I've been using their games since 2002 and assumed that they were part of some huge corporate but a couple of months ago I found out that it is in fact owned by Robert Small, a guy who was in my year at school! The git.
Here's an interview he's just given the Guardian.
Wednesday, 9 May 2007
Get The Message
genius viral site from The Royal Navy, must have cost a fortune, good to know where our tax is going!
Wednesday, 2 May 2007
Social networking from BBC Radio 1
Saw this article on Brand Republic and it seems that you can't move for new social networking websites springing up. I was chatting to Mike about it all and whilst My Space, Facebook and Bebo etc, etc, etc all spout off about how many millions of users they have I wonder how safe / reliable these numbers are in terms of charting the success of these sites...for instance I've got profiles on all three of the above and hardly use them at all (what am I, 16?!) anyway I keep getting emails from friends who've decided to set themselves up on yet another SN website and who have 'added me'...I can't see why new social networks keep getting setup when the market seems so completely over saturated. I can only look at it from a revenue generation point of view and the only way money can be made is by getting a whole load of millions of users and selling out to Google or similar for only-they-know-what. Granted there have been some massive successes on the back of My Space in particular however why we need so many other identical versions I know not.
The more explosive growth websites about will only serve to drive down advertising revenues for each site as media planners end up with far too much choice. It's interesting to watch but I'd like to know which way it's going to go and who will be left standing. It's like the dot com boom all over again.
Anyway here's the article;
The BBC has unveiled plans to increase its Web 2.0 technology across the BBC Radio 1 website, to include more user generated content, personalised playlists and interactive features, as it builds its web footprint.
The prototype, which will be demonstrated at the MIX07 conference in Las Vegas today, will give an insight into how BBC Radio 1 online would work in the future, as it builds its interactive functions
Under the new technology the site could compete against other commercial offerings, with users able to create an online "badge" or profile of their favourite bands, music, shows and picture playlists, which they can share with friends via Windows Live Messenger service.
BBC Radio 1 said the benefits of using the technology were that it could more accurately reflect listener demands and preferences, and offer "more participatory" online services.
It is understood that BBC Radio 1 online was chosen to test the technology as it provided the best fit for its intended audience, which is expected to comprise listeners and users under the age of 25.
The technology has been developed using Microsoft Silverlight software and the latest Windows Live Messenger application, in conjunction with Siemens, AKQA and Ioko.
The BBC signed a deal with Microsoft in September last year to create a strategic partnership for the corporation's digital strategies. The agreement, which was signed by BBC director-general Mark Thompson and Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, is part of the BBC's development of next-generation technology.
Jason DaPonte, executive producer of www.bbc.co.uk, said: "As the user's online footprint expands, Radio 1 would be able to recognise [people's] tastes and offer them even more of what they like.
"Prototypes such as this illustrate the BBC's commitment to providing online services that are more open, personal and participatory than ever before, using the latest technologies to engage younger audiences.
The more explosive growth websites about will only serve to drive down advertising revenues for each site as media planners end up with far too much choice. It's interesting to watch but I'd like to know which way it's going to go and who will be left standing. It's like the dot com boom all over again.
Anyway here's the article;
The BBC has unveiled plans to increase its Web 2.0 technology across the BBC Radio 1 website, to include more user generated content, personalised playlists and interactive features, as it builds its web footprint.
The prototype, which will be demonstrated at the MIX07 conference in Las Vegas today, will give an insight into how BBC Radio 1 online would work in the future, as it builds its interactive functions
Under the new technology the site could compete against other commercial offerings, with users able to create an online "badge" or profile of their favourite bands, music, shows and picture playlists, which they can share with friends via Windows Live Messenger service.
BBC Radio 1 said the benefits of using the technology were that it could more accurately reflect listener demands and preferences, and offer "more participatory" online services.
It is understood that BBC Radio 1 online was chosen to test the technology as it provided the best fit for its intended audience, which is expected to comprise listeners and users under the age of 25.
The technology has been developed using Microsoft Silverlight software and the latest Windows Live Messenger application, in conjunction with Siemens, AKQA and Ioko.
The BBC signed a deal with Microsoft in September last year to create a strategic partnership for the corporation's digital strategies. The agreement, which was signed by BBC director-general Mark Thompson and Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, is part of the BBC's development of next-generation technology.
Jason DaPonte, executive producer of www.bbc.co.uk, said: "As the user's online footprint expands, Radio 1 would be able to recognise [people's] tastes and offer them even more of what they like.
"Prototypes such as this illustrate the BBC's commitment to providing online services that are more open, personal and participatory than ever before, using the latest technologies to engage younger audiences.
Anyone remember Boo.com? It's back, for the third time...
Boo.com, the infamous dot com crash site, is relaunching as an online travel destination.
Web Reservations International (WRI) bought the domain name boo.com from Fashionmall.com, the New York fashion portal that acquired the doomed brand in 2000.
The new boo combines travel-based vertical search, pricing, reviews and social networking. It brings together professional and user-generated content from WRI’s portfolio of travel sites. It features targeted ads with real-time prices for flight and car hire with direct booking functions.
Boo.com collapsed in 2000 after only six months of operation and months of delays. It managed to spend £80m of venture capital investment during 18 months.
After Fashionmall.com bought the brand for an undisclosed sum, it closed it due to falling profits and mounting costs.
WRI was founded in 1999, the same year as the original boo.com, by 22-year-old tech entrepreneur Ray Nolan. Nolan introduced online hostel bookings, and acquired further businesses including hostelworld.com and trave.com with little VC investment. In 2006, WRI handled more than €300 million in annual bookings and generated €19 million EBITDA.
WRI said: "Rather than see boo.com as cursed, we think people will say 'Wow, is boo back?'. People will remember the original collapse, but realise this is a different company with a business model with profit in mind.
Web Reservations International (WRI) bought the domain name boo.com from Fashionmall.com, the New York fashion portal that acquired the doomed brand in 2000.
The new boo combines travel-based vertical search, pricing, reviews and social networking. It brings together professional and user-generated content from WRI’s portfolio of travel sites. It features targeted ads with real-time prices for flight and car hire with direct booking functions.
Boo.com collapsed in 2000 after only six months of operation and months of delays. It managed to spend £80m of venture capital investment during 18 months.
After Fashionmall.com bought the brand for an undisclosed sum, it closed it due to falling profits and mounting costs.
WRI was founded in 1999, the same year as the original boo.com, by 22-year-old tech entrepreneur Ray Nolan. Nolan introduced online hostel bookings, and acquired further businesses including hostelworld.com and trave.com with little VC investment. In 2006, WRI handled more than €300 million in annual bookings and generated €19 million EBITDA.
WRI said: "Rather than see boo.com as cursed, we think people will say 'Wow, is boo back?'. People will remember the original collapse, but realise this is a different company with a business model with profit in mind.
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