The Next Net 25
I recently read the article on CNNMoney.com/Business 2.0 magazine about The Next Net 25. The focus of the article was “Web 2.0″ and what it will take to be the next big thing on the Internet. The article looks at 5 different niches on the internet, each with 5 different sites to watch, and they through a curveball into the mix - the “Incumbent to Watch”. The incumbent is always one of the big boys - Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft, Amazon, etc. I’m sure you’ve heard of them. The Social Media section, withÂ? 5 different sites to watch, is probably the most interesting. With the success of MySpace, which has probably been the biggest net-phenomenon ever, and the talk of a $2B pricetag on Facebook, it would seem this is the most lucrative area for a startup, but likely the most competitive. Although Tagworld had a lot of hype when it first came out, I think YouTube (or the incumbent Yahoo!) will be the best bet for something extraordinary in the group.
I find the Mashups and filtersÂ? the most interesting. I’ve often said that the next phase in the net will involve taking advantage of the established sites and making it easier for the user. TruliaÂ? is a perfect example - it takes real estate information from a variety of sites and overlays the information onto Google Maps. Absolutely brilliant. I’ve looked at similar ideas with the same principle on several different occassions, but never had the time to implement. These truly are the next step for the web. It’s much like a blog filters out different sources of news information for users, providing links, etc. and gives it all as an information mashup. Robert Young talks about thisÂ? in an article onÂ? GigaOm.
The final section I’ll talk about is The Webtop. I’ve done a little bit of work in both Flash and Ajax, and I think it is definitely the way for things to run. No reloading of pages, wait times, etc. Microsoft is likely to be the hardest hit if this becomes more prevalent, but with their set of “Live” websites/products, it could help alleviate any significant affects from the trend. I think WritelyÂ? is probably the company to watch on that list. I watched them for a few months and then all of the sudden they were snapped up by Google. A big piece in the toppling-of-Microsoft puzzle, I’m sure.
Any of these sites could explode, and yet, we must remember, any of them could be gone by months end, either through their own internal problems or by being bought out. I have to agree though, all the companies on the list are interesting and even exciting enough to keep an eye on.