This post has been sitting in my drafts folders for a while….I wanted to get it out.
There is much being said about the elusive ‘web2′ bubble, some say there is one some say there isn’t, some say ti is bursting so say we haven’t seen it yet ……..there is even the debate raging over if it should even be referred to as web2.0. Regardless there is something afoot ….. but what is really to be gleaned from what is happening. here is my take on it.

People are ready for new experiences. The new breed of ‘web2′ apps have started to introduce web applications to a broader market. Flickr, Digg, Youtube and MySpace have created people who now turn to the web for more then flat web pages. Many of the ‘web2′ apps continue to be for extremely early adopters. But the trend is moving into the mainstream more and more. ALA youtube.

People will pay for products that they find value in. People always want to ask the million dollar question “What’s the business plan?” The ‘web2′ space has lots of companies that are looking to capture their piece of the pie. Out of this there have been some interesting business strategies that i have run across. The most logical one from my point of view is build a great service and charge people to access it. this is certainly not a new idea although there seems to be a back lash from the early adopters crowd who will always feel that things should be free.
Business is the next progression. The real boom will happen when the ‘web2′ applications start making the migration over to the business market. Lets face it there only needs to be a few photosharing sites, rss aggregators or any other product directed at the general public ….but what if that rss aggregator was repositioned for use in the SMB market? Business will pay for services. They do it now.

Have a great product or service. I think that this is often overlooked. Some of the things that i have seen as of late don’t have the legs to be a great winners. It isn’t because they are void of some programming prowess or anything like that …quite the opposite ….the technology is astounding it is the need they have missed. I think that people need to fix peoples problems. One of the ways that we have looked at problems is to look and see what you could fix in your own life …..

Communicating better. The connectedness of the world is every where. Everyone has a voice and you have to listen to everyone. This is a great change from the old PR way of talking to the people. IT has really become a back and forth. You have to be listening and addressing the concerns of all your customers. Upset customers are not that far removed from the WSJ ….we have all witnessed the story of a disgruntled blogger posting …and days later it is front page coverage (momiles, kyptonite) In my estimation it is a more sincere interaction that you are able to have because of the power of blogs and the web.
Lots of niches. This is a hockey analogy, Guy Kawasaki will appreciate this. You can play the open ice or you can play the boards. Find a niche market in the corners and stick to it and grow it. Not everyone can play up the center. There are a tremendous number of opportunities for companies to find and grow with these markets.
Take it as far as you can. This was a quick add in but there is a real trend towards small teams taking a project to the absolute furthest that you can and then seek help. The old style was to have an idea, sell that idea to an angel or vc and get rich. But this new way is much more productive and i think that it reassures the investor that this is something real, this is something that we have given up every free amount of time we have had and here it is …

It takes alot of pressure away from an investor if they can see your vision and touch it and try it perhaps. We worked for months prior to our inception during every free moment we had to build it. When we showed our angel ….he saw a product that was 80 % done ….not screens, not white board….real product.
Our strategy ….for what it is worth. Be small, be agile, fix a real problem, make a great product and a great customer experience, tell everyone who will listen, and listen to everyone that will talk about it.
Lets see if it works.
cheers
Scott

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