Ping.fm Centralizes Status Updates, But Is It Enough?
This morning I checked out Ping.fm, a fairly new service in the social network aggregation space that lets you update your status on several sites at once. So I can submit “Mark is brushing his teeth” to it and both my Facebook friends and Twitter followers will see the message.
The site, which is currently in private beta, launches a new iPhone version and WAP site today (1,000 of our readers can sign up here by entering code “techcrunch”). It works with Twitter, Facebook, Jaiku, Pownce, LiveJournal and Tumblr, with MySpace, Bebo and Friendster support coming soon.
Ping.fm works pretty much as you would expect. After signing into your various accounts, you can syndicate (or “spam”, as one other person in the office called it) your status to these services. My only beef is that there’s a 60 second lag between the time you submit your status and the time it shows up on these networks. Oh, and there’s no way to check your current status. But you can update your status in alternative ways, such as via email or IM message to a Gtalk or AIM bot.
As I was thinking about Ping.fm, however, I felt as though I had seen this done before. So I scrounged around a bit and found HelloTxt, which does essentially the same thing. And then I remembered that Socialthing, an activity aggregator we reviewed a few weeks ago, also lets you propagate your status from a centralized site - in addition to doing a lot more.
So Ping.fm is essentially a feature of Socialthing, although admittedly it does provide some extra goodies. The funny thing is, despite my preference for Socialthing over Friendfeed, these activity aggregators will also become features of social networks (we know Facebook has plans to make this happen). Where does that leave Ping.fm a year from now? Basically a feature of a feature.
To be fair, Ping.fm is a project being run by two guys in their part time. One of them, Ryan Merket, is also a loyal TechCrunch reader who created an RSS reader that displays our headlines within Facebook.
But I do think Ping.fm can be used as an example of a problem many Web 2.0 services face. They can fulfill a substantial need, work properly, and even possess a real business model - but if they can be easily replicated by a larger, more established player then they probably won’t survive in the long run. That’s my view at least, and it’s corroborated by the advice I heard once from another entrepreneur: “don’t build your business around a feature”.
Then again, people once thought Google was just a feature - nothing more than a search box. And it turned out they were so good at that feature that it became a sustainable product.
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Not So Fast, Mr. Paulson
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange objects strenuously to the Treasury Secretary's regulatory reform plan—and it's not afraid of a fight
Democrats seek quick strike vs. foreclosure
Leading Democrats in the Senate said Monday they would try to force a vote this week on legislation designed to help troubled mortgage-holders stay in their homes.
Google Docs Inches Offline
Google’s Web-based word processor, Google Docs, can now be used offline to view and edit documents in your browser. That means you no longer need to be connected to the Internet to write a letter or draft an agreement. When you connect again, all your changes are updated. Google Docs now joins Google Reader as a Web app that can work offline. Spreadsheets and Presentations are coming up next.
This offline capability has been a long time coming. Google Docs is finally taking advantage of Google Gears, a browser plugin for creating all sorts of offline apps which launched nearly a year ago. Using Google Gears, Zoho came out with an offline version of its Web-based word processor last August.
Is it me, or is innovation at Google slowing down?
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Venture Capitalists Fight Back Against TheFunded
TheFunded, a site where entrepreneurs can leave anonymous feedback about their experiences with venture capitalists, has created quite a stir on Sand Hill Road. Rarely do I meet with a VC without the subject of it coming up, and how unfair it is. The fact that the site is now publishing confidential term sheet clauses as well only exacerbates the angst.
Now VCs are fighting back. Someone has launched TheUnFunded, a site that works very much like TheFunded but let’s VCs share their opinions of the entrepreneurs they meet with. The site will officially launch tomorrow (4/1), but it’s live now:
Inspired by TheFunded.com’s ability to allow entrepreneurs to anonymously rate VC firms, we thought it was only fair that investors also be able to anonymously rate startups and entrepreneurs. So we decided to launch TheUnfunded to do just that.
Only investors that can prove their identity will be allowed to join TheUnfunded, where they can anonymously provide feedback on the startups that they’ve met with along a five point scale. The fund raising process is indeed a long, difficult one. From an investors perspective there was just no way to tell how much an entrepreneurs well-crafted story matched the reality of their business. Until now.
The VC behind the site reached out to me to tell me about it, but asked to remain anonymous for now. There’s already entertaining content on the site, though:
The founder arrived 10 minutes late — and began the meeting by telling me that he just came from Sequioa (yeah, right). He then proceeded to state (five times) that his company was the next Facebook.
Wow - this guy was clueless. He started his slide deck and went on autopilot. I think he spoke for 18 minutes straight without even looking to see if I was awake. But worse than his pitching skills is his knowledge of his industry and competitors. I named four competitive companies that he never heard of.
The founder arrived on time and hit on my receptionist. My assistant came to bring him back to the board room, and the founder hit on my assistant.
Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0
Docs Favor National Health Insurance
A recent survey shows 59% of U.S. physicians support national universal health insurance, up from 49% just five years ago
The Middle East’s Fertile Ground
European business schools are expanding their offerings in the Mideast region, whose booming economy is raising demand for management education
Most Docs Favor National Health Insurance
A recent survey shows 59% of U.S. physicians support national universal health insurance, up from 49% just five years ago
Facebook Gets Aggressive On Translations, Adding 22 More Languages
Facebook isn’t just messing around with a few European language translations any more. They’re using their new user-powered translation engine to get Facebook into 22 more languages, on top of English, French, German and Spanish.
It will take some time for users to translate the sites, and Facebook likes to stagger launches to maximize PR. If you want to help out with the project, the application is here.
Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0