Gnip 2.0 Launches, With A Business Model
Gnip, the guys that are helping move data around from one social network to the next, launched v 2.0 of the service tonight.
The new version of the service allows data consumers (services like Plaxo that take data from other services, like Twitter, Friendfeed, Digg, Delicious, etc.) to have data from requested users pushed to them. It’s no longer “Hey, TechCrunch just tweeted. Go query the API to get the data.” Now it’s “TechCrunch just tweeted - here’s the data.” Data consumers are no longer required to build pollers for any of the publishers pushing data into Gnip, they just give Gnip an endpoint and they push the data to them in real time.
Data consumers can get complete public data streams for Twitter, Digg, Delicious, Six Apart and others without ever visiting those sites or accessing their individual APIs, subject only to the terms of service of those services. And this data can be gathered via a REST-based PI or the newly launched XMPP support.
Gnip also added a number of filter options to allow data consumers the ability to create rules based queries based on tags, keywords, etc.
Gnip’s business model is freemium - lots of data for free and commercial data consumers pay when they go over certain thresholds (non commercial use is free). The model is based on the number of users and the number of filters tracked. Basically, any time a service is tracking more than 10,000 people and/or rules for a certain data provider, they’ll start paying at a rate of $0.01 per user or rule per month, with a maximum payment of $1,000 per month for each data provider tracked. For now billing is turned off and the service remains completely free. Thirty to sixty days from now, people will start to pay.
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StumbleUpon Set For Resurgence With Web Toolbar, Partner Program
Recommendation engine StumbleUpon has been facing some tough times lately: earlier this month we reported that eBay was looking to sell the startup less than 18 months after acquiring it. And its traffic has been showing signs of stagnation (though the number of registered users to steadily rise). But tonight, the site is launching a new feature that may very well turn things around: a long awaited install-free web toolbar.
StumbleUpon has long been hindered by the fact that it requires a browser plugin that users have to download and install. Such plugins create a large barrier to entry, as they are time consuming and tend to be associated with malware (I tell my friends never to install a plugin from any service for this very reason). These problems are magnified by the fact that StumbleUpon’s purpose isn’t immediately obvious - many users have to actually try it out before they understand what it does (for the uninitiated, it uses an algorithm based on your preferences and other users to direct you to websites that you’ll find interesting).
The service’s web-based browser toolbar, which launches tonight, overcomes these issues by replicating much of StumbleUpon’s functionality without requiring an install. To access the web toolbar, you simply visit the revamped StumbleUpon homepage and click on one of the recommended links. The toolbar sits conveniently at the top of the browser window in its own frame, with a prominent “Stumble” button sitting aside a set of stars for rating the sites you come across. The service uses cookies to persistently keep track of your actions across multiple sessions (you can import this data to the toolbar if you ever choose to install it).
To coincide with tonight’s announcement, StumbleUpon is introducing a partner program for sites that will take advantage of the web toolbar. At launch, The Huffington Post and HowStuffWorks will include widgets alongside their articles that will allow users to launch a StumbleUpon browser toolbar that is restricted to their sites (a toolbar launched at Huffington Post would only stumble across Huffington Post articles). The program will likely be a big success, as it allows partner sites to increase their page views by introducing users to new content, while helping StumbleUpon reach a broader audience.
StumbleUpon will still have some obstacles to overcome - the purpose of the web toolbar won’t be immediately obvious to new users, especially those who reach it from partner sites like The Huffington Post. But the burden of the browser plugin has finally been lifted, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the service sees some impressive growth numbers in the coming months.
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