Revisiting Web 2.0 Startups

Where are they now? It is about time we looked at some of Web 2.0 startups to see what kind of progress they have made since we last reported, so here are a few favorites and not so favorite Web 2.0 Startups we have reviewed. I submit this first group of re-visitations for our readers as a way of marking the first 3 months of 2007. Some startups are excluded from this set, but will be covered at the end of the month.  

We got an invitation to check out Veoh back in February and found the site to be one of the best video sharing sites. One thing I really love about Veoh is that every single time I visit I am greeted by Shakira! My favorite videos says hi each and every time I stop by. The most notable addition to Veoh is the browser plug-in that allows users to find and download video from their favorite sites. The Veoh downloadable player allows viewers to download or view DVD quality, full screen video, Web TV and movies and watch them on their PC's, portables or TV's. The player is essentially a DVR for Veoh users that adds a new dimension to video enjoyment. As I mentioned, video recommendations stores and displays your preferences to make your Veoh experience more personal and enjoyable. Veoh channels are a great new addition, and the site has about 10 times as much content as when we visited in February. Veoh apears to be thriving and easily tops this first list.

Jamglue is a neat and innovative community we reviewed last December. The site essentially allows community members to upload and collectively or individually mix music tracks. Besides a slight face lift and a whole lot more content and users, Jamglue is essentially unchanged from its original offering. It is still a fun place to collaborate with other music manipulators, if a little bypassed by some more complex communities. I expect Jamglue was intended as a niche site any way, so they seem to be progressing pretty well in that regard.

WeWin was touted as being the next YouTube the last time we posted about this incentive based video community. There was also some rather controversial news play about a supposed buyout of WeWin by gofish that is still a sort of mystery to me. The site is, or course, not YouTube yet, and they did not take my advice about offering a super computer as a prize either. WeWin appears to be chugging along and has added a great deal of content for (or from) their users. Oh yes, you can still win a PS3 too. Do the super computer Brian!

Graffitipad is a philanthropic entry into Web 2.0 that we reviewed back in January. The site was designed to sell pixels to donors in an effort to send people to college. All I can say now is that the site looks as dead as Julius Caesar.

Cranky is the first age relevant search engine we looked at in January. Designed basically for people over 50, Cranky at least appears to still be kicking. Interestingly, the most searched topic on the home page was sex. I expect this might be true for any search engine regardless of the age niche it occupies. I was originally taken back by the site because I did not feel I was ready for walking search engine just yet.

Poopasnuffas was a cute little idea to attach stories to some critters in an effort to sell some baby clothes. I liked the idea for a Web 2.0 kids clothing niche back in January. I asked "what's in a name?" as the post title, and it looks like the name says it all. Poopa is virtually unchanged from its original kid authors to the clothes offerings.

Adkafe got a pretty bad review from us back in January and won the "stinker" award for that month. The site looks to have been modified, but has added some Ad seekers (28) and Ad designers (44). Not much else needs to be said for Adkafe today.

Well, I looked for a real success story to thrill you guys with, but the fact is most of the really good contenders are either still in Beta or behind closed doors. I did notice while scanning some of these sites for this story that just maintaining a presence might be considered success for some entities in Web 2.0 right now. Joost and a few others will obviously be success stories, but the vast majority I have covered in the last 4 months are either growing steadily, stagnated, dieing or virtually dead. I don't have any numbers for you, but it looks like a lot of high hopes have turned to disappointment. I guess this was to be expected.

I doubt there is any reason for concern about the Internet as a whole, but it is a little sad to watch cool ideas die a horrible death. As for the really crummy ones, we cannot lose too much sleep over the inevitable.