Webjam - Funding a Worthy Startup
by
on March 28, 2007,
European Internet start-up Webjam raises $2 million in first-round funding.
Webjam, a London startup founded by Yahoo! veterans, has just received their first round funding of about $2 million for further product development. We received the press release from Webjam Ltd. announcing this latest news about the versatile online community.
Webjam has been in Beta testing since its inception back in November of last year and has been covered by us then. This latest news prompted me to join the site to describe in more details what Webjam is capable of.
Features
- Drag and drop modules - Allow users to spatially and aesthetically organize their spaces
- Blogs - This flexible feature allows all users to easily design, publish and syndicate blogs
- Homepages - Allows for ultimate flexibility for user creation and style
- Photos - Users have several options for utilizing and posting images all over their spaces
- Message Boards - Users can leave messages or post comments for their communities
- Replication - This is a function that allows key elements to be used across user pages
Other Modules
- Rich Text - Add text, pictures and links and allows HTML editing
- MP3 Player - Adds music to the user site
- All My Contacts - Lists your contacts and shows your popularity
- Flickr - Add photos to Webjam from Flickr
- Google Map - Adds a collaborative map
- YouTube Videos - Adds your favorite videos
- Weather - Shows your local weather
- Horoscope - See what is in your stars
- Amazon Search - Product searches
- Bookmarks - Share and add bookmarks
- Site Navigation - Navigate between your sites
- Gmail - Add Gmail to your site
- Text Ads - Adds Google Ads to your site
Next On Webjam
Webjam will soon add even more modules like eBay, Yahoo! Mail, Pop Mail and site statistics. Webjam users can fully tailor their community the way they really want it. I especially like the blog editing interface and I created a pretty decent looking blog there in about 10 minutes. The templates are plentiful, but could use a little more variety. The real point of this site comes through very clearly in that this is a quality site designed to please users.
One clearly noticeable and positive thing about Webjam is the absolute lack of any obnoxious logos or ads surrounding the individual space. There is a small Webjam logo beside the name of your homepage and that is it! Webjam has emulated some of the very best aspects of other Web 2.0 communities and has integrated them into something that a user could make really special.
Bad Stuff
There is hardly anything bad about Webjam, well except the usual learning curve for UI interaction. The site is pretty simple to navigate but I did get hung up a couple of times. The template selection for pages could be a little more flexible if you are picky like me. I did have some gripe about the way the modules themselves have to be organized because it was difficult for me to edit some spatial aspects for my blog page. Like I said, this could just be because I couldn't figure it out but then that is an issue isn't it?
Webjam has done a great job and it looks like they earned the $2 million for continued work on the site. I am sure their investors have to be happy with Webjam so far. This is a much more mature and tailored atmosphere than MySpace and it has the capability to grow into one of the best community sites we have seen.
A 10 minute blog (below) made at Webjam by your's truly (aka Misterblog).
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Bighorn
kalipso
Mav
Opensource 
Michael Fidler 
This is not a new idea (webjam). But venture capitalists continue to invest millions and millions in “lost” web projects, it’s like the web1.0 fever of the past.
I continue to think, why venture capital invest so big money in something that will not bring return. Is it money laundering? It’s the best explanation that i can find for that.
You know, I believe that very few people really can understand what will be a success and what - not. And investors like similarities of successful projects. They know MySpace is a success, they are shown a new project that somehow resembles MySpace and they are willing to invest. But often when entrepreneurs show something actually innovative, they just can’t estimate it, they don’t know if users actually like it or not. So they still prefer to play safe. Besides, in Europe it is a general trend to copy something that has already be done in the Silicon Valley, they expect the same kind of success by repeating US projects in Europe. The only thing is that the consumer for these projects is global, not local, so why does it need to be repeated aimed at the same users?
Svetlana ouch we don’t copy you guys here in london!! Tim lee is from here did you guys copy him ? just joking ..
Webjam does look like the same ol’s same from the quick read I had and as I attempted to register POW this screen hit me
Didn’t know what else to do but to restart the browser and never go there again
Ooops this is the image
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v619/prospect/webjam_crash.png
I’m not talking about startups from London, I’m only talking about investors who feel safer with well-tried and tested ideas that usually exist oversees already. And me personally I work from Russia most of the time, that’s closer to Europe than US anyway
And I’m sorry about the problem you had with Webjam, we did not mean to upset you with our post
heheh Svetlana I was just joking dear, Profy is the coolest “web 2.0″ application !!
We did not expect such a position for Profy but thanks anyway
The bug where it was not possible to register has now been fixed.
Please be aware that Webjam is a beta application and there will be some bugs. We would be grateful if you would give Webjam another try soon!
The idea is not new, but it is a culmination of some very good aspects from other sites. I am always looking for refinement in sites. I am not talking about myspace adding a 007 template either.
Webjam has a few bugs to work out yet like virtually every site we have reviewed. The people who inhabit these communities are a large factor in their development, why do you think Joost is staying in Beta so long?
I hope people will join Webjam because I think ultimately they will enjoy the potential and flexibility there.
phil, i agree with that. but the point is, investors employ millions in projects like that, which at the beginning the chances of success are few. It’s just because of “names” and “friends”, don’t tell it’s because of a project, that millions are invested.
If i was to a venture capitalist with a very good project, the chances to get an investment are almos nill.
That is true Jonix to some extent. Many investors are looking for key people and others are following trends etc. I think the best investments are a combination of both really. Angel investors are looking for like 10 to 100 times their investment back and I am sure everything flows according to risk assessments etc.
I appreciate your comments!
Phil
thanks for the post
This is not a new idea (webjam). But venture capitalists continue to invest millions and millions in “lost” web projects, it’s like the web1.0 fever of the past.
I hope people will join Webjam because I think ultimately they will enjoy the potential and flexibility there.
The idea is not new, but it is a culmination of some very good aspects from other sites.