MappingTheWeb //

In my mind, widgets have never been a business model. They are a marketing tool that provide exposure and funnel traffic back to a parent property. This is where a business model and subsequent monetization emerge. I think that companies (and VCs) are starting to realize this, and widget fever is nearing an end.

For clarification purposes, I believe widgets will be around forever. However, pure-play widget start-ups won’t be. The funding of these initiatives will die off as potential investors realize the risks.

Up until recently, it seemed like everyone and their dog was launching a widget-based start-up or a web 2.0 company that served up widgets. The hope was that these widgets would spur viral distribution, creating widespread exposure. In many cases, this did occur. But now what? Where is the monetization? How can revenue be generated via these eyeballs? Most held on to the hope that eyeballs would attract potential acquisitors. In other words, their revenue model was an exit strategy in disguise - the infamous “web 2.0 revenue model”.

VCs just don’t seems to be funding these start-ups like they used to - and for good measure. Without revenues, these companies are unable to sustain themselves. At this point, it becomes a time game. Will the cash run out before an acquisitor comes along? I would bet on it.

It’s almost that time of year again. On February 22 and 23, Northern Voice will take center stage in Vancouver. Known as Canada’s blogging conference, the annual event has been bringing bloggers and technology enthusiasts together since 2005. 

Though marketed as a “conference”, participants prefer to refer to it as an “un-conference” - where accessibility and open discussions encouraged. Well-known former attendees include the likes of Robert Scoble, Anil Dash, and Tim Bray.

I had the pleasure of attending this wonderful event last year and it was a blast. I met many new faces and reconnected with some old ones. Plus, you can’t beat the price. Registration is only $40 per day, or $60 for both - a steal in the world of conferences. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend this year, as I have a family reunion happening at the same time.

In any case, I highly encourage anyone and everyone who is interested in blogging, web 2.0, social media, and technology in general to register for this event. Did I mention there is a pre-conference party on the 21st?…

Today Mark Evans wrote a great post entitled “Taking Twitter Seriously”. In his post, he ponders whether Twitter can break through to the mainstream. Such a feat has proven very hard for most web 2.0 companies, and technologies for that matter. Even now, blogs and RSS are still just starting break the surface. Having said that, I think that Twitter has a better chance really good chance at achieving mainstream status.

As we all know, Twitter is a micro-blogging platform. Therefore, the technology is a subset of blogging - the main difference being the length of posts. These short messages take very little time and effort to produce. Sound familiar? Text messaging may ring a bell. The explosion of mobile may be a huge catalyst for Twitter. Other forms of posting do not bode well for mobile due to their length. Nevertheless, short status updates seem to fit very well into the grand scheme of things. It doesn’t seem like a huge leap of faith to conceive people transitioning from text messaging to micro-blogging.

Add to that the fact that social networks (most notably Facebook) have facilitated the evolution. How? Well, SN status updates are akin to Twitter. In other words, trying to explain Twitter to a newbie may prove to be difficult, but referencing the SN status update tool may help bring clarity to the process. After all, if people can relate to something they already know, it makes the education process much simpler.

The two aforementioned points around text messaging and social networks bring about a nice conclusion. The learning curve will likely be much lower than most web 2.0 technologies/servics. Adoption is much more likely.

Finally, the main reason Twitter may hit the mainstream is this: it relates to real people. This isn’t “pie-in-the-sky” technology. It’s actually useful and provides real value. The closer the connection with a given Twitter contact, the more important and pertinent their updates will be to you. Obviously, family members and close friends come to mind. The passive ability to check up on your close connections is extremely valuable. Establishing itself as the leader in the space will allow Twitter the opportunity to bring people closer together - a powerful concept.

What do you think about the future of Twitter? Do you think it has what it takes to break through to the mainstream? Or will the trend fall off and the service flounder?

The importance of constant content creation for any website cannot be understated. Not only are returning visitors greeted by new material, but more importantly, search engines are. For this reason, every site should have a content strategy to capitalize on this potential opportunity.

Without a blog or dynamic solution (CMS), most websites remain static between launches and updates. This does not bode well for traffic. Ongoing content creation preserves the attention of visitors, while addressing the needs of the search engines. A focus should be placed on the homepage in particular. Keep in mind that when a search engine returns to a given site, it can sense whether new content has been added. Recognition of this ensures that the search engine will crawl the site more frequently. On the contrary, static websites grow cold with the search engines.

3C creates more opportunities for traffic - the more pages a site contains, the more keywords and phrases it can be optimized for. This is where long tail search queries can really make an impact on the bottom-line. Neglected by many sites, these obscure, unique queries accumulate over time and drive a considerable amount of traffic once content levels increase.

Even if a company lacks current news - such as a press release, launch, update - content can (and should) still be generated. I suggest discussing current industry conditions. This creates industry credibility and status, while further developing current customer/user loyalty. Being recognized as the market expert or leader in a given space may provide that added edge when it comes time for financing or acquisition talks.

Let it be known that I love Techmeme. Along with Digg, I read it every day. I would imagine this is the daily routine of many other bloggers as well. I think there is some great content on there. This blog has hit the front page a few times and witnessed a surge in traffic. For this reason, I’d love to be promoted within the “Techmeme ecosystem”. The added exposure and increased subscribers are wonderful byproducts. But in order to do so, I may have to conform to the unwritten rules.

Techmeme is a “club”. Only a very small percentage of blogs will achieve front page status. I think it’s safe to say that 0.1% of blogs receive 100% of the coverage. These include TechCrunch, Engadget, and the New York Times to name a few. To attain membership to this club, there are a few ways to expedite the process. These involve “selling out” to some extent:

1. Writing about any and every breaking tech story, following the lead of many of the top tech blogs. This usually involves regurgitating the news on a time-sensitive basis.
2. Linking, trackbacking, and adding blogs to your blogroll just because they are the A-listers. Obviously, if value is present, then do so. But flattery and conformity are just plain weak.

In other words, writing about popular topics and linking to popular blogs will facilitate a boost in the Techmeme hierarchy.

Much has been said about the Techmeme system. Is it a manual process? Does it involve complicated algorithms? Who knows… One thing is certain though: promotion should be based on the value and analysis provided rather than political reasons.

Assuredly, I’m not willing to link to blogs that I don’t care about just for the sake of Techmeme. I’m also not willing to blog about a certain topic because it is “hot” at the moment, even though all the top blogs may be doing so. In any given blog post, it is my goal to add value and provide a new perspective. If I fail to achieve either, I have failed myself and my readers.

Note: I do link to some of the top tech blogs on my blogroll, but only because I find them informative and insightful. I do not have any ulterior motives.