The Inquisitr » demofall08

TC50 v DEMO: The startups are the losers

Duncan Riley — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 23:47:44 +0000

As DEMOFall08 comes to a close today and TechCrunch 50 drags on for another day (it’s a 3 day event), over 100 startups will have appeared on stage in front of audiences in San Francisco and San Diego, hopefully opening new doors and delivering much needed exposure.

With the two events running side by side, you’d think the volume would generate more buzz and a ton of coverage. And yet, the opposite has occurred. For TechCrunch50 in particular, the startup coverage is way down on last year, to the point that not even Gabe Rivera can manually correct Techmeme to compensate for it. Where at various points during last years event nearly every story on Techmeme was TechCrunch50 related, the conference has struggled to even get a top headline, being relegated instead down the page most of the time, and with a lot less mentions.

DEMO hasn’t fared well either, at least on Techmeme (which is really no surprise), but the coverage across tech blogs is more thorough, and more leading sites would appear to be covering DEMO companies than TechCrunch50 sites. Of course there is another reason for that: the media partners for DEMO include the cream of the Web 2.0 blogs minus TechCrunch, so you’d expect that level of coverage. Couple that to pre-conference briefings, that allowed people like me to cover the event from Australia even when the presentations were in the middle of my night. I’ve received exactly one email from a startup at TC50, and that was after the presentation.

So what happened? Why didn’t both conferences get more coverage, giving more airtime to the hard working startups at both events?

The basics: intentionally running TechCrunch50 at the same time of DEMO caused people to pick sides, and as a consequence some of the bigger sites covering TechCrunch50 last year are not doing so this year (although there is some cross over). TechCrunch50 as a stand alone event not up against DEMO was THE only game in town last year when it ran, and as a consequence it was THE news for two days. In trying to kill the competition, Arrington and Calacanis have actually damaged their own event by dividing attention.

The marketing BS didn’t help. As I’ve said previously, and as I’m hearing from people on the ground this week, TechCrunch50 is a great event, well organized (aside from WiFi), and has a great mix of people. Last year it had goodwill because although the DEMO must die meme was mentioned, it wasn’t the main focus, and people felt comfortable supporting both events. This year, a lot of the goodwill was lost due to a vitriolic, often hate filled marketing pitch. It’s hard to say you’re all about putting startups first when you’re trying to kill the other conference they can present at, and are bad mouthing Chris Shipley, someone I’ve never met, but who I’ve always heard positive things about, and is generally well liked in the space.

And then there was karma, delivered in a bucket load by Steve Jobs. Throw in a Zune or two for good measure as well. It has to be poetic justice that in going after DEMO on the same days, TechCrunch50 then had to deal with a Steve Jobs iPod launch in the middle of the event. Startups presenting at TechCrunch50? really? because the only news story in town today is the iPods, and NBC coming back to iTunes.

If TechCrunch50 hadn’t been about killing DEMO, and was held later in September like it was last year, does anyone seriously think that the level of coverage would be as low as it is now?

TechCrunch50 will still make a lot of money for Arrington and Calacanis, and will undoubtedly be called a success. But there are losers. The startups are the losers. Instead of being given the best opportunity to gain widespread coverage, and maybe even a chunk of new users, startups at both events have had to compete in a sea of noise and although some may have received some good coverage, most may have only received a passing link and a standardized paragraph on what they do. Many will return home, count their costs, and realize that although it might have been cool to present after Ashton Kutcher, or before god himself (Walt Mossberg), the benefits were low to non-existent.

Hopefully next year some of the smart people around Arrington, such as Heather Harde, and even Scoble, will convince him that being a community player first is the right direction to head in, and that the ultra-competitiveness damages Arrington himself, TechCrunch50 and the TechCrunch brand. Being a community player helps startups, and wasn’t the the original point of creating TechCrunch50 in the first place?

(original image source: Loic LeMeur)

DEMOFall08: The Future of Mobile Advertising

JR — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:54:09 +0000

For our full coverage of DEMOFall 08, click here.

App-based advertising is about to explode. Ad network AdMob is announcing a slew of new developers getting on-board with its ad-supported model today. Loopt, Tap Tap Revenge, SportsTap, and BubbleWrap are among the apps joining those such as Whrrl and SnapMyLife, which are already using ads within their products.

Already, AdMob execs say their company has served tens of millions of ads over the iPhone each month — 35 million in August alone — and they say iPhone ads have been enjoying triple the amount of user click-throughs as other mobile-based spots. The take-home message: Expect to see more content-rich commercials on your phone in the future.

“The iPhone clearly demonstrates how mobile advertising is evolving to become a rich, interactive environment for advertisers to engage with consumers,” AdMob CEO Omar Hamoui said. “We are seeing a real impact across our larger mobile ad network as advertisers discover mobile through the iPhone, run successful campaigns and come back again with even more of their budget.”

The company is also announcing a new developer program today in which it will award $5,000 to a handful of app creators to help further their progress. The makers of Loopt, Stitcher, Tapulous, and Pandora are among the developers selected.

AdMob

Kara Swisher compares Arrington to Britney Spears

Duncan Riley — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 00:18:53 +0000

Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg where on stage today at DEMO, and the question of DEMO vs TechCrunch50 came up. Kara is one of the best tech reporters on the planet, and she didn’t mince her words. The money quote: “being lectured in journalism ethics by Michael Arrington is like getting parenting tips from Britney Spears”.

Clip via Allen Stern at Centernetworks:

DEMOFall08: iKnow Introduces Smart, Social Learning Tool

JR — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 14:38:33 +0000

For all our DEMOFall08 coverage, click here.

Tokyo-based Cerego has introduced a new “intelligent social learning platform” at DEMOFall ‘08. iKnow is designed to help you learn knowledge in a 2.0-type social environment. The tool measures your own personal learning style and speed and adjusts the program accordingly to cater to your needs. iKnow then lets you collaborate with other users and share information publicly throughout the site. Right now, the tool is in beta testing for language — specifically for English speakers working to learn Japanese.

The programmers behind iKnow had previously been testing it for Japanese users studying English and say they saw great success. As they put it:

“Research has shown that there is an optimum moment to review whatever you’re studying — at that moment right before you’re likely to forget it,” said Andrew Smith Lewis, founder and chairman of Cerego. “The problem is that calculating this moment for a vast stream of information is far beyond the capacity of the human brain. But it’s not beyond the capacity of software. And now for the first time, we have not only the computing capacity to generate personalized learning schedules, but also a fertile venue for the creation and sharing of an infinite variety of learning content, the Web.”

iKnow’s expanded system will eventually let you use its algorithms for any type of learning exercise, not just limited to language. Cerego plans to release APIs and open the platform up completely to developers.

This isn’t something you’d use on a daily basis, but the technology — at least, as its touted — is fairly impressive. One could imagine it having strong implications for scholastic settings, particularly as an at-home supplement to in-class learning. As of now, the services are all offered free-of-charge.

DEMOFall08: Hey Cosmo launches MyConcierge, Blaster

Duncan Riley — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 11:48:48 +0000

For all our DEMOFall08 coverage, click here.

HeyCosmo has launched two new free social utilities at DEMOfall 08, HeyCosmo MyConcierge and HeyCosmo Blaster.

HeyCosmo MyConcierge aims to eliminate the time wasted on everyday tasks such as finding a plumber at 3am or finding a restaurant on short notice by placing actual phone calls to service providers. Users enter their location and the type of business or service they need into HeyCosmo’s site, along with a list of requirements. Using the company’s “robo-call technology,” MyConcierge calls vendors or services to identify the ones that fit the user’s specific criteria.

HeyCosmo users receive a complete listing of all providers along with availability, price and other features without having to call each individually.

The idea is pretty cool, to quote HeyCosmo:

“The concept behind HeyCosmo MyConcierge is simple. Who hasn’t spent way too much time trying to find an electrician or a ride to the airport? Online directories and search engines are great, but there’s still a lot of manual work involved to see who is available for your timeslot and project, and can work within your budget,” said James Im, founder and CEO at Arsenal Interactive, Inc. “HeyCosmo MyConcierge handles the dirty work in 60 seconds or less – since we all have better things to do.”

HeyCosmo Blaster takes the same idea and applies it to social planning. Users enter a date, time, and place to meet up, along with the names and numbers of friends, and HeyCosmo Blaster makes simultaneous calls to all the user’s chosen recipients, complete with a personalized message and interactive options.

The service lets event organizers know, in real-time, who answered the call, listened to the message, and responded. Additionally, HeyCosmo’s model enables advertisers to deliver highly targeted messages to users. For instance, a group planning an overnight trip to Las Vegas can be given the option to hear specials on airfare, shows, restaurants, or clubs at the end of the call depending on the context of the message being delivered to the recipient.

Both very cool ideas, although we’re presuming limited to the United States at this time. If we get a video from DEMO, we’ll update the post with the demonstration.

DEMOFall08: PaidInterviews pays candidates, not employers

Duncan Riley — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 11:33:49 +0000

PaidInterviews has launched an interesting new employee finding service DEMOFall 08, one that rewards candidates, not employment agencies or finders.

PaidInterviews is billing the idea as a “disruptive model that is poised to transform the hiring process.” Candidates name their asking fee, which is then matched with an employer’s bid fee, and are paid on a percantage basis of a candidates first year’s salary if they are hired. The idea is that by paying candidates for their time and efforts, employers are more likely to attract high-quality, ‘in-demand’ candidates.

PaidInterviews uses intelligent matching to bring candidates and employers together. Candidates are asked to define their ideal job based on standard aspects, including knowledge, skills and experience, in addition to ‘lifestyle factors,’ which can be just as critical to job satisfaction and career success.

It’s an interesting idea, a step away from the traditional model, and more radical than the pay for referral model that has recently emerged.

As much as I like the idea, I’m hoping that post DEMO launch that PaidInterviews does something about their website, which as I write this I’m thinking may have been the site Robert Scoble was talking about when he bagged DEMO companies.

DEMOFall08: iLovePhotos Puts Organizing and Sharing Photos on Autopilot

Duncan Riley — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 11:18:16 +0000

For our full coverage of DEMOFall 08, click here.

iLovePhotos has launched what is billed as an interesting new way for Mac users to effortlessly manage and share their photos using facial detection technology.  

  iLovePhotos is a free desktop package for Macs that utilizes facial detection and visual tagging to help people quickly and easily organize, share, and enjoy their photos around the people in them.   The iLovePhotos software can work with iPhoto or act as a a replacement image manager.

  As users import pictures, the software detects the faces of the individuals in each picture, allowing users to filter their library to show only photos of specific people. For search, iLovePhotos will also pull full name and contact information from a user’s address book, allowing for automatic sharing of feeds

Slideshows can be embedded online or watched on an iPhone, iPod, or AppleTV.

I’d need to do a hands on review to give a full picture of what iLovePhoto’s is promising, but the specs look interesting, and there’s no better selling point than free.

DEMOFall08: Toolgether joins the widget crowd [Free Invites]

Duncan Riley — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 11:03:41 +0000

For our full coverage of DEMOFall 08, click here.

In a play for the SaaS market, Toolgether has unveiled a new online marketplace and platform allowing anyone to use, share, distribute, embed and monetize Web apps and widgets at DEMOFall 08.

The target market for Toolgether is SME’s, who can utilize the Toolgether marketplace to search, discover and find helpful apps to embed in their Web sites and blogs in order to boost productivity and bring added value to their customers and visitors. General consumers can use Toolgether to find helpful tools in a variety of categories.

Provided samples include:

Education: school tuition comparison; online test preparation tool
Health: BMI index; drug and symptom lookup
Legal: promissory note generator; provisional patent application generator
Parenting: fertility calculator; college IRA planning
Personal Finance: mortgage calculator; investment portfolio analysis
Mobile: SMS message sending tool; location-based services tools
Travel: get real-time traffic info in an area; find hotel and restaurant info in an area
Web: find Google page rank; SEO analysis of a Web page
Social Networking: find connections between your Twitter friends; find out who among your Digg friends routinely Digg your submissions
Video/Photo: image resizing tool; Web video converter tool for easy conversion of different video file formats to flash video (.flv files)

For users who have created simple desktop apps and want to bring them to the web, share and monetize them, they are able to use Toolgether’s Web Application Interface Builder. In a simple to use interface, the can turn their IP into a widget that is ready for sharing with friends, family and others.

If the offer sounds appealing, you need to be quick. Toolgether is offering 500 signups prior to their full launch later this year. Click here to sign up, first in, best dressed.