AUTHOR: Russell TITLE: Fill 'er Up DATE: 11:56 AM ----- BODY:
A new launch by Picaphone, which aims to create the first international phone directory, caught my eye this week so I decided to check out www.picaphone.com.

After dozens of searches for all types of companies, big and small all yielded no results, I was pushed to an inexorable conclusion: this database nothing in it.

Back to the press release again and I noticed the statement, "The success of this ambitious project depends on the cooperation of web surfers all over the world." Yes, it's all about user-generated content, but with the remarkable goal of trying to collect every telephone directory listing in the world. Imagine how many listings would have to be contributed (and maintained) for this to become a site worthy enough for users to return to repeatedly.

I certainly have no beef with this company's audacious business objective. My point is that the window is rapidly closing for online data ventures that set up shop with a user interface and back-end database and then say to the world, "fill 'er up." Why? Very simply, the novelty factor is gone. That's why last year's Data Content Conference featured companies such as Snooth and BrownBook. Both these companies see user-generated content as integral to their success, but both started out supplying an initial dataset that delivered value while encouraging users to augment this information. With this approach, these companies deliver value to users immediately, rather than hoping magic will happen and users will do a credible (and rapid) job building out the database from scratch. I'd go so far as to argue that the bigger the scope of a user-generated database product, the more important to provide an initial dataset.

But what about companies like Jigsaw and Linked-In you may properly ask. These two very successful databases were built entirely from user-generated content. To this I would respond that these companies caught the wave of early excitement around user-generated content, so they had great timing going for them. I'd also argue that these databases, while they certainly became more valuable as they got bigger, were still able to deliver value to users while quite small. Think about it: both Jigsaw and Linked-In could deliver some value to users with 50,000 names; a database claiming to be a global telephone directory cannot.User-generated content certainly isn't dying; in fact where user-generated content augments a publisher's existing database it is very much alive and well. User-generated data products where the database starts completely empty are also lacking much promise.

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----- -------- AUTHOR: Russell TITLE: When Features Collide DATE: 12:44 PM ----- BODY:
Google's uses an annual press event it calls Searchology to trot out its new search features and other new offerings. Two new features caught my eye. Individually, they are useful and fascinating. In combination, they are potentially disruptive.

The first new offering, scheduled to go live imminently, is called Google Squared. It's an attempt to present search results to the user in spreadsheet format. You'll type in a standard free text query, for example, "baseball teams" and Google will return a spreadsheet where the rows consist of each team in baseball, and the columns are determined dynamically, such as location, league affiliation, etc. In short, Google is attempting to create structured data from unstructured web page content. Does it work? As you might suspect, it's far from perfect, but at the same time, it's a remarkable start.

Another new feature announced by Google is called "rich snippets" which involves putting more structured data in search results by drawing on web page metadata (in particular, pay attention to Google's support of a microformat called hCard). With rich snippets, which is being rolled out slowly, Google can now display star ratings for restaurants right in its search results, standardized address information for businesses, and disambiguated person data (initially courtesy of Linked-In) that will show company affiliation and job title right in the standard search results screen.

Okay, here's the disruptive angle to this. Fast forward a few years and it sure sounds that with more structured business and individual contact information available through Google, along with tools like Google Squared that allow output in spreadsheet format, it's entirely possible that users will routinely be able to easily create and export business mailing lists, organizational charts and much more. The more microformat data Google is able to access, the more high quality, structured output Google will be able to deliver to users and in a popular data interchange format to boot. Given Google's preferred price point for information (zero), there's a very real possibility of some disruptive change on the horizon.

Recommended response? Remember that basic contact information had been becoming commoditized for a number of years now. These Google offerings will only accelerate an existing trend. The future for data publishers is to continue to relentlessly push up the value chain delivering deeper, smarter information to customers in ways that integrate into their workflows and business processes.
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----- -------- AUTHOR: Russell TITLE: Do Tell DATE: 9:38 AM ----- BODY:
Even if you are not familiar with the term "top level domains" or TLD's, you know what they are: think dot com, dot biz, dot net, dot info, and so many others it's difficult to keep track of them all.

The purpose of TLD's has traditionally been remarkably limited. They provide conveniently remembered names that help you get to websites or send email. It's much easier to tell someone to go to www.infocommercegroup.com than to go to 64.78.29.122.

But there is a whole new twist on the concept of TLD's coming in just a few weeks. That's when a new TLD called dot tel opens for business. Operated by Telnic Limited, the new dot tel domain has big ambitions: it wants to be a full-fledged universal contact directory.

I am sure I am poorly describing the underlying technology, but when you order a dot tel domain name, you essentially get both a domain name and a home page. On that home page, you can provide four types of information in a highly structured format: basic contact details (physical address, phone, fax), navigational details (deep links to your corporate website or contact information for departments, subsidiaries or branch offices), geolocation details (links to Google maps) and keywords describing your business. The whole design and format is particularly well optimized for mobile devices.

This is a fascinating concept from a number of angles. First, by specifying a structure to the information that appears on a dot tel "home page," users can be sure of what they will find every time they go to a dot tel domain. Second, you can argue that a company might be better off promoting its dot tel domain than its current company domain because the dot tel domain functions as a convenient "switchboard" of sorts, making it easy for users to get to critical pieces of information conveniently. Third, if dot tel takes off, it could become a central reference database that provides always-current and trusted company contact data. This was a role I thought Plaxo was poised to assume before it decided to morph into a poor imitation of Linked-In.

This is a creative venture with a lot of potential. But will it fly? That's always the question with ambitious and ground-breaking schemes like these. But judging by the big ads in the big media I have been seeing for dot tel, a serious push is going to be made to get market traction. Keep an eye on this one.

Recent News from the InfoCommerce Blog:

Angie's List Gets More Financing
Jigsaw Goes Mobile with SkyData Partnership
ZANA Networks Partners with Kompass
Demandbase Partners with Jigsaw
RDC, Alacra Partnership Yields Compliance Product

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----- -------- AUTHOR: Russell TITLE: User-Generated Sales DATE: 3:43 PM ----- BODY:
In February of this year, I brought to your attention a UK-based online yellow pages start-up called BrownBook.net. While online yellow pages is a crowded and generally unremarkable category of online content, BrownBook was coming at it with a fresh and audacious approach by relying on the wiki model. Yes, user-generated content for yellow pages.

We know wikis can work. Just look at the success of Wikipedia. We know that databases can be built with user-generated content. Witness both Jigsaw and LinkedIn (both former InfoCommerce Models of Excellence winners). But the general thinking to date has been that users will contribute only when they're passionate about a topic or there's something in it for them. Most would agree that "yellow pages" and "passion" are rarely seen in the same sentence.

Despite this, BrownBook has persevered with this new approach, and by all reports, it's working. Strong site metrics are suggesting BrownBook may be onto something big with this innovative model.

Not content simply to revolutionize how yellow pages databases are built and maintained, BrownBook has just announced an equally remarkable innovation: it wants to turn its registered users into a commission sales force.

In a nutshell, if a registered user of BrownBook contributes content about a business, and that business later pays to enhance its listing, the registered user receives a portion of that revenue. But to make things more interesting, this isn't a one-time payment. It's a lifetime commission stream to that user as long as that business remains an advertiser. So while users can likely make a few dollars passively, they can potentially make a lot of money by actively encouraging the businesses they write about to advertise in BrownBook, and to remain advertisers in BrownBook as well. Consider too the potentially viral aspects of this model as BrownBook users start to receive checks, initially for not doing anything. It won't take them long to spread the word to their friends and recognize that by talking up BrownBook to their favorite retailers, they can develop a nice stream of ongoing cash.The best way to get the full story on BrownBook is to be at InfoCommerce 2008 in Philadelphia - just 16 days from now - where you can hear Marc Lyne, BrownBook's co-founder, on our kick-off Meet the Evolutionaries" panel. See you there ...

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----- -------- AUTHOR: Russell TITLE: Good Vibrations DATE: 1:51 PM ----- BODY:
One thing that's been curiously missing from the social networking/user-generated content frenzy of the past few years has been efforts to harness these concepts to build good company databases. It's particularly surprising given the success of professional sites such as Jigsaw and Linked-In, both of which have built remarkably robust databases of business professionals. But where's the company information?

We have seen a few attempts at letting users build out company content. Two basic models have been employed to date: a "backbone" model, where users can append comments to a fixed list of companies, and the publisher takes on the task of maintaining basic company contact details. Successful examples of this model include Yahoo Finance, Vault.com and start-up yellow pages sites such as BrownBook. The other model is "free-form" model where users decide what companies to cover and in what way, with the publisher supplying no content, and few if any restrictions. One infamous example of this was the F*ckedCompany.com site, now mercifully defunct. We're seeing more and more company profiles within Wikipedia, but they tend to get lost in this vast online encyclopedia.

Will people take the time to contribute to an open access company database? Can such a database rise above angry posts from disgruntled employees and disinformation from disingenuous competitors? Will people share valuable inside information about firms? Will individuals maintain constantly changing company information? Well, it seems we may be about to find out.

A new company, TradeVibes.com, still in beta, is aiming to become a user-generated company database. It rolls together wiki-like features with rating systems, company discussion board, job boards and more. It also offers a strong organizational taxonomy to allow discovery of companies in addition to research on known companies. It may very well be a glimpse of the future.

There's a lot of fresh thinking going on at TradeVibes, and a lot to commend its content model. If TradeVibes can get critical market traction, it could herald the next big thing in the data world: high-value, user- generated company information.

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----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Anonymous John DATE:3/31/08 8:19 PM Hi Russell,

Interesting article. As I last heard it LinkedIn just launched their company profiles. One thing I'm curious about (and full disclosure here that I work for them) is why no mention of Spoke when talking about Jigsaw & LinkedIn as data services with company information.

www.Spoke.com has more than twice the people (40 million businesspeople profiles) & over 2.3 million compnay profiles. We even give members of any company the ability to come in and update incorrect or outdated company information, provided they prove they work for that company with a verified corporate e-mail address.

What are your thoughts on giving full reign to people to control company information? Isn't that the domain of company (e.g. public companies can't have people making false claims about their annual revenues, their HQ address, etc. or face consequences from the SEC)? ----- -------- AUTHOR: Russell TITLE: Against the Current DATE: 9:59 AM ----- BODY:
In the last 72 hours, I have received a stream of invitations to connect to people on Plaxo Pulse, Plaxo's new initiative to transform itself into the flavor of the month: a social networking company. I dutifully responded to all these requests, partly out of curiosity and partly out of courtesy. I am now duly connected, awaiting all the benefits that will presumably accrue to me.

This stream of Plaxo connection requests came on the stream of Facebook connection requests. I dutifully responded to those as well, and continue to await all the benefits that will presumably accrue to me.

I should also note that I continue to get an ongoing stream of requests to connect on Linked-In, to which I also dutifully respond, and continue to await all the benefits that will presumably accrue to me.

And as I continue to wait, we stand poised for a major announcement from Google that it is partnering with Linked-In, Plaxo and others to create an open standard programming interface that will let third party developers leverage their platforms in all sorts of creative ways. This collaboration among seeming competitors is aimed directly at Facebook, which is growing too quickly for their comfort.

I continue to be impressed every time Plaxo alerts me to someone's changing job or contact details, which it then automatically updates on my computer. I have found that Linked-In can provide powerful insights by letting me see "who knows who." Facebook? Explain to me again why I should spend time there.

I truly hope that anyone reading this who's contemplating leaping into the social networking waters will remember that social networking has the word "social" in it for a reason. Layering glorified chat rooms on top of otherwise solid business data and applications can destroy rather than create value. A top Plaxo executive actually envisions Plaxo Pulse becoming part of a "life stream," presumably implying that social networking will become integral to one's existence. That may be true in certain segments of the consumer market. But in the business and professional world, if you dive into this "life stream," you'll likely be swimming against the current.

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----- -------- AUTHOR: Russell TITLE: Social Networking Friday DATE: 12:49 PM ----- BODY:
A number of blogs are reporting that on Monday, Plaxo, a company best known for its revolutionary service that synchronizes and updates user contacts lists, will apparently transform itself into a social networking company, under the brand name "Pulse." It seems that Plaxo has decided that it likes the Facebook business model more than its own.

I like Plaxo, an InfoCommerce Model of Excellence award winner way back in 2004. Its business of synchronizing contacts among user databases information is brilliant, and its technology is breathtaking. That's why I am disappointed to hear that Plaxo may be trying to move in a whole new direction. My free advice to Plaxo: before re-inventing yourself, focus your creativity on building out more applications based on your remarkable technology, and oh yes, stop giving away so much value for free.

And what of Facebook, the social networking site formerly the province of college students, but now open to the rest of us? Industry pundits are now whispering (loudly) that Facebook is poised to give Linked-In a run for the money since it is now re- defining itself as a communications platform on which third parties can build and extend Facebook capabilities. All this massive expansion comes with the risk that Facebook will lose its identity as the addition of users like me likely drives its coolness factor to zero among the college students who fueled its rise. Further, I am willing to make a small bet that Facebook's cavalier attitude towards data privacy is going to explode loudly in its face in the near future.

And what about Linked-In, another 2004 InfoCommerce Model of Excellence award winner? I am not sure that Linked-In's original premise, building on the "six degrees of separation" notion to foster professional contacts, played out in reality as well as it did in theory. At the same time, the company has been nimble and creative in finding ways to monetize what to my eyes is one of the single greatest treasure troves of data on business professionals. Importantly, Linked-In understands the information value in implicit and explicit connections as its users voluntarily indicate their connections to others. I think it's also telling that Linked-In seemingly is doing so well selling access to its data in various ways. There's something about proprietary content!

Bottom line: Plaxo is getting off the turnpike at the wrong exist; Facebook needs to do a lot of growing up before it becomes a real tool for grown-ups, and Linked-In seems to offer confirmation once again that content is still king.

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