Entrepreneurship & Social Media Salim Ismail Head of Brickhouse, Yahoo! Ex-
Background 1996: First early-stage company 2001: First startup (of my own) 2002: 2 nd  startup 2005: 3 rd  startup 2006: 4 th  & 5 th  startups 2007: Joined Yahoo to build/run Brickhouse   1 year, 3000 ideas and 4 products later…. 2008: Back to Startup land
Cork – 1996-2008
Cork – 1996-2008
Overview Internet Infrastructure Context for where we are today technology underpinning product roadmap Data on the internet Hidden Web Event-Driven Business Models Map of the internet Social  Media Web 2.0
What is Web 2.0 According to Tim O’Reilly…. Fundamentally: user participation (UGC) + XML
Other Web 2.0 Descriptors Services (as opposed to data) UGC (User Generated Content).. e.g.  blogs Manipulate and ‘use’ data, not just presentation Low latency (real time) Data aggregation Social Networking Examples Flickr, Buzznet, Dabble Wordpress, Typepad, Drupal Eventful, Upcoming, Edgeio YouTube, MySpace, FaceBook Web 2.0: Consumer to  Consumer
Web 2.0 Tag Cloud
Web 2.0 – Was led by Blogs Last few years - blogs have exploded in use With the rise of the web in the 90s, we had millions of readers, but relatively few publishers (e.g. CNN, CNet) Now, due to the ease of publishing with blogs and other tools, we now also have millions of publishers 1m in 01/04, 10m in 01/05, 50m in 2006 and over 100m today (that’s just blogs) A Syndication ecosystem has evolved Ping servers, ping aggregators and blogging platforms all collaborate to disseminate RSS and Atom updates Blogs now being ‘overtaken’ Top Bloggers: stratifying into self-publishing journalists/pundits MySpace, FaceBook, Twitter, Bebo et al covering the rest Has led to web 2.0 and social media
Since then… a few companies are betting on it
What makes this all tick? Syndication XML Low Latency Great UX
Overview Internet Infrastructure Context for where we are today technology underpinning product roadmap Data on the internet Business Models
Web 2.0 = Internet 3.0™  We are increasingly  watching … 80s Email 90s Web  Browser 00s RSS  Aggregator Messaging Request Response Publish Subscribe What’s your email address? Sending What’s your Website? Searching What’s your Feed/Blog? Watching Information  Exchange Patterns Evolution of the Internet
Web 2.0 = Internet 3.0 Web 2.0 = Internet 3.0 Structured Data (XML) Syndication is starting to take hold Event-based (Publish/Subscribe) Participatory UX = consumer to consumer Latest wave in internet companies (MS, FB, YT…)
Internet 3.0 – The Nervous System The internet is evolving into a complex organism Search is the memory Web 2.0 provides the basis for the  nervous system The key question is: “  Whenever…”
Now that we understand internet infrastructure... Internet Infrastructure Context for where we are today technology underpinning product roadmap Data on the internet Business Models Definition: Rows & Columns e.g. Word vs. XML authoring
Example: Blogs RSS is really just a wrapper for text plus metadata plus a syndication mechanism  Atom is another, more evolved syndication spec A typical blog Post contains an opinion or  specific Information (in text)
The Internet is largely ‘hidden’ data Unstructured information (Visible Web) HTML and text oriented Search-engine crawlable Difficult to analyze Structured information (Hidden Web) XML, structured information (auctions, tickets, cars, jobs) Lives mostly in walled gardens (eBay, Monster…) Not easily available to search engines Much of that can be syndicated The hidden Web is  400-500x larger than the visible one VISIBLE WEB HIDDEN WEB Source: Crawling the Hidden Web Sriram Raghavan,  Hector Garcia-Molina
Types of Structured Content Web 1.0 Autotrader eBay Monster Craigslist Lexis Nexis Online Media Web 2.0 Wordpress TripAdvisor Dabble “ Fire Eagle” SkyDeck SafariU Zillow Tripit Zimbra .. .. ..
The old world (hidden web) Before User fills form    site stores data users search site craigslist
The new world After User fills form (publish)   data is syndicated users get updates Create/Publish/Discover Syndicate/Aggregate Read/Consume/Process
Aggregators Blogs RSS Readers RSS Feeds Closed Syndication  or Branding Browsers Web Pages Search Engines Internet Information Flows Open Syndication or Branding Pings Create/Publish/Discover Syndicate/Aggregate Read/Consume/Process Web 2.0 Web 1.0 Walled  Garden DBs
Blogs Aggregators RSS Feeds Browsers Web Pages Search Engines Internet Information Flows Pings Open Syndication or Branding craigslist Closed Syndication  or Branding Create/Publish/Discover Syndicate/Aggregate Read/Consume/Process Web 2.0 Web 1.0 Walled  Gardens
Recent Products Who do I know (Social Networks) :  Flickr, Upcoming, FaceBook, MySpace, Bebo What am I doing (status updaters) :  Twitter, Pownce, Skype, FB Where am I (location brokers)   Fire Eagle, Plazes, Loopt Gov’t Data Enterprise Data E-commerce Transactional data (reviews/ratings) (offers for sale) (events) Self-publishing (where am I) (what am I doing) SN Profiles Blogs (about me) HTML Create/Publish/Discover Syndicate/Aggregate Read/Consume/Process Web 2.0 Web 1.0 Aggregators Blogs RSS Readers RSS Feeds Closed Syndication  or Branding Browsers Web Pages Search Engines Walled  Garden DBs Open Syndication or Branding Pings Social Networks Mini Feeds Closed Syndication or Branding Social Networks (email)
Create/Publish/Discover Syndicate/Aggregate Read/Consume/Process Web 2.0 Web 1.0 Aggregators Blogs RSS Readers RSS Feeds Closed Syndication  or Branding Browsers Web Pages Search Engines Internet Information Flows Open Syndication or Branding Pings Social Networks Mini Feeds Closed Syndication or Branding Social Networks (email) Walled  Garden DBs craigslist
Types of Structured Content Gov’t Data Enterprise Data E-commerce Transactional data (reviews/ratings) (offers for sale) (events) Self-publishing (where am I) (what am I doing) SN Profiles Blogs (about me) HTML Create/Publish/Discover Syndicate/Aggregate Read/Consume/Process Web 2.0 Web 1.0 Aggregators Blogs RSS Readers RSS Feeds Closed Syndication  or Branding Browsers Web Pages Search Engines Walled  Garden DBs Open Syndication or Branding Pings Social Networks Mini Feeds Closed Syndication or Branding Social Networks (email) 80s Email 90s Web  Browser 00s RSS  Aggregator Messaging Request Response Publish Subscribe What’s your email address? Sending What’s your Website? Searching What’s your Feed/Blog? Watching Information  Exchange Patterns Evolution of the Internet
Business Models – Internet 3.0 Publish (syndicate) Blogs Photos Video CGM Subscribe RSS readers Cell phones Web Clients Aggregate Search Engines Social Networks Vertical Search Tagging Aggregators
Types of Structured Content Gov’t Data Enterprise Data E-commerce Transactional data (reviews/ratings) (offers for sale) (events) Self-publishing (where am I) (what am I doing) SN Profiles Blogs (about me) HTML Create/Publish/Discover Syndicate/Aggregate Read/Consume/Process Web 2.0 Web 1.0 Aggregators Blogs RSS Readers RSS Feeds Closed Syndication  or Branding Browsers Web Pages Search Engines Walled  Garden DBs Open Syndication or Branding Pings Social Networks Mini Feeds Closed Syndication or Branding Social Networks (email)
Business Models Users/Advertising Subscriptions Data Mining
Internet Entrepreneurship It’s a numbers game “ You have to do everything right, and THEN get very lucky” Market timing Too early is worse than too late Team, Team, Team Focus, then Execute Never give up stick around long enough…
Dynamics of starting a company today Low barrier to entry Virality is key Lots of competition Focus on service rather than data
Dynamics of Revenue Streams Advertising User base (you need a lot of them) Behavioural targeting Social profiling Data Mining Aggregate information on large sets of users E.g. Rapleaf, Spock, Wink, Google, Fire Eagle Subscriptions Typically for enterprise or prosumer use
Tensions to be navigated How dodgy are you willing/able to be… ? Customer acquisition & monetization Spam factor When to take in revenue When to launch Don’t be a perfectionisht
Thoughts on  Social Media Computers are binary 80/20 rule Leverage with other types of information
Types of Structured Content Gov’t Data Enterprise Data E-commerce Transactional data (reviews/ratings) (offers for sale) (events) Self-publishing (where am I) (what am I doing) SN Profiles Blogs (about me) HTML Create/Publish/Discover Syndicate/Aggregate Read/Consume/Process Web 2.0 Web 1.0 Aggregators Blogs RSS Readers RSS Feeds Closed Syndication  or Branding Browsers Web Pages Search Engines Open Syndication or Branding Pings Social Networks Mini Feeds Closed Syndication or Branding Social Networks (email) Walled  Garden DBs
Key Drivers of Value Syndication XML Low Latency Great UX Gov’t Data Enterprise Data E-commerce Transactional data (reviews/ratings) (offers for sale) (events) Self-publishing (where am I) (what am I doing) SN Profiles Blogs (about me) HTML
Back to blogs RSS is really just a wrapper for text plus metadata plus a syndication mechanism  Atom is another, more evolved syndication spec A typical blog post today  contains an opinion or  specific Information (in text)
There’s over a trillion XML documents Unstructured information (Visible Web) HTML and text oriented Search-engine crawlable Difficult to analyze Structured information (Hidden Web) XML, structured information (auctions, tickets, cars, jobs) Lives mostly in walled gardens (eBay, Monster…) Not easily available to search engines Much of that can be syndicated The hidden Web is  400-500x larger than the visible one VISIBLE WEB HIDDEN WEB Source: Crawling the Hidden Web Sriram Raghavan,  Hector Garcia-Molina
Steps for building a business Pick a domain you’re passionate about Travel, sports, entertainment, business…. Pick a type of data that can to be leveraged  on the internet Location, social information, structured data, live info Select one of the drivers of value creation Position yourself for risk Jump in with both feet Gov’t Data Enterprise Data E-commerce Transactional data (reviews/ratings) (offers for sale) (events) Self-publishing (where am I) (what am I doing) SN Profiles Blogs (about me) HTML Syndication XML Low Latency Great UX
And if it doesn’t work…. Pick yourself up.. Dust yourself off… Get a new T-shirt… Start again…
Blogs Aggregators RSS Feeds Browsers Web Pages Search Engines Internet Information Flows Closed Syndication  or Branding Pings Open Syndication or Branding craigslist Create/Publish/Discover Syndicate/Aggregate Read/Consume/Process Web 2.0 Web 1.0 Walled  Gardens

Ismail Blogtalk 2008

  • 1.
    Entrepreneurship & SocialMedia Salim Ismail Head of Brickhouse, Yahoo! Ex-
  • 2.
    Background 1996: Firstearly-stage company 2001: First startup (of my own) 2002: 2 nd startup 2005: 3 rd startup 2006: 4 th & 5 th startups 2007: Joined Yahoo to build/run Brickhouse 1 year, 3000 ideas and 4 products later…. 2008: Back to Startup land
  • 3.
  • 4.
  • 5.
    Overview Internet InfrastructureContext for where we are today technology underpinning product roadmap Data on the internet Hidden Web Event-Driven Business Models Map of the internet Social Media Web 2.0
  • 6.
    What is Web2.0 According to Tim O’Reilly…. Fundamentally: user participation (UGC) + XML
  • 7.
    Other Web 2.0Descriptors Services (as opposed to data) UGC (User Generated Content).. e.g. blogs Manipulate and ‘use’ data, not just presentation Low latency (real time) Data aggregation Social Networking Examples Flickr, Buzznet, Dabble Wordpress, Typepad, Drupal Eventful, Upcoming, Edgeio YouTube, MySpace, FaceBook Web 2.0: Consumer to Consumer
  • 8.
  • 9.
    Web 2.0 –Was led by Blogs Last few years - blogs have exploded in use With the rise of the web in the 90s, we had millions of readers, but relatively few publishers (e.g. CNN, CNet) Now, due to the ease of publishing with blogs and other tools, we now also have millions of publishers 1m in 01/04, 10m in 01/05, 50m in 2006 and over 100m today (that’s just blogs) A Syndication ecosystem has evolved Ping servers, ping aggregators and blogging platforms all collaborate to disseminate RSS and Atom updates Blogs now being ‘overtaken’ Top Bloggers: stratifying into self-publishing journalists/pundits MySpace, FaceBook, Twitter, Bebo et al covering the rest Has led to web 2.0 and social media
  • 10.
    Since then… afew companies are betting on it
  • 11.
    What makes thisall tick? Syndication XML Low Latency Great UX
  • 12.
    Overview Internet InfrastructureContext for where we are today technology underpinning product roadmap Data on the internet Business Models
  • 13.
    Web 2.0 =Internet 3.0™ We are increasingly watching … 80s Email 90s Web Browser 00s RSS Aggregator Messaging Request Response Publish Subscribe What’s your email address? Sending What’s your Website? Searching What’s your Feed/Blog? Watching Information Exchange Patterns Evolution of the Internet
  • 14.
    Web 2.0 =Internet 3.0 Web 2.0 = Internet 3.0 Structured Data (XML) Syndication is starting to take hold Event-based (Publish/Subscribe) Participatory UX = consumer to consumer Latest wave in internet companies (MS, FB, YT…)
  • 15.
    Internet 3.0 –The Nervous System The internet is evolving into a complex organism Search is the memory Web 2.0 provides the basis for the nervous system The key question is: “ Whenever…”
  • 16.
    Now that weunderstand internet infrastructure... Internet Infrastructure Context for where we are today technology underpinning product roadmap Data on the internet Business Models Definition: Rows & Columns e.g. Word vs. XML authoring
  • 17.
    Example: Blogs RSSis really just a wrapper for text plus metadata plus a syndication mechanism Atom is another, more evolved syndication spec A typical blog Post contains an opinion or specific Information (in text)
  • 18.
    The Internet islargely ‘hidden’ data Unstructured information (Visible Web) HTML and text oriented Search-engine crawlable Difficult to analyze Structured information (Hidden Web) XML, structured information (auctions, tickets, cars, jobs) Lives mostly in walled gardens (eBay, Monster…) Not easily available to search engines Much of that can be syndicated The hidden Web is 400-500x larger than the visible one VISIBLE WEB HIDDEN WEB Source: Crawling the Hidden Web Sriram Raghavan, Hector Garcia-Molina
  • 19.
    Types of StructuredContent Web 1.0 Autotrader eBay Monster Craigslist Lexis Nexis Online Media Web 2.0 Wordpress TripAdvisor Dabble “ Fire Eagle” SkyDeck SafariU Zillow Tripit Zimbra .. .. ..
  • 20.
    The old world(hidden web) Before User fills form site stores data users search site craigslist
  • 21.
    The new worldAfter User fills form (publish) data is syndicated users get updates Create/Publish/Discover Syndicate/Aggregate Read/Consume/Process
  • 22.
    Aggregators Blogs RSSReaders RSS Feeds Closed Syndication or Branding Browsers Web Pages Search Engines Internet Information Flows Open Syndication or Branding Pings Create/Publish/Discover Syndicate/Aggregate Read/Consume/Process Web 2.0 Web 1.0 Walled Garden DBs
  • 23.
    Blogs Aggregators RSSFeeds Browsers Web Pages Search Engines Internet Information Flows Pings Open Syndication or Branding craigslist Closed Syndication or Branding Create/Publish/Discover Syndicate/Aggregate Read/Consume/Process Web 2.0 Web 1.0 Walled Gardens
  • 24.
    Recent Products Whodo I know (Social Networks) : Flickr, Upcoming, FaceBook, MySpace, Bebo What am I doing (status updaters) : Twitter, Pownce, Skype, FB Where am I (location brokers) Fire Eagle, Plazes, Loopt Gov’t Data Enterprise Data E-commerce Transactional data (reviews/ratings) (offers for sale) (events) Self-publishing (where am I) (what am I doing) SN Profiles Blogs (about me) HTML Create/Publish/Discover Syndicate/Aggregate Read/Consume/Process Web 2.0 Web 1.0 Aggregators Blogs RSS Readers RSS Feeds Closed Syndication or Branding Browsers Web Pages Search Engines Walled Garden DBs Open Syndication or Branding Pings Social Networks Mini Feeds Closed Syndication or Branding Social Networks (email)
  • 25.
    Create/Publish/Discover Syndicate/Aggregate Read/Consume/ProcessWeb 2.0 Web 1.0 Aggregators Blogs RSS Readers RSS Feeds Closed Syndication or Branding Browsers Web Pages Search Engines Internet Information Flows Open Syndication or Branding Pings Social Networks Mini Feeds Closed Syndication or Branding Social Networks (email) Walled Garden DBs craigslist
  • 26.
    Types of StructuredContent Gov’t Data Enterprise Data E-commerce Transactional data (reviews/ratings) (offers for sale) (events) Self-publishing (where am I) (what am I doing) SN Profiles Blogs (about me) HTML Create/Publish/Discover Syndicate/Aggregate Read/Consume/Process Web 2.0 Web 1.0 Aggregators Blogs RSS Readers RSS Feeds Closed Syndication or Branding Browsers Web Pages Search Engines Walled Garden DBs Open Syndication or Branding Pings Social Networks Mini Feeds Closed Syndication or Branding Social Networks (email) 80s Email 90s Web Browser 00s RSS Aggregator Messaging Request Response Publish Subscribe What’s your email address? Sending What’s your Website? Searching What’s your Feed/Blog? Watching Information Exchange Patterns Evolution of the Internet
  • 27.
    Business Models –Internet 3.0 Publish (syndicate) Blogs Photos Video CGM Subscribe RSS readers Cell phones Web Clients Aggregate Search Engines Social Networks Vertical Search Tagging Aggregators
  • 28.
    Types of StructuredContent Gov’t Data Enterprise Data E-commerce Transactional data (reviews/ratings) (offers for sale) (events) Self-publishing (where am I) (what am I doing) SN Profiles Blogs (about me) HTML Create/Publish/Discover Syndicate/Aggregate Read/Consume/Process Web 2.0 Web 1.0 Aggregators Blogs RSS Readers RSS Feeds Closed Syndication or Branding Browsers Web Pages Search Engines Walled Garden DBs Open Syndication or Branding Pings Social Networks Mini Feeds Closed Syndication or Branding Social Networks (email)
  • 29.
    Business Models Users/AdvertisingSubscriptions Data Mining
  • 30.
    Internet Entrepreneurship It’sa numbers game “ You have to do everything right, and THEN get very lucky” Market timing Too early is worse than too late Team, Team, Team Focus, then Execute Never give up stick around long enough…
  • 31.
    Dynamics of startinga company today Low barrier to entry Virality is key Lots of competition Focus on service rather than data
  • 32.
    Dynamics of RevenueStreams Advertising User base (you need a lot of them) Behavioural targeting Social profiling Data Mining Aggregate information on large sets of users E.g. Rapleaf, Spock, Wink, Google, Fire Eagle Subscriptions Typically for enterprise or prosumer use
  • 33.
    Tensions to benavigated How dodgy are you willing/able to be… ? Customer acquisition & monetization Spam factor When to take in revenue When to launch Don’t be a perfectionisht
  • 34.
    Thoughts on Social Media Computers are binary 80/20 rule Leverage with other types of information
  • 35.
    Types of StructuredContent Gov’t Data Enterprise Data E-commerce Transactional data (reviews/ratings) (offers for sale) (events) Self-publishing (where am I) (what am I doing) SN Profiles Blogs (about me) HTML Create/Publish/Discover Syndicate/Aggregate Read/Consume/Process Web 2.0 Web 1.0 Aggregators Blogs RSS Readers RSS Feeds Closed Syndication or Branding Browsers Web Pages Search Engines Open Syndication or Branding Pings Social Networks Mini Feeds Closed Syndication or Branding Social Networks (email) Walled Garden DBs
  • 36.
    Key Drivers ofValue Syndication XML Low Latency Great UX Gov’t Data Enterprise Data E-commerce Transactional data (reviews/ratings) (offers for sale) (events) Self-publishing (where am I) (what am I doing) SN Profiles Blogs (about me) HTML
  • 37.
    Back to blogsRSS is really just a wrapper for text plus metadata plus a syndication mechanism Atom is another, more evolved syndication spec A typical blog post today contains an opinion or specific Information (in text)
  • 38.
    There’s over atrillion XML documents Unstructured information (Visible Web) HTML and text oriented Search-engine crawlable Difficult to analyze Structured information (Hidden Web) XML, structured information (auctions, tickets, cars, jobs) Lives mostly in walled gardens (eBay, Monster…) Not easily available to search engines Much of that can be syndicated The hidden Web is 400-500x larger than the visible one VISIBLE WEB HIDDEN WEB Source: Crawling the Hidden Web Sriram Raghavan, Hector Garcia-Molina
  • 39.
    Steps for buildinga business Pick a domain you’re passionate about Travel, sports, entertainment, business…. Pick a type of data that can to be leveraged on the internet Location, social information, structured data, live info Select one of the drivers of value creation Position yourself for risk Jump in with both feet Gov’t Data Enterprise Data E-commerce Transactional data (reviews/ratings) (offers for sale) (events) Self-publishing (where am I) (what am I doing) SN Profiles Blogs (about me) HTML Syndication XML Low Latency Great UX
  • 40.
    And if itdoesn’t work…. Pick yourself up.. Dust yourself off… Get a new T-shirt… Start again…
  • 41.
    Blogs Aggregators RSSFeeds Browsers Web Pages Search Engines Internet Information Flows Closed Syndication or Branding Pings Open Syndication or Branding craigslist Create/Publish/Discover Syndicate/Aggregate Read/Consume/Process Web 2.0 Web 1.0 Walled Gardens