Web idea factory working overtime

By Bill Law
Monday, 2 July 2007

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The online world has seen a rash of what are known in the business as "killer start-ups". I have mentioned social networking sites many times. Not only have these transformed the way people communicate, they have also prompted many businesses to change their own sites to take advantage of the two-way flow of information.

The software company SAP (www.sap.com) has used blogging, collaborative wikis and other so-called Web 2.0 techniques to make a real difference to its business. In six months the feedback it has received has allowed it to shorten the development cycle of new products.

The technology portal ZDNet (www.zdnet.co.uk) has turned its site into something resembling a page from YouTube (www.youtube.com), again taking advantage of interactivity involving its users.

But for real "killer" applications you need to look beyond business to the amateur pioneers of the huge range of possibilities offered by the internet.

Some of the best exponents are still at university. Others are in jobs but spot an opportunity to match a new service with someone's needs. When you hear about them, you ask the frustrating question: Why didn't I think of that?

Take iCare (http://icare.ieor.berkeley.edu). This is a venture based at the University of California at Berkeley. It was prompted by the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, and like all good ideas its premise is very simple. Official attempts to help the people of New Orleans were dogged by inefficiency and red tape. The unofficial efforts organised by websites like Craigslist (www.craigslist.org), on the other hand, met with success because they were not hampered by hierarchies of communication.

So students Anand Kulkarni and Ephrat Bitton came up with the idea of matching the needy with companies or individuals who can supply exactly what they are short of.

But the site with one of the biggest "wow" factors is Techinline (www.techinline.com), which enables a company or individual to take control of another person's computer (with their permission) anywhere in the world and use any web browser to solve technical problems.

Finally, under the headline 'Services you didn't know existed until you read about them in the Business Telegraph' comes www.mizpee.com. Need a clean public toilet in an American city? Visit this site on your mobile phone, type in your location and it will point the way.

Bill Law has 30 years' experience in IT, and works in the industry for Fujitsu Services in Northern Ireland. The opinions expressed are his own and not necessarily those of Fujitsu Services. He can be contacted at Bill.H.Law@uk.fujitsu.com.