Adhysteria.com (Mumbai, India) – launched on October of 2007, like the name implies, is an informative base for communities to place and find free advertisements along with other key features. Advertisements can be posted and searched for within a wide range of useful categories, which include Vehicles, Real Estate, Jobs, Resumes, Matrimonial, Community, Items for Sale, Want Ads, Free Stuff & Barter, Coaching Classes, Showbiz, Reviews, Services, Luxury goods, and Events. These categories are further divided into an extensive list of sub-categories, which are also very relevant and to the point. In addition, the site offers individuals and communities the ability to place and search for ads along with video, audio and image components, which definitely sets it apart from the classified lot. In fact, the founder’s mission, is to “enable everyone to find their basic day to day requirements in an efficient and simple manner”.

I had a chance to talk to the creator of this innovative classified portal, Rajiv Unnikrishnan, and this is what he had to say:

Why is your site different than your competitors?

“There are few sites doing free classifieds in India however no one is offering free video classifieds and integration of Google maps for this region.”

What is your business plan or model?

“None yet saw a gap in the market and decided to dive in”

Why did did you start this website?

“To fill a gap in the market and provide a useful service to the community”

How are you planning to market it?

“Initially, mainly the web then go in for press ads Adhysteria”

Adhysteria speaks for itself as an excellent source of relevant information for individuals, hence the modest dialog from the creator. Personally, I found many of the strong points of the site to be simple yet effective. The search engine for classified listings is an excellent idea, which offers two search queries: keyword and location. An improvement to that might be to insert a java script feature that automatically suggests keywords and locations so that individuals are aware of what content is searchable as apposed to guessing. This is a minor concern as the site will definitely evolve to accommodate more classified content. For the most part, the aspect that impressed me the most is the extensive subcategories for advertisements that include carpool, childcare, volunteers, writers, and tutor. These are subcategories that can be expanded over time to meet the demands of users.

Youpark (Denmark) – a one-stop storefront for cell phone users to find all their mobile applications relating to games, business, productivity, and mobile devices. It is a pleasant alternative to searching countless websites for applications that would suit your particular cell phone type.  Youpark acts much like a two-way street, offering a common medium where an individual in need of acquiring a particular cell phone application can reach a developer offering that particular application.

I had a chance to interview Babar Baig (CEO), Umar Akram (Vice President) and Farrukh Abbas (Chief Technical Officer) of Youpark.com and this is what they had to say:

What is your business plan?

“Youpark is a complete content delivery and management solution that bridges the gap between content developers and end users. We acquire best selling applications and games from leading developers all over the world and we sell them to mobile consumers. The revenue is shared among all the stakeholders involved.”

Why did you start this website?

“There is a huge gap between the developers and mobile consumers; neither a small software developer working in his garage office, can reach billions of mobile consumers, nor can the consumers reach for the required mobile software lost within billions of websites. Youpark.com effectively connects the mobile content developer community with the end users by bringing them together on one platform.”

How are you planning to market it?

“The products of Youpark catalog are marketed through various internet marketing techniques such as blogging, email marketing, online advertising and SEO and SEM activities.”
 
Why is it different than your competitors?

“Our site provides a unique shopping experience that allows customers to select their handheld device from a huge repository of latest devices and discover the applications compatible to their devices. The user can also find the product of their choice by selecting the required platform, category or sorting order. The buying process on Youpark, effectively guides the user at every step informing them about available delivery modes, compatible devices, currency used, price charged etc. Other than this, Youpark support team also provides efficient support through live chat, e-mail or phone, helping the users find the software of your choice.”

Any other information that you believe is relevant to your startup will also be helpful.

“The founders studied the developing market, set the vision, mission and strategy and assembled a team to provide instant delivery of quality mobile software to anyone, anytime, anywhere. This solution enabled them in delivering mobile content from developers to consumers.”

Youpark, founded in 2005 has already created much buzz in the mobile world with over 12,000 unique mobile applications, free software products and games. The team at youpark also tests out applications across various mobile devices for errors, which is another bonus. I definitely enjoyed using some of their applications and I really liked the fact that people who are strapped for time need not look elsewhere for their mobile needs. 

A study conducted by a U.S. firm, Nemertes Research, finds that web users should expect internet performance declines by 2011 as a result of increased demands on bandwidth from the likes of YouTube, music files and VoIP (Voice-over Internet Protocol) services.

Specifically, the issue isn’t about the internet’s own infrastructure, but rather the limitations of those service providers, including telephone and cable operators, that provide the means for which businesses and residences can access the internet. According to the study, telecommunications and cable firms will have to invest an estimated $137 billion (U.S.) globally to retain the current internet service quality. The United States shares an enormous portion of that pie. The United States is required to spend $55 billion in addition to the $72 billion they had already planned to expend on broadband access.

However, there is some assurance to web users that the model used for the study is an “if-then” model that doesn’t claim that performance will decline, without a doubt, by 2011. Rather, the outcome of decline is based on certain assumptions and doesn’t take into consideration the notion of broadband access via wireless. So, there are shortfalls to the study. Regardless, there is sufficient study that indicates major concern in 2011, but from now until 2011 there is a lot of opportunity to fix the infrastructure shortfall.

Click here for the full study and associated FAQ page

CARMA (Carbon Monitoring for Action) is a new website with a massive database containing information on the carbon emissions of over 50,000 power plants and 4,000 power companies worldwide. The creators are banking on the possibility that the disclosed data will have substantial public impact such as a global cleanup of polluting power plants.

David Wheeler of the Centre for Global Development and creator of the database stated that “Public disclosure is already credited with reducing air and water emissions of toxic substances in Canada, the U.S. and even in China.”

A similar public disclosure initiative was also launched via the MDG Monitor website to confront global poverty. Such initiatives emphasize the profound impact that the web can have on public action and illustrates the positive influences of the World Wide Web.

Mosio.com (San Francisco, CA, USA) – a free mobile social network enabling members of the Mosio network to text message questions from their cell phone, and receive responses from members of their Mosio mobile community. The questions received by the community are posted on the Mosio forum so that members can respond. Apparently, members can receive up to four different responses from other members of the community.

I had a chance to interview Jay Sachdev and Noel Chandler, founders of Mosio.com, and this is what they had to say:

Why is your site different than your competitors?

Mosio is free, caters to the mobile user and has an entertaining human element with a hint of a tongue in cheek vibe about both the questions that come in and the answers that are received. If you ask a serious question, you’ll get a great answer but there might be a little extra funny or amusing comment base on the content of the question. There are other SMS search services, but they specialize in look ups, but with Mosio you can ask “what is the best mexican restaurant in San Francisco, preferrably near 4th and Howard?” and get personal opinions/recommendations from humans, not algroithms.

What is your business plan or model?

Currently, we are ad revenue based, but will be opening up new premium subscription-based features that are ad-free and give users access to more. Mosio is also the perfect platform for premium content delivery and we’re in talks with a few companies about strategic partnerships.

Why did you start this website?

We created Mosio out of the basic need to quickly access any information online through the mobile phone. The phone screen is too small for an “educated guess” in search results and we knew that crowdsourcing and tapping the natural human interest to help each other could be a great way to give people access to the relevant information they need by asking for it. The banter that takes place on the site makes it a lot more fun than 411.

How are you planning to market it?

Right now we’re building some buzz in the blogosphere, have built Apps for Twitter, Facebook, Jott and Yelp, plus being a mobile technology, it’s a natural viral marketing tool. We assume that half of all questions asked are people sitting there with another person, saying “Watch this: ask me any question.” - The novelty is what gets people started on it, then people move to asking regular questions.

The site just launched its Beta mode in August of 2007 and is already creating a wave with new users signing on. And I don’t see why not. Its considerably more convenient to receive short responses from real users as opposed to googling through a mobile screen. Furthermore, the concept has a lot of scope in the blogosphere. People who comment on blogs might find it efficient to receive a direct response on their mobile. Better yet, users can choose to ban the receipt of comments from certain users or accept comments from only certain users or users with a specific rating based on their popularity on the blog. 

Click2Voice (San Diego, California, U.S.) is a simple web-based VOIP service that allows  users to make calls to 29 countries. The absolutely free service requires users to have a regular home phone and an internet connection. Unlike other services, there is no need for a microphone, speaker, software download or even a hardware purchase. In addition, it isn’t necessary that user’s register to use the service. However, registered users will have more advanced features at their disposal. 

I had a chance to conduct a comprehensive interview with Damian Cutillo, Click2Voice’s Founder and CTO, who had worked in the computer and voice networking industry for over 8 years. Here is an excerpt from the interview.

Why is your site different than your competitors?

Many of our competitors utilize complicated email and softphone systems, and none of them offer absolutely, no-strings-attached, free calling. With Click2Voice, users can choose to remain anonymous or register with the service. Anonymous users are allotted 10 minutes of call time, whereas registered users are given 15 minutes of talk time and experience enhanced user features such as telephone number auto filling and call logs.  Furthermore, it is simple to use as users just have to use the dialer to enter their phone number, the telephone number they wish to call and Click2Voice to connect to their destination once the call button is clicked.

Click2Voice also has a plug in, known as Project PHURI, that enables one click calling to any telephone number located on a web site, email, or online document.  This userscript plug in finds phone numbers in web pages and hyperlinks them. When you click the link, it uses the Click2Voice web service to call the phone you configured in the plug in and then it will connect that phone with the number in the hyperlink that you clicked on.

What is your business plan or model?

Our business model is advertising based, and we are currently working to create a more diverse stream of revenue using multiple ad streams, and by offering low rates to other international destinations.  The startup to this point has been, and will continue to be, bootstrapped by my partner and myself, and we are looking to do a lot of viral and web-based advertising in unobtrusive audio advertising.  We stay active in relevant forums and groups, and appreciate the assistance of webmasters such as yourself that have an interest in discovering and helping to promote organic startups.

Why did you start this website?

The main objective of Click2Voice is to create a simple, user-friendly application to enable free calling worldwide.  While there are still many features in development for the startup, we really want to start to expose people to the power of VOIP technology, and the ease with which it can be used to keep in touch.  The free calling revolution is upon us and we plan to be at the forefront.

How are you planning to market it?

We plan to utilize blogging, technology/VOIP forums, various SEO techniques, registered user referral rewards, and some paid advertising to get the word out about Click2Voice. 

Click2Voice, launched in March of 2007, definitely has a promising future with Damian’s expertise as a consultant for corporations around the world for IP networking and VOIP solutions. In the future, I look forward to Click2Voice expanding to more countries and wish them luck in tackling the more expensive countries as well. The most important thing is to provide service with good voice quality, less static and no holdup.

Google Maps is all set to make a mark at a gas station near you. Official news from the Los Angeles Times states that Google Maps will now be available at over 3500 United States pumps, manufactured by Gilbarco Veeder-Root Inc., beginning in December. The innovative map service kiosk and gas pump colloboration features a full colour screen and web connection with map printing capabilities.

Karen Roter Davis, a principal business development manager for Google, says “Making maps available at gas pumps appeals to Google because the company wants to make its services available whenever and wherever people need them”

However, the service doesn’t yet allow gas patrons to search via the actual address, but rather have to resort to landmarks, hotels, restaurants and hospitals selected by the gas station’s owner. Surprisingly unlike Google, the internet giant has decided to provide the service without its trusted sidekick, popular ads to form the revenue component. Instead, retailers take home the monetary benefit as participating retailers will be able to make income from other merchants that offer discounts on the service kiosk. Google, probably has its own way of directly monetizing the pumps, but will probably wait for people to become accustomed to the service first. Google, I have to admit, with all its glory, definitely places its cards right before making its move.

Click here for the official annoucement from Gilbarco Veeder-Root Inc

Ghoomo.com (Bangalore, Karnataka, India) is the latest innovation from the YouMagix.com family that strives to fill the gap in user generated services that are not available in countries such as India. Ghoomo, fills that void quite well as an excellent movie finder source that covers 25 Indian cities and over 500 movie screens. The site provides show times of movies and is progressing towards offering the additional luxury of paying for the movies in advance by credit card. 

I had a chance to interview Subodh Vinchurkar, founder of Ghoomo.com and YouMagix.com, and previous manager at Yahoo.com. Following is an excerpt from the interview.

How is Ghoomo.com different from other players?

What makes Ghoomo.com unique is the breadth and depth of movie finder services available to consumers in India. At present, Ghoomo covers 25 Indian cities and over 500 movie screens. By the end of this quarter Ghoomo plans to make movie finder services available to 50 cities & over 1000 movie screens in India.

What is the business plan or model?

At present it is supported by paid advertising at various places on the website.

Why did you start this web site?

Though there is a lot of movie content available on Internet. There are specific gaps in content structure and availability. These gaps prevent available content from being useful to people especially is countries such as India. Ghoomo.com intends to fill this gap and make movie planning a seamless and integrated experience of Ghoomo visitors.

When was the site launched?

The new Ghoomo.com alpha site has been open to public since middle of Oct, 2007, the beta site is available starting Nov 2007. 

How are You Planning to Market it?

Predominantly via word of mouth. We request you to help us make the product information available to interested audience.

It is remarkable for a country that prides itself in producing the greatest number of movies per year. Yet, India doesn’t have such a service to order movie tickets online. This in itself is assurance of the depth of opportunity available in such countries that are yet to be discovered.

Click here for the press release for Ghoomo.com  

Click here for the previously boosted YouMagix.com

Somethingstore.com (Brooklyn, New York, USA) is a uniquely original site that provides a little mysterious product or like the name implies, a little “something” from the owner’s inventory for a mere $10, which includes all shipping costs. The products range from gadgets, hand made necklaces to Ipods and carry with it the catchy phrase “Surprise Yourself”.

I had a chance to talk to Samy Bay, founder of Somethingstore.com and this is what he had to say:

Why is your site different than your competitors?

There are no direct competitors, as far as I know, to our business as it is a unique model.

What is your business plan or model?

Our business is to sell customers “something” a mysterious, randomly selected product. Our biggest hurdle in realizing our business objectives is to gain potential customer’s trust as they may think their somethings will not be a valuable item. After we eliminate this hurdle, which will happen as people get to hear more about us, we are planning to turn a profit by mixing high margin and low margin products. Eventually, we plan to make money on volume.
 
Why did did you start this website?

I started the website to conceptualize this idea that people will be willing take chance and perceive it as something fun to do.

How are you planning to market it?

At first we’re planning to spread the word by traditional online marketing methods; press releases, pay-per-click ads, display ad buys, etc. Once we gain some traction, I believe our idea is unique and interesting enough to warrant viral angle and word of mouth, which will be what we rely on. We are also planning some surprises to help the word-of-mouth and viral effect to take place. As our margins are pretty thin, we will not be able to handle a steady advertising expense

Any other information that you beleive is relevant to your startup?

We are off to a decent start: 105 ’somethings’ have been sold with little advertising, so we’re hopeful we will reach more significant milestones before the end of the year.

Prior to Somethingstore.com, Sami Bay worked as a marketing manager at UncommonGoods.com, an online catalog gift retailer. Now, with somethingstore.com, Sami has composed a very creative idea that will play well with people looking for something out of the ordinary. This site, just launched on October 28, 2007, has already created some buzz. Thats always a good sign and folks will definitely give it a shot just for the fun of it. 

In the amidst of Google and Facebook competing for limelight in the social networking arena; news arrives from the Sydney Morning Herald that Google and Cisco are joining hands with United Nations to fight global poverty. The two technology tycoons have joined to create MDG (Millennium Development Goals) Monitor, a website aimed at helping the United Nations reach its global poverty goals by 2015. The website provides public access for those interested in tracking global development goals in countries across the world via the well known Google Earth interface.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated that “the new website is one of those tools because it will enable policymakers and development experts to learn from one another’s successes and setbacks, and it will increase public access and attention to the UN goals”.

It is inspiring to see Google returning some honest relief to the world from the technology they have developed. However, while a worthy cause for policymakers; the question remains whether the website’s monitoring functionality will be able to change the overall mindset or perception of humanity towards global poverty?

Click here for the United Nations Campaign to end poverty.