Startup and Latest Internet Trends - DEMO'08

Greetings to habrachitateli. There was already an article on the site about news from the DEMO conference, but there they only briefly described a few projects. I’ll try to tell in more detail about those projects that I consider to be breakthrough this year. But first, nevertheless, what is it, is it DEMO?



I think it will be difficult to describe in a word, but if it does not strive for absolute accuracy and brevity, then this is a kind of festival, show and conference where all projects and their teams can present their best practices and decisions to an interested audience - journalists, venture investors, funds, private business angels and managers of various corporations who can become both investors and first customers, or even immediately offer to buy you. And the opportunity to chat, to be in an ebullient environment of the same “geeks” like you is expensive! Even in the literal sense of the word, DEMO is not the cheapest pleasure - the usual “just to see” participation will cost almost a thousand dollars, and the full participation and presentation of your project is already about 20 thousand. But from the experience of previous meetings (and DEMO has been held for several years,

I would like to briefly talk about those projects that at the first show this year in California seemed to me the most interesting and promising, perhaps some of these people will be leading the main trends of the industry tomorrow. By the way, the hallmark of the show is the strict limitation of the presentation format - 5 minutes (well, in general, it varies from 4:30 to 6 minutes, but no more), and in all other respects it is a completely free show that does not impose any "corporate" framework - people can speak without a tie, and in broken English with an accent, and they are listened to more than carefully.



Asankya, Inc .: Hypermesh Network- A company that has already received funding from many well-known foundations offers a new technology for real-time data distribution (we are talking about HD-quality audio / video content) through traditional IP networks. Which is positive and can serve as an example for many startups, the company has already enlisted the support of Internet providers, because they are one of the key roles in deploying and supporting the network, as well as major customers and investors, so it’s logical to start deploying your infrastructure called Hypermesh together , which, in turn, is based on the key development of the company - a set of algorithms, protocols and an architecture called Parallel Networking. In light of the transition of major video services under the banner of the spread of HD content, as well as anticipating the emergence of new services, focused specifically on the possibility of simple delivery and interaction via IP networks of HD-video, this startup has very strong prospects. However, as well as competition, both with traditional market players, global CDN providers, and key companies that have the ability to independently deploy networks for their projects, for example, Microsoft and Google. Nevertheless, the market is very large and is just beginning to form more or less consciously, so there is a very large field for new solutions and improvements. e.g. Microsoft and Google. Nevertheless, the market is very large and is just beginning to form more or less consciously, so there is a very large field for new solutions and improvements. e.g. Microsoft and Google. Nevertheless, the market is very large and is just beginning to form more or less consciously, so there is a very large field for new solutions and improvements.

atlaspost.com- refers to the topic of social networks, popular today (and everyone hopes, often not without reason that it will be popular tomorrow), while touching upon two side niches at once, combining them into one synergetic project. On the one hand, atlaspost.com makes extensive use of the capabilities of modern map services, in particular, Google Maps, on the other hand, the social network is very similar to the initial prototypes of multi-user games, not even games, but on a larger scale, of worlds. Users of such a social network are united on a geographical basis, everyone can personalize their place on the map where he lives, inserting various images and animated videos there, thus forming their profile (Village in terms of the project), create albums (collections of photos of any place with reference to the map), well, traditional blogging, or rather, something between an ordinary god, microblogging in the manner of Twitter and a Digg site - posts are tied to geographic coordinates, evaluated and rated by users, and also broadcast in a live geo-feed (this is my name in the side widget in real time the card flies from one place to another, showing who is from where and what is writing at that moment). Well, the project is quite interesting, precisely because of combining different concepts together in one project, at the same time it uses the synergistic effect of the interaction of different capabilities, and the ability to create and build up a map with various buildings and even place fantastic animals there (at the presentation you can adding an animated Godzilla near your home) looks interesting (let's see if this is a real “chain" factor for popularizing the network,


Blist.com- Works in the market of "common databases for non-technical users." To put it simply, they are trying to create an online system for processing, analyzing and displaying data, like a full-fledged database or spreadsheet, in which one could store large and often multidimensional data arrays, while quickly and easily accessing them, search and select the necessary data, while not being a professional user of BI or data mining systems at all. You can find application for such a system, according to the creators, both at home and in small and medium-sized businesses, as well as somewhere at the junction between home and corporate users. On the one hand, everything is true, there is a demand for such projects, there is a large market for the operation and easy processing of large data arrays by users who are far from this who are simply afraid of the usual database interfaces or file storages, there are many areas and markets where it is necessary to combine large and heterogeneous data arrays at once, where some parameters may be both string and huge arrays or binary documents. On the other hand, as if to be honest, the project failed. Despite the colorful description and presentation, to me personally the interface seemed very loaded and oversaturated with details, buttons and various functionalities, although it looks beautiful, it’s hard for me to say that an unprepared user can not only effectively manage his tasks inside such an environment, but also just quickly figure it out.


Buzka popnets- It is also aimed at working with a promising segment of social networks, but approaches the topic from a different perspective. The startup has developed a platform for creating specialized social networks, user communities or just fans of a product, service or brand. The platform aims to integrate with third-party businesses and websites, allowing brands to create sustainable live communities around themselves and their products, create an audience loyalty policy and conduct special marketing campaigns, and allow users to communicate and find other people with the same interests and exchange product information or a service, thus forming some kind of “information cloud” around the product. It’s difficult for me to accurately analyze the future of this approach, but for example, the site itself has quite large communities on topics, and in light of the shift from mass production to greater personalization and adaptation to specific conditions, as well as the leveling of each specific product against the background of the general trend and brand, such a solution can be useful and interesting to both parties. Although, if you look at the largest and most massive social networks, then even one developer or a similar startup will compete with such a startup, which, for example, will offer a Facebook widget that would connect different people within the community based on their ownership or use a certain brand. In fact, we are talking about supernets, some superficial dynamic communities within an already stable social network. as well as leveling each specific product against the background of the general trend and brand, such a solution can be useful and interesting to both parties. Although, if you look at the largest and most massive social networks, then even one developer or a similar startup will compete with such a startup, which, for example, will offer a Facebook widget that would connect different people within the community based on their ownership or use a certain brand. In fact, we are talking about supernets, some superficial dynamic communities within an already stable social network. as well as leveling each specific product against the background of the general trend and brand, such a solution can be useful and interesting to both parties. Although, if you look at the largest and most massive social networks, then even one developer or a similar startup will compete with such a startup, which, for example, will offer a Facebook widget that would connect different people within the community based on their ownership or use a certain brand. In fact, we are talking about supernets, some superficial dynamic communities within an already stable social network. will offer a widget for Facebook that would connect different people within the community based on their ownership of something or the use of a particular brand. In fact, we are talking about supernets, some superficial dynamic communities within an already stable social network. will offer a widget for Facebook that would connect different people within the community based on their ownership of something or the use of a particular brand. In fact, we are talking about supernets, some superficial dynamic communities within an already stable social network.


Catalyst Web Services, LC: CatalystOffice- Also a fairly popular topic and market direction. The company provided its product - a web office focused on the small business market, which is booming and already quite huge, at the same time, it differs from the corporate business in volumes and needs and solvency. CatalystOffice provides an integrated web office that will replace all necessary tools, transferring them to a single web space on the server of the provider company (SaaS model). Clients are offered mail (already a standard offer), work with documents (creation, editing, collaboration, sending and working with them through standard office programs), calendar planner, contact manager and instant messaging system. It’s a completely standard set, so in order in order to conquer the market, or at least a substantial part of it, marketers will have to try - such solutions are no longer new, so the consumer most likely has already tried other systems or uses something from the internal self-written or OpenSource system to powerful online free services like GoogleDocs . But competition with similar products from other developers that provide no less high-quality and wide functionality, for example, Zimbra, will be quite difficult - everyone needs functionality more or less the same and standard, already implemented thousands of times, so completely different parameters go to the first board, for example, scalability, reliability, security, usability and usability, quality of technical support services and other factors. And this is the field where marketers and powerful support win,


CellSpin is a company specializing in the market of mobile communications and applications, in a market that, by analogy with Web 2.0, is called Mobile 2.0. There is some truth in this - it’s quite possible to transfer a lot of trends and principles to a mobile platform that will add its own nuances and capabilities, expanding and complementing the traditional web. The developers have created an application, or, more correctly, a platform for mobile terminals, allowing users without knowledge of any technical features to place information from the phone on websites with just one or two clicks of a button. It can be both video and other types - audio, text or photos. For example, a website runs a community blog, which consists of user multimedia information published using this platform. In fact, this is a fairly universal tool that can help users who do not have a computer or for other reasons who do not want to use traditional methods of communication, use the modern capabilities of the Internet media space. This is one of those niches that will be actively developed, along with the evolution of mobile terminals and the improvement of their technical capabilities, so it is worth considering the mobile market as the next and powerful catalyst for innovation in the field of web-a.

Cozimo- Another interesting startup in the field of collaboration on information, this time with images and videos. If for text documents, for example, articles and other materials, as well as for documents that are not textual, but the text is the prevailing information essence, such tools are already enough, and they cover almost everything that even a very advanced professional needs, then this project provides us with unique opportunities for working with images, video files, online presentations, vector and raster graphics, which, in my opinion, is the most important in this service. After all, you can work together on Adobe Illustrator files or files of popular CAD programs. Do you understand what this is for? Distributed environment for real-time full-time work of artists, designers, planners, typesetters (I mean prepress) and other specialists are now completely real! And although the tools for work are more or less traditional - different types of brushes and tools for drawing geometric shapes on top of the image, text chat, notes, synchronization of video fragments between different participants - all this will still say its word in the field of interaction between professionals. The service, in my opinion, is very interesting and has a narrow niche among professionals, but in it it is the undisputed leader and an interesting tool on the market. synchronization of video fragments between different participants - all this will still have its say in the field of interaction between professionals. The service, in my opinion, is very interesting and has a narrow niche among professionals, but in it it is the undisputed leader and an interesting tool on the market. synchronization of video fragments between different participants - all this will still have its say in the field of interaction between professionals. The service, in my opinion, is very interesting and has a narrow niche among professionals, but in it it is the undisputed leader and an interesting tool on the market.

Flypaper- a player in the RIA market based on Flash technologies - Adobe Flex and is designed to significantly simplify the process of creating and distributing rich (Rich) and interactive content, of course, multimedia, to ordinary users, because this is the main trump card of the Flash / Flex platform. The Flypaper application can be useful in the areas of preparing business presentations (although in MS Office 2007 these tools are perfected with strict style), distance learning and multimedia courses, various marketing and advertising materials, which, by design, will take on a new form and will be able to more actively engage participants in the communication process, rather than passively watching. By the way, in this direction there can be a breakthrough potential of the product - after all, the technology itself and even similar tools already exist and were before, but everyone lacked just interactivity and feedback, preferably in real time. In some ways, the application resembles products close to a non-professional user, while at the same time allowing you to operate with very serious objects, something like MS Expression Designer probably. Yes, of course, all of this can be achieved simply by using the same development environment from Adobe - Flex, but you must admit that it’s very tailored for professionals, and it involves writing a lot of code, here the user deals with templates and visual structure when creating its RIA application, so everything is done as quickly as possible. It seems that in this instrument there may be, if not a massive future, then certainly a certain niche,


Kaazing Enterprise Edition is a much more traditional solution than you might think. By the way, different things come out of the description on the site and on DEMO. In general, an enterprise platform is offered for applications requiring real-time interaction. All this is based on Java and Comet technology, and according to developers, it is applicable in a very wide range of applications, from trading platforms to online games. In my opinion, the topic is interesting, this platform can find application in many areas, although there is a lot of competition here and everything will depend on the company's business model, whether it will turn out to conquer the market or not - we will see in the near future.

Ribbit- One of the most interesting projects throughout the conference. He works in the increasingly popular mobile segment, providing developers with an open system for creating support and distribution of multimedia Internet applications that will be the link between your phone and the web world. Using Flash / Flex and AIR technologies as well as open APIs for developers, you can do amazing things - honestly, which costs only an almost complete functional counterpartApple iPhone, made as a Flash / AIR application, and allowing you to make calls and use other communication features. I consider this startup to be very, very promising today, so do not miss the revolution and new horizons - registration and access to the platform and API on the website are now, so hurry up. Perhaps for someone (I mean myself) this project may be the impetus for learning Flash / Flex / AIR ...

SpeakLike- designed to solve the eternal problem of misunderstanding of two people who speak different languages ​​and do not know a single thing in common, but want to or need to talk. It would seem that English is the most widespread in the network, but no, there are very, very many people who either don’t know it, or simply don’t own enough for communication. SpeakLike provides a chat using the internal instant translation mechanism for real-time communication, when each person speaks a language that they understand, and receives answers in their own language, translated on the fly by the internal chat mechanism. The application is very similar to the Skype interface, I would even I was surprised if they soon did not make a plug-in for other messaging systems. So far, only three languages ​​are supported - English, Simplified Chinese and Spanish, but I think there will be more of them. The idea in itself is good, but attempts have been made before, and now if there are several services trying themselves in this market. If this is just a separate stand-alone application, it will be used only when needed, which means that it is either not widespread or will be targeted at professional users, that is, the business segment. The only way out for popularization is through plug-ins for popular IM networks, then the question will be how to translate and power resources - after all, it will be necessary to process thousands of chat streams simultaneously. But the idea is interesting and relevant for a long time, although high-tech and very much dependent on the technological basis (if you use your own translation engine). trying themselves in this market. If this is just a separate stand-alone application, it will be used only when needed, which means that it is either not widespread or will be targeted at professional users, that is, the business segment. The only way out for popularization is through plug-ins for popular IM networks, then the question will be how to translate and power resources - after all, it will be necessary to process thousands of chat streams simultaneously. But the idea is interesting and relevant for a long time, although high-tech and very much dependent on the technological basis (if you use your own translation engine). trying themselves in this market. If this is just a separate stand-alone application, it will be used only when needed, which means that it is either not widespread or will be targeted at professional users, that is, the business segment. The only way out for popularization is through plug-ins for popular IM networks, then the question will be how to translate and power resources - after all, it will be necessary to process thousands of chat streams simultaneously. But the idea is interesting and relevant for a long time, although high-tech and very much dependent on the technological basis (if you use your own translation engine). that is, a business segment. The only way out for popularization is through plug-ins for popular IM networks, then the question will be how to translate and power resources - after all, it will be necessary to process thousands of chat streams simultaneously. But the idea is interesting and relevant for a long time, although high-tech and very much dependent on the technological basis (if you use your own translation engine). that is, a business segment. The only way out for popularization is through plug-ins for popular IM networks, then the question will be how to translate and power resources - after all, it will be necessary to process thousands of chat streams simultaneously. But the idea is interesting and relevant for a long time, although high-tech and very much dependent on the technological basis (if you use your own translation engine).

SupportSpace- This is, without exaggeration, a new and well-made technical assistance service, where users themselves are experts and provide paid assistance services at the request of users. You can search for helpers for a specific program or device, and see general sections, for example, “PC-Tuning” and other similar ones. The experts themselves are verified users, the verification of which is undertaken by the company, so you can hope for a professional solution to your problems (many of them have long experience and certified specialists). The system looks pretty nice, though the paid service is confusing, the cost of a minute of consultation is from 1 USD, although the first consultation is free. Here for the segment of small business and home users who rarely, but face a difficult situation, and there is no familiar professional in the vicinity, this service can become a kind of lifesaver. So the idea is not bad and will be in demand, although you need to work on the business model and the procedure for verifying experts, now even open information on the site is only crumbs. Of course, there are also popular social elements such as expert ratings, which will help you choose the best "solver" for your problem.


Uff, well, that's all the news that caught my attention. Although no, I'm lying, there were several more companies that are developing promising in my technology, but still at the stage that telling is not possible to try akin to fortune telling. A lot of companies work in the market of storage and distribution or delivery of online video, including HD-quality, many rely on mobile content or the integration of mobile and conventional work style. Social networks penetrate life more and more, often being built around rather unimportant unifying features, and individual participants call the favorite a human-centric search, which helps to navigate the world of a particular person, taking into account his or her characteristics and preferences. And so, this year’s trends - personalization, socialization (oddly enough), online video,

PS The full version of the material is available in 2 parts ( part 1 and part 2 ) on my blog, a video about each company is illustrated.