CATEGORIES
- WEB STARTUPS
- WEB NEWS
- CONFERENCES
- VENTURE CAPITAL
- MICROSOFT
- WEB TECH JOBS
- YAHOO
- ADVERTISING
- VIDEO
- ALL TOPICS
- ALL COMPANIES
CONTRIBUTORS
- ADRIAN CHAN
- ALICIA NAVARRO
- ALLEN STERN-EDITOR
- CORSIN CAMICHEL
- DARREN HERMAN
- HANK WILLIAMS
- MARK DAVIS
- RICK TUROCZY
- SANFORD DICKERT
- SHANNON CLARK
CenterNetworks Asks: How Many Web 2.0 Services Have Gone Mainstream?
Written by Allen Stern - July 3, 2008
Last week I had lunch with a friend and the entire conversation was around Web 2.0 startups. We discussed a variety of different topics but the one that dominated the conversation was how many startups that aim to go mainstream actually have. We named startup after startup and said no to nearly all of them.
With that said, I'd like to experiment with a new feature on CN - that is "CenterNetworks Asks". I will pose a fairly open question to get the discussion going and see where it takes us.
So what Web 2.0 startups that have targeted the mainstream have been successful in going mainstream? I will start with Facebook.
If you need help finding startups to consider, check out Orli's Go2Web20 startup directory.
COMMENTS - Add New Comment
Yelp
I would say MySpace but that really came before Web 2.0
re Yelp - ONLY in San Francisco/Bay Area is Yelp mainstream.
mainstream - Facebook/hi5/bebo, Flickr, Youtube, Slide, Photobucket, Rockyou
bay area mainstream - different story. :)
can't think of anything else... sure i'm missing a few...
good point jeremy - this is mainstream not bay area mainstream :)
Agree on youtube, disagree on flickr, agree on photobucket
rockyou?
Not Flickr. Check the hitwise data out Ymail v Flickr. Not even close to mainstream. Photobucket just. Twitter would have been if it didn't train wreck. It's really weird the places you here Twitter being talked about now. They'll be cured the moment they can't sign up or it crashes yet again
My answer: very few!
Yeah, the obvious ones are MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, Bebo and to some degree Flickr, Slide, Photobucket, and I'd maybe throw in Last.fm (I'm sure some would disagree).
I hadn't looked at Orli's Web2.0 directory in a long time and just took a quick look. It's wild how many there are now and how many of them will never make it mainstream.
Allen, I like the question that you posed. It's a good one and definitely makes me ponder it all.
I must admit that I can get sucked into the madness and drink the Kool-Aid here and there because I love all things Web 2.0 (apps/blogs/people/parties/etc.), but I also make a point to unplug and get out of the Bay Area/Silicon Valley to connect with those who live in the real world and don't know what the hell Twitter is (and trust me, I ask). Because it's these people who decide what becomes mainstream so it's good to unplug and talk to people outside our Web 2.0 world.
Thanks Miiiko - I'd suggest Flickr isn't mainstream while Photobucket might be.
rockyou? youTube? flickr? bebo? last.fm?
opps didn't see milkos list.
last.fm? what's your basis?
Twitter is garbage. It definitely ISN'T mainstream. People use the Facebook status updates before they would touch Twitter, just cuz of it's simplicity (and the fact that Twitter has scalability problems with render it annoying). Of course comparing the two is some what like comparing apples to oranges, but the bottom line is when people want others to know what they're doing, they would much rather use the status update on a platform they're already using to connect with friends, family, coworkers, etc. 99% of the people I know don't even know what Twitter is. They'd rather send an SMS via phone or use the status update on FB if they want to reach their network of friends. But, I guess it depends on who you talk to.
I'd have to add Slideshare. It probably isn't mainstream yet, but has the most potential to become mainstream since it caters to so many people with various backgrounds, i.e. techies, business people, general people, etc and it's actually very USEFUL and not another passing fad.
Oh and you'll have to add Gmail to the list as well.
note: comments may take up to 5 minutes to appear due to cache