Web2.0 startups earn assets, but not ...

Single handed startup stories like PlentyofFish and HotorNot inspired me the most to develop webapps. Only after launch that I realized its not easy to become overnight millionaires.

Creating an Amateur Web 2.0 startup has become a hobby or a pass-time activity for many techies (software developers). They are cheap to build, relatively easy to market, and just requires a person or two to manage it. Should you take this path? YES and NO!

For people who make webapps with the only intention of earning money, the chance of making it BIG is too feeble, and may not be worthy of the hardwork. Check out the article 'Warning: Software Startups are Not as Easy as Everyone Says'

On the other hand, there are people like me who make webapps in spare time NOT for the money… but to express our passion & pride in owning a startup, and gain experience in the process. There is sure only a 2% chance to become a super-hit, but its worth exploring.

Yes... Web 2.0 is a great way to startup a venture if the purpose is to have fun, or express the passion to build something new, or prove creative & technical abilities. As a result, we can get a taste of entrepreneurship, and is a good first step for an amateur. Now, lets talk about funded startups...

Observing many Web 2.0 funded startups, I really wonder what their business strategy is. Most of them offer services for free, and just rely on an unstable advertising model. The only exit strategy is being bought by a Bigshot company. Can anyone guess or assert what their Plan-B is? Each startup only aims to earn assets in the form of userbase, traffic, etc... But, how will it recover the invested $$ and make a decent profit on the venture?

Free Give Away : Fancy About-Me Icons

Here are a few campaign buttons that I created last weekend. Its just an easy way to tell the world whats your kind. Feel free to use them in your Blogs, Websites, MySpace, Forums or any place where you would like to mark your presence. There is no obligation to link back, but I would appreciate it.

Here is the first set...

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The second set of images can be viewed in the RSS feed. Subscribe here!

Here is the second set...

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Note: You are NOT permitted to re-distribute these images. Right click on the image, and save the image to your PC.

Online Tipping is now fun & useful

Here is an impressive alternate to those unattractive donate buttons on the web. ScratchBack is a new online tipping widget that allows a blogger or web-publisher to accept tips (fixed-donation) and publish links/images in return. This makes the tipping system both fun and useful. Check out the Techcrunch review.

To give it a try, I tipped ScratchBack today morning. As a tipper, I'm happy becoz my website gets listed on its Topspots widget as an acknowledgment of my contribution. The process is simple and easy as they use PayPal for transactions. I also signed up for the service, and placed a widget on one of my websites - SanskritVoice. Lets see how good the response is.

This is a simple concept that is well executed. Its timing could not get any better as it was launched just when bloggers are searching for an alternate to the Text-Link-Ads framework. By the way, Google will not penalize us for using the ScratchBack widget since all links are nofollow and javascript-generated.

I like the additional uses of this widget. It can be used as a Text-link advertising widget, paid shout-out box, or a fancy tip-jar. Well done Jim Kukral, and kudos to the ScratchBack team!

Don't forget the subtle half

I often observe the presence of a subtle half that makes a concept complete and effective. For instance, consider the following concepts and their associated subtle halves.

• Data, and the subtler Meta-Data
• Intelligence, and Creativity
• Talent, and Integrity
• Force, and Direction
  

The complementary subtler aspect should be given as much importance as its other half. The data becomes more useful when associated with its meta-data. Similarly, Intelligence accompanied by Creativity is a killer combination. A talented person without integrity can be harmful to the society, and so is the force which lacks direction.

On thinking like an entrepreneur, I believe we can create a great value if we can connect the subtler portion with its crux in any domain. For instance, there are schools that teach knowledge education, but not much of character education. If a new school wants to become the best in its lot, it should consider offering both kinds of education.

In many occasions, a concept can contain several such subtle aspects tagged to its main body. Not everyone will focus on all the subtleties. In order to gain perfection or to differ from the rest, focus on the hidden aspects that are long forgotten by most. Blogging for instance is such a simple concept, but was not explored until early 2000.

Explore them this weekend

Here is a collection of impressive websites that I came across in the last week. Hope you too will find them interesting...

1. Jiglu : It plugs into your site to automatically create intelligent tags and inner links for your web content.
   
2. GoodWidgets : Good looking Photo widgets for your blog / website.
3. BeFunky : Create funky stuff from your photos
4. MangoLanguages : Fun and easy way to learn a new language on their list.
5. Yuuguu: Instant & easy remote access and conferencing. I'm yet to explore it!
   

Some useful stuff for web developers and site admins:

• Speed Up Your Javascript Load Time
• Verifying an email address using only OpenID
  
• OpenID + (P)Avatar

Life, Education, and Society

While listening to the podcast of Ben Casnocha's interview, my attention was completely drawn by the following 4 words that he talked about.

• On Demand education
• Real Life University
  
• Life Entrepreneurship
• Intellectual Society

They all conceptually refer to the same ideal state of living. I can quickly think of a cool idea for a startup company to be built around these concepts. I should appreciate Ben Casnocha for having coined such wonderful terms to convey his thoughts. Here are my views...

On Demand education is learning on the go, as and when it is required. We, software developers are usually very good at this style of learning. Of course with a solid design in place, we pick the right tool for the task in hand, and start off with implementation. We educate ourselves of the technology as we march along the path to get the software functional. With the advance of internet, learning just got easier. With Google search results, online tutorials, developer forums, Wikipedia, and e-books, we can get the desired information in minutes.

The term 'Real life University' fascinates me... Learning is fun, learning is essential, and learning should never cease. Visiting new places and being inquisitive helps to explore the life to its fullest. The idea is to be an eternal student and to learn from life as it comes by. For instance, when you visit an alien land, get to know their history & culture. Participate in social gatherings, exchange views and thoughts, and express via blogs.

Everyone of us can be an entrepreneur in our own little ways. What differentiates an entrepreneur from the rest is his ability to take a stand. If one is able and willing to make a decision on his own, he is a Life Entrepreneur. We often see people who are mere head-noders to a public opinion, and lack an identity of their own. Such people end up becoming members of a herd that is taken for granted.

Speaking of the basic traits of an Entrepreneur... He is one who does not only follow rules, but also tries to invent them. Simply said, he is a leader who makes a high impact on the world with an exceptional quality of work, socializing skills and a willingness to take risks to solve problems. One can become an entrepreneur in his own field of choice (Engineering, Medicine, Law, etc...), and not essentially Business alone.

Intellectual society is the basis for every kind of social experiment (democracy, betting, share market, ... ). It is required for people to think on their own when they participate in a social activity. Following the trend like a sheep in its herd does not contribute much to the society. Agreeing to what is being said in Spiderman 3, each of us have a choice. We should evaluate our choices and make an informed decision on our own.

Unfortunately, we are currently living in a non-intellectual society. People buy Toyota/Honda cars without even attempting to evaluate them. People use Google search just because others use it. For the same reason, democracy is a failure in India regardless of what the govt of India claims.

The day for Victory

Today is Vijayadasami, the tenth day of the Dasara festival in India. 'Vijaya' means victory and Dasami is the tenth day. So, VIJAYADASAMI is a day to begin new ventures, be it business or education, as it is an auspicious day and assures success.

According to Hindu mythology, goddess Durga slays the demon Mahishasuran on this day. It signifies the victory of good over evil. My salutes to the goddess, and let good prevail in this world. Symbolically, when one makes an effort to remove a negative personality in oneself during the Dasara festival, he will achieve his goal on the Vijayadasami day.

On this auspicious day, I'd like to get FundooWeb (one-click search mashup) out of its Beta phase. Lately, it has been displaying a satisfactory performance in terms of speed and relevancy of search results. FundooWeb was launched on Sep 27 2006, and it graduates today after a year long study.

Happy Days

Last weekend, I watched the telugu film "Happy Days" at a far-away theatre. The director Sekhar Kammula did an excellent job of entertaining his audience with a touch of class. The film portrays the college days of Engineering students, while touching upon their immature mind-states, ambitions, friendship, and fun.

I enjoyed the movie from start to finish. The climax gave the movie a perfect end with a powerful message and an emotional touch. A couple of dialogs at the end especially won my heart.

After graduation, one of the students feel sorry because he did not achieve anything during the 4-year stay in college. The Dean consoles him saying "College is not for you to achieve a thing ; It is to prepare you in order to achieve something in life". Thats an excellent statement. I'm reminded of the words from Swami Vivekananda who always laid emphasis on Character-education that should complement knowledge-education in schools & colleges.

Here is another good one... "Today is the end of the most happy days in your life, and the beginning of the most purposeful days in your life" says Dean to his students on their graduation day.

The movie creates a nostalgic effect among us, while refreshing our college memories. Its director (Sekhar Kammula) experimented with a fresh new cast, corporate-deals, offbeat release date, and no drama. The melodious music hit from Mickey J Meyers will sure earn him many laurels.

I especially liked the characterization of Chandu, Rajesh, Maddhu & Appu. This movie makes everyone say "I miss my college days!".

Some related links: Cast Profiles, Team Celebration

SAB Graduating!

Today, I'm pulling Stuff-a-Blog (SAB) out of its Beta phase, as its been more than a year since its initial launch in Sep '06. Several new features including BStir module, support for Unicode, and performance enhancements were being added in its Beta. They are all working great lately.

To mark this occasion, I'm launching a dynamic BStir widget along with a few additional display options. For those who are using an old static BStir widget, you may want to update your widget. Click here for a preview (widget in action). Its free... and you will love it!

Also, a discussion group is created for the interested ones. Here... You may ask questions, request features, or just give your feedback.

Netaji - A leader and a philosopher

Y'day, I read an article about our Netaji (Subhash Chandra Bose) whom I always admire for his vision, and his action that supports his vision. A true leader and a patriot who is equally spiritual and character oriented. He is a great follower of Swami Vivekananda and his teachings. He truly believed in the wise words...

"Iron nerves and a well intelligent brain and the whole world is at your feet."
- Swami Vivekananda

Netaji is a revolutionary thinker, and a university ranker who finishing his B.A. (honours) in Philosophy. I love the courage and the energy of Netaji, and now I understand the source of his ever lasting energy level - the teachings of Swami Vivekananda.

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