Written on July 3, 2008 – 4:34 pm
Ernst-Jan Pfauth, editor in chief
Our - really beloved sponsor - Wakoopa (the Last.fm of software) has launched some new widgets today. From now on, it’s possible to express yourself by showing off your software usage. To let people know you’re the Firefox-kinda-guy or a Flock-chick, you basically have three new - or improved - options.
- Badge - show your blog or social profile visitors your most popular, recently added or recently used software.
- Forum-like signature - show your fellow forum members what you’re doing beside commenting on endless discussion
- Card - small card, modeled after the famous Xfire ones, that shows your avatar and some software data, like the two most used programs (always your browser + something else)
These three types of widgets fascinate me. Apparently there are people out there who use their software data as a way to express themselves. Most boys and girls let their blog and profile visitors know who they are by showing the music they like (Last.fm) or the books they read (Amazon), yet now software enters the stage of self-expression. In a way, it makes sense. 30,000 geeky early adopters - like me - we’re already watching each others software usage within the safe surroundings of Wakoopa, so why not take it outside as well?
Moreover, just like you see fellas walking around with a shirt of their favorite band, some guys now also wear Firefox jackets or Linux hats. One thing I don’t see happening though, is a poster of your favorite app above your bed.
There’s a fourth widget too, with which developers can show much Wakoopa members use your program. Want to create your own Wakoopa widget? Here’s the API.
I hope you like that post!
The Next Web Blog covers start-up news from all over the world (not just the Valley), exciting new technologies and inspiring entrepreneurs. If you're new here, you may want to read our '
About' page and subscribe to our
RSS feed.
Do you have a start-up that we should write about?
Contact us! Thanks for visiting and hope you come back again!
Written on December 28, 2007 – 11:04 pm
Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten,
Once upon a time I decided to check out this thing called the World Wide Web. I bought a modem, signed up with a local Internet Service Provider and borrowed a disk from a friend with software to ‘browse’ the Web. That piece of software was called Netscape.
Since then a lot has happened. On February 1, 2008 AOL will stop supporting Netscape. It is the end of an era and I think everybody who got online before 1999 feels kind of sad (and old?) when they hear about it.
As a small tribute to an old friend I am proudly displaying this button, one last time:
Obviously this is big news so expect a lot of articles about it on- and offline in the following weeks. Here is a small selection:
Official Netscape Blog: End of Support for Netscape web browsers
http://blog.netscape.com/2007/12/28/end-of-support-for-netscape-web-browsers/
BBC News: Web icon set to be discontinued
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7163547.stm
Techcrunch: A Sad Milestone: AOL To Discontinue Netscape Browser Development
http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/28/a-sad-milestone-aol-to-discontinue-netscape-browser-development/
Written on December 13, 2007 – 7:17 pm
Ernst-Jan Pfauth, editor in chief
Wakoopa, the software scrobbling service, launched ‘Alexa-like‘ statistics earlier this week. Co-founder of Wakoopa and Next Web blogger Robert Gaal told me during a drink in the fancy club 11 - overlooking Amsterdam - why these visuals are relevant to software users. “When users decide whether or not to use a program, they can check our statistics to see if the program is an one-hit-wonder, or if it has proved its value to many users on a longer term. The visuals also give smaller programs a chance, since users are able to check if some programs are suddenly getting more popular.”
The launch made it to Techcrunch, where Nick Gonzalez wrote a positive article about the new service. The first time Gonzalez blogged about Wakoopa, comments were deadly. Two days ago however, visitors expressed their appreciation for Wakoopa. At first, Gaal was pretty shocked by the negative comments in April: “The first comment just consisted of one word: ‘useless’. That’s really hard to take after months of working. For a moment there, I lost hope.”
Just for a moment though, because Gaal and his business partner Wouter Broekhof just kept on going. “After all, those few comments are just today’s fad. We’ve emailed those negative guys, asking them what they didn’t like about our service. Their criticism was useful. Moreover, we managed to convince most of them that Wakoopa isn’t a threat to their privacy”.
Today, the software service doesn’t seem ‘useless’ anymore. 17.000 people downloaded the Wakoopa tracking program, generating unique and seriously useful data about software. (more…)
Email
Facebook
Netlog
Linkedin
The Next Web Blog is closely associated with The Next Web Conference which is held annually in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. At this event speakers from all over the world come together to talk about, and show of, the future of the Web. (
