Web 2 Ireland

After hearing many good things about 2006 event, I signed up to attend TheNextWeb 2007 back in April. Since then, the buzz around it has increased quite strongly. It’s a one day event in Amsterdam with associated awards in various categories. Both Pixenate and LouderVoice are nominated (in Disruptors and Beta/Stealth respectively) and I encourage you to vote for them.

There is a good Irish crew heading over and hopefully one or more of us will be lucky enough to land either a demo booth or a speaking slot.

In terms of heavy hitting speakers, there are plenty. From the ubiquitous Mr Canter to one of my favourite entrepreneurs Jason Calacanis, great VCs like Saul Klein, the highly influential Mike Arrington and Scott Rafer from Mashery and Winksite.. There will also be video contributions from a bunch of big names including Matt Mullenweg from WordPress.com.

The event attracts many entrepreneurs and investors from all over Europe and should be a fantastic networking opportunity. There is also an Open Coffee meetup the evening before if you want to catch even more people.

June 1st, Tuschinski Theatre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

YouBloom

Vision
Founded by Dr Phil Harrington and Sir Bob Geldof; YouBloom provides the tools for friends, artists and bloomers to monetize their media – social networking, e-marketing and e-commerce integrated in an easy to use, free of charge basic service.

YouBloom’s vision is for its platform to become a thriving “digital oasis”, inhabited by socially and environmentally conscious individuals and communities from all over the world, providing the space and the tools for their entrepreneurial, creative, and spiritual ambitions to be liberated and bloom. YouBloom is now in private beta testing of its social networking product which includes points/rewards.

YouBloom are also raising money – according to ENN.

“The same paper also says that an Irish internet marketing company backed by Bob Geldof hopes to raise EUR2.4 million in its first-round funding this month. Youbloom which makes web-based marketing tools for music and film companies, has already attracted EUR1 million in funding from private investors. These investors were organised by the Dublin-based financial consultancy firm Cooney Carey. The investors were “mainly property people”, said Youbloom’s chief executive, Phil Harrington.”

I have just posted an article over on ReadWriteWeb about the world of widgets. If you are looking to find out more about building and distributing widgets you might find some useful information here.

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/world_wide_web_of_widgets.php

Review is the New Search

“It’s been creeping up on us for a year or more but now it’s clear. Reviews are the web search engine of the future,” says Web entrepreneur Conor O’Neill. “Brand leader Google will return a million pages to a search term but human recommendation is what we all turn to when it comes to making decisions.”

O’Neill was introducing the first public version of his “beyond search” opinion and review site LouderVoice.

LouderVoice is a new way to find and connect to that special, trusted opinion you need when making decisions. It’s part of the emerging “beyond search” web. “When you need to go beyond search, there’s LouderVoice,” says O’Neill, “trusted opinions and reviews that are there for when you actually need to commit, to buy, to watch, to listen. Google can help you find information but the next generation of search has to advise you on what the best course of action is for you.”

Louder Voice’s unique technology and website is the place to find where best to eat, where to holiday, which films to catch up on, and the virtual: which online movies will grab your attention. It’s the Yellow Pages with real colour. Your Sunday Review pages instantly updated. Your shopping guide and listings with attitude.

We all use a trusted other to help make up our minds: think restaurant reviewers, Top Gear on cars, your best friend’s take on a movie. We all rely on others better informed, or earlier informed, to make decisions. Users can now go beyond the limitations of search and enhance their search experience with LouderVoice.

Louder Voice makes great opinionated web content visible to the widest possible audience but more than that it can turn any web user into a reviewer creating intelligent communities around practical topics. Any user who’s ever sent an email can write a review and build their reputation globally in areas where where they have expertise.

Louder Voice refines search by allowing users to vote on reviews and opinions. The site’s users ensure that the truly important voices on a subject bubble to the top. Sign-up at www.loudervoice.com, a site for people who want to find reviewers they can trust and get their own voice heard.

Sam has more details on vecosys – read here

According to http://www.fourio.com/web20map/ I only see three Web 2.0 companies in Ireland.

On the list- Nooked, pxn8 and Singularity outa Derry who don’t look very 2.0′ish 2 me.

Heh! Conor and the boys go get your name on… via platial.

I’ll be posted a Who’s Who (Web 2.0) in Ireland a little later..

Lal

e-consultancy has the details – Boo.com comes back from the dead. Techcrunch previously covered the Boo.com rise from the ashes

Web Reservations International (WRI), a Dublin internet company[owner of brands such as Hostelworld, Hostels.com, etc] – see previous posts here on WRI. The Sunday Business Post has a recent piece on WRI – see here.