Courtesy of two key resources of mine (the previously mentioned Chris Brogan, and The Digital Influentials on Facebook), comes word of some new resources you may want to test out in your own sandpit:
From The Digital Influentials:
Kosmix (http://www.kosmix.com/) is a site that I first discovered about a year ago and in the last few months I’ve heard their name come up in conversation at least 4 or 5 times. There’s a buzz about this newly redesigned search/directory site. They have a very well organized results engine that focuses on Health, Auto and Travel. If you’re looking to expand your ad buys and go after any of these 3 primary targets, consider Kosmix and see if they work for your campaign.
Meebo (http://www.meebo.com/) is another company that we’ve come across recently and they profess to be the ultimate online communications tool (and I think they deliver quite nicely). They bring together all your instant messenger services into one single location, but they also power discussions and live chats on a number of syndicated sites. Their model may include using the conversational data to deliver targeted ads in the same way that Gmail does currently, so check them out and see what you think!
Kanye Travel Ventures (http://www.kanyetravel.com/) is a site that we read about and we can’t believe it truly exists. This is, believe it or not, a travel site started by Kanye West. Yes – that Kanye West! The guy with an ego the size of California and the hit parade to match. He put some money into a travel site and I have to say it’s pretty bad. I’m not highlighting it here as a good site, I’m highlighting it as an example of a good idea gone bad. Celebrities should not start general interest sites that having nothing to do with their core image or business. ‘Nuff said on that.
Speaking of good ideas, check out Google Sites (http://www.google.com/sites). I know that some of you won’t like it simply because it’s Google, but it’s another killer idea from the killer company that is leading the online industry. They allow you to create group websites and little corporate intranets for your small business. It’s not unlike Google Page Creator (http://pages.google.com) but who said you can’t have competition inside your own company, right?
[I have reserved several Google Sites under names important to me and I strongly suggest you do the same before they are gone forever -- Lee]
What do you do online if you’re a mom? Well, you go to Café Mom (http://www.cafemom.com/) of course! Moms are an under-serviced group online, at least when it comes to the larger sites. There are lots and lots of smaller sites but if you’re trying to reach Mom with targeted content or an ad campaign, they don’t make it easy. Sites like this one are starting to service this need and they do a great job of it. What’s really funny is that this one was started by Andrew Shue (yes – that guy who used to be on Melrose Place). Oh, and if you want another one, check out Posh Mom (http://www.poshmom.com/).
Want to know where all that VC money is being spent? Check out the Deal-I-pedia (http://www.dealipedia.com/). This site tracks all the various M&A activity and venture funding in the marketplace. It’s pretty granular and seems updated regularly, so see if any of this info meets your needs.
From Chris Brogan‘s excellent newsletter:
BrightKite – Provide location updates, pictures, and notes from a mobile or web device. Different than twitter insofar as it integrates with Yahoo’s Fire Eagle location-based technology, and because it’s specifically focused on WHERE are you. The value here might be to people promoting location-based events or activities. – http://brightkite.com .
Disqus – Third party commenting software. Integrate this into your blog where your comments section normally sits, and the conversation can move off your blog and into the larger blogosphere. See an example of it installed on Louis Gray’s blog. – http://disqus.com
Summize – deep search for Twitter. If you’re looking to know who’s talking about you or your product or company, use this tool. It also comes with a handy RSS subscription for your search results, so you can build collections of searches. – http://summize.com
ooVoo – Video chat software. ooVoo makes it easy to chat with up to six people at a time via a downloadable application. It was buggy in the beginning [THAT'S for sure - Lee], but is getting better in subsequent builds. – http://oovoo.com
Adobe Air – Desktop application. Air isn’t exactly a social media tool, but it’s the power behind taking some web apps to the desktop. It works on PC, Mac, and Linux (less so), and is what’s underneath great apps like Twhirl (a twitter client) and more. – http://www.adobe.com/products/air/
