Top Startups of 2010(readwriteweb.com)
readwriteweb.com
Top Startups of 2010
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/top_10_startups_of_2010.php
7 comments
Three Dogpatch Labs companies included as well.
http://ryanspoon.com/blog/2010/12/02/3-dogpatch-companies-in...
http://ryanspoon.com/blog/2010/12/02/3-dogpatch-companies-in...
What is the criteria for this list? Some questionable inclusions that stand out: Chatroulette and Diaspora. Shouldn't companies included in a top 10 of all startups of the year be profitable, or at least be on the path to making money?
I hadn't heard of Rapportive (http://rapportive.com/) before. Very impressive piece of work form a technical standpoint. It will be interesting to see how they monetize the product.
The only ones worth of this list are Quora and Square.
The most useful of them by far is Rapportive.
It's a Gmail plugin that replaces ads with a contextual mini CRM.
You should check it out.
I can't imagine how they plan to monetize it, though.
It's a Gmail plugin that replaces ads with a contextual mini CRM.
You should check it out.
I can't imagine how they plan to monetize it, though.
and instagram? people are crazy about it
One thing that's weird about instagram is that there are 0 reviews in the Apple app store. For an app with 2,778 ratings (as of Dec 2), you think there would be at least 1 review.
If anyone has an explanation for this, I would be glad to hear it.
If anyone has an explanation for this, I would be glad to hear it.
Seems like this post is 29 days too early.
In the case of Hipmunk, I'm not sure why it's being touted as such an inspiring story of usability. I may be biased because I work at one of the big online travel companies, but I think hipmunk usability is terrible.
Their simple search wizard is great but it ends there IMO.
Their simple search wizard is great but it ends there IMO.
One thing about Hipmunk that mystifies me: the date-picker widget on the homepage. A friend of mine says "Have you seen it!? Check out Hipmunk.com. Awesome new user interface for booking flights." So I go to the site expecting some awesome, clean, super-thoughtful UI and actually got stuck for a second.
1) There isn't a direct visual relationship between the "depart" / "return" fields and the date picker (i.e. I didn't see a standard dropdown or calendar icon or way to pick a date)
2) I didn't realize that the date picker widget is one calendar, spanning two months. I thought it was two calendars: one for depart, one for return.
Wondering: Am I the only one? Did they actually test this? Would a "traditional" design with two fields, each with a calendar icon / dropdown perform better? OR, maybe two fields and one calendar beside or beneath each?
1) There isn't a direct visual relationship between the "depart" / "return" fields and the date picker (i.e. I didn't see a standard dropdown or calendar icon or way to pick a date)
2) I didn't realize that the date picker widget is one calendar, spanning two months. I thought it was two calendars: one for depart, one for return.
Wondering: Am I the only one? Did they actually test this? Would a "traditional" design with two fields, each with a calendar icon / dropdown perform better? OR, maybe two fields and one calendar beside or beneath each?
I really hate the way other sites have hidden calendars that pop-up. They all try to be too smart about it, and often ends up with me switching back and forth between mouse and keyboard. IMHO, some guy had a bad idea 10 years ago about how to do calendars, and everyone has been copying it since.
I think our version works really nicely if you know how it behaves. So, the challenge to us is to make its behavior more obvious.
Hipmunk's calendar has changed quite a bit since we launched, and I haven't heard much complaining lately. Maybe we just scared everyone away.
I think our version works really nicely if you know how it behaves. So, the challenge to us is to make its behavior more obvious.
Hipmunk's calendar has changed quite a bit since we launched, and I haven't heard much complaining lately. Maybe we just scared everyone away.
Here's an idea. See:
http://i.imgur.com/vTOKr.jpg
What I did:
- Increased priority of "depart and return" calendar.
- Added "click or type below" to make instructions more clear.
- Added a small indicator beside mouse pointer (when hovering over a date) to indicate the current mode of the mouse pointer (two modes: you're either hovering and ready to click on a depart date OR you're hovering and ready to click on a return date).
- Subordinated the depart and return fields. Selecting from the date picker with a mouse should automatically fill these fields.
Why?
- I assume (maybe wrongly so, I am not sure) that the date picker is the most common / popular / usable way to enter in the dates.
- Compared to the current home page, I think this addresses my complaints (see earlier comment) in that it (1) significantly reduces the disparity between the date pickers and the fields, and (2) makes it more clear that the two calendars are in fact for the entry of both the depart and return dates (and not two separate calendars).
What I did:
- Increased priority of "depart and return" calendar.
- Added "click or type below" to make instructions more clear.
- Added a small indicator beside mouse pointer (when hovering over a date) to indicate the current mode of the mouse pointer (two modes: you're either hovering and ready to click on a depart date OR you're hovering and ready to click on a return date).
- Subordinated the depart and return fields. Selecting from the date picker with a mouse should automatically fill these fields.
Why?
- I assume (maybe wrongly so, I am not sure) that the date picker is the most common / popular / usable way to enter in the dates.
- Compared to the current home page, I think this addresses my complaints (see earlier comment) in that it (1) significantly reduces the disparity between the date pickers and the fields, and (2) makes it more clear that the two calendars are in fact for the entry of both the depart and return dates (and not two separate calendars).
Having the calendar automatically switch modes between Depart and Return can be confusing at first in some cases. E.g.: (1) click Dec 15 for Depart date, (2) click the Return text field, then click Jan 5 as the Return date, (3) remember that Jan 6 (not Jan 5) should be the return date, so click Jan 6, (4) wonder "what happened???".
Good... keep thinking that.
Hipmunk looks like simply a front-end for Orbitz.com.
I have to wonder if Chatroulette belongs on the list as a "startup." It seems more like an internet fad of 2010, possibly the biggest one, but is it on the path to being a company with revenue?