Crenk

Where do you head to find technology company information? Currently, there are a lot of technology blogs that provide company directories, but I think there are two key players that stand out in this sector and I’m sure their pageviews will sore in the coming months and years. Those two players have to be Crunchbase and Tradevibes.

Crunchbase is the company directory from the superblog Techcrunch. Crunchbase is build on a wiki type system and instead of just writing about companies and collect data, Michael Arrington thought it would be a good idea to actually put it all together and make some more money from it. Crunchbase has a great look about it and it brings together information from some of the most well-known companies. On Crunchbase you can find descriptions of the company, funding information, location and telephone numbers, competitors and staffing information. I would like Crunchbase to find new ways to make money apart from advertising, like a highlighted company feature.

Tradevibes has a bit of a different layout, but essentially it is the same concept with the type of wiki development. Tradevibes provide a similar set of information as Crunchbase but it also has additional features, such as a fantasy exchange game, voting system on companies, and forums. The design on Tradevibes is actually a bit cluttered and there seems to be a lot of products that have simply just been put together to add features, instead of developing something in house that matches the site. For example, the job board in the left column from SimplyHired.

Both of these companies are leading the way in this niche, however there still seems to be a lot of issues in terms of design and integrating information that is actually needed, without information overload. It would also be nice to see integration with several technology blogs to provide news about each of the companies in the database, but so far even this seems to be limited.

Ladies and Gentleman, it’s hard to watch, I know. I warn you, it’s painful. If some of you come away with your mouth open and an empty look on your face after all is said and done, you’re not alone.

In what was supposed to be the biggest coup in Microsoft news recently, their acquisition of comedian Jerry Seinfeld was supposed to herald the beginning of the end of those “vicious” Apple ads that have gained so much popularity. For almost two years Microsoft allowed Apple to take the offensive and for almost two years Apple planned to gain some ground in term of market share. Well it worked, and while Apple now sits at approx. 20% of consumer market, Microsoft has been blasted for their release of Vista, making most users stick toXP for the time being.

Well Microsoft decided enough was enough and planned to counter Apple’s negative ads and re-build their brand, but most importantly the trust of the consumer.

Please watch this video, the first commercial in what is sure to be a long line of painful, shake your head and cry attempts to fire back at apple.

Is this really the best Microsoft could do? I’m not even sure I understand the commercial. And the Spanish speakers was a little awkward. Was that their attempt to gain market share with our Spanish speaking brethren? I’m confused and you should be too.

Digg has to be one of the biggest web properties currently on the internet, with one of the most loyal communities. However, they seem to be able to grow the community, add on new features, turnover good revenue figures and get millions of pageviews, but they simply can’t sell their company to anyone!

Digg has been trying to sell for the last 6 months and yet no one is actually biting. They currently have a Microsoft as an investor and running their ad campaigns, plus they have been in talks with Google for an acquisition, but how come they cant finalise anything?

Is it because the $300 million price tag they are after, it just too out of reach? Is it because the big conglomerates aren’t too sure how they are going to fit the Digg technology into their search engines or portals? Is it because Digg has such a strong community base, any acquisition will just kill the site?

Im hoping to find out why the average person think Digg cant sell.

With as long as Twitter has been with us, it’s amazing that we’ve not seen a monetizing model sooner. Well…it was bound to happen, and it’s here. Twitter can now display ads, and users can get paid for it with Twittad .

As you look at your account, think to yourself, “I’ve got followers, why shouldn’t I make money for being so popular.” If that’s your train of thought, this little addition to Twitter is right up your alley. Having full control of the ad space, you set the price on the space you are looking to sell andTwittad will match with the advertisers in their database.

Where does the ad go?

Good question, simple answer. The advertisement will sit in the upper left hand column of your Twitter homepage. That big empty space can be used more effectively now by placing an ad that will interest your followers. That’s it, it’s that simple. While some may have feared that the advertisement would have been plastered across your background, or cover the page with flashing, twirling, and otherwise annoying attention grabbers, the simple fact is that the ad will remain unobtrusive.

For the Twitter User

So the first question is obvious, how do I become a part of Twittad? Allowing Twittad to pair you with the appropriate advertiser and marketing promotions can be lucrative and here’s how.

You start off with submitting your page to Twittad for advertisers to purchase (remember you set the price). Once the price is agreed upon select the duration for which you’d like the ad to appear on your page. Now you wait, it can be long or short, but the advertiser must contact you once they are interested. You ultimately have the choice to accept or deny the advertisers offer. If you deny, wait for another offer. If you accept, then simply upload the ad to the design of your template and then notify the advertiser that you are ready to go.

You basically get paid for every hour you serve the advertisement to your followers, and a virtual account will keep track of your earnings. Once the duration of the advertisement has come to an end the virtual account releases the “real” funds to your account. So no worries, you don’t get paid in Monopoly money.

For the Advertiser

Being a part of Twittad is just as easy for the advertiser. All advertisers are able to browse what the users are willing to share and for how much. This gives the advertisers a chance to find the right candidate for their brand and hopefully gain some exposure on the popular micro-blogging site.

Advertisers start off by creating their advertisement using guidelines set by Twittad and following their examples. Once the ad is designed you browse the user database to find the right candidate for your product. You select the “Buy Now” and await their denial or acceptance. Denied? Keep looking. If you are accepted you simply connect and pay via Pay Pal, and if the user removes the ad prior to the agreed upon time, you are credited for the loss. Ultimately the tracking that is provided for the advertisers will alert them if agreements are broken and the advertiser is free to leave negative feedback in such cases.

Twittad receives 5% of the total paid out price as their fee for using their services.

Is This Viable?

I ask myself this question ever since I hear about Twittad. Is this a viable solution to make money on Twitter? Well, sure it can’t hurt to make a little money. The site itself shows how much individuals are making based on duration and follower count. But ultimately, how many people actually travel to your homepage on Twitter? The only time I can think of is when they choose to follow you, but otherwise with all theAPI’s out there, Twitter users are hardly ever on the actual site itself. Perhaps it won’t be long until these web apps we use are filled with advertising. If there’s a way to market, leave to the advertisers to find it.

Yesterday Google’s new browser, Chrome was announced so today I downloaded and installed it onto my work Windows XP box to see what all the fuss is about and check for cross compatibility on sites we work on.  I spent about 5 minutes poking around, if I can’t figure out how to use a browser in 5 minutes, it’s too complicated for anyone but the most 733t 1337.

Download was very small; it then opens an applet and downloads the rest of the software.  Installation requires Firefox to be shut down so Chrome can import all your bookmarks, favorites, history and passwords; this goes quickly and rather painlessly.  Next you get a TOS about reporting options for crashes, I denied their request and the install was complete.

Upon launching Chrome for the first time an unusual question is asked, “Do you wish to keep Google as your default search engine?”   It’s unusual in that, it’s a Google product and the first thing about this new killer app is to strip out Search, the one thing Google does very, very well.  I selected to keep it.

All my bookmarks and history imported, what didn’t was my homepage.  I’m a long time iGoogle user and rely on the RSS feeds to get me caught up quickly at a glance to what is going on with the sites I follow.  Not there.  Instead six white boxes stare at me.  A little note tells you that these are your most visited sites.  Nice idea, but not for me.  I easily look at 50+ sites in six different tabs of iGoogle.  There is no apparent way to set a traditional “homepage” only what Google wants you to see.

The other thing lacking is an option to show the status bar.  I rely on the status bar while at work and home to see where any link will take my, by hovering over it.  There are also several add-ons for Firefox that sit in my status bar that I’ve come to love, from what I can tell in Chrome, there is no status bar option.

On the plus side, it is fast.  How fast?  I don’t have scientific numbers or pretty pie charts, but it really feels fast.  One site that I know uses a fairly common Java plugin to run an app wouldn’t work and there was no option to install it but everything else on the dozen or so sites I quickly browsed seem to work.

Is Chrome the next killer app?  Hard to say now, Firefox has such a loyal, loving fan base to it, but I think this could compliment it very well.

Like any good addiction, the first step is always admitting you have the addiction. For many of us, Twitter is that addiction. We find ourselves Twittering from work, twittering from parties, from events, from weddings, from bar mitzvahs, from the car, from our mobiles, you name it, we addicts are Twittering from it. On the other hand, there are still a few that remain of the mindset that Twitter is a time waster and provides no value.

Well for the addict like you and me, we are introduced to Tweetrush. A very systematic web app that provides you with your Twitter usage metrics. Now, after typing in your handle in the search bar, you can receive a breakdown of your usage and find out just how addicted you are.

Tweetrush was built on the analytics engine called Rush Hour, which basically looks at actions taken by a user, such as typing and sending a message via Twitter. Tracking can be done via the website and also through the various API’s that exist for the web application.

Information can be tracked for the last 7 days of usage:

The tracking can even break down by the hour of usage:

No matter how you slice, it, Tweetrush is an excellent tool for measuring your addiction, providing useful information on usage, but ultimately also reveal just how much of your life Twitter has taken over. Give it a try and learn to live with the addiction, Twitter is not going anywhere soon!

TechCrunch has been a well known site for everything tech and media related. With millions of readers and followers, TechCrunch has done an amazing job in helping young fledgling startups get noticed. What began as TechCrunch 20, then 40, and now 50, it looks to once again be the opportunity that every startup is waiting for.

In just under a week the San Francisco Design Center Concourse will be transformed into a showcase floor for entrepreneurs, new technology, and VC’s looking for the “next big thing.” The DemoPit, where all the magic happens. Paired with this display are panels of speakers who will share their thoughts and expertise with the attendees, expected to be over 900 this year alone.

The event gives the startups an opportunity to share, explain, and possibly have their ideas funded. Companies have a high chance of being launched at this event, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Thanks to all the sponsors who help support and foster an event where these startups can find growth and a possible future!

Keep track of this event, and check back here for some of the highlights of the event.

In a surprising side venture, Gary Vaynerchuck known for his outrageous and popular Wine Library TV show, along with his brothers and Digg partner Joe Stump, have developed an amazing t-shirt search engine.

PleaseDressMe delves deep into the online world for hip and popular t-shirts from such places as Threadless and BustedTees. This venture is sure to gain in popularity, not just cause of the names attached to the project, but because of the popularity of slogan shirts.

The interface is no-nonsense, and while it’s still new, provides sufficient options for your search. Don’t know what you want? No problem, PleaseDressMe offers searches based on keywords, t-shirt colors, tags, and even price. A great way to encounter your own taste and at the same time be introduced to other shirts you did not know existed.

I would definitely keep an eye out on this site because it’s sure to explode with options in the coming months!

I still cant believe it is August already. Here at Crenk the site and its readership has been growing very fast. We seem to have some of the most influencing people in the industry already reading our site on a daily basis. In terms of traffic we have doubled month on month and we are looking to continue this growth.

Thanks to our Sponsors and Partners for August

Adify: One of the best advertising networks I have ever worked with.

Rackspace: Reliable and Personal Hosting!

RouteNote: Music licensing and distribution

Forbes.com: Crenk is a new member of their soon to launch Business and Finance blog network

Sibername: Some amazing web hosting available!

Startups Worth Checking Out!

Invotrak - Invotrak is an easy-to-use online invoice and timesheet tracking system specifically designed for freelancers and small-business owners. Using invotrak, you and your employees record time entries as work is completed. Then, bundle these time entries into an invoice and send it to your client. Invotrak will automatically keep track of when it was issued, when it’s due, and alert you (and optionally your client) of overdue invoices. Using invotrak will help you save time and make sure you collect the money you’re owed. You can get started with a free account, and optionally upgrade should you need to.

If you are wanting a free months advertising for your startup, then please head over hear and check it out!

Google to launch a web browser today to 100 countries, and it will be named Google Chrome. There is a lot of buzz already about this new product and Im sure you have probably already read about it on Techcrunch, AllthingsD, Sizlopedia and more.All of this was just a rumour until it was confirmed by the Official Google Blog.

For a long time now there have only really been 3 key players in the online browser market, IE, Firefox and Safari (MACs). I’m very interested to use this product today and see how it compares to all these other browsers.

For a long time also Google has been funding Mozilla by paying to have their search engine as default in the browser, so if Google Chrome becomes popular and out grows Firefox, will they still pay top dollar to be the default search in Firefox?