Not too long ago the guys over at Killerstartups launched a new service called Dataopedia. Dataopedia is a basic solution that allows users to type in any url and find quickly key metrics from various sources.
Metrics that are measured include Google PR, Alexa Numbers, Compete and Quantcast analysis, Social media breakdowns, Twitter news, Technorati links, Friendfeed and url registration information. Currently, Dataopedia pulls in all this information from various partners including Crunchbase, Compete, Digg, Getsatisfaction and more.
There’s also something interesting buried at the bottom of the site profiles: an ability to comment on the site using Disqus. While that’s not likely to have the reach of a Google Search Wiki, it provides yet another way to gather details about the site and its reputation.
Dataopedia does a great job of pulling all the key quantitative and qualitative site measures required in todays world of web 2.0. There is still a lot of improvements that can be made with the user interface, but over it is probably already leading in this specific market, even thought market is very small.
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.
Crenk has joined forces with TradeVibes which will see all of the Crenk articles directly syndicated into the TradeVibes database.
TradeVibes is an ever growing company database. The companies posts information about vairous companies, and detailing everything from their address to competitors to its management. In each profiles in the right column it allows the user to stay up-to-date with the news about that specific company. The news is currently being gathered from a variety of sources, such as Techcrunch, RWW and now Crenk.
We have previously written about TradeVibes when they came out of beta. They have since made some big improvements and im looking forward to seeing their site improving in the future.
Startup directories have long been the main place to head to find information about upcoming and established startups. Directories tend to be matched nicely with leading technology blogs, but recently I have noticed that there arent too many standalone directories anymore. Thus, I thought I would put together a list of directories to see which one is actually used the most.
Go2Web20.net is a web directory of everything web 2.0. From Advertising to Widgets, Go2web20.net has it all there for you to find. The site is setup in a unique style which allows a user to browse the logos of all the startups or even drill down by category.
KillerStartups is a startup directory that is updated daily. The site is based around a blog style format in which users can vote up startups to put them at the top of the tree. Killerstartups shows very basic information about each site, but seems to show too many Google ads and also only premium members can see more specific data.
SimpleSpark has to be one of the sexiest directories around! The site is very easy on the eye and has a lot of features to match. One of the key issues is that you have to register to be able to add a startup to the directory, hmm 10 min of your time. However, as the registered users grow, so does the interactions on the site.
Tradevibes has to be the newest directory on the block. They aim to provide indepth information on startups from all over the world, all on a free basis. The majority of this service comes from the users or company owners themselves, but there is still minor inputs from Tradevibes direct. Look out for Tradevibes to become the major player in this market.
CrunchBase is one of the products in the Techcrunch stable. Crunchbase is a wiki based tool that divulges information from some of the world technology startups. CrunchBase is the free directory that anyone can edit, currently however it is closely moderated by the Techcrunch team.
CenterNetworks Company Index is our final product in this list. CenterNetworks is a growing technology weblog that is dedicated to profiling technology news and issues. Allen has added a nice feature to his drupal based site, which shows a list of basic companies. Once a user has selected a company it only shows the most recent posts, which is a tad disappointing.
