Posted: January 21st, 2009 | Author: will | Filed under: Media | Tags: funding, property, web 2.0, zoopla | Comments Off
Given all the gloom about the UK property market in 2009, it was interesting to read that Zoopla is getting £3.75m of funding.
Zoopla has been around for a year and is apparently the UK’s 5th most popular property site. It lets you get property values in your area and also get a realistic value for your own property. I’m not sure how many people have carried out transactions through the site but given the dramatic drop in property prices I can see how many people would become frequent visitors to see if next door is loosing value faster than you.
As estate agencts across the country close down, could this be a signal that we’re about to cut the middle man out? Not quite: Zoopla are about to launch premium estate agenct listings. Grr.
Source: Netimperitive
Posted: December 15th, 2008 | Author: will | Filed under: Media | Tags: 2009, blogs, twitter, web 2.0 | Comments Off
Peter Kim today has produced a report with commentary from many people in the social media space about where they think social media will go in 2009. Here are some of the interesting points from it:
- “Although it is now cheaper to launch an initiative leveraging Web 2.0 technology – it requires qualified and passionate people to make them successful.” – David Armano
- “You may not always start the year as a leader, but you can certainly finish it that way.” – Rohit Bhargava
- “Doors are going to close all over the social web. Why? Because the money didn’t come the way people thought it would.” – Chris Brogan
- “The tipping point has not only *not* been reached, but could still tilt *away* from Social Media.” – Todd Defren
- “There’s a lot of fixing that needs to be done.” – Jason Falls
- “We’re going to develop a set of better metrics to help guide, direct and validate ‘commitment’.” – Joseph Jaffe
- “These will be cumulative events and interactions that will build brand loyalty for the companies that pay attention to them.” – Scott Monty
- “The recession will force revenue results out of social technologies.” – Jeremiah Owyang
- “Companies that focus on earning love will thrive during hard times, and kick ass when good times return.” – Andy Sernovitz
- “Suddenly, being Facebook friends with your mom will seem less ridiculous than following 4,000 strangers on Twitter.” – Greg Verdino
Personally I think it will be an interesting time. The rush we saw in 2008 for companies to be on a social networking site as a ‘me too’ factor will diminish, along with their willingness to spend lots of money without thinking about what they really want to achieve first. I also think it will get more personal with brands realising that it’s not about blogging as a corporation/business but using executives and staff to act as ‘faces’, blending personality with PR.
You can download a pdf of the report here, or read the article in full at Peter Kim’s blog here.
