Recently I posted a meta-list of Web 2.0
lists. My current favorite list is the eConsultant’s Web 2.0 Directory. It has “1007
Web 2.0 sites/services/links in 50+ categories”. Sacred Cow
Dung’s is another easily-scannable catagorized list. As I scrolled through these
lists today, I wondered which categories are currently underserved by
products/services… We all know there are tons of social networking sites, photo
services, online calendars, etc – a new contender in any of those popular categories
seems to come into my inbox every second day. Frankly the world probably doesn’t need yet
another blog search or photo-sharing service.
So what market segments are in need of more products to fill them out? Here are ten I
identified from eConsultant’s list, but I’m keen to get your feedback on this. Of course
I chose ten because that gives me the chance to do a ‘top ten’ post, a la Guy Kawasaki
😉 In no particular order, here they are:
- Community-building
services – overlaps with local; examples:
craigslist, backfence, Oodle. There is a lot more that can be done to bring local
communities into the 2.0 digital lifestyle. - Cooperative
Distribution Services – e.g. BitTorrent; I’m no expert on P2P, but 3 products listed
in eConsultant seems a little light to me. - Financial
Services – has plenty of contenders, but I read/hear hardly any buzz about them in
the blogosphere; if you’re talking about ‘real world’ needs, finances is right near the
top of the list (as opposed to blogging, organizing photos, etc) - Game Services – only
9 are listed in eConsultant… - Grassroots
Services – community and charity projects; there are some excellent services already
(KatrinaList, OurMedia, etc), but again seems like a lot more could be done. You could
also include Non-profit
services with this. - Mobile services –
already has plenty of contenders, but I’m including it because mobile is undoubtedly
going to be a growth segment as the mobile Internet matures. - Project
Management Services – even though Basecamp has seemingly a lock on this market, I’d
like to see more such products from other companies. Indeed I’d like to see more
innovative Web Office solutions in general – web-based office apps that really
push the envelope. Like Zimbra, JotSpot Tracker, Morfik. - Publishing
Services – publishing as in paper or e-books… now this is really a market I’d like
to see others enter; Lulu.com is my current favorite. e.g. how about a service that lets
people create their own PDF books or reports and charge for them on a website (a la the
37Signals book)? - Streaming
Services – i.e. Online media/music/video streaming services; this media market looks
ripe for growth. - Wi-Fi Services –
only two listed in eConsultant so far.
Those are my initial selections, but interested to hear some feedback about what web
2.0 markets you think are underserved – and perhaps under-hyped (yes there is such
a thing).
