--- title: "Web 2.0 Weekly Wrap-up, 12-18 Sep 2005" date: 2005-09-19 author: "Richard MacManus" categories: - name: "ReadWriteWeb" url: "/category/readwriteweb.md" tags: - name: "2005" url: "/tag/2005.md" --- # Web 2.0 Weekly Wrap-up, 12-18 Sep 2005 [sponsored by:](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://www.onfolio.com/index.cfm?src=170)[![Onfolio](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353im_/http://www.readwriteweb.com/images/onfolio_banner.gif)](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://www.onfolio.com/index.cfm?src=170) **This week:** eBay-Skype: Web 2.0 Ramifications, The Real World – Katrina response, Microsoft PDC – Start.com extended, Yahoo Shopping API and Shopify, New apps on the block. ## eBay-Skype: Web 2.0 Ramifications Early this week [eBay confirmed its acquisition of Skype](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/index.php?p=1833) for between $2.6 – 4.1 billion. On my ZDNet blog [I looked at some of the Web 2.0 implications](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://blogs.zdnet.com/web2explorer/?p=8). Here is a summary of that post: – One reason eBay bought Skype is to upgrade its communications platform. It will continue to run Skype as a standalone Internet Telephony business, but it will also use Skype’s telephony and IM product line as a platform to extend its own e-commerce business. – eBay is also building up its community platform. With 157 million customers and a thriving buyer and seller community, eBay probably sees IP telephony and IM as the next level of functionality – much like Google recently releasing [Google Talk](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://www.google.com/talk/). – eBay is expanding its global presence, or its “global footprint” as they termed it. Skype is used worldwide, whereas eBay has limited worldwide presence. – Let’s not forget that Skype is a desktop app and so eBay automatically gains a foothold on some 54 million PCs (the number of registered users Skype has). – Also this brings eBay up to a new level. They’re now playing polo with Google, Yahoo and Microsoft – instead of kicking a soccer ball around with Amazon and Ask Jeeves. – So all up, I think the deal has a fair amount of promise for eBay to extend itself as a Web Platform company. Interesting to note the dot com-like merger theme continued throughout the week, with [rumours of an MSN-AOL deal](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://blogs.zdnet.com/web2explorer/?p=12). Or even more bubbleicious, an outright purchase of AOL by Microsoft, Google or Yahoo. Don’t do it! Anyway that should hopefully be settled by the time I get to next week’s Wrap-Up 😉 ## The Real World – Katrina response The response to Hurricane Katrina on the Web has been huge. Doing some research for the book I’m [co-writing with Joshua Porter](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://bokardo.com/archives/web-20-book/) on Web 2.0 this week, I came across many examples of Web technologies used to help respond to the disaster. Wikis and blogs were set up, including the [Katrina Help blogspot site](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://katrinahelp.blogspot.com/) and [Wiki](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://katrinahelp.info/) – created by several founders and members of the [SEA EAT](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://tsunamihelp.blogspot.com/) (South East Asian Earthquake And Tsunami) blog & wiki. The Hurricane Katrina relief effort also included: – mobile weblogs (aka moblogs); eg http://www.missingkatrina.com and [http://www.safekatrina.com](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://www.safekatrina.com/) – a [webcasting portal](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://www.webcasters.org/) offering streaming media – public galleries and multimedia websites – e.g. [http://katrina05.blogspot.com/](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://katrina05.blogspot.com/) – photo-sharing sites – Donation websites – News digests using RSS – Aggregators – e.g. [http://homepages.cwi.nl/~cilibrar/projects/a/aggs/](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://homepages.cwi.nl/~cilibrar/projects/a/aggs/) – Volunteer websites – e.g. [www.hospitalreliefefforts.org](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://www.hospitalreliefefforts.org/) – Message Forums – People and Shelter Finders – And much more no doubt (please add to the comments if you know of other things – I’m researching for the book) It’s heartening to see the Web used in so many ways to help respond to natural disasters. That’s what I call a Real World benefit of Web 2.0. ## Microsoft PDC – Start.com extended At their annual [developers conference](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://msdn.microsoft.com/events/pdc/) (PDC), Microsoft wowed a lot of developers with details of Office 12, Vista, RSS integration, and web APIs for four MSN sites. The highlight for me was its [Start.com](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://www.start.com/) developments, as I’ve been following progress on Microsoft’s web-based RSS Aggregator since [the beginning](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/002674.php). In fact Start.com went live [ on 1 September](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://spaces.msn.com/members/startcom/Blog/cns%211pTNqgeSRxwfEFK-lp62aiFQ%21288.entry) and during the PDC they announced extensions to it. The new Start.com is extensible and offers tools for developing what Microsoft is calling “web gadgets” – DHTML-based components. The idea is that these “gadgets” will be created by external developers and used within Start.com. There are more details at the [Start Developer Center](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://start.com/developer/) website and [more thoughts from me here](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://blogs.zdnet.com/web2explorer/?p=9). ## Yahoo Shopping API This week [Yahoo! released](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://developer.yahoo.net/blog/archives/2005/08/yahoo_shopping_1.html) a [Shopping API](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://developer.yahoo.net/shopping/). Developers can use this API “to create applications and Web sites that search Yahoo’s comparison shopping database, which contains millions of offers from thousands of merchants.” As [Tim O’Reilly pointed out](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://radar.oreilly.com/archives/2005/08/yahoo_to_releas.html): “…the real test of whether this is interesting is going to be whether people start building new services in which Yahoo! shopping is just a component, rather than the main point.” On the topic of shopping and web apps, I discovered a promising new app being built currently – called [shopify](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://shopify.com/). It hasn’t been released yet, but it aims to be a Web 2.0 e-commerce application. I think that means it’ll include community and collaboration features. It’s [described more here](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://blog.jadedpixel.com/pages/shopify): *“Shopify is a hosted e-commerce solution that removes the traditional barriers that have kept many individuals and small business from selling online. It is a Web 2.0 product that focuses on providing buyers and sellers with the features essential to completing e-commerce transactions.”* Bonus link: Charles Coxhead has been thinking about [“feed commerce”](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://surfarama.com/index.php?p=234), using Yahoo! stores XML feeds. ## New apps on the block Some new web apps that popped up this week: – [Pete Freitag](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://www.petefreitag.com/) has been busy developing neat stuff – [dealazon](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://www.dealazon.com/) uses Amazon’s API to find deals and has RSS feeds too; [dailymashup](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://dailymashup.com/) remixes Flickr, Del.icio.us, furl, and Yahoo; and [tagbert](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://tagbert.com/) is a tag search aggregator. – [Netvibes](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://www.netvibes.com/): a “web 2.0 home page solution” powered by Ajax, with RSS feed reader. Looks like a cooler version of [Google’s personalized homepage](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://www.google.com/ig). Not sure what the business plan is with Netvibes, as they’re basically competing for non-geek users with Google, Yahoo and MSN! [TechCrunch profile here](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://www.techcrunch.com/2005/09/16/netvibes-personal-homepage/). – [Meebo](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://www2.meebo.com/): Ajax instant messaging. [TechCrunch said](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://www.techcrunch.com/2005/09/14/meebo-instant-messaging-with-ajax/) it allows users to “log into AOL, ICQ, MSN and Yahoo instant messaging services from their \[Meebo’s\] web page.” – [goowy media](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://www.goowy.com/): “goowy (re) is a set of solutions optimized for broadband users that offer an innovative fresh look at traditional web services including email, contacts, calendar, games, widgets and more”. – [Yahoo Instant Search](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://instant.search.yahoo.com/): “gives you answers as you type — no more waiting!” Neat to play with, but not sure how useful 🙂 – [Tech Memeorandum](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://tech.memeorandum.com/): addictive blog news service goes live. [My rave review here](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/002824.php). – [Google Blog Search](https://web.archive.org/web/20060112152353/http://blogsearch.google.com/) (yawn!) That’s a wrap for another week! *Originally published on ReadWriteWeb ([archived copy](https://web.archive.org/web/20020204040018/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/web_20_weekly_w_34.php))*