--- title: "Top Ten Underserved Web 2.0 Markets" date: 2006-05-23 author: "Richard MacManus" categories: - name: "ReadWriteWeb" url: "/category/readwriteweb.md" tags: - name: "2006" url: "/tag/2006.md" --- # Top Ten Underserved Web 2.0 Markets Recently I posted a [meta-list of Web 2.0 lists](https://web.archive.org/web/20110830124745/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/list_of_web_20.php). My current favorite list is the [eConsultant’s Web 2.0 Directory](https://web.archive.org/web/20110830124745/http://www.econsultant.com/web2/). It has “1007 Web 2.0 sites/services/links in 50+ categories”. [Sacred Cow Dung’s](https://web.archive.org/web/20110830124745/http://www.sacredcowdung.com/archives/2006/03/all_things_web.html) 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](https://web.archive.org/web/20110830124745/http://blog.guykawasaki.com/) 😉 In no particular order, here they are: - [Community-building services](https://web.archive.org/web/20110830124745/http://www.econsultant.com/web2/social-communities-services.html) – overlaps with [local](https://web.archive.org/web/20110830124745/http://www.econsultant.com/web2/localization-services.html); 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](https://web.archive.org/web/20110830124745/http://www.econsultant.com/web2/cooperative-distribution-services.html) – e.g. BitTorrent; I’m no expert on P2P, but 3 products listed in eConsultant seems a little light to me. - [Financial Services](https://web.archive.org/web/20110830124745/http://www.econsultant.com/web2/financial-services.html) – 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](https://web.archive.org/web/20110830124745/http://www.econsultant.com/web2/game-services.html) – only 9 are listed in eConsultant… - [Grassroots Services](https://web.archive.org/web/20110830124745/http://www.econsultant.com/web2/grassroots-services.html) – 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](https://web.archive.org/web/20110830124745/http://www.econsultant.com/web2/non-profit-related-services.html) with this. - [Mobile services](https://web.archive.org/web/20110830124745/http://www.econsultant.com/web2/mobile-services.html) – 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](https://web.archive.org/web/20110830124745/http://www.econsultant.com/web2/project-management-services.html) – 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](https://web.archive.org/web/20110830124745/http://blogs.zdnet.com/web2explorer/?p=189) that really push the envelope. Like Zimbra, JotSpot Tracker, Morfik. - [Publishing Services](https://web.archive.org/web/20110830124745/http://www.econsultant.com/web2/publishing-printing-services.html) – 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](https://web.archive.org/web/20110830124745/http://www.econsultant.com/web2/music-streaming-services.html) – i.e. Online media/music/video streaming services; this media market looks ripe for growth. - [Wi-Fi Services](https://web.archive.org/web/20110830124745/http://www.econsultant.com/web2/wi-fi-services.html) – 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). *Originally published on ReadWriteWeb ([archived copy](https://web.archive.org/web/20020204040018/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/top_ten_underse.php))*