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September 7, 2008 1:34 PM PDT

DemoFall preview: 10 to watch

Posted by Rafe Needleman
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The DemoFall and TechCrunch50 conferences launch Monday. Demo's posted its list of it 72 presenting companies. TechCrunch will post a part of its list, we're told, at 6 a.m. Monday.

You can see the full Demo list at the end of this post. But here are the top 10 companies I'd be paying the most attention to if I were going to Demo (I'm going to TechCrunch with Josh; CNET News writers Elinor Mills and Daniel Terdiman will be at Demo). I'll do a list, or lists, for TechCrunch too, time permitting.

Rafe's Top 10 previews from Demo
(Please note that I haven't talked to all these companies yet, so my understanding of these pitches is incomplete, and my post-conference Top list will likely be different.)

(Note #2: I have replaced one my original picks due to a press embargo error on my part.)

  • Clintview by Clintworld: This is a financial analysis tool primarily for mobile phone carriers. It simulates customer behavior related to pricing and helps create pricing tiers and plans that generate the most revenue. It brings a disciplined approach to pricing services, which I think is smart. Might be applicable to paid Web services as well.
  • CrowdSpring Private by CrowdSpring: The company is not new, but I still love the idea. It's a new twist on the open marketplace for intellectual work. At Demo, the company will unveil CrowdSpring Private, which lets companies create their own, closed markets, so creativity doesn't leak out onto the Web, heaven forbid.
  • Infovell: Very interesting new search service. It lets you type in arbitrarily long queries, and then ranks results based on importance and frequency of word clusters. Also lets you use entire Web pages as queries, generating a "more like this" function that doesn't currently exist. Could be great for researching complex medical or legal topics.
  • Avego by Mapflow: Adds intelligence to casual carpooling with a car-service-like gizmo that tells drivers where riders are that want to go where they are going. It's hitchhiking 2.0: Scary but cool, and very green.
  • PaidInterviews: Pays job candidates for going on interviews. Totally whacked economic model, if you ask me, but that makes it interesting.
  • Plastic Logic: New science for electronic books, possibly competitive to existing e-Ink technology. Real chemistry at a start-up conference. What a breath of fresh air.
  • SpinSpotter: Claims to spot bias and inaccuracies in news stories. Helpful, if it works. Although it will probably expode if pointed at the blogosphere. And who watches the watchmen?
  • .tel by Telnic: One of several new companies that lets users create personal calling card Web sites using a new top-level-domain. I am highly skeptical of this model, but I want to see how it develops.
  • WebDiet: Location-based diet helper. Gives you food advice based on what's close to you. Unknown if it gives you an electric shock and shrieks, "Keep walking!" when you pass a McDonald's.
  • Xumii: Makes a service that access all your social sites from your mobile phone. Could be very useful for the younger, multiply-connected set.

See full Launch Week coverage of DemoFall and TechCrunch.

The DemoFall lineup is after the jump...

The DemoFall companies:

Rafe Needleman writes about start-ups, new technologies, and Web 2.0 products, as editor of CNET's Webware. E-mail Rafe.
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Add a Comment (Log in or register) 6 comments
by andrew.mager September 7, 2008 3:31 PM PDT
That is a lot of companies. It's a shame that both of these conferences are happening around the same time. Will any of these products also be at TC50?
Reply to this comment
by Ross_Kimbarovsky September 7, 2008 3:48 PM PDT
Hi Rafe,

I'm sorry we wont see you at DEMO, but we very much look forward to talking with Elinor Mills and Daniel Terdiman.

And thanks so much for putting crowdSPRING on you top 10 previews from DEMO list. We've had an incredible run since our launch in May 2008 and the Under The Radar Conference where you moderated our presentation. During our initial 110 days, 600 buyers from 30 countries have posted projects on crowdSPRING. And almost 6,000 creatives from 130+ countries now work on crowdSPRING. As you know, DEMO rules prohibit us from talking about our new product prior to tomorrow morning, but it directly responds to many of the points you made in your earlier article about crowdSPRING. We've spent the summer iterating, researching, and developing a new product that we believe will extend our model to the mainstream and give agencies and brands a chance to leverage our worldwide base of creatives. Specific details to come tomorrow...

So, thanks again! This is a great time for start-ups and we're really fortune to be in such great company among the 120+ startups being featured this week at DEMO and TC50.

Best,

Ross Kimbarovsky
co-Founder
http://www.crowdspring.com
Reply to this comment
by anon8mizer September 7, 2008 9:41 PM PDT
From the top 10 list, all I can say is Web 2.0 seems to be dying. Not much there that has any "wide moat" that will prevent the next guy from doing the same thing.
Reply to this comment
by SeanOSullivan September 7, 2008 10:34 PM PDT
Hey!

Rafe, it's Sean O'Sullivan from Mapflow here... thanks for the top ten plug... wanted to warn you that the product name has changed from Sharelift.com to Avego.com...

looking forward to meeting you, have fun at techcrunch...
:-)
best,
Sean
Reply to this comment
by rafe September 7, 2008 11:09 PM PDT
Thanks, updating the post now.
-Rafe
by luvkatie November 20, 2008 12:12 AM PST
Where is the business case for this silly company - CrowdSpring (CrowdWasteTime)? First, it is not hard at all to find a quality graphic designer at a low price, see Craiglist. Second, online marketplaces that actually DON'T have a million substitutes have gone out of business. Third, the company's Craigslist ad reads like something from the dot-com days; a) it lists silly benefits like "Unlimited ping pong + Rock Band" to portray the place as a nice employer for nerd-hipster wannabees, b) it states that it is "private equity funded," but that is meaningless and most likely misleading if the goal there is to suggest there are major backers, c) the company's Web site lists a a job duty "posting dirty jokes" on on a blog - something the EEOC would like to know about - and particularly ignorant considering the company's Web site says one of their founders has a background in "law" (what "law," was he a paralegal?).
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