4 startups ideas for browser extensions

The recent dispute between NoScript and AdBlock Plus has bought back the question of whether you can build businesses on browser extensions. The dispute arises primary because of revenue issues. Such fights are common when there are no clear business models and companies fight over ways to game the system through hijacking search and advertisement for revenue. So, is there a business model for browser extensions?

Fred Wilson asked a similar question back in 2008 with very engaging comments. While many agreed that a browser extension is only an add-on, there are others that disputed this and argued that any distribution platform can create new winners (SiteAdvisor is a successful example). One commenter in particular raised an interesting perspective on why browser extensions can be real businesses:
The trend towards webapps means that as more mainstream users spend most of their time within the browser (webmail, blogs, facebook, google apps, etc.) , browser extensions stand a chance of becoming new core "software".

The best comment however, I feel, came from Aweissman of Betaworks:

how can a business reduce the friction it takes for a user to experience the utility of that application? And in many cases, the right answer may be to NOT start a business as a browser extension, but as something with fewer steps involved to get the users to actually using your stuff to solve their pain. Then, and maybe only then, do you add more steps into the process - more friction - to provide added benefit to users who are already experiencing utility. To me, delicious is a good example of this process.

So, after looking through the web, here are 4 ideas for browser extensions:

Appstore for browser extensions
Umair Haque has argued that platforms are markets. So, it make sense for someone to take Firefox or Chrome and build an app store into it.

Tipjoy for browser extensions
Social payment might be a way for developers to earn some revenue (I am not sure how much). Glazou has written on how this can be done. If you think this is a possible model, go read his post.

Curator for advertisements
Grey Yardley of PitchMedia claimed that the missed opportunity for ad-filters is to be selective.

If the ad blockers were actually selective, they could appeal to a broader audience and could put some amount of pressure on advertising bodies to enact more user-friendly policies. There’s even potential for an accreditation business - ‘get your people-friendly publisher seal here.’ All of that dies with the scorched-earth approach to blocking.

Del.icio.us for browser extensions
One of Fred Wilson's commentor suggested this cool idea of an aggregation play that recommends the right extensions for users:

how about a del.icio.us of browser extensions?..... I'd love to know what extensions my friends are using and then (maybe a Digg format) have them rank them up and down so I download the best ones.So, what if there was a service that showed a real-time "extension roll" which I could share out?

This is a debatable topic. I will love to hear your views.


Related readings:
Do MEALS (Mozzilians Earning A Living Somehow) need a fork?
The monetization dilemma
The Monetization Conundrum, at least as I see it
Making money with Mozilla stuff
Extension wars - NoScript vs. AdBlockPlus
When blockers block the blockers

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iPhone optimised site vs mobile optimised site

After an intensive product development session on the iPhone, I came away with an appreciation of just how different developing a mobi site optimized for iPhone can be. This means that for site owners, even having a mobile site is not sufficient if you want to target iPhone users. You really need to relook at your site to see if they have been properly optimised.

Here are some of the main points you should look out for:

Site layout
On the iPhone, web pages need wide spaces for your fingers to navigate. Not longer can you afford to place links close to one another because the probability of hitting the wrong link is very high. Compare this with a traditional mobile site, which has tons of links closely arrange to one another for ease of seeing and navigating. This difference alone means many sites are currently under optimised for iPhone.

Action specific links
iPhone is an tightly integrated mobile device. You should optimise the links so that they take advantage of this fact. For example, video links should point to videos that are viewable in the Youtube iPhone app. Simiarly, song links should point to songs that can be bought on iTunes. Traditional mobile sites doesn't have such considerations.

Make navigation fun
Traditional navigation method for a mobile device is through the control panel. It is basically a click and scroll model. Add to that the tiny screens and you can understand why many mobile sites are build for efficiencies in navigation. iPhone however has an unique element: fun! Using the touch screen, a user can scroll, swipe, poke, expand/contract etc. All these are new elements that can make navigation fun. Why not create a site that users enjoy navigating using different actions?


For all the readers out there who have experiences developing for the iPhone, what are some of your main takeovers in terms of lessons learned?

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Mobile Pearls Vol IV: Mobile healthcare edition

This particular mobile pearl will be a bit different as I focus on mobile healthcare. I think mobile has the potential to advance healthcare, more so than the Web. Specifically, in the area of alerts, monitoring and doctor-patient communications, mobile healthcare can made a real difference.

First off, some interesting numbers. The following chart from O'Reilly has been passed around the Web. What is neglected is that medicine applications is the third highest growth category, behind books and travel. This of course may stem from the low base of medical applications but it is an encouraging sign nevertheless of growing demand.

Mobile monitoring
Our phones is a sensor to the world. It is also a device that we carry around everywhere, making it a perfect solution for health monitoring. Some interesting applications are emerging in this area.

-Radiation PassportThe purpose of Radiation Passport is to educate about the radiation and cancer risks associated with medical imaging exams and procedures that physicians (and dentists) want you to undergo, to keep track of radiology and imaging-related exams and procedures, and to provide an estimate of risk of developing cancer because of this radiation.


-Ultrasound imaging with mobileComputer engineers at Washington University in St. Louis are bringing the minimalist approach to medical care and computing by coupling USB-based ultrasound probe technology with a smartphone, enabling a compact, mobile computational platform and a medical imaging device that fits in the palm of a hand.


-Phone-based diabetes monitoring system
(There is) 21 million Americans currently living with diabetes, the 54 million “pre-diabetic” Americans and the estimate that one out of every three people born in the U.S. after 2000 will develop diabetes. With a mere 2,500 practicing diabetologists in the U.S... traditional care will fail to support all of these patients and a disruptive, paradigm-shifting mobile solution will be more effective.


Mobile alerts
Being a medium that is always on 24/7, mobile can help patients and doctors to be informed and connected on a real time basis. Doctors could receive alerts about drug recalls, studies, disease outbreaks and changes in the status of patients. More patients could receive digital reminders to make appointments, do routine self-exams, refill medications.

Improving doctor-patient communications
Mobile in a communication device. Leveraging on that to create better interfaces between doctors and patients is a natural next step to improving doctor-patient relationship. The key to next generation health is prevention, not better medicine. This can only come when there is regular and relevant communication between doctors and patients.

-Medzio It's a fast and easy way to bring together consumers, world-class health content, medical resources and expert advice for an improved healthcare experience.

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• Mobile Pearls II (ac-idealog.blogspot.com)
• Mobile Clinical Imaging On a Smart Phone (medgadget.com)

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StockTwits vs Covestor

Taylor Davidson asked an interesting question:

How would you compare StockTwits and Covestor?
(yes, that's a lazyweb request...)

The answer is not as straight forwards as the question suggests : )

Firstly, some statistics on the two services. Covestor has over over 20,000+ traders/investors who upload—most automatically, some still manually—their brokerage statements so they can get ranked and verified by Covestors. On the other hand, StockTwits currently has over 40,000 subscribers and adding 500 new subscribers per day. I don't not sure whether these numbers are comparable but if they are, it is showing that StockTwits is becoming more popular especially considering that it launched later than Covestor.

On the ideal level, both services are attempting to democratise investment by empowering people. On that level, I would say both are pretty similar. However, there are some fundamental differences in the way they approach the problem.

Filtering and Publish vs Publish and Filter
Covestor requires users to upload their trading statements so that they can be ranked and verified. This is the filter and publish model favoured by traditional media. StockTwits, on the other hand, lets anyone participate but surface the cream using filters. This is the publish and filter model. The Web obviously favours the latter. (If you want to learn more about this, read the chapter in Clay Shirky's book titled “Publish First, Filter Later.”)

Metadata vs Content
Covestor is about actual trading performance. In a sense, it is a 'content's play. As such, it suffered the same economics as media. Content is 'valuable' and hence cannot be disclosed publicly. StockTwits, on the other hand is about metadata. It is about discussions, opinions, thoughts etc that sit on top of the content and add useful layers of data. This is user generated context. Context is much more powerful than content in our age of abundance.

Open vs Closed
StockTwits is built from day one to be very open. This facilitates the flow of data such that complementory services can be built easily (see the chart.ly example). In terms of strategic advantage, that is a big leverage because value gets created so much faster. Co-vestor, on the other hands, feels very closed out to me. It is a network within itself that has very little connections available for the rest of the Web to leverage on.

Heavy vs Light
StockTwits is as light weight as they come. I am not sure about the numbers in terms of employees but I am certain it is lower than Covestor. Why is this important? One of the strategic advantage is that they will be more nimble. If you create a model where the core team is light but where competencies are gained through the edge (using APIs, affiliates programmes et al), you tend to be more responsive to external changes. This is critical in our age of constant disruption.


These differences are based on my observations. I have not dealings whatsoever with either of the companies so I may be completely off. If you have other perspectives, facts, opinions etc, do share them in the comments.

Updated: If you are new and want to really learn how to pick stock, I recommend checking this blog that is like a stock market for dummies. It covers a lot of basic information about stock picking and would be a great learning ground before going to more advanced communities like stocktwits. If you are buying stocks for the first time, check it out!

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How do I hone my execution abilities?

(Thanks to Ethan Bauley's little blurb that inspires this post)

I have talking a lot about visions, ideals, strategies et al but very little on execution, which is equally important. I remembered once how my inadequate execution has lead to a disaster by a startup. So, vision and execution has to go hand in hand.

What do I mean by execution? I am referring to understanding processes. Seth Godin called this emotional intelligence:
Process, on the other hand, refers to the emotional intelligence skills you have about managing projects, visualizing success, persuading other people of your point of view, dealing with multiple priorities, etc. This stuff is insanely valuable and hard to learn. Unfortunately, it's usually overlooked by headhunters and HR folks, partly because it's hard to accredit or check off in a database.
My day job already allows me to learn about execution on national level projects. I want to get my hands a bit more dirty. So, I had to go beyond my day job. This is the stuff that I had done to hone my execution skills in startups.

Doing product development with startups
I spent at least a working day every week helping out at 3-4 startups. I participate in the product development aspect and sometimes maybe be the project manager. Through this, I have learn to communicate the project vision so that everyone understands and are motivated by its ideals. I enjoy this aspect tremendously as it connects my ideas to actual implementations.

Making connections
This is pretty abstract but I am referring to the art of convincing people so that connections or partnerships happen. I find this to be extremely difficult to master, although it is absolutely essential. This ties in with the art of communication in general but it is more subtle. For example dropping suggestions at the right moment to connect people.

Learn interaction design
I am not a coding guy. So, I try to complement the startups by picking up the skill of interaction design. Most of the founders are techies so what I bring to the table is something they are lacking. How do I learn? Practicing and constantly referencing stuff like this and this. Doing the actual designs is also a good way to communicate your ideas.

There is more to execution than what I have described. If you have anything to share, do drop a comment as well.

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• Unordered Thoughts (unstructuredventures.com)
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• Opportunities in enhancing discovery (serendipity) (ac-idealog.blogspot.com)

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Hacking is everywhere

Hacking is our new manifesto. With the marcopocalypse staring in our face, the pressure to hack our current economy is greater than ever. Fortunately, it is also now easier to get our hands on resources and begin hacking the stale industries that need reinvention. Everyday, I see more and more of such examples. I want to share it here and hopefully inspired more smart entrepreneurs to start hacking our industries.

Hacking Uninsured WorkersDr. Ores is also a physician who runs a nonprofit health care cooperative for city restaurant workers that he sees as a model for how national health care could work.

Under the plan, he charges each restaurant a dollar each month for every seat in the establishment and pools the money. In return, any employee from those restaurants can visit him free of charge, whether for a cut finger or the flu.

The need is acute: A 2005 study by the New York State Restaurant Association reported that almost 75 percent of the city’s restaurant workers — about 120,000— have no health insurance.


Hacking Mobile Devices
“Five years ago, there were no counterfeit phones,” says Xiong Ting, a sales manager at Triquint Semiconductor, a maker of mobile phone parts, while visiting Shenzhen. “You needed a design house. You needed software guys. You needed hardware design. But now, a company with five guys can do it. Within 100 miles of here, you can find all your suppliers.”

Technological advances have allowed hundreds of small Chinese companies, some with as few as 10 employees, to churn out what are known here as shanzhai, or black market, cellphones, often for as little as $20 apiece.


Hacking Music"Talking gross numbers that come directly to the band, we have made more money already than we have on the last record in four years," said Mathieu Drouin, the band's co-manager. "Without any intermediary, we're making 77 cents on the dollar for every record we sell" on iTunes. Under a label deal, based on Drouin's estimate, Metric would have earned closer to 22 cents.

Metric also took a page from album rollouts employed by much bigger artists such as Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails. In addition, fans could purchase the album directly from Metric's own site (www.ilovemetric.com), which sold "Fantasies" at five price points, ranging from an $8.99 album download -- with an extra track not available on iTunes -- to a $64.99 "deluxe" package that included autographs, artwork and invitations to exclusive performances.


Hacking Legal
Today, Wilson Sonsini announced the launch of a "term sheet generator." It's basically a web tool that creates draft preferred financing term sheets for startups...So I think this is a brilliant step toward "open source law" which I've been advocating for a while. ....What this tool really wants to evolve to is having an open, wiki-style back end where practitioners can change and comment on the myriad of options and verbiage which would keep the tool evergreen based on the best crowdsourced legal opinions.


Hacking University
An Israeli entrepreneur with decades of experience in international education plans to start the first global, tuition-free Internet university, a nonprofit venture he has named the University of the People....“The open-source courseware is there, from universities that have put their courses online, available to the public, free,” Mr. Reshef said. “We know that online peer-to-peer teaching works. Putting it all together, we can make a free university for students all over the world, anyone who speaks English and has an Internet connection.”

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What I have learned from StockTwits

My previous post has briefly mention how StockTwits is pioneering a powerful new community model. There are actually more learning points to that. I want to share what I have observed from using the service and looking at its growth and strategies. StockTwits is pioneering something important and we can all learn from it.

Leveraging on abundance of content but scarcity in wisdom
Stocktwits has very smartly avoided being another platform for content production. We have already too much of that. What we need and what StockTwits has provided is wisdom. They have used a very elegant tagging system to intelligently filter content from Twitter.

Letting business model 'happen'
The blogging platform it has created lets the talent have a stage to do their thing. (Note: this platform is different from other content producing platforms because of the quality of the bloggers). Where the money will come from is not too certain. They may come from subscriptions, advertisements, sponsorships or some new models etc. That is not important. The critical thing here is to let things happen. Let the people at the edge create the models. Key question is how to bring the edge back to the core?
More efficient model for talent identification
What StockTwits is doing in terms of identifying and promoting talent is not new. Publishers and music labels have been doing that for a while i.e. signing up artists. What is revolutionary is the low cost and bottoms up model they have deployed. This has effectively stripped out the inefficiencies as well as the risk of talent spotting.


I really liked how the StockTwits model works. I think it has potentially to be used in many other verticals, of which healthcare is one possibility. I am sure there are other things we can learn. Why not share them in the comments?

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