idiomag

Sramana Mitra’s post at Read/Write Web got me thinking about how idiomag fits in with her ‘Web 3.0 formula’ that predicts the direction of the web.

So first the formula: Web 3.0 = Content, Community, Commerce and Context + Personalisation + Vertical Search

Sramana’s main point seems to be that the web is moving into a phase where services (Content, Community and Commerce) will be bunched around contexts, with the context providing a value-added foundation to the other C’s. And as a summary that describes the biggest players, I wouldn’t disagree. The large ‘Web 1.0′ companies do need to work hard to meet the very varied needs of their mass of users. The underlying value of content, commerce and community is inherent to its context, as it is this that draws together relevant content, a focused community, and related commerce.

As Yahoo is finding out to its cost, a lack of clear context causes revenues (advertising in particular) to be constrained. On the other hand, within a given context, personalisation and vertical search are both means of providing users with relevant (and therefore more valuable) content, commerce and community, also enabling relevant (and therefore more highly-priced) advertising.

With less mature services, the formula seems more descriptive than predictive. Most of the more recent offerings are built specifically for a context (e.g. LinkedIn is built around networking specifically for business gain, and Last.fm is built around personalised music for music lovers), or have not developed to the point at which content, commerce and community have overtaken context. It will surely be the natural progression for many of the successful ‘Web 2.0′ startups to mature into a position of providing all of the formula’s elements.

I am not sure that Sramana’s formula defines Web 3.0, but instead it seems to put a good framework on the immediate progression within ‘Web 2.0’. My comment being really that the next phase of the web, as described by the formula, does not seem different enough to be a next phase!

Now I will use it to explain what idiomag is doing…

idiomag = 4C + P + VS

Context:
idiomag’s context is the personalised magazine. It is for creative people who regularly read music magazines and have specific likes and dislikes.

Content:
Being a magazine, idiomag’s content is fundamental to the service. It is a range of text articles, videos and audio that analyses, describes and comments upon subjects relevant to each reader.

Commerce:
The methods of commerce will be more clearly defined in our v1 launch in March than they have been previously. Firstly, we enable advertisers to target very specific segments, based on their interests as well as their demographics. Through their rich-media formats, advertisers can choose to seek the response they most desire from relevant readers, whether that is a direct sale, a click-through, or brand recognition being built. In addition to advertising, idiomag’s initial focus on music content will allow users to buy the tracks they are listening to (or reading about), and concert tickets, with more commerce options opening as the content subject areas expand.

Community:
Although it won’t be available for everyone immediately, idiomag can connect readers based on their likes and dislikes, geography and demography. This will allow networks of readers to be created, allowing readers to publish pages to their network on an opt-in basis.

Personalisation:
I am glad Sramana mentioned this, and not just because it is idiomag’s strong point! In order for users to use more of, and make better sense of, the incredible resources on the web, companies will start to use more effective methods of personalisation. This will make using the web radically more efficient, and more useful for more people, because searching/browsing time will be dramatically reduced. Of course, idiomag delivers personalised content and advertising to every reader – with the magazine becoming increasing relevant over time as readers rate the content they view.

Vertical Search:
This is an interesting one, because idiomag’s initial premise is that our system delivers such personalised content that readers do not need to search for it. However, we realise that even when personalisation has effectively reduced the need for search, that functionality must be there. So in v2 (don’t even ask me when that will go live…) we are aiming to integrate some ‘vertical-search-like’ options for the more proactive users. For example, we are working to identify the functional classifications of articles, so the content type and structure is identified. For example, some readers will prefer shorter newsy content, where as other prefer a more in-depth analysis. And some don’t mind what structure the content follows, as long as it is written with a sarcastic/comedic edge.

So there we go… an interesting exercise!