whydowork.com

If you’re a long time reader of this blog you’ll know I despise businesses built on hype. Back when John Chow was regarded by many as the best source for how to make a living online, there was a little business called the “Million Dollar Wiki” that he pushed pretty hard that let users buy pages on a Wikipedia-like website for $100.

I can only describe this as probably among the worst businesses of all time, close second to the pet rock. I covered both the rise and the rapid fall of this business, and today I’m looking at a business created by the same crew (Graham Langdon) that brought you the Million Dollar Wiki.

The next business that has had a quick rise (and juding by the Alexa graph below) a quick fall is Entrecard.com. It is currently up for sale on the SitePoint Marketplace.

just like the US Economy! :)

Here’s a quick excerpt of what I said about Entrecard last year:

This time Graham has come out with a glorified version of a banner exchange. This form of advertising died about the same time as the Macarena. Don’t be fooled by the “web 2.0″ spin, dropping a business card is the same as a banner impression. 

This post is not intended to pluck apart the business as a bad one. It has worked for thousands of bloggers who continue to use it and helps draw traffic to your site albeit untargeted in most cases. What I really wanted to focus on are the principles of starting something great - and getting over the finish line.

What surprised me most about the sale description at SitePoint is Graham’s admission of feeling defeated:

I recently met extensively with Venture Capitalists who were going to make a 700k seed investment and a 2-5m follow on Series A investment in 6 months. The deal fell through in the 11th hour, right before the terms sheet, because they lost faith in my ability to execute the plan after a series of tests in which I did not know I was being tested. The valuation we were discussing was 8 million. We were going to open a headquarters, hire 10 people, and go straight to the top. Then it fell apart, and after getting my hopes up, I just haven’t been able to get back on my feet. I’m a wreck and feeling like a failure to come so close only to drop it due to my idiocy.

 
Straight out of a Dr. Phil episode.

Graham cites the release of a toolbar that replaces the need to visit the site as an explanation for why traffic to the site has dropped dramatically. Is it not a no-brainer to take the StumbleUpon.com approach to the business and direct users back to the site for most activities?

It will be interesting to see how this sale goes. With 80M ad impressions a month this business is worth much more than the $100,000 the bidding is currently at. It would be a steal for larger ad network with a plan. 

Starting a business is much different than running a business. It takes a great idea to start a business, but it takes great passion to keep a business running.

Surrounding yourself with a complimenting business partner is one of the best pieces of advice I can provide. Having someone around to push you who has a different skill set and interest in the business can create the best working dynamics. 

Borrowing a quote from one of the commenter’s on the sale; “Sometimes the greatest temptation to quit comes right before you are about to succeed.”

Don’t give up on your ideas too quickly, and don’t quit something without taking it over the finish line.

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I came across an interesting article today about a neat little iPhone application called Trism. Started as a side

project a few months ago, the author is quitting his day job and getting into iPhone game development after earning an incredible $250,000 in the last two months (and selling at least 50k copies of his game for $4.99).

The Opportunity

In some related news, T-Mobile and Google announced the release of Google’s first mobile phone, the G1. Google plans on having their application marketplace be totally open, which is quite a different model than that of Apple who place tight restrictions on what applications can be listed.

There is a tremendous opportunity for application developers and thinkers to build great mobile applications, and make a ton of money in the process.

But I’m Not a Programmer!

I always assume that will be the first objection I hear. If you have a great idea that is not a good enough excuse for me. Find someone on Craigslist, Elance, or a keen computer science student at the nearest university.

I am amazed at how frequently new business markets are created on the Internet. It is not too late to get involved in the mobile space. If you have an idea run with it! and if you need some help you can always get some friendly advice in our forums.

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When you think of Microsoft, what words usually come to mind? For me they include: stable, compatible, standard, profitable, boring, successful. I’m not an Apple ‘fan-boy’, but I certainly don’t see the creator of Windows as a company nimbly releasing game changing products. For a ton of reasons they can’t be that company, but they can certainly try to shed that image. 

1. Do Something Different

Everyone has likely seen the “I’m a Mac, and I’m a PC” ads. These have been wildly successful for Apple from both a brand and sales perspective:

Microsoft has kicked off a $300M retaliation effort which has generated a tremendous amount of buzz both on the web and in traditional media. Personally I think that the fact there are so many people discussing how much they either love, or hate the campaign is a great indicator of success.

If you have about 6 minutes to spare, watch both commercials that have been released so far, the first one is edited for television:

The second commercial has some elements of the first but goes into a much longer uncut scene. A number of bloggers have gone into more depth on this trying to find symbolism in the elements of the commercial; the shoe needing to fit is like having to adapt to windows, all the pool toys are Microsoft colors and the fact  pool ‘never warms up’ can be likened to a cold image, but take a look for yourself before coming to any judgements:

Look back up to my title; I called them one of the world’s least nimble companies. After watching those ads are you left feeling that Microsoft doesn’t take risks? have a little fun? care about users? The ad’s make Microsoft look like the nimble software start-up next door, and not the world’s largest IT shop.

2. Get People Talking

Criticism across the web centered around “not getting it”. Had Microsoft released commercials touting the reasons why Vista is a superior choice to Apple’s OS X, the tech nerds would have dissected their comparisons line by line, regular folks wouldn’t care, and no one would be talking about it.

3. Keep Them Wanting More

As a result of all the “what the hell is this?” style posts, these videos have had millions of views, a ton of press, and keep people interested in what is coming next. Even if you think these commercials are the most pointless pieces of video ever created, I can almost guarantee that the continuity to the next one will keep you watching, even if it is so you can talk about how much you hated commercial number three.

Bravo Microsoft, bravo.

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I got a note from Yahoo! about an hour ago announcing that their buzz site is now open to the public. IF you recall my previous post on the topic, Yahoo! is in position to be a serious competitor to popular news site digg.com.

If You Own a Site, Sign On

Yahoo! buzz allows users to submit news stories, and these stories are voted up by the sites’ community of users. By submitting your own stories, or placing buttons on your site that allow your readers to submit you can help drive traffic to the site.

Only time will tell if buzz can defeat digg.com, but for mainstream users and non-techies, it may just have what it takes.

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