MySpace killer amongst us (huh?)
Would anyone care to comment on the latest attempt by our illustrious StarTribune business page to cover the local Internet startup scene?
I can hardly wait to hear….
regards,
Graeme
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8 Comments
Space150 was contracted to build it. As for the Ruby on Rails portion, A few of us ruby.mn members helped build the app.
I look forward to meeting you at Minnedemo! I can give you more details in person then.
They sure covered quite a few angles in the brief article (startup, technology, relationships). Though, I missed the bits on what MySpace is, why it was a success (not technology, certified identity, or polished experience), or why anyone - celebrity or otherwise - would sign-up.
Lastly, I don’t know enough about YFly to know if the David to MySpace’s Goliath metaphor is warranted. MyGut says no. It’s too simplistic.
For a number of reasons, I just think this article speaks to the ongoing joke that is our major paper’s business page. Especially the virtual complete lack of coverage of the local tech startup scene (and the quality of it when they actually do something)…
Well, at least we have The Business Journal. But if they or any of the local traditional media really wanted to know what was going on, they’d attend MinneDemo. (Don’t hold your breath.)
One mildly intersting point in the Strib article was that this is the biggest Ruby site out there (the company’s claim, anyway) — not that anyone in this firm’s target market could give a hoot, mind you. But I’d be interested in hearing more about this from the local Ruby.MN folks. Is it true? Does it matter? Is this an accomplishment for Minnesota that should be touted in the greater geek community?
One of the many things missing from the Yfly story: how much funding does the company have? Friendster just got another $10 million, being announced today.
I would bet that the story got written simply because of Tom Petters’ involvement. YFly’s a long shot at best in my opinion.
Now if Petters were smart, he’d put his money behind local upstart flyspy.com (also at MinneDemo) to help him drive more business to his other recent purchase - SunCountry Airlines.
Rob just got some nice press on Wired (http://www.wired.com/news/technology/internet/0,71611-0.html?tw=wn_index_1). Where’s the local press on this story????
Right on every count, JP. Rob’s in a unique situation, though (one that Yfly could only hope for). He actually has media backed up to write about him — national media. Who cares about the Strib! But being only in alpha, he’d prefer to time the big hits for when the site can really take advantage of it, when it’s a full beta release. (By the way, just yesterday, I saw a post pop up on none other than Tom Peters’ blog about Flyspy.) Why waste the media coverage now, when the site couldn’t take the massive hits that will result, and when it would result in too much talk about the limited current offering, anyway?
Flyspy will be a big winner, mark my words. And it will be that way either with Minnesota money behind it or money from elsewhere.
Umm…what article/web site are we talking about here?
The article in last Saturday’s Star-Tribune business section on http://www.yfly.com