gareth knight's Blog

Let’s face it shall we - no one creates something and then gives it away for free, expecting no return...

I mean, as much as we’d like to do stuff and give it away for free, in the interests of making the world a better place, the unfortunate reality is that we all have to earn our crust somehow, and if we throw our eggs into the user generated content basket, then you have to ask what the hell your revenue model is going to be?

Over at Ajaxian yesterday, Michael Mahemoff gives a heads up on the latest Web 2.0 move by MSN, which sees them offer pretty much as yet unheard of Ajax driven user features for their image search. 

It’s great, but it’s also gimmicky – KISS.

Following up from the d.Construct post yesterday, I wanted to talk about the apparent obsession with social software at the moment, and to ask for comments on why you think it’s so. Seriously, there are so many other things that can be done!

If you’re watching the Web 2.0 scene in the UK then you might be interested in some thoughts on the annual d.Construct conference I attended last Friday.

I’ve just returned from holiday where I did my best to stay completely away from any technology other than my camera (for good reason), and am getting back into the swing of things nicely.

One of the pleasant not-so surprises on returning was the recent launch of a UK TechCrunch site which is focused on UK Web 2.0 and mobile startups.

If you’re interested in the Web 2.0 scene in the UK, then you should take a look at Richard MacManus’ post, which gives a good run down of the local UK Web 2.0 scene, discussing some of them in a bit more detail.

I’ve looked at why the local scene is not as active, and offered one or two solutions that might ring true with a few people...

Michael Arrington has launched the latest addition to the Crunch Network, CrunchBoard, which is a job board aimed at the tech savvy Web 2.0 crowd. Adds another player to the Web 2.0 job finding options...

We’re all aware of how important cash flow is to any business, especially start-up tech businesses where cash flow equals food on the table…  So how do the new raft of user generated content offerings plan to make their cash flow sustainable?

There comes a time in every startup's life when you ask whether your bright idea will be stolen / pillaged / destroyed by a much larger 800–pound gorilla – where all you have effectively done is illustrate the potential of a market, enough at least for the gorilla to decide that he wants to eat, shoot and then possibly leave.

Traditionally, at least up until now, the porn and gaming industries have been ahead of the pack when it comes to technical innovation and payment processing, but in this case, they’re second to the party...