Updates

We went into silent mode back there for a while. Usually, the blogging dies down when we are iterating on features and working on make the user experience better. But a lot has been happened in the last couple weeks, we had to give an update.

1) UpNextNYC (FB App)

We officially launched the UpNext Facebook Application. Still waiting to get listed in the directory but just click on the link above and it should take you directly to the FB App.

Enjoy all the same functionality of UpNext.com within Facebook. The only difference is the size. Add the application, invite your friends to join you and share and discover the city together.

2) UpNext: Wicked 3D Maps of NYC on Facebook

We got a nice write up in TechCrunch last week, just before the Thanksgiving holiday. I think that is the first time we got "wicked" 3D map but we will take it.

Thanks Erick for taking the time to meet with us. Good stuff.

3) Interactive Local Media 2007 (ILM:07)

I will be speaking at ILM:07 on a panel on mapping. The official topic is "Maps: They're Not Just for Driving Any More". Ian White of Urban Mapping is on the panel with me. I heard him speak at the Where 2.0 conference and he definitely has some great ideas about maps. Looking forward to hearing what he has to say and hopefully making my own contribution to the discussion.

Feel free to introduce yourself at the conference. I will be there all day on Wednesday and Thursday. Would love to meet more people in this space.

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UpNext and Facebook

Over the last couple weeks you may have noticed a Facebook login on our home page. This login allows you to access your Facebook network through the UpNext main site. Let me give you a little insight into why we do this.

Here is how we see user progression on UpNext.

1) Kicking the tires - Users enter without registering

We are a new website and people need to get to know us. So we let users just see what UpNext is all about before setting up a profile.

Just "Enter Now" and have fun flying around New York and exploring the city. There is enough value in the site for these non-registered users to bring them back for more.


2) Taking the test drive - Registered Users

Users now want to access the full capabilities of UpNext. Creating a profile allows users to share their city by writing reviews, rating businesses, adding favorites and marking places they have been. The information is now easily accessible in a user's profile.

On the flip side, other UpNext users can now see user contributions in a contextual basis. The profile description, favorite quote, even profile picture, provide contextual information around content, making it more valuable to others.


3) Buying the car - Building a social network




Since a big part of discovery comes from your friends and extended network, we make it easy for users to make this happen.

Users can import contacts from any of the popular email applications. Or simply type in a friend's email address and ask them to join UpNext.

This allows users to share their city within a network. More importantly, it allows users to see reviews and favorites from people they know and trust.


But people spend a lot of time setting up and managing social networks on other sites. Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and the list goes on and on. So rather than force users to redo all their previous work, we simply leverage the existing social connection of the user.

Facebook API and Open Social are both tools that we can use to make life simpler for users. We don't believe our users actually care about the intricacies of either; they just want it to happened. So we will continue to make it easy for users to leverage these networks.


4) Avoid being a lemon - Keep users happy

At this point, users have "bought" UpNext and have driven it around for a while. The focus here is to keep users happy and add value through every use. We continue to add new features and improve existing features to keep users happy.
We solicit and encourage user feedback through direct emails, blogging and by reach out to the community. Having bought a car in the past, I know the worst feeling is sitting in that car 5 months down the road and realizing you bought a lemon. So we focus on not being a lemon.

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Bootstrapping Inspiration

There are a ton of internet startup books in the world. Searching for "start up" on Amazon returned 107,315 titles. Among the choices are books that profile the rise and (sometimes) fall of companies during the dotcom bubble. Some are standard "How To" books. I am sure there is even a Start Up for Dummies out there.

While all these can be useful resources, sometimes true inspiration comes from examples outside your industry.

I recently read Rebel Without a Crew (or How a 23-Year-Old Filmmaker with $7,000 Became a Hollywood Player). Written by filmmaker Robert Rodriguez (Desperado, Spy Kids), Rebel chronicles his adventures in making his first feature film, El Mariachi for $7,000.

There are some great example of thinking outside the box to make things work. Some of my favorites:

• He only had 1 belt for strapping blood pellets onto actors and it is a chest belt. So in the movie everyone gets shot in the chest. (SMS only allows 140 character --> create microblogging)
• He volunteers for a month long experiment at a pharmaceutical lab. Essentially, he is signing up to be a lab rat. For Rodriguez this is a Godsend. He is able to raise $3,000 for his movie, he saves money because the lab feeds and houses him for a month, and he has a month off to focus on writing his script. (I imagine this is similar to being an entrepreuner in residence at a VC firm sans the possible drug side effects and hourly blood draws.)
• He shot every scene in one take to save on film costs. This forced him to plan out his shots ahead of time and edit on the fly in his head. Flub and miscues were later edited out by cutting to different shots. This "quick cutting" was later deemed ingenious and stylish. (Craigslist probably started simple and basic out of necessity but is now praise for its minimalist and bare layout.)

While capital can certainly make life easier; the restriction of little to no capital can result in inspiring products.

The book is well written and is a fast read. I think you will find many parallels between low budget film making and internet entrepreneurship. At the very least it will help get your creative juices flowing while giving you a break from the tech rss feeds.

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NYC Startup Camp - We won

The last two days, we were at NYC Startup Camp. It was a great event filled with excellent speakers and great discussions.

We also had a chance to meet a ton of New York based start ups. It is great to see such a vibrant tech community in NYC.

One of the events for the camp was the Best Startup Contest. It was structured like a speed dating event. Each startup (about 25) had a table and camp attendees went around to each table for a 5 min demo/pitch. Attendees then voted for their favorite startup by giving the company a wooden nickel.

The voting came down to the wire and we just edged out BricaBox for first place. (Keep an eye out for BricaBox and its founder Nate Westheimer. They are doing some very interesting work over there.)

Here is what we won: A Sun Fire X4200 Server









We were handed a large cardboard image of the server similar to the oversized check lottery winners receive. I got some interesting looks walking home with a big cardboard picture of a server.

Overall, the event was a success and we had a great time. We want to thank the organizers for bringing Startup Camp to the Big Apple. Looking forward to the next one.

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The 3D Web - Part 1

In the previous post, I wrote about Virtual Worlds vs 3D maps and where people were pegging us. We think that UpNext falls into both categories, taking cues from each. Yet, Virtual Worlds and 3D maps are subsets of a larger category, The 3D Web. And this is really where we see ourselves.


What is the 3D Web?

The definition of 3D Web is all over the map. Some restrict it solely to 3D applications while others include any site where users are immersed in an environment. For instance, Club Penguin, a virtual world for kids, is not truly 3D but it is definitely an immersive virtual world.

For us, the 3D web is simply the next level of progression in the evolution of the web. It is certainly not the only progression (see semantic web or programmable web) but definitely part of the changing landscape.

Consider these progressions of the web:

Text --> Text and Links --> Images and Pictures --> Video --> 3D

Bulletin Boards --> Webpages --> Social Networks --> 3D Web

The 3D web will not eliminate text and link based website, but for certain verticals it will become a better way to find information and interact with others. Giving users more information visually will make search better. Similarly, by immersing users in a 3D environment, social interaction will evolve.


Why 3D web now?

1) Hardware - The majority of computers can now handle 3D graphics. Even super light weight laptops have the video card capabilities and the processing power to render virtual worlds.

2) Social Networks - People now use the web as a primary communication device. We are past the tipping point of mass acceptance for social interaction over the web. We can now move towards providing users with better and more engaging environments for this interaction. Imagine the "social graph" of Facebook in a Second Life like environment.

3) Experience - Entertainment in 3D formats (video games and virtual worlds) has spanned across all demographics. These 3D environments lay the ground work in making users more comfortable with navigating and interacting in 3D. Thus, other 3D application, beyond entertainment, are now easily accepted and users see the benefits of these new environments.

There is a lot more to be said about this topic and there are people out there who have spent considerable amounts of time thinking about it. This blog is a good place to start:

3pointD - The Metaverse and 3D web from Mark Wallace

Please drop your thoughts in the comments or add links to other blog posts about this topic.

The next post, "3D Web - Part 2" will focus on 3D and local search, more specifically, what we at UpNext are doing.

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Virtual World vs 3D Map

This morning, I read two blog posts that mentioned UpNext that made me think about how people view us.

Virtual World
The first post was from FredCavazza.net and his entry entitled, Virtual Universes Landscape.

He talks about the Virtual World landscape and how it is a real business opportunity (i.e. some of these companies are generating significant revenue). There is also a great map he made, dividing up the virtual worlds.





















It is hard to see, but try to find us. (Hint: We are to the right of another small startup.)

3D Maps
The second post comes from Emad Fanous of Yellowbot on his personal blog. The post is entitled, The Future of Maps: 3D Immersion

This post groups us with 3D imaging companies that are working to put photorealistic images on the web. He talks about 3D immersive maps and how they might change the local landscape.

So where do we lie?

• Virtual World: Second Life, World of Warcraft, Google Earth...

• 3D Immersive Maps: Everyscape, Earthmine, Google Streetview...

Share your thoughts with us in the comments and we will follow up in a couple days with another post with our viewpoint.

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BlinkGeo.com: UpNext Interview

BlinkGeo is a great website for geo-related news and stories. They were kind enough to post an interview with us. Check out the post to read more about why we started UpNext and where we are heading in the future.

BlinkGeo: An Interview with a Geospatial Startup: UpNext

Special thanks to Andres for taking the time to speak with us.

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