In Web 2.0, Is Originality Dead?
Posted by junger | July 13th, 2006
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Everyone's looking to cash in on Web 2.0, whether it's creating a wiki, a Digg-clone or just a regular old Web site with rounded corners and some AJAX functionality.
But seriously, has it gotten this bad?
While I've certainly seen some attempts to take a successful Web idea and expand upon it, this job poster from craigslist has really taken the cake.
Reply to: redonski@yahoo.com
Date: 2006-07-12, 9:16PM EDT(social networking script)
I'm looking for a www.everyonespace.com clone, must have demo available.
Everyonespace.com is a clone of myspace with a few extra features.
Wait, wait — let me get this right. He wants to develop a clone of everyonespace.com, which is itself a clone of myspace. So he wants a second-generation clone Web site. Can you even imagine the thoughts going on in this guy's head?
"I really wish I could cash in on this whole social networking thing. If only I had an idea … MySpace is big and they got bought out for $580 million, so why don't I try to make a site like that? Well there's already a site like that, EveryoneSpace, so I guess I can't do that. But I can make a site like EveryoneSpace."
crickets chirping
I've got a great idea for a Web site. It's a search engine that indexes everything.
Anyone got a clone for Google I can use?
I made a digg clone - but it's more like a way for people to rate ads instead of news stories at http://www.bannercache.com. yes it lacks originality but hopefully it's not a clone of a clone.
I am one of the guys who attempt to clone the Web 2.0 sites. Lots of guys got several millions of dollars for Web 2.0 sites which were originally easy to implement, such as del.icio.us. I want that kind of ca$h too. But guess what: I don't have any original idea. So, I try to clone and clone and clone. I am a competent developer but I rarely had very good ideas. If you were in my place, wouldn't you try to clone everything in sight?
Dark Rider — while jumping on the Web2.0 bandwagon may seem like a way to great cash, wouldn't it make more sense to develop something original that no other site has carved out a market for?
Call me a purist, but that's what I would do.
Perhaps what it takes is partnering with an "ideas man" to use your development skills for something really groundbreaking.
The DIGG guy doesn't seem to be a programmer, but an "ideas man". He had the idea of DIGG and paid $1200 for a programmer to implement it. Then, he paid a designer to design DIGG. In my opinion he got both things right.
Unfortunately I am not an idea man, nor do I know one.
So I am in the process of cloning other Web 2.0 sites.
This may be wrong, but Microsoft got a lot of ca$h because they cloned, cloned, cloned.
Have you tried advertising your services to anyone out there? I see loads of posts from people who want to do things, but don't have the technical skills to do it. Hell, I'm one of them.
Send me an email at my user name [at] gmail.com and we can chat.
One of the problems I see is the problem of definitions of what constitute Web 2. Individual technologies are doing fine as far as I can see.
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