Archive for January, 2007
This is an installment of the ongoing “Metrics Series.”
We launched Boxxet last week and we got covered in a fair bit of the Web 2.0 media, including from Rafe Needleman at Webware (part of c|net), Dan Farber at ZDNet, Liz Gannes at GigaOm, Pete Cashmore at Mashable, Matt Marshall of VentureBeat, and Chris Sherman at Search Engine Land.
Certainly, many outlets did not write about us, but, all in all, we got fairly broad coverage in the Web 2.0 space. We were expecting a fairly large spike in visits, hopefully the biggest in our recent history and we were on full alert to make sure everything worked properly.
Well, launch date wasn’t our biggest day in January (despite what Alexa says, but that’s a post for another day). Not even close.
A few days before the launch, we were a relatively high search result for a breaking Jennifer Aniston story. A few days after the launch, we were a prominent search result for a breaking Brad Pitt story. Both those days blew away our launch day. In the chart below, I break out visits to Boxxet from people interested in Jennifer, Brad and our launch. This charts says nothing about the quality nor the long-term benefits of the different visits (I’ll take the Boxxet coverage traffic if you must know), but it does say, “oh yeah, Jennifer and Brad are really really big.”
We started Boxxet because we felt that the most popular searches and topics on the Web could be made better and better with good technology and fan participation. Why is becoming clear is just how much big some of these topics are. And, as I have always said about metrics, it can certainly put things in perspective. Wait! As I am writing this, we are seeing a sudden wave of visitors interested in Tyra Banks…
Filed under: Boxxet, Metrics Series
January 30th, 2007
You Mon Tsang
A few years back, while I was working in enterprise software, I thought, “wouldn’t it be great to grow a software company past $1B in revenue?” That would make us one of the biggest software companies in the world. Top 20 for sure, maybe even close to Top 10.
Shortly thereafter, I read that the Martha Stewart line of products at Kmart accounted for $1.5 billion of revenue per year. The revenue from towels, bedding and household goods by Martha would be a Top 10 software company!
Sure, margins are higher in software, blah blah blah. But my point is that numbers can really put things in perspective – really shake up one’s own world. My career has been focused on business intelligence, metrics and content analysis and management. Getting good information, whether for fun or business, has always been part of my goal.
So I am starting a “Metrics Series” where I plan to share some fun and hopefully useful metrics around Boxxet. Watch out for the first post shortly.
Filed under: Metrics Series
January 29th, 2007
You Mon Tsang
Today we are happy to announce the public availability of Boxxet.
Boxxet brings the best of the Web (news, blogs, photos and more) on your favorite subjects. Some examples include The Amazing Race, Apple iPod, Green Day, New York Yankees, The Office, Second Life, Supernatural and Ultimate Fighting.
We like to say that Boxxet is community-driven and machine-assisted, which brings together the best of both technology and participation to the problem of finding the best content on the Web.
First and foremost, go ahead and explore Boxxet. You can try specific Boxxets like San Jose Sharks, Second Life, or Sacha Baron Cohen. Or browse through collections of Boxxets like Celebrities, Baseball or TV Shows.
Behind Boxxet is a lot of technology that finds and filters content by understanding what the users want. Furthermore, we have some cool tricks that allow the software to learn what you like. This way, we can find, filter and present the best content on your favorite subjects.
We’ve worked hard on Boxxet and hope you like it. Feedback is always welcomed at this page.
Filed under: Boxxet, BoxxetAnnouncement
January 15th, 2007
You Mon Tsang
If you think about it, venture capital is an amazing thing. The investment of many, many dollars based on an idea, a few people and hope is something entrepreneurial souls are grateful for.Â
Therefore we are happy to announce that we are partnering with Ascend Venture Group on Boxxet. Based in New York City with more than $150 million under management, Ascend is investing $900,000 in Boxxet to help us prove our idea. We’ve enjoyed working with Kylie Sachs and Darryl Wash at Ascend and expect many fruitful years ahead of us.
Filed under: Boxxet, BoxxetAnnouncement
January 15th, 2007
You Mon Tsang
