Tuesday, September 9, 2008

DemoFall & TechCrunch50 Conferences

DemoFall 08 and TechCrunch50 start today, each showcasing innovative startups and new products. Demo posted its 72 presenting companies.

The TechCrunch 50 links page will be activated as companies go onstage throughout the conference which runs through Wednesday in San Franciso. The TechCrunch 50 were selected from a pool of over 1,000 applicants.

TechCrunch DemoPit Participants has a broader pool, from the original applicants who purchased tickets to the conference but were not charged to exhibit.

DEMOfall 08, running Sept 7-9 in San Diego, lists 72 companies that “change the rules of the game as we know it”, says Executive Producer Chris Shipley. GigaOm reviews ten DEMO mobile app companies in 10 words or less.

Some of the products being demoed at DEMO in San Diego include:

C/Net’s top 10 Demo picks are:

  • Clintview by Clintworld: This is a financial analysis tool primarily for mobile phone carriers. It simulates customer behavior related to pricing and helps create pricing tiers and plans that generate the most revenue. It brings a disciplined approach to pricing services, which I think is smart. Might be applicable to paid Web services as well.
  • CrowdSpring Private by CrowdSpring: The company is not new, but I still love the idea. It’s a new twist on the open marketplace for intellectual work. At Demo, the company will unveil CrowdSpring Private, which lets companies create their own, closed markets, so creativity doesn’t leak out onto the Web, heaven forbid.
  • Infovell: Very interesting new search service. It lets you type in arbitrarily long queries, and then ranks results based on importance and frequency of word clusters. Also lets you use entire Web pages as queries, generating a “more like this” function that doesn’t currently exist. Could be great for researching complex medical or legal topics.
  • Avego by Mapflow: Adds intelligence to casual carpooling with a car-service-like gizmo that tells drivers where riders are that want to go where they are going. It’s hitchhiking 2.0: Scary but cool, and very green.
  • PaidInterviews: Pays job candidates for going on interviews. Totally whacked economic model, if you ask me, but that makes it interesting.
  • Plastic Logic: New science for electronic books, possibly competitive to existing e-Ink technology. Real chemistry at a start-up conference. What a breath of fresh air.
  • SpinSpotter: Claims to spot bias and inaccuracies in news stories. Helpful, if it works. Although it will probably expode if pointed at the blogosphere. And who watches the watchmen?
  • .tel by Telnic: One of several new companies that lets users create personal calling card Web sites using a new top-level-domain. I am highly skeptical of this model, but I want to see how it develops.
  • WebDiet: Location-based diet helper. Gives you food advice based on what’s close to you. Unknown if it gives you an electric shock and shrieks, “Keep walking!” when you pass a McDonald’s.
  • Xumii: Makes a service that access all your social sites from your mobile phone. Could be very useful for the younger, multiply-connected set.

C/Net has extensive coverage of both conferences.

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