Qype quietly launches online reservation for restaurants

Qype LogoSeems I manage only to write about long-awaited features from my favorite online apps in this blog. This time it comes from Qype.

I just discovered by accident a tiny link called “Book a table now” below the review of Cheyenne restaurant in Zurich Oerlikon. When you click it, a widget appears allowing you to actually make an online reservation in three steps. Not yet that powerful in its usability as e.g.  you still have to manually type in your address details though you are logged in, but definitely an important step in leveraging the presence of restaurants in Qype.

XING Map

I have not found this feature at many restaurants and, as far as I know,  Qype has not yet made a big buzz in releasing it. Furthermore, I found it interesting to see that this restaurant is not a premium partner, opposite e.g. to this one here in Hamburg that also has this feature. Hence, I am curious to learn if the business model behind this lead generation is already implemented and how deeply into the restaurants’ booking system this is already implemented.

And, of course, there can be even more useful features built around the profile of restaurants, such as their menu.

Location Mapping on XING – finally…

XING LogoJust explored on XING the new Map feature in my address book – something I have waited for nearly two years after having looked closer at location-based services and their possibilities to interact with social networks. Currently, this mash-up based on Google Maps just displays the business address of my own contacts with the possibilities to just display them by tags. Of course, XING has taken serious any privacy concerns and is just mapping the addresses which have also been released for me.

XING Map

As XING’s VP Product & Engineering, Felix Menden, clearly states in his blog post this is just the beginning of many possibilities to bring the dimension of location into social networking and hence increase radical the value of XING to its users. Beyond thinking of bringing this feature to your mobile while on the go, other possibilities include to connect it with users’ current and future locations. Platforms such as Plazes or Dopplr, among others, deal with this and would bring certainly value to business travelers.

Plazes (disclosure: portfolio company of my employer b-to-v) for instance just put more focus on developers with its platform plazes.net allowing them to use their API more efficiently, also beyond MAC address geo-targeting. Furthermore, the recent acquistion of Bluetooth-based location service Imity with Zyb reveals that mobile applications are becoming more compelling to users by implementing the most important feature location, and thus becoming real mobile social networks. More use cases we will see soon in this space – hopefully also on XING.

In Search for Ideas…

Just this week I received a call from a friend who is looking for a new idea to build up a prosperous business. Sure, in my job I am looking at quite some new business ideas. But as also my colleague Nicolas pointed out in his latest article on the b-to-v blog recently, the best ideas are those which add real value to customers. And you can do so best if you solve their everyday problems. Sounds easy, right?

How easy it is in fact, Index Ventures reflects in its website relaunch, which is based on a virtual snapshot of a town – at day and at night.

Website of Index Ventures

So just walk around with your eyes wide open to find the most successful ideas. For some who want to have it more precise, Max Niederhofer from Atlas Venture is writing up his 100 ideas for start-ups – so far the counter stands at four.

Update on the German Web 2.0 scene

Over a month ago since my last post about German web 2.0 applications a bunch of new ones popped up. Lots of them deal with photo and video sharing and try to find the best way to imitate the success of YouTube and others on the German market and beyond. The same applies to social networking platforms addressing students from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, i.e. at the moment Studiverzeichnis and Studylounge. The German weekly newspaper ZEIT has a current insight on this. However, find below in alphabetical order the new ones – and older ones I missed in the last post.

dialo.de – yellow book with local reviews
DVDSwop – exchange platform for DVDs, etc.
Imagelooop – kind of Slide clone
MyVideo – video sharing platform
lovento – event platform with social networking component
Studylounge – another Facebook imitation
teamslide presentation sharing tool, also featured on TechCrunch
Vloop – video sharing platform (alpha)
zeec – photo and video sharing platofrm

Web 2.0 applications in Germany

In addition to Valerie Thompson‘s list of web 2.0 services in Germany (see below) with input from Klaas Bollhoefer, I have compiled a few other projects and companies, which have some characterizing elements in their applications. Of course, one could also add all the blog hosting services around, such as blogg.de or myblog.de, but all these would make the list a bit too lengthy.

Though I rather see the term “web 2.0″ more as a marketing term, it is interesting to see that many new ideas evolve also in Germany trying to involve the user more. However, what is obvious when looking at the list below is that still too many just imitate successful ones from overseas instead of being innovative. Nevertheless, I am excited about other web 2.0 applications to come from Germany and there are definitely much more to come…

25 peeps – blog promoter
Amiamo – kind of 43 Things
aufeinander.de – flirt and dating service
BlogSearch – kind of Technorati clone
Dilemma5000 – decision making tool
Favoor – personal homepage
Fleavent – event calender with social elements (alpha)
Hitflip – exchange platform for DVDs, audio books, etc.
Magnoto – kind of personal homepage
MeinProf.de – rating professors
oneview 2.0 – social bookmarking (alpha)
Ormigo – performance marketing with social elements
Pageflakes – personal homepage
Spreadshirt – customized clothes, etc.
studivz.netFacebook clone
WatchMeDoing – video sharing site (alpha)
WebMobs – chat on websites with avatars

[Update from April 11, 2006]
Just a few other services that appeared recently on my screen – I will add new ones here from time to time:

paguna – hotel booking on AJAX
sevenload – the German YouTube with photo albums
seconds11 – podcasting portal

List of Web 2.0 services in Germany [as posted on alarm:clock euro]
Audioclipping Search AV
Bagook News Aggregator
DerWunsch Share a wish.
Dopcast Podcast portal
Ehrensenf The German Rocketboom.
Eventicus Create & share events.
Icio Social bookmarking.
Kulando Blog service.
Largest Online Stadium Place your fan.
Laufrausch Share walks/runs
Leze Online Bookmarking.
Loudblog Manage & create your podcasts in a cms
Lycos IQ Expert Search.
Mabber Unified IM solution, web based.
Miaplaza Community building platform.
Mister Wong Online bookmarking.
Musiclens Music recommendation.
Openbc Business network.
Paguna Hotel reservation on one ajax page.
Photocase Manage & share photos.
Plazes Claim and share your locations.
Qype Find & recommend addresses and services. (alpha)
Read.io Podcast your blog.
Reliwa Manage & share your books.
Romso News search.
Sofortpreis Mobile shopping assistant
Sozeug Buy & sell handmade stuff
Supreme Auction A German Ebay service.
Swabba Online exchange
Taggle Online bookmarking
TVfeed Get TV as RSS.
Typolis Blog platform
Webmontag Web 2.0 meetings using a wik
Wikimatrix Wiki comparison.
Yigg The German digg.com

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