Mix, Match, And Mutate
Found this story on Web mash-ups in the new issue of BusinessWeek.
These mash-ups combine and remix the data and services of different web sites into something entirely new, a kind of new hybrid web service:
volunteer programmers are taking it upon themselves to combine and remix the data and services of unrelated, even competing sites. The result: entirely new offerings
Amazon and other Web giants are now embracing the mash-up movement by offering developers easier access to their data and services. Moreover, they’re programming their services so that more computing tasks, such as displaying maps onscreen, get done on the users’ PCs rather than on their far-flung servers. Besides speeding up the experience, the shift makes it easier for outsiders to add their tweaks […] The appeal for Web sites? Mash-ups offer a way for them to tap the creativity and hard work of the masses, who do the work and get out the word — and the software — through blogs and Web sites
and
So far, mash-up business models don’t extend beyond running a few Google ads and collecting fees for sending buyers to e-commerce sites.
[…]
But from such whimsical experimentation the next tech blockbuster often emerges.
more … Mix, Match, And Mutate
