June 2, 2008 9:55 PM PDT
Five start-ups to watch at Under the Radar / Social Media
(Click for event info.)
On Tuesday I will be moderating part of the Under the Radar: Social Media and Entertainment conference in Mountain View, Calif. Several of the 47 young companies presenting at the event have never been seen in public before, so this should be an interesting show.
Of the companies I haven't seen, these are the five I'm most interesting in learning about:
- CrowdSpring: Another piecework job marketplace for creatives, but this one is focused on illustration and design. What makes it a bit weird is that bidders submit actual mock-ups to get job, not just proposals.
- Ffwd: This is a video content site with "social awareness and predictive recommendations." Its first public showing will be at the conference.
- Lil'grams: An online baby book. Somewhat more sophisticated than just e-mailing yourself cute reminders. As the father of a two-year-old, I have a vested interest.
- SocialMedia Networks: Attempting to build an advertising network for social platforms and apps.
- Xumii: A utility that gives you access to your social network contacts on your mobile phone.
Some of the start-ups that will be pitching at Under the Radar have already been covered on Webware. I'll be curious to see how they have developed since we last saw them:
The full lineup of Under the Radar start-ups is here.
Rafe Needleman writes about start-ups, new technologies, and Web 2.0 products, as editor of CNET's Webware. E-mail Rafe. 
