#taap.it

Turning a taap into a challenge is the simplest thing ever! Just taap something the way you normally do. On the last step of taaping something, just remember to turn the option of challenging your friends to "ON" and you're done!

What's up New York City!!!!

Have you ever heard of Taap.it? It's a fun app to document what you're doing and share that every moment with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare. 

We're now having Weekly Contest for all Taap.it users. So sign up and enter to WIN now!

For this week contest: From March 13th - March 20th at 9:00PM

The prize is worth $70 of a dinner at Candela Candela - Cuban & Italian Restaurant + Mojito Bar

Looking great for a romantic dinner, isn't it? I know, I know, but it gets better. Here are the incredibly simple rules:

Step 1: Download the app here.

Step 2: Look for anything, YES, ANYTHING fun or interesting around you.

Step 3:  Taap it!

Step 4: Repeat. Whatever you're doing, eating, drinking, or watching, just hit that sexy orange button!

Then make sure your name is on top of the leaderboard.

Get the most Taap.it points by 9:00 PM on March 20th, and the prize is yours.

Good luck!

If you need help taaping, just check out our step by step pictorial on how to taap right below this post. We will be resetting our leaderboard everyday so more people can have a chance to win, which means you should get to taapin'!

Copious

http://copious.com

Will we ever get sick of ways for people to sell to one another? I guess not, since our capitalistic culture is dependent on rampant consumerism.

Copious has similar layout to Pininterest, Taap.it, etc. The difference with Copious is that it is a platform that allows individuals to sell directly to one another. Instead of vendors posting their items on eBay with a "Buy it now" option, Copious provides a friendlier, image focused UI for those small vendors to post their goods. It was started in Jan. 2011 and has already secured $2M in seed funding.

All of these startups are starting to blur to me, as how many channels of sales can consumers really use before they get fed up? I guess it's almost infinite as there are ever more storefronts and people love to browse and "window-shop." Thankfully instead of simply posting what attracts you (Pininterest & Taap.it) or making people into product pushers (ie. MyLike) this service is targeted for actual vendors.

If you recall I mentioned niche marketplaces, and Copious has the basics for it. It already has nice simple UI for individual vendors to set up their web stores. They just need the architecture above it for groups of vendors to create niche marketplaces. Vendors can create a fair-trade marketplace or a "made in Thailand" marketplace or a sports team specific marketplace. Entry can be restricted based on some approval process by the marketplace board. And Copious can charge fees based on the number of marketplaces joined or they can charge the marketplace per vendor and let the marketplace set up dues.

It's interesting how recently there is lots of news about how much traffic and push towards retail Pininterest is generating. Even in its Beta phase, people are really flooding the platform, probably because Pininterest has successfully attracted prominent designers and thus have quality photographs. As mentioned, it's a communal Notcot, and visually appealing images will draw crowds. But I feel Copious is an even better business model if it does a couple of tweaks. Already Copious has integrated a "Pin" button and integrates basically with Pininterest. So, there is common ground, but Copious can move beyond since it's actually the storefront for vendors and not simple repostings.

Copio:

Basic web store for small vendors.

Attractive UI and intimate feel.

Not just hand-made market like Etsy, but any vendors, resellers, or craftspersons.

Also allows consumers to "like" and bookmark items they find.

Integration with Facebook for easy social network with posts to Facebook wall of activity. Integration with Pininterest and Facebook for "pin/like" on products.

No listing fees, only commission on sales. Very attractive to vendors since it's simply another free marketplace on top of eBay or other channels they already use.

us:

Niche marketplace. The next step.

Similar UI to Pininterest, but still more structured and barren. Also, the quality of images will never be at Pininterest quality since these are actual vendors showing their goods and less designers trying to show off their prowess.

This is more attractive since it really empowers the individual vendor. It's not simply people sharing their tastes and finds. They can integrate that over time.

Taap.it

http://www.taap.it

I don't love the name. I understand the idea of 'tapping' as a sign of clicking, but there are some negative connotations with the term, especially when you have t-shirts saying "She's hot! Taap it!" I mean, seriously?

Aside from that, it's a novel idea of using mobile and location to drive data on what is local, what is a deal, and what people are loving. The service is meant to be a shopping companion to help you check out what people are 'taaping' around you, saving you the need to physically enter and browse each store.

But the business model of Taap.it relies on businesses to post their wares and deals. And this is where things get dangerous. As with any other "hot," "local," "trending," service, its usefulness is more about the exclusivity and targeting the truly worthwhile items. So, what happens when vendors start throwing lots of their products onto the service? Users will get drowned in selection and usefulness decreases.

Of course Taap.it can utilize good filters and sort the results based on a mix of # of taaps within a given time frame. But if those filters then keep driving people to only the 'hot' items, then what incentive is there for the businesses to subscribe to post their goods? Obviously a fine balance needs to be found for this all to work efficiently.

I've read other articles about Taap.it comparing it to a craigslist, daily deal, trending service and I admit that it can function in all those roles. But one has to wonder will they need to focus or can they let the markets dictate its use? If it were to be a local deal engine, it would be better to show only limited-time exclusive deals. That would be an attractive service but would be better suited to a deal-focused model like defunct Matchpin, so deals don't get lost amongst regular posts. If it were more a craigslist posting service, then it will get inundated with lots of postings and items. The 'hot' aspect of the items would get lost and deals might get drowned out. I guess I'm saying that I'm not sure how I would use this service, and I'd wait to see which direction they ultimately decide to pursue.

Taap:

Visually attractive web UI and mobile app. The layout is appealing and the information is appreciated (maps api, contact vendor, etc).

Comments aren't so useful now because people tend to use the default of "Taaping it." So, I don't feel the need to even look at the comments. Should there be two sections, those that just taap it and those leaving real comments?

App makes it really simple for vendors or users to post pictures and create postings.

Business model is a bit muddled at this point. I get the idea of letting users dictate where it all leads, but it's tough to visualize where the revenues will come from until things solidify.

Articles mention that Taap.it surpassed the $2m value of posted items a couple months ago, but that gets misleading as housing with $250k+ per posting can easily pad that number. Plus, as a housing service, it is still a fun UI, but it doesn't stand a chance against Zillow and Trulia.

.it?

Not it just yet. There are still many issues to work out. Ironically, although I commend them for trying to tackle various topics and items on the same platform, I believe they need to focus on something first and really draw in the crowds. They should have a marketing rep focus exclusively on one industry or product and really test how useful their service can be. Without making it apparent the true usefulness, I feel users will think "oh that's nice and cool," but use it only as a novelty and not a staple.

Same advice goes to refining the business model and figuring out what exactly their focus is: craigslist posts of product and service, trending "taap"-ed items, or deals? I know it can be all of them, but a clearer approach and strategy would help.

I know all the startups out there hate when panelists ask "ever consider adding a social network to your product?" But I do have to say, that you've already taken the steps to integrate Facebook sign-in, so it's not too much of a step to filter "taaps" and items based on my friends. I'm more interested in what my friends are "taaping" and I'm too lazy to sort through your service.

Linked to the last idea, I'd rather use Taap it as a service to photograph and "taap" something I found interesting and share it with others. I guess there are services like that already though. So I get that this is more focused on showing you what's available close-by and less about what my friends liked.