Monetizing Mashups - Still a Black Art

Dave Nielsen of StrikeIron led a conversation on mashup monetization at today’s Mashup Camp. Equal numbers of API providers/enablers and API consumers participated in the session, and almost everyone had something to sell. Only three people in the room were looking to create mashups for internal use.

Despite the audience and the session topic, a great deal of dialogue centered on the definition of a mashup. Why isn’t Expedia considered a mashup? Nielsen posits that it’s because the data that Expedia uses has a cost associated with it, rather than being shared for free. What about Google’s search engine – is that a mashup? Since folks couldn’t agree, the exact definition was left fairly vague. (Wikipedia, however, does have a fairly specific definition of a mashup - “a website or web application that uses content from more than one source to create a completely new service.”) (Disclosure note: Omidyar Network is an investor in Wikia, a related entity.)

Beyond the extended angst over what actually constituted a mashup, the dialogue circled around the various monetization models hashed out on the Mashup Camp wiki:

• Ad-generated revenue
• Sponsorships or vertical ads
• Affiliate links
• Premium services
• Data analysis services

This is a decent checklist, but the conversation didn't get into any meaningful level of detail on these opportunities. Also missing was the economics of working with data providers. The plan was to get into more detail on these issues in Day Two, so I'll post a followup.

Also included in this list, along with a saucy wink:

• Better-paying job offers
• Selling out to an acquirer

In a separate session today, it was stunning to hear a room full of attendees talk about selling out as a completely viable monetization path. The theory was that you could build something that attracts users, whether or not you can create revenue, and then sell the company off to someone else like Yahoo!. The Flickr acquisition was held up as the model to pursue. Did someone plug the Kool-Aid tank back in when I wasn't looking?

You can also find more discussion notes on the wiki, as soon as Nielsen gets a chance to post them.

Tags: christine herron christine.net spacejockeys mashupcamp  mashupcamp2  best practices technology