Can anyone beat Facebook?
Most
successful companies in the Silicon Valley have started small, sometimes out of a garage.
Giants like Google, Apple and now Facebook have all had the same growth pattern. A Montreal-based company, Capazoo fancies itself the next stage in the evolution of social networking with Myspace and Facebook in it''s crosshairs. It is not looking to follow in the footsteps of the dot-com startups of the early 90''s. The difference is that it''s got a $25 million start-up money in it''s pocket, thanks to a pro-athelete investor. The company is betting on the
concept of rewarding it''s users by the popularity of their content. Capazoo''s model rests on a yearly fee required from the users that believe they can generate enough demand for their content. This is in stark contrast to other sites capitalizing on user-generated media like YouTube. The general concept is very similar, users create profiles, share pictures, videos and music. The new idea behind the concept is to foster a micro-economy in which users "tip" each other with a currency called the Zoop. Zoops can also be purchased at a penny each. Capazoo hopes that users will work hard to find content that will generate tips. The accumulated Zoops can be converted into real cash but to be able to do that users will need to be members. Observers are skeptical that this concept may be
successful, some have even called it a ''digital titanic'' because of the big players that are already at sea like MySpace and Facebook. Others think that the company is starting too big and that the current social networks are free. Capazoo believes that the time is right for this product and gives many examples of successful late-comers like Google and MS Office. The company''s co-founder and president is Grant Carter, a former Alouettes football player. Other major investors include personnalities from the NFL, NHL and NBA. This star power will help promote the company as opposed to starting within the tech circle. A marketing campaign accross the web will start in January with the aim of lurring people away from Facebook. Capazoo is amazed to see how people get excited at their first tips. It remains to be seen whether the tips will be able to change the game of free social networks.