Tools like search engines, RSS feeds, and email alerts have aided people in navigating the web more efficiently, but most would agree there are still challenges – whether it be finding quality information or simply having time to visit all sites of interest. Given the breadth of this information problem, it is no surprise there are currently many companies attacking the issue, from the giants like Google to many startups like WebPartner. CTO Randy Cox is well aware that his company is far from alone in trying to address this problem, but does believe WebPartner offers a unique approach.
Rather than focusing on having users set search criteria or key words to seek out information, users are responsible for setting the sources of interest and WebPartner’s technology monitors these sources to identify any updates or changes in the content. Available sources can include web pages, specific areas of a web page, or RSS feeds. Once a user sets up a list of sources to be watched, known as WatchPoints, WebPartner aggregates the information in a “channel” displaying it as a single feed. Along with creating their own channels, users also have access to channels created by Cox and the WebPartner team, as well as those created by other users to which they can subscribe via RSS or view at the WebPartner site. The company is also working on additional options to distribute the information aggregated in a channel including Twitter (recently added for the Colorado Startup Channel) and email alerts.
At the heart of WebPartner’s approach is the belief “that the human component can really make a difference,” essentially that humans are better than algorithms at judging whether a news source is relevant to them. Thus, WebPartner is set up so the user makes an initial determination on relevance of a source by adding it to a channel, with WebPartner’s technology taking over with its “intense monitoring capabilities” after the initial relevance determination. While this approach does limit the possibility for discovering fledgling news sources on a specific subject compared to a search-based technology where users set key words (e.g. Google alerts), Cox noted the approach is very well suited to cases when the user knows where he wants to look, as WebPartner’s technology most often will find an update to that page well before a Google alert picks up on the change. For example, setting up a channel that watches the press release pages from all competitors could serve as an important source of competitive intelligence or an investor may want to monitor all her portfolio companies’ websites.
Where WebPartner’s audience can discover new sources is through looking at channels created by other users. While a user can not be guaranteed that all sources in the channel will be of interest to him, he can be confident that someone with interest and perhaps expertise in the topic has vetted the source. Popular channels run the gamut from serious business to leisure activities including Alternative Energy Business News, Colorado Weather, and Gourmet Cooking. Many users have also set up channels that are catered to a unique collection of interests, likely only of interest to the creator. For example, one user has created a channel that monitors local weather along with any news coming out of his children’s school.
While the company is technically headquartered in California, the majority of the development takes place out of Cox’s home in Niwot, Colorado and coffee shops in the surrounding area. Cox is working to continuously improve the product, which is still in beta, and recently launched a cosmetic overhaul to bolster the look and ease of navigation on the site.
Future planned additions include enhancing the ability to create channels and providing more statistics about channels. WebPartner’s toolbar for channel creation currently only works with Internet Explorer and will be expanded to support other browsers and modified to make use more intuitive. As the number of public channels (currently about 200) grows further, identifying the best channels on a given subject will become important to users. To aid in this identification, Cox expects to offer both enhanced statistics to show channel popularity including subscribers, views and some sort of channel or author rating system. As the company moves out of beta (where currently all services are offered for free), WebPartner expects to generate revenue both from advertising to users and by charging for premium services, likely to include the ability to keep channels private. Further down the road, the company is also thinking of ways it can expand the technology to allow users to discover new information sources.
It would be nice to think that the one answer to all the internet’s information problems is near – a giant killer application that will be able to identify exactly what information is relevant to a user and feed it to him in the most convenient manner. Until that time, users may have to settle for a number of solutions tailored to specific situations. WebPartner just may become that solution in instances where human vetting of the information sources is especially important.
