10Apr

Evan Williams Advice For Startups

Posted by Steve Renner as Social Media, Twitter, Web 2.0

In an interview at the recent Web 2.0 Expo with Veronica Belmont, Twitter co-founder Evan Williams offers his advise for web startups…

Evan Williams - Twitter Co-Founder Video
( Fast Forward to 11:00 Minutes )

“The core thing would be just do something awesome. Try not to get caught up in the echo chamber. That is probably the toughest thing when you are trying to break out and do something original.

A lot of things are evolutionary, and it is easy to get caught up on what the geek subculture thinks. There’s lots of valuable businesses that can be built there, but I think that is where a lot of people tend to spin their wheels, and I’ve been caught up there before. When I’ve had more successful things, I’ve thought, “Back to basics. What do I want? What do I want to see in the world?” And create that.

Seems like good advise. Williams talks about his Webmap, this must be the Twitter team project playbook. (Now I ‘d like to have a senak peak at that!)

Twitter, who wisely introducte an API early, has become a Platform that a lot of companies have built a business around. 100’s of developers are building applications for Twitter and companies have built entire businesses, and even been funded around the Twitter model, like Stock Twits.

“Twitter Is Libricant For Web Content”

Can you build a business on twitter, or monetize it? Williams compares this to Blogging where publishers develop a following and monetize it. Makes sense.

When asked about the Business Model, Developing “User Value” is the top of Williams list, along with supporting the existing user base.

“Bigger - Better - More“

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