Web 2.0: Most Interesting New Web Startups From Europe

Less than a month ago a selected number of new European web 2.0 startups where chosen in Bilbao, Spain to showcase and compete among themselves to win a special award. These web 2.0 companies were representing some of the coolest ideas and most innovative web-based projects to be born from the old continent. Though we didn't have the time to give due coverage to them at the time, we felt appropriate to showcase them now, even after a few weeks from their first major public debut.

Startup 2.0 was an event open to all web 2.0 startups from Europe. A total of 260 projects took part in it.

Here for you is a brief list of the finalists to the Startup2 event, with a short description of the new service that each one of these companies has just launched. From video guides for hotels to new ways of learning foreign languages, this innovative group of technology startups had really some interesting new ideas to showcase. Check it out:

1. Panoramio
   
   Photo-sharing of geolocated photos. Panoramio offers 2 Gb of free storage for photos. The site has 330.000 registered users and 1,1 million geolocated photos.
   http://www.panoramio.com






2. 11870
   
   "A real-life delicious" where you can remember and share with your friends all kind of places (from business to sculptures) around the world using comments, tags, photos and videos. Launched in feb 07, reached #1 in Technorati.
   http://11870.com






3. Trivop
   
   Trivop is the first video-guide for the hotel industry. it's a mash-up with video, map and comments from users (through trip-advisor). We are convinced that video give travellers the transparency they need before booking as today just a few photos is not sufficient enough. We want to become the you-tube of the hotel industry.
   http://www.trivop.com






4. Tupalo
   
   Tupalo is a social mapping network for local and independent culture, allowing members of elusive niche cultures to add, rate, review, search and tag their favorite local businesses in major cities around the world via PC or Mobile devices.
   http://tupalo.com






5. Personalised Information Environment
   
   A new Internet application developed by a Hungarian team can virtually learn what kind of TV shows and movies do the users like, and make recommendations for the following days accordingly. Musorajanlo.hu applies the latest technologies: machine-learning and data-mining, all executed on a grid.
   http://www.musorajanlo.hu






6. Hipoqih
   
   Hipoqih.com is a system composed by a Web and plugin for mobile devices that allows to record alerts and URLs associated to any geopoint in the planet. These alerts can be seen automatically in terminals with the plugin when approaching that geopoint, so that the information arrives when you get to the place that interests you.
   http://hipoqih.com






7. Nvivo
   
   Gig based social network. Its main objective is that you never loose that gig again. Follow your favourite bands and coolest venues of your city, met other fans and interact adding comments, tags, joining and attending gigs and get or ask for all the gig info you need. With Musicbrainz, Last.fm, Google Maps and 11870.com mash-ups. Live music fans never got that easy.
   http://www.nvivo.es






8. SoZiety
   
   SoZiety is a language-learning social network based on Skype. SoZiety is a great, dead simple method people can use to have fun learning a language while meeting new people and making some bucks.
   http://www.soziety.com






9. Properazzi
   
   Properazzi - the property search engine - is a crawler-based web 2.0 property search engine for all of Europe. We launched in March 2007, and currently list 1.8 million sale and rental properties in 45 European countries, in all European languages and currencies. We're backed by Mangrove Capital Partners (Skype, Quintura, Nimbuzz). We've got a highly international team and are based in Barcelona, Spain.
   http://www.properazzi.com






10. Menéame
    
    Menéame is the leading Digg-like website in Spanish. It helps anybody promote news from any source by creating new pages according to users's votes. It was launched in 2004 from Mallorca.
    http://www.meneame.net






11. SlideBurner
    
    SlideBurner allows you to share and discover easily slide-shows/presentations (Power Point or OpenOffice files). Upload your files and they can quickly be viewed online in any web browser on any platform. You have full control on the security of your slide-shows; you can select precisely the person who can access your data. You can also create groups around your fields of interest. Moreover, the site is multilingual; for the moment it is available in French and English.
    http://www.slideburner.com






12. Sclipo
    
    Sclipo is a Social Skills-Network based upon user-generated videos: Users can share and promote their skills through video and connect with other users based upon skills they care about. Sclipo is a platform for any kind of skills, such as cooking, well-being, technology or sports. All content is 100% user-generated and evaluated. SCLIPO stands for: Skills + CLIP + yO (=I). Its business model is based on contextual advertising, market research and premium user services.
    http://sclipo.com






13. Anywr
    
    Anywr is a web and mobile system that offers simple, yet powerful services for managing contacts, calendars, events and communications virtually from anywhere: using browsers, mobile devices or any other of the over 750 million compatible devices available today.
    http://www.anywr.com






14. 5min
    
    5min is a place to find short video solutions for every practical question, and is also a place for people who want to share their knowledge. 5min's vision is simple: any solution can be visually explained in 5 minutes. Users of the 5min platform will benefit from a visual illustration of any solution through a Smart Player. Unlike all of the video sites on the net, 5min created a video player that is adjusted specifically to the instruction field.
    http://www.5min.com






15. QuestionForm
    
    QuestionForm is a web application for creating, publishing and analyzing online surveys and forms.
    http://questionform.com

 

Sclipo, a social Skills-Network based upon user-generated videos, was the new startup to win the Startup 2.0 contest at the Guggenheim Museum of Bilbao.

For more information on the Startup2 event that took place May 24th 2007, please see:
http://www.startup2.eu



Thanks to Jose A. del Moral of Alianzo for all the support and information he provided. Alianzo is one of the three companies that organized and sponsired this event.