2010 Crunchies Predictions

Best Internet Application
Chartbeat
Greplin
Pandora
Rdio
Ujam

Best Social App
Cityville
Dailybooth
Foursquare
GroupMe
Twitter

Best Social Commerce App
Blippy
Groupon
Jetsetter
LivingSocial
One Kings Lane
ShopKick

Best Mobile App
Bump
Chomp
Google Mobile Maps for Android
Hashable
Instagram

Best Location Based Service
Facebook Places
Foursquare
Gowalla
SimpleGeo
Uber

Best New Device
Boxee Box
Google Chrome Notebook
iPad
iPhone 4
Kno
Xbox Kinect

Best Technology Achievement
Blekko
Google Self-driving Cars
Hunch
Palantir
Qwiki
Word Lens

Best Design
1000memories
about.me
Airbnb
Flipboard
Gogobot
Qwiki

Best Touch Interface
Flipboard
Fotopedia Heritage iPad app
Osmos
Pulse News Reader
Sencha Touch
Swype

Best Bootstrapped Startup
Addmired (iMob)
Beluga
Easel
Fast Society
Instapaper
Techmeme

Best Enterprise
37 Signals
Buddy Media
CloudApp
inDinero
Millennial Media
Salesforce

Best International
Crivo
PCH International
Soluto
ViKi
VNL
Wonga


Best Clean Tech
Coolerado
Kopernik
MicroGreen
Purealytics
Smith Electric Vehicles
SolarCity

Best Time Sink Application
Angry Birds
Cityville
Netflix streaming
Quora
StumbleUpon

Angel of the Year
Jeff Clavier, SoftTech VC
Ron Conway, SV Angel
Michael Dearing, Harrison Metal Capital
Chris Dixon, Founder Collective
Mike Maples, FLOODGATE
Paul Graham, Y Combinator

VC of the Year (individual)
Marc Andreessen & Ben Horowitz, Andreessen Horowitz
Roelof Botha, Sequoia Capital
Jim Breyer, Accel Partners
John Doerr, Kleiner Perkins
Yuri Milner, DST
Fred Wilson, Union Square Ventures

Founder of the Year
Julian Assange, WikiLeaks
Dennis Crowley, Foursquare
Jack Dorsey, Square
Kevin and Julia Hartz, Eventbrite
David Karp, Tumblr
Mark Pincus, Zynga

CEO of the Year
Dick Costolo, Twitter
Reed Hastings, Netflix
Drew Houston, Dropbox
Andrew Mason, Groupon
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook

Best New StartUp or Product of 2010
Flipboard
GroupMe
Instagram
Quora
Square
Uber

Best Overall Startup or Product of 2010
Facebook
Groupon
Quora
Twitter
Zynga

Congratulations to all of the finalists. Innovation is the engine that drives social progress. You've all lent a hand in making the world a more efficient place by changing the way we work, live, and play.

Thank you,

The SVTB

2011 and beyond, a look into the next 5 years in the Tech Industry

As we move into 2011 I wanted to bring to your attention 4 things to keep top of mind going forward.

1.It's easy for everyone to forget, shielded from the reality of things by their 3D televisions, Ipads, and smartphones, that worldwide internet penetration rates for 2010 were only 28.7%.

This means that less than 1 out of every 3 human beings is actively using the internet. Collaboration is the key to innovation and social progress. Wireless internet availability for every person, in every region of the world is an absolute necessity for social progress. I would like to see technologies focused on increasing internet penetration rates worldwide come out within the next few years.

2. The name of the game is mobile. The global mobile application market will be a $25 billion market by 2015.
http://techcrunch.com/2011/01/18/report-mobile-app-market-will-be-worth-25-billion-by-2015-apples-share-20/

The development of network technologies and adoption of mobile devices has created a booming secondary market for mobile applications. The culture of cloud computing has moved from business to consumer and we now expect to truly be able to access anything from anywhere from any device. I'd expect to see externality businesses naturally pivot to capture this market transition (digital backup, virtual security, mobile processing, etc...).

3. In line with point number 2, the development of Near Field Communication (NFC) Technology has paved the way for short distance information sharing.
http://money.cnn.com/2011/01/19/technology/mobile_payments/index.htm

I expect to see the emergence of widely adopted mobile payment platforms. Paypal has already emerged as an early leader, integrating Bump as a device to device payment method. However, Google is entering the space along with competition from a number of startup companies, i'd assume to see some of the major credit card companies partnering with Point of Sale providers to compete in this space as well.

4. True Wireless Technology. Devices like the powerpad already exist, but within a few years we will see the integration of Magnetic Resonance Technology into the mobile energy sector.
http://gizmodo.com/5636704/real-wireless-charging-will-arrive-by-2012-fujitsu-claims

Everything is becoming digital, getting smaller, higher resolution, faster, and mobile. Devices still need an energy source, and as the devices you use everyday evolve, there will be a greater demand for cordless charging. This is a control point for the evolution of mobile devices. Magnetic Resonance Technology will allow wireless charging to be built into your lifestyle. It's already being pursued in the Auto industry, I predict to see it heavily pursued by smart board /smart grid / smart home providers as well. Imagine setting your device down on the breakfast table and having it charge, or building into the floor of your home?

As usual, thanks for all of your support and feedback.

The SVTB