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I’ve noticed a growing trend in the web towards crowd-oriented applications e.g. websites that allow groups of people to make various decisions and work together. An obvious example would be wikipedia but I’m talking here more about real crowd-buying applications like e.g. CrowdStorm which is soon going to roll out new version of their site, or HalfShare which took the concept of crowd-shopping to the extreme when it comes to the object that we are actually purchasing… (a house).

The first site - CrowdStorm - is letting users build a wiki/community-style content over a database of products, and find those which generate the most “buzz”. The purchase action however, is performed by yourself alone. You only get “influenced” e.g. by recommendations of others etc. The “crowd” in the name is then only helping you chose what to buy. “Informing” is therefore a stage one of “crowd”-oriented web.

The second website however, takes the concept one step forward, by letting you find other people interested in investing in properties (second / summer houses), e.g. you might not have enough money to invest in a second house on a booming market on your own, BUT you and 10 other people could handle it together - and if you then sell the property in 10 years time, all of you will make a profit. In a way - allowing users to buy something together, is therefore a stage two of “crowd”-oriented web.

What I’m interested in however, is how this concept of “crowd-shopping” starts to resemble a classic concept of public companies or investments companies (like VCs). We seek informations based on authority of others and “experts’ “analysis of markets trends (newspapers, technical analysis etc.), then we invest capital into our crowd-fractional-property (whatever it is), and hope to sell it with a profit within some time. We don’t really own the object of the purchase, nor we bound ourselves with it emotionally - investing in equities of public companies is all crowd-based, social way to make profit for all interested parts (investors).

Shouldn’t then, the next step after “Crowd-shopping” as presented in HalfShare.com be “crowd investing” where e.g. people (private investors) would vote online and invest in any business ventures they are interested in - and capital seekers could present their idea and try to raise seed capital in exchange for shares in their business?

Crowd-VC? And why not.

The big news of today (yesterday?) is that Google added banner-like ads system to YouTube videos.

So, OK, I fully understand that somehow, they had to get back all that big bugs they invested in YouTube - and the only possible way (and easiest one too! instant cash anyone?) was to add CPM ads… But my question is where is the “legendary” google ads relevancy here?

What happened with the company that wasn’t so happy to add advertisement to the early stage of their search engine because they said it’s not good for the users? Is “not being evil” translated now into “well, you don’t have to be good to your users - just don’t be REALLY evil, otherwise the world is your oyster!”?

Oh, and the last one - I wonder when  someone will figure out somehow how to surpass those ads. Because I’m 100% sure it will happen eventually - just like with any other form of ads out there. People HATE ads, and they will do anything they can to remove them from their life, TV, magazines, websites etc. - unless, such ad have some VALUE for them (like, ironically, Google sponsored links).

And what’s the value in YouTube ads? Next to none? Right. Make sense now.