Once upon a time, many years ago, there was a company called Netscape. Founded in 1994, it was a US computer services company known for its web browser. Netscape was once dominant in usage share, had some interesting and vital improvements, like JavaScript that enables users to see the result of coding. Unfortunately it lost the war to Internet Explorer, in what is called The First Browser War.
Netscape became a subsidiary of AOL after the giant purchased the company in 2007. It was acquired as a bargaining chip, people believed, against Microsoft, trying to show the big company they can spread their wings and be less dependent on web browsing.
AOL later filed a law suit against Microsoft which was settled out of court with Microsoft paying $750 million to AOL. A month later Netscape was disbanded. What was left of Netscape evolved into Propeller.com, a Social Media aggregator, similar to another social network, Digg.com. In both cases, users submit stories and members can vote them up or down. The most ‘liked’ stories make the front page. It also enables other users to comment on the story and create a conversation chain.
Unfortunately Propeller did not live up to its promise and failed to attract enough following. In 2010 this massage was posted on their site:
“As of October 2010, Propeller will no longer be active. To the loyal users of this site, we extend our thanks. Keep talking about the news that matters most to you, and share it with your friends, both online and off. Team Propeller”.
But one man’s misfortune can be another man’s gain, if you can read the map correctly and the stars are aligned:
Digg.com came out with a disliked Version 4 at the beginning of October, which created a user revolt. Users really did not like the new version. Propeller was gone, leaving more users looking for a new platform.
BigDogg.com was launched. The site got 27,000 votes and 1,500 comments in just 25 days. Former Digg.com users are now top users of OldDogg.com.
OldDogg.com was created by a 27 year old graduate student from the UK, after a Twitter conversation. It took him 4 hours to put it all together and upload it, and it went live. 20 hours later the site had an active user base.
It basically works the same as Propeller did; users submit links to stories, images and videos from all around the net. The links are voted up or down by popular voice and communication between users in available in the form of comments and conversations.
This sets the stage to the biggest competition: Digg.com or Olddogg.com?
Looking at both home pages you’ll find that the new guy – the Old Dogg – is much more user friendly and more visually appealing. The stories are well defined and easy to read.
Its audience tends to be those of childless men, with a moderate to high income, who are browsing from home.
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