This day I got off on the wrong foot. I say that up front so that you don’t wonder why this posting has a cranky tone. Of course, I know that there are a lot of good things going on with the German web startup scene - (openBC users, look at that list!). But some things I see just make me wonder what is wrong with the Germans.
See, I talked a lot about studiverzeichnis.com. Although they got themselves at least a logo, they are still nothing more than a copy of facebook.com. Not that it is a bad thing - of course I’d prefer the original, but then again facebook is owned by Rupert Murdoch and the Facebook founder Tom Andersen seems to have a low social IQ - so hey, at least studiverzeichnis is working well and is slowly catching up in functionality.
What makes me dislike some German startups so much? Some of them just don’t smell right. See myvideo.de for example. Nothing wrong with hopping on the YouTube bandwagon. But why is the company based out of Rumania? Why is there only a “representative”? Why is nobody responsible? Oh, wait. I know. Because they fear copyright violations and lawsuits. Thank god they hired a great PR guy - Tilo Bonow, who also worked with Jamba before and seems to be incredibly multi-talented. How come they don’t even talk about traffic figures? Go figure. Yes, I am sarcastic here (German links in this sentence). I want companies to have a real and honest face. I want them blogging, I want to see them, I want their names on what they do. I want authenticity. Isn’t that part of what the “new” web is all about?
Good example: Hitflip. Germans, mostly dry business school people even, but still able to connect with customers and business partners (the latter is a really great idea that I have not seen anywhere else so far) and have their names under what they do. That’s the way I like it.
[tags]Studiverzeichnis, Facebook, MyVideo.de, Hitflip[/tags]
at least we’re not that in a blue funk than the british people are! I noticed, that “fraud” is the british most mentioned word in context of internet services.
I know that people should be more open minded, but in my opinion thats a lack of easy to use security and safety solutions. Where’s the long announced digital ID?
There are good solutions (as Thawte’s Web of Trust) but they are all in the fledgling stages.
Ta ta!
bklocke
If you would dig a bit deeper into the core of why such preceedings described by you happen you would understand, contrary to just bloggin’ your 2 cents, that running a ‘real’ business in Germany is almost blasphemy.
To get you started: Your blog here is run with commercial intentions as you put ads on it (which I personally don’t like, however…) still you lack a thorough imprint. This will bring you a dissuasion in no time.
Who is honest to whom now?
Thanks for the input Illionois. I’ve always had my real name and a real email address up on this side, so I think it is fair to say that I am honest to you and all other readers.
I am curious about your definition of a “real” business and why it is almost blasphemy to run one in Germany!
“Thanks for the flowers!” Although I don’t consider myself “dry”. Had two small but successful start-ups before …
Why didn’t you ask for an internship @ Hitflip instead of SK&P? 
Nice to know that you allowed for my advice and published an imprint as suggested. That’s practical learning!