"This is like deja vu all over again."
— Yogi Berra
Boy is it getting crowded and noisy out there. People, desperate to get a piece of the new gold rush, are leveraging the low cost, commoditized internet technologies to throw up all kinds of niche web 2.0 plays. This obviously will not end well. So, WHAT IS AN ENTREPRENEUR TO DO?
I have a pretty simple test for a new idea. If you describe it to friends or knowledgeable people, if they respond: "nice idea, but isn’t it just like…", time for a new idea. As Ross Levinsohn who runs Fox Interactive said, "Don’t copy the original; be authentic." As he said, My Space was not trying to be Yahoo. Yahoo does a great job as an aggregation portal. He pointed out that Yahoo has repositioned their video service to look like YooTube. Not a good idea, and a reason that Yahoo will likely have to buy YooTube in the end.
Find unique spaces, strategies, verticals and approaches. Innovation and market leadership are rewarded in the technology world. Imitation, unless you are Microsoft, are not. Also, make certain that your execution is spot on and consumers get satisfaction in the most straight forward manner. And, listen to your friends and others…Isn’t it just like xyz?