With all the gloom in the global economy, I got to wondering whether there is anything else going on in the world of business. I'm looking for growth because I think that's what will ultimately bring the economy out of the doldrums. Not surprisingly, that growth is coming from technology companies. In Growth Matters, I look at consumer technology companies that point the way to growth trends -- and in the process introduce services and products you may want to explore.
Do you feel as though the Internet lacks personality? If so Plista may help. I interviewed Dominik P. Matyka, Plista's founder and CEO, who said "Plista personalizes your Internet experience by helping you to find and share content that's relevant to you and therefore saves you time and money. Plista allows you to experience your favorite sites in a brand-new way. It provides you with recommendations and personalization on sites you know."
He continued to explaining that, "The information and experience that iGoogle delivers on just one site, Plista lets you receive on lots of your favorite sites, and you can find the content you are looking for quickly; and therefore save time and money. You receive individual and relevant recommendations in real-time, as well as a fresh new navigation and browsing tool. "
Plista is about to launch its service so there's no evidence that it can generate revenues. But Plista anticipates that the first source of revenue (fees from service providers whose content Plista recommends) will be the largest. According to Matyka, "the core of the business model is the marketplace for on-site and cross-site recommendations, where Plista generates revenues through a share/commission for delivering cross-site recommendations (third-party recommendations; i.e., relevant advertising) and receives a variable fee for on-site recommendations for its partners."
Plista also thinks it will get revenues from advertising. As Matyka described, "A service for enhanced advertising targeting for marketers is the second monetization pillar."
If Plista can pull this off, it may be a new kind of Web business. We'll know more this time next year.
Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College. His eighth book is You Can't Order Change: Lessons from Jim McNerney's Turnaround at Boeing. He has no financial interest in the securities mentioned.
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