Getting Started

Not long ago I was talking to a friend about a possible web start-up that he was thinking of pursuing. I couldn’t get into the project for a couple of reasons, but I did give him some ideas and a list of sites that I felt would be useful to him. The list of sites is geared towards the type of start up that he was/is pursuing, but I thought that I’d post it for all to share.

1. Instant Domain Search (http://www.instantdomainsearch.com): His proposed site name was taken so I sent this link as a way to try to find a new name. This is one tool that I can’t get enough of.
2. TechCrunch (http://www.techcrunch.com): If you’re going to be in an industry you need to stay on top of what’s happening in that industry. TC was an obvious choice.
3. Base Camp (http://www.basecamphq.com): Great free project management software - essential for web developers.
4. del.icio.us (http://del.icio.us): You may not think of del.icio.us as a web start-up must have, but I do. del.icio.us led me to countless resources that helped further the progress of Lopico. Now, I mainly use it to tag great design examples or code examples - I wouldn’t waste the space on my browser favorites, but web bookmarks are perfect for these types of sites.
5. Cool Site of the Day (http://www.coolsiteoftheday.com): A very 1.0 choice in my mainly 2.0 list, but this site can be very helpful. I did CSOTD and it worked very well for me. $27 to get 5000 visitors that want to see your site. I think that’s a pretty good deal. No, it’s not the best deal ever, but it will introduce your site to an audience that may not otherwise have found out about it.
6. Seth’s Blog (http://sethgodin.typepad.com): An essential read for marketing on the web. I also threw in the idea virus e-book.
7. Okdork.com (http://www.okdork.com): This one was driven by the college focus of his proposed site. Noah, the blog’s author, has a lot of good insight into the college market having worked at facebook. Aside from that it’s just a good read for a young person wishing to get into the web business.
8. Techmeme (http://www.techmeme.com): I thought this one might be a little beyond what he was looking for, but like TechCrunch this is a great way to stay on top of what’s happening in the industry - okay the best way, but the scope was probably beyond what he needed (for now).

The only other suggestion that I had for him was a feed reader - which if I had to pick one, I’d go with Rojo.

Let me know what I missed. What sites would you tell someone to visit if they were trying to get into the internet business?