Guidewire Group's Guide to Innovative Start-Ups

July 23, 2007 — -- With so much publicity devoted to the latest social network, snarky celebrity blogs and the newest video sharing sites, it can be hard to find out what's new and exciting online.

But Internet "bubbles" in which your kids can safely surf, online dating outside of the house and conscience-easing donations to help erase your carbon footprint are just a few of the technologies that the San Francisco-based market intelligence firm Guidewire Group has seen lately that prove to us that true innovation still exists online.

Once you've waded through the hubbub and updated your Facebook profile (you do have a Facebook profile, don't you?), you can find hundreds of companies putting technology to truly useful purposes that affect our everyday lives for the better. Here's a sampling of the most intriguing and innovative ones that we've seen recently.

Glubble

A plug-in for the Firefox browser, Glubble lets parents create a personalized Internet bubble in which their children can safely surf online. Instead of traditional filtering, Glubble restricts kids to sites that have been specifically approved by their parents. The company provides a starter pack of 350 kid-friendly sites and allows parents to add sites of their choice.

If children find a site they want to add, they can request permission from their parents via e-mail. Parents can then approve the entire new site or only specific pages. Kids are also able to perform searches on Google and Yahoo with only approved results being displayed.

Additionally, children are given the ability to chat with anyone in their Glubble. If they wish to add a friend to their chat, invitations are sent to both sets of parents, and both must approve before the friend can be added. The chat feature and ability to search freely on Google, not an option with other filtering software, are the icing on the cake. For more information, check out www.glubble.com.

MeetMoi

A mobile dating service for people who are impulsive or just don't like planning ahead, MeetMoi allows users to include their general locations in a text message and receive profiles of other members in the same neighborhood.

Exact locations of the users are not revealed and initial contact takes place via text. If both users are willing, a face-to-face meeting can occur within an hour. More cautious individuals, however, can exchange text messages for weeks before deciding to take the leap or end the flirtation.

Registration for the service is free for now, with a fee of 99 cents for up to 10 text or picture messages to one person. MeetMoi is currently available through all major U.S. carriers except Verizon.

The mobile dating space is growing more crowded: Behemoth Match.com is planning to launch its own mobile service soon. The site that comes out on top will be the one that offers easiest access and the most secure environment, making MeetMoi a definite contender. Find out more at www.meetmoi.com.

TerraPass

TerraPass lets environmentally conscious individuals (or just the guilt-ridden among us) mitigate the effects of the carbon they produce by buying a "pass'' on the company's Web site, the proceeds of which are invested in wind energy and biomass projects. Other programs exist to remove the carbon imprint created by cars, airplanes, homes and dorm rooms.

Consumers can calculate their emissions and the appropriate fee by inputting information on the TerraPass Web site. A vehicle pass costs between $29.95 and $79.95, depending on the type of vehicle and mileage, while flight passes range from $36.95 to $1,749.95. Home programs run between $34.93 and $139.72, depending on how much CO2 one produces.

The company has sold 65,000 passes in all 50 states and hopes to reach 100,000 by the end of 2007. Some environmentalists have criticized TerraPass for compensating for damage after the fact rather than reducing emissions from the outset, but it can't be denied that Americans have been stubborn about making true lifestyle changes. TerraPass (www.terrapass.com www.terrapass.com) is filling an urgent need in a manner that people can easily embrace.

Guidewire Group is a global market intelligence firm focusing exclusively on early stage IT companies and the markets they create and challenge.