Last week, Ian presented at New Media BC’s Fusion Forum, an event which played matchmaker between investors from both sides of the border and startups from all across the country. Like our earlier pitch at the Canadian Financing Forum, this gained a lot of attention and notoriety for the company. We were edged out of first place by game-maker HotRocket who won a free trip to San Francisco to pitch some Valley VCs. Still, second place is no slouch. Thanks to the investors and media who voted for us!

Last week, Weston Demo’ed Pulse, our Facebook Music Reccomendation App (and soon other stuff) at DemoCamp in Vancouver. You can check out the video on our Pulse web site, thanks to local Tech Tsar Bruce Sharpe, who video’d and cut together a nicely produced experience for your viewing pleasure.

Something Simpler’s CEO, Ian will be presenting on February 20th and 21st at the Vancouver International Film Centre in Vancouver, BC. This is as a part of the 2008 Fusion Forum, put on in part by New Media BC. Our presentation is @ 1130AM, on Thursday the 21st. Attendance is limited. Offer available while supplies last. Please keep your tomatoes at home.

People always ask me who we compete with, and I have become accustomed to unsheepishly responding with “Google”. That’s not to say we’re trying to topple the 800-lb. gorilla, mind you, but anyone who’s in the Personalization business and Recommendation Engine development world ultimately has to concede that the most likely generic player in this category is indeed GOOG.

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This almost escaped our gaze, but last week Something Simpler (that’s us!) made RocketBuilders‘ 2008 “Emerging Rockets” list, along with 49 other companies from the Web, Cleantech, Biotech, Wireless and IT industries. According to their site:

“The Emerging Rockets list profiles technology companies from multiple technology sectors with great potential for investment and market breakthroughs in the coming year. Both lists are predictive of future success making them unique in approach and unique in value for our business audience.”

In our investor presentation, which I gave a version of a few weeks ago at the Canadian Financing Forum, I [almost] jokingly use the phase “Web 3.0″. Originally it was intended to inspire Marc Canter to rush the stage and force the organizers to call security, however the audience seemed nonplussed by such a bold pronouncement and I was almost disappointed that my presentation was allowed to proceed unheckled.

It was a nice way to tie a bow around a new kind of movement. And despite peoples’ resentment and guffaws, back-handed sneers, and general griping the phrase is starting to get thrown around more liberally. Whereas Web 1.0 was defined simply as “the Web” and whereas Web 2.0 was defined within the tight little circle surrounding Tim O’Reilly, what Web 3.0 means will be negotiated out in the open. For now, Web 3.0 seems to be all about context and personalization.

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