Google Investors Find New Project

Greg Linden writes:"According to ZDNet, the investors behind Google are at it again. John Doerr and Ram Shriram are investing in Zazzle, a company targeting mass customization by allowing shoppers and store owners to create individually tailored clothes, prints, and other items. For example, customers can choose an image from a large image library, design a T-shirt using the image with online tools, and then have the T-shirt delivered to them. Lands' End, CafePress, and other online clothing stores offer similar mass customization services on a small scale, but Doerr clearly believes that there is a substantial opportunity 'for every individual who wants to create products that are as unique as they are.'"

Comments

press release spam

[mattdm]

I get this kind of thing in my inbox every day -- excited superlatives pumping up some penny stock or other, in the hopes that the gullible masses will get excited and throw away some of their money. This is the *exact* same thing, except the people behind it are bigger fish and so know how to write a press release that ZDNet will pick up and republish as news -- and then they hit the jackpot when sites like Slashdot republish it as legitimate. Yippie.

Re:press release spam

[Jim Hall]

Hype for Nerds. Stuff that doesn't matter.

I mean, really. We've posted an article not about Google or what Google is up to next, but about the guys that gave Google money and the next project they are funding. This is pure hype, guys. I hope Slashdot got a kickback on this.

This is just CafePress, right?

[DoorFrame]

Sure, it's a good idea. And I really don't mind there being more competition in the market, but isn't CafePress already doing this with all sorts of apparel and other easily printable goods? In addition, isn't Stamps.com already doing this with stamps. And aren't there a number of sites that do this with photographs?

Yeah, printing customized materials cheaply is a great service... and combining the best features of all the currently available sites can only benefit us as a whole, but it's not unique and I'd be surprised if it were a big success.

Re:My thoughts exactly

[HCIdivision17]

Cafepress is cool, but there are some jokes/phases/logos that would be especially fun if noone else had it. I would see this site catering to not only the got-my-kid's-name-on-a-tshirt bunch but also the geeky inside-joke group - where maybe five of your friends are the only ones who will get understand the t-shirt. It's the ultimate insider wear.

Well, yes, maybe.

[Andrew Tanenbaum]

I just went to register on the site. I don't see how it is really different to a lot of established create your own product sites. Maybe they will just market better. I agree that there is a lot of variation on what you can create. As they say: "Lots of places offer apparel, posters, and cards - and we do too. But no one else offers the range of sizes, colors or media that you find at Zazzle. And no one else utilizes our state-of-the-art reproduction techniques that deliver exceptional color, feel and resolution. " Hmm, maybe. Maybe. But, what's in it for the punter? If you use CafePress, you can set your own prices and make money. At Zazzle, you get a flat 10%. That's a in anyone's money. The users will make the site, they are effectively selling their creativity - and yet the return is pathetic. Despite the brilliance of the investors, I suggest this company will . And even if it doesn't, it isn't adding anything of interest to the world.