SimplyBox has jumped on the bandwagon of companies looking to change the way internet users save and share information they find on the web. Once downloaded, the service lets users take screenshots of content on any web site and put them in categorized boxes via a toolbar at the bottom of the window. For example, someone looking for Paris vacation ideas could take screenshots of hotel rates, airfares and tourist destinations across an array of web sites, and drop them all in a box labeled "Paris Trip" to view later. VentureBeat has just learned that the Campbell, Calif. company has landed $1 million in seed funding to further develop its product and boost marketing efforts.
The obvious rival here is Google Notebook, the search giant powered plugin that also lets you select text and images from the web as you're browsing and organize them into neat categories. But SimplyBox is surprisingly more pliable and intuitive. First off, Google Notebook doesn't take a screenshot of how info looks on its page of origin -- rather, you highlight the content you want with your cursor and it's converted into a standard format (much like blog posts are in Google Reader). You also need to designate labels for each item you note (Paris Vacation or otherwise), whereas with SimplyBox, you just drag your screenshot to the appropriately labeled box.
To view what you've collected, you need to sign in to SimplyBox's web site, but that interface also offers some unique options. When you click on a box, you can view the items it contains in a rearrangeable jumble (just like papers on the surface of a coffee table, the company is fond of saying), in a grid format, or listed by date. All of them can be dragged and dropped in different boxes too. Aside from the labels, Google Notebook pretty much just orders web clippings by date, and your different buckets of information aren't as easy to visualize or modify. Both services offer standard sharing and commenting features, but Google retains the upper hand in one area -- Notebook for mobile is already in action. SimplyBox chief executive Mario Cavagnari says the company is working on an iPhone app that will be released in early February.
Both apps fall into the rapidly expanding social bookmarking field -- encompassing everything from site annotation services like Reframe It and Shiftspace, to internet sticky-note programs like Fleck. Diigo in particular may give SimplyBox a run for its money, allowing users to highlight web content, leave sticky notes commenting on it directly on web sites and access all tagged sites and info from a centralized location.
Bookmarking app Sazell is also very similar, giving users the ability not only to take snapshots of content but also to embed them in a variety of different sites, organize them by keyword and share them with friends. And many of these players let users collect videos, another area where SimplyBox falls short (the video shows up as an image that isn't playable). Still, none of them offer the clear visual style and drag-and-drop capabilities that make SimplyBox so user-friendly. It should savor its singularity while it can.
Simplybox's advertising model doesn't rely solely on traditional display ads. The company has plans to incorporate sponsored advertising "boxes" within a user's account, says co-founder Rodney Goodger. For example, a user collecting clips from websites about cars may see a sponsored box from Ford with tips on how to drive in the snow. While the company would not disclose how many users it has, it says that for every 100 people who visit its site, 15 sign up for the service.
The recent investment round was provided by Castle Field II, an angel investment firm.
Update: As of 6:30 pm today, the Google Blog announced that starting next week, the company plans to stop development on Google Notebook, due to a lack of demand. Users who have already signed up for the service will be able to access their data, but the Notebook Extension will not be supported.