6 Promising New Companies That Emerged In 2010

Here's a list of 6 promising new companies that have emerged in 2010...do take a look

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Instagram

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Launched just last month, Instagram has quickly attracted the attention of social media consumers, photo enthusiasts, and reportedly, major investors. The iPhone app, which we described in our initial review as “speak[ing] to the secret photographer inside us all by providing a nearly foolproof way to snap remarkable photos,” added 100,000 users in its first week (it’s since been reported to be nearing 1 million).

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Quora

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Quora made a name for itself in 2010 by attracting the tech elite to its spin on an old idea: questions and answers. With high profile users like Reed Hastings, Marc Andreessen and Craig Newmark, the question for Quora is if it can extend its reach beyond digital influencers while maintaining the high level of discourse that has made it a small scale success so far.

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Formspring

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On the opposite end of the Q&A spectrum is Formspring, a startup that has grown to the tune of more than 1 billion questions answered on its platform. Unlike Quora, however, Formspring is all about anonymous Q&A and has leveraged integrations with Facebook, Twitter, WordPress and other major platforms to become an unavoidable part of the social media ecosystem.

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Kik

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Another relative newcomer, cross-platform mobile app Kik is also one of 2010’s biggest breakout stories. The app, which functions much like the classic BlackBerry Messenger, attracted two million users in its first three weeks. Intriguingly, the app might be growing too fast for at least one mobile platform’s comfort; last week, RIM blocked Kik on its network.

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GetGlue

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GetGlue has been on our radar for a couple years, but the company seemed to hit its stride more recently, capitalizing on the increasingly popular “checkin” concept to more than quadruple activity on the service in a matter of months. GetGlue has also positioned itself to also benefit from the expected rise of “second screen” experiences, allowing users to check in to TV shows, movies and music from their iPhones, Androids and iPads.

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Shopkick

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Location-based deals were a huge trend in 2010, with big and small brands alike offering rewards to customers that share their whereabouts with friends. Shopkick offers a compelling twist on this idea, utilizing in-store technology to verify a user’s location and automatically check them in to unlock rewards. The company has already raised $20 million, and with deployments at hundreds of Best Buy and Target stores, seems likely to have lots more growth in front of it.

Any other companies you feel that should have been on this list? Do let us know