Finally, Innovation.

I recently visited an old colleague of mine and she used the term manic to describe the nature of being a venture capitalist - or at least, the nature of deal sourcing. Her use of the term really hit home with me. That is exactly how it feels to be a deal-sourcer at a venture capital firm. One day, you're at the height of professional excitement, chasing down the next great whatever. The next, you're at the lowest of lows, wondering if you'll ever see innovation again. Boy, with TechCrunch 50 and DEMO this week, wow... It's been one of those weeks. (Yeah, I mean the bad kind.)

Company after company rolled across those stages and I thought: are you kidding me? You guys think this is going to change the world? You guys think this will be worth money to someone???

I have to admit - I like Yammer (post on that next). So, that was a bit of an uptick. But, let's be honest, Yammer is not the stuff of innovative dreams. And, post Yammer, boy was that a dry spell. Until yesterday.

What happened yesterday? I saw three pretty awesome, innovative companies. I will list them in their order of real innovation.

1) Atmosphir - Atmosphir is the real deal: world-changing awesomeness. Atmosphir allows users to create video games as easily as if they were building with legos. Well... probably not quite that easily, but that is the great marketing pitch that the company has thought up. Basically, Atmosphir allows kids (and adults) to build levels for their friends to try. It is collaborative gaming where the game, in some sense, is making the game. It truly is the social web meets gaming, and it is awesome. I talked about this idea with a boss of mine years ago, and I am a true believer. Atmosphir will be huge.

2) Grockit - Grockit is a collaborative, fun environment where people can prep for tests. Think test prep meets game show, where you play with and help other people. Doesn't sound fun or useful? Watch the video. They say their vision goes beyond test prep, but... whatever. Moving beyond test prep doesn't matter. TP is a LARGE market. Five bills large.

So, what do I love about this company? First, it seems to be a great product and the collaborative nature brings some real innovation to the marketplace. Second, I love that the judges on this panel at TechCrunch50 had no idea what to do with these guys. They were like, "So, you're going to have to do this or that to get me and my wife on there." Dude. DUDE. This is not for you and your wife. ...Clearly, Scoble has not been training for a standardized test in quite some time. First, test prep is boring as shit, so anything you can do to liven it up is great. Second, if you are an adult and your livelihood depends on a certain test, you are ALWAYS looking for fresh questions. Test questions that come with your book or course get less useful when you start remembering the answers. Grockit will provide test-preppers another source for this valuable content.

Grockit is fun. It's easy to drop in on for five minutes here and there. It provides free extra practice questions. And, it also gives users access to free kickass tutors (the other players who are successful test takers). For all these reasons, this service will be a huge success.

3) Playce - This company scores a little lower on the innovation scale. It is cool and it is innovative. But, IE only? And, it's not a download, but wait... you have to download ActiveX? ...So, besides the minor gripes, what is Playce? Basically, it's an in-browser, badass video game environment that mirrors the real world (e.g. NYC or SF or Paris or wherever). It's a platform company that will allow developers to build games in their world. The graphics are pretty incredible. I just hope it catches on as a platform for developers and not a planning tool for terrorists...

So, there you have it. Finally, some soul satisfying innovation! Good job on finding three, Michael. The rest of those companies... Sorry, but I just don't think they matter. ...Not even typing by making lines across a virtual keyboard. ...Yeah, not even a little. Sorry.