Wish I Had Created…Stardoll

Someone asked me recently what makes for a popular Web site. My immediate – and albeit simple – response was it has something that , for whatever reason, resonates with people.

The question is interesting because it puts the focus on one of the Internet’s fascinating mysteries: why one Web site rules the world while another struggles to attract a small modicum of attention.

Why, for example, did TechCrunch become the Web 2.0 blog while thousands of similar blogs can’t even got a sniff of the spotlight. Great content? Maybe. Right place at the right time? Maybe. Luck? Maybe.

Then, you’ve got Web sites that become popular based on an idea that, at first blush, strikes you as dumb or a head-scratcher. A great example, is Stardoll, which is a place where you (well, mostly teenage girls) can digitally put dress-up clothes on more than 300 celebrities such as Ashley Simpson and Rihanna.

Silly and simple idea, right? Maybe so, but the 7.8 million unique visitors each month seem to like it. In fact, they like Stardoll so much, some of them are willing to pay $6 so they can shop at the “starplaza” mall where they can purchase designer clothes from brands such as DKNY and Heidi Klum.

It’s unclear how much revenue Stardoll is generating but investors like the story. The Stockholm-based company has raised two private equity rounds from Index Ventures and Sequoia Capital.

Links: The New York Times magazine has a story today on Stardolls in it, while Mashable has a lengthy post that suggests “What is most astonishing about Stardoll is its ability to base its entire business model on consumerism”.

Disclosure: I originally wrote about Stardoll in 2006 after it raised $4-million from Index Ventures. At the time, I described it as “the sign of the Web 2.0 apocalypse”. I guess I may be wrong.

Technorati Tags: Stardoll, Fashion