Canada’s leading Web 2.0 pioneers

The second annual PICK 20 roundup of Canada’s leading Web 2.0 pioneers has been announced over at Backbone Magazine.

To compile the top 20 we assembled a crack panel of judges and asked them and the public to nominate worthy companies or projects. This year we received more than twice as many nominations as last year, generating an even broader picture of Web 2.0 in Canada.

This year we stuck with our definition from 2008, because while the technologies have changed, the purpose hasn’t. We defined Web 2.0 as the use of “online social platforms to link individuals to each other and, increasingly, to connect companies to partners and clients. The real point, though, is that Web 2.0 happens when the talk goes from a monologue to a dialogue, when everyone gets a say and when those voices can actually change opinions, company policy, government decisions and so on.”

1. FreshBooks, Toronto – Online invoicing and time-tracking service
2. Myca Health, Quebec City – Online communication platform linking patients and doctors
3. CoveritLive, Toronto – real-time blogging software
4. Viigo, Toronto – Smartphone content delivery software (news, weather, flight status, etc.)
5. Radian6, Fredericton – Real-time social media monitoring and analysis
6. File Mobile, Toronto – On-demand social media content management and application development system
7. BoardSuite, Toronto – Board-level governance and compliance solution
8. NowPublic, Vancouver – Crowdsourced/participatory news gathering
9. Tungle, Montreal – Online scheduling software that works across companies, systems and time zones
10. HootSuite, Vancouver – A Twitter toolbox that manages multiple Twitter profiles
11. ThoughtFarmer, Vancouver – Intranet software which incorporates social networking features
12. AfterCAD Online, Vancouver – Enables viewing and publishing complex data sets over the Web
13. TeamPages, Vancouver – Website  creation and management service for amateur sports teams
14. The Manufacturing Innovation Network, Waterloo – An online network built for Waterloo Region manufacturing companies
15. Well.ca, Toronto – An online health, beauty and skin care store
16. Clarity Accounting, Vancouver – Online accounting for small businesses and the self-employed
17. Voices.com, London – Online voice-over talent agency
18. Taglocity, Vancouver – Enterprise e-mail management and knowledge sharing
19. PollStream, Toronto – interactive-engagement and poll-building solutions
20. Pixton, Vancouver – A site where people create, publish, share and remix comics

To assemble the final ranking, the judges scored the nominees against five criteria: ROI, competitive advantage, ongoing value, execution and innovation. Also, any nominee who appeared on last year’s PICK 20 was judged only on developments or progress in the past 12 months.