Top 10 International Web Products of 2009

Much of this blog's coverage centers on technology and companies based in the U.S, particularly in Silicon Valley.

However, thriving tech communities exist around the globe, from Toronto to Tel Aviv, and the success of internationally-based web products serve as a reminder to all of us that innovation knows no borders. Check out our picks for the top 10 international web products of 2009 and let us know your favorite international apps in the comments.

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Spotify, Stockholm, Sweden

By September 2009, we were calling Spotify "one of the most highly anticipated applications" that had not yet come to the U.S.

This lightweight streaming music app made headlines consistently throughout the year. They closed huge amounts of funding in August. And later that month, the company got an iPhone app through the App Store approval process - even though it competes with iTunes - thanks in part to the FCC. In fact, you, our readers, said it was one of the most exciting apps of the year in a survey we conducted this fall.

There's more good news, according to co-founder Daniel Ek: "We aren't interested in just trying to hype the company and then flipping it," he wrote in a blog post this October. "We are in this for the long haul."

And we look forward to reporting on Spotify's successes in 2010, as well.

FreshBooks, Toronto, Canada

We first wrote about Freshbooks late last fall. The Web-based invoicing software quickly became one of the most popular in its class; within a few months, Salesforce launched a FreshBooks Connector that took advantage of the startup's APIs. Though FreshBooks had seen many similar partnerships with other CRM systems, the stamp of approval from Salesforce confirmed FreshBooks as a leading product in its category.

Jolicloud, Paris, France

This lightweight Internet OS for netbooks allows simple access to web- and desktop-based applications. Although products of this kind are currently all the rage and becoming quite common, Jolicloud offers something unique: The inherently social ability to "subscribe" to other users of the OS and see what apps they're using. It's beautiful, it's one of the reasons we're excited about Linux on the netbook, and it's in private alpha. Request your invite now!

Hootsuite, Vancouver, Canada

This real-time stat-tracking, link-shortening, list-making, tweet-scheduling, multiple accounts-handling Twitter app does it all. Last month, we named HootSuite one of our top 10 apps for small-business success. The app also integrates Facebook profiles and, as of today, Facebook Pages.

OrSiSo, Singapore

With less than half a million dollars in angel funding, OrSiSo emerged in 2009 as an interesting - and occasionally confusing - AIR-based app for organizing social networks. The company's name stands for "Organize, Simplify, Socialize." The product accomplished all three goals so well that it won an award in February for introducing "status-quo-challenging new ideas" and representing Singapore positively to the international market of users, investors and media.

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