We all thought the web platform would come from one of the big players, most notably Google. It was going to be the Google OS that would compete with Microsoft and prevent Yahoo or eBay or Amazon from dominating the ‘net. With thousands of the smartest minds around Google has the intelligence to create the platform of the future, with their vast server farms and tremendous reach they have the technology, and with its stock flying high Google undoubtedly has the money.

I think the investment by Jeff Bezos shows that 37signals is making their own play at the web platform, however, and they’re using a fundamentally different strategy. 37signals is working to change how we think about ourselves, our place in the world, and how we work - not just provide tools or an API to tie our products to.

On their blog post announcing the Bezos investment Jason states:

“It will be great learning from Jeff as we build 37signals into one the great companies of the next 20 years.”

With the success of Basecamp, Backpack, Campfire, Writeboard, and Ta-da List we have seen the signals winning strategy for web app development. Ruby on Rails is a hot framework that is empowering the community to follow in their footsteps. And, as the quote above shows, they have the ambition.

The 37signals approach includes a final unique element that Microsoft (and, to a lesser extent, Google), have lost. The signals are winning the hearts and minds of developers. Every day thousands of people across the world are heavily influenced by the signals blog and live by the philosophy encapsulated in their book, Getting Real.

Package all of this together and it’s clear that 37signals is a pioneer in the frontier of web applications, provides a framework for cutting-edge development, and, most importantly, is changing the way we think about ourselves and how we work. They have won the hearts and minds of many smart, eager, focused shops across the world that are at the forefront of “Web 2.0” development.

It’s not an OS strategy like Microsoft used in the ‘80s and ‘90s, but I think that 37signals has a greater chance at impacting how a web platform develops than than Google, Yahoo, eBay, or even Jeff’s little company, Amazon. Their challenge is to keep hold of those hearts and minds. Staying small is an important step toward maintaining that place, but presents its own difficulties (especially keeping good people, maintaining influence, and not becoming smothered in an increasingly populated arena).

Let’s see how this all plays out.

We’re in the middle of developing a web based application (code named Orbit) to help small businesses operate more effectively. It’s part of a larger orientation we have toward creating web properties that help small businesses and organizations develop + grow.

Soon we’ll be launching the first of these, a mini-app of sorts that helps creative professionals determine what hourly rate they should be charging to cover their costs and make a profit. This tool will be free and allow people to compare scenarios to see how making changes to staff, hours worked, billing rates, etc., impacts the bottom line.

We hope this will keep our friends in the biz working profitably. It should be perfect for individuals and small teams.

What to charge is, however, just one of many problems people have. And we’re looking for more to work on.

So here’s my question: What numbers matter most to your business?