Thursday, May 24, 2007

Getting closer...

We're getting farther and farther with Humansy. I uploaded the splash page, but there has also been some serious backend work going on. The road-map has been laid out, and the private alpha version is expected to be finished within the next 5-7 days. I'm going to begin conceptualizing some core features that will really enhance the way people communicate and share information.

We're trying to be as open as possible. Relationships will be exportable, we're going to make heavy use of the existing e-mail infrastructure, and probably more. We want to hit hard with a stunning UI that makes grouping and classification super easy, and super cool looking.

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Mining Relationships

There are multiple ways to mine relationships... some of which have been largely untapped. One of the big ones, as mentioned by Tim O'Reilly, is the phone network and e-mail. By analyzing incoming and outgoing communication, a user's true network can be mapped out. A recent company profile on TechCrunch discusses a plug-in that works with Outlook Express. The plug-in analyzes messages and message content and maps out a user's network; however this is an enterprise product.

An even larger network can be built upon phone communication - particularly cellular phones. Building a basic Java application that analyzes incoming and outgoing messages, in addition to reporting statistics (perhaps via SMS or text-to-email?), would help build one of the largest real networks in the world. The cellular phone market is huge, just like the e-mail and instant messaging market.

I'm a truly interested in building the largest database of user-to-user relationships and building kick ass products on top... The best part? I want it to be open... I want people to be able to pull their network information (in XML format) and take it somewhere else if they would like.

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Social Map Project - Humansy

It's been a long time since the last update.

I've purchased the domain http://www.humansy.com for the "social map project". Wantsy has fallen off the map since the lead developer dropped out, with Humansy replacing it. I'm pretty close to chalking up Wantsy as a failure; I think the idea could have worked, but finding the right people to execute it has been tough, especially if their level of interest isn't high.

Anyway, work has started on Humansy. As of right now, we have the UI outlined in PPT (and html) with some database work being done. The goal is still the same; build the largest grid of user-to-user relationships. By analyzing the structure, we can assign each user a level of trust based on various attributes. Given the UI, it's also possible for users to assign complex relationship and group types very easily. This brings up the secondary goal.

The secondary goal is to add a layer of efficient communication between nodes. Since nodes can be categorized into complex relationships and group types, it's possible to reach out to an entire subset of people within your first degree (i.e. your family, your co-workers, your golf buddies consisting of family AND co-workers). It's also important to note that these people do not actually have to be in the grid to be part of it. I can upload and classify my entire address book, and not a single person needs to hit the Humansy domain.