flynn23 wrote:
] So the bottomline here is that Memestreams could easily plug
] into a lot of toolsets used in the KM universe (mailing lists,
] BBS's, content management, change management, etc) as a
] reputation engine to help drive up utilization. You get the
] benefit of working with a B2B market, in a very legitimate and
] hot sector, and you're solving a very real problem with
] adoption of that sector. Bling Bling!

Yep, I pretty much agree with you.. This particular line of thought has been around since the beginning of the project. Tom did the search plugin for OSX awhile back, shooting at the "agumented memory system" thing, sort of like Steve Mann has in his heads up display. The ability to take notes, mark resources, etc, and be able to pull then up at will based upon keyword searches. Different from what you were talking about, but I'm sure its clear how these things play in the same space..

From the tech side: I think alot of these ideas will be easier to pursue when we impliment a web services API. Expect the blogger and metaweblog APIs to get supported, but there will be more. I want every function that exists in the site, to be available for use thru an API. For MemeStreams to be useful in the enterprise, it would have to be able to tie in very directly with existing infrastructure. Web services is how that will happen. And to _really_ make it work for enterprise uses, we will need to have a more decentralized architecture, and probably will need to be able to OEM our technology so that it can operate completely _inside_ the enterprise.

On the biz side: A shitload of research would need to be done, analysing what the enterprise wants & needs, before it makes any sense to really push into that space. Think MBA type thoughts, and it becomes clear that we are _not_ ready to push into any space with the word "enterprise" in it. And honestly, there are _very_ big players in that space right now. Look at how much buzz has been around the blog in the enterprise lately. Having an idea that can make money in the enterprise is one thing.. Having a way to produce & market that idea is another, and its more important. We don't have that peice, and its not an easy peice to get. I think we will be able to get other peices first.

The focus of things is on personal web publishing & interaction, and will likely stay there for awhile. (There are revenue models there too) We will be able to make the site compelling for the average web user who wants to publish "whatever" and discuss it, long before its going to be really tasty for business enterprise uses. Currently, we have the luxury of low operating costs, so I think we should continue to drive in that direction for awhile. If we aim directly for enterprise users, I think we are going to shoot right over what will become the center of our user base, that being the average end-user.. Ie, the type of folks using the system right now. We need to build on that. When we have that somewhere special, then take our technology and focus it for enterprise use.

We wind up with two big assets here.. 1) Our user base. 2) Our technology. The user base, to me, is the most important one right now.. Without the users, there is nothing. You guys are the content. MemeStreams is just a house for you to live in. And I need you around, to observe and study, in order to figure out how you work together. Development of the technology is driven by the needs of the user base, and as hinted above, the technology can be used in many ways. However, it needs to be way more advanced. The more time I spend working on the socialnet stuff the more I realise how much we have to learn and figure out before we really unlock the benifits of being able to "see" each other. Its a long road..

Right now, I'm working on what amounts to a complete rewrite of large chunks of the site, so that we can move forward implementing new & requested features with greater easy.. I'm also putting attention on things to curb abuse (like the damn people who pull down RSS feeds every minute), handling billing (so when we are ready to actually charge for additional features/services, we can), and a total and complete rewrite of the UI engine (necessary to make the Bio system not suck, have picture/media posting capability, etc..).. Not to mention fixing quoting, supporting APIs used by popular blogging tools, better RSS support, ways to import content from other blogging systems, new version of the socialnet (I really hate the current one), multiple links in meme's, and a number of other "top secret" things.. In short, a slew of changes to the backend that are completely necessary..

I've been moving at a snail's speed, because my life is a wreck.. Good chance I'm going to be employed again shortly, and that will change. Tom hasn't exactly been engaged in the past few month either.

Our biggest single problem right now is that most people don't understand the site. And that certain things are very klunky, like quoting, and discussion board type functions in general.. Those things need attention before all else.

Right now, its all about the community. Building it, and by extension, the tools and capibilties it requires to thrive. From there, we can pursue other ways to apply our technology.

my two cents..

(As a side note, replies to messages in this thread, that go over the legnth cutoff, and are not posted to your personal memestreams, show off one of the bugs currently in the system.. grr..)

RE: A business model for Memestreams