Marketing Conversation » Attention Data

Facebook Gets Bust! But So Do We!

Saul Wainwright — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 04:54:17 +0000

I dunno about the rest of you but Facebook certainly took a wrong turn, at the wrong time of year, and is pissing off a lot of people. There are several blog posts on this blog dealing with much of this issue, and there are many more floating around on the web.

I just read two articles: Speaking of Facebook as an underground intranet… and I’m Ready to Bail on Facebook – the New Face of Evil.

Both these articles deal with Beacon and the issues of privacy. You see, this is the funny paradox about the web, and the part that fascinates me on one level, about our reaction to the “loss” of privacy. The internet, by nature is an open system, it is how it thrives and is what makes it so powerful.

Personally, I have never been a fan of the Facebook, Myspace, Orkut. I never truly understood the point of hanging out in a “mini-web” with a bunch of people I know really well (who I could just as easily email, call or visit) and those that I barely know (and therefore rarely email, call or visit). What puzzeled me even more is it was closed – you could not interact directly with the broader web, with the community of the globe. It, in my opinion only truly benefits the owners of these networks because they have absolute control of the way information is shared, with who and when. In many cases that seems like the antipathy of the internet. It is this “closed” aspect of Facebook that made Beacon seem so appealing to corporate websites. They couldn’t get access to this data without Facebook setting a price. Why does Facebook get paid? Where’s my cut?

It is for this reason that I got so excited about the announcement of Open Social (http://code.google.com/apis/opensocial/). It opens these SNS’s to the web, to the world and returns the web users to the space that they belong. The democracy of the web. The open web. Ultimately I don’t like one group of people, Facebook who had told me (even if it was never true, or never could be true) that I was joining a private and safe network that only allowed people who I “friended” into my network, having control over who ultimately does get access to my information. They told me to join a private friends only network and then went and turned around and sold all of my information to the highest bidder. Pretty messed up if you ask me.

This angst needs to be held up against the other truth of the internet. In order to participate in the internet you have to give up a degree of your rights – mostly the right to privacy. You have to make your presence known, you have to express yourself, you have to tell people what you like and don’t like to participate in democracies. In order to gain the benefits of the web you have to openly and freely participate. It is what is scary about the web, but it is also what makes it truly remarkable and powerful – as this openness makes democracies truly remarkable and powerful. And, at times, this openness may be uncomfortable or more then you wanted to share. Yet, the value is built into the openness, the freedom to express, to say what you want and do what you want. Regardless of what others think (this of course always comes with the, “as long as you are not hurting anyone else” mantra).

The fact really is that the actions you take on the internet are never truly private. You have to go to great lengths to experience a trail free ride around the internet. People need to realize this.

My main point here is that we are right to be pissed off at Facebook because it has taken actions that are disingenuous, are using their members, and not being straight up and honest.

We at Abraham Harrison (www.abrahamharrison.com) know more then anything else that in order to play and participate in Social Media you need to be honest, transparent and straight-up or be prepared for major rebellion.

Where is the new SNS? Any suggestions? Me, I say lets all support Open Social!!

Can’t Step Into the Same RSS River Twice

Abraham Harrison — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 02:10:25 +0000

I just posted a new comment onto the Attensa blog after I reread a blog post reviewing Particls, the coolest desktop news gadget I have seen, “The tool that is supposed to focus your attention ends up being a distraction. Articles flow by and if you snooze you lose.” I responded:

I felt the same way about Particls until I realized that it is okay if something gets away if that information is ephemeral and transient news.

However, Particls is smarter than you think. Particls will escalate the articles it seems to “think” you will really want to see.

So, while it is true that if you leave Particls on all day while you’re off-site, you may indeed miss something, I think the developers and Chris Saad realize the news is more like a pulse check than an EKG… you only need a quick taste of the Zeitgeist than you need a running, documented, history.

Particls is Buddhist: it realizes that we are in a constant series of now. now. now. now.

I told Chris that in a Particls’ river, “You Can’t Step Into the Same River Twice.”

Attention Profiled by Faraday Media

Abraham Harrison — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 04:18:52 +0000

From the Particls Blog, APML Conversation heats up:

“The APML conversation is heating up. The launch of Engagd.com has kicked it into high gear and bloggers are catching onto the idea of creating APML files to make their Attention Profiles portable. Chris Abraham has posted a piece over on Marketing Conversations.”

Attention Attention from Janet Johnson

Abraham Harrison — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 17:03:58 +0000

I love love; I love attention. I am an attention-seeker, especially when it comes to attention data,

“I’ve often wished I could use my ‘Janet, we have book recommendations for you here…’ information from Amazon elsewhere online. Apparently, (with thanks to the heads up from the folks over at Marketing Conversation) now I can.” Via Janet Johnson

There’s a concept now called APML which is basically a standard set of programming language that allows smart programmers to capture what you pay attention to online – beyond your RSS feeds (AKA your subscriptions) – which is captured by OPML. According to Abraham Harrison:

“It doesn’t care too much about your subscriptions… but it does care about how you interact with the blogosphere implicitly. It is a little like OPML + eHarmony.”

I love that descriptor – imagine the possibilities!

Attention Profiling Mark-up Language

Abraham Harrison — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 01:04:11 +0000

You may have already heard of an OPML file. OPML stands for Outline Processor Markup Language, and XML format for outlines, and has evolved into be the format for storing, sharing, exporting, and importing RSS feed subscriptions. Most RSS readers support OPML files. That’s all cool. What you have probably never heard of yet is the APML file. APML stands for Attention Profiling Mark-up Language and is “an OPML file for attention data.”

“APML allows users to export and use their own personal Attention Profile in much the same way that OPML allows them to export their reading lists from Feed Readers.

The idea is to boil down all forms of Attention Data – including Browser History, OPML, Attention.XML, Email etc – to a portable file format containing a description of ranked user interests.”

I talked to Chris Saad a couple weeks ago about it and it sounds super cool. I, myself, cherish my own OPML file much the same way that Chris Saad cherishes his APML file.

An APML is meta-meta. It doesn’t care too much about your subscriptions (the Particls software allows you to import an OPML file to start) but it does care about how you interact with the blogosphere implicitly. It is a little like OPML + eHarmony.

Over time, your APML might mirror your true love interests and tastes. Your APML might know you better than your spouse! Than your very own sweet mother, even. To say nothing of yourself. You can become your very own market researcher, your own auto-pollster. Potentially, suggested Chris, people can meet and greet based on their APML.

It’s kind of spooky and it looks to become spookier, like the partner who can really read your mind. To quote myself, if I may, “a great attention driven reader should make you feel like you need a tinfoil hat to protect you from its accurate mind reading powers.” If folks can figure out how to truly leverage the APML, then this might just well become a reality.

APML is an open standard over at www.apml.org

I don’t have much of an APML file just yet, but let’s see what it looks like:

Particls
Chris Abraham

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[...]

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Marketing Conversation Quoted on Attensa Blog

Abraham Harrison — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 13:14:10 +0000

I have been exploring Attention Data and attention technologies and found myself quoted on the Attensa Blog:

A great attention driven reader should make you feel like you need a tinfoil hat to protect you from its accurate mind reading powers. (Thank you Chris for perfect mental image).

And, happily, Marketing Conversation was linked to and mentioned, as well:

There has been a lot of buzz about a new breed of Attention based readers lately. Chris Abraham writes about Particls on Marketing Conversations and Jack Vinson writes about AideRSS here.

Love at First Particls and a Chat with Chris Saad…

Chris Abraham — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 19:15:20 +0000

Lots of great news coming from Faraday Media, “Faraday Media will today launch a new sidebar based version of attention management tool Particls, as well as a new attention platform Engagd.” Via Mashable and TechCrunch.

I am on an assignment to help a Huge Financial Services Firm’s Innovations Guru realize his amazing vision of info-sharing content through his company using attention data. Tristan Roy and Bronwen Clune both recommended I meet Chris Saad of Particls. I installed it and didn’t grok it right away. This morning, I saw Chris on Skype and he removed the scales from my eyes. Download Particls now!

Farady Media Launches Particls Sidebar, Engagd

Faraday Media will today launch a new sidebar based version of attention management tool Particls, as well as a new attention platform Engagd.

The Particls Sidebar provides a same attention feed based information as the Particls ticker; a personalized, streaming view of everything that matters to the user online in real-time, but in a sidebar.

The Particls sidebar is a welcome alternative to the previous product that is bound to find more fans, although those fans will be restricted to Windows rat this stage.

A TechCrunch themed sidebar can be downloaded here.

The new Engagd is billed as “the first ever standards based, open Attention Platform.”

Engagd is said to turn Lifestreams into APML by using APML to create ranked/filtered feeds. Engagd allows users to subscribe to filtered feeds in any standard feed reader to help with information overload.

Engagd though isn’t for the average user; the product is aimed squarely at Developers of apps, mashups and “savvy early adopters.”

Better Utilize Your Lifestreams with Engagd

Engagd is a new open Attention Platform, being launched by Faraday Media. This developer’s tool is currently in its alpha release, and is aiming to be the first open-standards based Attention Platform to be applied to personal Attention profiles.

This service basically turns your lifestreams into APML, which operates in the same manner as OPML and can be used for a variety of purposes. Take your APML and aggregate data in a manner similar to feed readers do do things like apply your Amazon Attention Profile to another online bookstore to utilize the same recommendations elsewhere, or to create personalized stats for your Digg articles. Engagd allows users to subscribe to filtered feeds in a standard feed reader, and is primed for pretty much any mashups that developers can conceive. It would work hand in hand with a service like Particls, which has recently announced its Sidebar tool for its attention management system.

There are a few services that are already using Engagd, including Dandelife and Cluztr, and iStalkr’s integration of Engagd is coming soon. They’ve used Engagd to extend the ability for users to create an APML within their services, for a very personalized application of this tool. One very helpful way in which Engagd can be utilized is the submission of your APML to an attention brokerage service for the purpose of synchronizing access to your Attention profile, enabling all of your website services to track your changing interests.