Disqus - Latest Comments for Joe

Re: noah in la

Joe — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 00:38:48 -0000

Would love to meet up (and hug) Noah. Cool event at UCLA. Will shoot you mail.

Re: Why Facebook Might Start Buying App Developers | Charles Hudson's Weblog

Joe — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 17:04:29 -0000

Interesting thoughts Charles. We hope to eventually be in category #2. But we see Facebook and OpenSocial as the means to get there. Meaning we're making applications that are mini-versions of our destination site with the goal of interoperability between our apps on the larger social networks. I *think* this is similar to what you're doing with Gaia (?) - where the destination site is the bridge between the apps on various social networks.

And I don't think its just little guys like me that are moving towards the distributed service strategy. Yelp and Flixster come to mind for example. And they're probably too expensive for Facebook to buy (more like category #1).

So if they're already established and popular destinations, they're probably too expensive. And if they're cheap but up-and-coming, my guess is they're already figuring out integration into Facebook. ie I'm not sure if Facebook needs to acquire anyone to convince emerging sites to integrate into Facebook?

Re: Who cares about Community?

Joe — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 19:44:58 -0000

Good thoughts Noah... and thanks for forgetting to plug us :)

I'm curious about how important you feel face-to-face interaction is for building community. The obvious core strength of vertical social networks is the tighter, more intimate community. Yet the very nature of a niche also limits the network effects needed to remain sustainable.

It seems to me that face-to-face interaction isn't that important anymore. Dogster and Daily Strength users are fine with virtual interaction only.

If thats the case, social networks seem like nothing more than Forum 2.0

Re: Who cares about Community?

Joe — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 20:17:07 -0000

That seems paradoxical to me - anonymity versus more ways for self-expression.

Seems to me forum software can very easily convert itself into a social network. Forum members already have their own pages (aka profiles), mailboxes (aka private messaging), and a photo (aka avatar). Let them add each other as friends and presto, social network!

So I think the niche social networks that will thrive have to either:

1) Center around an affinity where there is not a good forum already (looks like Dailystrength is taking that approach)

2) Provide a level of online interaction for a community dynamic that is not content with a simple message board. This is where face-to-face interaction is key IMHO...

Just my 2 cents from the social network that will remain unmentioned by The Noah :)

Re: C28 Offers sitewide Savings this Weekend

Joe — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:35:31 -0000

Looking forward to seeing how this converts for us. Thanks Wade

Re: Micro Social Networks will explode in 2007

Joe — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 17:35:57 -0000

Good post. While I'm excited about possible social network interoperability, federated identity, and OpenID, I just don't see it happening in 2007. Myspace will try to keep its garden walled IMHO.

Concerning micro-niche, there's a good discussion on GigaOM about endemic versus demographic. They were implying social networks conducive to endemic advertising (ex. cars, movies, dogs) will win out over demographics (ex moms, teens, Asians).

It'll be interesting to see which vertical SNS will succeed. (feel free to click on my name to see which one I'm rooting for!)

Re: birthday milestones and free meals

Joe — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 15:34:30 -0000

Happy Birthday DJ! Interesting concept - Bingo game about someone's life. Hmm... hard to visualize but sounds fun nevertheless!

The birthdate identification thing is also food for thought... hmm.

Re: evolution of social networking

Joe — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 13:18:25 -0000

Thanks for the plug, DJ - although (as you know) we've got quite a few bugs we need to iron out! I'm almost embarassed to let the world see it now...

We think social networking is most effective and useful if its focused on real preexistent communities with f2f interaction - like facebook for colleges and (hopefully) mychurch.org for churches. Web 2.0 is, after all, about community. Somehow myspace with users who have 1000 friends (very loose community) and ads all over the place managed to be tremendously successful... kudos to them.

We'll see if a non ad-based social network will survive - ironic I say this, given the above paragraph is a shameless ad :)

Re: domain name thank you

Joe — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 21:23:40 -0000

Good domain names are certainly very very valuable. I offered a 5-digit sum to the fellow who owns church.org and it was immediately rejected (not even a counter-offer). He's had the domain with nothing on it since 1995! Apparently he's saving it for retirement. Domain squatters. I can't stand em, but give them kudos for their foresight.

What a nice guy to give away his unused domains. Any plans on what you'll put up?

Re: 2 links, including my sermon

Joe — Sun, 27 Aug 2006 20:02:55 -0000

Great sermon DJ, well-researched. I seem to have heard that Incredibles quote from you before :) And your 3 symptoms unfortunately describe me right now...

Re: What would Tim Keller say?

Joe — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 12:44:48 -0000

Thought-provoking sermon, er lecture. Great summary and analysis of the 6 defeater beliefs. Thanks for sharing!

Re: Rick Warren video sound bites

Joe — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 12:57:09 -0000

Thanks for this nice collection of links. I'll have to bookmark some of these for now and watch them when I have some time. I remember watching Warren in a Fox news interview and being impressed by his ability to avoid loaded questions ("conservative hit jobs" as Clinton would say) yet still answer insightfully and meaningfully. I think I should write down some bullet points that would make good sound bites and refer to them at my next opp. I'll see if I can pick up on some nuances when watching Warren...

Re: Asian American Emergents skypecast this Sunday

Joe — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 18:28:28 -0000

"Some of my best pastoral work was done as a bartender" - I love hearing that. Some AA Christians (and Pharisees) :) I know won't step anywhere near a bar...

Re: Asian American Emergents skypecast - Sunday 11/26

Joe — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 12:53:44 -0000

Anecdotally, I'd say most 2nd generation Asian Americans tend to stay in ethnic Asian churches or circles. A church in the Bay Area (GCC) used to bill itself as a church for "2nd and 3rd generation Asian Americans." That struck me as very strange. Yet it describes them (and others) to a T.

Re: Chinese check fighting

Joe — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 11:41:56 -0000

This time-honored tradition is by no means exclusive to Chinese Americans! My Korean ancestors have great showmanship as well. We have mastered the art of making embarassing scenes at restaurants, in the ironic name of saving face. Best known methods and practices of this ritualistic check fight include handing the waiter your credit card immediately after ordering. Or using the company business expense per diem as a trump card (or pretending like you have a company card!)

Re: the demise of printed maps

Joe — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 17:40:28 -0000

Jon, some thoughts on TV in 5 years (from a much smarter person than me):
http://www.micropersuasion.com/2006/12/how_the_...

Re: product placement photo

Joe — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 16:13:48 -0000

I believe this is why DJ is considering a move to Southern California :)

Re: Asian, American, and Asian American blogging

Joe — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 16:57:10 -0000

The lack of comments is indicative of an Asian audience :)

I asked DJ if I could post this here (thanks DJ) since I was hoping to learn from a discussion among a blog-savvy crowd of Asians, Americans, and Asian Americans. I'm interested in what we can extrapolate about American blogging trends in the next few years by watching Asian blogging habits. Will the US ever see blog readership in the 74% range? Or will blogging never be mainstream... the study showed blogs may be cresting/peaking (reported by Technorati).

Re: discovering passion

Joe — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 20:33:49 -0000

The optimist in me believes that micro-communities (including churches) will be able to leverage their combined strength in numbers to make significant impacts. Thanks in large part to the internet, and this long-tail phenomenon. Kiva.org is a good example.

The pessimist in me thinks politics and status quos will inevitably get in the way. Even when things are goal-oriented. I remember Rick Warren's AIDS conference got some conservatives in an uproar simply because of Barack Obama's participation. Sigh...

Re: 2 dining trends in Philadelphia

Joe — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 20:17:56 -0000

Hope Giwa (or something similar) becomes a franchise. I've also often wondered what it would take for Korean food to become mainstream in the States. A decade ago, we were excited about Sorabol becoming the Panda Express of Chinese food - but it hasn't seemed to gain much traction.

In the Bay Area, an Indian food chain called Chaat Cafe has been getting pretty popular...

Re: tragic news of Virginia Tech shootings

Joe — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 12:39:35 -0000

Thanks for sharing your thoughts outloud DJ. I'm not sure if Asian Americans (and especially Korean Americans like myself) are supposed to have some special insight or unique condolences. I'm still just shocked and speechless. But I'm sure you'll find the right words to say on Sunday...

Re: Where is our Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson?

Joe — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 16:18:50 -0000

I think you certainly have some pull as a "thought leader" in the Asian Am community... albeit only 7% worth ;)

When I think of the African American community, they've had incredible struggles and trying circumstances where voices had to emerge. Perhaps a lesser extent (but still significant) with the Hispanic community. Asians arguably have had a relatively easier experience as immigrants in this country. We've had less of a need for someone to step up to battle injustice or racism imho.

I think we're not as cohesive, culturally or politically as other minority groups (I base that on absolutely no raw data that suggests Asians are less politically active - just my gut feeling)

Re: sponsor my cross country move

Joe — Tue, 29 May 2007 14:08:15 -0000

DJ, you can be just like Justin.tv :) And I might have a connection that just might help. Will email you

Re: i stream. u stream. we all stream.

Joe — Thu, 31 May 2007 23:43:14 -0000

So will we be seeing the cross-country move lifecasted? :)

Re: Taliban Agree to Free 19 Korean Hostages

Joe — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 11:49:22 -0000

Great news to wake up to!

Re: leaving on a jet plane

Joe — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 19:59:39 -0000

Certainly tougher than how the pros make it look... I shall cut our President some more slack ;) Have a relaxing week back home in DC!

Re: a giant mouse pad

Joe — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:57:27 -0000

Nice. I think I'll order one. $32 is an order of magnitude cheaper than glass, which is what I've been looking into to protect my desk top.

Re: pumped up to take a flying leap of faith

Joe — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 10:52:01 -0000

I wasn't at Catalyst, but I know the feeling. Any conference in fact drains me. So many ideas, so many powerful speakers, so many new shiny objects to think about. Ironically I often feel paralyzed instead of energized and moved to decisive action.

Re: First Cash-Award Facebook App Launches

Joe — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 16:30:13 -0000

Great app - who wouldn't want money for their cause! Congrats on the launch!

Re: Facebook: Wake Up!

Joe — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 15:37:01 -0000

Great timing! :)

Re: SNAPI Will Defeat OpenSocial in 2008

Joe — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 14:58:23 -0000

Nick, have you heard when 3rd party developers can port their Facebook apps to Bebo? Is it completely open now?

Re: SNAPI Will Defeat OpenSocial in 2008

Joe — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 12:58:20 -0000

Thanks for looking into it Nick. I'm planning to port all my apps as quickly as possible once I have access. I'll look for their launch announcement on your blog ;)

Re: Benjamin Ling at Graphing Social Patterns

Joe — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 02:27:39 -0000

I like how Dave said at the end that he (or any speaker) can take all the time he wants only if they reveal something new :)

Re: My Interview With Mark Zuckerberg

Joe — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 22:04:15 -0000

Congrats on getting this interview Nick! It says A LOT about your blog and the quality and objectivity of your content. Great questions and answers.

Were there any examples or ideas thrown around as to what the social web living outside of Facebook might look like?

Re: 5 ways I screwed up my first website

Joe — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 03:00:22 -0000

I made the same mistakes on my first webpage too - but at age 27, not 17 :)

Good to see you blogging - I will be reading.

Re: Big news: I’m moving to Silicon Valley

Joe — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 12:17:42 -0000

Move West young man... er South.

Re: Federated Media’s business model

Joe — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 11:19:46 -0000

Great post. Sounds like the high squeeze (resulting in channel conflict) is an obvious transition time for a site like Fark or Reddit - when it makes financial sense to remove the middle man and draw from its own client base.

The other inflection point sounds harder to quantify - when does it make sense to move beyond the scope of Adsense?

It'll be interesting to see if FM can protect its client relationships moving forward. Will they cut off advertisers in their network who circumvent the matchmaker?

Re: Explicitly commercial widgets

Joe — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 18:33:40 -0000

I would definitely tattoo "I love noah kagan" on my arm

Re: Quick comment on broad reach ad companies

Joe — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 13:32:14 -0000

I think his (back of the envelope) analysis was taking the average of the wide range of CPM's that are available.

Given strategic placement is taken into account, what do you think of his RPM averages in the 3 categories he outlined?

Re: Are people like lab rats? Using reward schedules to drive engagement

Joe — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 00:24:56 -0000

Great food for thought...

I've been thinking about introducing some kind of credits system to a Facebook app I'm working on.

It's funny you mentioned LinkedIn... I've been thinking about reward schedules and engagement. Easy to do with Food Fights and Vampires... a little harder to do with resumes.

Re: Social network convergence and private/public networks

Joe — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 11:33:43 -0000

One approach I've seen is to geocode the visitor's IP address to show people and content from their region.

Re: Quick tinkering on my blog

Joe — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 23:03:18 -0000

Nice... I like the new look. The picture on this post - not so much :)

Re: Top keywords for how people find my blog

Joe — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 10:14:05 -0000

Andrew, if you don't mind sharing - what % of your visits are from SE's (vs direct and referring?)

Re: Amazon Associates stats for this blog

Joe — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 18:07:27 -0000

On our social network profiles, users display their favorite books, movies, music through amazon thumbnails and not through text. The affiliate revenue from doing that is pretty minimal.

Re: Free to Freemium: 5 lessons learned from YouSendIt.com

Joe — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 11:39:39 -0000

Great info. Would you recommend Zuora or AriaSystems over a simple Paypal Pro implementation for subscriptions?

Re: The next generation of social networks will have a purpose

Joe — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 11:31:20 -0000

When social networks center around an affinity, it seems to me they are doing little more than forums (some have alluded to Forum 2.0).

Any interest, hobby, and subject already has message boards and yahoo groups. The vertical social networks have to compete with these existing forums. Unless there is a compelling reason to "network," the members of these communities may not have incentive to join "Myspace for ..."

This is where I believe face-to-face interaction is key. Social networks should really be bridging the offline to online. Communities that have regular f2f exhibit a dynamic that a simple message board cannot meet. Whereas an affinity group may be content with the tools that already exist.

Not saying it can't be done... just that it will be difficult to compete with existing forums (which already have community, search engine placement, etc). Another point to consider is that forum software will evolve to become more social. Each member can already have a profile and private messaging. Just give them the ability to add each other as friends, and you've got a social network.

Re: 2006/11/02/indian-youtube-doesnt-deserve-15-million/

Joe — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 02:49:08 -0000

Good work exposing this "company"

And I agree with the commenter above me about Alstrasoft. I've seen people use their E-friends script and the usability is pretty awful.

Re: 2006/11/02/indian-youtube-doesnt-deserve-15-million/

Joe — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 13:03:40 -0000

I get a kick out of someone accusing Mashable of sour grapes. Anyone can buy a $300 script, install it, and get a little temporary traffic out of it. These opportunists aren't out to make a company or a business... they're out to make a quick buck. I doubt an analyst at any VC that has 1.5M is stupid enough to fall for this.

Note that this is completely different from using portions of open-source code and off-the-shelf scripts to get a running start in building a reall app. No one starts from scratch. But that is now what Alstrasoft is. Its a complete solution. Crappy, but complete

Re: Social Networking Awards - Nominations Open!

Joe — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 00:06:50 -0000

MyChurch.org - 1500 churches have started communities. Will be happy to have an honorable mention in the niche catageory behind Dogster :)

Re: 2006/12/19/social-networking-awards-vote-for-your-favorite-mainstream-network/

Joe — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 01:56:14 -0000

Vote: Vox

Re: 2006/12/21/video-sharing/

Joe — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 09:20:55 -0000

Vote: Youtube

Re: 2006/12/22/niche-social-networks/

Joe — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 09:28:07 -0000

Vote: MyChurch.org

Since its launch in September, 6000 members have joined and 1600 churches have started forming communities. Churches get displayed on a Google map . Each church community has its own photo gallery, sub-groups, classifieds board, file-sharing library, event calendar, and group blog. Blogs can be nominated to the front page through a Digg-like algorithm.

Re: 2007/01/15/drupal/

Joe — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 14:17:29 -0000

If I had to start my social network over, I would most likely choose Drupal. I've read nothing but great things about this CMS.

We started with a different out-of-the-box package, and spent a good amount of time re-coding the garbage.

Re: 2007/01/17/mimun2/

Joe — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 02:20:17 -0000

Agreed with Sascha. This does appear to be just a PHPFox install. And it looks like they only have 6,600 members.

PHPFox has some horrible, horrible code underneath it. Pieced together by at least 4 different coders with no cohesivenes or scalablity, and almost as bad as Alstrasoft.

I look forward to hearing more about this. I know Pete's got reliable sources. But this one will be quite a surprise if it turns out to be true

Re: Introducing ScobleShow

Joe — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 19:12:14 -0000

Congrats on the launch. Carol is looking forward to demoing :) Come on over anytime!

Re: Why I love Maryam

Joe — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 13:57:38 -0000

Congratulations to the Scobles! Great picture, and great blog post

Re: Amazon names Naked Conversations one of top 10 books of 2006

Joe — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 18:32:12 -0000

Congrats Robert. What an honor and achievement - very cool!

Re: PodCamp email taken out of context…

Joe — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 01:07:08 -0000

Pretty unprofessional and acrimonious on their part. "Silly-con valley" - sounds like there's an inferiority complex going on :)

Re: I screwed up twice … trip very expensive

Joe — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 17:58:33 -0000

Ouch... lost a videotape too? Sorry to hear about your tough week. Keep your head up - its a new year in 33 hours :)

Re: Do A-list bloggers have a responsibility to link to others?

Joe — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 21:58:03 -0000

Hi Robert,

My wife and I actually met you a couple months ago. We founded MyChurch.org, social networking for churches. When we met, you told us about your visit to Fellowship Church in Texas.

We arranged with Irina to do a video interview shortly afterwards, but our schedules had conflicts unfortunately (you actually offered to come check out our church on Sunday at San Jose State). Even though we never got a chance to be interviewed, we never forgot your kind offer!

In any case, feel free to check out my blog where I talk about the trials and tribulations of getting churches to blog and use Web 2.0 tools to enhance their communities. We've gotten 2500 churches on board, and we'll be demoing at the Community Next conference at Stanford on Feb 10th.

Thanks,
joe

Re: Another Stanford University Startup coming September 2007

Joe — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 16:41:37 -0000

Congratulations to the Scobles. Looking forward to hearing about the product launch ;)

Re: ‘60 Minutes’ brings Google traffic

Joe — Mon, 14 May 2007 12:56:28 -0000

Awesome. Your growing archive of startup CEO interviews is certainly something special.

Often times, it seems like you give entrepreneurs their first public interview. And its rare instances like these where you can proudly say you were one of the first to stick a mic and camera in front of them.

Re: Top 10 Facebook Apps (from two perspectives)

Joe — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 17:09:25 -0000

http://apps.facebook.com/my-resume

Sync your LinkedIn profile and recommendations to Facebook

Re: Laughing at Facebook’s “older” users

Joe — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 15:24:33 -0000

Robert,

Thanks for voting for my app in the Facebook AppNite contest. Wanted to drop the link here for your readers to use: apps.facebook.com/my-resume

As you noted, the myths that business networking can't be done on a platform like Facebook will prove to be an afterthought over time. I hope my app will help in that evolution...

joe

Re: MyChurch – A Gathering Place?

Joe — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 00:32:37 -0000

Hi Jason,

Thanks for the mention of MyChurch.org. If you've got some ideas on avoiding fizzle, I'd love to hear from you or your readers (joe@mychurch.org)

In fact, we're already concerned about folks not visiting regularly: http://mychurch.org/blog/view/?ID=406 We'd rather worry about this now rather than later when/if we suffer the "Friendster phenomenon" Feel free to offer your thoughts to the discussion...

Peace,
joe

Re: MyChurch Falls Prey to Nigerian Spam

Joe — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 21:51:48 -0000

Yes I'm listening :)

Regarding the spammer, we deleted his account and reported his IP address to his ISP. To help stop him and his ilk in the future, users now have to enter a Captcha code after sending more than X messages in Y amount of time - I obviously cannot disclose X and Y :) We're also going to be adding in a Report link for each message to deter future spamming.

The fight against spam will always be an arms race. We'll put in deterrants, and they might work around them. But I'm confident we'll be nimble enough to stay ahead of the slime.

Regarding the groups feature, I see you setup a group with 1 member in it (ie yourself) :) Each group does have a bulletin board. And you can use the main church blog and photo album for wiki-type stuff. Is there something specific you're looking for? (send me a mail if so: joe@mychurch.org)

Re: MyChurch Falls Prey to Nigerian Spam

Joe — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 02:56:17 -0000

ps. All your MyChurch links go to MyChurch.com (and not MyChurch.org). Squatters have taken over the .com domain - wish I can afford to buy them out

Re: MyChurch Falls Prey to Nigerian Spam

Joe — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 02:15:52 -0000

So I'm still interested in how you're using google groups for your church or small group. What do you like about it? What can we do to convince your group to use MyChurch instead?

Frankly, I'm actually not familiar with google groups at all, so I can use some education here.

Thanks,
joe