DISQUS

Wow, that was a very well-written post and I can definitely see a lot of that. But, I would argue that you get posers in any kind of crowd you're in. I think what makes it sad is that we expect this kind of stuff in the culture at large (recalling making social notes while watching "The Apprentice"), but not amongst the nerds who spent their lives growing up and being made fun. These nerds have now come to use the very same tools of the oppressor (If I can inject some of my grad school wisdom here).

I have to say one of the most icky moments of my career in tech was when I got an exclusive ticket to a party from a friend (not the party host) and I was with a group of 5. I hope I never have to deal with that again, but I also feel lucky that when things get to socialitey for me, I can retreat back to my sanctuary of writing code.

All in all, things tend to even out. If you want to try to live the fast life, you can and you may actually get somewhere, but for the most part, the folks that have a substance-less interior are not fooling anyone. But it doesn't mean they can't be useful for something--keeping folks distracting while the rest of us do the real work.

Nice post!

A couple of notes on Gnip, first, the web site URL you are using on Compete.com is incorrect (as Louis points out as well). Our web site URL is http://www.gnipcentral.com which is probably why you are seeing a flat line in web site traffic.

Second, our product offering is not a web-based destination, it is an API based service that facilitates data portability so that developers can create applications on any platform they choose. I'm not even sure using a comparator like compete.com is appropriate for us in this case.

What you are likely going to see are services that you know and love using Gnip under the covers, whether that fact is transparent or not, it will certainly make measuring our popularity under these standards a bit more difficult. I'm pretty excited about what we've got going on, and even more excited about some of the ways developers are using our service to create feature-rich applications.

Cheers!

Giannii works at Disqus now, yay!

I had a great time, too! I love using it at the airport or on the airplane and no I do not share with my husband. He hasn't even bothered to ask, cuz he knows the answer ;-p

I am down for 2) and 3)

I have seen Tobias put down some major sushi. Us Me.dium folks are going to be a force to be reckoned with. By the time we're done, those dudes in the sidebar are going to micahvomitsandloses.com

Ah yes, you put "How Soon Is Now" on there. Good call, I forgot about this one but could listen to that for HOURS!

wow. thanks for sharing.