The Bindpoint Blog

Q and A Session #1

2009-06-08T13:32:00.000-07:00

A quick sit down Q and A with the creators of Bindpoint.

What is important to you about the chat functionality of BINDpoint?
Chat is important because it is a cornerstone necessary for building strong online communities. BINDpoint leverages chat to extend existing social networks with instant, real-time connections. This allows people to build better relationships by connecting people with common interests so they are more inclined to engage in conversation with the people that they meet.

What makes BINDpoint’s chat service different?
BINDpoint allows members to participate in real-time discussions at an anonymity level with which they are comfortable. This creates communities whose members range from those completely anonymous to those who have opted to register and establish identities. Registered users can participate in multiple communities simultaneously, while using a different identity in each community. So you can be known as “Raven” in your fantasy sports community, “Ice-T” in your gaming community and “MrJones” in your book club community. BINDpoint supports a wide range of clients and platforms so you can continue using the tools you use today.

Is there a vision to integrate other networking tools most people use with Bindpoint?
We have been spending our time analyzing the micro blogging sites like Twitter and FriendFeed. BINDpoint is driven by real-time conversations and just like real life conversations, they have their peak times. During the off peak times, it is sometimes good to have a catalyst for new conversations. We are looking to provide functionality to tap micro blogging sites to provide catalysts for conversations.

In addition, when we say "tap" we don't necessarily mean integrate - there is plenty of clients and middleware doing that already. We want to tap micro blogs to spawn new real-time conversations or even whole communities that before wouldn't be possible with existing asynchronous communications.

Video: BP on the iPhone or iTouch

2009-05-15T14:59:00.000-07:00

Another geek community tutorial:

How to configure One Team for Bindpoint. This application is for the iPhone or iTouch.

Video: BP on the Android G1

2009-05-14T10:12:00.000-07:00

Community member @jemimus posted a video on how to access the Bindpoint via
the Android G1 mobile phone we'd like to share.

Watch his video here:

App used: http://jabiru.mzet.net/

To find your channel's room information: click here

24 Hr Coffee Shop

2009-05-05T18:35:00.001-07:00

I got an e-mail from my John Mayer fan club today saying:
We want to address all of you who have been so patient and loyal to Local-83 over the last few years. As you may already know, we have put a freeze on any fan club renewals or new memberships moving forward. While John is in the studio working on his next album, we're taking the opportunity to explore new community ideas and better ways to bring you information. In the meantime we've opened up the message-boards on Local-83. If your membership has lapsed you may still login to use the boards and continue to communicate with other fans.

(listen to the manager's discuss the dilemmas of being lost in new social media: 2:59)

It's an interesting dilemma I think a lot of old-school community and fan groups are facing lately. I only signed up to the fan club for exclusive access to concert seating but the truth is most of them sign up to get involved with other fans. However, now that most artists have direct access to their fan base, the dialogue between the community is sort of fading. Fans can spam artists directly and try to garner feedback which is FAR more dynamic than posting to a message board.

While most communities still like sharing their pictures and thoughts on the artists, there seems to be a dying out of sites that aren't integrated in online social networks. There's something more authentic I guess about a fan site run by the actual artists/rockstar than by hardcore fanatics.

So what does that mean for larger community websites who up until now have had dibs on fan-based networks? I think the real question is how can they evolve to integrate social networks and yet retain their community. Obviously, with more fans going over to Twitter, it's very obvious they're seeking a real voice and more importantly, an honest connection.

The archaic style of segregation and disconnected networks are no longer enough to keep up with the amount of information and interaction one craves these days. Message boards, newsgroups, email postings are all one-to-site and do nothing to really express what we have to say. It's hard to really engage on a five minute to six hour posting dialogue.

There is nothing better than instant access to your user group, to be able to hit up your fellow fan-mates live. You want to be able to gab about the concert you just went to or how you just watched the series finale and want to know what others thought about it as well.

To date, most social media sites treat online interaction like one large text message or answering service. Where's the direct connection? Where are the clusters of communities? Where is the real dialogue that separates our form of interaction from the RL? Through "wall posts" or "twitter replies", we've sort of settled for a conversation of witty quips. It's possible but not likely to formulate realtime communication through such mediums.

For example, when the Sci-Fi Series Battle Star Galactica came to a series finale last month, there was a huge buzz all over the metaverse (online world) about people watching it that night. Several people posted twitter and facebook comments like "I loved the ending" or "I was a little peeved about how they decided to end it".

In Bindpoint however, people who had watched the show were able to actually have a realtime discussion at the close of the series. They were able to debate about the concept of the series end and how it was executed. Depth is a huge aspect of social networks that leaves us wanting. Real connections take time and effort.

One of the largest misconceptions about about social media is that these networks come ready-made. The truth is that we, the users, have to make them what we want them. You have to put in the effort for the type of interactions you want to be able to formulate.

Bindpoint is an amazing online tool to help aid in building those types of meaningful and realtime connections. It's one of the best places to start growing a real community online. The incredible access it gives for peer to peer chat is phenomenal both from the web client to desktop integration. It's literally "click to engage" as it says it is. The site widget simply puts it over the top in terms of offering up 100% usability.

It's a message forum, micro blog, and chat client all rolled up into one. You can use it to fit your type of interactive needs. It requires almost no maintenance but it does require community development. You create the connections and bonds through how often you visit your community and friends. In a sense, it's like the "coffee shop" equivalent to our online world; the later you stay, the better it gets.

Possibilities, Freedom from Walls

2009-03-25T15:00:00.000-07:00

I just finished watching the TED conference talk by Tim Berners-Lee where he talks about linked data and changing the way we perceive information online.

One of the most telling slide images he produced was that of the walled spaces of the current social networking data. Flickr, Facebook, My Space, LinkedIn, and all the other networks out there produce their own set of data and if you compare the data between each sites, you start to see a pattern of similarities.

Sally Smith has her birth date and hometown listed as data on 5 different sites. Her pictures are being posted on at least 3 different websites depending on which group or community she's visiting online. She's filled out the data for her favorite songs, movies, and books in at least three different places.

The TED conference got me thinking about how we perceive data and more importantly, how we currently treat data. Tim is right. We tend to hide raw data until we can harness it into a recipe for the perfect cake. We like our data in nice little boxes with bold letter titles.

However, when I try to think of a REAL community site and the future of how we TRULY interact online, I see a great value in linked data. The entire premise of Bindpoint is to break down the walls of user profile pages and to explode the white box data approach of networking. Its purpose is to connect all of the websites, forums, and blogs based on the DATA the user sees as valuable to themselves and then go on to connect to other users based on similar data.

So instead of your favorite movies, books, and music just sitting there in your Facebook profile box, it becomes useful data. When you link all of that data across "walled gardens," data can be translated into something useful as well as become a building block for dynamic communities online. Cross pollination of points of interest can happen more rapidly as the threads of data begin spreading and intersecting freely. This is exciting stuff. Increasing depth and access to the meta is what we should hope for and expect.

I speak of the bindpoint widget a lot, but if we want to get past one of the very first barriers of the "lone community silo" effect, flexibility in connection is one of the first steps. If you can't get to the community site, bring the community to wherever you are. A bindpoint channel through the widget can exist on any site and a multitude of sites. There is no single entity or host or software you are bound to. You don't even have the normal paradigm of signing up before you can engage! Instant access and fluidity of connection is what we're looking at here. And this is just the portal forefront of what it can build from...

Flexible Infastrucutre, the foundation has been poured

2009-03-19T23:27:00.000-07:00

One of the most common questions asked to the Bindpoint team is: What is the difference between Bindpoint and IRC? The clear and present answer is POSSIBILITIES. BP (bindpoint) is a social networking tool that is only just beginning with a base foundation of a flexible and extremely accessible group chat interface.

With the release of the Bindpoint widget for channels, users can have instant access to Bindpoint channels. Communication is instant and does not require a login. You can read and chat immediately from the widget which maybe embedded on any website. This functionality of instant chat is amazing and revolutionary to online communities.

The ideas underlining the momentum of Bindpoint is to develop it to become a creative and flexible grid to shape all sorts of possibilities to socializing online. The widget allows you to immediately create a window into your community from any site. There is zero login time, zero barriers.

And the truly exciting this is that this is just the beginning. You aren't looking at the end product but simply the foundation of what will evolve into a solid yet flexible infrastructure for online communities.

Access to Connections

2009-03-05T12:48:00.000-08:00

The core concept of Bindpoint which makes it extremely revolutionary to the social networking scene is its break from the conventional paradigm of top-down branching. Most social network tools like Instant Messenger, Facebook, or Twitter ask you to create an account and then begin to add people to your network based on who you know. It then grows from there based on references and links. Eventually you start to find common ground among your networks and can form groups based on those commonalities.

Bindpoint seeks to create connections based on community first and then branch to individual and personal connections. Its methodology is based more on the social structures of the "real world". You have group functions and group interests that make up a "community" such as being a Star Wars fan or an active rock climber.

When you meet people with those immediate interests, you have an immediate base for interaction and conversation. You have commonality in history, experiences, and knowledge that goes beyond surface profile information. There is greater ease in getting to know people when you already share a strong common ground.

Community based groups have been around online for quite some time. However, they just haven't had a forum for immediate communication. You can access information immediately but accessing the community has always been a bit stagnant. Bindpoint doesn't strive to be just a single chat user program but an instant portal access to a plethora of internet communities. Access to connections is the baseline for Bindpoint, which makes its potential extremely exciting.

mybindpoint.com -->start building communities

Desktop Integration Walk-Through

2009-02-22T12:06:00.000-08:00

Thanks a lot to @cdoemel for writing up a great post on how to set up Bindpoint for Adium desktop client. I recommend his detailed blog instructions for Bindpoint MAC users.

Check it out at Thayala's World Blog

Also available is the official Bindpoint walk-through setup updates for Pidgin and Adium which can be found at http://www.aoeware.com/desktop.html

Exodus walk-through to follow shortly. Stay tuned.

User Profile Page Revamp

2009-02-18T23:38:00.001-08:00

A lot of exciting announcements since the launch of open beta in October! There is much to catch up on. The AOEware team has been extremely busy launching a lot of great new features based off of early adopter feedback. http://getsatisfaction.com/aoeware

One of the first things to be added in last December was custom channel text colors for the web client as well as a new user profile page. From the profile page, you can easily search for Bindpoint channels based on interest and even add IM profiles to keep in touch with friends on other messaging clients like yahoo, msn, and aol.

Even better, Bindpoint has a /tweet command that allows you to twitter straight from the web client! See something hilarious in the channel? Copy, paste and /tweet and you can instantly share it with your twitter friends.

Almost all of the user profile changes and features have been added to further connectivity between Bindpoint and other networks of interest. As AOEware moves into the next release of Bindpoint, expect even more ways to connect with your groups and communities with just a simple CLICK to engage.

Great Feedback

2008-10-15T06:09:00.000-07:00

We have been getting great feedback so far on our open beta. However, one of these items really stood out to me and I wanted to post it here:

"One thought on BINDpoint, I think the nice thing about social chat communities is the fact you can't just look up a profile and see what everyone is into, what groups they are members of. You have to actually talk to people and find out....It's nice to have to get to know someone by chatting to them rather than just looking up a profile. The lost art of conversation!" - Shanamation (analogholegaming.com)

This was huge because to me it shows part of the vision working. People are getting to know an extended network of individuals through BINDpoint.

Kitch on Analog Hole Gaming

2008-10-15T05:55:00.000-07:00

We received Christy's "It doesn't suck" approval for BINDpoint!

Be sure to check out my talk with Mike and Christy from AHG Podcast about Bindpoint.
You can subscribe via iTunes or download directly from:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/analogholegaming/Analog_Hole_Ep_102.mp3

Creator of BINDpoint on WoWcast Podcast

2008-09-29T12:13:00.000-07:00

I had the privilege of going on WoWcast with the show's host and producer "Alachia". We discuss BINDpoint, walk you through a brief demo, talk about the origins and even get a little side tracked talking about "the meta" - go figure ;)

Please check out Episode 37 - "BINDpoint"

http://wowcast.weebly.com/podcast.html

Thank You!

2008-09-23T16:25:00.000-07:00

BINDpoint is slated to launch on October 1st at www.aoeware.com. I must thank the following people for being there for me during my vision quest (if I missed someone, let me know and I will edit the post):

Ellyn
Ethan

Sammy

Aaron

Randy

Luda

Bob

Linda

Jane

Alvin

Alachia

Anita

Mike & Christy

Jose

Jemimus

Morgan

Sadin

Boozefort

Felix

Spurlock

Ren

Brook

Joe C.

Jim B.

Jaime

Mike B.

Jeff & Dale G.

Paul A.

Jason P.

Joe R.

David J.

Howard P.

JAE guild on Boulderfist

Daniel Quinn

Stephan Covey

Birth

2008-06-05T05:19:00.000-07:00

This was the first time bindpoint server came alive a few months ago. As mentioned previously, there has been a ton of progress since then.

Approaching the Starting Line

2008-06-03T13:13:00.000-07:00

The past three months have been absolutely amazing. I can say with 99.999% confidence that we will have a Bindpoint alpha alive on the Internet by June 30th (if you listen closely you should be able to hear the heartbeat now) . The development team has really delivered such an amazing core server architecture that does not exist anywhere today. I am looking forward to revealing more.

Looking back, my biggest mistake was trying to deliver everything in my vision on the first try. I see the possibilities of Bindpoint and I want them all NOW! Unfortunately this was not the best way of going about getting it developed. I spoke with countless people trying to make them see "the big picture". They were all a bit overwhelmed. I finally found an individual who was able to break the elephant into bite sized pieces and we are now about to swallow the first bite.

The first release of Bindpoint represents a new beginning for me. Everyone has worked hard to get to this point and has sacrificed a ton of personal time (even WoW) to get it done. With the baggage of the past off our backs, we are ready for another race. However, the next race is not a marathon. It will be a much shorter sprint.

On your marks, get set, ......

Welcome

2008-03-05T11:48:00.001-08:00

My name is Kitch. Well not really. It is actually one of the primary character names I have used while playing MMORPGs. MMORPGs was one of the primary sources where the idea of the "bindpoint" product came from. What is bindpoint? Boy, I can't wait to tell you. It has been an idea I have been developing over 3 years now and finally has come to the point where I can give it life and share it with others.

What I can tell you is that bindpoint is a technology product and service that will appeal to almost everyone - the masses as I like to put it. Some will consider it a social networking tool but it actually is a social computing technology platform. It is the foundation for a whole new type of communication to the point that I hope that the term "bindpoint" will be as common as "web site".

I started this blog to provide ongoing information to the Bindpoint community. This product will not be developed in a vacuum but rather a community driven effort. As more information is available about the product and as beta programs begin, the team will use this blog to covey as much as possible (without giving away our secret sauce).

Kitch