OK. When I got the invitation, it was a bit like, “WHY?” But on the ticket I was identified as a “Super Cool Person,” so how could I resist attending the
Parnassus Group’s Social Developer Meetup? And even though one of my specialties is getting lost on the east side of the "pond" (Lake Washington), somehow I got there in spite of the dead battery in my GPS!
When finally I’d arrived, I looked around at the group assembled and wondered—
what is this confab all about? In describing it, Jason Preston (@jason_preston) VP of Strategy and Product Development at the Parnassus Group says, “Ever since we started putting together Twitter Conferences in March 2009, we at Parnassus have thought the next wave of digital innovation will be built by ordinary geeks on top of the rich and emerging foundation of social data platforms. All kinds of cool things are being built by local (Seattle) rock star developers on top of the available social application programming interfaces (APIs), ranging from Twitter to Foursquare to Facebook and beyond. So this initial gathering creates a place where people can learn from each other, share, ‘be technical,’ and socialize.”
And thanks to Peter Chee,
ThinkSpace in Redmond, Wash., offered a great place to do just that.
First up was local star developer, and the very tall Adam Loving (@adamloving), creator of
Twibes and developer at Vulcan and Foundry Group-funded “
Gist.” He talked about how Gist uses Google’s Social Graph API as kind of a personal search-engine optimization to “pre-populate” user profiles.
How Does it Work?This stuff was over my head, but as I understand it, Google’s Social Graph API makes available a person’s public connections using XFN (Xhtml Friends Network), which identifies human relationships through the use of hyperlinks; and FOAF (Friend of a Friend), a project that aims to create a web of links between people, the things they create, and do.
Because some users create public profiles but don’t always use the same monikers across networks, a hyperlink such as a url or email address can point to friends in various networks who might otherwise go unrecognized. The aggregated data is gleaned only from publicly available information. In other words, if your information is private, don’t worry—it won’t be found! (At least that's what we're led to think!)
By identifying human connections between people and their friends, Social Graph API makes it possible for social application developers to incorporate features for their users, which can make it easier for people to connect to public friends from one application to another.
Do you want to see a demo of the Social Graph API? Enter some of your known urls and see what comes up. Interestingly, even profiles and accounts you have abandoned or renamed may surface here.
L-R: Chris Pirillo and Adam Loving
IntermissionDuring a short break, Jason, along with social media mega-star Chris Pirillo (@chrispirillo), tech expert to CNN.com, speaker, blogger, and founder of
Gnomedex, gave us a demo of “FaceTime,” the face-to-face video calling feature of the new iPhone 4. It was cool to see, and like all Apple does, it was easy to use. The combination of gorgeous industrial design and functionality has me looking forward to leaving AT&T behind and forging a new relationship with Verizon come 2011. Have I mentioned Chris Pirillo is very smart, cute and funny?
Damon Cortesi, courtesy of Randy Stewart, blog.stewtopia.com
Mapping the Social GraphNext we heard from Damon Cortesi (@dacort) of
UntitledStartup and creator of
TweetStats and
TweepSearch, among other apps. He touched upon an array of interesting topics including:
He shared an outstanding case study on the viral power of Twitter — the “pay with a tweet” social viral campaign—which shows how a French synthpop band went from zero to thousands in a matter of hours. Also, I think some of his graphs are beautiful illustrations of information.
The “Social Viral” graph, illustrates the progression of what happened when a band called The Teenagers released a new song that people “paid for” by mentioning them in a tweet. Starting around 5 PM Sunday through 10 AM Monday, you can see how the tweets followed a gradual trajectory until someone with a big following tweeted it, and then BOOM—a huge bump. Says Damon, “The concept of ‘buying’ a song by posting a tweet about it has an inherent viral aspect and worked very powerfully.”
The next three graphs show the first 100, second 100 and third 100 people who retweeted. The larger circles show someone with more influence and the ensuing repercussions. (Color changes represent 500 more followers than previous followers.) A slightly larger example showing the viral spread can be seen
here. (These gorgeous graphs were created using
Protovis.)
When I checked The Teenagers’ MySpace page on Saturday, I could see the "pay with a tweet campaign" is continuing, and when I searched the #PayWithaTweet hashtag on Twitter, I could see it’s still going strong both in the U.S. and abroad.
The "After Party"I had a chance to talk quite a bit with Adam Loving, a really handsome, lovely, articulate guy who is totally devoted to his craft. He was introduced as a local developer, but you know you’re
really “local” when you recognize each others’ high schools!
He says he’s been working in his industry for 13 years, and his love of computing goes back to when he was a kid. Working part time with Gist has been great because it’s accelerated his ability to experiment. So at the end of 2009 he stopped working on the Twibes web site, and started working on some pet projects.
I asked him if aesthetics are unimportant when developers get ideas for applications because I’ve noticed a number of unattractive (or BORING) user interfaces out there. Says Adam, “Programmers who become entrepreneurs can have a fatal flaw — they have all kinds of technology at their disposal, but focus on “What solution I can create? rather than “What problem can I solve?”
So, in the process of "creating solutions," it appears an application's look and feel can be secondary. As a graphic designer, I find myself drawn to the applications that have the strongest combination of features and appealing user interfaces. Some sites that offer great comprehensive analytical feedback I avoid simply because I can’t stand the way they look. I don’t think I’m alone.
One final conversation with Chris Pirillo shed some light on the upcoming Gnomedex, this year being held August 19-21. When I asked him about the speakers he’s scheduled thus far, he told me the line up will probably continue to evolve, but attendees can expect exposure to controversy, technology and ideas related once again to the theme of “human circuitry.” He even shared a sneak peek at the new Gnomedex t-shirt design which included something that looked a bit like an iPhone 4 with a bumper!
Listening, watching and having the opportunity to talk with some of these brilliant guys was a treat. And I know we'll continue to hear a lot about them in the coming months.
Special thanks to pioneering event organizer, author and cofounder of Thunder Lizard Productions, Steve Broback (@sbroback) of the Parnassus Group, for extending the invitation.
And Steve? I had a “Super Cool Time!"
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Thanks to @justinjwilliams and David Horsfall for their feedback.
And with Arjen Robben's lovely header, the Oranje are into the World Cup final for the first time since the travesty of 1978.
Nothing against the Uruguayans, but after the cynical cheating of Luis Suarez against Ghana, if they had gone through it would have proved beyond doubt that there is no divine, karmic, or infinite Justice in the universe. 
A nice reminder, in these times of hysterical fulmination about immigration, social diversity, and fear of the heathen Chinee, that the great birthright promise of the United States has always been that, unlike many nations in many lands, being an American doesn't depend on the shape of your eyes, or the color of your skin, or the language that you speak, or the native land of your ancestors. It isn't contingent on your religion, or the way you dress, or whether you drink beer for breakfast.
But that you believe, and act on the belief, that our nation is a body of laws governing the conduct between the people and their government as enumerated by the great charter of our Constitution and Bill of Rights, and that the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively,
C'mon. You knew I couldn't remain completely straight-faced about the occasion. 
I had big hopes for this year. But when Robinho slipped through the Holland defense to put the Brazilians up 1-0 with more than an hour to play, well...I had a doctor's appointment and turned off the truck radio with some, but not overwhelming, regret.
An what about the Big Show in general?
And in case you don't remember, we have our own soccer club here in Portland, and they may not be Germany or Brazil but those of us who consider ourselves part of the Timbers Army love them all the same.
Usually I go to Timbers' games with my friends and stand with the Army, to sing and chant and support the club. But this Saturday Brent and Julie were not in town, so I took my son. Big Peeper was as excited as a seven-year-old can be, wrapped in his borrowed scarf and toting his vuvuzela, as we designated his plastic horn. We rode the MAX train in from North, pointing out the other Timbers supporters, and sights along the way. We queued up for hot dogs and sodas and Red Vines before heading up to our seats, close but not too close to the Army for sensitive seven-year-old ears.
Normally I am an emotional wreck at the games, exulting over goals, fretting for poor play, all atwitter if the game is close and the visitors are pushing forward.
Tonight I had the chance to sit back and enjoy watching my little guy watch the game. He cheered every shot, on or off target. He jeered every Vancouver foul. He ate his junk food, blew his vuvuzela, climbed all over me, and just generally had a terrific time. That we took 25 shots and didn't score, that we ran off the field with a scoreless draw? He could have cared less. The game itself was the best, even better was the chocolately cupcake at saint cupcake afterwards, better still the fireworks we lit off when we got home.
He tumbled into bed smiling.
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