The future of Protein® OS
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I've been doing a lot of thinking about the future of the OS recently. This is nothing new. Since the site launched in 1998 we have always been trying to predict the next generation technologies that we could incorporate to stay ahead of the curve, and without giving ourselves too many props, I think we've done a pretty good job so far. However, since the OS went offline in mid-1996 and came back last October, I've been struggling to define exactly where we fit in the new 2.0 landscape that has already claimed a number of casualties. Are we a content provider? Are we a content aggregator? Are we a social network? Are we an online service? Or are we bits of all of these? These key questions have been the topic of many a discussion with the the core Protein® crew over the last few weeks, so I felt it is only right that you all should have a say in our future, as without you, we are nothing. So, let's hear it. Yeah. |
| Posted 31 January, 2008 - 00:09 |
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mmmm tricky, its a crazy fast moving world out there, with new hotshot players joining the tables every day. Maybe it's time for an old hand to change his game....
Protein has been around for longer than many, its good to see it still going, as after a few years I just bumped into it again searching for the airship hotel info. It gave me what I needed, just like it used to do. So I would say focus on a niche, cool hunting, content aggregator with enough social network to add depth. I would bin the online services and content provider stuff, as that battle was lost years ago. I would also make massive efforts to partner up in Asia while you still can, Japan of course, but also the serious up and coming crews in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong etc. This Century will belong to them, they know it. They learn horribly fast and with more broadband users than North America (and no legacy systems) they are developing some very serious things....
We are after all now dealing with a generation for which there has always been a internet, don't be out evolved.
Mr Jones.
i think mr jones is spot on with the services comment, there are countless 2.0 'service'/application type sites that the whole arena is hopelessly flooded.
on the social networking front, maybe look into developing a facebook app or something that ties into the OS? it's hard to persuade people to sign up for another site, but linking it to something they already use and have all their friends on is easier. trojan horse tactics ;-)
@mr jones. very true. as one there *isn't* a recession at the moment is the far east. good comments on the content vs. service as well, however i still think there is room for a limited selection of well designed/branded applications that all you find the content you are looking for and/or connect with other people on the OS.
i'm just designing the next release of the OS and it's all about content aggregation across multiple sources as well as intelligent filter systems that provide you full control over what you show/hide.
@george. word. facebook app in production as we speak and we already have openID built into the core OS system. now also looking at ning as a possible alternative/addition.
@will: protein has a great legacy. adding feeds is fine - being a superniche aggregator -- but if you want to try something different filter wise why don't you try building something like a cross between newspond.com, techmeme and digg, but based around the protein-cultural vibe. now that would be useful -- as I'm increasingly frustrated with these tech/g33k heavy aggregators. I want something to feed my cultural tagging habit too.
i also think bridging the gap between the real/virtual is a protein strong point - so more in that direction too...
just semi-random thoughts...
this is all good matt and exactly the direction i'm looking to go. when we first launched it was all about going out and finding the content, however now it's all about intelligent filtering. you ramp that up across multiple content types with some supaclever networked/social apps and you suddenly have a very interesting proposition.
The intelligent filtering idea sounds promising, I'm finding it harder and harder to keep up with the ridiculous amount of feeds I'm now subscribed to, as I'm loathe to unsubscribe from any for fear of missing some little gems. All sort of linked to an idea I was playing around with recently about 'digital subjectivity', the idea of computers making more and more decisions about for us, so aggregators/filters, even image/audio compression etc.
digital subjectivity. nice. i get aggregators/filters, but not sure i get your image/audio compression idea?
I think the phrase is probably better than the idea, it did start to become a bit tenuous with compression. The thought was that with audio/image compression, computers are now deciding what parts of images & music are important and which parts are not. There's probably some better examples of computers making decisions on our behalf to be honest, maybe systems used by stock traders?
that i like mr george. lossy filtering. keep the quality, remove the waste. nice. i've been looking into professional business news services as well as, which are very good, but only survive because they charge £5,000 subscription to have a dedicated team of editors and analysts continually monitoring the feeds for you. something tells me protein members aren't going to stump up that sort [if any] cash for!
just found this awesome post by media futurist gerd leonhard as part of his blog/book, end of control. it is exactly where i'm hoping to take the OS and would encourage all of you to read it!
"Lastly and most importantly, analogous to what is already happening in “text content” — i.e., in news, information, and publishing, imagine this kind of shift with music, film/video, and TV. Imagine a Moogle Reader for radio, a GooTube reader for video. Content feeds (formerly known as “channels”) that you activate with one click, preferences and settings you can set as you see fit, a personal page that is like a canvas of all the content you’ve ever wanted (think a Netvibes version of an Electronic Programming Guide or EPG) — and all of it working online and offline, and on any digital device from computers to phones, TVs, and PSPs. Now that would be powerful, and that is where we are headed."
word.
Protein should be more popular.... you should find a way to make it more popular... There are lots of people that didn't ever heard about it and it's a big lost... because everyone should.
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software bucuresti
Good thread, these questions keep rolling round my head, i know there is good stuff out there but im drowning in feeds at the moment and i want somewhere where i know i can go be inspired or awed and carry on whether the intelligent filter is the protein crew submitting or the something more hi tech is interesting. Nice filtering and tagging is also good, im quite a big netvibes fan as it helps me keep on top of all i watch but it doesnt prvoide the random wow factor of something new being thrown at you. I seem to have rambled off topic, but its good to be back :)
good to hear from you dom, i know i've said it before, but there are new changes ahead. i'm currently reviewing the whole 8 channel + tags structure, to a more open tags only format as i'm finding it a bit too restrictive. netvibes is great. i'm a big fan and know the recently departed CEO well. definite plans to make the protein homepage more widget like and customisable, so hold tight.
here is the future of protein os. it's been something i've been working on for a while, but those guys at 23 and me have gone and beat me to it. darn. no problem though, we are still going to make our own genetic social network to kick some serious ass: