Comments on: Bionic Systems: Amplify Participation http://seedround.com/bionic-systems-amplify-participation The Adventures of Boxxet, Startup Life, and the Web. Fri, 29 Aug 2008 02:12:23 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: FreebasePortal » Blog Archive » Are you powered by Wikipedia yet http://seedround.com/bionic-systems-amplify-participation#comment-2887 FreebasePortal » Blog Archive » Are you powered by Wikipedia yet Wed, 28 Mar 2007 18:41:15 +0000 http://seedround.com/bionic-systems-amplify-participation-draft-2006-02-27/#comment-2887 [...] can also be used by bad guys to send more spam, pose as humans, etc. • Use Wikipedia to teach computers to understand terms and connections between [...] [...] can also be used by bad guys to send more spam, pose as humans, etc. • Use Wikipedia to teach computers to understand terms and connections between [...]

]]> By: Venture Beat Contributors » Are you powered by Wikipedia yet? http://seedround.com/bionic-systems-amplify-participation#comment-2623 Venture Beat Contributors » Are you powered by Wikipedia yet? Fri, 09 Mar 2007 23:19:09 +0000 http://seedround.com/bionic-systems-amplify-participation-draft-2006-02-27/#comment-2623 [...] can also be used by bad guys to send more spam, pose as humans, etc. • Use Wikipedia to teach computers to understand terms and connections between [...] [...] can also be used by bad guys to send more spam, pose as humans, etc. • Use Wikipedia to teach computers to understand terms and connections between [...]

]]> By: Steve Johnston http://seedround.com/bionic-systems-amplify-participation#comment-872 Steve Johnston Tue, 03 Oct 2006 20:13:32 +0000 http://seedround.com/bionic-systems-amplify-participation-draft-2006-02-27/#comment-872 As one of the first softwarephysicists, I started doing bionic programming in 1985. For some historical perspective, take a look at: http://softwarephysics.blogspot.com/2006/07/softwarephysics.html As one of the first softwarephysicists, I started doing bionic programming in 1985. For some historical perspective, take a look at:

http://softwarephysics.blogspot.com/2006/07/softwarephysics.html

]]> By: Finally, The Internet As Intended. :: The New Wisdom of the Web, What Newsweek’s Article Gets Right :: April :: 2006 http://seedround.com/bionic-systems-amplify-participation#comment-45 Finally, The Internet As Intended. :: The New Wisdom of the Web, What Newsweek’s Article Gets Right :: April :: 2006 Sat, 01 Apr 2006 15:05:13 +0000 http://seedround.com/bionic-systems-amplify-participation-draft-2006-02-27/#comment-45 [...] Well, sure, they are. But how many sites or services can do this - how many can create the critical mass required to build value in the service? Probably quite a few, but as competition for user participation increases, it will become harder and harder for startups to rely on the "new wisdom of the web" as their business proposition. Unless they head the advice of You Mon Tsang of boxxet and build intelligence into your services use of participation that immediately amplifies its value. If that makes zero sense to you, read about bionic systems As the title of my blog suggests, I don’t see much very new in the "new wisdom" that everyone is now tauting as revolutionary. It’s simply an understanding of how to leverage the network effect that has always been baked right into the web. Newsweek continues to push a misconception that somehow all of this is now possible because of some mysterious "improvement" of the Web: This rebooting owes everything to the enhanced power and pervasiveness of the Web, which has finally matured to the point where it can fulfill some of the outlandish promises that we heard in the ’90s. The pervasiveness has increased, for sure, but the power of the web, fundamentally, hasn’t changed. Service providers are just now starting to really bake the power of the network into their services. I know, I know, bandwidth boom, wireless access, yadda yadda. But the real fact is that the successes now being realized by embracing the Cluetrain concepts (which I still think are the real definers of Web 2.0 thinking) are helped abit by faster download speeds and a bit more ubiquity in access, but those things simply help the services - they haven’t made this "new wisdom" possible, and web 2.0 does not, as Newseek suggests "owe everything" to this mysterious new "power". [...] [...] Well, sure, they are. But how many sites or services can do this - how many can create the critical mass required to build value in the service? Probably quite a few, but as competition for user participation increases, it will become harder and harder for startups to rely on the "new wisdom of the web" as their business proposition. Unless they head the advice of You Mon Tsang of boxxet and build intelligence into your services use of participation that immediately amplifies its value. If that makes zero sense to you, read about bionic systems As the title of my blog suggests, I don’t see much very new in the "new wisdom" that everyone is now tauting as revolutionary. It’s simply an understanding of how to leverage the network effect that has always been baked right into the web. Newsweek continues to push a misconception that somehow all of this is now possible because of some mysterious "improvement" of the Web: This rebooting owes everything to the enhanced power and pervasiveness of the Web, which has finally matured to the point where it can fulfill some of the outlandish promises that we heard in the ’90s. The pervasiveness has increased, for sure, but the power of the web, fundamentally, hasn’t changed. Service providers are just now starting to really bake the power of the network into their services. I know, I know, bandwidth boom, wireless access, yadda yadda. But the real fact is that the successes now being realized by embracing the Cluetrain concepts (which I still think are the real definers of Web 2.0 thinking) are helped abit by faster download speeds and a bit more ubiquity in access, but those things simply help the services - they haven’t made this "new wisdom" possible, and web 2.0 does not, as Newseek suggests "owe everything" to this mysterious new "power". [...]

]]> By: Kurt http://seedround.com/bionic-systems-amplify-participation#comment-24 Kurt Fri, 10 Mar 2006 03:54:54 +0000 http://seedround.com/bionic-systems-amplify-participation-draft-2006-02-27/#comment-24 For all the talk of "attention scarcity", it's ironic that so many of the app's dujour rely so heavily on attention in the form of participation - and it's surprising that more people are not talking about this. Does the system "amplify participation" needs to be the question asked by anyone attempting to determine who will be left standing when all this Web 2.0 business shakes out. You make a great point, and I cant wait to see boxxet in action. For all the talk of “attention scarcity”, it’s ironic that so many of the app’s dujour rely so heavily on attention in the form of participation - and it’s surprising that more people are not talking about this. Does the system “amplify participation” needs to be the question asked by anyone attempting to determine who will be left standing when all this Web 2.0 business shakes out.

You make a great point, and I cant wait to see boxxet in action.

]]> By: Finally, The Internet As Intended. :: Attention Scarcity’s Impact on Web 2.0 and Social Applications :: March :: 2006 http://seedround.com/bionic-systems-amplify-participation#comment-23 Finally, The Internet As Intended. :: Attention Scarcity’s Impact on Web 2.0 and Social Applications :: March :: 2006 Fri, 10 Mar 2006 03:42:22 +0000 http://seedround.com/bionic-systems-amplify-participation-draft-2006-02-27/#comment-23 [...] A great deal of Web 2.0’s hype, or the justification of its promise, is rooted in the fact that social application’s are engineered specifically to unleash the network effect. There’s a new social application being launched ever day now it seems. But You Mon Tsang, founder of Boxxet, makes a fantastic point in this post about bionic systems: with attention increasingly scarce, the web community simply will not support a large number of social  - there isn’t enough participation to go around. His words: …the web community will have a tough time supporting the large entries of social applications. There is simply not enough participants/participation (or attention) to go around. New services that are essentially empty applications that require participants to add content and value will have a harder and harder time. We should expect to see a handful of such services dominate eBay style (where the network effect works its awesome magic). But unless these services can create lock-in the way eBay did with its feedback score, we have seen the fickleness of the crowds also abandon services just as quickly. [...] [...] A great deal of Web 2.0’s hype, or the justification of its promise, is rooted in the fact that social application’s are engineered specifically to unleash the network effect. There’s a new social application being launched ever day now it seems. But You Mon Tsang, founder of Boxxet, makes a fantastic point in this post about bionic systems: with attention increasingly scarce, the web community simply will not support a large number of social  - there isn’t enough participation to go around. His words: …the web community will have a tough time supporting the large entries of social applications. There is simply not enough participants/participation (or attention) to go around. New services that are essentially empty applications that require participants to add content and value will have a harder and harder time. We should expect to see a handful of such services dominate eBay style (where the network effect works its awesome magic). But unless these services can create lock-in the way eBay did with its feedback score, we have seen the fickleness of the crowds also abandon services just as quickly. [...]

]]> By: You Mon Tsang http://seedround.com/bionic-systems-amplify-participation#comment-4 You Mon Tsang Mon, 06 Mar 2006 08:43:36 +0000 http://seedround.com/bionic-systems-amplify-participation-draft-2006-02-27/#comment-4 Tim: well stated: a bionic system as a combined system of biological and mechanical is stronger than either system alone. In the Six Million Dollar Man, Steve Austin was capable of physical feats far exceeding a man yet had the passion and compassion that a machine or robot would not. I found this to be a great analogy for how today's technology needs to evolve. In this particular post, I was trying to be specific with my use of bionics as applied to social software systems. I believe that bionics can help the machine make best use of the participation that a social software system can get. And I am worried there are too many apps asking too much. The participation success of a Wikipedia or digg is hard to reproduce so most software applications will have to find another way. I believe the tremendous leverage that a bionic system can provide is one such way. Tim: well stated: a bionic system as a combined system of biological and mechanical is stronger than either system alone.

In the Six Million Dollar Man, Steve Austin was capable of physical feats far exceeding a man yet had the passion and compassion that a machine or robot would not.

I found this to be a great analogy for how today’s technology needs to evolve.

In this particular post, I was trying to be specific with my use of bionics as applied to social software systems. I believe that bionics can help the machine make best use of the participation that a social software system can get. And I am worried there are too many apps asking too much.

The participation success of a Wikipedia or digg is hard to reproduce so most software applications will have to find another way. I believe the tremendous leverage that a bionic system can provide is one such way.

]]> By: Tim O'Reilly http://seedround.com/bionic-systems-amplify-participation#comment-3 Tim O'Reilly Sun, 05 Mar 2006 18:39:56 +0000 http://seedround.com/bionic-systems-amplify-participation-draft-2006-02-27/#comment-3 When we spoke, You Mon, you referenced the 70s TV show, the Six Million Dollar Man, which had a somewhat different slant on "bionics." It was the integration of biological and mechanical to create an enhanced system that is more powerful than either alone. When we spoke, You Mon, you referenced the 70s TV show, the Six Million Dollar Man, which had a somewhat different slant on “bionics.” It was the integration of biological and mechanical to create an enhanced system that is more powerful than either alone.

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