The Social Networker

by Chris Miller at 10:18:53 AM on Friday, September 7th, 2007
I have high hopes for all the new social networking sites that are starting up.  This one appeared to offer yet another desktop solution for bringing information together.  Bubbletop is simply a screen, with numerous tabs possible, that had draggable widgets on it that pull information from RSS feeds.  No other social networking is really built in anywhere in the site.  It becomes just another place to try and suck in and manage information.  But after playing with it more, it offers some areas of coolness factor, but they have a way to go.  Read on..



So what could they do better?  Offer the widgets to post to some of these accounts.  Yes, they have some developer tools, but I couldn't find any widgets that provided that ability to post as well as receive like I have in the iGoogle desktop.  You have the simple ability to add new bubbles that are already into the catalog that are made public, or just type in an RSS feed.  They should make a browser widget that allows me to drag the feed icon to it and add the bubble automatically as another idea.  You can rate each bubble you have, but I wasn't sure where that fit into the big picture just yet.

There is a nice search option that will search through all your bubbles for a particular topic for you.  It blows a filter bubble with the information it pulls from the sites.  It was weird that a filter search didn't pull an entry I could see in my blog bubble when I searched, but we are in beta here folks.  What was nice is that when I clicked one of the search results it did not attempt to open a web browser tab or window, it opened a bigger bubble that then allowed you to share the link information.  That was cool.

You can search or invite new contacts but it was not clear to me what adding them would do for me, so I didn't I willingly admit.  But some insight into why I would want to add contacts (sharing widgets or desktops maybe?) would entice me.  You can make a contact with people on the system or invite new.  They are giving each person 5 invites to send out as they grow.  Now, there is no way to tell who is no the system by the way.  That would be helpful to have some tags about myself so I can search for people with the same interest and grow my contacts that way.



Ok I clicked the help button.  One cool feature is that once I add a contact, I can drag a bubble to them and share that bubble right away.  Not bad.  Basically blowing a bubble at them.  Cool idea.  Now do they keep that feed/bubble forever or just that one time since I saw something of interest?  The help needs some more explanation points in it for the users, I imagine that is coming along in time.

I don't even want to rate this site yet, we will come back and blow some more bubbles in a bit to see how they have grown.

    No Comments Found


Discussion for this entry is now closed. Please email me instead

Conference/Article Materials

My Files

Yes this is a blatant theft of the outline that Jess uses on her page, but I asked permission. Why?? Because I am a hardcore admin and can make ugly tables to make you developers frustrated, but this was too nice to pass up.

Also Known As: Chris Miller (when awake)

Boring Certifications: (only because someone asked twice)

  • Workplace Collaboration Services 2.5 - Team Collab and Messaging
  • Domino 7 Certified Security Administrator
  • PCLP ND7
  • PCLP ND6
  • PCLP R5
  • PCLP R4
  • CLP Collaboration (soon to be retired Aug 2006)
  • random former R4 exams
  • CLI for numerous admin areas including Domino, Sametime and Workplace
  • CLP Insane

Yes, I write some of those dreaded admin cert exams you take. I won't say which ones so you don't come looking for me, but I will say they are the real good recent ones that have been coming out.

Weapons/Equipment:

  • At work an IBM 2 GHz
  • At home a plethera of 6 machines with various Windows versions and Red Hat on a wired/wireless LAN
  • A Toshiba E740 with 802.11b (yes geek toy)
  • An Apple 40GB iPod that is filled to the brim
  • Compaq RioPort MP3 player (now in storage)
  • An EBook (REB1100) also for travel (Love that darn thing)
  • Verizon and they always seem to know how to find me, damn cell

Animals:

One dog, a Pug. He has been on this world before and seems to understand slippers and a fine cigar. Mind you that is him in the chair and not me.

Let us now also add a deranged cat that is in the process of being toilet trained. Update: Toilet traning was very very close.

Music:

Non-stop. At my desk, in my car, walking to work and back to my car downtown. In the house there is a crazy zoned set-up for you home automation geeks.

I am a self-proclaimed MP3 fiend, to which I have tried rehab 4 billion times to no avail. Next is the MP3 hard-drive for the car that I found. Now what kind of music you ask? I will never tell.

Languages:

  • Incredibly fast English
  • Very slow Spanish
  • Emoticon-ese
  • Learning Korean
  • HTML
  • Advanced Sarcasm

Geek class special abilities:

  • Notes/Domino overdrive
  • Workplace
  • Sametime
  • Active Directory (huh? kidding)
  • Quickplace
  • LMS, LVC and the other L's of elearning
  • Windoze junk
  • MS Exchange versions
  • LAN
  • TCPIP
  • Server Iron
  • Yeah, yeah it goes on some

Skills:

Get back to you here

Spells:

Hershey’s Stomach of Holding: Jess and I are fighting over who eats more chocolate. TWDUFF can help me out and vouch for me.

Character Bio:

This will take far more time than I have today. I will start with I was born and still live in St. Louis, MO. Even though for a couple years I was never, ever here and always on the road, this is smack in the middle of the US. Everything is just a few hour flight. That part is nice. No beach/ocean/coast isn't the best. But with the travel I make up for it.

Don't Panic

Looking to find me in person? Here is where I will be.




DatesEventLocation
delayedcustomer visitMinneapolis, MN
Mar 31 - Apr 4Lotus Notes and Domino 8 Upgrade SeminarCopenhagen, Denmark
Apr 30 - May 2Admin2008Boston, MA
May 10 - 15Lotus Notes and Domino 8 Upgrade SeminarLondon
Jun 4 - 6Irish Lotus User Group 2008Dublin, Ireland
Jun 16 - 19Lotus Notes and Domino 8 Upgrade SeminarSan Francisco, CA
Jun 21 - 29VacationSome island I am not telling you
Send Email
Search this site

This blog is hosted by


Copyright © 2004, IdoNotes
Designed by Sean Burgess
Comments? Queries?Contact the webmaster
Powered by DominoBlog, ver. 3.0.2