TIGSource Forums

Hey guys,

I'm writing to tell you guys about this web application a friend of mine and myself have been working on for about a year, that we're hoping to launch in about a week's time, called NotePS. We wanna create a more integrated approach to online communication, a central hub for the internet so to speak. I posted about it about a year ago when it was it's first version, but it has evolved from a simple social media site into something much more robust.

Here's a tech demo of how it works:YOUTUBE VIDEO (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ap9QmD4s5w)

So to kind of break it down, using current web tech out there, we sought to create an open ended, highly moddable web platform for communicating. We tried to take the best aspects of current online communications (facebook, twitter, reddit, message boards) and put them in one place. Using an opt-in philosophy, the user will be able to cater their experience to what they are most used to, as well as change everything on the fly.

In addition to being able to operate as a communication platform, it has been built from the ground up to allow for integration of 2nd party apps and widgets, meaning there will be room for outside development and distribution of web applications within our site. As you can see, there are some basic widgets already built to show how this platform might be put to use. I'm no programmer, but as far as I know, the possibilities are endless.

What this means for gamers and indie developers like us out there, is a new and viable marketplace for web-based games. Although not yet implemented, our goal is to have a full distribution market for selling apps, much like other app marketplaces out there now. Don't have much else to say on that yet, since it's not yet a feature, but keep that in mind.

As it stands, the first 5000 users will get free access to our platform, after which there will be a surcharge for access. This will be a one-time fee (equivalent to paying for an OS) after which you will have unlimited access to the site. The reason for this is that we wish to avoid having to resort to advertising, or information selling in order to generate revenue. This way, we can keep all information private and owned by the user. None of that shady business like facebook has, where they sell your information to advertisers. This is just to help us with server upkeep and keeping the site ad-free. We are really adamant about making this site exactly what the user wants. No smoke or mirrors, no elitism, garbage like that. We're just a couple of dudes who think online communication is important. And we want to make it as easy and accessible as possible.   


If you have questions, feel free to ask them here. I'll be sure to answer them promptly.

Thanks.

So it's a social media site inside of a browser, inside of another browser...




wut

It's not strictly a social media site. It's intended to be  more open-ended and robust than that. But yes, it is a fully operational desktop within the web.

I think the video is pretty confusing. I can't really see the value in this platform, why would I want to use this? I can just have a desktop with a bunch of browser windows open, seems like the same experience mostly.
Maybe you should display some use-cases, show how you would use this in every day life, and how those things are better than existing platforms.

The video also ends up with alot of windows open, making it seem like a big unorganized mess. I know that that's just because you wanted to showcase all the features, but I can imagine that it scares some people.

Other than that, it looks pretty dialed technically. And the ui seems great, no more complicated than it should be.

Sorry if I sound like a complaining asshat, just wanted to give you my impressions :)

I was just meditating about how my means of communications were inacceptably limited, and wondering were would happenth this elusive hero that would unit all the crappy interfaces and make me the master of my own destiny. Art thou up to the challenge younh lad, fo thou could be made a knight before the night sets upon thy land
behooves, behooves! by all the feralmen of azragor, the internet needs a new protocol!

I like it from a tech-point, but I also see to fail the application. For example, the panels... Well I had those since 1843 in my X-org server on Linux. The browserwindow ticks me of, make it full screen, so you can't see anything but your app. Then again, than you will just a limited windowmanager.

So in short, love the tech, but can't see the application. Then again, I can't see the application for twitter either.

@omgnoseat: The reason for why we believe this is something new and interesting is the ease of connectivity and the ability to operate on varying levels of communication simultaneously. As it currently stands, you either have a plethora of ways to talk to people via the internet: chat, message boards, facebook, twitter, reddit, instagram, etc etc etc. The way NotePS changes it up is by streamlining and conglomerating the best parts of online communication, in hopes of bringing a broader audience of users together.

@moi: alas fine moi, alas.

@salsario: if the browser window ticks you off, most browsers these days support full screen mode. As for the application of this site, that is entirely up to you to decide. We're not telling people how to use what we've made, we've made it in the hopes that people will figure that out on their own. Instead of telling you what you can and can't do, can and can't post, whatever, we've given the building blocks to tailor make the site.

As I said before, everything runs on an opt-in basis. If you are the kind of person who doesn't like twitter, use it to write more in depth posts. Or use to to read what other people have to say and respond. The hope is to encourage more intellectual interaction on the internet. Or at least make it a possibility. Our intention is to allow for a more emergent experience. Something different. 

As I said before, the intention is to allow for 3rd party developers to keep adding new features as well, on top of what we will no doubt continually add. But we have to get it out there in order to find out where we can do better right?

We're still in our infancy as developers, and we hope to learn a lot, but it will take some open-mindedness and a little bit of time to see what we can improve.

This looks really interesting. I like the idea of having a "global desktop" for simple widget apps that can be used across different devices.

I have a few criticisms though:

- Those "search" widgets should really open new tabs in the browser. Having a browser within a browser seems absolutely pointless to me.
- The feed thing is a little confusing. Is it a walled garden that only shows the communications of other NotePS users or is it tied into twitter/facebook?
- If I understood correctly, I don't like the idea of throwing private communications into the global feed. They're bound to get lost in the noise, and I care FAR more about private messages than I do about public ones. They should at least be pinned to the top of the stream until they're read.
- The UI looks really pretty, but it seems to get a little convoluted and confusing at times. Window clutter also seems like it's going to become a huge problem.
- On the topic of windows, the fact that so many need to be open up at times makes things feels incohesive. It feels like you could do certain things without having to open up a new window. You should look into simplifying things a bit more. Maybe get rid of the idea of windows altogether if possible.


I don't know why, but I have a feeling that this is going to turn into something special with a few more adjustments. I'll definitely be trying out the beta.

Good luck,
-Steven

@StevenObrien: I'll try to address your questions point by point:

-Our intention was to allow for having everything be as inclusive as possible, so that would be the justification for having the wikipedia page open within the site.

-The feed is communication within NotePS right now. We're still working out the best way to have integrate twitter and facebook feeds, so that is yet to be seen. I think our intention will be to have them integrated in the form of widgets and not in the main feed.

-Private communication is absolutely NOT in the global feed. The only people who can view private conversations are the people you have specified. Once those people have been specified, they will remain the ONLY people who can see that thread indefinitely. So not to worry, there will be no displaying of private conversations in the global stream.

- We're constantly streamlining the UI, and until we get a decent user base to test and get feedback, we'll stick with this UI for launch. From our personal tests it's a lot more straightforward than it might appear at first glance. But of course, we're fully intent on improving it as we go, and as more people use it.

-The windows are integral to how the website works from the back-end as well as an organization front, however we will look into locking layouts, cascading currently open windows and other functions that can improve the clutter. This is for the purpose of full customizability, so that nothing is locked in unless you want it to be.

Hope I managed to answer your questions sufficiently :)

Hey. Creator / lead developer of the project here. Indie gaming fan, threesided and I have been friends since childhood and began a lot of really ambitious games together when we were in high school. Kind of helped direct each of us to where we are now.

I signed up just to address one of the most recent questions directly:

As far as I'm concerned we will never be integrating with Facebook / implementing Facebook functionality. Twitter is a different can of worms (I actually quite enjoy it, and they haven't crossed any lines as far as their business model goes).

Facebook's core business model is fundamentally flawed. Individual users should not be the product you're selling to other corporations. If somebody signs up to use your service or product, you should be providing them exactly that. You shouldn't be hoarding all of their data (aggregate or not), selling it to highest bidder, and repeatedly shoving unwanted advertisements in their face. Not only that, but at this point, Facebook is merely a convoluted piece of bloatware with no semblance of ultimate vision or direction. It's a sinking ship, a dying platform, and that can be evidenced by the lack of younger users (new generations) signing up with, or sticking with it in recent times. It has become a faceless member of "Big Data" with no real human connection --- what I believe to be the most fundamentally important aspect of a truly successful, sustainable corporate entity.

I refuse to support the Facebook platform any longer than I absolutely have to. What I'm trying to create here is a unitary, standalone product that makes everyone's lives a little bit easier. A way to centralize all of the different ways we attempt to communicate on the internet into one ubiquitous platform that can be used on any device, any time, anywhere. Identically. The focus is not on your core group of real-life friends. The focus is not on parties, advertising yourself. The focus is not on celebritism or pictures. I will be clear that it doesn't disclude these potential uses, but the true focus is on the message. Communication, pure-and-simple. I anticipate (and would hope) that some people will use NotePS much like they'd use TIGsource forums (or any other message board) and communicate with others and build relationships based around common interests as people begin to play around with the tagging system to identify their favourite subjects and hobbies. I expect some people will use it as they'd use Twitter, and only post short updates to their close friends to let people know what's going on. Others may choose to use the BBM-style messaging system combined with private (or conference) notes to run a business, discuss things with colleagues, organize events. Some people might use it like reddit, effectively treating it like a link farm. The possibilities are endless based on the way the platform is set up. You can reveal your real name and identity or choose not to. You can communicate anonymously.

I am obviously a huge fan of the way you can communicate with the platform (as that was the heart of the vision to begin with), but the functional aspects it includes as a Peripheral System are just as important. Like I mentioned in the tech demo, it all runs off of a 40kB core script. Now, that will certainly grow in the future, but I can't expect it growing larger than 200kB in the next couple of years. This means, should we make any new updates, upgrades, or whatnot to the core platform, you can receive them and update near-instantaneously. The equivalent would be an iOS update (or Android update) that you don't need to download and install and worry about. Bam. Everything is updated and works in less than a second. This setup (treating it as an operating system --- Peripheral System) also allows for seamless integration of 3rd party apps and widgets, anything you could ever want to do on the internet can be customized to your NotePS. It won't be long until you no longer have to pay for something on either the Apple Store or Google Play. Hell, what if you change devices? You grab it once. On NotePS. And you have it on every device. Desktop, notebook, tablet, smartphone, TV, maybe even the dashboard of your car in years to come.

Now that I've typed this up, I may re-use aspects of it on other websites in coming weeks. I feel like I'm going to have to be reiterating many of the same points over and over.

If you'd like to see me personally discuss the platform a little bit (threesided didn't include this in the first post), you can check out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ym5W8-IyKPE

Thanks so much, everyone.
- Keith

I'll definitely try this out, could be useful.

Also I would hate to have your last name :(

Well, registration is now up for the site, for anyone interested. We will be opening logins shortly after, we just want to finish off a few final polishes to everything. But for now you can at least read more about what NotePS is all about and reserve a username etc.

GO NOW! (http://www.noteps.com)

(http://i.imgur.com/sHyVM.png)

:/

Poe: One thing to keep in mind is that this is still in beta, and is therefore being actively worked on to make it as compatible as possible.

I have to remind you that this has all been put together by literally ONE guy. One. Not a team of developers, with some huge budget. One guy. I've helped with the look and that's about it. So you have to be patient while we figure out workarounds and other methods to make the site more compatible. If you click on the bar you posted the screenshot of, you'll see that the problems in Firefox are largely aesthetic problems, not core functionality. So please, sign up and seriously help us squash as many bugs as possible!

You guys need an elevator pitch. There's way too much information. I just want to know why I should look at this. There are hundreds of social networking sites and hundreds of Note things, what makes you different.

What problem do I have? How does NotePS solve that?

Like this answer to "What does NotePS do?"


I've bolded the bits I understood (it does stuff and lets you talk to people).
Underlined the bits that scares me away.

So, gonna say 'no thanks' based on that.

Thanks, Muz. That sort of stuff is actually really helpful. A big hurdle here is going to be marketing. I honestly believe we've created something really amazing here, but a lot of it is in the pitch and how I can get that across to other people.

You're certainly right, the FAQ (and product in general) lacks a concise pitch. Luckily, we're only a week into launch - so we haven't been doing the wrong thing for months, wondering where our problem is.

I'm not a marketing guru. I'm trained as a biochemist, evolutionary biologist, and am a self-taught programmer. Everything else I'm just figuring out as I go.

I have a whole ton of things to get done over the next week, like threesided mentioned this is pretty much a one-man show right now. I'm responsible for business, marketing, design, administration, development and testing. Baby steps. Don't be surprised if you see the FAQ (and splash page in general) revamped a few times very soon.

In regards to Firefox being at 60% compatibility:
We can't help a large chunk of that. That's up to Mozilla developers. We realized we'd have a problem with the Firefox platform pretty early on. It has a ton of compliance issues, doesn't parse or run Javascript that effectively or efficiently, and in my experience has just been completely outclassed by Google Chrome. Even Opera has better performance. In some cases it's worthwhile to find a workaround (as we've had to do for some platforms) but in other cases the workaround ends up doing more harm than good. In this case, some workarounds just aren't even possible given the limitations of the browser.