Comments on: How is Shizzow Different from …?

By: Jeff the Great

Jeff the Great — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 19:36:37 +0000

I think the key points here are these:

1. Shizzow and BrightKite offer incredibly similar features (in my opinion).

2. Here is the difference: Shizzow has a focus on places, instead of addresses…not because it has technology that BrightKite doesn’t have, but because Shizzow is marketing it as a places, not addresses site. In a way, Shizzow offers less (can’t ’shout’ from a generic place) to get more (more detailed location info).

I really, really want to see Shizzow succeed…don’t get me wrong. I’ve just been rubbed the wrong way by all the blog posts that so badly want Shizzow to be different that they are literally making things up in an attempt to silence those of us that are asking the question.

Its okay to be technilogically the same and to rely on your positioning/marketing to help you stand out.

By: dawn

dawn — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 18:00:43 +0000

Audrey, I think we underestimated the concerns around residences (at least I did - I don’t want to speak for the other 3). My assumption was that if people wanted residential privacy, they would achieve it by not shouting from home. However, as you know, we can never predict exactly how people are going to use the software, so we are working on ways to make the idea of “home” work for more people. Sam is working on some ideas for how to make this better, but it’s a complicated issue with the way that the site is currently architected, so it’s taking some time to get it right.

By: Ryan W

Ryan W — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:47:16 +0000

Thanks Dawn. Perhaps at a mass level, BK has a different usage type. But, so far, I’m using Shizzow exactly as I did BK, except without SMS, pictures, or a mobile/iPhone app that Shizzow doesn’t have yet. But, there are more people I know on it (which can go a long way towards making up for other features). If I want to say where I am, I shout, just as on BK, when not home, I use an address/place, when home I use a city. Now, if Shizzow has better place handling than BK, as Audrey mentioned in her blog, than that’s a great win as well.

I love the “leave” concept though, and like the ideas circling around the “home” place.

By: Audrey Eschright

Audrey Eschright — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:54:13 +0000

Re: residential privacy, this was a hot topic at WhereCamp in May, as you might expect. One approach I like is to use Yahoo’s Location API to report home or private locations at a larger (perhaps neighborhood) level, so you can say generally where you are without giving full details. This is what Fire Eagle is using.

By: Dawn Foster

Dawn Foster — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:24:34 +0000

Ryan,

Shizzow has a very different usage model than Brightkite. People seem to use Brightkite mostly at a city / zip code level to let people know what city they are currently visiting, and I think that Brightkite & Dopplr are better than Shizzow for that purpose.

Shizzow is really about getting together with your friends. You only need to shout when you are at a place where people might want to join you (coffee shop, pub, etc.) In general, a city / zip code are not specific enough for the purpose of getting together with friends.

We are looking at ways to leave a place and go “off the grid” when you aren’t somewhere that friends might want to join you. I actually avoid shouting from places where I want to be alone. For example, I don’t normally shout from the gym. At the gym, I want to focus on getting my workout finished without the distraction of talking to friends.

We’re also working on better ways to allow people to shout from home without telling the world the address of your house. In my case, I offset my house a number of blocks and put it at a major intersection (43rd & Hawthorne). Someone would find the Hawthorne Auto shop, a martial arts studio, and my favorite bubble tea store, but not my house if they try to visit me based on my “home” in Shizzow. This isn’t ideal, so we’re working on better ways to handle residential privacy in Shizzow.

I hope this helps.

By: Ryan W

Ryan W — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:07:55 +0000

Never mind, I see it’s already being discussed (http://getsatisfaction.com/shizzow/topics/special_case_home_place).

By: Ryan W

Ryan W — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:04:55 +0000

I agree that place is of primary importance over displaying an address. But, there are many times I just want to name a place based on a city, not a full blown address. Most of the time, I’m home, but I don’t want to enter my full address. I’d like to create a “Ryan’s Home” place for just Sherwood. I really liked brightkite for this, but it did not see the adoption of the local community like single location focused Shizzow can.

Anyways, looking forward to following developments on Shizzow.