I'm helping a social network launch!

deadsuperhero · Sat 09/06/2012 11:09:46

Hey folks,

I just wanted to say that a team of people that I work with in the open source community is launching a new social networking service, with the central focus being on creating and remixing content. It's kind of a different approach to social, and currently new changes are being implemented in the codebase everyday.

The AGS community is full of creative people that make awesome things everyday, and as someone that's frequented these boards for quite some time, I thought you guys might want to try it out. The focus of this network is largely on content and being able to express an idea aesthetically in different ways. There are different templates for posts, and some upcoming features will focus on being able to actually remix existing content to make it your own.

"What does it look like?" you ask suspiciously.

This is what my profile looks like. I can configure the sizes of the tiles, which automatically adjusts the layouts of every other post.

This is a full post I made, a comment bar flips open on the bottom.

Here's a screenshot of the stream.

You can sign up here.

If anyone would like to post thoughts on this, let me know what you think of it.

Snake · Sat 09/06/2012 15:51:58

I'm not a social networking guy, so automatically I cringe when I hear you say, "I'm working on a social networking thingy-doo."

First thoughts: GAH! Your profile reminds me of Myspace, which I always thought was horrible. It is also, for me, slow to scroll because of all the ah... "stuff" you have.

In the end, though, I think I get it now. It reminds me a bit of Pinterest, which I actually DO like (my wife has an account and I've been meaning to make one myself just for giggles), except for Makrio the point is to take those things you "pin" (or in this case, "collect") and combine a select few together to make a message of some sort. I like the idea behind it.

deadsuperhero · Sun 10/06/2012 00:42:39

Quote from: Snake on Sat 09/06/2012 15:51:58
I'm not a social networking guy, so automatically I cringe when I hear you say, "I'm working on a social networking thingy-doo."

Point taken.

QuoteFirst thoughts: GAH! Your profile reminds me of Myspace, which I always thought was horrible. It is also, for me, slow to scroll because of all the ah... "stuff" you have.

Thanks for the feedback on that. As part of a UX/UI experiment, we're looking at ways to make the overall layout of things to be easier to use, and more intuitive. I don't really see much of a resemblance between Myspace and Makr.io, though. We're not going to allow for crazy amounts of custom non-standards-compliant CSS, for example. Performance optimizations are going to be a given, though, due to the content-centric nature of the site.

QuoteIn the end, though, I think I get it now. It reminds me a bit of Pinterest, which I actually DO like (my wife has an account and I've been meaning to make one myself just for giggles), except for Makrio the point is to take those things you "pin" (or in this case, "collect") and combine a select few together to make a message of some sort. I like the idea behind it.

Exactly. The focus is largely on making and sharing things, with a high emphasis on being able to remix existing content in different ways. We're currently looking at ways to better do that, as well designing a way to actually "collect" things. The idea is to ultimately add value to your user data, rather than simply having abstract technical representations of a series of standardized status updates. (As an aside, you can quite literally download all of your data, and actually "own" it.)

EchosofNezhyt · Sun 10/06/2012 02:19:01

Well Like Snake said I was like eh social network....

But looking at it looks kinda cool

deadsuperhero · Mon 11/06/2012 06:25:00

Quote from: Frito Master on Sun 10/06/2012 02:19:01
But looking at it looks kinda cool

Thanks!

You're more than welcome to try it out. You can also register using a Facebook account now.

We've also added a new feature the other day, which allows you to completely remix existing posts and make them your own. It's actually pretty neat, as it allows you to take an existing picture or statement and gives you the opportunity to add something to give it a completely different context.

For example, here's an example of an original post and the remix

EchosofNezhyt · Mon 11/06/2012 06:45:40

kk I signed up.

Edit:
Add a return to home or profile button to the setting screen and a ability to crop profile pic when uploading would be nice.

selmiak · Tue 12/06/2012 15:58:35

Why does everything nowadays only work with a facebook profile? I'm not at that crappy thing but I have and use email

Anian · Tue 12/06/2012 19:55:18

Quote from: selmiak on Tue 12/06/2012 15:58:35
Why does everything nowadays only work with a facebook profile? I'm not at that crappy thing but I have and use email

I find it quite the opposite - it makes it easy to leave a comment or something at certain sites, instead of going to check the mail, I just log in automatically. Just for that, it's kind of not useless.

deadsuperhero · Wed 13/06/2012 05:50:38

Quote from: selmiak on Tue 12/06/2012 15:58:35
Why does everything nowadays only work with a facebook profile? I'm not at that crappy thing but I have and use email

I can certainly relate, and we do allow for email registration. It's just convenient for quick registration and account pairing, as you can share posts onto Facebook during the creation process.

deadsuperhero · Wed 25/07/2012 20:26:41

Just wanted to bump this up again, we brought a lot of new features and fixes in the latest update!

The interface has been overhauled to account for loads of feedback we got from early usability testing, currently it now looks like this.

A lot of the design focus is going into how the content is organized and displayed. Every post on this website can be remixed, and everyone has the opportunity to give their own input as an author. If you have a really good remix, it gets featured in our "Staff Picks"

There's also some pretty cool things to look at, if you want to give it a one-over:

-Profiles
-Posts
-Conversations
-Tagged content
-Staff picks
-Time Warp

EchosofNezhyt · Thu 26/07/2012 04:27:26

Cool. I like the idea. I haven't logged on it a bit though.

deadsuperhero · Sun 12/08/2012 02:45:44

Hey, this is just a quick update about something I'm doing with Makr. Seeing as next week is Shark Week, we've decided to throw a Shark-Week-themed REMIX PARTY. Basically, a ton of people will get on and make themed remixes together, and they'll be able to share out their favorite posts to other networks (Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, and ImgFave). We did a Nicholas Cage-themed party in the past, and it was a lot of fun.

Here's the details:

1.) People tune in to this page, sign up, and make awesome posts about Shark Week as they're watching it.
2.) Get your friends to RSVP to the Facebook event. (Or alternatively, the Google Plus one)
3.) For those that want to invite a bunch of people to go over to their place and join in on the fun, send a list of attendees to kayla@makr,io
4.) We'll pay for and order pizza for anyone in the USA that throws a party.

You can also check out this doc for more details.