Friday, March 21, 2008
Zanby 2.0 Coming Soon
It has been quite a while since there has been publicly visible activity here at Zanby. We have been quietly investing the last 18 months in developing the next generation of enterprise social networking applications. Stay tuned -- we are just days away....
Labels: old
Posted by Mike Milkovich at 3:11 PM
1 comments
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Example: using the xml feed
Recently one of our groups asked for more information on how to take an xml feed and turn it into html for their site. What follows is a quick tutorial on what really happens when you "take an xml feed" onto your site, and how to get something running quickly.
Here is a simple process diagram that shows what is happening:
As you can see, the browser request gets to your server, where you need to run some kind of script. For sake of discussion, let us assume you can run Perl as a CGI script on your machine. (The process is the same regardless of if you are using bash, or if you are using PHP, or if you are using ASP.NET.)
This script has two assignments -- first, get the XML from Zanby. Second, transform it into something that you want to send back to the browser.
In Perl, the first part, getting the XML from Zanby, is easy -- there is a wonderful package called LWP::Simple that handles all of the issues of getting information from a remote web server.
The second part, transforming the XML into something to send to the browser, can be as easy or as complex as you want to make it. The easiest approach is to use XSLT to transform your XML into HTML.
So, our complete perl script is pretty simple:
Now, for the XSLT that transforms the Zanby XML into something useful:
Here is an example: the DFL Links XML feed turned into HTML using the code above.
Here is a simple process diagram that shows what is happening:
As you can see, the browser request gets to your server, where you need to run some kind of script. For sake of discussion, let us assume you can run Perl as a CGI script on your machine. (The process is the same regardless of if you are using bash, or if you are using PHP, or if you are using ASP.NET.)
This script has two assignments -- first, get the XML from Zanby. Second, transform it into something that you want to send back to the browser.
In Perl, the first part, getting the XML from Zanby, is easy -- there is a wonderful package called LWP::Simple that handles all of the issues of getting information from a remote web server.
The second part, transforming the XML into something to send to the browser, can be as easy or as complex as you want to make it. The easiest approach is to use XSLT to transform your XML into HTML.
So, our complete perl script is pretty simple:
#!/usr/bin/perl
# example of taking Zanby xml feed and wrapping it into html
# Note we are using the "XML::XSLT" package, which also requires
# the XML::DOM, LWP::Simpla, and XML::Parser packages
#
# Assuming you have a relatively clean / modern / complete perl
# installation, you can do "cpan XML::XSLT".
# This is not meant to be complete, good, or otherwise wholesome
# clean-thinking code -- steal at your own risk :-)
use LWP::Simple;
use XML::XSLT;
# get the xml feed
my $xmlstring = get 'http://zanby.com/feed/rrr/groups/?sw=dfl&links&format=4';
# run the xml thru our xsl transform
my $xslfile = "zanby2dfl.xsl";
my $parser = XML::XSLT->new ($xslfile);
my $result = $parser->serve (Source => $xmlstring,
xml_declaration => 0,
http_headers => 0);
# set up appropriate http headers and return
my $length = length ($result);
print "Content-Type: text/html\nContent-Length: $length\n\n$result";
Now, for the XSLT that transforms the Zanby XML into something useful:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1" ?>
<xsl:stylesheet version="1.0"
xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform">
<xsl:template match="/">
<html>
<body>
<h2>DFL Links</h2>
<table border="1">
<tr bgcolor="#7f7fff">
<th align="left">District</th>
<th align="left">Link</th>
</tr>
<xsl:for-each select="groups/MN/group">
<xsl:sort select="name"/>
<tr>
<td><xsl:value-of select="name"/></td>
<td><a>
<xsl:attribute name="href">
<xsl:value-of select="summary"/>
</xsl:attribute>
<xsl:value-of select="name"/>
</a></td>
</tr>
</xsl:for-each>
</table>
</body>
</html>
</xsl:template>
</xsl:stylesheet>
Here is an example: the DFL Links XML feed turned into HTML using the code above.
Labels: old
Posted by Mike Milkovich at 4:00 PM
0 comments
Friday, January 12, 2007
Richardson Groups in Washington Whispers
As Washington Whispers notes, America for Richardson has come to Zanby.
The Netroots for Richardson has their first national meeting day on February 6.
I can't wait to find out how it goes.
Richardson recently made some great progress in Darfur, negotiating a 60-day cease fire between warring parties. That's impressive progress in an intractable conflict. Diplomacy like that will be welcome indeed in the coming years.
The Netroots for Richardson has their first national meeting day on February 6.
I can't wait to find out how it goes.
Richardson recently made some great progress in Darfur, negotiating a 60-day cease fire between warring parties. That's impressive progress in an intractable conflict. Diplomacy like that will be welcome indeed in the coming years.
Labels: old
Posted by Chris Dykstra at 8:06 PM
0 comments
Zanby Search techniques
Zanby has a couple of large families of groups, now. From Cafe Press groups (website), to the DFL Links to America for Richardson groups (website), Zanby is supporting a really wide variety of interests and people.
Some of you have written and asked how you can structure a search query from zanby to direct users to a specific set of search results. Try this:
http://zanby.com/groupsearch?search_words=yourkeyword&yourkeyword
Where yourkeyword = your group's special tag or keyword. For example, the DFL Links uses
http://zanby.com/groupsearch?search_words=dfl&links
to direct users to the right set of search results.
The 32 Richardson Groups uses
http://zanby.com/groupsearch?search_words=richardson.
If you want to add more search words, you can just enter more & search words.
OR..you can access the XML feed:
The request looks like:
http://zanby.com/feed/rrr/groups/?sw=searchkeyword&format=4
Where "searchkeyword" is the tag / groupname / etc. that you want to search for. The result is a simple XML file that provides the name of the group, the host, next event info, the location of the group (city / state/ zipcode), the group description, how many members there are in the group, and a link to the group page.
The groups are sorted by region.
Here are some sample feeds:
Bill Richardson Groups
Cafe Press
Cafe Press
Happy organizing...
Some of you have written and asked how you can structure a search query from zanby to direct users to a specific set of search results. Try this:
http://zanby.com/groupsearch?search_words=yourkeyword&yourkeyword
Where yourkeyword = your group's special tag or keyword. For example, the DFL Links uses
http://zanby.com/groupsearch?search_words=dfl&links
to direct users to the right set of search results.
The 32 Richardson Groups uses
http://zanby.com/groupsearch?search_words=richardson.
If you want to add more search words, you can just enter more & search words.
OR..you can access the XML feed:
The request looks like:
http://zanby.com/feed/rrr/groups/?sw=searchkeyword&format=4
Where "searchkeyword" is the tag / groupname / etc. that you want to search for. The result is a simple XML file that provides the name of the group, the host, next event info, the location of the group (city / state/ zipcode), the group description, how many members there are in the group, and a link to the group page.
The groups are sorted by region.
Here are some sample feeds:
Bill Richardson Groups
Cafe Press
Cafe Press
Happy organizing...
Labels: old
Posted by Chris Dykstra at 8:01 PM
0 comments
Monday, November 13, 2006
Release Notes to Zanby Beta 1.3
Introduction
We are pleased to announce the release of Zanby beta 1.3 at http://www.zanby.com. This release represents a continuing evolution of Zanby as a community and as a software application. Zanby is a new brand and still very much in flux. This is the first of several releases in which we begin to nudge the brand towards its final state.
The second area we addressed is the search algorithms and the search results interface. It should be much easier and faster to locate groups. The results should be more accurate and the sort functions much more reliable. Also, we heard users when they said they wanted to locate groups much more quickly. We added the groups search field and a browse by group category index to the home page.
Perhaps most noticeably, users can now search for and locate all Zanby content without registering for the site. All group content that is flagged as “public” is visible to the browsing public. All events are visible as well.
Below is a summary of enhancements made in this release.
What’s new
General
We are pleased to announce the release of Zanby beta 1.3 at http://www.zanby.com. This release represents a continuing evolution of Zanby as a community and as a software application. Zanby is a new brand and still very much in flux. This is the first of several releases in which we begin to nudge the brand towards its final state.
The second area we addressed is the search algorithms and the search results interface. It should be much easier and faster to locate groups. The results should be more accurate and the sort functions much more reliable. Also, we heard users when they said they wanted to locate groups much more quickly. We added the groups search field and a browse by group category index to the home page.
Perhaps most noticeably, users can now search for and locate all Zanby content without registering for the site. All group content that is flagged as “public” is visible to the browsing public. All events are visible as well.
Below is a summary of enhancements made in this release.
What’s new
General
- The anonymous site has been replaced with full Zanby content and group experience. Users can now browse all public content without registering.
- Optimized formal search rules have been introduced to both Group and Member search. The results for all searches on Zanby will be substantially more accurate.
- Errors in search result sort behavior have been eliminated. It is now possible to navigate from the beginning of a result to the end after applying multiple sort functions.
- We have fixed the cookie setting function that caused users to have to login every time they visited the site.
- The space used for global navigation has been reduced
- Higher-contrast section headers have been introduced
- Navigational categories are color-coded.
- Both the Group and Member search utilities have been streamlined
- The search results display has been redesigned for usability
- A group locator has been added to the homepage
- Browse groups by category has been added to the homepage
- All buttons have been standardized.
- Tab navigation on lower levels has been standardized.
- The Search ort functions have been re-designed.
- Group members can now post active links to the message boards.
- The thread posting order on the message boards has been reversed. Now, the most recent threads will appear at the top of the index of threads.
Labels: old
Posted by Chris Dykstra at 11:30 AM
0 comments
Friday, August 25, 2006
Release Notes to Zanby Beta 1.2
Introduction
Zanby beta release 1.2 improves and stabilizes core functionality, particularly around time consistency and event publication. Additionally, functionality was added that will enhance the ability of group hosts to communicate group events to the public at large.
Below is a summary of enhancements made in this release.
What’s new
General
Events
Thank you for using Zanby. Please contact us at feedback@zanby.com with any comments and suggestions. We look forward to continuing to serve you as we develop the tool and the community.
Sincerely,
The Zanby Development Team
Zanby beta release 1.2 improves and stabilizes core functionality, particularly around time consistency and event publication. Additionally, functionality was added that will enhance the ability of group hosts to communicate group events to the public at large.
Below is a summary of enhancements made in this release.
What’s new
General
- We added two additional categories of groups at users’ request: “Other” and “Family and Children.”
- We eliminated a VERY annoying bug that caused a circular registration workflow in Safari on the Mac.
- A "Join Group" button was added to group summary pages to provide an easy way for people to join.
Events
- Group hosts may now choose to make all, some or no event public. If a host publishes a public event, unregistered users may navigate to the event detail through the unregistered version of Zanby.
- It is now possible for invited guests to RSVP to a Zanby event without logging in or registering with Zanby. Guests are issues a unique URL with the invitation, which serves as the event and guest identifier. When a guest clicks on the URL they are directed to an event page, where they may RSVP and participate in pre-event preparations.
- Events now retain guest list information. If an event expires, the organizer may now “recycle” the event by changing the date and sending it out again.
- The reminder system has been upgraded to ensure consistency and accuracy.
- If the host cancels an event, cancellation notices will now be sent to the guest list.
- Zanby’s calendar has been upgraded to ensure consistency and accuracy when translating event times to different timezones, and to account for daylight savings times where appropriate.
- Events can now be deleted from personal calendars
- Users can now contact event organizers directly through the “Contact Event Organizer” link on event summaries and detail pages.
Thank you for using Zanby. Please contact us at feedback@zanby.com with any comments and suggestions. We look forward to continuing to serve you as we develop the tool and the community.
Sincerely,
The Zanby Development Team
Labels: old
Posted by Mike Milkovich at 1:20 AM
0 comments
Friday, June 02, 2006
And the new name is...
I am pumped to have the new name chosen and the proverbial "light at the end of the tunnel" in plain site. I like the new name and like the new look. I also genuinely feel that the Zanby fits our maturing application better and more broadly than G---eroo. So onward and upward! Anyway, leading brand experts say Zanby is Zan-tastic.
This afternoon, we released the following message to our readers:
Dear G---eroo member:
G---eroo will be changing its name to Zanby.
For the last nine months we have been attempting to resolve a
trademark dispute with Gather incorporated. Though we strongly feel
that we are not in conflict with their name, pursuing this issue to
completion in the courts is a very costly proposition. We feel the
Gatheroo community is better served by our directing our time, energy
and money towards building a better application, and frankly, a better
world, rather than fighting with some other company in the courts. We
have, therefore, made the difficult decision to change our name.
Next week, G---eroo.com will become Zanby.com.
Zanby continues to be focused on providing the best tools for managing
your community activities. Every challenge is an opportunity to grow.
This is no different. We hope we have chosen our new name with an eye
towards describing a vital, growing community of people who are
connected with each other online and in real life. We also wanted to
come up with something as fun and catchy as G---eroo. All things
considered, we think Zanby fits the bill.
What's a zanby? As far as we know, Zanby is a made up word that means
"A website that supports self organizing." Our attorneys think Zanby
is a good, clean name. Chris's 13-year old son thinks it's
"zan-tastic." That was the real kicker.Thanks so much for using
Gatheroo - soon to be Zanby.
All our best,
Chris, Mike, Lee, Laura and the G---eroo (Zanby)
development team
Labels: old
Posted by Chris Dykstra at 1:54 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Name Game
Breaking news...
For many reasons, large and small, Zanby has begun the process of choosing a new domain name. We will be phasing out the use of G----roo. Service to our groups and support to our customers will not be affected. In fact, our committment to the activist community is stronger than ever. We will communicate our plans as soon as a decision is made.
Stay tuned for details...
For many reasons, large and small, Zanby has begun the process of choosing a new domain name. We will be phasing out the use of G----roo. Service to our groups and support to our customers will not be affected. In fact, our committment to the activist community is stronger than ever. We will communicate our plans as soon as a decision is made.
Stay tuned for details...
Labels: old
Posted by Chris Dykstra at 3:34 PM
0 comments
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Alpha 1.6
We released Alpha 1.6 this week. It has a number of important upgrades.
The highlights:
The highlights:
- Group Email is now fully functional.
- Group Hosts now have the option of inviting all the members of their groups at once
- Invitations can be sent from the group email address or the user's personal account.
- Meta data is automatically generated out of group descriptions and tags placed on group pages.
- Time zones are standardized and behavior was made consistent for all events and event display. This is going to be really important when we introduce the Events section
- An "Expired Events" queue was added to the calendar. Any event that is past will automatically be moved into the expired events queue, where it will be deactivated. From there, users can edit the event to make it live again or it can be deleted.
Labels: old
Posted by Chris Dykstra at 3:15 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Gather and MPR feed attorneys
Last summer, having spent the last 4 months working like crazy to design a website and a business model that would justify our existence to our investors and ourselves, we were slapped with the first Cease and Desist letter from our friends at Gather.com. Gather.com is owned by Minnesota Public Radio (MPR). We replied to the letter. They sent another one. After each one we thought, “Can they actually be serious about this?”
Yes indeed, they are serious. They have a team of fancy lawyers, a big bank account and really, really want to spend their investor's money on silly lawsuits. For us this is a collosal waste of time and money. Even though it is an unwelcome distraction -- In no way does it affect our commitment to the activist community.
Yes indeed, they are serious. They have a team of fancy lawyers, a big bank account and really, really want to spend their investor's money on silly lawsuits. For us this is a collosal waste of time and money. Even though it is an unwelcome distraction -- In no way does it affect our commitment to the activist community.
Labels: old
Posted by Chris Dykstra at 5:05 PM
0 comments
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Zanby is Politics Online Hot Site of the Day
Politics Online has given Zanby the innovator's nod by making it a Hot Site of the Day.
It's a nice write up. I have to say that I would add something to the political spin:
Zanby is free.
It's a nice write up. I have to say that I would add something to the political spin:
Zanby is free.
Labels: old
Posted by Chris Dykstra at 1:48 AM
0 comments
Zanby at New Organizing Institute
I spent the weekend in Washington DC presenting Zanby at Zack Exley's New Organizing Institute. Ben Shaffer, President of one of Zanby's partners, Media Mezcla, invited me to participate. Media Mezcla makes a nice application called Campaign Engine. It's aimed at medium to small campaigns and non profits who need a lot of functionality for a reasonable price. I like Campaign Engine...It's quick, simple and powerful. We are working on an API so that campaigns and organizations can more fully support organic groups through Zanby.
The New Organizing Institute is a very interesting concept. There are roughly 50 people here from all over the country studying online organizing. The group is split into teams of 7-10, each running a demo campaign for a ficticional candidate. Each night the teams have a series of assignments which they must complete in order to advance to the next stage in the campaign. Tonight's task was to get the campaign website up and running.
Each team was assigned a technology vendor with the idea that they had been hired by the campaign to create the candidate's web presence. All the vendors volunteered to come out and ran the gamut in size, complexity and cost of solution. Get Active, Democracy in Action, NGP and an independent named Aldon Hynes, who is helping George Stefano mount a challenge to Joe Lieberman in Connecticut, all attended.
For me it was a great opportunity to explore the idea of organic groups as a campaign strategy. Zanby, and services like it for that matter, fall under the broad category of "casting a wide net." I believe the small group is a fundamental building block of grassroots organizing. One host and one set of members can emerge from something as simple as a conversation over a fence. That small neighborhood group can connect with other groups, who then can connect with the organization.
As soon as people discover they have a shared agenda, the likelyhood of coordinated action is dramatically increased. In broad strokes, this is how interest-driven communities are created. Providing volunteers and activists with the ability to self-organize around the agenda they share with a candidate simply makes sense. Giving organizations the ability to reach those people by, for example, the ability to upload and distribute documents based on region or create and publish events to group calendars simply makes sense. At the same time, campaigns can gain some reporting capabilities on what is happening in group families and creates a nice outreach channel for very little impact on time and resources.
The New Organizing Institute is a very interesting concept. There are roughly 50 people here from all over the country studying online organizing. The group is split into teams of 7-10, each running a demo campaign for a ficticional candidate. Each night the teams have a series of assignments which they must complete in order to advance to the next stage in the campaign. Tonight's task was to get the campaign website up and running.
Each team was assigned a technology vendor with the idea that they had been hired by the campaign to create the candidate's web presence. All the vendors volunteered to come out and ran the gamut in size, complexity and cost of solution. Get Active, Democracy in Action, NGP and an independent named Aldon Hynes, who is helping George Stefano mount a challenge to Joe Lieberman in Connecticut, all attended.
For me it was a great opportunity to explore the idea of organic groups as a campaign strategy. Zanby, and services like it for that matter, fall under the broad category of "casting a wide net." I believe the small group is a fundamental building block of grassroots organizing. One host and one set of members can emerge from something as simple as a conversation over a fence. That small neighborhood group can connect with other groups, who then can connect with the organization.
As soon as people discover they have a shared agenda, the likelyhood of coordinated action is dramatically increased. In broad strokes, this is how interest-driven communities are created. Providing volunteers and activists with the ability to self-organize around the agenda they share with a candidate simply makes sense. Giving organizations the ability to reach those people by, for example, the ability to upload and distribute documents based on region or create and publish events to group calendars simply makes sense. At the same time, campaigns can gain some reporting capabilities on what is happening in group families and creates a nice outreach channel for very little impact on time and resources.
Labels: old
Posted by Chris Dykstra at 1:40 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Here we go...
We have completed our first month alpha.
We have learned much. We still have a long way to go, but in general this is a really exciting time for all of us at Gatheroo. We have 55 groups from 13 states.
From the DFL Links to the Orange County Goths we welcome you all. Tell your friends and be sure to let us know what we can do to help your groups grow and succeed.
I am in the process of scoping out phase II of our development, which will take us into beta. We will continue to flesh out the features in Groups and Members. We will definitely develop host email and install email based discussion groups. Additionally, we are working on a few of the "nice-to-haves," which are the elemenets in a site that really create community. One of the most interesting things about Gatheroo, is the content that people create and share - lists, photos, documents, events, profiles. I want to create much more accessible indexes to allow people to browse content and find areas of shared interest more easily.
Some of our future development will be driven by the season - campaign season that is. One of our business goals is to be able to fuel the organic growth of grassroots organizations by allowing them to easily create hierarchical, connected, networks of groups. We call these group families. That development is being driven by some customers, which will keep all the groovy free stuff free. With any luck, you should see one or two group families appear soon. (If you want to form a group family let us know and we will honor you with a PowerPoint.)
We have learned much. We still have a long way to go, but in general this is a really exciting time for all of us at Gatheroo. We have 55 groups from 13 states.
From the DFL Links to the Orange County Goths we welcome you all. Tell your friends and be sure to let us know what we can do to help your groups grow and succeed.
I am in the process of scoping out phase II of our development, which will take us into beta. We will continue to flesh out the features in Groups and Members. We will definitely develop host email and install email based discussion groups. Additionally, we are working on a few of the "nice-to-haves," which are the elemenets in a site that really create community. One of the most interesting things about Gatheroo, is the content that people create and share - lists, photos, documents, events, profiles. I want to create much more accessible indexes to allow people to browse content and find areas of shared interest more easily.
Some of our future development will be driven by the season - campaign season that is. One of our business goals is to be able to fuel the organic growth of grassroots organizations by allowing them to easily create hierarchical, connected, networks of groups. We call these group families. That development is being driven by some customers, which will keep all the groovy free stuff free. With any luck, you should see one or two group families appear soon. (If you want to form a group family let us know and we will honor you with a PowerPoint.)
Labels: old
Posted by Chris Dykstra at 5:15 AM
0 comments
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Zanby gets better...
We released Zanby Alpha 1.3 and 1.4 over the weekend.
Here are the highlights:
We have taken the approach that it would be better to not make assumptions about what hosts want to do with their groups - So at the moment, all privileges are defaulted to "off." If the host wants to distribute privileges to the wider group, they must do so. What are your thoughts on that? When you create a public group is your assumption that all who join it may post messages, upload documents and photos, etc., or do you prefer to control that yourselves?
Thanks again for your interest, energy and continuing patience while we finish our work...
ps. if you need help with anything on Zanby... please email us at feedback@Zanby.com.
Here are the highlights:
- It is a lot easier to register
- Your profile and Account Settings now make it possible to keep your age, groups and gender, private.
- Lists are much easier to manage and view.
- Canadians can now register
- Hosts can remove and approve members in the group workspace/members section
- Hosts can now fully moderate the group discussion boards
- Many of the "Join Group" and "Start Group" interfaces have been simplified
- The event calendar is functional, including RSVP, event invitations, publication of events to your personal calendar and attendance details.
We have taken the approach that it would be better to not make assumptions about what hosts want to do with their groups - So at the moment, all privileges are defaulted to "off." If the host wants to distribute privileges to the wider group, they must do so. What are your thoughts on that? When you create a public group is your assumption that all who join it may post messages, upload documents and photos, etc., or do you prefer to control that yourselves?
Thanks again for your interest, energy and continuing patience while we finish our work...
ps. if you need help with anything on Zanby... please email us at feedback@Zanby.com.
Labels: old
Posted by Chris Dykstra at 9:32 PM
0 comments
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Alpha Alpha
Gatheroo Alpha 1.2 is up. I think we have arrived at a great suite of opening tools. Don't forget to read the release notes.
Labels: old
Posted by Chris Dykstra at 4:19 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
A long wait...
Happy New Year everybody! It has been brought to my attention with varying degrees of humor (ahem), that our website still says that you can stop paying for online organizing tools in fall of 2005...and it's 2006.
Something doesn't compute there, does it? Sorry about that. We missed our deadline by six weeks or so. I made the call to take the approach that it is better to delay on behalf of quality than it is to rush to market with something that doesn't meet our standards.
Not to worry, though. All evidence to the contrary, we have been heads down for the last several months developing our first release. We will be in a public alpha stage by Jan. 20, one week before we will be featured in Twin Cities Business Monthly.
We introduced the application to a select set of 20 group hosts in Minnesota tonight. I don't know if any of you out there have ever developed software or not, but usually when a new application meets real users some degree of chaos ensues :). Tonight was no different. It was informative and gratifying to watch users create and manage groups. I was excited to learn that the users were very, very positive about the strength of the application.
We will be continuing to conduct user tests over the next two weeks. After that, if you have registered a group with Gatheroo, we will load your information into the system and contact you. If you have not registered a group or as an individual, you will be able to do that on the site.
Thank you so much for your patience. I can't wait to get it out to you, get your feedback, and start helping you build stronger, better communities through groups.
Something doesn't compute there, does it? Sorry about that. We missed our deadline by six weeks or so. I made the call to take the approach that it is better to delay on behalf of quality than it is to rush to market with something that doesn't meet our standards.
Not to worry, though. All evidence to the contrary, we have been heads down for the last several months developing our first release. We will be in a public alpha stage by Jan. 20, one week before we will be featured in Twin Cities Business Monthly.
We introduced the application to a select set of 20 group hosts in Minnesota tonight. I don't know if any of you out there have ever developed software or not, but usually when a new application meets real users some degree of chaos ensues :). Tonight was no different. It was informative and gratifying to watch users create and manage groups. I was excited to learn that the users were very, very positive about the strength of the application.
We will be continuing to conduct user tests over the next two weeks. After that, if you have registered a group with Gatheroo, we will load your information into the system and contact you. If you have not registered a group or as an individual, you will be able to do that on the site.
Thank you so much for your patience. I can't wait to get it out to you, get your feedback, and start helping you build stronger, better communities through groups.
Labels: old
Posted by Chris Dykstra at 3:03 AM
0 comments
Thursday, October 27, 2005
alpha birthday near
Hi folks. I just got back from a two week stint working with the Zanbyteam. Lo and behold, we are inching towards the release of our early alpha in late November. We will continue to release upgrades to alpha through spring and summer of 2006. We should be out of Beta by June and July.
For all of you early group registrants, a special prize awaits you...
Though the vision of Zanby has gradually expanded, we are tightly focused on serving the community of groups that is the application's inspiration. We hope to get lots of feedback from you all.
Here's what to expect in November: Members will have the ability to create a "Standard Individual Account" and a "Standard Host Account." Both of these accounts are free and always will be free. In the coming months, members will have the ability to choose a series of premium accounts that enable advanced group management
features. Individuals members (who do not have to be members of groups) can upgrade their accounts to take advantage of other functionality.
We will start by fleshing out what we hope is a level of free membership comparable to, or better than, any tool currently available. Features will include:
Group Formation
- Join a group online
- Browse groups by category, by name, or by tag
- Start a group online
- Group recommendation based on tag
Group Management
- Manage membership: Who can join the group?
- Manage admin levels: Who can upload and edit photos, polls, member listings, documents, tags, lists, events, venues
Group Information
- Create and manage a Group Profile
- upload and edit photos
- Create polls
- Manage member listings
- Upload, tag, categorize documents
- Manage tags
- Create group lists
- Manage events (Calendar)
- Select Venues
Group Communication
- Create and manage a group email discussion list (like Yahoo groups)
- Contact the Host anonymously
- Set privacy controls
Zanby will focus more on individuals, too. We believe
individuals are the backbone of groups and will infuse our community
with richer, more diverse activity if we give them the ability to engage
before joining. So a comparable set of functionality will be available
to individual members.
Individual Information
- Create and Manage an Individual Profile
- Upload and manage profile photos
- Upload and manage photo albums
- Manage a friends list
- Upload, tag, categorize documents
- Manage tags
- Create lists
- Manage events (Calendar)
Member Communications
- Send emails to other members anonymously
- Manage a Gatheroo inbox
- Manage sent items
Friends
In the Zanby world, a friends list is a private group in which the
individual is a host. So members can do all the things a group can do
with their friends list, but related to the personal world.
- Send invitations
- Manage a calendar
- Swap events from public to private
- Share documents and photos
- create group email lists
Lists
- Lists on Zanby are a little different as well. The Zanbyo list maker is a unique software application. Members can create one of several list types - music, book, event, Pay It Forward (a list of ways members and groups are willing to volunteer), and stuff (miscellaneous). Each list provides the ability for members to identify artists, tie them to events and to eachother, comment on and tag each list item, make new lists out of any series of list items, and publish their lists to blogs.
There are other features we will develop as we mature. The upgrade paths, in particular, will prove very interesting indeed. For now, though, November's launch is looking spiffy.
For all of you early group registrants, a special prize awaits you...
Though the vision of Zanby has gradually expanded, we are tightly focused on serving the community of groups that is the application's inspiration. We hope to get lots of feedback from you all.
Here's what to expect in November: Members will have the ability to create a "Standard Individual Account" and a "Standard Host Account." Both of these accounts are free and always will be free. In the coming months, members will have the ability to choose a series of premium accounts that enable advanced group management
features. Individuals members (who do not have to be members of groups) can upgrade their accounts to take advantage of other functionality.
We will start by fleshing out what we hope is a level of free membership comparable to, or better than, any tool currently available. Features will include:
Group Formation
- Join a group online
- Browse groups by category, by name, or by tag
- Start a group online
- Group recommendation based on tag
Group Management
- Manage membership: Who can join the group?
- Manage admin levels: Who can upload and edit photos, polls, member listings, documents, tags, lists, events, venues
Group Information
- Create and manage a Group Profile
- upload and edit photos
- Create polls
- Manage member listings
- Upload, tag, categorize documents
- Manage tags
- Create group lists
- Manage events (Calendar)
- Select Venues
Group Communication
- Create and manage a group email discussion list (like Yahoo groups)
- Contact the Host anonymously
- Set privacy controls
Zanby will focus more on individuals, too. We believe
individuals are the backbone of groups and will infuse our community
with richer, more diverse activity if we give them the ability to engage
before joining. So a comparable set of functionality will be available
to individual members.
Individual Information
- Create and Manage an Individual Profile
- Upload and manage profile photos
- Upload and manage photo albums
- Manage a friends list
- Upload, tag, categorize documents
- Manage tags
- Create lists
- Manage events (Calendar)
Member Communications
- Send emails to other members anonymously
- Manage a Gatheroo inbox
- Manage sent items
Friends
In the Zanby world, a friends list is a private group in which the
individual is a host. So members can do all the things a group can do
with their friends list, but related to the personal world.
- Send invitations
- Manage a calendar
- Swap events from public to private
- Share documents and photos
- create group email lists
Lists
- Lists on Zanby are a little different as well. The Zanbyo list maker is a unique software application. Members can create one of several list types - music, book, event, Pay It Forward (a list of ways members and groups are willing to volunteer), and stuff (miscellaneous). Each list provides the ability for members to identify artists, tie them to events and to eachother, comment on and tag each list item, make new lists out of any series of list items, and publish their lists to blogs.
There are other features we will develop as we mature. The upgrade paths, in particular, will prove very interesting indeed. For now, though, November's launch is looking spiffy.
Labels: old
Posted by Chris Dykstra at 6:10 PM
0 comments
Monday, September 12, 2005
the power of open source
If you can't tell by now, I'm the resident geek amongst the founders. Tonight's post is aimed squarely at the CFO's of the world.
If you have ever doubted the cost efficencies of open source, consider this: the combination of system software (OS, DBMS, app server) and sufficent hardware to run that software at our expected user load costs less than $10K (not including the application itself, of course...) 6 years ago, an equivalent system cost well over $450,000.
6 years ago, I set up a server farm with roughly the same capabilites as the Gatheroo server farm for a client. At the time, we had to use proprietary load balancing systems and mid-sized Sun and Dell hardware for the database and application servers. The pair of high availability load balancers alone cost over $30,000, and took three techs 4 days and 6 services calls to implement. The servers ran Solaris and WindowsNT. The databases were Oracle ($$ -- it's a damn good DBMS, I've used it in many high performance computing systems -- but it ain't cheap), and the application servers were a customized Java environment (more $$, all licenses). Each server+system license stack cost over $125K each.
Zanby is done with used and new hardware, running open source services. The Zanby high availability load balancers were put together from used 1u Dell servers (ebay!), running the free (beer) + Free (libre) UltraMonkey tools (LVS, heartbeat). Cost for the load balancers: $600 plus 1 tech for 3 days. Lab tests suggest we're going to get **at least** as good thruput from the system as the equivalent proprietary system.
By the way, I priced out the equivalent system in the proprietary world today: to get the same performance, we'd still need to spend over $15K **plus** pay an annual license fee to get to continue to use the system after the first year. And no, they're not any easier to install or operate.
The Zanby applicaiton servers are optimized dual-cpu AMD boxes, running a LAMP stack. Total cost per server: less than $2k.
If you have ever doubted the cost efficencies of open source, consider this: the combination of system software (OS, DBMS, app server) and sufficent hardware to run that software at our expected user load costs less than $10K (not including the application itself, of course...) 6 years ago, an equivalent system cost well over $450,000.
6 years ago, I set up a server farm with roughly the same capabilites as the Gatheroo server farm for a client. At the time, we had to use proprietary load balancing systems and mid-sized Sun and Dell hardware for the database and application servers. The pair of high availability load balancers alone cost over $30,000, and took three techs 4 days and 6 services calls to implement. The servers ran Solaris and WindowsNT. The databases were Oracle ($$ -- it's a damn good DBMS, I've used it in many high performance computing systems -- but it ain't cheap), and the application servers were a customized Java environment (more $$, all licenses). Each server+system license stack cost over $125K each.
Zanby is done with used and new hardware, running open source services. The Zanby high availability load balancers were put together from used 1u Dell servers (ebay!), running the free (beer) + Free (libre) UltraMonkey tools (LVS, heartbeat). Cost for the load balancers: $600 plus 1 tech for 3 days. Lab tests suggest we're going to get **at least** as good thruput from the system as the equivalent proprietary system.
By the way, I priced out the equivalent system in the proprietary world today: to get the same performance, we'd still need to spend over $15K **plus** pay an annual license fee to get to continue to use the system after the first year. And no, they're not any easier to install or operate.
The Zanby applicaiton servers are optimized dual-cpu AMD boxes, running a LAMP stack. Total cost per server: less than $2k.
Labels: old
Posted by Mike Milkovich at 9:43 PM
0 comments
Monday, August 29, 2005
Venue Flexibility
Last Saturday I doorknocked with my city council person and afterward we headed to my patio for a few cold ones. It was great! These kinds of sessions really help me cement relationships as well as get the kind of insights I would never get elsewhere. It was just me and Sandy, a few Schell's, a clear afternoon and a picnic table. We talked about a number of things - like about how to incorporate the young and restless, while making sure that wisdom travels with passion.
Just before she parted I brought up Zanby and our local DFL meetups. In October our DFL Senate District (which supports DFL Meetups here in southeast Minneapolis) will begin a new "Focus on the Precinct" program. Our precinct is actually a ways from our meetup venue. So she was puzzled why we would would showcase our precinct, but hold the meetup in the usual spot. She convinced me that we need venue flexibility - not just in the way we build Zanby to let members easily browse and select meeting places, but in the way we present the idea of the "venue". We'll select a location that's convenient to our precinct focus.
But in Zanby, we'll be defining a venue very broadly. It is simply a place where people gather (hence our name). It can be under a shade tree or at a coffee shop. And it can be one place one meeting and another place some other time. In fact, we'll be pursuing two other venue concepts - the virutal venue, where the meetings can be held online with a conference ware, and the instant venue, or the MOB equivalent of meetup. So three cheers for Sandy and the usefulness of having another's perspective on our Zanby design!
Just before she parted I brought up Zanby and our local DFL meetups. In October our DFL Senate District (which supports DFL Meetups here in southeast Minneapolis) will begin a new "Focus on the Precinct" program. Our precinct is actually a ways from our meetup venue. So she was puzzled why we would would showcase our precinct, but hold the meetup in the usual spot. She convinced me that we need venue flexibility - not just in the way we build Zanby to let members easily browse and select meeting places, but in the way we present the idea of the "venue". We'll select a location that's convenient to our precinct focus.
But in Zanby, we'll be defining a venue very broadly. It is simply a place where people gather (hence our name). It can be under a shade tree or at a coffee shop. And it can be one place one meeting and another place some other time. In fact, we'll be pursuing two other venue concepts - the virutal venue, where the meetings can be held online with a conference ware, and the instant venue, or the MOB equivalent of meetup. So three cheers for Sandy and the usefulness of having another's perspective on our Zanby design!
Labels: old
Posted by Anonymous at 6:43 PM
0 comments
hardware part 1
The servers have been spec'd and the parts ordered, the firewall / load balancer gear is here, and so today is Cable Making Day! (yeah, I know. Ugh.)
Mike's tips for making good cables --
1) don't skimp on the crimper. I learned this many years ago back at Actors Theatre of Louisville, and have been reminded over and over in the intervening years -- your cables are only as good as your connectors, and your connectors are only as good as your crimp. The secret to a good crimp is a **good** crimping tool. (Sorry, no radio shack el-cheapos here) Go for mass, go for heft.
2) no caffiene. You need a steady hand when dealing with tiny wires and small spaces over and over. Yes, I know this is a tough one (it's why we don't let Chris anywhere near the hardware). As soon as you're done, fire up the espresso!
3) good light. I didn't think my eyes were getting that bad, until I started building 25 cables....
4) be consistent. There are industry standard color patterns (white-green / green / white-orange / blue / white-blue / orange / white-brown / brown -- anybody remember if this is the "A" pattern or the "B" pattern?). Even if you don't follow the industry standard patterns, pick a pattern and use it in everything you do. That way, when someone runs a sawzall thru your cable (don't ask...) you can repair without having to repull...
Mike's tips for making good cables --
1) don't skimp on the crimper. I learned this many years ago back at Actors Theatre of Louisville, and have been reminded over and over in the intervening years -- your cables are only as good as your connectors, and your connectors are only as good as your crimp. The secret to a good crimp is a **good** crimping tool. (Sorry, no radio shack el-cheapos here) Go for mass, go for heft.
2) no caffiene. You need a steady hand when dealing with tiny wires and small spaces over and over. Yes, I know this is a tough one (it's why we don't let Chris anywhere near the hardware). As soon as you're done, fire up the espresso!
3) good light. I didn't think my eyes were getting that bad, until I started building 25 cables....
4) be consistent. There are industry standard color patterns (white-green / green / white-orange / blue / white-blue / orange / white-brown / brown -- anybody remember if this is the "A" pattern or the "B" pattern?). Even if you don't follow the industry standard patterns, pick a pattern and use it in everything you do. That way, when someone runs a sawzall thru your cable (don't ask...) you can repair without having to repull...
Labels: old
Posted by Mike Milkovich at 1:14 PM
0 comments