Comments on: Damned with faint praise? http://blog.protagonize.com/2008/05/10/damned-with-faint-praise/ an interactive fiction & collaborative story writing community Sat, 05 Jul 2008 01:43:29 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: nick http://blog.protagonize.com/2008/05/10/damned-with-faint-praise/#comment-175 nick Thu, 15 May 2008 19:55:54 +0000 http://blog.protagonize.com/?p=34#comment-175 Apples and dogs, oranges and cats, chickens and bananas. That’s the spirit. :p Apples and dogs, oranges and cats, chickens and bananas. That’s the spirit. :p

]]> By: Chris Brogan... http://blog.protagonize.com/2008/05/10/damned-with-faint-praise/#comment-169 Chris Brogan... Wed, 14 May 2008 11:42:02 +0000 http://blog.protagonize.com/?p=34#comment-169 Ahhhhhhh.... I get it. I'm calling this a car when you're saying it's a coffee shop. (Not really the analogy, but the point is apples and dogs). I'm a doofus. : ) Ahhhhhhh…. I get it. I’m calling this a car when you’re saying it’s a coffee shop. (Not really the analogy, but the point is apples and dogs).

I’m a doofus. : )

]]> By: randulo http://blog.protagonize.com/2008/05/10/damned-with-faint-praise/#comment-160 randulo Tue, 13 May 2008 15:32:40 +0000 http://blog.protagonize.com/?p=34#comment-160 on the other hand, because I read Chis with interest, I always explore sites he mentions and make my own determinations. I think Protagonize is a very interesting site and I believe it has most of what it needs. Not being a fiction author myself, I'm not sure what else it needs though :) on the other hand, because I read Chis with interest, I always explore sites he mentions and make my own determinations. I think Protagonize is a very interesting site and I believe it has most of what it needs. Not being a fiction author myself, I’m not sure what else it needs though :)

]]> By: nick http://blog.protagonize.com/2008/05/10/damned-with-faint-praise/#comment-159 nick Tue, 13 May 2008 03:26:19 +0000 http://blog.protagonize.com/?p=34#comment-159 Cool, that makes things clearer. I didn't realize you were an author outside of blogging and social media, so that gives me a better read on your feedback. The overlay/markup idea was interesting; I'm definitely looking for that kind of original author interaction, letting them guide the story through annotation separate from comments, but I've got a bit of a different take on it that may not go the overlay route. And having some kind of embedded thesaurus lookup would be great provided I can find a decent 3rd party API to use... I think the main point I was making in my original response was how we go about defining social networks. We can arbitrarily say that anything with community-oriented features is a social network, though I'm not sure that's accurate. And I'm sure that's not what you were implying, but I do think a lot of people (especially those who are trying to ride the hype, like VCs and marketing types) are lumping all sorts of things together these days, and they need to understand the notion a little better before jumping in with both feet. The distinction I'm trying to make here is that Protagonize is a collaborative writing site with some social features, and not a social network for writing. It may sound like just semantics, but it goes to the core of the site's functionality and purpose, so I think it does need to be differentiated. Anyhow, I don't want to sound like I'm splitting hairs, so I'll leave it at that. :) Cool, that makes things clearer. I didn’t realize you were an author outside of blogging and social media, so that gives me a better read on your feedback.

The overlay/markup idea was interesting; I’m definitely looking for that kind of original author interaction, letting them guide the story through annotation separate from comments, but I’ve got a bit of a different take on it that may not go the overlay route. And having some kind of embedded thesaurus lookup would be great provided I can find a decent 3rd party API to use…

I think the main point I was making in my original response was how we go about defining social networks. We can arbitrarily say that anything with community-oriented features is a social network, though I’m not sure that’s accurate. And I’m sure that’s not what you were implying, but I do think a lot of people (especially those who are trying to ride the hype, like VCs and marketing types) are lumping all sorts of things together these days, and they need to understand the notion a little better before jumping in with both feet.

The distinction I’m trying to make here is that Protagonize is a collaborative writing site with some social features, and not a social network for writing. It may sound like just semantics, but it goes to the core of the site’s functionality and purpose, so I think it does need to be differentiated.

Anyhow, I don’t want to sound like I’m splitting hairs, so I’ll leave it at that. :)

]]> By: Chris Brogan... http://blog.protagonize.com/2008/05/10/damned-with-faint-praise/#comment-158 Chris Brogan... Mon, 12 May 2008 22:13:53 +0000 http://blog.protagonize.com/?p=34#comment-158 Never. That's not how we roll, Nick. (I never really say that). Let me tell you a bit more about me: I wrote fiction exclusively from somewhere after six years old (early works were a little lightweight), until September 11th, 2001. Thereafter, I lost fiction and went into nonfiction. I've become much more of a writer since that event than before, when I used to write stuff in the vein of A.M. Holmes, Victor D. LaValle, and stuff not unlike the McSweeney's guys (only not as good). I just didn't want you to think my ideas come from nowhere about what I'd want from a social network on writing, but at the same time ,I wanted you to realize that I was taking on "social network for _____" sites of all flavors, not really you. Much love. Never. That’s not how we roll, Nick. (I never really say that). Let me tell you a bit more about me:

I wrote fiction exclusively from somewhere after six years old (early works were a little lightweight), until September 11th, 2001. Thereafter, I lost fiction and went into nonfiction. I’ve become much more of a writer since that event than before, when I used to write stuff in the vein of A.M. Holmes, Victor D. LaValle, and stuff not unlike the McSweeney’s guys (only not as good).

I just didn’t want you to think my ideas come from nowhere about what I’d want from a social network on writing, but at the same time ,I wanted you to realize that I was taking on “social network for _____” sites of all flavors, not really you.

Much love.

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