Where Mugshot is At

Since the last time I blogged about Mugshot we’ve had a bunch of changes going on and are continuing to improve existing systems while also doing research into new stuff.

One of the latest changes we’ve pushed is a first version of the Where I’m at section. Currently this allows you to take a position on existing services by setting your account name (and thus setting up some public services for that account) or telling people how you think it sucks.

The where I’m at in it’s current state is only displaying this account information, we selected a small but diverse set of initial accounts to experiment with so we can get an understanding of how to display and access the accounts. As we’re learning more about displaying and accessing these accounts we’re moving towards the next stages of the system.

The next push of Where I’m at should include not only more accounts to relate to, but also subscription to those accounts. The goal is to make friend relationships on the mugshot system the same as a subscription to their friends activities on various sites and systems they entered. So when you set your digg account on Mugshot anyone who adds you as a friend will get notified when you digg something, likewise if your friend uses reddit you’ll be notified what links they like and dislike so you can take part in that as well.

So there are a couple cool things you get when doing this, one is that you can keep up with your friends and what they’re checking out on the web. Another is the simple and disconnected re-experiencing of events. Take this example, when you use evite to setup a party or event the evite system emails everyone after the event asking them to post their pictures and thoughts to the evite site so you can share with your friends. This re-experiencing is a very common activity, however what’s uncommon is for people to continuously use new systems (like evite) to post their photos and thoughts for this re-experiencing. Many people already have a place where they upload their photos, flickr, shutterfly, or picasa; yet new services spring up all the time trying to get people to use exclusively their system.

On the Horizon

Last week I observed more people watching TV, this time we watched Project Runway together and I have to admit it’s a pretty good show. Also we’ve got some great ideas for the client and will be looking for comments soon. Will write about all that later.