Aaron Swartz on Jottit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTlmahurhX0

by eusman • 19 years ago

10 9 19 years ago

aristus• 19 years ago

Zak• 19 years ago

Somewhere, Aaron once posted that one of the things he was trying to do with Infogami was to apply machine learning to social networking. I remember this clearly because I had exactly the same idea. I suspect that's one of the goals with Jottit as well.

aston2• 19 years ago

Hmm. Two thoughts.

1) He's got Jottit's elevator pitch down, for sure. Unfortunately, you can describe the entire product in the elevator pitch, which isn't so typical. I was hoping for something broader and more world-changing than "you can type into a box and we'll save it."

2) I think the focus on simplicity is a tad misplaced. The analysis of Twitter is a good example of aaronsw's misunderstanding its importance. Twitter's not popular because it's simple. Twitter's popular because the content is brief and the service is inherently viral since you're broadcasting to your friends. The simplicity is an enhancement to the service, not the service itself.

Jottit is definitely simple, but I still don't really see what it's providing me with. Wufoo's doing more of what I think most people want to see: take something that's clearly complex and make it super easy. Form handling is tough, as is form design. But if I want to post arbitrary content to the web, it's as easy as going to MySpace, Facebook, or any other social network or forum on the web.

rms• 19 years ago

He just made something pure without regard to a business model. He doesn't really have to worry about business models anymore.

aston2• 19 years ago

He doesn't need the money, but he also doesn't need to make a product no one wants to use. I hope he figures out something more compelling (to me).

queensnake• 19 years ago

.. and, isn't it /exactly/ a jotspot competitor?

akkartik2• 19 years ago

"..if I want to post arbitrary content to the web, it's as easy as going to MySpace, Facebook, or any other social network or forum on the web."

It's not for you if you know enough to get hosting, or you don't care if your website is locked into some walled garden.

bayareaguy• 19 years ago

Jottit needs to take the next step and dispense with the dumb requirement that you provide an email address "for password recovery".

Aaron Swartz on Jottit

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