Gleamd: Shed a little light on someone

Looking for the next big thing? We Web 2.0 aficionados hear about the latest and greatest social web applications every day, but each one seems to be described in terms of its competition. Each fledgling “killer app” entering the field is touted as the next “Digg killer” or “Twitter killer” or “Facebook killer.” But here’s an application, still in beta test, whose purpose differs enough from what’s already out there to warrant being considered on its own merits.

What makes Gleamd so different? Let’s start with what Gleamd isn’t. Unlike other fixtures of the social web, gleamd isn’t primarily about its own user base. In other words, if you’re a Gleamd user, it isn’t about wowing everybody with your own multimedia talents, your eye for cool websites, or your nose for news scoops. It isn’t primarily about making business or personal connections with other users, even though you certainly may meet like-minded fellow users on the system.

Then what is Gleamd all about? It’s about promoting other people whom you find interesting and worthy of notice. This can include anyone other than yourself who has at least some presence on the Web, and merits more attention than he or she has received thus far. The media superstars and A-list bloggers already have their ways of reaching the public – this is about promoting lesser-known people who may be more deserving.

Who’s behind gleamd? Let’s hear from developer Matt McInerney, a/k/a mattmc on Twitter, who also runs graphic design website and blog Pixelspread, Twitter sci-fi novella ZombieAttack, among other things:

Right now I’m the only person working on Gleamd. It was my idea that I decided to put together and get out in the world. I created it basically because it was a resource I wanted to use myself. We’ve been featured in a lot of blogs so far, and I hear a lot about “popularity contests”, but to be honest, I really think the site is proving to be more than that. First of all, it’s definitely not HotOrNot 2.0. I wanted to create a meritocracy, so submitted people are going to be judged on their accomplishments. Of course there are the web celebs like Leo Laporte and Kevin Rose that are bound to be submitted, but I’ve been pleased to see that the A listers don’t dominate the popular list all the time. The way we calculate the recently popular, which is based on votes just from that day, new and interesting submissions have been given a chance to rise to the top.

I’ve seen comparisons of Gleamd to people search engines like Spock, but I think we differ by giving our users something to look at. Spock is great if you know what you’re looking for, but you aren’t just going to Spock and find interesting people you haven’t heard of without doing a lot of digging around. Gleamd solves that problem pretty quickly by letting users put in their two cents.

Comparing to other social media or social networks, I don’t think we’re competing with places like MySpace, Facebook, or VIRB. We’re not trying to replace your favorite social networks at all. We’re trying to give you the opportunity to find interesting people and maybe even make connections you would have never made otherwise. Maybe you’ll find someone cool on Gleamd, find them on VIRB, and go add them. Who knows. So while we have profiles and friends on Gleamd, they are kind of minimal, and definetly not the focus of the site.

So how can I get involved? If you want to join the private beta, stop by Gleamd and leave a message for Matt. Gleamd still in the private-beta stage only because it’s very new, not because Matt wants to exclude anybody. He’s eager for more users who want to participate actively and give the system a good workout, so don’t be shy!

Now what? As soon as you get a user ID, you can start inviting buddies (like-minded fellow users on Gleamd), and you can begin submitting biographical information about what Matt calls “interesting people doing interesting things on the Web.” Go ahead and submit some people who aren’t already well known, such as interesting people you know from other social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Pownce, Jaiku, YouTube…you name it.

You don’t need to be an experienced writer or blogger yourself to participate; it’s perfectly fine to put in a few words of your own about why the person is cool, and link to other sites such as Wikipedia or your subject’s own blog to round out the details. If you enter a website or email address, the Gleamd editor will automatically post it as a link. Then check one or more category boxes that apply to your subject (e.g., Artist, Athlete, Entrepreneur, Vlogger) and submit the bio. If you realize that you’ve made a typo or have forgotten to check a box, not to worry; you can edit your own submissions later.

What keeps Gleamd from being infested with spammers, self-promoters, and other Web 2.0 bad actors? Matt has explained that Gleamd already provides some safeguards:

• Gleamd has a team of moderators. They don’t intervene to promote or block bios according to their own tastes, but they do weed out the clowns who are spamming fake Viagra or pimping the latest penny-stock scam. Unlike Digg, the moderators at Gleamd are actual, identifiable human beings! You can notify Matt himself or the moderators if you notice somebody abusing the system.
• Gleamd automatically checks for duplicate submissions.
• Gleamd users are allowed to make only one submission every thirty minutes. This hampers the unwanted activities of spambots and pay-per-submission promoters.
• Gleamd discourages users from submitting themselves. In my opinion, this is a good idea, though I have no personal knowledge about how strictly this is enforced.

What would I like to see in the new Gleamd user interface? I’d like to see more robust searching and filtering, perhaps on geographical keys, as well as the ability to see what your buddies have submitted and voted on. That way, when Gleamd scales up to handle a larger user base, each user will have the tools to navigate to the biographical pages that match that user’s interests.

What’s coming next? Gleamd has attracted some investors, so a new user interface is in the offing. There’s also a brand-new Gleamd wiki, where beta test participants can leave comments and suggestions. So if you join the beta test and you think something is missing or needs to be tweaked, go for it!

Also on the new 1389Blog.

Blog Honor Roll 07/31/07

FHK SitRep 07.31.07: bbPress (New! FHK Discussion Forum)

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The FHK Discussion Forum has moved to bbPress, which, according to the creators, is “forum software with a twist from the creators of WordPress.”

This new forum is interactive with the Wordpress blog. Members can now discuss articles and other topics all in one forum. If you signed up as a member under the Wordpress blog, you are already signed up for the forum, just Login in the top right-hand corner of the screen. If not, simply click Register in the top right-hand corner of the screen and follow the simple instructions.

We hope you enjoy the new forum, and welcome your comments and suggestions. And if you have a Wordpress blog and need a discussion forum, perhaps you will want to check out bbPress.

Daily SitRep Archive

The DailyKOS is Now the DailyWAS

The DailyKOS looks like it has become the DailyWAS.  The self-proclaimed “premier political community in the United States” started in May 2002 is struggling to hold on to their reach, rank, and page views.

According to Alexa.com, KOS hit its high mark during the 2006 election with a daily reach of .12 percent.  Today, it is hovering around .03 percent (similar to pre-2005 numbers).  By any measurement, that is a significant drop in reach.  But it gets worse.  Both their traffic rank and page views are down significantly. 

Could it be the liberal site, DailyKOS is going the way of Air America?  Only time will tell.

YearlyKOS Seminars for Next Year

The August 2-5, 2007 YearlyKOS will have a multitude of seminars on their schedule.  I’m sure there were so many left out. So, we at Ft. Hard Knox would like to do a public service and help KOS with its future conference seminars.

LYING LIBERALLY (hosted by Hillary & Bill Clinton):  This panel will discuss how to lie with confidence to the press, congress, and the American People.  A case study entitled, “I did not have sexual relations with that women” will be discussed.

GLOBAL WARMING MY BEHIND (by Al Gore):  The Goracle will explain how to successfully shape a winning global warming message and scam people with carbon offsets.

DO NOTHING – CLAIM EVERYTHING (by Nancy Pelosi):  Speak Pelosi will share her secrets of actually doing nothing and claiming victory in the press.

THE WAR IS LOST (by Harry Reid):  Senate leader Harry Reid will make the case why the war is still lost in 2008.  Seating open to 1 person.

SICKO-PHANT (by Michael Moore):  Sychophant (dictionary.com): a self-seeking, servile flatterer.  In this workshop, learn to be a self-serving blowhard and make big bucks.

DAILY-CUSS (by Markos Moulitsas Zuniga):  In this hands on workshop you will learn to cuss like a sailor when commenting on conservative blogs. 

HAIRCARE FOR WOMEN (by John Edwards):  In this lively workshop, John Edwards will share his beauty secrets to other women like him.

Who Will Be Kissing Butt at YearlyKOS?

Also known as LibFest 2007 and Moonbat-palooza, the DailyKOS will be hosting the YearlyKOS August 2-5.  Who will be this year’s butt kissers at the upcoming YearlyKOS?  Let’s take a look at the lineup of liberals kissing liberals:

• Nancy “Miss America” Pelosi
• Harry “The Body” Reid
• Rahm “The Mom” Emanuel
• “Chucky” Schumer
• Mrs. Bill Clinton
• John “Breck Girl” Edwards
• Barry Obama
• The Forgotten: Dodd, Richardson, Durbin
• Howard “The Scream” Dean
• Gen. Wesley “Who?” Clark
• Markos Moulitsas Zuniga (kissing his own butt)
• Honorable mentions: Sen. Gary Hart; Vice President Walter Mondale; Sen. George McGovern; strategist Donna Brazile; John Aravosis, AmericaBlog; Eric Davis, Democracy for Illinois; Adam Green, MoveOn.org; Taylor Marsh, TaylorMarsh.com; Ari Melber, The Nation; James Rucker, ColorofChange.org; Andrea Batista Schlesinger, Drum Major Institute; and Christy Hardin Smith, Firedoglake.com

The far left list goes on.  We at Ft. Hard Knox can’t wait to see what they are going to say and do in Chicago.  More to come.

Dems Turn Back on Moderate DLC

 All eight presidential candidates have snubbed the moderate Democratic Leadership Council’s “National Conversation” in Nashville, TN.  However, most are slated to appear at the YearlyKOS conference in Chicago.  Consider U.S. News and World Report’s write-up:

The candidates’ snubbing of the centrist Democratic nonprofit group seemed bound to yield speculation that the 2008 front-runners and the Democratic Party in general are moving decidedly to the left and that the DLC’s influence might be waning. While not attending the National Conversation, many of the candidates – including Hillary Clinton – are slated to appear this coming weekend in Chicago at the YearlyKos conference, hosted by a slew of liberal bloggers.

A handful of candidates also attended the progressive “Take Back America” conference in June, where candidates Barack Obama, Dennis Kucinich, and others roused the progressive and antiwar crowd with equally progressive and antiwar messages.

This is even more proof that the current Democrats have moved far left of their own party and are now standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the kook fringe.  What has happened to the once great Democratic Party?

FHK SitRep 07.30.07: AnswerTips

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FHK’s IT Guru, Ron Goodwyne (Affordable IT Guy, Ron’s Musings, Universitas Veritas) has done it again. He’s found and installed an incredibly cool widget, called Answer Tips.

In the top of the left-hand margin on FHK, you should see this:

All you have to do is double click any word on the page and a bubble will pop-up, with information about that word including the dictionary definition of the word, an audio pronunciation, and any other information available in Answers.com’s database. Go ahead – try it!

For more information, or to get Answer Tips for your blog, click here.

Daily SitRep Archive

Blog Honor Roll 07/30/07

The Chimpeachers

Impeach Bush, impeach Cheney? That is the mantra of the left on Digg.com.  To show you how vile they have become, this video uses actual comments from Digg.com’s front page articles.  It is disturbing.

Join the discussion on YouTube

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Iraq Wins Asian Cup in Soccer: Bad News for Defeatist Democrats

Iraq beat Saudi Arabia to win the Asian cup.  This remarkable victory is being lauded as “restoring national pride,” “uniting the country,” and creating “one Iraq.”  This can not be good news for the Democrats who are invested in defeat.

As the LA Times points out:

In a few short weeks, the 15 young players have achieved what Iraq’s political and religious leaders have struggled to accomplish in four years of war: uniting their country and restoring a sense of national pride.

“We wish these players sat in the chairs of those politicians,” said Ali Mohsin, a Baghdad civil servant. “They did a marvel for us … making us happy together.”

Each improbable Iraq soccer victory has been met with an outpouring of joy, a rare feeling in this bloodied country. Thousands poured into the streets Wednesday when Iraq’s team edged South Korea to clinch a coveted spot in Sunday’s final against Saudi Arabia.

“From the north to the south and the east to the west, everyone was celebrating and chanting, ‘one Iraq,’ ” said Mohammed Khalaf, a former team captain and popular TV commentator who now directs the coverage of the state-run Iraqiya Sports Channel.

This victory for Iraq must be sending shivers down the spine of the defeatist Democrats who repeatedly claimed all was lost in a civil war.  Their mantra of hopelessness rings hallow now.  A simple, young soccer team managed to unite a country and restore some national pride.  Iraqis do not feel they are losers or their country is worth giving up on.  They never gave up. 

This must be the worst news–winning–for Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and the other Democratic defeatists.  Congratulations Iraq!  Your victory was well deserved!

Dishonoring Pat Tillman – Updated

Re-Posted here with the permission of the author, RadicalRon, of JammieWearingFool.

Leave it to someone in the Kooky Kult of Koslam to take something legitimate and reduce it to Kosling Conspiracy Theory No.___, another example of what passes for civility within the Web’s premier cesspool of progressive group-think.

We all remember Pat Tillman. He had turned down a multi-million dollar offer to play for the St. Louis Rams, choosing instead to accept a $500,000 offer to stay in Arizona and play for the Cardinals.

He became an American hero when he walked away from that contract to answer a higher calling: to serve his country, his response to 9/11.

In announcing Pat’s death in 2004, the world was told that he died during an ambush in Afghanistan. I was one of the millions who watched as Pat’s body was committed to the grave, in full belief that he had given the ultimate sacrifice on the battlefield in combat with an evil, maniacal enemy.

At FoxNews.com, Radley Balko reported on November 2, 2005:

We now know that Tillman died in friendly fire, shot accidentally by members of his own platoon. Soldiers interviewed in subsequent investigations have since testified that it was apparent to everyone involved that Tillman died from friendly fire the moment he was taken off the battlefield. A series of serious errors by Army commanders and Tillman’s fellow soldiers — none of them by Tillman himself — led to his unnecessary death. These events were tragic, but they certainly don’t reflect poorly on Tillman, his bravery, or his memory.

It’s also now clear that U.S. Army brass knew early on how Tillman died, but allowed alternative histories to permeate the media and sink in with Tillman’s friends and family for weeks. They even hid the truth from Tillman’s brother, who was in the same platoon, but didn’t witness Tillman’s death. He was immediately flown back to the U.S. with Tillman’s body.

Tillman’s public memorial service, held on May 3, 2004, took place a day after Army Secretary Les Brownlee was officially told of Tillman’s fratricide. There, Tillman was posthumously awarded a Silver Star in which the Army described battlefield events that clearly never happened. It wasn’t until May 28 that the Army told the Tillmans the real circumstances surrounding Pat’s death.

The [Washington] Post reports that investigations documents show this decision was not based on a sudden desire to release the truth, but because many Army Rangers would be returning over Memorial Day, and they could no longer hold fast to the Army’s version of the story.

A subsequent investigation into the cover-up of Tillman’s death found “gross negligence” among commanders of and soldiers in Tillman’s platoon, and called for stern punishments. But here it gets odder: The officer who issued that report was quickly replaced by a higher-ranking officer.

The [San Francisco] Chronicle has since discovered that since the original report was issued, soldiers and commanders were allowed to go back and change their testimony. The subsequent report is more reluctant to place blame, and calls for less severe punishment. More disturbing, the commanding officer who gave an ill-considered order to break up Tillman’s platoon — which the original report determined to be a key mistake leading to his death — was not only given an opportunity to revise his testimony to the first investigator, he was given immunity, and was allowed to disburse punishment to those below him.

One of those punished, Tillman’s platoon leader, had correctly protested the commanding officer’s order. Tillman’s platoon leader, who took shrapnel to the face during the incident, was subsequently dismissed from the Rangers.

[...]

It would have been tough for the military to concede its own ineptitude caused the death of the war on terror’s poster soldier in any setting. But just days after Tillman’s death, the Abu Ghraib scandal broke. The military was in desperate need of some good news. Recycling Tillman’s selfless bravery put torture stories on the backburner for at least a news cycle or two.

What’s tragic is that the military’s duplicity in all of this has buried the better story — what a remarkable man Tillman was. Tillman, we’ve since learned from media interviews with friends, family, and fellow soldiers, was a thinker. He defied easy classification. He was a poet, kept a journal (which vanished after his death), and subscribed to the Economist. He admired Winston Churchill, but was also interested in anti-war academic Noam Chomsky. He read Emerson and Thoreau. He wasn’t religious, but had read the Bible, the Koran, and the book of Mormon. He brought along a portable library of classic novels for his platoon pals to read.

Citing as a primary source a website that’s home to nearly every conspiracy theory you’ve ever heard — and many you haven’t — Kestrel9000, an asshat of the Koslamistan kind, proudly announces:

We have confirmed that Tillman had arranged to meet with a leading anti-war intellectual, Noam Chomsky, upon his return stateside. One can imagine the panic in the Office of the Secretary of Defense at the vision of the much trumpeted poster-boy hero of the War on Terror returning home and speaking out against the evil charade of the War.

Confirmed what? As shown above, FoxNews ran with that information in 2005.

And other aspects of Kosling Conspiracy Theory No.___ are debunked as well. The 2005 FoxNews report concluded with:

Perhaps most interestingly, Tillman opposed the war in Iraq. He’d told platoon mates he thought the war was “illegal,” and a distraction from the war on Al Qaeda, but fought in Iraq anyway, owing to a sense of duty.

We lost a complicated, interesting, fascinating guy 18 months ago, a guy who exhibited the kind of critical thinking that seems to be in short supply among the men who commanded him. They, and we, owe Tillman a lot. Truth and accountability would be a good start.

It would make for an excellent start.

Truth and accountability, the only things the Tillman family has asked for since it was disclosed that Pat died as a result of “friendly fire”. Their many requests have been answered with nothing but stonewalling and a few sacrificial lambs.

Kosling Conspiracy Theory No.___ suggests that Pat Tillman was executed on the orders of either Dick Cheney or Donald Rumsfeld; perhaps both.

I’ll believe that when the Magic Kingdom welcomes Jews as tourists and allows them to tour Mecca and Medina.

There is a conspiracy in play, however. A conscious decision was made to withhold from the Tillman family the confirmation that Pat died in a “friendly fire” incident. How high up the chain of command this initially went — and who chose to perpetuate it –needs to be determined and publicly disclosed. There must also be revealed at what level the decision was made to erect barriers preventing the Tillman family from ascertaining what happened. And we must be told why the stonewalling continues.

I was hopeful that President Bush would address this matter during his weekly radio address today. He didn’t. He talked only of the importance of revising FISA.

Mr. President, we get it, you’re preaching to the freakin’ choir.

Don’t be surprised if some day a staff member reports that Moonbat Nation has a new chant that’s mirrored on their signs:

Tillman Died And George Lied

What credibility you have remaining will further erode each day you fail or refuse to address this despicable and shameful matter.

After all, if a government is willing to lie about how a soldier died, how much trust should the people continue to invest in that same government?

FULL DISCLOSURE NOW

Updates (click to enlarge)

Blog Honor Roll 07/29/07

Next Generation of Social Conservatives Already in Trenches

A growing group of overlooked foot soldiers in this movement will also shape its outcome without even casting a vote…teenagers…are being trained to wage the political battles of the future.

How To Score Yourself For Better Blogging — Passionate America

“Finding a way to motivate yourself, better organize yourself, and improve your blogging systems is the goal of every successful blogger….” Here’s a point system.

Barack Hussein Obama: Strike Two

Would you be willing to meet separately, without precondition, during the first year of your administration…with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea? (Yes, he would.)

Determining Your Website’s Popularity For Free

Using some combination of these tools should give you all the metrics you need.

FHK SitRep 07.29.07: Beyond Google

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We all know that when you’re looking for something on the web, you can “Google” it, and often you’ll find what you need. “Google” is a fun word, easy to remember, and Google is constantly making updates to remain competitive.

But what if you need something a little more specific that you’re not finding on Google? There are many other search engines, which are designed to search for specialized topics. Archivist Marcus Zillman maintains an updated list of academic search engines here (last update, 06/15/07). Wikipedia has a list of categorized list of search engines, and Read/Write Web maintains a list of the top alternative search engines (last updated 02/05/07).

Not sure where to start? Debbie and Damon Abilock of NoodleTools have compiled a fantastic list of research needs paired with the search engines that best meet those needs. Here they have search engines for researchers of different ages, with levels of internet experience, and with special requirements. They’ll help you find facts or opinions; they’ll even help you find a topic to research!

So, the next time you’re looking for the answer to a question, try looking beyond Google.

Daily SitRep Archive

Quotes to Understand Digg Haters

There is so much hate on Digg.com that it has the internet reputation as the biggest cesspool for negativity.  In an effort to help you understand the haters of Bush, Cheney, conservatives, and everybody else on their liberal  hate list, I’ve accumulated a few quotes that best describes their mindset:

Hatred is something peculiar. You will always find it strongest and most violent where there is the lowest degree of culture.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Hatred is active, and envy passive dislike; there is but one step from envy to hate.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Hatred, in the course of time, kills the unhappy wretch who delights in nursing it in his bosom.
Giacomo Casanova

All men’s misfortunes spring from their hatred of being alone.
Jean de la Bruyere

Hatred is self-punishment. Hatred it the coward’s revenge for being intimidated.
Hosea Ballou

Hatred, which could destroy so much, never failed to destroy the man who hated, and this was an immutable law.
James A. Baldwin

Hatred is inveterate anger.
Marcus Tullius Cicero

Hatred – The anger of the weak.
Alphonse Daudet

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