Clipping and Curation Service Amplify Shuts Down

Sustaining a successful social sharing product with a small array of features is a challenge. For every success story like Pinterest, there are dozens more that have tried to gain traction, and, while possibly succeeding to a small degree, not seeing enough activity to convert into a healthy business. One of the more recent to close its doors is Amplify.com, which acted as a home for users to clip favorite sites from the web (including on mobile) and add their own commentary. This simple and somewhat elegant service played a role as a curation journal of sorts for its users, who could discuss an article (or its best parts anyway) downstream. But news came this week the site is being mothballed, and users are being pointed to Clipboard instead.

While the gesture to Clipboard comes as some relief for Amplify's users, it's not expected to be a catch-all for existing clips that have been captured over the last few years. A blog post announcing the move says "We can't guarantee that all of your clips will be preserved", although databases will be transferred, and it's hoped a migration is possible. Of note, Clipboard, run by former Microsofties, has garnered praise of late from Michael Arrington and GeekWire.

A Note to Amplify Users By Email

While Amplify's note to users was short, Clipboard says Amplify "struggled for some time to continue operating. The reasons why are difficult to state, but ultimately neither service was meeting the needs of their user."

One user, Paul Simbeck-Hampson, wrote in detail on Google+, that Amplify "was a community of thoughtful considerate people who took time to engage, share and support one another around topics that were meaningful - it was like a grown ups meeting place," adding that even while discussions on curation and copyright flared up, Amplify made many changes to be on the right side of content owners.

Unfortunately, that effort looks not to have been enough. I appreciated the Amplify bookmarklet, especially on mobile, and think that sharing selectively on the web, having a discussion downstream with peers, is valuable - but this particular service didn't survive. You can see more on the Amplify site or on the Clipboard blog.

Disclosure: I work at Google on the Google+ team. Any conjecture as to whether this is good or bad for Google+ is trying too hard. :)

It's Not Social If You're Not Engaging

What does it mean to "be social" or to participate with people online, including family, closest friends and colleagues, but strangers as well? Is sharing a link social? Is telling somebody where you are or what you ate social? Is showing a photo of your kid social? It can be - and it can also not be. An action becomes social when you engage with others and provide value through your sharing and interacting beyond the action itself. This is something that's often missed.

Google+ was designed to aid you online doing what you already do offline - sharing stories, swapping jokes and links, hanging out, sharing photos and videos, with different groups of people. Of course, you can always share publicly if you like as well, giving everyone who runs into your content the option to see it and engage.

As communities grow, both offline and online, cliques and factions emerge. You can see it in small groups, like family reunions or church events, or notoriously high school. Google+ is no different. As people post fast and engage fast, it's possible that feelings get hurt, people misinterpret what you meant, assume something untrue, or label you based on one comment alone. It takes effort to move past that and not let those perceived slights take hold. It also takes effort to make sure you're contributing beyond your initial share. 

Unsurprisingly, I often get questions about what it takes to "be social" and to get visible or, at least, not feel ignored, on a network like Google+ or a blog. I wrote about some of those ways in 10 Great Ways to Get Discovered on Google+ (http://goo.gl/LyzJ1) and in July's The Secret 10 Step Guide to Giving Good Social (http://goo.gl/12drA), but the most critical part of being social is to be yourself and do what comes naturally.

My Social Contract With You Is As Follows:

1. I will always share content I think you will find interesting.

Not every share is for everyone, and if you're not using circles, instead sharing publicly, there's no doubt that not everybody shares your interests. I share what I think is interesting to a good chunk of you, which probably hasn't already entered your view.

2. I will always give you the benefit of the doubt - at least twice. :)

Sometimes, people are out to be trolls. But just because you don't always agree with me doesn't put you on my bad list. Even if you say something cross to me or someone I know well, I'll do my best to figure out why that is and I'll engage with you to see if the problem can be cracked. But if you keep going, that negative experience isn't something I'll want to make part of my life.

3. I will make every attempt to engage with you - no matter your visibility.

You'll find people on Google+ (and elsewhere) who don't do a great job of responding in comments, following mentions or acting elsewhere in the network. If anything, I may over-engage. I always participate in comment streams, well beyond my own feed, and I try my best to find when you're addressing me, no matter if you've got 1 million followers or 1.

4. I am always smiling, just like my avatar.

Take yourself too seriously and you lose. I have fun, and that means hanging out with people around the world, sharing music that I enjoy, posting pictures of my kids, and being sarcastic or humorous. When I stop having fun here, I should quit.

5. I will not get pigeonholed.

If you catch me posting too many Google+ centric posts in a row, apologies in advance. We're just updating so frequently, it's practically a necessity just to stay on top of things. But I haven't changed from the same guy who many of you have known for years. I still care about baseball and electronic music, and obscure trivia, TV and tech outside the Googleplex. So if you follow me, expect more.

Hitting 100,000 people having me in circles is pretty cool. It's a big number, and probably my last big number for a long time. After all, I'm not on the recommended users list - and that means you're finding me through word of mouth or through the content I bring here. It's almost 500% what I've seen from Twitter over 4 years and more than 600% the subscribers I had on FriendFeed. But just think, we've only been here just under 240 days, so this place is growing pretty fast. What's next for Google+ and for all of us? You'll have to wait and see, but now you have more of a hint of what you'll get from me.

To the next 100,000.

/via My Google+ Profile.

Daily Kos Urges Democrats to Vote for Santorum

+Markos Moulitsas and the +Daily Kos crew are enjoying the ongoing GOP primary battles so much that they are encouraging Democrats to crash upcoming open Republican primaries and caucuses, casting their vote for +Rick Santorum, all in the name of extending the increasingly close race with +Mitt Romney, which could make +Barack Obama's chances of reelection greater in the long run - assuming money and ill-will is thrown at the contest before the GOP convention later this year.

I tend to doubt whether this "Operation Hilarity" could have real impact on the outcome in close states, but 2012 has already seen some razor-thin margins and a few hundred votes here or there could be game changing. It's time to get some popcorn and watch this play out if you love the political horse race.

See: DailyKos.com: Announcing Operation Hilarity

/via My Google+ Profile.

Dice.com: Louis Gray on Google and Job Hunting

Last fall, shortly after I joined Google, +Michelle Greenlee contacted me for a quick interview about the Google hiring experience, and what tech-savvy job seekers can do to leverage the influence of social media to influence hiring managers. The story was finally posted this morning.

The biggest take-away is probably my last note in an answer to her final question: "The world is becoming social and the new world of business and hiring can find great candidates through how you present yourself online."

See: Dice.com: Louis Gray on Google and Job Hunting

/via My Google+ Profile.