Now Microsoft has created a social networking website. This time, it is a little different, and if they could make the user experience a little more clean, could absolutely be a great place. It is called Aggreg8. Yeah I know, they are trying a little too hard to be cool and web 2.0 by using the number at the end, but it is Microsoft and they are about 5 years behind everybody so give them a break. [Editor'sNote: I originaly wrote this article in November, due to server issues, and time constraints I never found time to finish it until now. I have gone back to check on details and facts, but this article is still largley based on the original.]
The premise behind this site is catering to IT professionals as a place to come and learn the latest in the industry, have a place to network, and have fun. Instead of adding topics of interest, they have what they call working groups. You tag a working group and favorite it, and well? So far, not much. Look at it like this. It is a forum without the file directory layout.
Area, Category, Topic, Subtopic, and Posts: That is the normal hierarchy of the forum du jour. With Aggreg8, it does what it says. You see topics, you tag them, you get those topics. When you post files with a tag, they show up in tagged working groups. Dates and times show as events in the working group’s calendar.
It will take time to get used to the notion of aggregating all of your information, but I believe it is a much smoother process, once you get past the learning curve and Microsoft makes a few UI changes.
Pundits to Microsoft’s social networking venture will say this is dead on arrival. They will go on about how Microsoft is late to the game and is just trying to grab some people into the social networking scene before the next big thing comes along. They are all dead wrong. This is not a grab at social networking and jumping on the band wagon. Believe it or not, Microsoft actually does have some people that get it. So what makes Aggreg8 worthwhile?
- Tags – Everything in Aggreg8 is tagged. Files, posts, working groups, everything. Search can be based on tags, but more interestingly, the popularity of certain workgroups and topics can be judged by the weight of the tag in the tagcloud.
- Working Groups – Working groups are the life blood of Aggreg8. They take over topics as being a kind of subject. For instance, the Office 2007 working group will have many topics about Office 2007. Kind of the topic warehouse.
- Ratings – In addition to tags, there are ratings to all the topics. So, one doesn’t need to trust just the number of tags about the popularity of a topic, but then look at the rating for it’s effectivness on the subject.
- Syndication - Everything is syndicated. RSS, Atom, email. You can syndicate tags, working groups, members, you name it.
- Topics – The topics in Aggreg8 are, of course, written by the users for users. So even if it isn’t the official word from Microsoft, you can find it on Aggreg8.
- Filtering – Filters can be implemented by the user to refine what they see on the site. With thousands of working groups, and even more posts, this cuts the confusion and gets to the point.
- Events – Events can be added through Aggreg8 for members of your network. Those members can see the event type and it will show on their calendar.
- Community – The members of Aggreg8 make it a resource that can be both powerful and fun. Topics range from help with exchange issues and user managment to why Angelina Jolie is hot. Yeah, that is a wide range.
There are some issues with Aggreg8 that I have problems with. Most common issue is actually finding the Working Group you want. Sorting through thousands of working groups shouldn’t be the majority of my time on the site. Finding articles can take time, and finding the good ones even more time.
A more powerful built-in search would help. Tagging should be some of the search method, but developers at Microsoft want Tags to be more of Taxonomy than a free-form placement. They limit tagging, which, in turn, limits what the tags can do for a Working Group or Article. Tags are currently limited to 22 items. If you are tagging a working group, 22 may not be enough to speak to some of the more general posts in the group.
Although the community is there, it is barely there. There needs to be some tighter integration with the members. Friending isn’t enough. Microsoft should embrace other networking tools instead of neglecting they even exist. Web2.0 is about community, open, and sharing. If this doesn’t change soon, Aggreg8 may never be the user generated support community Microsoft is wanting.
Related posts:
Tags: microsoft
I read a lot of hilarious comments about aggreg8 on slash dot a little while ago, but I didn’t book mark any of it. It had me on the floor laughing.
Oh and by the way, had to move my blog to ofonesown.blogspot.com
I can’t believe that anybody else in the are had even heard of aggreg8, let alone actually read about it. I am impressed young lady!
This is a test of the subscription of email comments system.