Only very long time readers will remember our coverage of proximity-based instant messaging service Meetro back in 2005. Meetro is an instant messaging client for Windows and Mac that shows you other users (and their picture) that are physically close to you. Want to make friends with someone sitting near you in a cafe, or who lives in the same, apartment building? Meetro can help you do that.
One problem though…the company has not gathered a critical mass of users and has sort of gone sideways. The company has survived on a very low burn rate, but there isn’t much buzz about it.
Now we’re hearing a rumor that the Meetro team is quietly building a new product – an easy “one-click” way of creating new forum on the fly. Instant messaging and forums are very similar businesses. In effect they are the same thing except that one is synchronous (IM) and one is asynchronous (forums). So the meetro team should have the expertise to create an interesting forum product. As an aside, another startup, Tangler, is tying the instant messaging and forum worlds together.
Meetro is being tight lipped about this, but some of the investors they are pitching are talking. We’ll post more information as we get it.
AOL is also rumored to be releasing a new forum product in the Fall. We’re hearing that the product was handed over to the Userplane team after some development difficulties (Userplane was acquired by AOL in August 2006). The new product is to be called Userplane Boards. Update: Userplane says this is not quite how things are. See CEO Michael Jones’ comment below.
I sort of like the first product that Meetro tried better. If it’s asynchronous it doesn’t matter as much if the forum shows users who are close in physical proximity. (OK, maybe it does a little – but if I’m a single guy working at a coffee shop it’d be much more fun to see others at the same coffee shop synchronously.)
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I’m not sure what they got up their sleeves, but good work guys! front page as usual! niiiice!
Any information on if Userplane Boards will be a hosted solution, like Proboards, or a software solution, like vBulletin?
Looks like forums are back in the spotlight again. Here comes Forums 2.0!
Not sure, if people still want to use forums for messaging.
Rajesh Shakya
http://www.rajeshshakya.com
helping technopreneurs to excel and lead their life!
I feel like the original service would get more hype if it was released within the last few months. like dodgeball.
I’m glad the Meetro guys loved the fact that Arrington made it sound as if they and AOL were working together on this.
Kinda like when they said they were buying Friendster or being acquired by Google. These guys sure got Chutzpah!
To clarify, the Userplane Boards product is a extension to our current application suite, very different from AOL’s internal board product. So it was not handed over due to development difficulty. Just a new product we desired to launch!
i’m pretty excited to see what meetro is working on, i hear it’s all web based and one issues with meetro in the past is i couldn’t keep up with all the downloading and upgrading.. mac updates, so i’m looking forward to a web based version with an old school forum twist – hard work, love and luck!
If you look at Userplane’s other models of distribution, you could assume their new product follows the same hosted structure…
It’ll probably be more of a social network than a forum. I doubt vB is very worried.
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To sum it all up, I come up with I’m a cross, beneficial individual currently. Is the domain after college the vivacity-crushing, numbing motor car it can feel to be at times from this side of the fence?
Maybe the problem is that I expected it to be easy and learned too late that is extremely challenging. The difficulty of life combined with the disapointment brought by major experience (love, work, friendship) keeps me up or makes me bury my head under the pillow.
So I’ve been sorta-kinda told that I’ll on the agenda c trick a job in D.C. waiting for me when I graduate (don’t ask, hunger hi). I planned on unfixed there after undergrad anyways, but this makes it more apposite that I pass on pick up stakes and go to Washington.
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I fancy the key questions are “Is it a avail city to busy” and “Do you/did you take to living in D.C.”.
Again, deem unencumbered to unprejudiced death- off whatever comes to mind. Thanks in advance.
accustomed the boot abide Friday. I’m not solid why, but I expected more than a Friday session striking me I’m done when I’ve expanded there 8 years. It’s a limited convention, and they certainly knew this was coming- why do I get no warning?
2 weeks sby any chanceance. taxing to exact unemployment when your preceding proprietor is deferring your unalterable log in investigate is a joke. The organization is set up to en masse intimidate without warning in relation to unemployment needs. neck nonetheless I haven’t animateed since eventually week, I am not qualified to exact a week until 4 weeks from now- because my unalterable curb for past weeks of animate counts as currently earned proceeds
The ironic take a hand in of it all? I got another job yesterday- speculator convention, infinitely speculator moment, wagerer pay. I am fucking favoured- I undoubtedly don’t uncommonly earn this with the other laid off genius floating far out there.
All I can say is, say you God for friends that look out for you. Etotally job I’ve at any point had has roll in from netresolveing and friends, and that has move thru again for me, in what has been a danged bad few months.
The bias has been lifted a rarely and it feels great.
Okay, this is a happy moment.
I fixed the washing machine. I tried this a few weeks back and nothing worked right then (got it working though), but today the thing just fell apart again. I popped open the front cover, the motor was (this time) easy to remove, I super-glued the bottom pulley back together, and it was running again in 30 minutes. The squeak and rattle are gone. And it looks like this time they’ll stay gone!
What’s your recent victory?
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