Comments on: Is the Aardvark a Social Animal?

By: I Have 10 Aardvark Invites

I Have 10 Aardvark Invites — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 14:45:38 +0000

[...] ← Is the Aardvark a Social Animal? Vivisimo, Please Keep It Real [...]

By: Dean Thrasher

Dean Thrasher — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 17:19:06 +0000

Ha — aardvark evolution!

(Hmmm. I may have to use that as a title to a blog post…)

By: Daniel Tunkelang

Daniel Tunkelang — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 17:02:14 +0000

Dean, great to see you commenting here! As for the socialization of aardvarks, perhaps these are new, improved aardvarks? Aardvark 2.0?

By: Aardvark and Social QA « The Mendicant Bug

Aardvark and Social QA « The Mendicant Bug — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 06:12:43 +0000

[...] and Social QA 2009 March 13 by Jason Adams Daniel Tunkelang pointed out a new social search service today dubbed Aardvark. Social search works by delegating your queries [...]

By: Dean Thrasher

Dean Thrasher — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 00:39:11 +0000

Actual aardvarks tend to be quite solitary. It’s surprising that there are multiple Web 2.0 software vendors using an aardvark as a mascot. (We’re the other one — Infovark.)

We’re taking a more content management-focused approach to Web 2.0, using a combination of content analysis and user behavior to derive relationships within the enterprise.

I’ve been following your blog for a while, Daniel, but never got around to leaving a comment!

By: Rob Spiro

Rob Spiro — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 19:27:26 +0000

Daniel, that’s exactly how it works. Uses your existing networks and your existing communication channels (IM, Email) to find the best person in your extended network to answer your question in the moment.

Looking forward to hearing what you think!

By: Daniel Tunkelang

Daniel Tunkelang — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 17:21:04 +0000

That’s their definition of social search, and I gather it’s not that controversial. I imagine it bootstraps on your existing social networks–I certainly hope so for the sake of efficiency! I’m assuming it acts as a routing heuristic through the paths of your social network, searching for suitable candidates based on how it understands the content of your question and the expertise of the people in your network. That strikes me as a good (if not original) idea–if they can make it work.

By: John B. Lee

John B. Lee — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:42:07 +0000

jeremy – That’s the way I (and my advisor before me) have been using the term “social search.” Basically, using an acquaintanceship network to find information (or other individuals) which you do not know directly.

By: jeremy

jeremy — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:10:34 +0000

Could someone explain to me what “social search” means? From the descriptions of Aardvark, it sounds like it means “ask a network of friends if they know the answer”. Is that what it is?

(I work on explicitly collaborative search, which is the idea of working with one or a few other people, together, to find information that none of you are aware of. But that’s not really “social”, I think, in the way that everyone else means it. So I’m still struggling.. what does “social” actually mean? Aardvark basically seems like Yahoo Answers, in real time. Is that what social search is?)

By: Roy Scribner

Roy Scribner — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:25:08 +0000

It seems like a strange value proposition to me – that a third-party purports to know more about my network than I do. Were that the case, what would that say about my use of social media tools?

The benefit of, for instance, Twitter over a tool like LinkedIn is purely the social component. We learn a little bit about the individuals in our network every time they post. This knowledge is valuable, whether you are yourself an individual, or a large corporation.