January 26, 2009
Brainify.com *scratches head*
Someone please tell me why we need Brainify.com. Brainify is yet another social bookmarking site and joins the likes of del.icio.us and ma.gnolia. What is the distinguishing feature of Brainify? It is restricted to people who have a .edu e-mail address. Say what! Yep, it is a restricted social network. In the off-line world such things are called clubs and popular opinion is that clubs are composed of like-minded individuals. I’m pretty sure that restricting something to like-minded individuals is bad and stifles growth and exploration. So why in the world would someone want to develop such a site when we have open communities like del.icio.us and ma.gnolia? You can read more in the Chronicle article.
At 3:11 PM on January 26, 2009, George
commented:
As a student, I think Brainify makes sense. When I go there I wanna see what’s relevant to me. Delicious won’t give me higher level content, nor will ma.gnolia.
At 10:31 PM on January 26, 2009, Michael
commented:
University professors and student like minded? Your university must be different than mine.
I already have places where I can “join the world”. I like the idea of a place for people with common interests (education). What do you find so strange about common-interest communities? They exist and are very successful all over the world. Brainify seems like a good idea to me.
At 9:58 AM on January 27, 2009, Jon
commented:
It is not the common-interests aspect that bothers me. It is the exclusivity. I do not support exclusivity in any form. That is why I compared this to a social club because in the past such clubs have had exclusive membership. I feel that we need to wake up and realize that we are all on this ride together and that the best way for us to make the world better is by not being exclusive. Why not let the common-interest group form of its own accord? Is there not a group within del.icio.us or the other existing services that is interested in education?
At 10:08 AM on January 27, 2009, Jon
commented:
I’m not exactly sure what you mean by higher level content. If I was looking for scholarly materials I would probably use Google Scholar.
At 5:03 PM on January 31, 2009, Jon
commented:
I see your point, but I don’t agree.
I think delicious is not that useful as a student. Purpose-built sites (such as brainfy) can offer more to their intended audience. You lose something by trying to be something to everyone.
I dont see brainifiy as a club. I see it as a community. I belong to other communities that I benefit from. Just because only certain people can join, does not make it bad.
Only certain people can attend universities. Does that make all universities bad? I think not.
Sometimes we can make real progress without necessarily satisfying every ideal – as nice as that might be.
I hope it succeeds.