Profiled - Hearsay - the social network
An interview with Ryan MacInnes, lead programmer and CEO at Hearsay on social networks
The Social Media Portal (SMP) talks to Ryan MacInnes at Hearsay about social networks and why its service is different
Social Media Portal (SMP): What is your full job title and role (what do you do there) at Hearsay?Ryan MacInnes (RM):
I am the CEO, as well as the lead programmer. I wear many hats!
SMP: Briefly, tell us about Hearsay, what is it and what does it do?RM: Hearsay is a social network designed around your actual circle of real
like friends. The purpose is to use it to learn a bit more about yourself
that only others can see. You do this by creating 'curios' (categories in
your profile) that your friends respond to and vote up. A few typical
curios would be: What is the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to
me? What is my most annoying quality? What celebrity most looks like me?
But they can be anything you like.
SMP: What made you start Hearsay (and when is the official launch)?
RM: Dissatisfaction with existing social networks. The original idea came from a love of Facebook when it first came out. And a love of wikipedia. Hearsay is basically a combination of the two. The official launch was in Mid October 2010.
SMP: What was the most challenging part of building the service?
RM: Turning the idea of combining Facebook and wikipedia into an actual working site. As an idea it sounds great! But in reality it takes a whole lot of breaking new ground to figure out how exactly to make this work, and the mechanics of doing so.
SMP: Who are your target audience and why?RM: Young people, I suppose. They tend to be the ones who start a social networking explosion. But Hearsay is easy enough for anyone to use. So I guess our target audience is: everyone. Anyone can gain something from Hearsay.
SMP: How did you initially attract users to your site /service, and how do
you do it now?RM: Word of mouth. Then and now. Well I guess now we also do interviews on
other websites too :)
SMP: What are the low moments of what you have been doing so far?RM: There were certain points, in the beginning stages, when I realized I was going about doing everything wrong, or that how I was making the site function wasn't going work, where I had to scrap everything and start over that made me want to give up. Luckily I didn't!
SMP: What are the high moments of what you have been doing so far?RM: The launch, of course! And the moment I finished programming it all, before the launch. I just went through the entire site by myself and tried everything out. I felt a huge knot release from my stomach that I didn't even realize was there.
SMP: Now that you are established, what do you see as your biggest
challenges and opportunities?RM: Just getting more and more users I suppose. New features. In terms of opportunities, I think there is a general sense of dissatisfaction on some other social networks that will cause many people to migrate over to us.
SMP: What are the next moves for Hearsay?RM: New features, such as the biography page (think Wikipedia article about a
person, but filled out by your friends) and surveys!
SMP: What?s the next big step for social media and networks?RM: I feel like the market on information sharing has gotten completely over saturated. You can tell all of your friends your current location, what you are thinking at the moment, what movies you are watching, etc etc. It has to hit a plateau, and soon. I think people will want to migrate back to social networkings roots, taking your actual social life, onto the web. And hopefully, they will want to get a little more back from their social networks.
SMP: What?s going to be the most interesting aspect regarding social
media/technology throughout 2010?RM: Well, it's almost over at this point, but to me the most interesting development was definitely Groupon. First of all it wasn't based out of silicon valley, and its the sort of situation that almost seems too good to be true. The consumers win, the businesses win, and of course Groupon wins.
SMP: Now it is reported that we may be moving out of the global recession
what do what impact do you think social media may have upon a business such as
yours?RM: Well since Hearsay is free, I don't think it will really be affected one way or the other.
SMP: How does this fit into plans at HearSay?
RM: Best way to contact you?
ryan.macinnes @ thisishearsay.com
Now some questions for fun
SMP: What did you have for breakfast / lunch?RM: Two cups of coffee
SMP: What?s the last good thing that you did for someone?RM: I bought my friend some Korean Friend Chicken the other day
SMP: How many hours to you work a week?RM: Waayyyyyyy too many. 80? 90? I rarely sleep these days.
SMP: If you weren?t running HearSay what would you be doing?RM: Either a Doctor, or one of those guys on the street who tells you a story
about how his car just ran out of fuel and he just needs 2 more dollars to
make it home.
SMP: When and where did you go on your last holiday?RM: What is this "holiday you speak of?". I kid, I kid. I went to a friends
wedding in Michigan back in September. It was nice.
SMP: What?s the first thing you do when you get into the office of a
morning?RM: Eat a bowl of cereal and read something completely non work related, or
watch some youtube videos. Get's me amped up for the day.
SMP: If you had a superpower what would it be and why?RM: Did you ever read Watchmen? I want Dr. Manhattans powers. It's basically
just the power to be God.
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