Tag!

This week we've rolled out a lot of small fixes and improvements (check out the new about page, as well as the new way we're dealing with the panels on the left side of the page once you've logged in, for example), but the big deal is the new library functionality. We want Pingsta to be a place where internetwork superstars can share ideas, and it seems to us that a big step in that direction is to allow you to have a place for your stuff.

Right now the main element in the library is its bookmarking feature; when you hit the library page, you're able to add links to your favorite sites and share them with the other members of the Pingsta community. The best way to see other people's bookmarks is to find them in the People pages and then click on their "library entries" link. In addition, when you're browsing your library (or anyone else's, for that matter), you can see all the tags that have been attached to each library item -- click on any of those tags to see every item from every library that has that tag.

Please give the library a whirl; go add your favorite bookmarks and tags. Now click on your tags to see what the rest of the Pingsta world is reading. You may be surprised at what you find!

-d.

Weekly Weigh-in #1: Wikipedia vs. Britannica

Every week we'll be having our "Weekly Weigh-in", a discussion about any topic that is currently being debated around the office.

As our first installment of the Weekly Weigh-in, we'll focus on the digital age-old debate of Wikipedia, with its unmoderated socially-generated user content versus legacy print encyclopedias like Encyclopaedia Britannica.

We'd like to have you weigh-in on this topic:

• Do you consider Wikipedia the epitome of open-source collaboration or do you see it as fundamentally flawed?
  
• Although Wikipedia is a more up-to-date resource, does it have as much legitimacy as print sources?
• In what cases would/should one turn to Wikipedia as a resource?

-Owen

How did the name "Pingsta" come to be?

Many of you have asked us what Pingsta means, and since we can't resist the opportunity to tell a good story whenever the chance presents itself, here it goes...

The name "Pingsta" was born after months of caffeine-powered deliberations (caffeine is, as you might have observed by now, a big part of our life here). Pingsta is a combination of two words. The first word, "PING", is the acronym for "Packet InterNet Groper", a troubleshooting tool used to test IP network connectivity. Ping is also commonly used as a verb... "to Ping" meaning to "IM", call, email ( in other words, to contact) someone. The second word (well... half a word actually) is "Sta" - derived from the word "Star" as a subset of "Superstar".

As we set out to create an environment where technology enables people to communicate and collaborate seamlessly, we decided to follow that train of thought further, and it went something like this...

"This tool will help the world to 'Ping internetwork Superstars' (hmm, interesting)... 'Ping Superstars' (like it... but it's way too long)... 'Ping Star' (better! Now, how can we make it sound modern. Let's see... drop the "r" maybe?)... 'PingSta' (Eureka! we have a winner)."

/deka

P.S: Here are some other names that crossed our minds and the reasons why they were discarded:

1. "Hubnob" (it initially sounded clever, but eventually reminded us too much of the failed Walmart attempt at re-creating Myspace)
2. "Geekspace" (Myspace for geeks?... Boy, that sounded unholy!)
3. "Citizen IP" (someone - who shall remain nameless - might have been watching a certain movie... Citizen Kane, perhaps?)

Alright, alright! We won't bore (nor torture) you with the whole list of unusual (and sometimes funny) names we entertained during this entire process. Let's just say that Pingsta sounded like music to our ears.

Fasten your Seatbelts, folks.

The first time I saw Pingsta, I knew I wanted to be a part of it. I don’t know if it was the name, the element of mystery wrapped up in the “invite only” paradigm, or the fact that the Pingsta jobs page mentioned ”...helping to make the world a better place” as one of the employment perks, but I had to find out more. I applied on the spot.

A couple of days later I found myself on the phone with Peter, in what had to have been the most unusual job interview I’d ever experienced. We talked for hours about what Pingsta was, is, and promises to be, about the supreme court and Paris Hilton, and about the potential of the Internet to make a difference in the world, as well as the special role in the Internet that Pingsta can play. I knew I had to get on the team. Anybody with that much drive and enthusiasm about what they’re doing is unstoppable.

Here’s what I didn’t know: They’re ALL like that. After joining the Pingsta team, I’ve discovered that every one of its members shares the zeal and drive of its founder. I’ve had the honor of working with some amazing people in the past, but nobody has the fire that these folks have. And it’s infectious. I’m working harder and more intensely than I have in a long time, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

In the two weeks since I started with Pingsta, we’ve rolled out some great enhancements (check out the feed reader and the new login flow on the home page, for starters), as well as a lot of little improvements that will, hopefully, make Pingsta as much fun for you guys as it is for us. There are much bigger things happening right now and in the near future, and I can’t wait to tell you more.

I won’t lie to you; there is a tremendous amount of work to do around here. But every last bit of it is going to be a blast. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

-d.

It's not social networking, It's Pingsta

Pingsta was inspired primarily by the lack of the following:

1. an internetwork intelligence repository that is comprehensive, validated and openly available to the world
2. a social and intellectually stimulating playground for the rock stars that invented (and continue to sustain) the internet.

We set out to create a platform where internetwork experts can hang out and socialize with colleagues from across the world, discussing topics of personal interests such as kite-surfing, IPv6, rock-climbing, inter-planetary communication, Matter-over-IP etc seamlessly, while also collaborating to extend their intellectual legacies through submissions to the internetwork repository.

Several barrels of coffee over months of little sleep later, Pingsta was born. We've since put together a core team of some of the smartest minds in software engineering and design and they are working tirelessly towards making Pingsta the ultimate virtual internetwork playground. Keep an eye out for weekly feature roll-outs ;-)

We're proud to say that four months after beta launch, our niche membership of early-adopters spans inventors, fellows, distinguished engineers, technical leaders, CCIEs, JNCIEs, etc from the US, UK, Australia, Japan, France, Belgium, Poland, Canada, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, South Africa, Israel, India, Germany, Hungary, Austria, Taiwan, China, Bangladesh, Slovenia, Singapore, Ireland, Russia, Spain, Italy, Norway, Serbia, Croatia, Finland, and Brazil.

Thank you all for your continued support, participation and feedback. We hope you enjoy the ride with us!

Peter Alfred-Adekeye
Founder, Pingsta, Inc.