The Internet can make you smarter

Information easily accessible via the Internet can make anyone smarter. Delivering information to a wide audience and enabling user feedback on topics, issues, and current events forces authenticity. I believe the Internet provides a platform for anyone to participate on anything. The success of Wikipedia is an extremely good example. In less then 10 years, Wikipedia became one of the most important English reference works in history. Anyone may contribute knowledge to any topic, from history to physics. Yes, the Internet can make you smarter but it demands focus of attention.

Distraction Distractions
Not unlike any other technical advancement, there are trade-offs to the Internet and its effect on learning behavior. A number of studies have found that people who use the Internet become distracted frequently and quickly. This has substantial consequences for retention of information and long term knowledge. These studies find that most users hop from site to site, consuming tidbits of information from videos, pod-casts, and print. In fact, the studies find that frequent users of the Internet are more then likely to forget something they just learned and have trouble concentrating. Furthermore, the studies found certain areas of the brain in the prefrontal cortex rewired as a result of frequent web surfing. As the typical user goes online, they are inherently distracted, hurried, and thinking shallowly.

Some technology is Twinkies and some is Brussels Sprouts! You can improve concentration skills by blocking out unnecessary noise permeating on the Internet. While reading a story online, resist the temptation to click a hyperlink OR with GoFetch – open hyperlinks in the background. With the GoFetch new tab on link function enabled , hyperlinked information is referenced AFTER you finish the original story.

The gadgets delivering digital media are quickly evolving. I own a phone that contains 63 applications which deliver news, weather, stocks, or directions! As these gadgets continuously try to feed us Twinkies, we must reassert our intellectuality and choose what information to consume and when. GoFetch helps by making content filtering easier and faster.

GoFetch is the fast easy way to access and save important Internet content. The perfect tool for research, GoFetch Internet Companion improves global awareness. We bring the wealth of information available on the Internet to people who seek knowledge. Search less with GoFetch Internet Companion!

Reference:
Author Nicholas Carr: The Web Shatters Focus, Rewires Brains
Does the Internet Make You Smarter?
The Difference Engine: Rewiring the brain
Digital Overload: Your Brain On Gadgets

Why GoFetch?

Why GoFetch

In this entry, I’ll write about WHY I’m working on GoFetch. In past entries, I’ve talked about the How and What.

The Internet has played a significant role in my education and career. While working as a ski instructor in Vail, I obtained my master’s degree because I was able to accomplish the majority of research and communications via the Internet. During that time, the public Internet was just beginning. In my career, I’ve worked as a consultant implementing Intra and Extranets. This work has enabled me to stay in an area I find challenging, fun, and fascinating.

To me, it’s incredible that 40% of Internet users go to Google daily and spend an average 12 minutes there. Or 26% go to Yahoo and spend 9 minutes on the site. I watch Internet users at work and at the library. I see a lot of Searching going on. This brings me to GoFetch.

GoFetch

I believe there's a better way to organize and experience the rich content available on the Internet. GoFetch is an easy solution with real people guiding experiences. Our mission is to increase global erudition, consciousness, and empathy by providing a tool to access relevant and actionable information on the Internet.

Are you the type of person who wants to be the first to know current headlines, industry trends, world news, and stock reports? GoFetch empowers users to get the best Internet content, faster, and easier.

GoFetch Kids

Children are the foundation for community advancement and the opportunity for children across the globe to learn and share knowledge is greater today then any other time in history. By leveraging the Internet, children today have faster access to any information imaginable.

GoFetch Kids is the Internet Companion for introducing the web to children safely. We provide an easy to use tool for introducing the Internet to young people. The environment is secure, easy, educational, and fun. Parents guide their children to appropriate websites and children jumpstart learning in math, spelling, and science. Children also learn where not to go, and what information is not appropriate to share with strangers.

Summary

Why GoFetch? GoFetch helps people get information from the Internet, save that information, and use it for research. GoFetch is a knowledge tool improving global awareness. My goal is to bring the wealth of information available on the Internet to people who seek knowledge. How? Read my past blog posts – and decide for yourself. Otherwise, enjoy searching.

Steps Taken
• 3 letters written to potential champions for GoFetch Kids
• More Biz plan documentation
• Focus

Next Steps
• More letters to
• Focus on GoFetch Kids

GoFetch on the GO

GoFetch on the go go
Early in my career, I had to travel weekly. Over the span of 2 years, I put over 150k on my frequent flyer program. Travel is a time drag especially for business. There are frequent delays and you usually spend more time in the terminal then you like or originally planned.

While waiting for that flight, you can utilize the time on your laptop and complete business tasks. Every airport has WiFi, but it’s usually expensive and not secure. With GoFetch, you can take content with you and access that content when you’re not online. GoFetch 1 Click Download enables you have access to all the latest news headlines, stories, and PDFs easily accessible from the download dropdown list.

Frequent travel was one inspiration for GoFetch 1 Click Download. When I’m about to go on a business trip, I download all of my favorite HTML Profiles. This saves a copy of the content to my computer and I access it while traveling offline. This way I can still continue my research and not have to worry about an Internet connection.

Check out the movie. Movie
This would be great for tablet users. The new HP Slate tablet may have some promise now that they have experts from Palm working with them. Business users might like it in comparison to iPad. See all of the GoFetch movies at GoFetch Movies.


Steps Taken
• User Interface updated with common icons
• PayPal setup

Next Steps
• Write letters to news corps
• HP Slate tablet

GoFetch Kids

GoFetch Kids
While developing GoFetch, I was inspired to make a browser for kids. The functionality of GoFetch revealed numerous security and collaborative opportunities that parents would appreciate while introducing the Internet to children.

The news media frequently tells stories of how the Internet played some role in a tragedy involving young people. With GoFetch Kids, parents and teachers could introduce the Internet to young people and direct the child’s surfing to approved web sites. This is a different approach then filtering software. With filtering software, it is necessary to configure the software to block specific sites or block sites that contain certain keywords. The configuration can be complex and it doesn’t guarantee all malicious sites will be blocked.

GoFetch Kids provides parents the opportunity to add approved websites while teaching children about the Internet. Instead of blocking sites, parents get the chance to look over a website and decide if the content is right for their kids. Once children learn about the Internet and develop “Net” etiquette, they can graduate to an adult browser. This provides parents the opportunity to become more involved in teaching kids about the pitfalls of joining certain chat rooms, or giving away personal information, and avoiding certain websites.

GoFetch Kids is like a game, where children and parents are engaged in an important learning process. The software has four built-in bookmark profiles and parents moderate this list. There are profiles for math, spelling, government focused websites, and kid focused entertainment and news. If a kid wants to add a website, they’ll have to ask their parents permission. The parent may go to the site; review the content, see any advertisements on that site, and decide whether or not to add the website to GoFetch Kids. The profiles are secured. In order to add a website, you have to know the password.

Check out the movie on www.gofetchkids.com. GoFetch Kids provides a fun, safe, and learning environment for teaching young people about the Internet.

Steps Taken
• PDF 1 click download enabled
• Updated the website with a blog pg, GoFetch Good News (only good news from several RSS feeds), science news, and popular Digg’d news
• Made a T-Shirt and it’s available on the website

Next Steps
• Movies movies movies, more movies for GoFetch Kids
• Offer PayPal
• Call Sesame Street

GoFetch Grouped Bookmark Community

GoFetch Social Bookmarks
What makes GoFetch perfect for research? Besides built-in functionality for saving and accessing content, GoFetch has a growing catalog of bookmarks. The profile page at http://www.carvetek.com/fetchProfiles.htm lists different interests and enables users to quickly download profiles that direct users to the best web resources.

This is a different approach then blindly going to a search engine and trying to find accurate information. For example, pretend there is a health issue your doctor advised you may be at risk for. You could go to a popular search engine, and start a query on this topic. The search engine likely ends up listing links to pages on popular health related websites. After combing through several dozen links, you end up on a popular health related website. Many, if not all, reputable websites today have their own search capabilities. In essence, you could have gone to the source initially and saved time. With GoFetch, you can easily download a health profile which guides users to the best health related websites on the Internet. >see the movie

The profile page is currently limited in scope but as users contribute, the page will grow rapidly. In order to make profile sharing easier, the Profile Edit window enables users to quickly share their bookmark profiles with other users.

I worked as a ski instructor in Vail for several years. I’m constantly checking the Colorado resort snow reports. This special knowledge and interest is likely shared with other users across the country. With GoFetch, I easily share my favorite sites with all users. >see the movie

As the profile page grows, we plan on adopting enhanced interaction to bring the best websites to our users. The page will contain rankings and comments, along with the ability to email profiles to friends or colleagues. This makes research easier and empowers users to learn from the community. Furthermore, the community will get the chance to learn from experts in specialized fields. Imagine education profiles that parents and teachers create for children to learn math, English, or science. Imagine a profile a famous business icon creates, such as a Warren Buffet finance profile, or a Bill Gates profile on philanthropy.

Another resource for the growing profile page is Alexa. Alexa, owned by Amazon, ranks web traffic http://www.alexa.com/. The company also has a web service that provides top performing website information. It’s capable of providing the most popular website information for many categories. This is the result after searching for “science” on Alexa.


As the picture notes, Sciencemag.org is the most popular but Wikipedia.org is much more engaging and users spend twice as long on Wikipedia.org. GoFetch could leverage this data and automate the profile creation process via the Alexa API.

In the next blog entry, I’ll talk about how we’re creating a more engaging experience for our users with new web pages on the GoFetch home page. Such as GoFetch Good News page which lists ONLY good news headlines.

Steps Taken
•GoFetch Good News version 1 created at http://www.carvetek.com/fetchGoodNews.htm
Next Steps
•Code download for PDF files, similar to bundling HTML pages

Cheers! And GoFetch
Will Thayer

GoFetch Value Proposition
In this blog entry, I’ll explain the built-in features of GoFetch and the inspiration guiding the user interface.

Built-In
There are four built-in features which streamline surfing for GoFetch users. These features are designed to get the most information with the least amount of effort.

1. Open multiple websites with 1 click, see the movie
2. Save content with 1 click download, see the movie
3. Collect personalized headlines from multiple RSS feeds, grouped and summarized, see the movie
4. Open links in new tabs without losing your place, allowing you to finish reading the current page and open interesting information easily, see the movie

User Interface
Two macro principles influence the design of the user interface: Speed and simplicity. As a consultant, I strive to complete project requirements with the least amount of coding and complexity. By providing simplistic solutions, my customers realize benefits quicker, maintenance improves, and the initial version provides a spring board for increased complexity and evolution. Here are some quotes I often think of when constructing a new system.

“Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black.”
Henry Ford - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Ford
“Make things as simple as possible, but not simpler.”
Albert Einstein - http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein
“The simplest explanation or strategy tends to be the best one.”
Occam’s razor - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam%27s_razor

Here’s an excellent article by a brilliant technologist, Richard Gabriel. Worse is Better - http://dreamsongs.com/WorseIsBetter.html
Also known as “Less is More”

1. Make the interface simple and clean, with as few buttons, dropdowns and NO menu options. Show as much of a web page as possible. Check out the comparison between GoFetch and another popular browser. Notice the menu options, toolbars, buttons, options, etc!
2. Make the functionality easy and quick to access. Note: see movies above.

Profile Sharing
Imagine you could easily share your bookmarks with a group of like minded professionals. I’ll write about the social aspect of GoFetch in the next blog entry.

GoFetch provides easy and clear Internet access, fetching relevant web content quickly to the forefront of user’s view. Let me know your thoughts!

Steps Taken
• Marketing meetings with rep, planning for the year
• Contacted Jefferson County, Evergreen Country Day School –pilot programs with GoFetch Kids
• Completed 1 click download with bundled HTML pages, fixed DOM issue
• Digg and Reddit stories setup in the home pg for GoFetch

Next Steps
• GroupOn – offer a special on GoFetch via GroupOn

Cheers! And GoFetch
Will Thayer

Early Post - Marc A is back browsing

I've had many ideas on posts - but delayed till the next full post due on Feb 1. This story was too good to pass up though:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/14/technology/internet/14browser.html?_r=1

I'm not the only one noticing the renewed importance of a browser. Browsers will evolve and niche browsers are going to be more important with the evolving web.

1 size doesn't fit all, and it's not just a "browser" anymore. We're dealing with a client server environment: always on, always connected. The browser can become more intelligent with the evolution of intelligent web apps.

Web applications obviously have the bulk of attention, but the possibilities of coupling intelligent web apps with intelligent browsers is a powerful and logical next step.

Marc A is backing a browser called RockMelt. It appears that RockMelt is a social niche browser - like Flock (http://flock.com/).

I'm excited about this - the response to GoFetch is awesome. People want the functionality. Let me know what you think.

Will