INTERNET
Web swarm gathers in the Netherlands
31-03-2003
by Andrew McLindon
Ever wished for someone to share Web surfing experiences with or wanted to see what sites people with similar interests are visiting? Now you can.
Eyebees, a Dutch-based start-up, has launched a beta version of a software application bearing the company's name that allows users to become either part of or lead an on-line "swarm" as they navigate the Internet.
According to George Witteveen, one of the founders of Eyebees, the idea behind the Eyebees application is to make Internet surfing a more communal experience.
"At the moment, Internet surfing is a boring experience. There are millions of people around the world on-line all at the same time, but most Internet users would have no contact with any of these people, accept maybe with a few through instant messaging. Eyebees though creates clusters of people and transforms Internet surfing into a social activity," Witteveen told ElectricNews.Net.
With Eyebees, if you join a "swarm" your Web browser will track the movement of the swarm as it goes from Web page to Web page. The swarm, however, will not be able to enter secure sites such as Web-based e-mail sites like Hotmail.
Users of the application can either join a "swarm" or create their own under one of six categories such as politics, government and social activism, and music and entertainment.
According to Witteveen, the service is anonymous with users only identified by their nicknames. Eyebees also does not log what sites people swarm to.
The free beta version was released at the start of March and currently over 60 swarms have formed, although activity on them was low on Friday afternoon.
Witteveen said the company aims to release a commercial version of the software, which will be licensed to companies. "Businesses could use Eyebees to bring the members of their communities (workers, suppliers, clients etc) closer together or to observe how consumers behave on-line," said Witteveen. Another potential commercial usage of Eyebees outlined by Witteveen is to help share on-line information among dispersed attendees of Web-based seminars.
Witteveen, who is an architect, has been working on the Eyebees idea with Marco Bunge, a book publisher, and writer Jack Bury for the last few years.
The launch of Eyebees follows the release by Microsoft in February of a beta version of software that is designed to make Internet usage a more group experience. Called Threedegrees, it allows users to create on-line peer-to-peer social groups where they can chat, share photos, and create and listen to music playlists.
Creating successful email surveys: Denise Cox of email specialist Newsweaver argues that you can tap into your readers' likes or dislikes by surveying them.
