judith meskill - soc.media.rocks

Gosh, I could have sworn that SocialGrid (a service described as aGoogle-search-based, grid computing, P2P, file sharing, dating enhancing, Google AdSensefocused SNS, aka: Solve Dating) announced its launchback on January 1, 2004, but here it is again, today, on internetnews.com inan article by Susan Kuchinskas Love on the Grid which announced SocialGrid'slaunch as yesterday, May 3, 2004.
 
Back in January, Clay Shirky posted of SocialGrid: Much, muchcrazier than I thought. Andrew Baio also wrote, in this same timeframe: Socialgrid Kookiness. The comments on JasonKottke's remaindered January 8, 2004 link regardingSocialGrid's wild "Warning to Copycats & Clones" policy were… most insightful.

In the internews.com piece, Love on the Grid, Susan Kuchinskas writes:

Google is notoriously un-amused by anyone taking its name in vain; it has sent cease-and-desist letters to Booble, a directory of X-rated Web sites. But Vuong said that he knows Google is aware of SocialGrid, because several Google employees have signed up.

Hmm… Vuong intends to lower cost for his SocialGrid service as follows:

1. Shift cost to Google for simple searches in exchange fordisplaying Google ads.
2. Shift cost to members' computer via grid computing for complexsearches.
3. Shift bandwidth cost to members' Internet service providers viapeer-to-peer.

Kuchinskas also includes the following comments on SocialGrid from Rael Dornfest:

Dornfest said lots of people already use Google for social networking, although not so explicitly as SocialGrid allows. The API lets users see what pages are linked to the pages they've found, and find unsuspected connections.

"It provides some interesting paths forward rather than just back to what you were looking for," Dornfest said.

Well, I guess everything old is new again and Chau Vuong's current Copycats & Clones warning is somewhat revisedfrom the January, 2004 version that stated: The patent application claims coverage of basically all complexobjects, including people, in almost every country.

Out of curiousity, I performed a comparison between the old and new versions of the C&C warning and it appearsthat the most heavily criticized language has been restated. For your reading pleasure, the following marked-upparagraph highlights the differences between the January, 2004, and May 4, 2004 versions of SocialGrid's Copycats &Clones warning (the underlined text is new, the stricken text is gone, and the normal text is that which remainsunchanged):

We haveSocialGrid has retained one of the top intellectual property law firms in America. Everything on this site is copyrighted and trademarked. Thetrademarked, including our search and coding system. Our patent application claims coverage on searches for all complex objects using Internet search engines. of basically all complex objects, including people, in almost every country.Our goal is to ensure a search system that will be free to our members and keep individuals and corporations from profiting by charging for searches. We will marginalize every profit margin. There is no money to made in creating another ID coding system. The world needs only one system. If necessary, we will donategive SocialGrid and the patent to Google to insure one standardized coding system. Any copycats and clones will have to answer to Google. Do not compete with us. Join us and become a partner.Please be advised that any copyright, trademark, and patent infringement will result in legal action.