URL: http://www.istalkr.com

Tangler Group: http://www.tangler.com/group/6835  

Status: Open Beta

What is iStalkr?

iStalkr is a web app that allows you to create a lifestream (based on Jeremy Keith's Lifestream concept) tracking all your RSS and ATOM feeds for services you use, like Digg, Del.icio.us, Ma.gnolia, Flickr, Last.fm, Google Reader's Shared Items, Tumblr, Twitter , etc, and create a time line of your activities. You can paste this time line data into on your blog or use the data in other apps. iStalkr then utilizes that data socially, like twitter, where you can monitor your friends time lines and other people can monitor yours.

What iStalkr is Not

iStalkr is not an RSS reader (If you need an RSS reader, we recommend Google Reader). It was never intended to be so. While it does read RSS as a format, iStalkr's purpose is to track personal data like the music you listen to, the things you digg, your pictures, your tweets, etc and socialize that data.

iStalkr isn't twitter, or Flickr, or digg, or a blog or any sort of competition with any of those. iStalkr isn't a way to create content... it's a way to use RSS feeds to pull together all the content you're already creating. It's kind of a super duper fantabulous META... bringing everything you're already doing into a single page that's all about you.

Gotta love the name, despite the creepy connotations 

iStalkr, honest naming in web2.0 social apps.

It's a cool name - it made me go look when I first heard it. 

It gets more disturbing when the description sounds like you're supposed to stalk yourself! hehehehe

Good name! (except for the i in front and r at the end) 

I tried to make it as cliche as possible.

hahahahahah 

interesting concept, and I found it funny that you recommended Google Reader

@NuclearStr1der; We are having problems with people entering in RSS feeds for use as an RSS reader. iStalkr is a social lifestream generator. The data in it should be data that you create. The social aspect of iStalkr depends on people wanting to know what another person does. I don't particular want to know what engadget thinks when I stalkr you... with google reader you can mark items as "shared" so if you are reading the engadget feed and REALLY like something you can "share it" and then it will show up in your iStalkr feed. This would make sense in a lifestream method as it would be "things that interest you".

People are having a few problems understanding the lifestream idea still - but they are getting there... the real fun will be putting iStalkr feeds into your feed reader so you can keep track of what your friends are paying attention to

I think the real fun with be when we finish our recommendation portion of the tool... not only recommending items but also recommending friends. The nice thing about a lifestream is you get a very good idea about a persons interests, much more then any one individual tool could ever do.

it has total negative connotations - think of that dude at virginia tech, he was a stalker.  in fact, that's how the whole thing started with him

That would depend on how you look at it.  I found the name quite amusing. 

what, the virginia tech thing is amuzing?

No, read what I said...I said I found the NAME amusing. 

much more then any one individual tool could ever do.

much more than this individual wants to give, to be honest

but I'm behind the times in that respect - I don't like to splash my life all over the internet  

Lifestreaming is a technology that people are interested in. Itis just like listing your name in a phone book, posting your realname on a blog, signing online petitions aligning yourself to ideassides of issues. Honestly I am not really here to debate whether itis a good idea... because it is an opt in thing. I totally respectpeople that are conservative about their privacy, and this toolwould not be for them. This tool is for people that ALREADY areputting the information out there. iStalkr does not generateinformation, it simply unifies it. You would already have to besharing your bookmarks, keeping stats on your music, opinions,diggs, votes, tweests and posting your opinions/life on your blog.This is for those people who have no problem with that concept. Mypersonal opinion is that I am not ashamed or embarrassed by anythngI do online and the beneifts of sharing my generated content(finding others with similar interests and finding new informationbased on my interests), TO ME, outweighs any potential negativesthat may exist. I live a very wired existance (as I work entirelyonline) it would be next to impossible for me to communicate withmy communities and not put myself out there. All that said, Itotally understand where people who don't want to put thatinformation out there and I definately think this service would notbe for them. I have actually setup a seperate "Lifestreaming"tangler group (http://www.tangler.com/group/6856) for discussionssuch as this as I don't think they are neccessarily applicable tothis section (it would be like gong on HP tech support and arguingthat  electronics are harmful. I am more then happy to debatethe issue more in the lifestreaming group... I LOVE debates

Regarding the name, it is what you make of it. I personally hatethe taste of Apples and they make me sick to my stomach but that ismy baggage. I am not trying to offend anyone, but it is what it is.I tried to come up with something that people would remember, Ithen made it cliche with the "i" and lack of "e". The honest truthis you ARE stalking someone. Maybe I should call it iwatchr, butfor me that doesn't seem to ignite as much interest. When it comesdown to it if you use the system socially you are stalking ( Topursue by tracking stealthily.) them. I guess I could lie and say Imeant it as plant stalk and it has to do with flowers.I am wellaware of the negative aspects of the name, but I don't see PHPNukechanging their name and I would definitely rather be stalked thennuked.

LOL  That last line cracked me up.   Stalking is most definitely preferable to nuking!

hehehehe yeah!

LOL @ Stalked than nuked

I've been stalked.  believe me it's better to be nuked

I have had two stalkers... One I actually had to stalk down his parents and tell his father he needed to get professional help. I haven't been nuked yet *crosses fingers* but I am willing to take a third stalker.

Bit of a strange comment really celticagent, seeing as we're not really talking about seriously being stalked.  Though even if I we were, I'd still choose stalking. 

depends on what you mean by being nuked

Well, I imagine it would involve nuclear weapons....

or this:

or simply to microwave something

I have to say, it is a bit strange getting e-mails saying 'so-and-so is now stalking you'.

hehehehe 

Alright, I suppose I'll throw my opinion out there since it seems to be spilling over into other threads.
iStalkr name is meant to be a joke (think iTunes meets Flickr has a baby, and that baby follows you around on the internet).  The name still makes me chuckle. We don't send a robot to hide out in your bushes to watch what you do and report it for the entire internet.  We track things you do online that are publically available, the concept is solid and called life streaming.  The name is supposed to grab attention, and it obviously grabbed yours albeit with it's negative connotations, I'll bet you probably went to the site to see what kind of site would have a name like that.  You obviously have a sense of humor because you definition of nuked didn't have radiation, nuklear fission, or weapon in it.  I understand a stalker has negative connotations, but iStalkr is suppose to be fun, and the name will attract attention to the website, and as they say "Any publicity is good publicity".  It maybe an age gap, but we have users all over the place age wise.  Most of the web2.0 services use catchy names to grab people into the service (look at the name del.icio.us, ma.gnolia, twitter, flickr, google, cluztr, yahoo).  I think what the problem is is that you are taking it way too literally.

RAWR!!!!

Actually I had the opposite reaction - I thought "Here we go: another product trying to ride Apple's iBus, with a splash of gratuitous controversy".
I understand your point, but I think you'll find that all the clever names are starting to blur into each other for many netizens.

Ok, well to put this topic to rest... I named it and it isn't changing. Not in a bad way. I appreciate everyone's suggestions but I did it because it was a funny cliche name that sticks in peoples heads.  I wasn't trying to be controversial about being stalked and the i and lack of r was trying to be cliche since the concept of the product ... a ruby on rails app that reads rss, support XFN, xFolk, RSS, Atom , design uses lots of gradients, etc. ... it was trying to be a mockery of "web 2.0".

I guess what Dan and I need to put out there is this isn't a "product". We aren't trying to "sell" it. We didn't do market research or study demographics... it was something that came from two geeks who have a little too much spare time.  If anything istalkr costs us money more then it makes us.. we both still have regular jobs and istalkr is sort of our baby.

People are gonna hate the name... people are gonna hate the logo and people are gonna hate the entire thing. I welcome that... appreciate any constructive critisim and hope you like it... if you don't... well .. ya don't.

Can I just say I like the logo?

Hehehe... I hope I don't come off as trying to jump down peoples throats. I guess it is just we have so many bugs and so many features we could be working on. I want to kind of nip this topic in the bud so it doesn't become some thread of what is threathening and what isn't and what is in and what is out and what is cliche and what isn't etc.

 Thanks for the comment on the logo

I am actually working on a new one. 

yeah, I get ya.

meanwhile, my pet peeve remains names with f.u.l.l.s.t.o.p.s. in them

I'll shaddup now 

meanwhile, my pet peeve remains names with f.u.l.l.s.t.o.p.s. in them

agreed 

I finally checked out your site.  I'm still chuckling over "go go gadget web 2.0"!

For some reason we got removed from the tangler web 2.0 betas list *tear*

Either that or I am blind as I just woke up and haven't had my coffee yet. 

On this list?  http://web20.tangler.com/

If so, and if you haven't checked again, it appears to be there now.  

Yeah, Lynn's a newb at reading, don't mind her =P.  To be fair (which I am far to often), when Lynn posted it wasn't there.

Yeah, it was missing, and thanks to Lynn pointing it out, it got added again

Sorry, should have cleared that up earlier 

See... my elite readings skills win again!

I'd love an invite.  jaclynperrelli@gmail.com

I like the lifestream idea. i joined the istalker open beta a few days ago... hope will be able to give some positive feedback, now and then

All feedback is good feedback. The Beta is open and I think we have solved our speed issue so we are now "open for business".

I think iStalkr may just be the tool I have been looking for...

I spent much time adding feeds from aprox. 40 social network accounts of mine to a netvibes tab page. That was my first attempt to get a managed overview of  "My Web Presence". I want to try out and beta test as many new services as possible but decided that until I could aggregate all the publishing that I was doing I simply was not going to subscribe to anymore accounts. It looks like iStalkr may be the solution.

I will begin begin adding my personal feeds into my iStalker profile this week. Thanks iStalkr.

it seems to be a bit slow . . . i'm sure that will be fixed, however