2006: Starting to Tangle

Less then 100 shopping hours till Christmas, so time to reflect on a big year for Tangler. OK, so I’ve only been here a couple of months, what do I know?

Well, it’s been great already. Bulletin article, launching the private beta, Stirr, more features, sneaking into web 2.0, Citizen Summit – WOW!

Best of all, the Tangler team rocks. Everyone’s committed, everyone is experienced, everyone works hard, everyone works together. Lots of challenge, lots of healthy debates, lots of good ideas, lots of fun.

You couldn’t ask for more.

Then there’s Tangler? The growing beast that it is. Still in Ninja mode and unquestionably more dangerous then ever. Lots of beta testers, constant activity, and getting better every day. Really exciting times.

So what about the users? Well, they certainly don’t lack passion. Some of them got together and made a list of what they love about Tangler. They compiled it as a private Tangler group and then emailed it to us. We were blown away.

Here is what they had to say;

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Tangler, how do we love thee? Let us count the ways….

* I love having a hangout/hideout space on the net which is ours, all ours… and still being able to hassle, I mean chat with, total strangers.
* I love how I’m connected to people – friends and strangers alike – the moment I’m connected to the net.
* I love how Tangler is my personal notepad, blog, e-mail client and news and RSS site all in one.
* I love the fact that my blog is collecting dust…. cos I have run out of things to talk about over there. Everything is being said on Tangler. Period.
* I love how my friends on Tangler have no excuse not to keep in touch anymore.
* I love calling strangers I have never seen, and probably never will, ‘friends’.
* I love the fact that I am getting educated about something initially of mild interest to me – turning the interest into an obsession!
* I love the fact that I’m learning new things or getting wowed with crazy stuff or nice pics without surfing the net much cause someone else has already done it for me.
* I love how Tangler has made me more intelligent while just I learnt to be more lazy.
* I love how I now use Shift-Enter for every other application.
* I love telling someone new about Tangler, doing my best to explain it, giving up, inviting them in, bugging them till they sign up, see them be totally disoriented when they first come in, and then watch them get hooked by the second day.
* I love the fact that my insomnia has been ‘cured’ by Tangler.
* I love coming into Tangler and seeing the bright ‘new message’ pic everywhere.
* I love seeing one conversation like Pinky and the Bwain happening across many many groups and topics – and somehow there is some coherence to it.
* I love how one of us starts a group about Cocktails but we end up debating the merits of durian, and there’s no mod saying ‘Keep to topic!! grrrr’.
* I love how I found out thru Tangler that [A] is secretly in love with Britney Spears, giving me an avenue to annoy her further.
* I love how we keep ‘outing’ people still in closets.
* I love the fact that I need not whisper that I am in love with Justin Timberlake. There are fellow Tangler folks that share my sentiments!
* I love how I almost don’t need to use e-mail anymore…. take that spammers! HA!
* I love Tangler’s logo and colours.
* I love how a bunch of us will collectively hop from group to group.
* I love that my Obsessive Compulsiveness is encouraged here.
* I love that I can start a topic which doesn’t get any immediate replies, but 2 months later, someone will venture in, make an innocent comment, and a full blown conversation ensues.
* I love that I’ve made some new friends.
* I love how I plan to start a group, and someone wholly unconnected to me starts it first…. twice!
* I love how someone sends us an email but we reply on Tangler instead.
* I love how I stumble into a Tangler demo and not even realise it while trying to make sense of random clips, pics and statements….
* I love when I get introduced in person to another Tanglerite… “This is [Miss X], also known as [tangler name]“… and a look of friendly recognition dawns on the person’s face.
* I love that Tangler has reduced the standard six degrees of separation and will soon create chaos in the psychology of human networking. Gives me the chance to front the research for a new field.
* I love the buzz I get when I see an Invitation Notification
* I love how I see something interesting while out and about, and think ‘oooohh… I should put that in Rant, vent and yell or Life’s Funny or General Conversation’ etc.
* I love how one can figure out the daily routine of users based on when they log in and out.
* I love how we will meet on MSN, ask each other what we’ll do tonite to entertain ourselves, and the answer is always “Same thing we do every nite Pinky, Try To Take Over The World!!!!” and head over to create chaos in Tangler while ignoring MSN.
* I love how I tried to not join/start any more new groups when my list reached 20, and then gave up at 30ish (and counting).
* I love how while I can’t verbally explain to a new person what Tangler really is, when they come in, they get wowed and understand my fanaticism and get hooked themselves.
* I love having company while working on a &%@&^$ thesis late into the night
* I love sitting next to a friend and sending him a message and seeing his notifier pop up instantly on his screen, and then getting both a verbal and Tangler reply.
* I love the fact that I discover new things on Tangler and talk about it like a smart ass to non-Tangler folks (aka hillbillies).
* I love that Team Tangler considers our suggestions.
* I love how I now have access to a bunch of (not-only-computer) geniuses who I can bug with computer questions.
* I love how I get a bit upset when I read a negative comment about a feature or Tangler itself.
* I love having a conversation with someone by only reading the notifier.
* I love how a conversation about Pinochet dying morphs into one about storage.
* I love having so many groups open in so many tabs that I’ll inadvertently end up posting the wrong message in the wrong topic.
* I love being a beta tester for the first time in my life… Makes me feel slightly smarter about computers.
* I love how we had one Tangler Anonymous meeting after which everyone left… we must love our addiction too much to undergo rehab.
* I love how I’m already planning for Tangler’s release so that I can invite all the people I want to surf for me.
* I love my new daily routine: Wake up, switch on laptop, wash up, tangler check, respond on Tangler, check email, get brainwave, start tangler group, oh yeah forgot to eat! Have lunch…TV…get bored. Switch TV off in 5 min. Back on Tangler. Realize that people are no longer talking about cocktails but of durians and start debating. Get sad cos no one’s talking on Tangler. Mope around a bit. Do something productive like checking email. YAAAYYYYY, SHE’S ONLINE. Back on Tangler. etc etc etc….
* I love that we have a “Mark all as read” button, although I’ll never understand how a non-new user could use it.
* I love Tangler for reducing my local and international phone bill.
* I love the fact that [we] spend hours talking on the phone about…………………..TANGLER!
* I love how we’ll probably get the reply to this letter on Tangler.
* I love seeing little baby Tangler grow up.
* I love the fact then when we’re over and done with this ‘love fest letter’ the percentages of sentences will co-relate directly to the number of message posts in Tangler

Written in collaboration entirely on Tangler

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
From all of us to all of you
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Now, what can you say about that? You just smile. Lots. Big thanks to D, A and S, you guys rock.

Thanks everyone, see you in 2007 – can’t wait.

Mick Tanglinskas