The Official Kutano Blog

So today we launched a brand new version of Kutano that also happens to be the very first Google Sidewiki client ever! And yes, it is ironic that the first client of a web commenting tool is... a web commenting tool, but it really actually makes a lot of sense.

For all intensive purposes, our Twitter tool and client, Kutano, has already been functioning as something of a "SideTwitter", showing tweets about each web page and website directly beside the page and allowing for conversations and comments on the page as well. The idea behind Kutano is to help bring otherwise disjointed tweets to their context where the conversation can emerge and be built upon. And now we are also adding "high quality" comments from Google's Sidewiki into the mix for people to build discussions around.

The advantage of this new addition, aside from being able to collectively view web page related tweets, Sidewiki and Kutano comments in one place, is that Kutano will also allow users to respond to and start interactive discussions around comments made in Sidewiki. Currently, Sidewiki comments are not threaded and there is not yet a way to respond and engage another person that commented on the web page. Additionally, there is not yet a way to have multiple discussion topics on one page. But using Kutano, people will be able to engage in more conversational and topic-varied discussions about each web page using Sidewiki comments as well as existing web page related tweets and Kutano comments. As can already be done with existing Kutano discussions, users will also be able to tweet out entire discussions as well.

Additionally, in the future we hope to allow replies and Kutano comments to feed back into Sidewiki, but currently the Sidewiki API does not allow it.

There were once few and now there is also one big... very very big... Google-sized, in fact. For those of you who have not yet heard, Google has just slipped into the market of web commenting services for your browsers. Which is really both very intimidating and exciting news for us "fun-sized" competitors :P.

Google is something of an Oprah of web services and keeping with this analogy, its embracing of a web commenting system is kind of like Oprah excitedly featuring and loving a new and hot product on her show. As you might imagine, we've believed for a long time now that as the internet became more linked and socialized, people, information and online conversations would break free across the web in a way that allowed them to find you at the moment and in the context you would be interested in seeing them. And with regards to that point it now looks like we have Google on our side, literally.

Some might be tempted to put the two services head-to-head but I think they are more appropriately viewed "side-to-side" (and that is the second to last time I will mention "side" in this post :P) since they are both very useful but in different ways.

Due to different levels of Twitter integration and functionality, Sidewiki (...I lied) and Kutano differ on a few important dimensions that affect the best ways they can be used. Specifically, Kutano has a greater level of Twitter integration that seems to result in web-side commentary that is more about conversation versus information about the web page.

Both Sidewiki and Kutano allow you to send comments from the web pages out to Twitter in the form of tweets, but Kutano is also integrated with Twitter in order to allow the conversation from Twitter to enter the web page- via the "Tweets on a Page" tab. This multi-directional conversation aspect of Kutano is an important distinction because it is one of a number of technical features built into Kutano to encourage dynamic and highly interactive conversations around web pages. Some other features that do this are the ability to have multiple topics of discussion on any one web page and also the option to reply to a specific person or Twitterer that had something to say about that page.

Sidewiki does not allow multiple discussions on a page or use conversation threading. Rather, each page has its one "sidewiki" where anyone can add comments that are then rated useful or not by the community. According to Google, the algorithm for this rating took quite a bit of time to build and will hopefully prove very effective in promoting and highlighting the best comments and information added to any given page.

We expect Sidewiki to do well and are excited to see how the world of web commenting via browser add-on blossoms, grows and spreads in the next little bit =).

Yes, Kutano has done what other little browser add-ons only dream- flashing its hot new interface all over the screen at the glamorous "Crossroads of the World". While some of you may have been lucky enough to actually catch this 'spectacle' in real time, we also made sure we caught it on camera for your continued viewing pleasure =).

This occasion calls for a number of things... a blog, a tweet, a download (?), and... a metaphor. Broadway and 7th (the two giant streets this screen sits at the junction of) lead to a mash-up of lights, people, ads and traffic. And on a more abstract level, they also lead to a mash-up of interactions and thoughts (sound like Twitter?) which are both used to create and understand new ideas. In fact, I would argue that almost all new products/ideas/etc are first understand as mash-ups of existing ideas... if you disagree you can take it up with me in Kutano ;).