This week, we’re wrapping up the “Get To Know Streamified” series with a spotlight on Mark Shore, our digital media producer. You’ve seen us talk about Let Us Present here before; Mark’s the guy you have to thank for producing that podcast. Name: Mark Shore - personal Twitter Where were you before Streamified?: Pretty fresh off graduating from USC, working with a few LA-based startups and producing a podcast and writing for ClipperBlog and ESPN.com. I had been toying with the idea of taking a job in San Francisco so I called my former college roommate Zane for advice. I had enjoyed watching Zane grow as an entrepreneur while I lived with him a few years back so I was extremely excited when we were able to come up with a position for me at Streamified. What do you do for Streamified?: I produce the podcast Let Us Present, which is aimed to burst people’s content bubbles by introducing them to a variety of content creators from around the web. Apart from that, I’m constantly searching for different ways I can help Streamified grow as a company. Why are you passionate about Streamified?: When I was studying journalism in college, I became entranced by the power of social media and how it was affecting the way in which people consume and share information. Streamified is already a powerful tool and I enjoy watching its transformation into the ultimate social media experience. How do you use Streamified?: I follow my various social streams and use it to post to a variety of platforms at once. I love staying on top of news (especially in the sports world) and Streamified allows me to find great content and see the full scope of how people are reacting to certain events online. — How do you use Streamified? Let us know in a comment or hit us up at our Twitter, Facebook, or Google+!
Pop-upView Separately

This week, we’re wrapping up the “Get To Know Streamified” series with a spotlight on Mark Shore, our digital media producer. You’ve seen us talk about Let Us Present here before; Mark’s the guy you have to thank for producing that podcast.

Name: Mark Shore - personal Twitter

Where were you before Streamified?: Pretty fresh off graduating from USC, working with a few LA-based startups and producing a podcast and writing for ClipperBlog and ESPN.com. I had been toying with the idea of taking a job in San Francisco so I called my former college roommate Zane for advice. I had enjoyed watching Zane grow as an entrepreneur while I lived with him a few years back so I was extremely excited when we were able to come up with a position for me at Streamified.

What do you do for Streamified?: I produce the podcast Let Us Present, which is aimed to burst people’s content bubbles by introducing them to a variety of content creators from around the web. Apart from that, I’m constantly searching for different ways I can help Streamified grow as a company.

Why are you passionate about Streamified?: When I was studying journalism in college, I became entranced by the power of social media and how it was affecting the way in which people consume and share information. Streamified is already a powerful tool and I enjoy watching its transformation into the ultimate social media experience.

How do you use Streamified?: I follow my various social streams and use it to post to a variety of platforms at once. I love staying on top of news (especially in the sports world) and Streamified allows me to find great content and see the full scope of how people are reacting to certain events online.

—

How do you use Streamified? Let us know in a comment or hit us up at our Twitter, Facebook, or Google+!

Last week, we got so wrapped up in the launch of our browser extension that we forgot to post the next installment of “Get To Know Streamified!” This week, I’m posting about myself — the marketing coordinator of Streamified. — Name: Justine Dolorfino - personal website Where were you before Streamified?: I was in the middle of splitting my time between my two interests, teaching orchestra in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota as well as coordinating social media efforts for Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy, a national company based in Michigan (I still work for both employers). Zane and I went to middle and high school together, so when I found out that he was taking Start Google Plus to mobile with Streamified, I got in touch and became a beta tester. That led to Zane and I talking more and more about the app, which led to me getting directly involved. What do you do for Streamified?: I coordinate all of our social media efforts, including Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and our blog, and engage with you on all of these online spaces. I also am in charge of putting together our weekly newsletters. I don’t think that education and social media are all that different because I love putting out information our users can use in order to learn and make their app experience better. Also, as a part of the team that isn’t involved in the actual app and extension engineering process, I do a lot of testing! Why are you passionate about Streamified?: We’re really all about about making social media easier. So much of our content is everywhere, and I gravitated instantly towards the idea of bringing everything back into one place.  I do a lot of social media, both in the context of education (the online professional development community, mostly Twitter-based, is huge!) and business, and Streamified makes my life so much easier — just like I hope it will do the same for you. How do you use Streamified?: Streamified is truly my one stop shop for all of the online content that I consume and share. I’m always surprised by how much I use (and love) the Bookmarking feature, as I was never one for favoriting or starring posts. I also love the Tumblr integration; as a heavy user of that platform, it’s the best app I’ve found for iOS. Lastly, now that the extension is out, I’ve loved being able to crosspost from a client’s Google+ brand page to their Twitter and Facebook brand pages. It makes my life much easier! — How do you use Streamified? Let us know in a comment or hit us up at our Twitter, Facebook, or Google+!
Pop-upView Separately

Last week, we got so wrapped up in the launch of our browser extension that we forgot to post the next installment of “Get To Know Streamified!” This week, I’m posting about myself — the marketing coordinator of Streamified.

—

Name: Justine Dolorfino - personal website

Where were you before Streamified?: I was in the middle of splitting my time between my two interests, teaching orchestra in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota as well as coordinating social media efforts for Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy, a national company based in Michigan (I still work for both employers). Zane and I went to middle and high school together, so when I found out that he was taking Start Google Plus to mobile with Streamified, I got in touch and became a beta tester. That led to Zane and I talking more and more about the app, which led to me getting directly involved.

What do you do for Streamified?: I coordinate all of our social media efforts, including Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and our blog, and engage with you on all of these online spaces. I also am in charge of putting together our weekly newsletters. I don’t think that education and social media are all that different because I love putting out information our users can use in order to learn and make their app experience better. Also, as a part of the team that isn’t involved in the actual app and extension engineering process, I do a lot of testing!

Why are you passionate about Streamified?: We’re really all about about making social media easier. So much of our content is everywhere, and I gravitated instantly towards the idea of bringing everything back into one place.  I do a lot of social media, both in the context of education (the online professional development community, mostly Twitter-based, is huge!) and business, and Streamified makes my life so much easier — just like I hope it will do the same for you.

How do you use Streamified?: Streamified is truly my one stop shop for all of the online content that I consume and share. I’m always surprised by how much I use (and love) the Bookmarking feature, as I was never one for favoriting or starring posts. I also love the Tumblr integration; as a heavy user of that platform, it’s the best app I’ve found for iOS. Lastly, now that the extension is out, I’ve loved being able to crosspost from a client’s Google+ brand page to their Twitter and Facebook brand pages. It makes my life much easier!

—

How do you use Streamified? Let us know in a comment or hit us up at our Twitter, Facebook, or Google+!

We’re eagerly awaiting the release of our browser extension as much as you are! It’s fast approaching, and in the meantime we’re continuing with our “Get To Know Streamified” series. Find out more about who we are and how we use Streamified here, and this week, we’re featuring our senior front-end web developer, Jon Hughes. — Name: Jon Hughes - personal website Where were you before Streamified?: When Zane contacted me to ask if I wanted to work for Streamified, I was ecstatic. Zane and I have worked together a few times over the last 14 years, when we were just a couple of kids hacking around with code, trying to change the world. While Zane’s interests veered toward the back-end, I focused more on the front-end side of the web, so now, both experts in our respective fields, we have a perfect match for a great small web team. What do you do for Streamified?: I handle all of the front-end markup for Streamified, and sometimes fill in as a designer, when required. I also spend a good deal of times talking strategy with Zane and the rest of the Streamified team. Why are you passionate about Streamified?: Streamified, in its current state, is an amazing product that I use daily, but my passion stems from the future of Streamified, and how it will change the landscape of the web for hundreds of millions of users. How do you use Streamified?: I have my Streamified app set to pull all of my social streams (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) but I spend the vast majority of my time reading the Humor section of pinterest and reading my favorite web comics. — How do you use Streamified? Let us know in a comment or hit us up at our Twitter, Facebook, or Google+!
View Separately

We’re eagerly awaiting the release of our browser extension as much as you are! It’s fast approaching, and in the meantime we’re continuing with our “Get To Know Streamified” series. Find out more about who we are and how we use Streamified here, and this week, we’re featuring our senior front-end web developer, Jon Hughes.

—

Name: Jon Hughes - personal website

Where were you before Streamified?: When Zane contacted me to ask if I wanted to work for Streamified, I was ecstatic. Zane and I have worked together a few times over the last 14 years, when we were just a couple of kids hacking around with code, trying to change the world. While Zane’s interests veered toward the back-end, I focused more on the front-end side of the web, so now, both experts in our respective fields, we have a perfect match for a great small web team.

What do you do for Streamified?: I handle all of the front-end markup for Streamified, and sometimes fill in as a designer, when required. I also spend a good deal of times talking strategy with Zane and the rest of the Streamified team.

Why are you passionate about Streamified?: Streamified, in its current state, is an amazing product that I use daily, but my passion stems from the future of Streamified, and how it will change the landscape of the web for hundreds of millions of users.

How do you use Streamified?: I have my Streamified app set to pull all of my social streams (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) but I spend the vast majority of my time reading the Humor section of pinterest and reading my favorite web comics.

—

How do you use Streamified? Let us know in a comment or hit us up at our Twitter, Facebook, or Google+!

It’s been about a month and a half since the iOS application hit the App Store! All of us on the Streamified team have our own different reasons for being passionate about the application. Find out more about who we are and how we use Streamified in this series, “Get To Know Streamified.” This week, we’ll start with our founder, Zane Claes. — Name: Zane Claes (personal blog - Life By Experimentation) Where were you before Streamified?: Traveling! This blog post tells the story, of course, but the short version: I started SGPlus in France (Montpellier), it took off when I was living in a car in Ireland, and then I moved to Peru. In Peru I started transitioning into Streamified before moving up here to work on it full time. What do you do for Streamified?: Code, code, code! And business development / strategy / planning. I’m trying to keep all the pieces together, fitting the feedback from all our users against my own experiences using the app. Why are you passionate about Streamified?: Before Streamified, I was a blogger and world traveler. Keeping on top of relevant news was a solved problem (sort of) by different apps, news readers, RSS feeds, etc… but I still found it a pain to actually produce content of my own regularly. I knew that my blog would grow more if I tweeted and posted to the Facebook group regularly with content interesting to my readers… yet it was a whole lot of work to do so. How do you use Streamified?: Now, I use Streamified to consume my media (from HackerNews and other Google Reader sources, to Guy Kawasaki and other tweeters, as well as my FB account and so on). When I stumble on an interesting article, I can share it across networks (eg, to my blog’s twitter and Facebook page simultaneously), thus maximizing the value of my reading for my followers. — How do you use Streamified? Let us know in a comment or hit us up at our Twitter, Facebook, or Google+!
View Separately

It’s been about a month and a half since the iOS application hit the App Store! All of us on the Streamified team have our own different reasons for being passionate about the application. Find out more about who we are and how we use Streamified in this series, “Get To Know Streamified.” This week, we’ll start with our founder, Zane Claes.

—

Name: Zane Claes (personal blog - Life By Experimentation)

Where were you before Streamified?: Traveling! This blog post tells the story, of course, but the short version: I started SGPlus in France (Montpellier), it took off when I was living in a car in Ireland, and then I moved to Peru. In Peru I started transitioning into Streamified before moving up here to work on it full time.

What do you do for Streamified?: Code, code, code! And business development / strategy / planning. I’m trying to keep all the pieces together, fitting the feedback from all our users against my own experiences using the app.

Why are you passionate about Streamified?: Before Streamified, I was a blogger and world traveler. Keeping on top of relevant news was a solved problem (sort of) by different apps, news readers, RSS feeds, etc… but I still found it a pain to actually produce content of my own regularly. I knew that my blog would grow more if I tweeted and posted to the Facebook group regularly with content interesting to my readers… yet it was a whole lot of work to do so.

How do you use Streamified?: Now, I use Streamified to consume my media (from HackerNews and other Google Reader sources, to Guy Kawasaki and other tweeters, as well as my FB account and so on). When I stumble on an interesting article, I can share it across networks (eg, to my blog’s twitter and Facebook page simultaneously), thus maximizing the value of my reading for my followers.

—

How do you use Streamified? Let us know in a comment or hit us up at our Twitter, Facebook, or Google+!

What I Learned: From World Traveling Programmer to Funded Startup Founder

As I sit down to write this it comes as a surprise, even to myself, that it has taken me so long. The truth is, I simply have not had the time. The last 6 months have been a journey of epic proportions, taking me from a shared flat with a French roommate in the sunny Mediterranean, to living out of a car in Ireland, to an office in South America, and finally into San Francisco. During this time, I have experienced every emotion on the spectrum… and then some more that probably do not exist in reality, but are only delusions confined to a startup founder’s mind.

Learning foreign languages and traveling was, by comparison, not easier… merely different. My journeys prepared me to become a self-sufficient leader of a team, just as I like to believe this stage in our growth is preparing me for the next. The starting point of this story is hard to pin down, precisely, but I hope that by attempting to put it to paper I can help other founders.

I know that when I read the story of a fellow founder, it helps me to realize that I am not alone in the challenges I am facing. What is really curious to me is the vast number of backgrounds and skills that founders and their teams bring to the table. So many teams that I hear about, even in anecdotes from friends, have so much experience in vastly different fields crammed between them.

My own founder story is unique, to be sure, but no more so than any other I have heard…

Inception in Ireland

Flashbulb memory: a rainy day, and me in a coffee shop in the north of Ireland. I was 2 days into my journey and so far and I was on a sort of emotional high. I had landed in Ireland, rented a car, and simply started driving. It was freedom in the ultimate sense: the open road with nothing to tie me down. I was cash-strapped, so I didn’t bother with hotels. I slept in parking lots and garages, showered at camp sites, and layered up with jackets at night. I had been traveling for years with only what I could fit in carry on suitcases, so without proper attire it sometimes got cold. I turned the heater on and bummed wireless from a nearby lobby to a hotel in my front seat of the black 4-door right-handed car.




Cafes were my connection to the “real world.” Through the internet, the tenuous thread to reality was maintained, a link to the software and products I had built before and during my travels. I worked from the road and relished in the fact that the mobile apps I had made, and even the consulting I did, allowed me to live anywhere. One day I would get a call from a client and I would be in France, the next week it would be Latvia, and so on.

I remember Ireland so well, though, because SGPlus had just taken off. The product was covered by Lifehacker, Slashdot, the MIT Technology Review and so on. I was blown away, and had absolutely no idea what to do. It was terrifying, to be honest, yet exhilarating. I managed to get the product bringing in just enough money through subscriptions to pay for the (previously unheard of) hosting costs ($2k or more per month). It was not making me money, but it was the most fame I had ever experienced to be certain.

Problems in Peru

It quickly became apparent, though, that the product was conceptually flawed. Trapped by the very growth of Google+ which it had piggiebacked upon, the browser extension (known as “Start Google Plus” before it was called “SGPlus”) was only ever meant to be a weekend project.

The code was abysmal, yet at the same time irreplaceable. To make even the slightest tweak in the cloud API (on EC2) could break the browser extension for 50k daily active users of the product. The client (browser extension) itself was a hackish attempt to insert posts from all social networks into the Google Plus stream. It worked, and the market liked it, but it was excruciatingly painful to even keep in basic working order.

I had moved down to Peru and was continuing to try to figure out how to fix the problems while salvaging what I could, eventually transitioning into a bigger, better and more stable product.

Segue to San Francisco

Amidst trying to figure all this out, I got on the phone with a family/personal friend and business mentor of mine. Rather than trying to convince me of a specific path, he merely suggested that I come up to San Francisco for his engagement party and talk to people in Silicon Valley.

It was too good of an offer to pass up. Frequent flier miles earned while traveling the globe allowed me make the trip for “free,” and I was itching to see California again. Having graduated from USC and been born in Northridge, I feel an attraction to the state about equal to my childhood home of Michigan. 36 hours later, I was landing in the San Francisco airport.




Three days after that, my flight back to Lima (Peru) had been pushed back three weeks. Six weeks later, I was putting down roots in a new apartment in the Mission district of San Francisco. The work to refine, grow, and ultimately build upon the idea set forth in SGPlus had begun. I knew it was not going to be an easy road, but I was surrounded by people who I trusted to keep me pointed in the right direction.

Taking money from friends and family to start such an endeavor is humbling. From the moment I accepted the first check to begin development from a lifelong friend, I knew that I needed to have a whole new breed of passion and desire (not to mention luck and talent) if I wanted to succeed. It was not as if our friendship were on the line, by any means, but rather simply that I now had an obligation that went far beyond myself.

I imagine it is a bit like having kids. Startup founders joke that the company is their baby, and I can see why. The emotional attachment and protective instinct are unavoidable. I realize that I have, at times, put the company above even my own health and relationships.

Of course, by saying this I do not mean to imply that it has been a bad journey (any more than parents would say that they regretted having a child). It is simply that for a long time and even to this day, I have a hard time decoupling my ego from the process. When I was traveling and learning, it was easy to not feel judged because I was constantly moving on. I the only person to whom I was responsible, and though I held myself to high standards, there was no pit of spikes beneath me if I fell.

Yet, at this point in my life I already had a sense of supreme competence and confidence. Part of this came also from running my own consulting / software company for years (since my college days), but there was also a combination of my evolution while with an ex-girlfriend and while traveling which refined the sense further. It was not hard for me to believe that I could launch a successful startup, but these facts did not spare me the belief that failure all of a sudden carried a much higher price.

Launch and Living Again

It will be no surprise to the computer programmers out there that I have been something of a hermit these past months. As the only engineer on our team at Streamified up to this point, I have been in one of the most challenging positions of my life, being that I also represent the business and strategy of the brand.

With the help of the rest of the Streamified team, though, the product is now approaching something we can be proud of. Chris and Signo did a wonderful job as we built out the foundation of the Streamified iOS app as it exists now. Then, Justine came on board to help with our message, and finally Jon helped with the website.

We’re still tweaking and refining, tweaking and refining… but, for the first time, we’ve been able to take a step back and look at the product as a whole once more. Jon, a web development expert, is on board full-time to fix the bugs with the SGPlus browser extension. Once the key bugs are squashed, he’ll be merging the old browser extension into the new Streamified platform. This will be a staged process, but eventually the SGPlus browser extension will be re-branded as Streamified. This will happen through a series of upgrades, first focusing on bug fixes in SGPlus before restructuring the extension to become unified with the Streamified product. It will still contain all of the SGPlus features, plus new capabilities as influenced by the Streamified app. Ultimately, it will become more stable and powerful than ever.

As I crawl out of my hole to start being social again, meeting my fellow San Fransciscans, I cannot help but feel that this has been just one more small step. There is still so much more that needs to be done. The feature lists we have planned for Streamified are grandiose yet achievable, with the right team. To meet this challenge, we will need to grow more: to continue to hire more programmers. Even as we refine the iOS (Obective-C) and browser extension (jQuery) clients, we’re just beginning work on our new v2 cloud API (using Mongo and PHP). If you are looking for a job in a startup and have any of these skills, drop us a line.

Zane Claes is the founder and programmer at Streamified; he can be reached at Zane@Streamified.com.