Always looking for new technology, we recently discovered Pibb, a new communication utility. We found Kevin Fox online and pulled him aside, Pibb style (you can do this by clicking on a username and having a private chat discussion). Kevin handles Product Development at JanRain, the developers of Pibb, Jyte and MyOpenID. Kevin has graced us with an interview; this the first ever interview discussing Pibb. We are honored with this opportunity to showcase Pibb.

Two things to watch for: an embedded chat here on IslamCrunch and apps for many social network sites.

IslamCrunch challenge: Using Pibb to communicate with others during an Islamic event. Pibb can be used to document what transpires at an event, anyone can log on and read/interact with the attendees.

Here is the interview with Kevin of JanRain:

IslamCrunch: What is your web application/service about?

Pibb is about making it easy for people to communicate online. It has a unique feature set that brings together the familiarity of forums, power of blogs, flexibility of email and convenience of instant messaging all in one browser window.

Pibb is a comprehensive solution for all your communication needs; one-on-one chat, communication backchannel for conferences, support tool, or for community based private/public discussions, Pibb is the answer.

If you have something to say, we want you to ‘Say it on Pibb’.

IslamCrunch: Why did you start this project?

There was a need for an OpenID communications platform to complement our Jyte (claim and credibility engine) and MyOpenID (OpenID account provider) products. The communications space is very interesting and has lots of room for growth.

IslamCrunch: How much time do you devote to its growth?

As much as possible, if you can’t find me on Pibb (https://pibb.com/me/kfox.myopenid.com) there is likely a another JanRain’er who can help on the ‘Pibb Discussion’ channel (http://archive.pibb.com/Pibb+Discussion/General/)

IslamCrunch: How large is your team and what are your backgrounds?

12 people (http://janrain.com/about). Varying backgrounds, I have a Computer Science degree and an MBA, Jason Mckerr has an background in finance and an MBA, tons of awesome engineering talent (Python, Ruby, Perl, Ajax, etc.), Michael Graves and Larry Drebes have both done successful startups in the past.

IslamCrunch: What is your design/service philosophy?

Our goal is to create products that are valuable to people and help to grow communities. Always engage and listen to the community, they are our biggest asset. Our philosophy is to keep things open and make Pibb as intuitive to use as possible. Specifically we want users to own their content and we try to always make it easy for people to get content in and out of Pibb.

IslamCrunch: What technologies are you currently using?

Pibb is built using GWT (Google Web Toolkit), Python, Ruby on Rails

Read the rest of this entry »

Based in Silicon Valley, a pair of young Muslim entrepreneurs have collaborated on a new web project called WiGab, as in “Why Gab?” and “WiFi Gab.” We asked these two entrepreneurs to provide some background information about their site and who they are. Even though a majority of the content is geared towards the general audience, you will notice that WiGab features content for Muslims living the wireless life.  

Who? – Hambaba and Markar are just two individuals seeking to make sense of life. But they know that can be a cumbersome task at times, especially, if there aren’t any beacons to light the way. The Internet, as we see it, is a metaphor for life. Just as through life, we need to sift through the Internet for things that resonate with us. Having realized this connection they are making sense of life on the Internet. A Wireless Life Guide is born.

 What? – Wigab is their first collaborative project where they create guides on the Wireless Life. ‘Wireless’ is a synonym for all things tech. It’s a term that is ever incorporating new changes in technology. But the beginnings of an awareness of how intertwined our lives are with technology has only recently been recognized. The transition from wired technology: like phones, computers, vinyl music players to iPhones, laptops and iPods has made this transition more apparent. Today we live in a wireless world that is plugged in. Tomorrow, it will be something else.

 Where? – Wigab started as an expression of ideas. But without a cohesive picture that outlines pros and cons, it doesn’t help. So we do just that. We write about different things people use or haven’t used as of yet, but incorporate process. What makes us stand out is that we don’t regurgitate information that’s already out there. It’s always a new tool with a new twist.

 When? – Wigab is updated almost nearly daily. We recently made a pledge to keep it consistent.

 Why? – A Wireless Life Guide is not some semi-pseudo-scientific ‘To Do’ or ‘Not to Do’ list. It’s about looking at the world with a tech-savvy lens. Our motto is to be socially conscious individuals. In essence, this is a world issue and we intend to make our site a world site. All are welcome to contribute and get involved. Repeated themes are co-existence with the self, with others, with technology that abounds and our environment that sustains our very lives.

The WiGab team have a new project that will be launching soon. Here is a teaser: Green.

I just downloaded and installed Google Gears, the new ”open source browser extension that enables web applications to provide offline functionality. Google Gears allows developers to enhance their AJAX applications to be able to run even when their users are offline.”

After restarting the Firefox browser, it quickly became apparent that Google Gears is true to it’s BETA status. To see all the scary details, click here to see my post on the Google Gears discussion group.

Anybody else encountering any problems? Drop your comments here and let us know your experience with this new technology.

We are working on a series of posts that involves getting a product halal certified. Sneak previews will be available via Twitter. Each tweet will be preceded with ‘Getting Halal:’ To view and subscribe to these tweets, click here:

http://twitter.com/islamcrunchIf you have not been touched by Twitter mania, here is a short description: Twitter is a social networking site based around text messaging, also known as tweets. Tweets are short messages (140 characters or less) that were originally based on answering the question: “What are you doing?” Tweets have now evolved to track an event, update followers on a political campaign, market a service and update blog readers on new posts. Messages are sent via the web, SMS text messaging, browser plugins, desktop applications or instant messengering software. Read the official FAQ here.Here are some interesting articles about Twitter:

• The Several Habits of Wildly Successful Twitter Users
• From Many Tweets, One Loud Voice on the Internet
• Microtrends: Twitter.com

Jaiku is a similar service and you can see the ‘Getting Halal’ series on our Presence Stream.

Please join us on Twitter, Jaiku and here on IslamCrunch as we journey towards halal certification. If you have any advice, tips, comments and/or feedback, please contact us or drop us a comment.

Technorati tags: twitter, jaiku, halal, certification, presence stream, tweet, social networking

Particls helps you track your favorite sites and apps by displaying desktop alerts for important changes.

The web is just too big. No one has time to keep track of all the sites, conversations and interesting bits and pieces that interest them. We all have real work to do and lives to live! So what if you could subscribe to the sites you like best and be notified when they change. Particls even works out how important the new information is to you and displays a proportional alert. For example, general information can be displayed on a news ticker, important stuff might appear on a popup alert and urgent information could be SMS’d to your phone. Think of it like a highly advanced widget or filtered feed reader. Best of all – it’s free.

However, it’s currently only available if you are invited. To earn an invite, simply post IslamCrunch on your Facebook profile, MySpace page, on a forum, on your blog, on your website or any place you can think of that will prominently feature IslamCrunch. You can put our widget on your site as well (http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/technology-web-20-muslim-ideas-). After you have done so, contact us here to inform us.

We have 5 invites available. Invites will be delivered after review of where you posted IslamCrunch. You can grab the logo here: http://www.islamcrunch.com/islamcrunch_logo.jpg

Benefits of Particls:

Receive breaking news from your favorite blogs, websites and news agencies. We use Particls to read news stories that showcase and/or affect Muslims. Do you have a hobby or certain interest that excites you? Are you a sports fan? Looking for deen intensives to attend? Which Islamic event is taking place in your neighborhood? Particls helps you receive timely information.

Focus your attention on relevant topics that interest you.

Particls (formerly Touchstone) is the leader in setting forth the new attention profiling mark-up language (APML) format.

Technorati tags: particls, attention, apml, invite, logo