Me.dium offers an innovative and compelling application that blends real-time web attention-data with instant messenger social networking capabilities.
Similar to MyBlogLog, you can see when others are visiting a particular site you might be visiting, the major difference is that you can see what sites others around the web are visiting too. Me.dium offers social network capabilities allowing users to connect with other Me.dium users you encounter via instant messenger (shown in the left pane of the screen-shot to the left).
Me.dium requires that you download a browser extension or to be able to interact with others. Me.dium incorporates social interactivity which could act as a discovery mechanism. Me.dium also creates a browsing profile for each of its users and then acts as social matchmaker by connecting users with similar browsing profiles. Stowe Boyd made the following comparisons:
"This is very similar to the Eyebees concept that a client of mine was working on years ago, or other similar ideas, like lluna. However, the design of Me.dium -- embedding this navigator in the sidebar -- is truly great."
I first encountered Me.dium at the TechCrunch 8 event (early November 2006) as they demonstrated their latest creation and they have been busy perfecting the experience every since.
At first sight I thought Me.dium offered a unique community feel however I also instantly thought about potential invasion of web browsing privacy. However, I particularly liked the way that Me.dium handles turning on and off the tracking capabilities they refer to as "sharing" thus putting my privacy concerns at ease. 
The Me.dium Firefox extension places a "sharing" on/off toggle in the upper right corner of the browser (shown to the right).
The latest version was showcased at the most recent 2007 DEMO conference - watch the Me.dium demo here. Or if clicking the demo link is too much work you could just watch below as Kimbal Musk, Me.dium CEO, demos the product on the Scoble Show.
Bottom-line: Me.dium offers users a unique interactive experience while visiting any web site which could lead to discovery of new friends and web sites.
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» Me.dium Social Search Shows Off What's Hot from SOMEWHAT FRANK
Ever wonder what sites and services are hot on the Web at any given time? I do. Me.dium, a Boulder, Colorado-based search startup, also has had that question on its mind as it recently launched a social search product called Me.dium Social Search. Me.d... [Read More]
Tracked on Aug 27, 2008 3:03:18 PM
frank,
i too saw me.dium demoed at the techcrunch event and i still don't get the value proposition for the user.
this is mostly a tracking device.
i like myblog because at least it's good for self promotion and it doesn't require me to install anything.
to date, my only myblog admirers are spammers trying to sell me blog related services. my newest stalker (er admirer) is payperpost.
the tradeoff with myblog is i get to see my picture online, and in return i get a little love from blog advertisers. until my admirer box fills up it's a win-win.
-Stan
Posted by: Stanmiller | Thursday, February 15, 2007 at 11:24 PM