The beginning of Xalen.co.uk

I've been working on Xalen.co.uk since May 2006. Now, in November I've decided to create a blog about it. Back then, I was doing an assignment on Last.fm. I found it such an amazing idea that I thought about applying a similar idea to a different product.

So first I'll talk a little about Last.fm.
Last.fm is a music recmmendation site. It's appeal comes from the online community it has generated. Essentially, last.fm keeps track of music you play, matches you to other users and suggests music they like... in a nutshell. But it's far bigger than that. So I am aiming for Xalen.co.uk to be similar but with my own ideas and simplification, after all, who really uses everything on a website?!

My fundamental ideals for Xalen.co.uk:

• It should be simple - one main page that does everything, no searching to find what you're looking for
  
• A certain degree of customisation - people use websites in different ways, so why not make it easier for them to do that
  
• Any revenue generated should be by what I call ethical means: Users should not be forced into paying a subscription, if indeed at all. Revenue should be generated in such a way that it does not impair the experience of the site. Active revenue generation should only be used as a last resort and as a "convenience" package, i.e. Active revenue should only be used to cover costs of running the site and as an incentive for donations. (The core functionality of the site should be free)
  
• Within the limits of the community model, no private details will be used other than for purposes such as "forgotten passwords"
  
• Usage of the latest programming techniques will not be used as a gimmick and will solely be used to enhance functionality of the site
  
• Most importantly, I must want to use the site, and use the site as my homepage
  

I have more ideals but these are the main ones.

So what does it do?

The core functionality of the site is to match users that have common favourite sites and to suggest other sites thereby helping people to find sites they may like.
The site acts as an online bookmark system where the sites can be arranged by category and tags. Thus the system can be adjusted to what the user is currently doing. For example, if the user is doing Web Programming, they could set the system to only show sites tagged under "Web programming", be it their own, and/or others' tags.

So there's my vision. It's already good, and it's getting better everyday. Feel free to sign up at Xalen.co.uk. Get your bookmarks up there and set it as your homepage! And if you don't, well I'll just have to make next on my list, a feedback system.

Till next post...
Oliver Polden