The Socialize Braindump

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Socialize is the mobile intelligence company. Our drop-in SDK provides developers with granular knowledge about their apps, allowing them to better understand what makes their apps (and their users) tick. With that sort of data, developers can improve and better monetize their apps.

On the backend, we’re mapping the interest graph. We’re betting that discovering users’ interests is a whole lot more significant than mining for their demographic identities.

We believe that a person’s interests are more meaningful than who they are, and we give the world a way to navigate those interests. Think about this: how many people do you never connect with because you don’t realize what interests you share?

Join our VIP list for access to our CTO's InterestGraph demo

The benefits are huge: Socialize allows your users to reveal more about themselves, including their lat/long, gender, age, interests, the types of apps on their phones, keywords in their past comments, the subject matters they’ve “liked” and other users they follow. We turn all this raw data into valuable information so you can better monetize your app.

Not only do you get more telling data about your users, but our SDK’s potent formula also produces more activity within your app—on average a 21.8% increase in app sessions simply by implementing Socialize. And that means more revenue for you.

It’s a win-win situation: your mobile app users benefit from connecting with each other in the app and enriching that app experience. They’ll engage with each other when they socialize with others who share the same passions as they do. Best of all? It’s all wrapped up in your app, powered by Socialize.

Socialize also created AppMakr, the largest do-it-yourself mobile app creation platform for iPhone, Android and Windows Phone apps.  AppMakr is used by brands like PBS, Newsweek, PGA TOUR, Perez Hilton, Washington Post, Harvard Business Review, US Congress, MacLife, Accenture and thousands of others.  Over 1.5% of all apps in the iTunes App Store were created using AppMakr.

 

Want To Dig A Bit Deeper?

If you’re interested in working at Socialize

  • Read everything above, and also learn about the F1 GeekSpeed challenge.  You’ll have to be able to complete it in under 2 minutes to work at Socialize.
  • Every new employee needs to create a Hello World program, even if you’re not a developer.  If you’ve never heard of Hello World, learn about it here.
  • Learn what it means to play a computer like an instrument.  We use keyboard shortcuts to the max so we can interface efficiently with computers, which enables us to work more effectively.
  • Learn how to use Basecamp, along with Mailchimp if you’re a marketer, Unfuddle if you’re a developer, and Highrise if you’re a salesperson.  We use all of these religiously.
  • Impress us.  Do something creative that we’re not expecting.

If you just started working at Socialize, or just been extended a job offer:

     

  • We made an in-depth video where we go over much of the information below. Watch it, duplicate the settings, and learn everything in here. (That’s a big file, so you may prefer to watch it on Vimeo)
  • Read everything above, and also send us your F1 GeekSpeed challenge time—you’ll need to complete it in under 2 minutes to work for us
  • Make sure you’re using a Mac, not a PC.  If you don’t have a Mac, let us know and we’ll get you one.  The transition from PC to Mac can be a bit jarring, so you should give yourself a week (ideally before you start) to get familiar with it.  Here is the blog Daniel made when he switched to a Mac to help you.
  • Install Dropbox on your computer and ask us for details on what account to use
  • Install Alfred and get used to working with it and change these preferences.
  • We use Gmail (well, technically Google Apps) for our corporate mail.  We’ll make you an email address and you should configure it with these settings:
    • Your Socialize Signature
    • Turn Keyboard Shortcuts on in the “General” settings
    • Add a bunch of Google Labs (see the video for exactly which ones)
    • Add multiple inboxes
    • Learn how to fly through Gmail and impress your friends (again, video on how to do that and much more is here)
  • Make a Hello World program and show it to us—you can build it in any language. Yes, this applies to non-developers too
  • Install and use Skitch in combination with CloudApp (also, download the CloudApp desktop app).  Here’s a video on how to make it a great 1-2 punch.
  • Install iShowU (just the regular one, NOT the HD one).  We use it to capture content and communicate in asynchronous ways.  Duplicate these settings exactly as they are here. Then make your keyboard shortcuts the same as these.
  • Learn what it means to play a computer like an instrument.  We use keyboard shortcuts to the max so we can interface efficiently with computers, which enables us to work more effectively.
  • Learn how to use Basecamp (You can find tutorials here), along with Mailchimp if you’re a marketer, Unfuddle if you’re a developer, and Highrise if you’re a salesperson.  We use all of these religiously.
  • Impress us.  Do something creative that we’re not expecting.