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Pownce, A Social-Networking Service With a Velvet Rope

nytimes.com — JUST now, the hottest startup in Silicon Valley — minutely examined by bloggers, panted after by investors — is Pownce, but only a chosen few can try out its Web site. Kevin Rose, the co-founder and chief architect of Digg, a hugely popular news site, announced in late June the introduction of Pownce, ...

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  • coder_cotton, on 10/10/2007, -32/+6Congrats on the coverage guys, I've been using pownce for a couple weeks and really digg it so far!
    • keeganspeck, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2Dugg down for evoking envious thoughts.
  • bictorman, on 10/10/2007, -32/+13I have a MacBook. I know how they heat up. And I can tell you one thing. Kevin, you'll die childless...
  • sampurtill, on 10/10/2007, -26/+1Dugg for a picture of Kevin Rose in the NYT
  • BillyWells, on 10/10/2007, -1/+72"Internet gamer’s jargon “pwn,” which means to take control of a system by exploiting some vulnerability."

    This is news to me. I mean, I guess you can pwn at exploiting the vulnerability of someone's suckiness at the game but I don't think that's what he was thinking of when he wrote that.
    • MikeWanDo, on 10/10/2007, -2/+33I hate it when non-gamers define gamer "jargon."
    • willynilly, on 10/10/2007, -7/+1"Pwn" is Internet lamer's jargon, and the sure sign of a know-nothing.
    • turpenine, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5i try to define jargon with jargon, i like to say pwning somebody is pretty much like owning somebody, but only more of a dick way of doing it.
  • benitojuarez, on 10/10/2007, -9/+84I don't know about you guys, but if the new york times was coming to take my picture, i would at least wash my hair.
    • willynilly, on 10/10/2007, -13/+4WERE coming to take my picture. It's a hypothetical situation, so the word is "were", not "was."
    • SwabTheDeck, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Psssshhh, n00b.
  • maheshee11, on 10/10/2007, -13/+1People on pownce
    http://digg.com/tech_news/People_on_Pownce_You_Might_Want_to_Befriend_Kevin_Rose
  • sexualaj, on 10/10/2007, -9/+1It's a old photo.
    *look at lappys*
  • tizz66, on 10/10/2007, -3/+37Novel?? It's no more novel than e-mail, it just has pretty buttons.
  • pyromonkey, on 10/10/2007, -11/+5I have four Pownce invites left. Shoot me an email: pyromonkey386(at)gmail(dot)com
    • pyromonkey, on 10/10/2007, -4/+3All out of invites, hit up Invite Share http://www.inviteshare.com/site.php?id=1 it shouldn't take long to get an invitation through there.
    • pyromonkey, on 10/10/2007, -5/+1Oops, double post.
    • willynilly, on 10/10/2007, -5/+3Anyone who sucks up to a site that requires "invitations" has no self respect whatsoever.

      Do you thank the cop for your ticket, too?
      • Ansible, on 10/10/2007, -3/+5Yeah, like that gmail site. All those early gmail adopters, no self respect!
        • msgyrd, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1Gmail has brought a ton of great new features to web-based email all in one place. The invite systems was to make the signup process slower as they worked out the bugs and incrementally added features, and so they could expand the hardware as needed.

          Pownce is the solution for a problem nobody has. The invitation system is only to build hype.
  • pownced, on 10/10/2007, -2/+41Dunno who the PR agency is, but they rock. Wish pownce rocked as much as the hype.
  • weneedsound, on 10/10/2007, -5/+17New york times....... sucks

    They need to stop pushing people to signup for .. just one more website.
  • Hades32, on 10/10/2007, -13/+8Want Invites?

    Friends you've invited...
    DiggIsFun6@mailinator.com ( invite code: Dy84Q )
    DiggIsFun5@mailinator.com ( invite code: bE9TC )
    DiggIsFun4@mailinator.com ( invite code: yDo4X )
    DiggIsFun3@mailinator.com ( invite code: 6pccB )
    DiggIsFun2@mailinator.com ( invite code: ZvTE7 )
    DiggIsFun1@mailinator.com ( invite code: yVWd2 )
  • SniperZero, on 10/10/2007, -3/+23Rofl Kevin Rose should put him self in as the "myspace tom". Have all new sign ups auto have him as a friend :p
  • woody56292, on 10/10/2007, -13/+3Pownce = awesome. I was skeptical at first, but it is starting to be all that I use.
    • wastern, on 10/10/2007, -7/+1Same here. I just wish my real life friends were the types to join so I could get off facebook.....the only functions I use there are in pownce right on my desktop with the air app and its easier to track
      • PuyoDead, on 10/10/2007, -2/+10Am I the only one seeing the obvious "viral" campaigning here?

        "but it is starting to be all that I use"
        "I just wish my real life friends were the types to join so I could get off facebook.....the only functions I use there are in pownce right on my desktop with the air app and its easier to track"

        Normal people don't talk like that. "all that I use"? What, you don't use the internet for anything other than pownce? That's it? "right on my desktop" Yea, I keep everything right on my desktop, too. I also make sure I specify that when I use something, it's "right on my desktop". "air app and its easier to track" air app? Yea, I also like to use visual basic apps, and java apps, and web based flash apps. It's also SO MUCH EASIER now that I can track all my daily activities! SUPER!

        Thanks Kevin, thanks for the crap.
        • sickswaystop, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1ease up man, quit looking over your shoulder.. its not your fault other people might like the site.
          and nice use of the word viral bitch
  • juicebag, on 10/10/2007, -3/+48We don't need anymore social networking (aka glorified IM and blogging) sites.
    • mcduckov, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2What surprised me was that there appeared to be nothing at all novel going on here. I have not read the feature list in a few weeks so maybe things have changed but at the launch it was just IM and sharing files...I mean...seriously, wtf?
  • BalsamLane, on 10/10/2007, -1/+27Within days, invitations were selling on eBay for as much as $10. Velvet rope? Perhaps in a trailer court.
  • StellarlyAstral, on 10/10/2007, -9/+3StellarlyAstral(at)gmail(dot)com would love an invite and would be sure to spread the wealth.
    • StellarlyAstral, on 10/10/2007, -4/+7i received one. thanks digg.
    • KielKilla, on 10/10/2007, -4/+2Damn now I want one. I'm curious. kielkilla@gmail.com please. Thankyou. (It is my spam email account.)
  • Erectile, on 10/10/2007, -5/+46Who the ***** would actually use this *****?
    • HalFTW, on 10/10/2007, -1/+14"Pownce is a way to send messages, files, links, and events to your friends."

      People who have never heard of email / IM.
      • Erectile, on 10/10/2007, -1/+11Hell, you could even use a phone if you were so inclined.
      • yagran, on 10/10/2007, -4/+1Pownce is a very good way to send files and is much better than IM or email in my opinion. the upload/download connections are quick and the interface is easy to use. and with the pownce app (made in AIR) is really the best part, very quick way to send across say a link to a site ive finished, or a font file that ive used in a design that another person may need..i love it.
        • s1mph0ny, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4AIM transfers fine. If you want a real solution, just set up an ftp server.
  • YuriSakazaki, on 10/10/2007, -1/+61I made an account, no idea what I'd ever use it for though... doesn't seem all that cool or useful.
    • _skin_, on 10/10/2007, -0/+10Yeah, what the hell does this thing do, other than tell me Kevin just took a ***** and blogged it.
  • robuk24, on 10/10/2007, -2/+24Pownce is one social network too many.... zzz
    • SwabTheDeck, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2I would much sooner say that about ***** MySpace.
  • vinnyvenus, on 10/10/2007, -9/+3rujcjaoanf@mailinator.com ( invite code: Hkpp6 )
    tcqesqverof@mailinator.com ( invite code: r2c0u )
    jamesd@mailnator.com ( invite code: XXH9R )

    Enjoy
  • SatanicPengiuns, on 10/10/2007, -12/+5Jeahshawty(AT)gmail(DOT)com. got 6 invites, if u want some hit me up and DIGG ME TEH FUKS UP!
  • moomza, on 10/10/2007, -1/+20"hottest startup in silicon valley .." What is this garbage?!

    I'll tell you what it is, it's Kevin Rose, and the spam petri dish he has created, in which we are all squirming, willing participants.
  • Mysk, on 10/10/2007, -4/+16Though there are alternatives for sharing significantly larger files for free, Pownce has its uses. I'm using it and have swapped files with a buddy several times already.

    I highly doubt that Kevin created this for people to share their copyrighted files, so yes, it "sucks" in that you can't share a file with the world or use it as another BT.

    If you have artwork, documents, music files, or any other legit file(s) to share with an individual or a select group of people then Pownce is the way to go. It makes it very easy to share those files, and very easy for the intended recipient(s) to retrieve those files at their leisure. It's also a very useful way to share website URLs with friends or a select group of friends, or to send them quick messages.

    Pownce is a niche product and it still needs a bit of work, but it has its uses. You probably need to use it to see its uses because otherwise I can see where it may look like a dumbed down file sharing service. If you use it and still can't see a reason for its existence then it's probably safe to say that it isn't for you.

    /shrug
    Not a Kevin fan, just saying. Pownce is cool, and it's obviously especially useful for professionals or hobbiests.
    • jpb0104, on 10/10/2007, -3/+1i wish we could share digg stories with friends on digg without actually digging them.
    • tizz66, on 10/10/2007, -4/+1As much as I think Pownce is useless, I think it's fair to give credit to the proper people - it was conceived and coded by Leah and designed by Daniel. I think Kevin provides moral support and advice (and fanboys).
      • Mysk, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1ah, well thanks for correcting my info. :-)
    • mcduckov, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1OK, so you're using it and the best thing you can come up with is file transfer and sharing URLs? I'm not trying to be an ass but were those things new to you when you discovered pownce?
    • locojones, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1"If you have artwork, documents, music files, or any other legit file(s) to share with an individual or a select group of people then Pownce is the way to go. It makes it very easy to share those files, and very easy for the intended recipient(s) to retrieve those files at their leisure."

      So does e-mail.

      "It's also a very useful way to share website URLs with friends or a select group of friends, or to send them quick messages.""

      So is e-mail.

      "If you use it and still can't see a reason for its existence then it's probably safe to say that it isn't for you."

      I don't need to use it to know that it's useless and lame.
      • Mysk, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Email is a good way if you're swapping messages with one or two people. If you have a group of several and you want to be certain that everyone receives the information (rather than it going to a junk folder and someone not "getting the memo" or the message being rejected by their mail server due to the attachments) then Pownce is a good alternative.

        It's a central location that a group can log into to share information within the group. This can be a big time saver, and that's good bonus no matter who the group is (be it a business or individuals).

        There are utilities available that do each of the individual things that Pownce does, but if you're sharing information with a group then you need an efficient way to transmit that information to everyone involved. Pownce is not the end all, be all of this type of service and I don't want to suggest that it is. What I am suggesting is that with a just a bit of thought it can be surprisingly useful and far more efficient than any individual tool.
  • thestorey, on 10/10/2007, -7/+1I have six invites
    TheStorey(a)Gmail.com
  • dgblackout, on 10/10/2007, -4/+2if anyone needs invites, just ask, there's a lot going about.

  • o0nac0o, on 10/10/2007, -12/+2Hands down one of the best ideas on the net.
  • toxicityj, on 10/10/2007, -0/+35i registered two weeks ago and i still don't know what it does...
  • bbabics, on 10/10/2007, -2/+43I've used pownce for the last two or three weeks- believe me, it sucks. Okay, burry me please.
  • Arkonnan, on 10/10/2007, -0/+22Why does every Pownce article read like an advertisement? The site isn't even open yet, and they're acting like Pownce has already taken over the world. Outside of these articles, the "social community" doesn't seem to care much about it. It has received a lukewarm reception at best.
    • sickswaystop, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1good people will get good press... its part of the business. coincidentally the business is networking. its all about who you know.
      and as stated: the author of this article has a friend who is a digg investor.
  • LordSlashstab55, on 10/10/2007, -6/+1shoot me an invite @ missioncontrol55@hotmail.com please
  • coollettuce, on 10/10/2007, -3/+6I got Pownce invites, Demonoid invites, Moola invites, GrandCentral invites, all I want is torrentleech.org or Oink.cd. Hit me up at coollettuce at gmail dot com.
  • jamdogg, on 10/10/2007, -2/+3Can't blame the guy for trying to earn an extra dollar or two. Email works for most of my file sharing needs (Gmail almost 3Gig). And messenger services to chat with mates. Not broke so aint fixin.
  • Inchenzo, on 10/10/2007, -3/+2anyone want invites? got 8 left.

    mail me
    inchenzo(a)inque(dot)net
  • wh33lchairkid, on 10/10/2007, -1/+12No one seems to care about this *****, how many of these things do we really need.
  • delaen, on 10/10/2007, -4/+23Buried as spam.
  • thailand1972, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7Is it just me or does the internet in 2007 feel the same as it was in 2000? Websites and ideas that are way over-valued and over-hyped. It seemed to get more "real" since 2001 (bubble burst), and now somebody invented a buzzword ("Web 2.0") and suddenly everything seems unreal again.
  • africansk8er, on 10/10/2007, -4/+2Invites anyone? I have like 11.
    Email me and leave me a nice message. Something heartwarming.
    africansk8er(at)gmail(dot)com
  • abxy, on 10/10/2007, -4/+4Apparently that velvet rope has a suggested retail price of 2 bucks: http://base.google.com/base/a/1285601/D15811806423071664890
  • TheNeptune, on 10/10/2007, -2/+11Pownce is overrated, and the invites are hardly valuable. The interest in Pownce is purely because of the success of Digg. It'd be great if they could address the problems that Digg has before trying to create some other service that's in an already crowded market.

    Also, this article, and the description of it seem to imply that Pownce invites are hard to come by. This evidenced by all the invites here, along with the evidence of some overweight hairy guy from Oklahoma that isn't in the loop with anyone was able to get an invite within 5 minutes of learning of it.

    Pownce is a trend.
  • erimar77, on 10/10/2007, -5/+1I've got 11 invites available also, email me at:
    l9AZHA1bB3iMFmc5@spambox.us
  • lua21, on 10/10/2007, -0/+12i really don't know why anyone would find Pownce useful or entertaining
  • kevincross, on 10/10/2007, -2/+4its a slick little program if you need to constantly collaborate with different groups, but its a glorified messaging program. as the saying goes, there's nothing new under the sun. messaging hasn't changed a whole lot since irc (well apparently now you have to pay to send files of a certain size... weird.)

    and whats all this jive about being hard to get an invite to? are there people scouring for them like gmail invites?

    its actually really funny because everyone except diggers seem to care.
  • rslaven, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7I've been a beta tester for a while now. Honestly its completely pointless and will be a failure. There is no motivation to use it, even if everyone in the entire world was signed up, well then it would just be horrible anyway.
  • wdrewry, on 10/10/2007, -4/+0would really appreciate an invite to wdrewry123@gmail.com
  • AirPortPanic, on 10/10/2007, -3/+11how's the comment system on Pounce?

    (don't bother replying to this.. i don't want to spend my time clicking to open things)...
  • GeoffANDtonic, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5This service seems pretty pointless to me. I use Gmail through apple's Email client on my mac and do pretty much all of my communication from there. I really don't share music or movies, but I often point people to torrent files, and I preach the use of BitTorrent. This service does not seem like a bit deal to me at all, and I am wondering what really glamorous thing will attract people to it other than the presence of the Digg Diva Kevin Rose.
  • matthusebox, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3could someone please explain to me what the point of this thing is? i can't figure out what it's supposed to be for. social networking? file-sharing? aren't there already much better (easier, better looking, more popular...) alternatives for this? i don't create files big enough that i would need anything other than email: i don't record my own music or make my own movies...
    • chancefavors, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3i was wondering the same thing. i got a "coveted invitation"--seriously, coveted?--and i don't know how to work the darn thing.
  • eric0213, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Though I haven't tried Pownce, I have to commend Kevin on his choice of Dutch beer. Heineken is overrated.
  • HanSolo69, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8Pownce is so far the most pointless piece of software i've ever downloaded. It sounds great in theory but it's almost useless in reality. not to mention that i've only gotten a big "what the hell is this supposed to be?" from everyone i've invited.
    • Wang, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Agreed - i just don't see the market for this....originally when he said it was a kind of IM concept, I imagined some kind of web-based app that brought together the IM networks (like Trillian Astra will) - but this just added yet another IM for me to check and sign in to. I can't see myself using pownce.
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