Psolenoid

• General / Business
  1. What is Psolenoid?
  2. How did you come up with the name Psolenoid?
• Technology – Usage
  1. How does Psolenoid work?
  2. What does Psolenoid interface look like?
  3. What does a wired entry look like?
  4. What blog platforms does Psolenoid work on?
  5. How do I activate Psolenoid on my blog?
  6. What’s the advantage of using a tool like Psolenoid?
  7. How does Psolenoid prevent blog spam?
  8. How do I manage who links to my blog?
  9. Why do I have to activate Psolenoid on my entire blog to wire just one post?
  10. How do I turn off Psolenoid from my blog?
  11. How do I completely remove Psolenoid from my blog?
  12. How do I delete my Psolenoid account?
• Competitive
  1. How is this different from Trackback?

General / Business

1. What is Psolenoid?
   Psolenoid [so'le-noid'] is an intuitive, easy-to-use linking tool that allows bloggers to connect their posts to other, related posts. When activated on a blog, Psolenoid allows bloggers to create a two-way, reciprocal link exchange between their blog post and another relevant post, connecting the related posts on both blogs. We call this process “wiring” and it automatically creates a “rabbit hole” or two-way link for audiences of both blogs to visit the other blog post.
   Visually, Psolenoid appears at the bottom of a blog post and looks similar to a comment, but is richer in appearance. It includes a preview of the wired blog post, a short comment introducing the other site, and a user profile image.
   As the blogosphere continues to evolve, two-way connectivity is the next step. Psolenoid operates across blogging platforms and aims to manifest connections between related blog posts that would not otherwise be connected.
2. How did you come up with the name Psolenoid?
   A solenoid is an electromagnet, generating a magnetic field. Put a paperclip inside the magnetic field, and it will be drawn towards the magnet. Once they meet, the magnet will "magnetize" the paperclip, transforming the clip into another magnet, which extends the range of the original magnetic field.
   This is similar to the word-of-mouth spread of information. Each person in the word-of-mouth propagation process becomes "magnetized" when she hears something from another. Once she turns into another "magnet", she will spread the word to her friends in her "magnetic field". Unlike a real world magnetic field, this Psycho-magnetic field does not diminish during propagation if managed well. Powerful, isn't it? It would be really awesome if everyone online became magnetized. It will revolutionize the way people interact. Is it possible? That’s what Psolenoid is all about.

Technology – Usage

1. How does Psolenoid work?
   Psolenoid does not have a centralized interface. Rather, users interact with Psolenoid wherever they find it activated. If Psolenoid is activated on a blog, anyone can wire their own blog posts to the Psolenoid-enabled blog. Psolenoid will simply ask a user for their blog URL, enable the user to select an entry to wire to the related post and ask for a short comment. Psolenoid then prompts a user to create an account and authenticate their blog. When the brief activation process is complete, the post appears wired to the related post, and a two-way path is created between the two posts.
   Psolenoid is the easiest way to connect to relevant posts and to gain some visibility from those others who connect to you. The process increases the readership of both blogs and consequently results in more efficient distribution of content throughout the blogosphere.
2. What does Psolenoid interface look like?
   When Psolenoid is fully activated on your blog, your blog will get a Psolenoid interface. The interface is like a phone, which allows you to engage in bidirectional communication with others. Psolenoid interface allows you to connect your post with other related blog posts and also other bloggers to connect their posts with yours.
   
   Some blog platforms don't support full activation of Psolenoid, in which case the interface cannot be applied to your blog. You will still be able to wire your posts to other bloggers' posts to share with more readers, but your blog won't show wires.
   List of supported blog platforms
3. What does a wired entry look like?
   Visually, a wired post entry looks similar to a comment, but is richer in appearance. It includes a preview of the wired blog post, a short comment introducing the post (Incoming wire section only), and a user profile image.
   
4. What blog platforms does Psolenoid work on?
   Currently Psolenoid supports virtually any platform that allows for blog template editing including but not limited to: Blogger.com; b2Evolution.net; Blogsome.com; ExpressionEngine.com; Movabletype.org; Tumblr.com; Typepad.com; Textpattern.com; and Wordpress.org.

   
   Blogs with non-editable templates can still wire to other Psolenoid enabled posts but can’t receive wires themselves. These include: Livejournal.com; Myspace blog; Vox.com; Wordpress.com; Xanga.com; and Yahoo! 360° blog.

   
   Our developers are working to add more platforms every day.
5. How do I activate Psolenoid on my blog?
   All activation processes are initiated by wiring one of your posts to a post on a Psolenoid-enabled blog. There is no standalone “activation” page as Psolenoid can be activated wherever a user runs across it. To activate Psolenoid, simply attempt to wire a blog post to a Psolenoid-enabled blog and Psolenoid will walk you through the easy activation process. At the end of the brief process, Psolenoid will initiate a one-time authentication during which it will insert a script into your blog template. Users may also manually edit their blog template to include the Psolenoid script.
6. What’s the advantage of using a tool like Psolenoid?
   Psolenoid helps bloggers stay informed, connected and visible by interweaving and connecting topics in the blogosphere. Psolenoid also provides better visibility into the community and readership around your blog and allows users to create new memes and engage with pre-existing memes. As a hosted platform, Psolenoid by design is architected to prevent spammers from wiring posts to your blog.
7. How does Psolenoid prevent blog spam?
   Psolenoid by design is architected to prevent spammers from wiring posts to your blog. Because it uses pull technology to fetch the content it needs for wires, all content needs to come from an actual blog post. This is uniquely different from push technology used in trackbacks which are often prone to spammer abuse. Additionally, Psolenoid users are centrally managed and spammers will be policed.
8. How do I manage who links to my blog?
   User controls are built into Psolenoid’s intuitive user interface. If you wish to sever a wire between your blog and another blog, simply click on the X over the wire to delete it. You can do this either from the interface or from your personal page while you are logged in.

   
9. Why do I have to activate Psolenoid on my entire blog to wire just one post?
   Psolenoid is just like a phone network. A phone allows you to call anyone in the network, but it also allows others to call you. By activating Psolenoid on your blog, you are not only able to call others, but are also allowing others to call you, which is an essential part of our philosophy: information should flow both ways. Online and participatory journalism is the future, and Psolenoid makes the conversation easier to follow.
10. How do I turn off Psolenoid from my blog?
    You can easily turn off Psolenoid from the setting section of your personal page. Please visit your personal page and select the blog you wish to turn off Psolenoid from. You will see the on/off switch. Visit
11. How do I completely remove Psolenoid from my blog?
    You can do this at the setting section of your personal page.
12. How do I delete my Psolenoid account?
    We are sorry to hear that you no longer want to use Psolenoid. You can delete your account here

Competitive

1. How is this different from Trackback?
   Psolenoid is a communication network, not a protocol. While trackback is limited to blogs that come with trackback built-in, Psolenoid allows virtually any blogger to tap into the network regardless of their blog type. Psolenoid is helping the blogosphere to evolve and become more transparent through a set of new connectivity tools and standards.
   Psolenoid is an easier way to connect to relevant posts - and to gain some visibility from those others who connect to you. Psolenoid allows users to more effectively create and discover memes, and provides visibility into the community and readership around your blog.