Ask HN: If you coded your own bookmarking service, what features would it have?
21 comments
I had an idea once for a bookmarking app which was based on the following :
Bookmarks today are usually static i.e. we save something we like once and done. But many times, bookmarks have a life, some could be temporary (e.g. craigslist apartment search link) which don't mean much after a certain time period etc. So my idea is that we should have a bookmark service that is fluid and dynamic.
1) EXPIRATION DATE: A bookmark will have a expiration date/timestamp which is user configurable. Say be default 180 days. A week before this expiration, users gets a notification that unless they want to keep this bookmark, it will be deleted/archived. This way, your clutter of bookmarks that are no longer needed is auto managed.
2) CONTEXT: When I bookmark something and come back to it few weeks/month later, I forget the context of why I bookmarked it. Sure, many times you know why because you did it of course. But tell me how many times you have looked at a Bookmark and went "Why did I bookmark this again". Context is important because lets say I came across a nice blog on "How to Add Google Analytics on your website", I might want to bookmark because I am thinking about using it for a specific webpage for my startup. Alternatively, I could bookmark the same page to share with someone who is looking to learn google analytics. Stuff like that. Again, context also helps with #1 because if I am just apartment hunting, i won't need those bookmarks after I find a place.
3) SYNCING: A bookmark should just not be locally available on my computer but synced with whichever device/system I am using.
4) TAGGING: Tag and categorize bookmarks using an easy interface. I hate the folder structure offered by browsers today.
4) SIMILAR BOOKMARKS: A potential social feature where once I bookmark a page, based on the tag/category, it shows me other similar pages/bookmarks done by users. Don't reveal any personal user info of course but it might be nice to see what others are bookmarking in similar categories.
May be some of this is overkill but these are my desired features for bookmarks.
Bookmarks today are usually static i.e. we save something we like once and done. But many times, bookmarks have a life, some could be temporary (e.g. craigslist apartment search link) which don't mean much after a certain time period etc. So my idea is that we should have a bookmark service that is fluid and dynamic.
1) EXPIRATION DATE: A bookmark will have a expiration date/timestamp which is user configurable. Say be default 180 days. A week before this expiration, users gets a notification that unless they want to keep this bookmark, it will be deleted/archived. This way, your clutter of bookmarks that are no longer needed is auto managed.
2) CONTEXT: When I bookmark something and come back to it few weeks/month later, I forget the context of why I bookmarked it. Sure, many times you know why because you did it of course. But tell me how many times you have looked at a Bookmark and went "Why did I bookmark this again". Context is important because lets say I came across a nice blog on "How to Add Google Analytics on your website", I might want to bookmark because I am thinking about using it for a specific webpage for my startup. Alternatively, I could bookmark the same page to share with someone who is looking to learn google analytics. Stuff like that. Again, context also helps with #1 because if I am just apartment hunting, i won't need those bookmarks after I find a place.
3) SYNCING: A bookmark should just not be locally available on my computer but synced with whichever device/system I am using.
4) TAGGING: Tag and categorize bookmarks using an easy interface. I hate the folder structure offered by browsers today.
4) SIMILAR BOOKMARKS: A potential social feature where once I bookmark a page, based on the tag/category, it shows me other similar pages/bookmarks done by users. Don't reveal any personal user info of course but it might be nice to see what others are bookmarking in similar categories.
May be some of this is overkill but these are my desired features for bookmarks.
+1 for the expiration date and context ideas. Those are great ideas.
Excellent summary. Regarding number 2, how do you think the context problem could be solved? The application can save the tab history of how you got to the page, but then you would need to install a plugin and possibly send navigation info to an online service. Or you could add a note to the saved bookmark, but now it requires some of your time.
If other bookmarks were saved say 3 hours either side, show them in a slider style.
Granted, not every bookmark will be "next to" others, but it many cases this would give a good sense of context.
"Hmmmm a page on Google analytics... I wonder why I saved that.... oh yeah! That was just after bookmarking this page about 'Best tracking systems for WP blogs'"
Granted, not every bookmark will be "next to" others, but it many cases this would give a good sense of context.
"Hmmmm a page on Google analytics... I wonder why I saved that.... oh yeah! That was just after bookmarking this page about 'Best tracking systems for WP blogs'"
Just add a note (free text field) for the context. nothing fancy.
wow, those are seriously desirable features.. Regarding point 2 - this feature is already available in chrome which syncs your bookmarks and extensions in whichever system you use..
I think you mean point 3
Shameless (nonetheless relevant?) plug, I'm a software engineer at https://www.kifi.com, a service that we launched rather silently a couple of months ago and that covers quite a few of the ideas mentioned:
- "add notes, highlight, comment" and "share privately with coworkers" => you can start private discussions on any page, highlight specific content (text, images). At the moment, personal notes are covered by the ability to message yourself.
- "full text search" => this is the core of Kifi. We scrape and index pages in real-time and integrate search results right into Google. Not only yours but also your friends' public bookmarks (you can still keep stuff private) and the network's. Result validation and interesting discoveries ensue.
- "visual bookmarks" => browse all of your bookmarks with additional information and images / screenshots
- "tagging" => yep, and they're fully searchable from Google as well
- "syncing" => iOS app is already live, Android on the way
We're working on several other features including offline mode, a better read-it-later experience, shared libraries, and more cool collaboration and discovery things.
It'd be great to hear your feedback about it, new ideas and suggestions very much welcome :)
I love the idea of bookmarks having an expiration date, good way to keep your bookmarks clean in the long run!
- "add notes, highlight, comment" and "share privately with coworkers" => you can start private discussions on any page, highlight specific content (text, images). At the moment, personal notes are covered by the ability to message yourself.
- "full text search" => this is the core of Kifi. We scrape and index pages in real-time and integrate search results right into Google. Not only yours but also your friends' public bookmarks (you can still keep stuff private) and the network's. Result validation and interesting discoveries ensue.
- "visual bookmarks" => browse all of your bookmarks with additional information and images / screenshots
- "tagging" => yep, and they're fully searchable from Google as well
- "syncing" => iOS app is already live, Android on the way
We're working on several other features including offline mode, a better read-it-later experience, shared libraries, and more cool collaboration and discovery things.
It'd be great to hear your feedback about it, new ideas and suggestions very much welcome :)
I love the idea of bookmarks having an expiration date, good way to keep your bookmarks clean in the long run!
I've got to say I find the UI to be insanely beautiful out of the bookmarking services I have used. Great job. Integrating it with conversations is really interesting, although I doubt I will ever have any "kifi friends" that I would be conversing with. Perhaps add in optional-to-join public "page rooms"?
One complaint: why do I need to have this giant 'kifi' square floating on the bottom of my browser window constantly - especially when there is ALSO an address bar button? I really don't think I'll tolerate it beyond the first time I accidentally click it or find it covering up something on my screen.
One complaint: why do I need to have this giant 'kifi' square floating on the bottom of my browser window constantly - especially when there is ALSO an address bar button? I really don't think I'll tolerate it beyond the first time I accidentally click it or find it covering up something on my screen.
Thanks for the feedback!
About the Kifi square (the "keeper"): - you can move it by clicking and dragging it up and down - you can hide it either on a specific domain or entirely (see settings accessible by clicking on your picture at the top right)
The reason why you would want to keep it around is that Kifi is also a communication and contextual information tool, and it will show notifications from friends and additional information about the page you're on as you browse the web.
About Kifi friends, we will release next week a new "external messaging" feature that enables you to discuss a page with people without them having to be Kifi users. I think it's pretty cool, stay tuned!
However, beyond direct communication, Kifi gets much better with friends as their keeps will enrich your own search results and soon new discovery features, so there is long-term value for you to have them on :)
Does this make sense? Thanks again for checking us out!
About the Kifi square (the "keeper"): - you can move it by clicking and dragging it up and down - you can hide it either on a specific domain or entirely (see settings accessible by clicking on your picture at the top right)
The reason why you would want to keep it around is that Kifi is also a communication and contextual information tool, and it will show notifications from friends and additional information about the page you're on as you browse the web.
About Kifi friends, we will release next week a new "external messaging" feature that enables you to discuss a page with people without them having to be Kifi users. I think it's pretty cool, stay tuned!
However, beyond direct communication, Kifi gets much better with friends as their keeps will enrich your own search results and soon new discovery features, so there is long-term value for you to have them on :)
Does this make sense? Thanks again for checking us out!
It all sounds great. Thanks for engaging me about it! :)
Around 2 years ago I wanted to learn node.js and Backbone, and did so by building a site called Bookmarkly [1] one weekend. It's pinterest-style grid of images for bookmarks, where the images are screenshots of the sites. It supports tags and search and is extremely fast at using either to find a bookmark.
I was really more interested in learning the code than the details of what I was building, but it turned out nice enough that I keep my bookmarks in it. It's also open source, and you can easily host it yourself. [2] Which is highly recommended if you're interested, since the server crashes some times and I might not notice for hours or until someone e-mails me. The site itself is really just a demo of the code.
The repo's missing one element though, which is a screenshot generation service, because I honestly don't remember the steps I went through to get PhantomJS (headless webkit) working. Maybe it'll help someone interested in making their own bookmarking service anyway.
1: http://www.bookmarkly.com
2: https://github.com/dangrossman/Bookmarkly
I was really more interested in learning the code than the details of what I was building, but it turned out nice enough that I keep my bookmarks in it. It's also open source, and you can easily host it yourself. [2] Which is highly recommended if you're interested, since the server crashes some times and I might not notice for hours or until someone e-mails me. The site itself is really just a demo of the code.
The repo's missing one element though, which is a screenshot generation service, because I honestly don't remember the steps I went through to get PhantomJS (headless webkit) working. Maybe it'll help someone interested in making their own bookmarking service anyway.
1: http://www.bookmarkly.com
2: https://github.com/dangrossman/Bookmarkly
It would be exactly like the Firefox plugin Scrapbook, but with cross-device synchronization and maybe some del.icio.us-style tagging and visualization. Actually, I can live without the jazz.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/scrapbook/
Another related thought is that there are too many tools : I use EverNote for photos of book covers and a quick note on what I liked about that book, OneNote for my own detailed notes or projects, ScrapBook for web pages (both just bookmarks and offline copies), pdfs on my local file system...I hate the fragmentation involved. I hate having to go, "Hmmm...it's there somewhere", and having to search carefully. I will probably be able to get rid of EverNote soon, but still, too many tools.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/scrapbook/
Another related thought is that there are too many tools : I use EverNote for photos of book covers and a quick note on what I liked about that book, OneNote for my own detailed notes or projects, ScrapBook for web pages (both just bookmarks and offline copies), pdfs on my local file system...I hate the fragmentation involved. I hate having to go, "Hmmm...it's there somewhere", and having to search carefully. I will probably be able to get rid of EverNote soon, but still, too many tools.
Browser extension that inserts relevant bookmarks above Google search results.
I don't usually look at websites I bookmark. When I need them, I usually just Google it and usually go through the same process to find it again. If websites I know are interesting/high-quality (those I bookmarked) would show up in my Google search result, I would save a lot of time.
Basically, people are used to use Google to find content, and I think they will naturally do the same even if they have a bookmark that's relevant to what they're searching for. Just show me relevant bookmarks when I search on Google!
I've been telling Pocket to do that for months, but they don't listen. Do it and you might win a user (make sure to support Pocket and OneTab import).
I don't usually look at websites I bookmark. When I need them, I usually just Google it and usually go through the same process to find it again. If websites I know are interesting/high-quality (those I bookmarked) would show up in my Google search result, I would save a lot of time.
Basically, people are used to use Google to find content, and I think they will naturally do the same even if they have a bookmark that's relevant to what they're searching for. Just show me relevant bookmarks when I search on Google!
I've been telling Pocket to do that for months, but they don't listen. Do it and you might win a user (make sure to support Pocket and OneTab import).
This is exactly what http://teamgum.com does. It is meant for team based link sharing. So google search is topped with relevant articles from teamgum along with names of team members. Also, it allows to connect with pocket, delicious & some other bookmarking services.
I think that new bookmark service should be build around context(as mentioned by @codegeek) of URL, its lifecycle and its content.
It should leverage the information on the page and not only the user input. I'm convinced that the most important information in bookmark like services are the URLs saved by users and the content of the pages they want to bookmark. It's not just about building dummy database with links, references and "static" features on top of it.
I think that really good bookmark service should be self-taught based on your usage of the system, your likes and your information from social networks.
It should leverage the information on the page and not only the user input. I'm convinced that the most important information in bookmark like services are the URLs saved by users and the content of the pages they want to bookmark. It's not just about building dummy database with links, references and "static" features on top of it.
I think that really good bookmark service should be self-taught based on your usage of the system, your likes and your information from social networks.
I really haven't needed anything beyond Pocket (which has been fantastic).
The UI is clean and minimal: it's never in my way. Saving an article is one click away, and it's (pretty much) instantly available on all my other devices. If I decide halfway through an article that I'd like to read it on my iPad, boom, done. It even parses the article Readability-style so that I can read it clutter-free.
Is there some functionality that other bookmarking services provide that would change my life and make me wonder how I ever lived with Pocket?
The UI is clean and minimal: it's never in my way. Saving an article is one click away, and it's (pretty much) instantly available on all my other devices. If I decide halfway through an article that I'd like to read it on my iPad, boom, done. It even parses the article Readability-style so that I can read it clutter-free.
Is there some functionality that other bookmarking services provide that would change my life and make me wonder how I ever lived with Pocket?
It would have the ability to be extremely versatile. It can be seen as a traditional bookmarks bar but also with an interface. Of course, there would be features like how you'd sort them, cross platform compatibility, support for popular third party applications (Pocket, Instapaper, etc.), and much more (which have pretty much been stated already).
The most important feature to me, would be to figure out a way to sort my bookmarks for me based on my current population of bookmarks, my browsing history, and of course, what the actual bookmarks are.
The most important feature to me, would be to figure out a way to sort my bookmarks for me based on my current population of bookmarks, my browsing history, and of course, what the actual bookmarks are.
Shaarli is pretty good. http://sebsauvage.net/wiki/doku.php?id=php:shaarli
Have been running it on my Indie Box since I moved my data home from delicious in January. http://indieboxproject.org/
Have been running it on my Indie Box since I moved my data home from delicious in January. http://indieboxproject.org/
I'm extremely content with Apple + iCloud. It works seamless and it's out of the way. It's just there, but I don't have to think about it or see it.
The Reading List feature is a bonus for offline.
It's the only reason I use Safari. Maybe I'm easy to please. Simple, yet obvious and convenient.
The Reading List feature is a bonus for offline.
It's the only reason I use Safari. Maybe I'm easy to please. Simple, yet obvious and convenient.
Historical snapshotting of the page bookmarked? Check once a week for differences and keep copies of all of them.
A really nice interface to the bookmarks and no just the traditional bookmark bar; it is too cramped and hard to use with lots of bookmarks.
This is something I was thinking of doing a few months ago. I would be interested in contributing if you need or want the help. At the very least keep us updated!
This is something I was thinking of doing a few months ago. I would be interested in contributing if you need or want the help. At the very least keep us updated!
Thx for the answer. Let me deep some more. Every month comes up a new bookmarking service with a very cool interface but it never get adoption and last less than a year. What exactly would make the difference for you?
Yeah I have noticed the same trend. Currently I am trying out something called dragdis.
https://dragdis.com
I liked the suggestion by natch 27 for offline. It doesn't have an offline feature despite have a browser plugin (I am not a huge fan of this).
In terms of interface I don't have a complete answer. I want to be able to have my bookmarks organized but a lot of the time I don't want to do it manually. Too often I bookmark something really cool but don't have to time to tag or comment on it so it disappears until I decide to organize my bookmarks which in and of itself is a pain.
Maybe somehow generate metadata/tags/etc from scraping the link or by what other people have to saw about said link? Of course this would be in addition to being able to comment/tag/etc yourself. Thumbnails of the linked page would be nice, or if it was something from imgur for example, maybe the thumbnail is just the image that is on the page? I could go on but I think you might see where I am coming from; a lot of different features seem awesome but I think a lot of testing would be needed to see what people use and enjoy most.
https://dragdis.com
I liked the suggestion by natch 27 for offline. It doesn't have an offline feature despite have a browser plugin (I am not a huge fan of this).
In terms of interface I don't have a complete answer. I want to be able to have my bookmarks organized but a lot of the time I don't want to do it manually. Too often I bookmark something really cool but don't have to time to tag or comment on it so it disappears until I decide to organize my bookmarks which in and of itself is a pain.
Maybe somehow generate metadata/tags/etc from scraping the link or by what other people have to saw about said link? Of course this would be in addition to being able to comment/tag/etc yourself. Thumbnails of the linked page would be nice, or if it was something from imgur for example, maybe the thumbnail is just the image that is on the page? I could go on but I think you might see where I am coming from; a lot of different features seem awesome but I think a lot of testing would be needed to see what people use and enjoy most.
I agree with you that user experience is important, but seeing so many alternatives that fail makes me wonder if maybe what is needed is a disruptive feature such offline access. Pinboard has everything you need to bookmark and is fast, pleople love it. However it does not have offline access to files and I wonder if that would make the difference for some people.
That's a good point and I think you're right.
I know personally bookmarks are easily put into three categories:
* Sites I visit often and don't want to have to type to access
* Things I found and want to read (or reread) in the future
* and finally pictures or funny things I want to be able to share or look at later. So almost the same as #2.
For for items 2 & 3 offline access would be a great feature.
* Sites I visit often and don't want to have to type to access
* Things I found and want to read (or reread) in the future
* and finally pictures or funny things I want to be able to share or look at later. So almost the same as #2.
For for items 2 & 3 offline access would be a great feature.
I think it would be call for bookmarks to automatically open up or offer favorite sites based on the type of page you are currently on. For instance right now it might be suggesting current favorites of mine TechCrunch and Toolbox.com.
i am part of the team which runs bookmarking service for teams (http://teamgum.com). it has a sidebar as an extension which shows live bookmarks from your team, discussions & notifications. It connects with google aswell while you try & search for something.
Also, it is available cross device on IOS, android & blackberry phones for clutter free & offline reading. for IE users, it also has a web app.
Also, it is available cross device on IOS, android & blackberry phones for clutter free & offline reading. for IE users, it also has a web app.
It would automatically remember every page I have visited without requiring an action from me (Doable on desktop browsers). There would be simple browser extension UI that would allow tags, read-later and sharing.
That would probably take no time at all with chrome https://developer.chrome.com/extensions/history - push history events to a synced service, auto-tag content (with something like embedly or alchemy ?) - add some social bells and whistles, sprinkle some flat ui and CSS3 transitions on it - alakazam!
i have been using diigo for 7 years or so; this is the only bookmarking app (AFAIK) that let's you _highlight text_ and add _stick notes_ on the page you bookmarked--great for research--you can retrieve the bookmarked page and immediately go to the portion of interest; it's also great for sharing links--facilitates communication when you can highlight the single sentence or two of interest or when you can continue the dialog on the web page itself (w/ sticky note on the page pointing to the text you wish to emphasize).
- share publicly
- discover cool bookmarks saved and tagged by everyone (ala delicio.us back in the day) NOT just by my own social network.
- discover cool bookmarks saved and tagged by everyone (ala delicio.us back in the day) NOT just by my own social network.
Search... I can't believe Chrome hasn't the ability to search bookmark's content and even searching titles is cumbersome.
You should try Google Bookmarks[0], tagging and search abilities.
[0]: https://www.google.com/bookmarks/
[0]: https://www.google.com/bookmarks/
I did many years ago when they first came out, but they don't show up in your browser's bookmarks. Thanks for sharing anyway :)
you should try http://teamgum.com
Chrome bookmarks work quite well for me. I think an expiration date with a reminder would be the only added feature I would want.
Visual bookmarks are extremely helpful, particularly if they're well categorized etc.
if I'm going to download something it would need to be open source. it would be nice it it synced across devices.
I totally agree, if I were to work on this I would really want it to be open source.
- add notes, highlight, comment
- full text search
- offline access to the page
- read later email notifications
- share privately with coworkers