You can also ask friends to put their contact details on Facebook and share specific details with a limited list. That's what I do. I also use iCloud to sync contacts on my iPhone automatically. I treat people who lose phone numbers even when it is so easy to sync these days as someone I really don't want around. Seriously, it's stupid not to sync this important information. I call that Modern Technology Darwinism. Only the tech savvy will survive the next 100 years. (I am only half joking.)
Android and iPhone also sync using Twitter and Facebook. If you are not syncing you are just lazy or stupid.
As for staying up to date, only old forms of communication don't change smoothly. If we are connected via Facebook or LinkedIn you can always reach me. If my phone # changes, which is not necessary with number porting now, I can still be reached by Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn to ask for my #. I see no need for this Knok service.
Very fair points and I understand where you're coming from. I think this video demo will give you a better understanding of we're trying to do with Knok.Me: http://youtu.be/lBhzUAD7eJg
I just do not see this working out. What I'd rather use is something like Gravatar for my address book details. People could register their address book details with email addresses, Twitter and Facebook and others could request more details through an API which enforces a privacy policy. I'd manage a whitelist of my contacts who are allowed to access my current address book details with specific access for groups. Like co-workers/colleagues could get my work email, work phone # but not my home address and home #. Having to use yet another app is very unappealing. With an API many of the apps I am using already can use the API, just like Gravatar is used by many apps. This is the way I'd solve this problem.
I can definitely see where you're coming from but I think your solution is too complex. Right now I have a contact list of over 100 friends built up on Knok.Me with all of them maintaining their own contact info. People update their info and new friends join on a weekly basis. Its working for me and my close friends. When we release the mobile app we hope to reach more people. You could be right, but only time can tell. Thanks for your feedback!
Yes android does keep contacts synced but the problem is that you still never know if you have the most up to the date and relevant information about your contacts. Only you know your contact and social information best. We let users create one profile with all of their contact and social information. So when you can add a contact on knok.me you're sending a request to their profile. The syncing solution is very complex. You're still creating duplicate copies of each contact. It is very unnecessary.
I'm not sure how it works on Android but contact info gets synced on iPhone as well. The problem in the pitch is non-existant because when you upgrade to a new iPhone, you can restore contact data. Alternatively, if you move off the iPhone, the address book keeps a copy on your computer as well.
This is very different than your response here, which is less about losing contact info, more about always having an up to date source. Personally, I can only speak for myself but I don't see this as big of a problem.
I do acknowledge I've seen people post losing contact info (for whatever reason) at least once or twice on my time on facebook but of course thats not representative of how big the space is. However I'm not sure if this problem is big enough of an issue (just my two cents).
Very fair arguments. The really big point that I'm trying to make is that you're still keeping records for each everyone your contacts. Let's say you have John Smith in your address book and I'm friends with the same John Smith. I will also have a separate record of John Smith in my address book. People are creating unnecessary duplicate records of their contacts in their native address books. With Knok.Me we're letting people create their one profile that contains contact and social information of theirs. So you're the one who maintains your own contact information for you contacts. So each time someone adds you to their address book they are simply just sending a request to your profile. I would love to get your feedback on the idea. Feel free to shoot me an email if you want to chat more. I love hearing different perspectives on the problem. dami@knok.me .. I seriously think the address book isn't what it should be in this day and age.
Basically, you're creating a cloud base phone book (a much easier way to pitch the idea btw) and simply granting access much like a fb friend request to be able to access that data, and when you have no online access, it sits native to the phone until the next connection for a push update, if any.
Android and iPhone also sync using Twitter and Facebook. If you are not syncing you are just lazy or stupid.
As for staying up to date, only old forms of communication don't change smoothly. If we are connected via Facebook or LinkedIn you can always reach me. If my phone # changes, which is not necessary with number porting now, I can still be reached by Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn to ask for my #. I see no need for this Knok service.