mind your own…
based on a true story.
The summer two years ago I moved back to Malmö from Madrid, where I’d been living for a year and a half working as an architect. I was quite eager to move on with something new and I had a job offer in Copenhagen / Dubai. It wasn’t my dream job but it was exciting enough to give it a go. I had no better plans. Not when I applied.
Free time
For the first time in a long time I had three weeks in between doings. Three weeks. I can’t remember when I had so much time doing ‘nothing’. I decided to catch up with friends, and suddenly I realized that my address book was completely out-of-date.
I decided to, since I had so much time, to update it! Not many seconds later I realize that it’s completely insane. Even after emailing, texting, calling everyone asking for their correct details, going from A to Z, completing the list – it would be a never-ending-job.
It was first when I came to my own card (as you have in Address Book) the light struck me. My card was complete, it was up-to-date, with photo, all phone numbers, emails, IMs, websites & addresses. So, why is it that I should fill everyone else contact cards, instead of just my own – the one I know better than anyone else.
Mind your own…
In Sweden there’s a saying, ‘sköt dig själv och skit i andra’ which roughly translates into ‘mind your own business, leave others to theirs‘. Well, it’s a really bad attitude, and a world I wouldn’t like to live in – but here in the case of an address book it makes perfect sense.
As it is now, in mine, and most probably your phone/address book, we all, edit everybody else info. I insert, edit & update all info about you, and all my other friends, and you do the same with me, and all of your friends. Wouldn’t it be beautiful if it was the other way around?
If everybody just took care of their own info, and nothing else, all our address books would all of a sudden be both correct & up-to-date. And the best part about it, it’s one card, instead of hundreds or thousands.
Main Story
This is the core idea of ambadoo. You take care of your contact info, I take care of mine – and when we update it, it will get pushed to everyone else. That way we never need to be out-of-date, ever again.
To Realize a Dream
I couldn’t let go of the vision that pretty much everyone on this planet would benefit from this system and always stay in touch with their friends & family, always up-to-date, in a system that does it all for you. So I decided to quite that job and take on the mission to realize the dream of a global & universal, self-updating address book and here we are, working on edit profile, this weeks story.
it’s real
kick-start development
the most important thing of all. we’ve closed a deal with a developer and the production is in motion. as we’ve been waiting for this moment! to actually start building what was, not long ago, just a dream – a vision.
we’re now not far away from the first beta. we expect a release sometimes during the summer, if all goes like planned. as we speak the team is setting up the database model and deploying basic application structure. yay!
it’s so exciting, to finally be able to see the implementation of the ideas. there’s no doubt we’ll come across many issues and obstacles on the road but in every obstacle there’s an opportunity!
We’re having a hectic time ahead, committed to deliver a stunning application in the very near future. If you’re considering completing your address book by all those details it’s missing, and correcting all those numbers that’s old – just hang on a little while. Soon you’ll be able to sign up to be one of the first to people to try it out.
Stay tuned.