After watching a video interview with Quag inventor Luca Giorcelli, I wanted to know more about this made-in-Italy social network in order to understand the process that led the company from a simple idea to a very innovative start-up
Quag calls itself a “useful social network based on your interests” and lets you work together with those who share your interests, to solve major and minor problems, learn new things and emerge as an expert. Here is an interview I had with Luca.
What is Quag? How did the idea start?
Quag derives from the realisation that there is an idiosyncrasy between who we know and what interests us. The incremental rise (spread) in our social contacts does not reflect the discontinuous way in which our interests evolve, which is characterised by sudden innovations and interests that quickly become obsolete. The idiosyncrasy between who we know and what interests us means that on many occasions it would be more useful to come into contact with strangers with whom we have something in common than with friends.
The dichotomy between “friends” and “interests” creates the void Quag intends to fill, as a social network useful for clearing doubts, learning new things and experiencing the pleasure of sharing our knowledge.
Some people define you a “social search engine”. Do you agree with this definition?
Quag is an interest-based social network; it is not a search engine. Quag does, however, have an elective affinity with search engines, and more generally with all the environments searches are made in. The reason for this is simple: each time we become interested in something, we are likely to conduct a web search, either in search of information or because we are undecided regarding which product to buy.
This is why we have released Quag-in, an add-on for Chrome and Firefox that comes to your aid when search results are insufficient.
At that time you’d like to ask someone for advice, but you give up before you even start, because your Facebook friends can’t help you and making your way into a forum is hard work. Quag-in simplifies things by allowing you to:
- ask a question directly from Google, Bing, Amazon, Yahoo!, eBay and istella.
- receive answers in the form of notifications from the browser or via e-mail.
Given its functions and the environments it operates in, Quag-in can be defined as a social search and social commerce (or social shopping) solution.
