hpr-knowledge-base/hpr_transcripts/hpr0607.txt

Episode: 607
Title: HPR0607: Klaatu talks to Rebecca from bueda.com
Source: https://hub.hackerpublicradio.org/ccdn.php?filename=/eps/hpr0607/hpr0607.mp3
Transcribed: 2025-10-07 23:48:43

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Hi everyone, this is Clot 2 and I am standing, talking to, I don't know, actually, do you have a name or you have a handle?
I have a name.
What is your name?
Rebecca Cila.
Hey, Rebecca.
So you work for Bueda.
What kind of company is that?
It's a semantic web startup that's interested in understanding the social web.
Okay.
The Cyford would be a company that's trying to understand social networking and how they can leverage it or what.
Just basically, there's so much information out on various social networks and so we can use our semantic analysis platform to better understand that kind of stuff.
All the knowledge is out there.
I guess Facebook would, obviously, probably be one place to be looking.
Facebook, Twitter, we're concentrating on right now.
LinkedIn would be good for a variety of things and even YouTube, like, although there are tags at videos, they don't work that well.
So we can use our platform to basically expand the tags and then you can better find what you're searching for.
Okay.
So in terms of YouTube or even podcasts like this one, is there any effort being made either at your company or that you know of to take the multimedia, which obviously you can't, it's not text, you can't just look at it.
So is there any effort to, like, I don't know, transcribe it or analyze what's actually in the media and then, like, do you?
But not many companies. That's kind of what we started to focus on. We were focusing on Flickr and all the images on there.
And yeah, you have the tags, but usually they're not good enough or, like, what you call one thing, I'm going to call something that's a little bit different.
So if you use RAPI, you can basically send us a set of tags, like, five tags that you have for a Flickr photo and then we'll expand it and enhance it and enrich it.
So we give you, we send you back a list of maybe 20 tags and then it's easier to search for for YouTube.
We're doing the same thing that we're doing with Flickr, but we're not going through, like, the audio file. Is that what you're talking about?
Either one, really, I guess. I mean, like, yeah, I guess the audio.
You see what we're trying to do more with, yeah, YouTube's trying to do more with tagging, but it's not really caught on yet.
Okay. So you guys have a, I guess, is your main thing, this API that you're starting to mention?
That's what basically all of our products are built on top of. We just launched a social media marketing platform that analyzes Twitter.
And so it brings you the people who are talking about you, even if they're not specifically talking about your brands, and then you can contact them.
And then Hipster Boxing doesn't really use API yet, but it can in the future.
Okay. The Hipster Boxing I've, I've been to and I found it hilarious.
So the way that I interpreted Hipster Boxing was that you go there and you look at two pictures of hipsters and decide who would win in a boxing match. Is that correct?
You can look at it that way, how I look at it or how our company envisioned it.
You look at two pictures of hipsters and then you would pick the one who is the Hipper Hipster or like the most textbook definition of hipster, even though there is no such thing?
I pick like the most ridiculous person. If I were to see them on the street, I would pick them.
Okay. So first of all, like backing up, where did this idea come from? Like what's the story of Hipster Boxing?
There's not really a story. We kind of just made it for our own amusement. Like one Friday, we figured it's kind of like a slow week. So one Friday, we figured you know what we can code this in like a day.
And so my job was as a marketing person. I just went to Facebook and kind of lifted the Facebook IDs from people who I considered hipsters. I just found a Facebook like not my friends.
Just I went to obscure band sites and saw like who likes them and you can tell who a hipster is. Anyway, and then the rest of us coded it. I guess the idea, I don't know, we believe kind of, I feel like everyone's kind of obsessed with hipsters right now.
Exactly. And especially in Pittsburgh, it's kind of becoming a little mecca for hipsters I think because it's so cheap to live here.
But there are those blogs like look at that fucking hipster. I don't know if you can curse, but okay. And stuff if there's hate and let me see.
I don't know. Everyone's talking about hipsters. And whether you like them or like hate them, people are very passionate about the topic. We figured what better to like just put our resources in for one day than this fun game.
To make that happen. Exactly. That was a great sacrifice. I think so as well. So as a marketing person, did you, did you write the explanation of what that site was? I thought that was really funny.
Thank you. And that was kind of long, but I don't want to compromise any of the wit.
Oh right, no. Absolutely not. I just haven't shortened it. Artistic purity. Exactly. Yeah. Okay. So it's just a purely like there was no agenda to this site.
It was just there was no agenda, but now since we use the we initially use the pictures, the profile pictures of hipsters.
Kind of just an easier way like we don't have to store it. We just enter in the user ID on the graph. But now we're realizing that we can use that like later we can take the top 25% of the hipsters or something that people have voted on.
Right. And we can see what their interests are on the open graph and kind of like figure out trends like what the hipsters are listening to.
Kind of activities they like like riding their fixed gear, you know. So it'd be cool for trend analysis and just better defining who hipsters are.
Okay. So this leads me to an interesting question to me at least. So I mean, so you guys are like basically living and breathing off of information that you're finding just lying out there on the web.
Yeah. So is privacy dead?
To our extent, yes. But I believe that most people are becoming more and more okay with it. Like the open graph, you don't have to be in the open graph. You can opt out which I just think most people don't know how to, which was Facebook's plan.
Right. Right. Yeah.
But I mean, if you're putting anything on Facebook, if you're if you're on Facebook, I think you're pretty well aware that that information is public. Whether you make it public or not.
Okay. But that was my question. Like, are you really? Because I think some people think that a lot of that information is private. Like I think there's a large section.
Like yeah, everything about them really.
Yeah. No. I think a lot of people think that. But I think they're going to kind of be pulling.
Like I don't want to, I don't know, insult anyone. But if it's up online, even if your pictures are hidden, if you like binge drinking and you're watching for a job, it's still up there.
You can untag it. And then it's not really there. I mean, it's still there. It's still there, yeah.
Yeah. But it's hard to find. Right.
Um, that's for your profile picture. Are you talking about like, do we find it weird that we're taking this, that we're like just listing it? Because you can make that private if you want. Right.
But most people don't. Right. For what reason? I don't know. They want, they don't want to be private about that. Right.
I don't know. I think privacy is kind of dead. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, yeah.
It's just an interesting quandary, I guess. And something that's fairly new. It hasn't always been that way, obviously.
Um, yeah. But I mean, now if you think about it, we're videotaped basically most of our lives.
I think people just tend to ignore it, you know?
Why do you think they ignore it? Because it doesn't have an immediate impact on them or because it doesn't ever have an impact on them?
Um, I guess it'd be, you'd be pretty paranoid if you didn't ignore it. And also a lot of, I think a lot of people have the mentality that if they're not doing anything wrong, why should they care?
I mean, there are things like the Patriot Act, though, where people are pretty up in arms and out, which I get that.
Um, I don't know. I don't really have any qualms at that. I swear to set it.
Like what I put on Facebook, I realized that my mom should be okay seeing it. Right. Exactly.
That's my mentality. Yeah. Some people don't do that. People are like up in arms that like, oh, why are you looking at my like, you know, half naked pictures?
I'm like, well, you posted them on the top of my news page. So, uh, yeah, but I'm, I don't know. Are you okay with that? Probably not.
I mean, to see internet, I don't ever consider the internet private. So the fact that dead does not surprise me, I think people might need to be educated better.
Because I mean, I just, I still get amazed when people use their real name and put real information on the internet about themselves that they are then freaked out about that's like out in the open.
Yeah, that like, Chase is that. That would be why. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. I got to.
Yeah. Um, so this company, I guess the parent company of like Hipster Boxing and everything, the way to, um, what, what are they?
I mean, I guess they're a social network aggregator of sorts or.
Semantic web. Semantic web. Okay. So, so is that, is it just basically a, is it something in research right now?
Are they a company servicing other companies? Like, I guess, what exactly is this?
Um, I think, well, it's our, our semantic matching platform, the API, it started out of research from Carnegie Mellon.
So my boss, um, he got his doctorate there in natural language processing and the API was basically his thesis.
Oh, okay.
So we've been building it up more and more, um, but it's starting, we're starting to apply its other things. So like our first application was, um, not our first, but like our first major application of it was with five, which is our social media marketing platform.
Um, and then we didn't really apply it to Hipster Boxing, but I guess we could with the trend analysis and the open graph integration.
Um, but right now we're talking to other companies, um, seeing who could use our technology, like a lot of ad agencies could use it, a lot of travel, like travel service aggregators.
I don't really know how to, like, you're talking about like, are you talking about like kayak.com or orbits or something like that?
Yeah, like that. Um, we could provide better recommendations, more targeted recommendations.
Right.
Um, you could use our technology for research purposes, which would be awesome, in my opinion, but it just takes a long time to get the research grant.
Ah, okay.
Yeah.
So I don't know. It's kind of a really exciting time for us because, uh, we're talking to a lot of companies who are interested in working with us.
Right.
The technology can be used for various things.
Okay. So actually, when we met the other day, um, and we were chatting, you had mentioned, um, crowd sourcing.
Yeah.
That's probably separate from Voida, right? But I'm kind of interested in this topic and you seem to know a little bit about it.
Well, crowd sourcing kind of applies to Hipster Boxing because, um, Hipster, as you know, are pretty undefinedable.
All right.
But we use crowd sourcing so people can tell us who the hipsters are, like you can nominate your friends.
Okay.
Like this person's hipster, they definitely need to be in the ranks.
Okay.
So we're not really sure who the hipsters are, but we figure the wisdom of the crowd will provide us with the answers of the hipsters.
Okay.
And then the hipster will rise to the top of the crowd.
Right.
And then we'll be able to find out more about Hipsterdom, I guess.
Right.
But, um, so it kind of applies there.
Um, what do you want to talk about, like, crowd sourcing to find more or less?
Find answers to everything.
Yeah.
Okay.
So it's basically, if you want to know something, just ask a bunch of people and see what they, what they came up with.
Uh-huh.
I mean, the wisdom of the crowd.
Because it's an online only kind of a phenomenon, or can this be leveraged?
No, it can be, you know, face to face.
And I think it's made easier with online social networks, just because you can reach, you know, a thousand followers.
Right.
One tweet, ask them a question, and you'll get back all these responses.
And, um, actually, tomorrow, I don't know if you're aware of this, but a social good day declared by Mashable and Red.
Like, parentheses, red.
Okay, yeah.
Um, and it's basically, I call it, yeah.
Movement.
Um, okay.
It's basically like a crowd sourcing day.
But, um, Mashable's hosting meetups all around the country, where you're supposed to get together with your friends and discuss how social media can be used to fight social,
social problems, and specifically the AIDS crisis in Africa.
Okay.
And then if you can't go to a physical meetup, you can use the hashtag socialgood.
Okay.
And so they'll, like, look through the ideas after tomorrow and see if they come up with any.
Okay.
I mean, that's cool.
Yeah, that's really cool.
All right.
Well, gosh.
I wonder if I can get this episode out tomorrow.
Okay.
Because then all the data will be published.
Oh, okay.
You know?
All right.
Um, so how to get to Bueda, and, um, I guess is there any point in getting to Bueda is, I'm not a big company.
Yeah, I mean, you can use our API for free.
Just sign up and it can improve the search capabilities on your site by standing the tag.
It's very cool.
Um, you can use our social media marketing platform for free.
And that's basically geared toward small businesses that, um, that maybe promotion is like the last thing you're thinking of, you know, kind of an afterthought.
Right, yeah.
Which I think a lot of companies have a problem with.
So that's just kind of giving you a, um, like holding your hands through the processes.
Promoting on the social web.
I think a lot of people.
And you go all the time yourself personally and, like, help the market.
Exactly, yes.
I will physically hold you hands.
It's not cool.
Yeah.
But, uh, I end hipster boxing.
I mean, it's for everyone.
Hey, that is for everyone.
It's heating.
And we're also thinking this is different.
But, um, of applying hipster boxing to other things, like maybe using it for political races.
Yeah.
Or, really, anything.
Well, I mean, you could insert anything in place of hipster.
Exactly.
Geek boxing.
Exactly.
Really anything.
Yeah.
Or, like, got boxing.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Even boxing.
Yeah.
Or, like, kiddie boxing.
You know how big cats are?
That would be great.
Yeah.
Little cat boxing.
Yeah.
So maybe we'll do that.
I hope you do.
Cool.
Well, um, thanks for talking to me.
Of course.
Okay, thank you.
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