The One With Flameup

There has been countless comments about Flameup ever since the website has launched. People have said the website is just a copy of Digg and the website creates “society that encourages and rewards anger”; these users are entirely blind-sighted by Flameup’s appearance.

While Flameup may use the same user interface to rate articles like Digg, the overall concept of Flameup is entirely different. Flameup is a blog-esque website that allows its users to post entries about their feelings, while Digg is a social bookmarking site. Flameup has merely taken the concept of the Digg user interface and evolved it into a social networking site.

There are actually hundreds of websites that have adapted Digg’s user interface. These websites vary from shopping, music, coupons and other interests. The only reason why people think that these websites are stealing from Digg is because Digg has become so mainstream that people associate Digg with this particular user interface. Even if Digg was the first website to have this user interface, it does not give them exclusive rights to the interface. If such were the case then the first developers of the web browser or the search engine could sue everyone who have developed similar products.

This concept is called open-source. Information like this is readily shared to promote  innovation and progress. Other instances where open-source has been widely successful include but not limited to machinima, firefox, linux, gaming industry, software industry and advertising. 

It was actually not that surprising to see such negative comments geared towards Flameup; throughout history people have always battered the new and innovative. When Thomas Edison first invented the phonograph to record live music, the musicians were outraged. They thought the device would replace live performances but it fact, it led to the development of the record industry.


Websites like Flameup are like inventors who are improving upon an existing product that has become common and mundane. If people were to look at Flameup from a non-bias point of view, then they would see the full potential of Flameup. While Flameup’s slogan is to “have an attitude”, one does not have to post about suppressed feelings about their daily lives. Flameup can be used as a tool by television and movie viewers to express their thoughts about the newest episodes. The possibilities are endless, this website allows people to connect with other users who wish to talk about certain hobbies or interests. Unlike forums, Flameup encourages its users to rant about anything; forums of higher quality are usually ones that target one particular hobby or interest, this forces people to become members of multiple forums sites in order to communicate their thoughts and feelings.
 
(list of websites that use a similar interface, not al of the links are working but  most of they do and use the interface. If you were to google digg style interface websites or something similar you will get more results.
http://3spots.blogspot.co m/2006/04/all-digg-style-applicatio ns-list.html) (Life)

From New York

Joined FlameUp on September 26th, 2008