I am amazed whenever I learn deeply about the people I already know. Often, I smack my forehead (figuratively), realizing someone with a skill-set I have been searching for is, quite literally, right in my backyard.
Ilumino, a new social networking tool, hopes to help us find out what expertise lies hidden in our existing personal networks.
Blogger Alec Saunders explains:
Illumio is software that combs networks looking for experts in particular topic areas. Using a reverse auction algorithm, it goes from most expert to least, seeking to find an individual to answer the question being asked. According to the Illumio blog, it works best with groups that have:
1. Formal sense of membership (e.g., an alumni association, a department within a company, etc.)
2. Inherent trust based on this membership
3. Value placed in one-one networking
4. To begin, we ask that test groups stay small first before expanding (let’s say less than 20 people)
Saunders also references this New York Times article, which notes:
The potential of Illumio lies in its ability to help small groups of friends and associates tap expertise that they might otherwise not know existed, said Esther Dyson, publisher of Release 1.0, a computer industry newsletter and an Illumio investor. "This is searching your friends' heads as reflected in what's on their computers," Ms. Dyson said.
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