In deep with DeepRockDrive

By: Chris Murphy

To say that September was busy for me is an understatement. So many things have been coming to a head this past year and all of just seems like a blur right now. I believe that some of you may know what has been keeping me particularly busy lately, but for the benefit of those who do not -- I have been involved in the design and development of an online community/social-network called DeepRockDrive, which has been in production for the better part of a year. This is a project that I am quite passionate about as it is -- for me -- both a proving ground and a learning experience. Before I get ahead of myself, I should at least attempt to describe what DeepRockDrive is essentially about (though this will pale in comparison to the actual experience):

DeepRockDrive has been defined and re-defined over the course of development and conceptualization a number of times. This is mostly due to the fact that there isn’t really anything out there that can really be used as an accurate reference; however the core of it comes down to the idea of a “Shared Experience”. When I say that, I do not simply mean the sense of community — if you are passionate about music, whether you simply appreciate it, or actively create it, you are already a part of the DeepRockDrive community. What I am talking about is more emotional than community might suggest.

Think of the last time you went to a live concert with your friends; your favourite band is playing and there is this incredible vibe, a kind of intangible sensation that just seems to join you, your buddies, and other fans — you are engaged in a shared experience. Now take away the restrictions of geographical location, social status, etc. and factor in a level of interaction with the artists and other fans you don’t get at a traditional concert (no matter how big it is). What you have is a Shared Experience on a massive scale.While that may seem like an exaggeration on my part, it really isn’t.

If you consider the scale of some of the most popular active social networks today such as FaceBook (approx. 40 Million users), and take even 1% of that, it is still mind-blowing in terms of a live, interactive concert. Given the potential of DeepRockDrive’s user-base to scale even modestly, the predicted growth is still quite incredible to imagine. In any case, Jeff Henshaw (of Microsoft X-Box Live fame and other creds.) sums up the site’s core features quite nicely in their first blog posting.

Right now the site is invitation only, but the expected public release of the site is Oct. 17. We are still working out the kinks and completing testing on some of the features, but I think this first release will be a hell of a lot of fun. The great thing about a service like DeepRockDrive is that it can only get better as the experience deepens and expands along with the community.

DeepRockDrive — while still in its infancy — will blow your mind.

So for those of you who have been checking in on a regular basis for updates on this site, you now know what has been consuming my waking and sleeping (more waking than sleeping) hours through August and September. I have a number of smaller, personal projects that I’m in the process of gearing up for once some of the heavy lifting is done on DeepRockDrive — one of which I’m really excited about, and one that you’ll see debuted on this blog.

Playing mp3 file moby mp3 (by WinAmp Windows WordPress Plugin)

• Posted: October 3, 2007
• Comments: (6)
• Permalink
• Follow This Post: RSS 2.0