Saturday, March 14, 2009

Social animal: Aardvark launches SXSW preview

SXSW Interactive seems to have a peculiarly zoological bent this year. First it was gorillas and hippos and now a company called Aardvark has launched a “social search” tool by the same name and, although it’s currently undergoing an invite-only beta test, they’ve made preview available to SXSW attendees to try. Aardvark’s Max Ventilla explains:

Aardvark is an awesome way to find the best parties/panels/events at SxSW — or to find great places in Austin (best barbecue, etc.).  You just ask any question via IM or Email, and get a live answer from one of your friends or their friends.

There’s nothing to download or install — Aardvark lives on the buddylist of your existing IM program, or your email contact list. 

Aardvark applies advanced technology to identify the right person in your extended network to answer a particular question; and then lets you reach out without bothering people, spamming friends, or imposing on someone who isn’t interested.