Tangler To Untangle Web Communication? Tested

We have received an invitation to beta test another innovative product named Tangler. From the moment I signed up for the Beta I was really impressed with the different look and feel of the community. Tangler is essentially a forum, but with capabilities outside the realm of a traditional forum platform.

The browser based UI and controls at the site are really simple and easy to use, and the iconic based organization looks and works better than many forums. Adding images or video is almost impossible to goof up, and group creation is virtually unlimited as far as I can see. Tanger is well on its way to simplifying topical communication to the point where IM may be rendered obsolete for in depth communication. Don't get me wrong, this Beta has its problems, but the potential is there.

Tangler serves the purpose of an instant messenger without requiring all participants to be present as the discussion flows. The “instant groups”, as Tangler calls them, are interfaced with either chat mode or post mode from the text editor. A desktop add on enables members of the groups to be notified when something new happens within the group.

Simple text insertion and editing (which had a few glitches) really round out this versatile tool. Users can link their ongoing group topics to blogs and other web sites allowing for even greater flexibility. A Tangler user can essentially participate in an ongoing forum from inside another task. This is really what delineates Tangler from IM programs.  I especially like the ability to watch video while the discussion is going on. Video, text and images are all intact within the chat/posting frame in a sort of running dialogue. Like many of the other Web 2.0 applications we have seen of late, Tangler is well thought out.

Bad Stuff 

The problems were not excessive for a Beta at this stage and the guys at Tangler seem to really be receptive to the feedback issues. I could not duplicate any of the 10 issues that were posted most recently. I did notice some small issues which I reported, most of which were textual in nature. The coloring of fonts did not work every time I tried it and text was slow to load a few times. The only other big issue I had was navigation, as I could not easily navigate in between groups (without losing my Place) or find comments that I had made at other groups. I am not sure if bookmarks are existent or if the desktop plug in is supposed to deal with tracking.

We will keep you informed on this innovative community as we continue to work within the Beta test. It looks like the development team is approaching this Beta in a very open and straightforward manner. I will say that it would be nice if there were more information available about the company. All that I know is what I gleaned from Nik Cubrilovic's interview with Tangler CEO Martin Wells at TechCrunch last year. According to that post Tangler is a privately funded enterprise so far, but the site has very little data to share with you. It's a secret, shhhh!