For more information see our developer site

Why

Information is knowledge. This project started as a means to empower consumers with information about the products they buy and the companies they support. Since then, we are finding more and more ways to use this technology for the public good, such as empowering rural Coloradans with a means to fight back against corporations dumping dangerous chemicals down gas wells in their backyard.

What

Power to the people! Wiki's, content management systems, collaborative news aggregators--none of these tools go far enough.

Know what the future of the web is? Users rating, reviewing, analyzing, discussing and posting_info_about real world objects, be it companies, products, gas wells or neighborhood hang-outs. The system encourages the use of sources and helps users determine whether articles are trustworthy or not (the next generation wikipedia).

Users evaluate or mod each other's contributions to bestow experience points. Most importantly, these mods influence the visibility of these reviews. Our system helps users find what they care about, and distills it into quantifiable numbers, useful in a plethora of third-party applications and tools (eg, SMS, amazon points)

Why is this different than current sites? Because it's an engine. We have a generalized platform that one day will be as easy to install as wiki and CMS systems are today (one liners for dev's, or one click if using project hosting). We provide structure and features; you provide the content and community.

Who

Buy it like you mean it! is the slogan of the non-profit organization building driving this open source technology.

Mission: ThoughtAndMemory provides individuals with access to trusted, collaborative, and customizable tools that support research and communication about the real world impact of purchasing various goods and services.

The work started with current and past MIT students, and now includes volunteers with a wide range of backgrounds, interests and eccentricities.

Get Involved

Check out our beta release. We're hiring--especially for UI, but also for cool modules and mashups--so send us your resumes mailto:lucy@thoughtandmemory.org.

For more information see our developer site.